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If Richard Russell has his way, America’s new source of diesel fuel will be the country’s hog farms.

Russell, an associate professor of nutritional physiology and biochemistry at West Virginia University in Morgantown, was in Columbus in late June to demonstrate how a diesel generator operates on a fuel derived from hog manure.

The researcher had been in St. Peter, Minn., to discuss the process with those attending AFBF’s Watershed Heroes Conference and was headed back to West Virginia when he stopped in Ohio to talk about the process.

The research is a joint project with two chemical engineering and mechanical engineering professors at WVU and looks into mixing manure, water, heat and pressure to create a sludge that can be mixed with conventional diesel and homogenized to create a biodiesel blend that could be used to generate electricity.

So far, the research has been completed in one gallon batches, but Russell said a reactor being designed now could handle 16 tons of hog manure a day. He quickly calculated that 10 to 12 gallons of fuel could be processed per hog.

"Our vision is to keep the fuel on the farm and convert it to electricity that could then be sold onto the (national power) grid," he told a small group in Columbus. "In the long term, I feel most of the country’s electrical needs could be met coming off the nation’s farms."

Cutline:

WVU Researcher Richard Russell talks about a biodiesel mixture, shown in beaker, made from hog manure. The mixture is comprised of 75 percent road grade diesel fuel, 20 percent hog manure tar from a heating and pressurization process, and 5 percent lecithin to emulsify the mixture. (Photo by Susie Taylor)