Painted to look like a Friesian cow on wheels, Readings Bus Hound was put through it's paces recently at a speed test ground in Bedford, southern England.
Usually its top speed running on petrol
is around 90kph but the cow manure, broken down in a process called Anaerobic Digestion that produces a natural gas called Biomethane, gives the bus a top speed of 123.57kph.
The liquified fuel is contained in tanks
in the roof of the bus.
Reading council want to milk the idea
and have challenged other bus operators to better their results.
Moo power to the people...
Is it moo power or poo power?
ReplyDeleteDD, it's moo poo power...
DeleteWhat's the energy return on energy invested (EROEI)? Viz., does the fuel generate much more energy than it takes to make the fuel? I've read that it requires an EROEI of at least 12 to 1 to keep any kind of industrialized society going - 10 to 1, rock bottom. I kinda doubt this cow poop fuel gives as a good a bang on the buck as that. Not that it isn't a good idea for a transit system to run a few buses on that basis - it's great for consciousness raising and PR: as long as nobody's kidding themselves that it's practical for entire nations to run their vehicle fleets on cow poop.
ReplyDeleteVal
You may well be right Val, And are there enough moos to make all the poos...
ReplyDeleteWhere do you buy this moo poo. I want some for my bus. I have room on my roof for a tank or two. Have to be careful not to get a speeding ticket though!
ReplyDelete