#poobus

In late November 2014, the Bio Bus AKA the “Poo Bus” was given the go ahead to transport people between Bristol and Bath in the UK.

As the name implies, the Bio Bus runs on a combination of human waste and food and can travel for 186 miles on a full tank. And no, the “Poo Bus” doesn’t produce much smell because the gas is purified through a filtration system before being released into the air.

The 40-seater "Bio-Bus" will run up to two times a day and is expected to carry around 10,000 passengers a month by tour operator Bath Bus Company. It can travel up to 300km on a full tank of pressurized methane, which is produced from the equivalent annual waste of five people.

Bristol sewage treatment works annually treats around 75 million cubic metres of sewage waste and 35,000 tonnes of food waste, collected from households, supermarkets and food manufacturers. Through a process known as anaerobic digestion, 17 million cubic metres of biomethane is generated a year at the Bristol plant. GENeco said this could power 8,300 homes, though in fact most of it is used to power the treatment plant itself. However there is a surplus of biogas left over for projects such as the Poo Bus.

In 2010 GENeco powered a car on biomethane produced during the sewage treatment process. The Bio-Bug was used in various trials to see how viable it was to power a vehicle on sewage gas.

Using the annual waste generated from one busload of passengers would provide enough power for the Poo Bus to travel a return journey from Lands End to John O’Groats, said Wessex Water.

The company told El Reg it hoped the service would be introduced across the city next year, when Bristol becomes European Green Capital.

In which case residents had better start getting used to the taste of prunes.

A Step Change in Sustainable Transport

The GENeco Bio-Bus showcased the possibilities of biome-thane powered transport. After running a successful trial route between Bath and Bristol Airport, the GENeco Bio-Bus was used in regular service within the city of Bristol.

The Bio-Bus was the first bus in the UK to be powered by gas derived from food, sewage and commercial liquid wastes. The bus travelled over 300km on a full tank of gas (stored on the roof), an amount of fuel which can be produced by the annual food and sewage waste of just five passengers. The distinctive livery on the bus depicted the source of the fuel that powered the bus.

The fuel harnesses a natural process called anaerobic digestion (AD). In anoxic environments, organic matter in waste breaks down to produce methane-rich biogas. This biological phenomenon can be harvested and optimized via anaerobic digestion to produce biome-thane.

In addition to reducing global reliance on fossil fuels, the widespread use of gas-powered vehicles has the potential to significantly improve urban air quality and reduce the number of health problems associated with air pollution exposure.

i think this is a great idea, because the gas-powered vehicles have an important role to play in improving air quality in UK cities but the Bio-Bus goes further than that and is actually powered by people living in the local area, including quite possibly those on the bus itself. The bus’s combustion engine is similar to that of a regular diesel bus, only it emits 30 percent less carbon dioxide. The only telltale sign the bus isn’t a run-of-the-mill gas guzzler are dome-shaped tanks on top that store the gas. Well, that and the bus wrap featuring cartoons of passengers sitting on the toilet.

And the best thing is Bristol is set to become Europe’s 2015 “Green Capital,” an award given each year to a European city with a good environmental track record! I hope this one will last and make it better.

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https://www.slashgear.com/poo-bus-aims-to-improve-urban-air-quality-20356633/

http://www.geneco.uk.com/Case_study_bio_bus/

http://www.geneco.uk.com/Our_services/Biomethane/

http://kab.org.au/blog/harnessing-the-power-of-poo/

https://youtu.be/GtaO_WXceOg

https://youtu.be/pU2j7-GSZiE