híbrido : Carros Novos Legais

Peugeot iOn o primeiro carro 100% elétrico

| 2010-09-09 | No Comment

O Peugeot iOn é o primeiro de uma nova geração de carros 100% elétricos. O “runabout” urbano é fácil de operar, silencioso, seguro, conectado, confortável e fácil de conduzir e esta conectado a uma gama de serviços da Peugeot.

Beetle Movido a Dejetos Humanos

| 2010-08-17 | One Comment

GENeco, a Wessex Water-owned company, said it would produce significantly more gas at its Bristol sewage treatment works in Avonmouth through recycling food waste from homes and businesses in the south west.

It will mean both human waste and food waste could be used to power vehicles in the future.

Around 18 million cubic metres of biogas is produced at Bristol sewage treatment works a year.

It is generated through anaerobic digestion – a process in which bugs in the absence of oxygen break down biodegradable material to produce methane.

If all of the biogas produced at GENeco’s plant at Avonmouth was used to fuel vehicles it would avoid 19,000 tonnes of CO2 being put into the atmosphere.

Bath-based Greenfuel Company converted the Beetle so it could run on biogas while bosses 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.

Mr Saddiq added: “If you were to drive the car you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around.”

By generating renewable electricity from biogas GENeco is already contributing to the UK’s target of a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050.

If the company was to further convert biogas to compressed biomethane for use as a vehicle fuel a further contribution would be made to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) said the launch of the Bio-Bug proved that methane from sewage sludge could be used as an alternative fuel for vehicles.

The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) said the launch of the Bio-Bug proved that biomethane from sewage sludge could be used as an alternative fuel for vehicles.

ADBA chairman Lord Rupert Redesdale said: “This is a very exciting and forward-thinking project demonstrating the myriad benefits of anaerobic digestion (AD).

“Biomethane cars could be just as important as electric cars, and the water regulator Ofwat should promote the generation of as much biogas as possible through sewage works in the fight against climate change.”

ADBA chief executive Charlotte Morton added: “We are delighted to see such ingenuity and commitment to maximising the potential of AD from the water industry.”

GENeco said if the trial involving the Bio-Bug proved successful it would look to convert some of the company’s fleet of vehicles to run on biogas.

Interesting facts:
* Enough Biogas is produced at Avonmouth to send a car to the moon and back 119 times or around the world 2,287 times
* The Bio-Bug does 5.3 miles per m3 of biogas
* Waste flushed down the toilet of just 70 homes is enough to power the Bio-Bug for year based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles
* In Sweden more than 11,500 vehicles run on methane produced from sewage plants
* To use biogas as vehicle fuel the gas needs to be treated – a process called biogas upgrading. It involves carbon dioxide being separated from the biogas
* In the past methane hasn’t been “clean” enough which has meant it has affected the car performance
* Bristol treatment works treats waste from around 1 million people living in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

The Bio-Bug – an overview
Using biogas as a fuel for motor vehicles is very unusual in the UK.

Across many of the cities of mainland Europe, from Stockholm to Rome, from Reykjavik to Lille – biogas, from sewage and food waste, is an established and commonly used fuel in municipal buses and private cars.

Less tax, less noise and less pollution makes it a very attractive alternative to petrol and diesel.

GENeco’s Bio-Bug is a conventional 2 litre VW Beetle convertible which has been modified to operate with both petrol and compressed methane gas.

The car is started using petrol and when the engine is ‘up to temperature’ the system automatically switches to methane as its source of fuel. Similarly when the methane tank is low on fuel the car will automatically revert back to petrol.

The conversion, carried out by the Greenfuel Company in Bath, takes the same time and is similar in cost to cars that are converted to the more conventional LPG.

The fuel for the Bio-Bug has been produced at Bristol sewage treatment works in Avonmouth and is stored in easy to handle cylinders.

If this type of fuel becomes popular who the hell would want to be a mechanic.