A bus powered by sewage has taken to the roads this week – an innovation that engineers believe could provide a sustainable way of fuelling public transport and cutting emissions in polluted towns and cities.
The 40-seater Bio-Bus operated by the Bath Bus Company, which runs on gas produced during the treatment of sewage and food waste produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines.
The bus can travel up to 300 km on a full tank of gas. The annual waste of a single person would power the bus for up to 60 km.
GENeco is the first company in Britain to start injecting gas generated from food waste and sewage into the national gas grid network and at the same time installed a gas refuelling plant for the bus.
Bristol sewage treatment works processes 75 million cubic metres of sewage waste and 35,000 tons of food waste, collected from households, supermarkets and food manufacturers, every year.
The waste is converted into 17 million cubic metres of biomethane is generated a year at the plant – enough to power 8,300 homes and more than a few bus journeys.
A bus company based in the West Country has experimented with waste cooking oil to run its buses in order to reduce its carbon emissions.
First Bus used waste cooking oil from surrounding businesses such as pubs, canteens, household waste recycling centres and even Bristol Prison.to reduce its carbon emissions by 22,500 kg.
DIY biodiesel
Some older diesel engines are able to run perfectly well on used cooking oil that has simply been strained, whilst modern cars require it to be warmed slightly by before it reaches the engine.
This fuel is known as straight vegetable oil (SVO) and it is distinct from biofuel, which in the case of the bus company above, is recycled vegetable oil that has undergone a chemical process so that it can be poured straight into the tank or mixed with conventional diesel.
It is possible to process your own biodiesel at home. A device called the FuelPod 2 turns used cooking oil into biofuel that can be used in many diesel-engined vehicles. It is the size of a small fridge and is capable of producing up to 50 litres of biodiesel every day. Its fuel dispensing system lets you pump the finished fuel straight into your car. There is no fuel duty to pay on the first 2,500 litres of biofuel produced in this way.
The environmental advantages to using recycled cooking oil to run a car outweigh those associated with the crop-derived biofuel added to diesel at petrol stations.
For advice about the Fuelpod and running your own car on biodiesel, visit greenfuels.co.uk
0 Comments View now