Making fuel from human sewage?

Question

Are there any studies or projects on this out there? Apparently they are working on ways to make methane from farm animal manure.

New study advances method to make energy from farm waste

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/farm_scene_waste_as_fuel;_ylt=AoEqKJ74hzMXBQwVbpSB6woDW7oF

Wouldn't it be great if we could also convert human waste into fuel? It would be like tackling two problems at once, reducing pollution while producing fuel without resorting to cutting into the food supply making bio-fuels from grains, which is contributing to a world-wide food crisis at the moment.

Answer 1

Pretty s**+tty idea...lol

Any rotting organic matter gives off methane....and you can make your own digester fairly easily...there is also masses of methane trapped in the silt and muds below the sea...

Plans here:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-You...

Answer 2

The problem with these new technologies is that when you do it from human waste, it is extremely expensive for the citizen to pay.  The farm waste costs farmers now, so they are looking for alternatives.  For human wastes, our sewage systems make removal very cheap.

Answer 3

This is being done on a limited scale in many areas.  Sludge from sewage treatment plants is mixed with coal and fed into boilers or lime kilns.  The limit to this is transportation - the boiler has to be within a few mile of the treatment plant to make this worthwhile.

Sewage sludge is also being used (after drying) for fertilizer in many areas where the soil would otherwise be too poor to support crops.