Reply #6: Wow, you must know some "interesting" humans! :^D [View All]

[eppur_se_muova]

Your dad was right, lots of people take methane production from manure seriously these days, especially where population is dense and fuel is scarce. Google "manure methane" to see just how busy this field has become. There's a feedlot in Alberta producing about a megawatt of energy from manure: In their press release, Mike Kotelko, of Highland Feeders was quoted as saying "Manure, second to beef in value, is the most important output of our operation in terms of social, economic and environmental sustainability."

The methane is produced by bacteria, whether in the cow's digestive tract, the compost heap, or digester. I doubt it's the same strain(s) of bacteria, maybe not even the same species.

(According to the US EPA, pigs produce about as much methane as cows. Maybe they'd be better candidates, since they're not cud chewers.)