Britain’s first dual fuel bus will cut emissions by half
Submitted on October 15, 2009
Britain's first dual fuel bus
A consortium brought together by low-carbon experts at the University of East Anglia has launched the first bus in the UK to run on clean, biomethane gas. The innovative dual-fuel diesel-biomethane powered bus will reduce pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions by around a half. It is hoped the technology will be rolled out to bus fleets across the country and further afield.
The consortium behind the new bus is led by UEA’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC) and includes leading independent bus operator Anglian Bus, bus manufacturer Optare plc, and engine conversion specialists Hardstaff Group of Nottingham.
The dual-fuel vehicle is a standard Optare Solo single-deck diesel midibus from the Anglian Bus fleet. Originally powered entirely by diesel, the Mercedes-Benz engine has been adapted to run for 60-80% of the time on clean, low-carbon biomethane. Biomethane is chemically identical to the methane in natural gas but it is made by bacterial action on biowastes. Biomethane is extracted from landfill sites or from biogas produced in purpose-built anaerobic digestion facilities.
Project leader Dr Bruce Tofield, of UEA’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre, says: ‘Dual-fuel use is a very attractive option. The vehicle can still run on diesel, providing flexibility, but most of the time is running on biomethane gas which is a much cleaner and less polluting fuel.
‘In particular, the cost of conversion of a diesel bus to dual-fuel use is a small fraction of the cost of a new natural gas bus. Conversion to dual-fuel use is potentially a viable option for most if not all diesel buses in the UK and, indeed, across Europe and more widely.’
Funding for the project came partly from an EU-sponsored Civitas programme in which UEA and Anglian Bus were partners with Norwich, Norfolk County Council and cities across Europe. The Civitas Initiative exists to promote cleaner and better transport in Europe’s cities.
LCIC scientists have been monitoring air pollution in Norwich since 2005 as part of the Civitas programme. In Norwich, as in many UK cities, emissions from buses are of particular concern. They noticed how the buses in Malmo in Sweden, a partner city in the Civitas programme, were powered by clean natural gas (methane), resulting in significantly lower levels of harmful emissions. Of special interest was the fact that Malmo was beginning to use biomethane rather than natural gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollutant emissions.
‘This conversion shows just how important EU projects can be in helping us learn from what cities elsewhere have done,’ says Dr Tofield. ‘Now we are going one step further and showing how existing bus fleets can be economically converted to low-carbon, low-emissions running. The potential for reducing traffic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from buses and other fleet vehicles in cities in Britain, Europe, and across the world is very exciting.’
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