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As usual Brazil is taking bigger initiatives.
Some Asian countries are already growing trees from which the Bio-Diesel can be obtained.
If ethanol/biodiesel becomes a fuel source (or even partial), we might see farmers earning as much money as college-degreed programmers.
troy
http://feedstockreview.ornl.gov/pdf/billion_ton_vision.pdf
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
http://www.local23.org/biodiesel/lifecyclesummary.htm
...for every gallon of petrodiesel burned, 2.2 gallons of fossil fuel (crude oil, presumably) are needed (1 gallon burned, plus 1.2 gallons needed to make that one gallon). I imagine gasoline requires even more crude as it's more complicated to refine than petrodiesel.
By contrast, for every gallon of B100 burned, only 0.31 gallons of crude are needed. I imagine that can be reduced even more if biodiesel itself is used to fuel the harvesting, refining and distributing process.
From what I understand, biodiesel from algae is the best hope for fueling the entire diesel fleet.
The studies are there saying just that. It is more likely we will be able to replace fossil fuel with biodiesel than hydrogen. No one has come up with an efficient, clean way to produce, store and transport hydrogen other than using nuclear power. Using solar to produce algae and subsequently biodiesel is more likely. I think we will see wide use of biodiesel long before we see hydrogen fuel cells.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
http://www.kantor.com/useful/thermo.shtml
This could provide our mobility fuel needs from what we throw away right now--simply reprocessing our farm waste ( chaff, manure, etc ) would provide enough fuel for us to all get around.
Now i'm even more determined to get a diesel next.
dave
But Richardson, who is general manager, said his diesel models are flying off the lot.
"The Northwest is kind of a hot market for this because people in the Northwest tend to be more forward-thinking," he said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/230525_biofuel29.html
Cost – This will always be a problem when purchasing anything from our petroleum manufacturers. Their profit is what causes the high costs. When I was making my own it cost about $.30 a gallon. So there is an alternative to the high price and it does not take much time or effort to refine the vegetable oil. Initial equipment costs are a little pricey, but pay for themselves in the first six months.
Parts Deterioration – Rubber seals and hoses in the fuel delivery system may experience deterioration and should be replaced with third party fluroelastomer parts before the 100,000 mile point hits. It is the 10% - 20% alcohol content in biodiesel that causes the deterioration. If auto manufacturers are going to support biodiesel as an alternative fuel they should manufacture all OEM parts out of the fluroelastomer material instead of rubber anyway. They may already, but I bet we pay a lot more for them.
Environment – These issues are very important to me, but I feel you have to weigh out everything involved. NOx output increase is the only drawback I have found personally, but my Rabbit, burning biodiesel, always passed emissions tests in Colorado’s “Front Range Emissions Area.” The damage caused by vegetable oil in land fills oozing into ground water is much more damaging to the environment. Anything we can do to lessen this problem is a BIG PLUS.
Switching back to diesel – When I first started making biodiesel (when I used straight, refined vegetable oil) I had this problem. I ran low on fuel a long way from home and put regular diesel in the Rabbit. It ran terrible, but got me home. I found that you had to adjust your fuel settings differently when using the two different fuels. Well, I bought a book which explained that adding 10% alcohol to the mixture would make biodiesel run at the same mixture settings as diesel. I never had anymore problems switching between the two fuels.
The smell – There really is no smell if the vegetable oil is properly scrubbed or washed during the refining process. When vehicles burning biodiesel give off a nasty smell, the operators need to get their fuel somewhere else or the person refining it needs a little education in a proper refining process.
Cold weather gelling – We can get very cold winters here in central Colorado, but I never got stranded do to fuel gel. I knew in advance that vegetable oil start to gel right around 32 degrees F. The alcohol in biodiesel drops this a little too. During the winter, I used to fill to ¼ tank with winterized diesel then fill the last ¾ with biodiesel and never got stranded. If it gets to subzero temps you may want to consider a half and half or higher mixture or even running straight diesel. I never had to do this though.
Well, 6 months ago the Rabbit died with 320,000 miles on it and my new car burns gasoline so I haven’t made biodiesel since then. When I get the new truck I want, I will be making it again.
He'd only have about $7-8000 for a used truck. Can anyone recommend a decent diesel truck in that price range? It's my understanding that any diesel can run biodiesel, right?
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13943482
Bio-diesel has been accepted as clean alternative fuel by US and its production presently is about 100 million Gallons. Each state has passed specific bills to promote the use of Bio-diesel by reduction of taxes. Sunflower, rapeseed etc is the raw material used in Europe whereas soyabean is used in USA. Thailand uses palm oil, Ireland uses frying oil and animal fats. Due to its favorable properties, Bio-diesel can be used as fuel for diesel engines (as either, B5-a blend of 5% Bio-diesel in petro-diesel fuel) or B20 or B100). USA uses B 20 and B100 Bio-diesel, France uses B5 as mandatory in all diesel fuel. It can also be used as an additive to reduce the overall sulfur content of blend and to compensate for lubricity loss due to sulfur removal from diesel fuel.
http://www.ethanolindia.net/biodiesel_india.html
When you account for our military costs in the Middle East, I think we are subsidizing petroleum at a monetary cost far greater than a dollar per gallon.
You may want to check Dodge Rams, careful as I beleive there are a few years where it is not recomended (possibly due to fuel pump type). But, go to journeytoforever.org or the biodiesel list they have linked from there and ask. Annecdotally, from what I have read the two biggies are auto transmissions on dodge (get manual) and something with the housing/mounting of the turbo that can rust out an mislead people into thinking the whole turbo is bad. I seem to remember someone saying 94-95 was a good year for BD use and should be in that price range if well maintained
Ford 7.3s also seem to do well.
But, I am probably steering clear of newer duramax and newer powestrokes just from the stories I have heard - nothing to do with BD, but just general reliability issues
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/users/artists/willie.shtm
http://www.greencarcongress.com/
today (2005/10/29), you will see lots of news about bio-diesel.
USA, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, etc are constructing bio-diesel plants.
It seems that BD has 1 unit input & 3 unit output ratio. Thats better than Ethanols 1 : 1.5 input : output ratio.
Anything edible can be converted into Bio-diesel.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Lastly, I hope that by 2007 we start to see some Asian diesels in the market place.
http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/services_truckstops.html
http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/index.html
My two cents -
aef
“I just really enjoy the fact that stuff doesn’t get wasted,” he says.
OK, that and the fact that he is heating his Green Meadow Farm for the bargain price of about 30 cents a gallon.
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/18240
Proponents of biodiesel argue that these ongoing costs are offset by benefits such as a 20-percent reduction in pollution, slightly improved gas mileage, and less wear on the vehicle through its lubricating properties. Diesel-burning vehicles can also be easily and cheaply converted to biodiesel and can, therefore, be a viable option for fleets that are not seeking to replace their vehicles."
At least one "con" in the action you mentioned is that diesel fuel, even B20, puts out a lot of dirty emissions, especially soot, and until the advanced particulare filters are installed on every modern diesel vehicle, that is still a major health problem.
Lowering fossil fuel usage is an important goal, but so is public health.
Malaysia is going to do a big conversion to B5. Brazil is also moving in.
Unless Toyota, Honda, Ford sells Hybrids without those extras, Bio-diesel vehicles may grab a big market share.