Horse manures

Introduction
Horse manures or feces are abundant and are found mostly in farms, especially in provinces, like Zambales. People knew them as ordinary wastes or excreta released by horses. However, they could be used in many ways. One way of using them was as fertilizers for growing plants. But, people could not make it as fertilizers all the time. So another possible way of reusing horse manures is as an alternative source of fuel, specifically as charcoal. Instead of buying expensive LPG’s (liquefied petroleum gas), horse manures could be another alternative as charcoals which is organic and do not require the cutting of wood that can decrease the consumption of trees, when making wood charcoals. With it, individuals could also help conserve nature which is highly needed for the present time around.

The horse manure charcoal is said to be cost-effective, if it is, it could be a good source of income. Having this study was important in a way that it could produce a new alternative charcoal that could be used in our daily lives besides making use of commercial charcoal.¬¬¬ Statement of the Problem

General Objective
This study aimed to test the effectiveness of horse manure as an alternative source of fuel.

Specific Objectives
It sought answers to the following questions:
Which of the two charcoals, the horse manure charcoal and the commercial charcoal, would cook the following kinds of food faster?
Egg
Hotdog
Longganisa
Which of the charcoals, each having the same amount, would be consumed faster when cooking?
50 grams of wood charcoal
50 grams of horse manure charcoal
Is there a significant difference between using ordinary charcoals and organic charcoals out of horse manures in cooking in terms of:
Height of flame
Color of flame
Color of smoke produced
Null Hypothesis
There was no significant difference between the commercial charcoal and horse manure charcoal in terms of: time of charcoal consumption, time of cooking, and their physical appearances or qualities while being burned (including color and height of flame and color of smoke produced).

Significance of the Study
The study was relevant because it was cost-effective and could help everyone who couldn’t afford LPG tanks or everyone who cares for nature (when using wood charcoals). Unlike other studies related to horse manure as source of fuel, this study was unique because it used starch, amylum, or “gawgaw” (C6H10O5) to bond the particles of the horse manure.

This study helped in decreasing the usage of commercial charcoals which requires burning in the process of making the charcoals. This study also helped on conserving the trees and decreased the possibilities of flood and landslides. This study encouraged people to use organic materials. Proceeding with this study somehow provided an easy procedure that could be followed by everyone. Scope and Limitations

This study only covered on horse (Equus caballus) manure which was applied with starch, amylum or “gawgaw” (C6H10O5) for the particles to bond. This involved how horse manure could be used as an alternative fuel source and how people could save money from it rather than using LPG tanks and wood charcoals in cooking. This also involved the comparison of the commercial charcoal and the horse manure charcoal in terms of: time of charcoal consumption, time of cooking, color and height of flame, and color of smoke produced. The study was done at Decano’s Residence, Liozon, Palauig, Zambales last September 8, 2012 up to January __, 2013.

CHAPTER 2
Review of Related Literature

Related Literature
Horse manure is one of the oldest soil fertilizers known to man and contains plentiful amounts of the three main elements required for plants to grow – namely nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – along with many essential trace elements, it is ideal for gardeners requiring a nutrient-rich soil conditioner, surface mulch, or as an aid to planting. Uses for horse manure have a history, although not as illustrious as the horse itself. The inextricable thing about owning horses is dealing with the large amount of manure they produce. According to Becki Bell, author of “The Little Book of Horse Poop”, a normal horse produces up to 18,000 pounds of manure annually. That averages out to 450,000 pounds over the horse’s lifetime. According to Marthan Mendenhall, contributor of eHow.com, horse manure and other natural materials can provide energy when burned, such as charcoal briquettes and wood. It has been used for thousands of years for fuel on fires, and as discovered by Backwoods Home Magazine, compressed bricks of manure have as a good fuel efficiency as cured hardwood. The ash left over from burning horse manure is also a potent fertilizer and has been used in Asian countries for thousands of years.

Fortunately, horse manure can be a very valuable substance, providing food for pastures, gardens, and all of the plants in yards. The Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 states that agricultural waste refers to waste from planting or harvesting of crops, trimming or pruning of plants, and wastes or run-off materials from farms or fields. So this may include the manures or solid wastes from the farms. In Republic Act No. 1937, an act to revise and codify the tariff and customs laws of the Philippines, the government does not provide facilities whose principal functions are to receive, store, separate, and convert or otherwise process in accordance with national minimum standards and manure. So this tells that people should do something to lessen the amount of solid wastes in the surroundings, therefore finding ways to reuse them and, at the same time, helping the environment. Related Studies

Horse manure could be an alternative energy source. Its combustion is somewhat similar to those of wood and charcoal. Horse manure gave heat of 12,701 joules, which is the third, and is much greater than wood which only has 10,349 joules (Reuda, 2002). Likewise, horse manure and wood shavings could be an alternative fuel for heat production, too (Lundgren and Pettersson, 2009). Another similar case conducted by Reuda (2006) also stated that horse manure would be an effective alternate energy source in an emergency. Even though the horse manure didn’t create the most energy, it could be used in an emergency. According to Quin (1998), horse manure is a solid waste excluded from federal regulation because it neither contains significant amounts of listed hazardous components, nor exhibits hazardous properties. And lastly, Tyni, Tiainen, and Laitinen (2009), University of Oulu, said that the mixture of manure and sawdust is not preferred for utilization as fertilizer. Additional use of the manure residues as fertilizers is limited by impurities such as plant seeds in manure. Justification (?)