Where there's a swill, there's a way - Filipino farmers turn to biogas in face of global energy crisis

"As the world grapples with an escalating energy crisis, animal science professor Antonio Barroga has developed a system, Zero Waste Pig Organic Ultra Practices (ZWAP), that converts conventional septic tanks into small-scale methane power plants, offering communities a practical way to generate energy while easing pressure on increasingly strained fuel supplies. “The bottom line of Zero-Waste Pig Organic Ultra-Practices is that there’s no waste. Waste is simply a misplaced asset or resource. Your waste is our treasure through scientific ways, technologies,” Barroga stated. Footage filmed on Thursday shows a farm shed in Nueva Ecija province, from which the inventor sources his main ingredient – manure. It’s collected in septic tanks specially upgraded by Barroga with eight specialised drums, each with a hole at the bottom. “We place BioPlus activator with odour eraser, methane-enhancing bacteria, to sustain the production of methane gas inside because if that is lacking, ammonia will be produced more than methane, and the barrels will not float, and that’s the science of it,” Barroga explained. For locals in Nueva Ecija, the technology is a game-changer. The gas is captured through small valves and can be piped up to 200 metres away directly to a kitchen stove. “[Biogas] is a great help, especially in this crisis, with prices skyrocketing, especially the LPG, but biogas is free and unlimited, and this is a great help for us because we have been using biogas for more than one year,” goat farm caretaker Jobert Mirano commented. Soaring energy costs linked to the Middle East war are putting increasing pressure on the country, which is particularly vulnerable to price shocks due to its reliance on imported fuel. As fuel crises continue to squeeze Filipinos' pockets, cooperatives are taking notice of the money-saving innovation. “We are planning to convert the waste here into biogas to help the families and nearby houses here to have fuel because we’re experiencing a fuel crisis now, and the price of LPG is high,” Piggery cooperative president in Bongabon, Mark Bunton, stated. Beyond the savings, the ZWAP cleans the air by capturing methane – a potent greenhouse gas – and turning it into a clean cooking fuel, as well as solving another major hurdle: the smell.  Traditionally, the Department of Agriculture requires piggeries to be located at least one kilometre away from residential areas due to the stench. However, the Bio Plus Activator neutralises odours so effectively that locals report zero smell from the pig pens, the tanks, or even their stoves. The US and Iranian delegations are set to meet in Islamabad on Saturday, following the two-week ceasefire earlier this week. The two-week ceasefire was announced after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, on the condition that Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The truce follows weeks of escalation after US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region."

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