Poo power turns excrement into energy


6 Oct 2010

A coalition between Thames Water, British Gas and Scotia Gas Networks has come up with a procedure that turns human excrement into energy.

The Didcot, UK, sewage works in Oxfordshire is producing enough renewable gas to supply up to 200 homes, according to the edie.net, and the plant hopes to account for at least 15pc of the domestic gas market by 2020.

The process works by taking sludge and treating it at the plant in heated vats in a process called anaerobic digestion, where bacteria breaks down biodegradable material, yielding bio-gas.

From there, impurities are removed from the biomethane before it is fed into the gas grid; taking about 20 days to transform it from poo to power.