New Furnace Uses Horse Manure for Fuel

[UncleBuck01]

"New Furnace Uses Horse Manure for Fuel
by: The Associated Press
11/09/06

John Kimberlin hopes to light a fire under his idea of using manure to produce heat and electricity.
Kimberlin, of Waukee, Iowa, believes he has perfected a small-scale furnace that can be used on farms, at racetracks, or anywhere livestock waste piles up.
Investors have worked to turn manure and biomass into energy, and scientists say it could make Iowa a major producer of power. The state produces enough manure to power 325,000 homes, according to estimates from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
There also are tax incentives that encourage the development of methane digesters to create electricity and control odor.
Kimberlin said he came up with the idea of building a manure furnace from the tons of horse manure he had on his farm west of Des Moines.
He needed to find some way to get rid of it. He said he couldn't spread it on his land without contaminating the water and hauling it away would be too expensive.
Kimberlin did some small experiments and spent time at the Iowa State University library researching his idea. He eventually received a patent and found some investors.
They formed a company called Nature's Furnace Inc., and are planning to make and sell several different kinds of furnaces.
Kimberlin said the company wants to keep the size of the furnaces small so they can be portable.
He also said the furnace, which will be marketed across the country and overseas, would be produced locally.
"We want to build them right here, to bring the employment here," he said."


F Y I

Could you imagine , if true,and it actually comes to market. my horses might actually pay for themselves , I definitely have enough "fuel", even enough to sell ! How would I package it, should us horse owners form a "cartel",talk of "monopoly" anyone ! We could even throw in a few "shortages"to get the price up ,quick somebody wake me.......LOL
too good to be true ?

Have a good day
Buck

 

[Hosskix]

Thar's gold in them there apples!!!!!!

It's really a pretty good idea, you spend good money buying hay for them, you might as well get a return on your investment.
I just wonder about the smell from the drying racks though.

I'm not sure about heating my house with it, but I've thought about making a small "wood-stove" type furnace for my shop to burn it before.
Heck, the pioneers actually ATE FOOD cooked on buffalo chips.

 

[tallyho8]

They are building a couple of these in Mississippi to use with the waste from all the chicken farms. With the expense of these units, they must rely on getting the manure for free (or people paying them to take it) in order to make the project feasible. So don't get the idea of getting rich off of them golden apples.

 

[Kubotasrking]

They are building a couple of these in Mississippi to use with the waste from all the chicken farms. With the expense of these units, they must rely on getting the manure for free (or people paying them to take it) in order to make the project feasible. So don't get the idea of getting rich off of them golden apples.

Once the design/prototype phase is completed, costs will plummet. For now, we can get folks "addicted" to "free" manure, and then they'll come back for more and we can charge 'em.

 

[tallyho8]

Then you think I should start saving up my "apples" now to help supplement my retirement income?

 

[Dusty]

This idea reminds me of the one where some University in the Midwest decided that it would be a good idea to recycle sheet rock scraps into soil amendments. They went about setting up dumpsters at large construction sites to collect the material and then brought it back to campus to grind and package. Once the grant money ran out, so did the project. It wasn't cost effective in the end, and only a University with grant money could do such a project.
Dusty

 

[Egon]

There was time on the treeless prairies when the Buffalo chip was the king of fuels!

 

[Kubotasrking]

Then you think I should start saving up my "apples" now to help supplement my retirement income?

You never know. The "inventor" of the pet rock did OK...if folks will buy that, they'll buy sh**.

 

[Chuck52]

I would think that using the manure in a methane generator setup might be more energy efficient. It would also yield useable compost, rather than ash. Don't have any idea what the relative BTU yields from the two alternative processes would be, but with the methane generator setup you could use the fresh stuff and not have to dry it first. I've read about a chicken farmer down south somewhere who is planning to do that big time.....or was it a pig farmer? Our local dump is going to be fitted with methane collectors, and the methane will then be used to generate electricity. Of course, they hope to get the Feds to pay part of the cost, but it supposedly calculates out as financially reasonable. Think of all the methane that now is just lost to the atmosphere to be a greenhouse gas from large municipal sewerage treatment plants. I bet some places already capture and use that, but it should be a standard feature of any new plants built. Why not let our cra* help pay for itself!

Chuck

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Unclebuck,
This thread kind of makes me think of when I was in Ireland earlier this year. They burn peat over there harvested from the bogs, its cut in small blocks and allowed to dry out or seasoned if you will. It has a distinctive smell when burned, I got quite used to it and actually enjoyed going into the local pubs where they were burning it in the stove !

On the horse chips, I would think you wouldnt want it stored inside !