Man’s best friend is going to be getting less table scraps now that they can be used to fuel the new 2015 Bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala. The CNG vehicle can motor around town on food and beer waste. Cleveland-based quasar energy group uses organic waste to produce biogas that is converted into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
The methane gas that is produced from biogas is processed, removing all carbon dioxide and impurities to make Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). When compressed, RNG is a direct replacement for CNG.
The 2015 Chevrolet Bi-fuel Impala can run not only on gasoline and on compressed natural gas, but also renewable natural gas made from food scraps and sewage.
The Bi-fuel Impala powered by gasoline or compressed natural gas can run on biogas equivalents sourced from fuel providers who process it. One of these is Cleveland-based Quasar Energy Group, which uses organic waste to produce the renewable energy source, which is then converted into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) – one of two fuels Chevrolet said can power the 2015 Chevrolet Bi-fuel Impala.
Other biogas sources for Quasar are Anheuser-Busch’s brewery in Columbus (waste grain) and sewage from the city of Columbus’ Department of Public Utilities. Progressive Field’s biogas work is part of an aggressive waste-reduction effort. It produced 1,261 tons of waste in 2007, and that was down to 923 as early as 2008.
Sadly, the Chevrolet Impala CNG is not a car intended for European launch, but if you live in the US, then running this model on natural gas is expected to save you nearly $1.13 per gasoline-gallon-equivalent based on a national average of $3.24 per gallon for gasoline.
The CNG tank mounted in the trunk has the equivalent capacity of 7.8 gallons of gasoline, which is expected to offer approximately 150 city miles of range on compressed natural gas based on GM testing. With gasoline and compressed natural gas combined, expected range is 500 city miles based on GM testing. EPA estimates are not yet available.
With a full range estimated at nearly 500 miles, the Bi-fuel Impala expects to go on sale later this year for $38,210.
Source: East Hills Chevrolet
