Moline Wants to Turn Poop into Energy
Did you know Moline turns your poop into energy? The town currently produces some bio gas that is used to power the South Slope Wastewater Management Plant, but the current staff thinks they could produce two to three times more.
The city council has approved $99,000 dollars to study how they can produce more bio gas which is a by product of solid waste. The goal is getting the waste treatment plant off the grid so it doesn't use any electricity or natural gas. This according to an article on ourquadcities.com.
This is a fantastic idea and a great investment as far as I'm concerned. I certainly knew in some vague way waste can be turned to energy. I never thought you could take what gets processed and sanitized and harness the energy and use it for something.
According to a Mother Jones article on The Top 6 Ways to Convert Poop Into Electricity we turn seven to eight trillion gallons of flushed sewage into fertilizer. The downside is that it can contain everything from motor oil to your neighbors Prozac. So that has motivated some cities to look at doing something else with the waste. Like turning it into energy. In my mind that seems to be the better deal.
Here's one more fact from the Mother Jones article. "By one estimate, a single American’s daily sludge output can generate enough electricity to light a 60-watt bulb for more than nine hours." That's something to think about the next time you go sit.