Biogas
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Six vehicles powered by coffee, saltwater, sewage and other crazy fuels
By Cat DiStasio When it comes to advances in automotive technology, the search for alternative fuels is pretty exciting. Of course, you've heard about biodiesel engines converted to run on used vegetable oil that sputter out little more than water and the faint smell of French fries. However, there's a slew of vehicles out there that run on all sorts of other fuels too. There's an electric car powered by caffeine, as well as a hot rod that runs on air. Other curious fuel sources include plain old saltwater, crude made from algae, and (inevitably) there are even a number of vehicles designed to run on biogas generated from livestock waste (or, in layman's terms, cars that run on poop). Although some may be smellier than others, these inventive energy sources offer an intriguing alternative to conventional fossil fuels.
Microsoft to build a biogas-fueled data plant, keeps DeLorean dreams alive
Leave it to Microsoft to power its cloud services with a very different kind of cloud -- a smellier, gaseous one. The computing giant is investing $5.5 million in research and development to see if it can use the biogas from the Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming to fuel a data plant. It's working together with the city of Cheyenne and a company called FuelCell Energy to get the project built by spring of 2013. According to Microsoft, the fuel cell plant will provide 200 kilowatts of power with any excess going back to reduce electricity cost. If all goes well, Microsoft aims to build more data plants near other sources of renewable energy like landfills, wastewater treatment plants and even dairy farms -- an idea that HP labs had a couple of years ago. Hopefully this means the Redmond firm will finally reach its carbon neutral goal and not have to deliberately waste energy to avoid a fine. Together with army generators turning garbage into energy, we're just keeping our fingers crossed that we're one step closer to Mr. Fusion becoming a reality. [Image credit: Yale Office of Sustainability]
New York City turns to sewers for energy solutions
Listen up New Yorkers, those hot nuts you just swallowed could be used to light the signs on Broadway. Okay, so that's a stretch, but the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) just issued a plan to turn the stuff you flush, along with rest of its wastewater, into renewable energy. New York City produces about 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily, yielding 1,200 tons of biosolids that can be harvested to procure methane -- already accounting for 20 percent of the city's energy -- and butanol, a clean gasoline alternative. The plan, which also includes wind and solar projects, aims to use gas, converted by large digesters, to "power wastewater operations, meet on-site heat and electricity needs, and, where feasible, sell excess energy to the market." As the DEP points out, the plan isn't far fetched -- we've seen a couple of solutions for turning human excrement into usable energy, and a project already under way in Greenpoint is estimated to procure enough methane over the next year to heat 2,500 homes. Now, if that doesn't give you a newfound respect for the porcelain throne, we don't know what will.
Volkswagen Beetle converted to run on methane headed for the UK streets
Meet the Bio-Bug, a custom modded Volkswagen Beetle which has been converted to run on biogas -- fuel created from human waste. The process of conversion isn't brand new, but this will be the first automobile fully converted to run on biogas in the United Kingdom without any loss of performance. In fact, the car is so reliable that its makers believe it can "blow away" electric vehicles, and that consumers won't even notice the difference. The Bio-Bug is a regular old 2 liter VW convertible modified to operate on both gasoline and compressed methane gas: once the methane runs out, the car reverts back to running on gasoline. The cars run on so little methane that just one regular sized sewage plant could run a car (or cars) over 95,000,000 miles per year. Developed by GENeco, a sustainable energy company in the UK, the Bio-Bug is going into a trial period, and the company plans on converting its entire fleet if successful.
Sintex's biogas digester ingests crap, emits energy
Sintex Industries' aptly-dubbed biogas digester is most certainly not the first of its kind, but it is somewhat commendable that its maker is making no bones about this thing's purpose. Destined to "solve India's energy and sanitation problems in one stroke," this concoction can convert "human [waste], cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity." Reportedly, a one-cubic-meter digester would sell for around $425, but could pay for itself in energy savings in under 24 months. Excrement to energy -- now there's a concept.
