Biodiesel

[Lyion]

I was reading a news article on Biodiesel and there was a pretty good link at the exact numbers for biodiesel conversion. Sorry Arlos, but Hemp isn't one of the better substances for it.

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html

What struck me as interesting, is far and away the greatest way to harvest Biodiesel is via Algae. Check this out, there's a great write up, and I hope we can overcome the Soy/Corn Farmer special interests bloc and look into this.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003999.html

A single acre of algae ponds can produce 15,000 gallons of biodiesel -- in comparison, an acre of soybeans produces up to 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre, an acre of jatropha produces up to 200 gallons per acre, coconuts produce just under 300 gallons per acre, and palm oil -- currently the best non-algal source -- produces up to 650 gallons of biodiesel per acre. That is to say, algae is 25 times better a source for biodiesel than palm oil, and 300 times better than soy.

The other paragraph that blew me away and should be something we spend our hard earned tax dollars on immediately, especially in polluted urban areas is this:

Isaac Berzin has developed a method of capturing CO2 from smokestack emissions using algae, and turning the result into biofuels including biodiesel, ethanol, and even a bio-coal substitute. His process, based on technology he developed for NASA in the late 1990s, captures more than 40% of emitted CO2 (on sunny days, up to 80%) along with over 80% of NOx emissions; in turn, it produces biodiesel at rates-per-acre that could make a full conversion to biofuel for transportation readily achievable. Berzin's company, Greenfuel, has multiple test installations underway, and expects to have a full-scale plant up and running by 2008 or 2009.

Not only does this help us clean things up, it creates Biodiesel from the waste we are capturing.

Cool stuff.

[Kramer]

there was an interesting story on NPR this morning about a critic of Biodiesel and Corn Ethanol, a Prof at Berkley....

He has been coming up wiht equations and stats that show that Ethanol and BioDiesel are small steps but not the end-all, as many marketers would have the public believe....

Here's the story.... sounded interesting.... He is also a lone voice, so he may be a whacko....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5184874

[KaiineTN]

It's interesting that you posted this because lately I've been researching local demand for biodiesel and plan on producing a good amount by summer to see if it's a worthwhile business opportunity.

The state I live in, Minnesota, passed a law that requires all diesel fuel sold in the state has to be at least 2 percent biodiesel, given supply can meet demand. If I remember correctly, that goes into effect this summer.

So far there are 3 large scale plants in MN with an annual production of roughly 63,000,000 gallons, which would be hard to compete with, especially since there are connections with those plants and many farmers (same union or something like that). But I personally think there is an existing local market for B100 (pure biodiesel) with school bus companies, hauling companies, etc.

[Kramer]

Apparently biodiesel is particularly popular in Northwestern states, where there is a social conciousness and the material wealth to pay for it....

though the prof in NPR noted that the mindset has not changed, only the fuel, Americans are still in love with consumption, like it is our right or something

[Witty]

Yeah most our buses, garbage trucks & other gov. vehicles are biodiesel in Seattle.

I don't think it's so much about Americans just enjoying consumption so much. It's just that petrolium industries aren't ready to let go until they milk it for everything it's worth. I'll bet you each of them already have reforming strategies, since they're the ones that hid it from view when the diesel engine was invented.

[Lyion]

though the prof in NPR noted that the mindset has not changed, only the fuel, Americans are still in love with consumption, like it is our right or something

No, it's just that the lions share of our country is in sprawling suburbia where it isn't convenient to walk anywhere.

Also, most work and the rat race demands we use our cars to and from work, so that isn't a matter of consumption but of survival.

Until mass transit envelops suburbia and we get to a point where the automobile isn't the prime mode of transportation, we'll continue to be gas hogs. I don't see that ending anytime soon.

[Arlos]

A growing percentage of our public transit out here in the bay area is running on alternate fuels.

Oh, and Lyion, honestly, I don't care too much HOW they go about implementing biodiesel, as long as they DO it. How much would it wean us off of foreign oil if 100% of all of our diesel needs were being met by biodiesel? Once biodiesel can undercut petrodiesel (not too big a stretch given current prices) and it rolls out to general use, we'll see huge ripple effects across the entire nation, positive ones. 1) all the new jobs, including FARM jobs for the people growing the stuff, refining the stuff, etc. 2) Cheaper prices in stores as cost to transport goods drops. There's more, but those two're the most obvious. I must say, though, that that potential synergy between scrubbing out industrial CO2 while at the same time producing fuel is VERY exciting.

One of the big reasons I was pushing Hemp for this is that it has innumerable other uses besides just in biodiesel production. The seeds are what gets used for oil production, leaving the rest of the plant available for any other uses. Most important of these would be paper, actually. Hemp paper is higher quality than wood-pulp paper, and it grows one hell of a lot faster than a tree. heh. Would mean we could scale back the logging of our forests, and use all the lumber harvested for actual lumber, instead of turning it into sawdust and making paper out of it. Also, you can use the plant for animal feed, clothing, rope, etc. Lastly, it literally is a weed, so it will grow just about anywhere, with no pesticides or fertilizers, so it could easilybe grown in marginal areas where other crops would be too expensive to grow. Not sure if it would serve the same function in crop rotations that bean plants do (fixing nutrients back into the soil), but it'd be worth finding out.

-Arlos

[ClakarEQ]

I heard that Prof. on NPR this morning as well.

some of the flaws I see in his debate is he includes variables like this in his formula:

The fuel running the harvesters
The fuel used to make the harvesters
The trucks that move the harvest to/from the refiners, etc.

He wants to curtail(sp) our addiction, not replace one for another. That guy maybe a smart Prof but he needs some screw tighting none-the-less.

At the same time it would reduce our middle east addiction and have "limitless" suppies here. Also, over time the "fuel" noted in his variables would end up being bioD. So overtime his concern should subside. There is still the concern / addiction we have with fuel in of itself and the effect it has on the environment. I don't know enough about BioD to know what nasties come out of the exhaust pipe vs the your average "unleaded" gas we use now.

BTW, I LOVE the hemp idea. And no this isn't "pot" you don't smoke the crap I would refer to as hemp. Hemp replaces / displaces a ton of things (see Arlos' post).

[Lyion]

I wonder do we have a timeframe for adoption of Biodiesel..

Also, why aren't we pushing more diesel cars? This'd make more sense than hybrids, it seems. Am I missing something?

[ClakarEQ]

TY Lyion (del tax)

Re: diesel, I thought diesel came from the same crude "unleaded" came from just not as refined (I'm no gas man so I could be wrong).

Also, diesel used to be cheaper but it sure as hell doesn't seem that way today, from the gas stations that do offer D it is always more exp.

That is probably a supply / demand issue.

Something else is instead of BioD why not hydrogene(sp) I thought it "burned" nearly exhaust free, perhaps there is too much risk in the "crash tests" or someting. Doesn't H explode in a mushroom cloud (no not nuclear) even in small qty's?

[Kramer]

Lyion, in response to the suburb and survival point, I can only discuss my experience in Houston, but I have found that these issues are not of survival but of making money, there could have been mass transit built in Houston DECADES ago and there haven't been because people want their car and want to finance highways for those cars, rather than finance a mass transit system....

it is clearly happening that way in Houston, I don't know about other cities, but it is about people wanting to have what they want, not what may be the best thing, which = being addicted consumption....

In Houston, it is certainly a class issue, people do not walk in Houston unless they can't afford a car or they ride the bus... and if you are walking with groceries, etc. then you are really low class...