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Read important articles published in Wolgan Saemaul.
Magazines
Methane Facility Supply Business for the Modernization of Farming and Fishing Villages in the 1970s
“Ultrafine dust warning in effect :
Refrain from outdoor activities and wear a protective mask when outdoors.”
On December 5, 2013, the Meteorological Administration issued an ultrafine dust warning for the first time in Korea. The Korean people felt the seriousness of environmental pollution as they heard that a warning had issued for “dust”, not heavy rain, heavy snow or strong winds. We now desperately need to develop energy sources that will replace fossil fuels.
Developed countries have continuously worked on developing renewable energy sources such as solar heat, water power, geothermal heat, wind power, ocean energy and biomass, and are now at the stage of commercializing new technologies, albeit slowly. In particular, biomass fuel, which includes not only living organisms but also byproducts of animal feces, promises an endless source of energy generating high hopes of a form of renewable energy.
Developed countries have continuously worked on developing renewable energy sources such as solar heat, water power, geothermal heat, wind power, ocean energy and biomass, and are now at the stage of commercializing new technologies, albeit slowly. In particular, biomass fuel, which includes not only living organisms but also byproducts of animal feces, promises an endless source of energy generating high hopes of a form of renewable energy.
Use of Methane in Livestock Farms
“Use Methane, Cheap and Hygienic
to Make Lives Easier for Housewives and Live a Cultured Life”
Use of Methane in Livestock Farms
There has been an ongoing interest in alternative energy. In the early 1970s, a time of poor energy situation in Korea, the use of methane for domestic use was encouraged as a special measure to solve the fuel issue in farming villages to help reduce oil import costs during the oil crisis and protect forests severely damaged by reckless logging. To that end, the government supplied 24,000 methane gas facilities to select villages.
In the June/July issue of Wolgan Saemaul (Saemaul Monthly) published in 1972, an article titled “Domestic Science in Farming and Fishing Villages” provided a detailed explanation of how to use methane gas by utilizing livestock manure. According to this article, the biggest strength of methane is that livestock manure can be recycled, in addition to the equipment being easily installed and having no risk of explosion or gas poisoning unlike propane gas or briquettes. At the same time, it helped to reduce cooking time for housewives and the risk of water pollution. Any remaining fermentation liquid could also be used as natural fertilizer beneficial for crops. All in all, it is an alternative energy with high profitability against investment.
In the June/July issue of Wolgan Saemaul (Saemaul Monthly) published in 1972, an article titled “Domestic Science in Farming and Fishing Villages” provided a detailed explanation of how to use methane gas by utilizing livestock manure. According to this article, the biggest strength of methane is that livestock manure can be recycled, in addition to the equipment being easily installed and having no risk of explosion or gas poisoning unlike propane gas or briquettes. At the same time, it helped to reduce cooking time for housewives and the risk of water pollution. Any remaining fermentation liquid could also be used as natural fertilizer beneficial for crops. All in all, it is an alternative energy with high profitability against investment.
“Two Pigs and Fifty Chickens Are Enough
to Cover Fuel for Five- or Six-person Households”
A major disadvantage of methane use is the difficulty of maintaining temperatures during winter. The internal temperature of fermentation tanks must be maintained at over 30 degrees Celsius but the carbon dioxide generated internally in winter makes it impossible to utilize methane. In fact, not many farm villages benefitted from the use of methane gas but there were exceptions.
Yoo Jeong-Chon in Shingok-ri, Gochon-myeon, Gimpo-gun developed a storage tank which separates carbon dioxide from methane in methane facilities and extracts pure methane gas. Also known by the nickname of “the idea man”, Yoo solved fuel issues for many villagers with his invention and achieved notable outcomes in breeding fish, chicken and pigs by growing phytoplankton with the carbon dioxide separated from methane.
Yoo Jeong-Chon in Shingok-ri, Gochon-myeon, Gimpo-gun developed a storage tank which separates carbon dioxide from methane in methane facilities and extracts pure methane gas. Also known by the nickname of “the idea man”, Yoo solved fuel issues for many villagers with his invention and achieved notable outcomes in breeding fish, chicken and pigs by growing phytoplankton with the carbon dioxide separated from methane.
Use of Methane in Livestock Farms
Efforts to utilize methane gas continued until the 1980s; unfortunately, those efforts never came to fruition due to poor domestic circumstances that could not satisfy the sheer time and investment required to develop alternative energy to fully replace fossil fuel. Nevertheless, those attempts were important first steps toward developing alternative energy, serving as the cornerstone of renewable energy development to become less dependent on foreign energy sources.
