GENeco, an offshoot of UK-based waste treatment company Wessex Water, has launched the ultimate in green transportation: a poo-powered VW Beetle dubbed the Bio-Bug.
Designed to offer the performance and range of a standard gasoline-powered engine with the eco-friendly credentials of an electric car, the company’s Bio-Bug is a stock VW Beetle modified to accept methane gas – also known as bio-gas, to differentiate it from the fossil fuel gas.
According to coverage over on InHabitat, the company claims that its creation is a world’s first, as – unlike previous attempts at a methane-powered car – it doesn’t lose any power or performance on the new fuel, reaching the same speeds with the same acceleration as the original engine.
The methane gas used to power the car is produced from the euphemistically-titled “solid waste” of around seventy homes – which provides enough of the wonder-fuel to drive 10,000 miles a year at an efficiency of 5.3 miles to the cubic meter of bio-gas.
The car isn’t a pure bio-gas conversion, however: the company admits that attempts to create a car that runs solely on methane have proven disappointing, and has instead opted to create a hybrid engine which requires both gasoline and bio-gas to operate. Although the gasoline is used to start the engine initially, once everything has warmed up sufficiently the vehicle automatically switches to the bio-gas feed.
The company’s bio-gas production facilities in the UK produce an estimated 18 million cubic meters per year – enough for a fleet of cars to travel over 95 million miles, which would save the around 19,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
With more companies looking to do their bit to lower CO2 emissions – if only for the positive publicity it can provide – and gasoline prices rising inexorably through the roof, a bio-gas conversion could be a winner for both corporations and individuals: reduced fuel bills and the joy of helping the environment along should help shake off the stigma of being the guy who drives the car powered by the poo of seventy homes.
While the Bio-Bug is a proof-of-concept device for now, GENeco is so convinced that methane is the fuel of the future – at least until our hydrogen fuel-cell cars get here – that it’s planning to convert its entire fleet of vehicles with bio-gas hybrid engines following further tests of its concept car.
Source: Geek With Laptop
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