Anybody know the BTU’s of dung? I’m curious as I’ve found a website which has pictures for a steam powered bicycle which uses dried horse manure for fuel, but can burn other things as well. I’m wondering how dung compares to other fuels. I realize that dung is on the low end of the spectrum, I’m just curious as to how low it is.
A with any natural fuel, it is impossible to give one standalone value for energy content of dung.
Horse dung samples will differ significantly in energy content based on their age and the diet of the horse; individual samples of dung will lose energy value as they decompose.
The best way to determine the energy value of an individual sample of dung is to burn it in a calorimeter.
This site says it’s about 11,374 btu’s (after conversion from megajoules).
That would be per kilo.
Herbivore dung has a higher heat content simply due to the undigested fiber in it.