A pilot project on a Virginia poultry farm will demonstrate conversion of chicken manure into electricity. If the project, based at Davis Lovell’s 11-house broiler farm in Melfa, Va., is successful, it will provide a possible use to the tons of poultry litter that are produced in the Delmarva area, which would reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, reports Delmarva Now.

"The overall idea is, you've got this source of chicken litter -- what could it be used for? One idea was to combust it and use it to generate electricity," said P. G. Ross, chairman of the Eastern Shore Resource Conservation and Development Council, the recipient. of a $1 million grant for the project.

Additionally, the project will explore the potential to use the phosphorus-rich byproduct of the process as a fertilizer source that could be readily transported outside the Bay watershed or used on vegetable crops -- unlike raw manure, which regulations prohibit using on vegetables.

The grant money and equipment came from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and Farm Pilot Project Coordination Inc.

 

Source: www.delmarvanow.com