Sweden unveils biogas train
Sweden is to become the first country in the world to introduce a passenger train powered solely by biogas. Developed by Svensk Biogas at a cost of ten million kronor (1.08 million euro), the train is due to be operating in September, when it will carry up to 54 passengers along Sweden's east coast, between Linköping and Västervik. Biogas is generated when bacteria degrade biological material in the absence of oxygen, in a process known as anaerobic digestion. As biogas is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, it is a renewable fuel produced from waste treatment. Almost any organic material can be used - the process occurs naturally in digestive systems, marshes, rubbish dumps, septic tanks and the Arctic Tundra, a treeless region of the North Pole between the ice cap and tree line, with frozen soil and low vegetation. The train can run for about 600 kilometres on a full tank, and has a top speed of 130 kilometres per hour. Sweden already has 779 biogas buses and more than 4,500 cars running on a mixture of petrol and either biogas or natural gas.
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