[Digestion] Biogas use in Assyria

Tue Oct 23 09:48:01 EDT 2007

Duncan,

I remember seeing in a BBC news back in the 80´s of a
guy that was running his car a Vauxhall 1950's vintage
with biogas he was making with cow manure in his barn
and then he was compressing it and carrying a portable
CNG tank in the trunk. I remember that in the
interview he was ask if he was not afraid of running
out of manure. He replied: I don´t think so.

Alejandro Bustamante

--- Duncan Martin <duncanjmartin at eircom.net> wrote:

> Well done, Alex.
> 
> I'll take a look and will be happy to peer review.
> (I co-wrote the AD entry 
> in the WHO's on-line Encyclopadia of Life Suppport
> Systems in about 2000)
> 
> BTW, I've been involved with AD for about 30 years
> and I've never heard that 
> story of Assyria. Widely cited? Where?
> 
> Beware! Urban myths on the internet are widely cited
> - but that does not 
> make them reliable.
> 
> As an example, there was quite a flurry of e-mail
> traffic a few years ago 
> about a British inventor who had succeeded in
> running a car on biogas. Being 
> British myself and old enough to recognise ancient
> car models that others 
> might have never heard of, I checked the source. It
> was a story in, I think, 
> the Daily Mirror, dating from the Second World War.
> 
> Some bright spark and a large bag of digested
> chicken manure on the roof of 
> his car (an Austin A30, if I recall correctly).  All
> very well -- but I 
> wonder what the range was before he had to stop for
> the bag to refill?  And 
> I wonder what the weight of manure would do to his
> fuel efficiency when 
> going uphill? Not to mention the effect of wind drag
> at any speed above a 
> crawl. In fact, with the wind behind him and a full
> bag of gas, he could 
> probably have switched the engine off - and "sailed"
> along! In a head wind, 
> he might well have gone backwards.
> 
> Someone had raked up this story and republished it
> on the Internet, without 
> a date or attribution, giving the impression of a
> recent advance -- and 
> without any mention of the limitations of his
> "invention". A typical 
> Internet story, in fact.
> 
> Best regards
> 
> Duncan J Martin
> 
> Centre Councillor
> Republic of Ireland Centre
> Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
> 
> ================================
> CONTACT DETAILS
> Duncan J Martin, PhD, CEng, CSci, MIEI, MCIWM,
> MIChemE
> 24 Townsfield, Cloughjordan, N Tipperary, Ireland
> Mobile: +353 86 8377 906
> Home: +353 505 42087
> Email: duncanjmartin at eircom.net
> ================================
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Alex Marshall" <alexm at Clarke-Energy.com>
> To: <digestion at listserv.repp.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 10:07 AM
> Subject: [Digestion] Biogas use in Assyria
> 
> 
> > Hello Mailing Group,
> >
> > I am in the process of improving the wikipedia
> article on anaerobic
> > digestion. I have improved it enough for it now to
> be listed as a good
> > article and am working towards getting it listed
> as a featured article.
> > One question that has been raised relates to the
> widely cited example of
> > biogas being used to heat bath water in Assyria in
> the 10th century BC.
> > I cannot however find the original citation for
> this or how is was used.
> > Does anyone know how the Assyrians we said to have
> capture and utilise
> > biogas? I cannot find the original source of this
> information anywhere.
> >
> > The editorial peer review comments can be seen
> here:
> >
>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Peer_review/Anaerobic_digestion#R
> > eview_by_Jeff
> >
> > I would appreciate any support in improving the
> article which is located
> > here, technical peer reviewing would also be
> welcome.
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_digestion
> >
> > Please note I have left RPS and joined Clarke
> Energy working in a
> > business development role for Haase AD systems for
> biowastes and Haase
> > MBT systems for mixed municipal wastes. My new
> contact details can be
> > found below.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > Alex Marshall
> > Product Manager- AD & MBT
> > Clarke Energy Ltd
> >
> > Head Office, Senator Point, South Boundary Road,
> Knowsley Industrial
> > Estate, Liverpool, L33 7RR
> >
> > Mobile: 07917 066 242
> > Switchboard: 0151 546 4446
> > Web: www.clarke-energy.com
> > E-mail: alexm at clarke-energy.com
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Digestion mailing list
> > Digestion at listserv.repp.org
> >
>
http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/digestion_listserv.repp.org
> > Beginner's Guide to Biogas
> > http://www.adelaide.edu.au/biogas/
> > http://info.bioenergylists.org
> >
> >
> >
> > -- 
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> > 19/10/2007 05:10
> >
> > 
> 
> 
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> Beginner's Guide to Biogas
> http://www.adelaide.edu.au/biogas/
> http://info.bioenergylists.org
> 

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