Using biogas to power a modified car isn’t anything new. The Bio-Bug, however, deserves special note for running on a special kind of bio-fuel – the kind that’s been harvested from human waste.
Before you get any ideas, you’re not supposed to trade the toilet for your gas tank. That’s just gross. Not that watching you “fill it up” wouldn’t make for a funny YouTube video, but it’s not gonna work.
The Bio-Bug is a converted Volkswagen Beetle that runs on methane gas, a common byproduct of sewage processing. Waste recycling company GENeco took charge of the project, using special equipment to refine the biogas to a point that it wouldn’t adversely affect vehicle performance. Oh yeah, the dung-sourced gas won’t make your car smell like fart either, which should allay your biggest concern.
According to GENeco, the car can be powered for an entire year (approximate mileage of 10,000 miles) using sludge flushed down the toilets of around 70 homes. Producing car-usable methane is neither cheap nor simple, though, so it’s a nice concept, but possibly far from being commercially-viable in the next few years. If the Bio-Bug trials prove successful, however, the company will seriously look at converting some of its fleet to run on company-produced biogas.
[via This Is Bristol]