Human waste to heat thousands of homes

It gives a whole new meaning to cooking with 'natural' gas.

Within two years, thousands of people will be preparing their dinner and heating their homes using methane gas extracted from human waste.

The energy company behind the scheme say the 'sewage works gas' will be clean, environmentally friendly and indistinguishable from the North Sea variety.The pilot biogas conversion plant will be built at Britain's second biggest sewage works in Manchester and could generate enough power for 5,000 homes by 2011.

Other plants are expected to follow - eventually producing sewage gas for hundreds of thousands of people.

The £4.3 million scheme is the brainchild of United Utilities who yesterday got Government funding for the plant at Davyhulme waste water treatment works.

Caroline Ashton, the company's biofuels manager, said: "Sewage treatment is a 24-hour process so there is an endless supply of biogas.

'It is a very valuable resource and it's completely renewable.

'By harnessing this free energy we can reduce our fuel bills and reduce our carbon footprint.'

Methane is produced when microbes break down sewage sludge in a process known as 'anerobic digestion'.
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The car that runs on thin air

The 'air car' plugs into a wall outlet, allowing an on-board compressor to pressurize the car's air tank to 4,500 pounds per square inch.

It takes about four hours to get the tank to full pressure and the cold air is then released gradually to power the car's pistons. Only fresh air comes out of the almost frozen exhaust pipe at low speeds.However engineering experts are skeptical of the technology, saying it is clouded by the caveat that compressing air is notoriously energy intensive.

'Air compressors are one of the least efficient machines to convert electricity to work,' said Harold Kung, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University.

'Why not use the electricity directly, as in electric cars? From an energy utilization point of view, the compressed (air) car does not make sense.
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Biogas projects awarded £10m

The government has announced five new biogas projects that will receive funding through its £10 million Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme.

The £10 million fund has been under development since last year, when Defra decided more needed to be done to push the technology into the mainstream
Under the AD Demonstration Programme, the five projects will be expected to show how to maximise the cost and environmental benefits of the technology, as well as the potential for anaerobic digestion to reduce the carbon footprints of the food and water industries.

The programme will also see the demonstration of biogas being cleaned up for use as a transport fuel, and to be injected into the national gas pipelines.
Anaerobic digestion involves using of bacteria to break down organic material in huge tanks, which produces a methane-rich biogas suitable as an energy source.
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£300 heating rebate scheme

Since 2001 Warm Front has helped thousands of people receive insulation and heating improvements to make their homes warmer, healthier and more energy-efficient. More funds have now been made available to help some of those who would not otherwise be eligible for Warm Front.

If you do not qualify for a Warm Front Grant because you do not receive a relevant benefit, you may still be eligible for a £300 rebate.

This rebate is available to all householders aged 60 or over who own their home or rent it from a private landlord, who either have no central heating system or one which is inoperable.
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