Bio Fertilizer Raw Material

Cow manure has a soft texture and tends to be deposited in a circular shape, which gives dung patches their alternate names of cow pies and cow pats. The manure is used as a rich fertilizer, an efficient fuel and biogas producer, a useful building material, a raw material for paper making, and an insect repellent. Cow dung "chips" are used in throwing contests and cow pie bingo is played as a game. The manure also plays an essential role in the lives of various animals, plants, and microbes, including dung beetles and the Pilobolus fungus.

Dried cow dung is an excellent fuel. In some cultures dung from domestic cows or buffalo is routinely collected and dried for fuel, sometimes after being mixed with straw. Pieces of dung are lit to provide heat and a flame for cooking. Dried dung has lost its objectionable odour.

Even in North America people are making use of the energy stored in cow dung, although this is usually done indirectly by making a biogas from the dung. A biogas is a mixture of gases produced by the anaerobic digestion of organic matter by bacteria. An "anaerobic" process occurs in the absence of oxygen. The organic matter that is digested can be animal dung, sewage, plant material, or food waste. The device that digests the material is referred to as a biogas digester.

Biogas produced from cow dung generally consists of methane, carbon dioxide, and other components, such as hydrogen sulphide. Since there is so much methane in the gas, it's important that it doesn't escape into the environment. Methane is a major greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming.