Science is all about evolving and finding the latest innovations. Japan’s space industry started a venture by testing a new prototype rocket engine that runs on fuel derived from cow manure.
The first experiment happened in the rural town of Taiki, Japan, which saw an engine blast out a blue-and-orange flame nearly 50 feet horizontally out of an open hangar door for 10 seconds. According to Interstellar Technologies chief executive Takahiro Inagawa, the liquid “biomethane” used was made entirely from gas derived from cow manure from two local dairy farms.
“We are doing this not just because it is good for the environment but because it can be produced locally, it is very cost-effective, and it is a fuel with high performance and high purity,” Inagawa said.
He continued: “I do not think it is an exaggeration to assume this will be replicated… all over the world. We are the first private business to do this.”
Interstellar is hoping to be able to put satellites in space using the fuel and has teamed up with industrial gas producer firm Air Water to make their dreams a reality. The process works by providing local farmers with equipment to process their cow dung into biogas, which Air Water collects and turns into rocket fuel.
Resource-poor Japan “must secure domestically produced, carbon-neutral energy now,” said Tomohiro Nishikawa, an engineer at Air Water. “The raw material from this region’s cows has so much potential. Should something change in international affairs, it’s important that Japan has an energy source that it has already in hand.”
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cow-dung-fuels-japans-space-ambitions-moon-sniper-3972631