Poo-powered car is go

GENeco, part of Wessex Water has put the Bio-Bug, a methane – powered car on the road in Bristol to encourage sustainable motoring. The VW Beetle is powered by methane gas generated at the Avonmouth sewage treatment works. The site already produces and exports electricity to the National Grid and the surplus gas is now being used to power this car which is hoped will inspire other motorists to look at investing in greener motoring.

The car runs on methane gas which is held in canisters stored in the boot and operates much the same as a normal petrol-fueled car.  “It performs like a normal car – you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas,” a company spokesman said.

This conversion technology has been used in the past but the Bio-Bug is Britain’s first car to run on methane gas without its performance being reduced. It can power a conventional two litre VW Beetle convertible to 114mph.

The car is started using unleaded petrol but automatically switches to methane when the engine is “up to temperature”. If the methane tank runs out the Bio-Bug reverts back to petrol. Around 18 million cubic metres of biogas is produced from human waste every year at Wessex Water’s sewage treatment works in Avonmouth, Bristol.

The gas is generated through anaerobic digestion – where bugs which are starved of oxygen break down biodegradable material to produce methane.

Watch a video on the Bio-Bug on the BBC website.