The Denver Zoo's Poo-Powered Rickshaw Denver Zoo
Teddy Roosevelt famously said “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” The folks at the Denver Zoo must have thought he was talking crap. The zoo happens to have a lot of animal dung on hand where it is, and via its own patent-pending gasification tech it is doing what it can, introducing a poo-powered rickshaw that turns animal waste and human trash into mobility.
The rickshaw was purchased from Thailand and modified to run on gasified pellets created by the zoo’s own technology. Those pellets, composed of animal waste and garbage generated by human visitors and zoo staff, aren’t just powering the rickshaw, but will be used to generate power at the zoo’s upcoming 10-acre elephant exhibit. Eventually, the zoo thinks it will be able to turn 90 percent of its waste into energy, making use not only of the copious amounts of animal poo it has on hand but also eliminating some 1.5 million pounds of annual garbage waste that previously went into landfills.
The gasification technology was designed by three full-time zoo employees working with a little help here and there from the National Renewable Energy Lab in nearby Boulder, as well as a few other companies and agencies. So it’s a home-grown, DIY system that could presumably be exported to other zoos and anywhere else animal waste is in abundance and energy is needed. This particular rickshaw has already been exported, landing at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in Palm Desert, Calif., this week.
How did someone think to use poo and garbage as an energy source? That must have been an extremely dirty and stinky job. I would like to see the people make the pellets.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea. Why continue to overfill landfills and have the trouble of getting rid of animal waste when it can obviously go to better use? I'm sure this will save the zoo plenty of money. Though, it's hard to think how that kind of stuff exactly works, I'm glad it's able to be done.
ReplyDeletewow. who would of ever came across the idea of using animal waste & litter and converting it into energy to power a engine. I wonder if it lets off a nasty smell, like cars smell like gasoline, b/c then that would suck for the person driving.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how terrible the smell would be. Or if there would be a bad smell. There probably would be. This is....cool.. I guess. I don't have much to say on this one.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they do about that smell? Was there a way found to mask the smell or do they just have to deal with it? I wonder how powerful the rickshaw is and how useful it is for the zoo.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what do they do about the smell. That just sounds really gross right now considering I'm eating. If it is useful and brings in money then I guess its a hit. Otherwise why would they use it?
ReplyDeleteI also would wonder what they would do about the smell. I think it is pretty cool that people make it useful & that it brings in money at the same time. I dont think this one was as interesting as some of our previous blogs.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a cool idea, but what was the person thinking when they discovered this. I wouldn't want to be in charge of having to do this, but still the concept is a really cool and neat thing to do. This would help save our landfills and also it might end up saving us money.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about the smell, also. I do not think this job would interest me very much. I wonder how someone thought of waste being an energy source. It is great that we will be able to use waste to save money and not end up in landfills.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea since we all poop a lot. We can get rid of some of the landfill and save some money. Even though the smell might not be pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what even gave them the idea of doing this. And i wonder what it must smell like. i already almost throw up from the smell of gas annd now and now they are using animal waste.
ReplyDeleteThis is genius! This can cut down the amount of waste produced from zoos tenfold. I hope to soon see this integrated into the Louisville zoo where i volunteer. I have seen first hand just how much waste comes from maintaining the habitats. This could be the future of zoos around the world and possibly areas outside zoos. This will not only help the environment, but also to the economy.
ReplyDeleteIt's a unique and smart idea. It's a great and impressive Idea. This idea can be the future technology. It's astonishing to know that 3 employees came up with this invention with little outside help
ReplyDeleteI think that this is cool. The one thing im thinking is how bad does it smell when the car drives by you. also how do they make the pellets because it seems like a complex process for a zoo.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really awesome because people actually found a new source of energy just from animal waste. The only problem I have is how they're going's to cooperate and get rid of the stinch animal waste?
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool! We could always use more ways to produce energy! It probably doesn't smell too good but that is minor considering what they are doing with it. I wonder if this could eventually be used for powering cars on the road if it ever has to come to that?
ReplyDeleteI think this is cool. It is a cheap way to get energy. It is also a way to reduce pollution in the atmosphere. I just wonder how someone would just think of using poo for energy. I also wonder how much poo it takes to get energy and how much energy you get from the amount of poo.
ReplyDeleteI think that's nasty. I wouldn't want my electricity to be fueled by waste. Well only if it didn't stink or was noticeable. But hey, if it works and it's efficient then what the heck. Use it. Its especially good for the landfeilds. But still, I would only like that for my house on very special strict terms.
ReplyDeleteOk, thats pretty cool. Using dung as an alternative energy source is such a good thing. If the ehole world could get on board with this, we could reduce gas consumption. Think of it, a world full of crap.
ReplyDeleteWell that was... interesting. I have seen these cars before, but I didn't know that was what they were powered by. What did they do with all the "waste" before this idea was thought of, and how did someone even think of this? It is cool that it is helping the ecosystem with reducing pollution and stuff. Everyone one is concerned about the smell and that's understandable, but I am more worried about how we will get that into our cars and how messy it would be.
ReplyDeleteI would love a poop-mobile. I mean, never pay for gas again. Though I imagine the smell would be horrendous.either way, its an interesting concept.
ReplyDeleteOhh my goodness, what thee heck did I just watch. That was pretty freakin' cool. Concerning it was running on waste.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty weird how people these days can create energy out of basically anything. But overall I think it's ok because people found a new source of energy.
ReplyDelete