A PLANT in Andalucia will be the first in the world to convert sewage into clean fuel for vehicles.
A waste-water plant in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, is using sunlight to create algae before turning the green substance into gas.
The project, dubbed All-gas, is part of a €12 million plan to produce alternative energies and reduce Spain’s reliance on foreign oil.
While factories and mills have long produced waste-water gas for their own energy needs, All-gas is the first to produce the bio-fuel with the intention of exporting it to power vehicles.
“Nobody has done the transformation from waste-water to bio-fuel, which is a sustainable approach,” said All-gas project leader Frank Rogalla.
The plant, owned by water company Aqualia, is still in its pilot phase at just 200 metres squared.
All-gas expects to be producing €100,000 of bio-fuel a year by 2015 however, enough to power 200 cars or ten trucks for the year.
Although researchers have said it may take years before algae bio-fuel is economically viable on a large scale, they have admitted the project will be able to replace a portion of Spain’s petroleum use.
Project leader, Rogalla, is optimistic however: “The opportunity is such that 40 million people, roughly the population of Spain, would be able to power 200,000 vehicles from just flushing their toilet!” he said.
