The idea does appear gross and disgusting at first. But it’s not like that we will have guys in hazmat suits shoveling raw sewage into gas tanks to run the buses. Biomethane is produced during a four-phase process called anaerobic digestion that uses microorganisms to break down everything from human waste and leftover food to lawn clippings and stuff swept from the slaughterhouse floor. Nearly 80 municipal buses in the City of Oslo will then be converted to run on biomethane thus captured from human waste.

The bottom line is that this switch will save 44 tons of CO2 per bus per year. Take into account the enormous amounts (estimated at 17000 tons per year) of CO2 that is being flared off into the atmosphere from Oslo’s sewage treatment plants too. Setting up the initial infrastructure required for biomethane production is not cheap, but the gas that gets produced is. On an average, biomethane gas will be 50 cents cheaper per liter than diesel, while conversion will require only minor modification to the buses.

Oslo thus aims not only to become one of the most environmentally sustainable capitals in the world, but also carbon-neutral by 2050. Way to go, Oslo!

Via: Wired