Sarawak school in biogas experiment

KUCHING: Sarawak is implementing a pilot project to convert human waste into methane gas which, if successful, will be used as a cheap alternative to liquid petroleum gas in rural areas. 

Dr James Dawos, the environmental advisor to the state government, said a biogas plant was being built at SMK Padawan, a rural school here, and should be in operation by the end of the year. 

“The school spends about RM3,500 a month on LPG for cooking. The project can save the school a lot of money by producing biogas, which would be free because the raw material would come from the school’s toilets,” he said during a media tour of the Kuching Integrated Waste Management Park here yesterday. 

The RM200,000 project, funded by the Federal Government, will serve as a model for rural villages and schools.  

Dr Dawos said that a team of six researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak was involved in the project. 

“They will be looking at how much gas can be produced, how to improve the technology and how to design better toilets that use less water for flushing.”