Human Waste Powers Bus in the UK
Ms. Frizzle would be so proud.
A bus powered by biomethane gas, which is generated through the treatment of human and food waste, made its maiden voyage in England this month. So, essentially, it’s a poop bus. It runs on poop. The “Bio-Bus” seats 40 passengers and can travel up to 186 miles on one tank of the smelly stuff. The amount of biomethane gas it takes to produce one tank is roughly how much is produced annually by five people.
The bus currently travels between Bristol Airport and Bath city center. If you’re worried about the bus smelling like poop — which, let’s be honest, most buses already do — you can calm down. Impurities are removed to create “virtually odorless” emissions. The gas itself is stored in tanks on the roof of the bus.
According to Clean Energy Fuels, biomethane gas, when used to power vehicles, can reduce greenhouse emissions by 88% compared to gasoline. The gas is chemically identical to natural gas, but is created using “fresh” matter instead of decomposed matter.
Carbon dioxide is removed from the waste and propane is added to power vehicles like the Bio-Bus.
It’s a crazy world out there.
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