Poo-Bus: Human Waste Powered bus is real & it’s here

Poo-Bus

UK’s First Poo-Bus: Powered by Human Waste, Transports Real People in Bristol…!

Could the waste ever be the waste? This is a debatable question…!! Because whatever is a waste for one kind of living species is surely useful to some other kind of living species on this planet. For e.g. the humans emit Carbon-dioxide (CO2) which the trees inhale & emit oxygen which again the humans inhale. That’s how nature creates & attains the balance of this planet earth. However, could the human waste ever be useful to humans? Oh-Sh!t…! Never thought of it before…!!! but yes, the ‘Poo-bus’ is real.

‘Oh-Sh!t’ is the common expression we use every day. But, we never imagined that the human waste ‘Sh!t’ will ever become the source of energy for the humankind during its entire existence. But come the 21st century, this has all changed. The waste-solutions provider company GENeco has developed the technology to extract bio-methane gas from human waste. ‘Poo-Bus’ is UK’s first public-transport vehicle which runs on the bio-methane gas extracted from the food-waste and sewage sludge or fecal matter generated by about 32,674 local households in Bristol, UK.

What is Poo-Bus?

The bio-methane gas which is produced using an advanced technique called ‘anaerobic digestion’. In this technology, micro-organisms break down the waste producing 17 million cu-m (600 million cu-ft) of bio-methane in a year. This ‘bio-bus’, nick-named the Poo-Bus, uses bio-methane to produce its power & emits up to 30 percent less CO2 than the conventional diesel-engine powered vehicle. The Poo-Bus whose gas fuel is pressurized to 200 bar is stored on the top of the bus. The Poo-Bus can travel approximately 300 km (186 miles) on a full tank of gas as claimed by the company.

Geneco Bio-Bus (Image Courtesy: Geneco)
Geneco Bio-Bus (Image Courtesy: Geneco)

Furthermore, the Poo-Bus is a 41 seater ‘Scania Enviro 300’ vehicle. It was initially deployed as a shuttle-service between Bristol Airport and Bath in November 2014 which has recently been put into the regular service to Bristol’s City-Centre. The Poo-Bus will now run four-days-a-week on Bristol’s Route #2 in the UK. The bus’ route No. 2 seems to have been chosen carefully to represent the “No. 2 sign” people make to ask for the directions to a toilet. First West England, the company which operates the bus, has stated that if this experiment is successful; they may introduce an entire fleet of Poo-Buses in Bristol.

Watch the Poo-Bus video here:

Besides, in 2010, Geneco conducted the trials of their first bio-methane powered vehicle by launching the ‘Bio-Bug’. It is UK’s first car – the VW Beetle which the human waste powered. The bio-methane gas extracted from the human waste flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes provides for enough quantity needed to power the ‘Bio-Bug‘ for a year, as claimed by the company!

Watch ‘Bio-Bug’ Video here:

The ‘Pee-Power’:

Furthermore, the British have always been pioneers in putting waste to good use by implementing the technology. According to reports on University of West England’s website, their researchers have developed a ‘urine-powered fuel cell’ (aka microbial fuel-cell) that can generate enough electricity to charge a mobile phone and a ‘pee-powered toilet’ which can potentially light up the cubicles of an international refugee camp.

So, from now on, don’t think that the human ‘pee & poo’ is just a matter of waste. Our own ‘Sh!t’ is going to be the source of energy for us which could also drive our cars in the future… just like the Poo-Bus !!!

So, the new formula of Power would be:

Power = (Pee x Poo)2

For more information, click: http://www.geneco.uk.com/Biobug/biobus.aspx

Read more: E-Diesel – The Fuel of the future>>

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