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Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by bilegeek on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:33AM (#32517794)
Given how often animal manure was used as fuel for fires in the past, I'm surprised that most people didn't pre-burn their dried feces before using it as fertilizer.

I get why - it's too much extra work - but I would've figured it would be seen as worth it; provides fuel for fires, removes the stench, and makes it easier to spread on the crops.

(I know they weren't aware of germ theory, but even then I figured they would see advantages.)

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by sampo on Friday August 19, 2022 @04:16AM (#32518606)
> I'm surprised that most people didn't pre-burn their dried feces before using it as fertilizer

This paper is about incineration of sewage sludge. They consider incineration at temperatures like 700C to 900C. Seems like you end up burning 98% of the nitrogen, which is then released as gas (bottom of page 12, just before Conclusions). The output ash only contains 2% if the input nitrogen.

Kind of defeats to point of using the output as fertilizer.

https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5...

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by riffraff on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:22AM (#32518020)
I am not sure human feces burn as well as herbivore manure.

Cow and horse feces look pretty different from human feces, drier and "herbal", and I would be surprised if they share the same combustive properties.

Sheep/goat/rabbit also seem naturally much drier than human tho I've never investigated their internals :)

Edit: on a second thought, cow shit is not particularly dry

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by Someone on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:34AM (#32518088)
You have to dry it before using it as a fuel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_dung_fuel: “Dry dung fuel (or dry manure fuel) is animal feces that has been dried in order to be used as a fuel source.”

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by riffraff on Sunday August 28, 2022 @11:57AM (#32629365)
of course, I just thought that once dried there would not be much left compared to the one from herbivores. Seems I'm wrong tho :)
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by cafard on Friday August 19, 2022 @10:56AM (#32521797)
On the Great Plains, it was "bois de vache", though the vaches in question were bison.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by bongoman37 on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:28AM (#32518050)
Sun dried cow shit is still used as a fuel source in India. You can even buy it on Amazon [1].

[1] https://www.amazon.in/Fresh-Cakes-Religious-Purpose-Handmade...

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by noduerme on Friday August 19, 2022 @03:36AM (#32518405)
Wow. There's something absurd about selling dung branded and in bubble wrap.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by unnah on Friday August 19, 2022 @04:07AM (#32518558)
It's all about the user experience.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by noduerme on Friday August 19, 2022 @06:51PM (#32527023)
This could be a ripe market for disruption. DaaS (dung as a service). YC 2023.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by xhevahir on Friday August 19, 2022 @03:44AM (#32518452)
A lot of people there put it on the walls of their houses, too, for reasons that aren't clear to me.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by deepdmistry on Friday August 19, 2022 @04:40AM (#32518731)
To dry it.
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by __MatrixMan__ on Friday August 19, 2022 @09:59AM (#32521014)
They claim:

- Burning cow dung cake in your holy function icrease positive energy and kill all bacteria and germs and purify air also .

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by deepdriver on Friday August 19, 2022 @01:58AM (#32517901)
Would combustion affect poop’s fertilizing qualities, or spread bad stuff around in the steam and smoke?
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by masklinn on Friday August 19, 2022 @02:12AM (#32517972)
Assuming the point is mostly nitrates and minerals, I don’t think they would be would be much affected, though the aggregation properties of the manure may be?

On the other hand, combustion could also help with destroying the antibiotics found in the manure, which spread to the soil and accumulate in produce.

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by deepdriver on Friday August 19, 2022 @05:29AM (#32519022)
Did some searching, looks like pyrolysis can convert waste into biochar in way that eliminates pathogens:

https://www.susana.org/_resources/documents/default/2-1832-2...

>Complete elimination of pathogens from Human Solid Waste (HSW) is a priority of our biochar reactor. By heating an appropriate flow of input material to high temperatures above 450 C for about 15 minutes, the material thoroughly chars, causing a 100% elimination of pathogens.

Doesn't say anything about heavy metals or pharmaceuticals. In particular I don't know whether heat can denature or destroy birth control hormones like ethinylestradiol. If it's suspended in water, it can be removed through a reverse osmosis or activated charcoal filter. Maybe leaching before charring and filtering the runoff would help? Dunno.

Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by masklinn on Friday August 19, 2022 @04:42AM (#32518740)
(Obviously that’s a modern manure issue, not historical).
Re:Why were medieval monks so susceptible to intestinal worms? by biorach on Friday August 19, 2022 @03:58AM (#32518510)
It's quite hard too dry out faeces in the British climate. It's common in hot countries.