Sewage

Surfers hate it, kids love talking about it and it smells! But it does have its uses.

A by-product of treated sewage is sewage sludge. In the UK sewage used to be dumped out to sea, causing pollution to our beaches and marine life. EU legislation finally put a stop to this, however some other countries, outside EU jurisdiction, unfortunately still continue this practice.

Through the process of digestion and incineration, sewage produces a biogas that can be used to generate energy. Natural bacteria within the sewage breaks down the solid biomass content and reduces odour.

Sewage gas is a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen and hydrogen. The proportion of methane content in sewage varies considerably, making it highly volatile and therefore difficult to deal with.

In the 1930's sewage gas was used to power public transport systems in some German cities, including Essen and Munich. Hardly surprising when the organic waste from one person can produce 30-35 litres of fermentation gas per day!!

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