AGRICULTURE REPORT - Heating Buildings with Chicken Fat

AGRICULTURE REPORT
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February 26, 2002: Heating Buildings with Chicken Fat

By George Grow

This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.

American scientists are developing a new use for chicken fat. Scientists at the
University of Georgia in Athens are burning fat from chickens and other animals to
produce heat. They have successfully used the fat to produce hot water and heat for
buildings at the university.

The scientists say their tests show that animal fats often are less costly¹ than more
traditional fuels. They also say that burning the fats is safe for people and the
environment. They add that no one has reported smelling anything unusual from the
local heat production center.

The University of Georgia uses large steam boilers² to heat its buildings and produce hot water. Recently, the
university spent thirty-thousand dollars to change some of the equipment so it could burn both animal fats and
traditional fuels.

The United States Poultry³ and Egg Association and the Fats and Protein Research Foundation are providing
money for the project.

Scientists with the University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering have been supervising⁴
the tests. They have burned different mixes of fuel and animal fats. At times, the fuel mix was one-hundred
percent chicken fat or other low-cost substances from food processing operations.

University of Georgia scientist Tom Adams says the animal fats produce about ninety percent of the heat that
traditional fuel oils produce. He also says that substances released into the air by the burning fat are low in
harmful pollutants⁵, including sulfur⁶.

University officials add that the burning does not increase carbon dioxide gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
Increased production of the gas has been linked to rising temperatures on Earth.

Engineer Bob Synk is another member of the research team. He says an increasing number of Americans believe
that the country’s dependence⁷ on foreign oil imports is a problem. He says the government’s energy plan calls
for non-traditional fuels to supply up to twenty percent of America ’s energy needs within twenty years.

The scientists say chicken fat and other natural products could become important fuels in the future. Mister
Adams notes that the United States already produces almost five-thousand-million kilograms of fat from
chickens, cows and pigs each year.

This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow.

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1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。

3 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

4 supervising   

v.监督，管理( supervise的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She had something to do in the house, supervising that native. 她待在家里，究竟还有点儿事情可以做做，可以监视那个土人。 来自辞典例句
• In addition, nuisance law fails to provide a systematic mechanism for supervising emissions. 另外，妨害法不能提供一个监督排放的系统性机制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

7 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。