Geneco Waste Treatment Plant in Bristol, England has come up with an innovative means to not let some waste go to waste.
The plant treats, digest, and convert human waste into methane gas, according to Sean Hill, recycling manager at Geneco. This bio-gas, in turn, creates energy.
Hill likens the plant’s process to the human digestion system, which they call the “acid phase digestion.”
“This digests the sludge at an early stage, hydrolyzes all the sludge and makes its more available for digestion and producing gas later on,” Hill said.
Organic waste undergoes bacterial anaerobic digestion at 95 degree Fahrenheit for two week, breaking down into methane, carbon dioxide and a nutrient-rich bio-solid fertilizer,
Geneco processes enough organic waste to generate 35GWh of renewable bio-gas energy every year.
So what does this mean for our beloved automobiles?
Geneco modified a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle to run on the methane gas they produced at their plant and call it the “Bio-Bug.” They have appropriately nicknamed the Bio-Bug “a poo-powered car.”
The Bio-Bug tanks store methane gas at a 200 bar pressure. A pressure-release valve brings the gas to 2 bar pressure before entering the engine.
KollegeKidds, can you see yourselves operating a ‘poo-powered’ car?
Watch Sean Hill of Geneco explain the methane gas producing method below.
