A Japanese chemical manufacturing company is researching the creation of liquid biogas methane from cow waste to be used as rocket fuel.
Rockets require liquid fuel to generate enough thrust into space. (Photo: Kyodo).
Air Water has announced that it will begin conducting trials of its new product this Fall. Accordingly, the fuel produced will be loaded into a rocket developed by the startup Interstellar Technologies, based on Hokkaido Island.
Since 2021, Air Water has been producing liquid biogas methane in Hokkaido using the fermentation treatment of cow manure and urine at a facility located on a dairy farm in Taiki Town. The biogas obtained from this process is transported to a plant in Obihiro, where it undergoes processing to separate methane gas, which is then cooled and converted into liquid biogas methane.
Rockets need liquid fuel to generate sufficient thrust into space. Typically, high-purity methane is produced from liquefied natural gas, but the new method being researched by Air Water aims to produce methane of similar quality from biogas derived from waste.
Interstellar Technologies will conduct tests to confirm that the fuel generated from cow waste can be used in the company’s equipment and for rockets capable of carrying small satellites.
