Trash to fuel, the stuff of the 1980s sci-fi comedy movie trilogy ‘Back to the Future’, is now a reality.
21 Oct 2014 | 2536 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Trash to fuel, the stuff of the 1980s sci-fi comedy movie trilogy ‘Back to the Future’, is now a reality. The 2015 Bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala – not a tricked-out DeLorean – really can run on leftovers, table scraps and, oh, yes, grains from brewing beer.
The Cleveland-based Quasar ...
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Trash to fuel, the stuff of the 1980s sci-fi comedy movie trilogy ‘Back to the Future’, is now a reality. The 2015 Bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala – not a tricked-out DeLorean – really can run on leftovers, table scraps and, oh, yes, grains from brewing beer.
The Cleveland-based Quasar Energy Group uses organic waste to produce a renewable energy source known as biogas, which is then converted into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) – one of two fuels that can power the 2015 Chevrolet Bi-fuel Impala.
Biogas is the raw mixture of gases given off by the breakdown of organic materials kept in an oxygen-less environment. The resulting methane gas is then processed, removing all carbon dioxide and impurities to make Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). When compressed, RNG is a direct replacement for CNG.
Since biogas can be made from most organic materials, quasar insources raw materials, otherwise considered waste, from a variety of industries. For instance, its Columbus, Ohio Renewable Energy Facility processes up to 25,000 wet tons of biosolids from the City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities for wastewater.
Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, contributes food waste for CNG-production after it’s been macerated in an industrial-sized InSinkErator Grind2Energy garbage disposal. And don’t forget beer: Anheuser-Busch’s Columbus brewery provides an organic by-product to quasar for conversion to methane gas.
“If you can buy renewable fuel at $1.95 (Rs 119.50) per gallon while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, everybody wins,” said Mel Kurtz, president of quasar energy group. “Quasar’s Columbus facility can produce 1.3 million petrol gallon equivalents of CNG each year.”
That’s enough to fill the CNG tanks of 163,000 Bi-fuel Impalas at least once. Though CNG fueling stations are prevalent in states like California and Oklahoma, infrastructure in some states is scarce.
“To avoid feelings of range anxiety common in owners of CNG-only vehicles, we made the Impala bi-fuel, allowing our customers to drive on CNG when available and on petrol when it’s not,” said Nichole Kraatz, Impala chief engineer.
The CNG tank mounted in the trunk has the equivalent capacity of 7.8 gallons/ 29.5 litres of petrol, which is expected to offer approximately 150 city miles/ 240 kilometres of range on compressed natural gas based on GM testing. With petrol and compressed natural gas combined, expected range is 500 city miles/ 800 kilometres based on GM testing.
The Impala’s bi-fuel system seamlessly switches to petrol power when the CNG tank is depleted. Drivers who wish to change fuels while driving can do so by simply pushing a button. A light on the instrument panel indicates when CNG is being used, and there is no interruption in the vehicle’s performance.
Operating on CNG can result in an average fuel savings of nearly $1.13 (Rs 69) per petrol-gallon-equivalent based on a national (US) average of $3.24 (Rs 198) per gallon of petrol as reported by AAA and $2.11 (Rs 129) per gge of CNG, reported by CNGnow. Also, CNG vehicles typically have 20 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline-powered cars, according to the California Air Resources Board.
GM says when the Bi-fuel Impala goes on sale later this year in the US, it will have a starting price of $38,210 (Rs 23.42 lakh).
Photograph: A 2015 Chevrolet Impala bi-fuel is refueled at a CNG fueling station in Ohio. Cleveland-based Quasar Energy Group uses organic waste to convert into usable CNG, including organic byproducts from beer giant Anheuser Busch, food waste from the Cleveland Indians Progressive Field, and biosolids from the City of Columbus’s wastewater.