Bus operator Stagecoach have revealed that eight buses on their fleet have been running on 100% biodiesel, manufactured from used cooking oil and other food industry by-products in an experiment, the first of it’s kind, started in October last year.
The project has cut CO2 emissions by 80% saving 550t of carbon.
The move is backed by the local Ayrshire council and local residents, who assist the company by supplying used cooking oil in return for discounted travel. How Green is that? Over 21t of used oil has been recycled during the last six months.
The downside is that engine manufacturers will not offer a guarantee on the engines being used in the experiment. Stagecoach is obviously monitoring this area very carefully and intend doing so for another six months before drawing any conclusions from the project.
The biodiesel buses are fitted with two fuel tanks. For the first ten minutes of the day the engines run on mineral diesel, switching automatically to biodiesel once the engine reaches its optimum operating temperature.
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