UK firm runs VW Beetle on biomethane from human waste
07 Aug 2010
A UK firm has come up with a unique way of running vehicles the green way by using biogas generated by human waste in what has been hailed as a breakthrough in the drive to encourage sustainable power.
GENeco, a Wessex Water-owned company powered a VW Beetle dubbed the 'Bio-Bug', from waste flushed down the toilets of 70 homes in Bristol, to generate enough power to run the car 10,000 miles or equivalent to one average motoring year.
Bath-based Greenfuel Company converted the Beetle so it could run on biogas while employees from GENeco ran a workshop at a University of Bath event for teenagers from schools in Bath and North East Somerset to come up with ideas for the car's design.
GENeco imported special equipment to treat gas generated at Bristol sewage treatment works in Avonmouth to power the Bio-Bug in a way that does not affect its performance.
The conventional two litre-VW Beetle convertible could match the speed of similar petrol engine VW Beetle to reach speeds of 114mph.
The car initially requires a small amount of unleaded petrol to start the engine and run the car till it attains a certain temperature, after which, it is switched to biogas.
