Researchers are also developing small, high-speed generators to run on biogas. Several companies are also considering converting gasified biomass into ethanol as a less expensive alternative to fermentation. Alternatively, biogas can be processed into hydrogen or methanol, which can then be chemically converted to electricity in a highly efficient fuel cell. Fuel cells can be large enough to power an entire farm or small enough to power a car or tractor. An innovative experiment in Missouri provides one example of the possibilities.
Corn is used to produce ethanol, and the waste from the process is fed to cows for dairy production.
Cow manure fertilizes the corn and is also run through a digester to produce biogas. A fuel cell efficiently converts the biogas into electricity to run the operation. The end products are ethanol, electricity, and milk. All the waste products are used within the project to lower costs. With more energy crops and better conversion technology, it could gain a much larger portion of the market.