How expensive are hookups for electricity, water, sewage and space rental each time you move?
It varies a lot. We figure we average $30 a night.Some parks can charge over $100, but we are too cheap to spend that. Usually we are looking for $20 to $50. We belong to a few groups that get us discounts (Thousand Trails, Passport America, Good Sam, etc.)We tend not to travel the same roads very often, so most times we are only at a park once.Sometimes we ‘boondock’ which means we don’t pay anything, but there are no hookups. Some national forests let you do this, and some businesses (Walmart, Crackers, etc.). This isn’t our preferred method but it’s ok for a few nights at a time. In some wilderness areas it may be the only option. Some people prefer boondocking since it is so cheap. Not us. My wife says that for us, roughing it means we have to turn on the generator to make popcorn.We are self-contained, so we carry our own water and can store sewage, we have a generator for power, cooking, air conditioning, heat, etc.
Can sewer gas be used for generating electricity? Is it practical, efficient and cost-effective if so?
Yes, gas is harvested from sewage and animal waste in combined heat and power plants all the time. This tends not to be done in high-volume treatment works because the focus in these tends to be fast throughput of sewage but smaller plants with more time to carry out treatment are used this way quite often.
Can human feces be used to generate electricity?
As amusing and useful that would be, it's not as simple as you think. You can't just stick two electrodes into a tub of excrement and expect electricity to flow.Batteries convert chemical energy to electrical energy by the movement of ions between electrodes, and ions are formed due to dissociation of inorganic compounds.Take a look at any batteries you have lying around at home. Chances are that they are NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) or NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) batteries. Your phone probably has Lithium ion batteries. Flow of electricity takes place due to the formation of ions of Nickel, Cadmium and Lithium which lose electrons upon dissociation.According to the Wikipedia page on Human Feces:"On average humans excrete 128 g of fresh feces per person per day with a pH value of around 6.6. Fresh feces contains around 75% water and the remaining solid fraction is 84-93% organic solids.These organic solids consist of: 25-54% bacterial biomass, 2-25% protein or nitrogenous matter, 25% carbohydrate or undigested plant matter and 2-15% undigested fat. These proportions vary considerably depending on many factors such as mainly diet and body weight.The remaining non-organic solids are composed of calcium and iron phosphates, intestinal secretions, small amounts of driedepithelial cells, and mucus."So feces hardly contains any inorganic matter. An electrolytic solution has to be rich in easily dissociating ions to produce any detectable electric current, which human feces clearly lacks.But do not lose hope! There may yet be a way to turn poop into power.As mentioned above, the majority of human feces consists of organic matter which, with the help of abundant bacteria present in feces, is conveniently broken down through decomposition. Decomposition of feces produces methane gas, and when stored, can be used as a heat source and possibly used to generate electricity through steam turbines.In fact, this is happening in the form of biogas.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/...Biogas is used for cooking and heating purposes. It can even be used to run internal combustion engines which when connected to a generator, produce electricity. It is also seen to work well in fuel cells. You can read more about electricity production from biogas under the "Applications" section of the Wikipedia article.
Sewage incineration system?
It would involve removal of water Near complete reduction of sewage to water and ash Drying the sludge until flammable Having the removed water cleanish and reusable for flushing toilets etcetera But I need to know how to avoid Breaking the law Unpleasant smells Spreading disease pollution Creating an environment where harmful organisms flourish Causing myself or others to become ill SO I ASK What precautions should I take? When the **** is put in what is essentially a giant pan after the bulk of the water is removed, Could I burn the dry **** to dry the next lot of **** Is it theoretically possible to generate enough power to do this from doing this (or most of it) Excluding manual labour
How much electricity does a sump pump use?
It will depend on the size of the pump and its frequency of use. The pump should be labelled with operating voltage and current requirements. If there is no water to pump it won't use any electricity. :) If the pump operates on 120VAC and uses a standard outlet for power you can measure and track its electrical consumption. I use a Kill A Watt meter, purchased from eBay. Here is information. http://www.p3international.com/products/... http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/killawatt-r...
How is water generated?
A hydrogen gas molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms. A hydrogen nucleus has a positive charge of one unit and must be balanced by one electron to be electrical neutral - but since electrons don't like to be alone, the atom seeks another hydrogen atom with which the two electrons can orbit the two nuclei together - we say they form a molecule. This molecule is electrically neutral, so the molecules don't interact with each other but can fly around freely. Therefore, hydrogen is a gas. Oxygen is a gas for similar reasons. Two hydrogen atoms can join with one oxygen atom to form a boomerang-shaped molecule with oxygen in the middle. Since the electron orbit in hydrogen is smaller than in oxygen, the electrons that orbit both the oxygen nucleus and one of the hydrogen nuclei is more often to be found near the oxygen atom, giving the molecule a negative charge near the "corner" of the boomerang where the oxygen is and a positive charge centered opposite the "corner", i.e. between the two hydrogen nuclei. Those electrical charges make water molecules attract each other. The tend to form long, fragile chains that are too heavy to fly around at low temperatures. Therefore, water is a liquid. It's a unique property for such a light molecule as water to be a liquid with such a high boiling point. CO2 and buthane, for example, are heavier per molecule than water but because they have no charged ends they are gases. Methanol is another example of a light-molecule liquid. But a methanol molecule is less charged than water is, so it will boil at a lower temperature than does water.
How can electricity be produced from human waste using sewer lines and a biodigester?
It’s fairly old technology at this stage, but gas from digestion plant can be harvested and burned in generators to generate electricity. Commonly the waste heat from the generator motors is used for heating. It could also be used in absorption chillers for cooling but I’ve never seen that done.
If you own a condo, would you have to pay for sewer, gas, electric. Would this be included in the assoc fees?
Every condominium set up is different. It will always cover the maintenance of common grass areas and common parking areas (if you live in a townhouse, your own driveway maintenace ie. snow removal is usually your issue). I have known people who have lived in condos that include everything (all untilities - gas, water, sewage, electric), and people who have lived in condos that include nothing (they are responsible for payment of all utilities). The condo I just recently moved into includes water and sewage as well as common area maintenance in the fees. The best way to find out is by contacting the management company and asking for details about the specific condo you are interested in.
What happens when we use treated sewage for power generation?
It's a win win proposition for a municipality which runs STP and the power plant if there is a judicial sharing of capital and recurring expenses. Municipal sewage can be treated and is suitable after tertiary treatment and RO in some cases , for use in thermal power plants. Consider cost of fresh water to thermal power plant and cost of power to run the STP. Economics works out well when STP receives power free and Power plant treated water. Even if there is some plus or minus on either of the party , I believe , it is win win situation for the society.