mrdigitech
New Member
The world that we live in is powered by electricity, gas, water, wind and other sources of energy. Industrialised societies require enormous power to drive their machines and economy forward and that’s the major reason they have well-developed power generation infrastructures. Adequate power generation is a prerequisite for economic, social and industrial development of any given nation. Global warming and climate change became a global issue in the early part of the 21st century, due to the industrial activities taking place in these countries.
Industries require a steady source of power to run efficiently and some of these industries burn fossil fuel to generate power, but the harmful effect of burning fossil fuel is the emission of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are one of the leading causes of global warming and climate change. The need to secure the world’s energy needs as well as lowering carbon concentrations have led a global shift from petroleum-based fuels to bio-fuels.
Bio-Fuels
Biofuels are simply fuels derived from biological materials such as animals and plants. Biofuels can also be described as fuels gotten from organic matter, which can be gotten directly from plants, or indirectly from commercial, agricultural and industrial waste. Some popular sources of these biofuels include Ethanol, Algae, Jatropha, Fungi and Animal gut bacteria.
Bio Powered Bus by Human Waste
In November 2014, Britain launched its first 40-seater bio-bus powered by human waste and its first journey was between Bath and Bristol airport. The biomethane gas, derived from the treatment of sewage and food waste, actually powers this 40-seater bus. The total waste gotten from 5 people in a year is enough to fill-up the tank of this 40-seater bus and power it for 190miles (305km). The idea behind its design according to experts is to improve on air quality and to create an environmental friendly bus that is powered by sewage most especially “human poo.”
The treatment plant which produces the bio-methane gas is run by an energy firm GENeco. The director of GENeco, Mohammed Saddiq, stressed that gas powered vehicles have an important role to play in improving the quality air in our major cities. The source of human waste for the Bio-bus comes from local residents, but it’s also possible that the waste could come from the commuters. The Annual human waste gotten from a full bus packed with people is enough to provide sufficient power for the journey from the land’s end to John’O Groats and back, with fewer carbon emissions. This bus clearly shows that is there value in the human poo and waste -- according to Charlotte Morton.
This bio-powered bus by human waste is expected to ferry 10,000 passengers a month, which shows the value in human waste and marks the beginning for a more energy sustaining future in public transport. The waste plant situated in Avonmouth , Bristol, treats 35000 tonnes of food waste as well 75million cubic metres of sewage waste, every year. This magnificent plant has the capacity to produce 17million tonnes of biomethane a year because it uses anaerobic digestion process. This process uses bacteria to break down substances when oxygen isn’t present.
The use of anaerobic digestion isn’t restricted to the Uk alone, it is used all over the world. The East bay municipality district of Oakland, California, United States, pioneered the conversion of food waste into biogas using anaerobic digestion. The city of Oslo, Norway adopted the poo-to-pump concept in 2009. It kick-started the concept with the launch of 80 buses, solely power by biomethane and this concept is part of its long-term goal of being carbon neutral by the year 2050.
How does it benefit Nigeria?
In Nigeria, our main source of fuel comes from the combustion of fossils fuels and other resources that have adverse effect on our environment. We rely so much on imported fuels to power our cars, businesses, factories and generators. This overreliance on these imported fuels cost our nation huge foreign exchange that could have used to develop other sectors of our economy. We can embrace the use anaerobic digestion process to harness the abundance of sewage lying waste in the country.
Nigeria is plagued with power problems as well as general infrastructural deficiencies. We can plug the electric power generation gap existing in the country with the use of Biofuels that can be sourced locally. Nothing comes cheaper than utilizing human faeces for power generation. Using a bio-bus powered by human waste will definitely cut down the cost of transportation in Nigeria because the source fuel, human waste, is a lot cheaper than fossil fuels. Its implementation might be quite expensive at first, but the long-term benefits outweigh the initial hassles. It will ultimately shift our reliance on imported petrol, thereby helping the boost our nation’s economy.
Below are some videos for more on the bio-bus.
Photo Credits: theguardian.com, blogs.scientificamerican.com, telegraph.co.uk
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