Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Next up: Monday, January 9, 2023 at 6:30 pm
Biogas Digesters for Homesteads, Farms, and Integrated Communities
Nicholas Chambers, Living Arts Systems, LLC
Summary:
Anaerobic Digestion has been used for centuries to generate methane containing biogas all over the world. In the industrialized world, it is used in large waste water treatment plants, large farms, and landfills. Across much of Asia it has also been applied for small scale domestic applications. Anaerobic digesters can serve the purpose of a septic tank to treat waste water while creating a carbon-neutral gas for home cooking, whereby the effluent can be utilized as fertilizer. The reasons it has not been utilized until recently for small scale in the US is largely due to cultural perspectives and fossil energy structures. As a culture we are feco-phobic and fossil fuels have been priced so cheaply and their use is so embedded in our day to day lives it has made it hard to compete. When we design for biogas to cooking in homes, we are then forced to redesign the whole house to incorporate a full carbon-neutral portfolio of renewable energy AND fertilizer use and generation for the surrounding soils.
Anaerobic Digestion has been used for centuries to generate methane containing biogas all over the world. In the industrialized world, it is used in large waste water treatment plants, large farms, and landfills. Across much of Asia it has also been applied for small scale domestic applications. Anaerobic digesters can serve the purpose of a septic tank to treat waste water while creating a carbon-neutral gas for home cooking, whereby the effluent can be utilized as fertilizer. The reasons it has not been utilized until recently for small scale in the US is largely due to cultural perspectives and fossil energy structures. As a culture we are feco-phobic and fossil fuels have been priced so cheaply and their use is so embedded in our day to day lives it has made it hard to compete. When we design for biogas to cooking in homes, we are then forced to redesign the whole house to incorporate a full carbon-neutral portfolio of renewable energy AND fertilizer use and generation for the surrounding soils.
Nicholas Chambers has been a small farmer, Colorado local food entrepreneur, and developer of historic properties into Renewable Energy Parks. He has taught at the biofuels lab at Santa Fe Community College for over 15 years, where they teach biodiesel, ethanol, wood chip gasification, anaerobic digestion, solar, and algae. He has designed, built, and installed biogas digesters around South Central Colorado and is now currently working on a larger scale project funded by the EPA for light eco-industrial park where the by-products of one industry are the inputs for another.
|
|
|
|
