Firdos Vahora, aged 17 years, has developed a car fuelled by biogas. Earlier, he was in the news when he found an eco-friendly method to perform the Hindu last rites. This automobile engineer from Borsad in Anand district has come up with a biogas kit, an environment-friendly alternative to petrol and diesel run cars. In recent past, Vahora had also developed a biogas furnace which helps save wood. The new furnace design has already been installed at the Shantidham crematorium in Borsad, where biogas is being generated from cow and buffalo dung stored in a pit.
Vahora said, "Now, I am using the same biogas plant for the biogas kit to run a car." He clarified that the biogas created in the well goes to the cylinders through a pipeline. The automobile engineer added, "We have installed two gas cylinders of 11 kilogram each. It is in this cylinder that the biogas gets stored under high pressure."
According to him, the biogas-powered vehicles offer better mileage compared to the regular four-wheelers because they use pure biogas as the fuel. He said that the special pump designed for this purpose takes in only the gas and not the biowaste. He further stated that in each cycle, nine kilogram of biogas is generated from one bucket of cow dung. Since biogas is totally CO2 neutral, it reduces pollution significantly. Additionally, compared to other forms of environment-friendly technology, biogas can be much easier and faster to use. Another noteworthy point here is that the cattle rearers around Borsad are earning a significant amount due to the biogas plant installed at the crematorium.
Vahora said, "If a cattle rearer sells cow dung cakes in open market he earns Rs. 1,200 per trolley. But if he supplies his cow dung cakes to us, after filtration in the bio gas plant, the remains get sold at nearly Rs. 5,000 per trolley."
