We know that cow manure is an organic matter often used as fertilizer in agriculture. But little did we know that it can be made into essential substances like water and hydrogen.
Methane gas is found in cow manure. It is a natural substance which has its pros and cons – its potential as a fuel has long been established.
But it is only now that Japanese automaker Toyota wants to hone this potential. The company has made plans of building a power plant at the Port of Long Beach in California solely for the extraction of the water, electricity, and hydrogen from cow manure.
Called the Tri-Gen Project, it will be the first to generate 100 percent renewable power and hydrogen on a commercial-scale.
Estimates say that the plant, which is expected to come online in about three years from now, will produce 2.35 MW of electricity and 1.2 tons of hydrogen a day.
That is enough power to accommodate 2,350 average homes and enough fuel to operate 1,500 hydrogen-powered vehicles daily.
Other than as fertilizers, cow manure can soon be used to power your home.
Moreover, this pilot plant will be home to one of the largest hydrogen fuelling stations in the world.
“In most states, you have a conventional natural gas pipeline network that provides heat for your stove or furnace. The majority of natural gas comes from drilling for well gases,” said Matt McClory, senior engineer with Toyota research and development.
“We’re trying to green up this process. One way is to find renewable sources, like from gases emitted from landfills, wastewater treatment plants and farm animals.”
Doug Murtha, Toyota’s North America group vice president for strategic planning, shared how this project forwards the company’s green initiatives.
“Tri-Gen is a major step forward for sustainable mobility and a key accomplishment of our 2050 environmental challenge to achieve net zero CO2 emissions from our operations,” Murtha said.
Other than pushing the agenda of reducing emissions, this project was instigated to power the car manufacturer’s Mirai sedans and the upcoming Project Portal semi truck which run on hydrogen fuel cell.
“Environmentally conscious motorists demand newer, cleaner forms of transportation,” Toyota said in its website. “[The] Mirai fuel cell vehicle helps answer that demand alongside our other alternative fuel vehicles to power a better future,” it wrote.
Source: USA Today
