Could Compost Piles Someday Heat a Home?

Organic waste is part of everyone’s garbage, and a group of high school students in upstate New York have set out to study if compost piles could someday heat homes. In that part of the world average low mid-winter temperatures dip below -10 degrees Celsius. Bacteria and microorganisms break down organic materials and produce heat as a byproduct. The students studied three industrial-sized compost piles at a research facility run by their community and an area college to determine if they could produce enough heat to run a biodigester, which in turn captures methane and other gases from compost to generate electricity. The first phase of the project was determining which compost materials produce most energy, reports Kenneth Sturtz for the Post-Standard. The second phase will seek practical applications for the renewable energy. Sturtz points out that the global environment class unleashed curiosity and a desire to solve problems and “help the world.” – YaleGlobal