USU Biofuel Technology Goes to Niger

None by KCPW

Manure Digester Produces Low-Cost Energy

(KCPW News) A biofuel technology developed at Utah State University is about to bring electricity to remote areas of the African continent. USU research professor Carl Hansen says delegations from Niger have visited the school three times in preparation for the venture, which will see the installation of an Induced Blanket Reactor (IBR) on a Niger ranch.

The anaerobic digester system converts animal and organic waste into low-cost energy. While the IBR on the Niger cattle ranch isn't big enough to make money, profit, Hansen says, isn't the only goal. "In the case of Niger, they don't have electricity at all in parts of their country," Hansen explains, "and there's the matter of distribution that is very expensive. So if you could put these units in areas where there is no electricity, it is really helpful."

Hansen and his brother, Conly, formed Andigen LC, which has exclusive market rights to the USU-developed biofuel technology. The company already has four of the anaerobic digester systems operating in Utah and Idaho, with another soon to be commissioned in central California.

For a podcast on biofuel science at Utah State University, click here.

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