Local
THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1981
Page 3
Free day at park
set for older kids
Kids of all ages can enjoy a day at the local skating rink — even
senior citizens.
Pooh’s Park, 1907 Texas Ave., Wednesday will hold its monthly free
recreational period for citizens who are 55 and older. Activities are
scheduled to begin at 9:30 and end at 11:30 a.m.
The program will feature a semi-professional roller skating demon
stration. Recreational activities will include free howling, miniature
golf and skating. Refreshments will he provided hy the Pooh’s Park
Coordinating Committee composed of representatives from local
senior citizen groups.
I ransportation may he arranged hy contacting any local senior
citizen program or organization.
ne
:owel, Hk'
SlOforfc
I game,
heck for i;
Birds-Eye view
A second story window ledge on Reed
McDonald building was the perfect place
for this squirrel to escape from the hot sun.
Sam, wticf
StalT photo by Greg Gammon
The squirell, who refused to give his name,
found the view from the ledge a bit better
than from the clutter of a tree limb.
Alvarez Yairi
Poultry manure to provide low cost energy
Handmade Guitars
with
Lifetime
Warranty
, . _ Manure down on the farm can
w arrivali» ow mean more than just a mess.
^ l) ™*p|t can mean fuel and that means
'all. OdHaoney — money saved and
“xas AW!Berhaps money earned — and
pful alHUBhat’s good news for both farmers
Kml food-huying urbanites,
f Chicken, swine or cow manure,
) welcom®,,- example, can he used to pro-
cere HwBluce biogas, which a farmer can
ty need IRse to meet many of his energy
(Beeds. How successfully the far-
Hner copes with his fuel needs and
"""N Hosts will be a significant factor in
|V Hhether the United States is able
1H° maintain its “cheap food’’
oliey.
That’s the assessment of Ed-
VlC 1 V ar( ^ f niton, a professor at Tarle-
XO Hon State University. Heisnotjust
ij/ Halkingahout the problem; Fulton
l||ias built two anaerobic digestion
Hystems in which manure fer-
Rnents to produce the biogas and is
Jhowing farmers and agribusiness
representatives how the techni
que can work for them. One of the
^systems is the size for a family farm
uni other is designed for special
ized poultry, swine or dairy
farming.
Biogas, which is 60 percent
I methane and 40 percent carbon
I dioxide, can be used in the same
glinanner as natural gas or it can be
Tmsed as a fuel for internal combus
tion engines with minor carbure
tor modifications.
Biogas also can be used to gen-
:rate electricity and, theoretically
|at least, the farmer’s excess elec
tricity can be sold to the local pow
er company for use by city folks
and others.
There is no shortage of manure
i on most farms. Fulton estimates
that a 200,000-chicken farm — a
jsmall operation as chicken farms
[go — produces about 60,000
pounds of manure daily, which in
turn can produce 66,000 cubic feet
of biogas.
The biogas can then be used to
heat or cool and light the chicken
« houses. It can also be used to heat
In I orco °l the farmer's house and pro-
id | vide electricity for it and various
* other jobs.
“It is economical right now to
build a digester if you can use the
iltemativei
/ould bui
lower eni I
energy produced by it,” Fulton
said.
Fulton has conducted his
biogas project with a grant pro
vided by the Center for Energy
and Mineral Resources at Texas
A8cM University and by the De
partment of Energy.
He stressed that the value is in
meeting a farmer’s own energy
needs — not in selling the excess
electricity he might generate. Any
additional revenues, however,
would cut down on costs, which
ultimately end up being passd
along to the consumer.
Some folks might question
whether the United States has a
“cheap food” policy.
Fulton responds by pointing
out that an average of 13.5 percent
of each dollar earned by a typical
U.S. resident goes for food,
whereas western Europeans must
fork over 25 to 35 percent of their
dollar equivalent.
“If the U.S. is to maintain a
cheap food’ policy, the cost-
competitive energy sources must
be made feasible and adopted by
potential users in agriculture,’’
said the Tarleton professor. Tarle-
ton State is part of the Texas A&M
System.
“American agriculture requires
intensive energy inputs,” Fulton
added, “and a shortage of energy
will have a direct effect on food
cost. ”
In addition to producing biogas
for use as fuel, the anaerobic di
gestion of manure largely elimin
ates the problem of waste dis
posal.
After undergoing the digestion
process, the residue is almost
odorless and can effectively be
used as a fertilizer, Fulton pointed
out.
“More stringent environmental
controls, greater numbers of
animals per farm and widespread
urban sprawl have made the man
agement and disposal of manures a
problem of major proportions to
many farmers,” he added.
Residues from the digesters
also have some value as sup
plemental feed for livestock.
Fulton emphasized, however.
that the overwhelming reason to
install a digester is to meet on-site
energy requirements.
While the thought of selling
excess electricity to the local util
ity company is appealing, Fulton
said, it will not be a highly profit
able endeavor — even if it proves
practical.
A representative for one utility
company, John Starkey of Texas
Power & Light Co., said his firm
would approach reimbursement
on a “cost-avoidance” basis.
"Texas Power & Light is in
terested in buying electricity from
small power-producers for two
reasons: one, the government says
we are going to be interested and,
two, the energy comes form a re
newable source,” Starkey said
while participating in a program
featuring Fulton’s project.
“What we need to pay you (the
farmer) is whatever we avoid
spending for fuel,” he said.
The TP&L engineer indicated ed out before electricity could be
numerous safety and metering transmitted from a farm to a power
problems would have to be work- company.
AGGIE
CLEANERS
111 College Main
846-4116
“CLOSE ENOUGH
TO WALK!”
At Northgate Behind Loupot’s
• Dry Cleaning • Laundry
• Alterations & Repairs
Ask about our Aggie Discount Cards
\
Yairi,
449 00 to 2100 00
Alvarez,
from 98 00
Reasonably priced at
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713/779-7080 BRYAN, TX 77801
We
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No account activity
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No service charge.
College Station
Bank
Close to TAMU
campus location
Member FDIC
693-1414
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1501 Texas Ave. So. at Culpepper Plaza Shopping Center