Tista Karmakar
Can you ever imagine your bike is fueled by biogas? A motorcycle where there’s no use of fossil fuel nor is there involvement of heavy technology. A Dutch engineering student and inventor, Gijs Schalkx has made it possible. He has modified his Honda GX160 motorbike to run on easily available biogas, and methane. The modified motorbike is called the Slootmotor which is a vehicle that delivers an alternative way of living.
If you are not a fan of speed then this can be your future motorcycle when fossil fuel is gradually depleting. The motorcycle is fueled by natural resources from the surface of the world. Schalkx says that the Slootmotor was built to outlast any kind of energy since even in the future shallow waters will always be there.
The fuel of the motorbike requires minimal tools and DIY solutions to harvest. The process of harvesting is interesting. The fuel for a Slootmotor can be harvested from the nearby pond or roadside ditches. The biogas is collected using a gas collector anchored in the depth of a pond or ditch. A gas collector consists of a wind-powered gasmaaier to speed up the process of collecting fuel in farmlands or ponds. The gas collector also uses a pressure pump that transfers fuel to the fuel container. The whole system consisting of all the apparatus for collecting fuel is called a plompstation. It takes approximately 8 hours to fill up the fuel container. A balloon filled with collected methane is then hooked to the engine’s airbox to receive methane. This methane will feed the engine to run. So if you are interested in conserving energy and the biodiversity around you then harvesting will seem like an interesting job. It is engrossing due to what comes after harvesting fuel.
Schalkx says that the Slootmotor can travel up to 12 miles or 20 kilometers using the biofuel. According to a report by Vice he says, “where we are going, speed is not desired. More speed means more horsepower, which means more CCs, which results in higher fuel consumption.” Higher fuel consumption of fossil fuel can turn detrimental in the future for our environment.
He has given a detailed sketch of his engineering of a Slootmotor which will help anyone looking for a reference. His Slootmotor also tells how technology can create something closer to our environment. He says, “Simple action such as painting a bicycle white, using hands-on experimentation and bodging can become a catalyzing force for people to actually imagine how things could be different which they could never imagine before, let alone act upon.”
