Biodiesel @ MindSay

While this is a good general introduction to homebrewing biodiesel, I have to repeat the disclaimer I made earlier (see 6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere - Part II): before attempting this on your own it’s important to do your homework. Don’t trust it just because you’ve seen someone do it. Most of these videos don’t discuss the specifics of making biodiesel, and for that I would recommend a solid resource (also see the link just above): Biodiesel, Basics And Beyond: A Comprehensive Guide to Production And Use for the Home And Farm.

You’ll notice a lot of these videos utilize a homemade biodiesel reactor called the “appleseed” reactor. This is the simplest and cheapest way to build a biodiesel processing facility in your garage. The plans for it can be found here.

Number 1: Guy Makes Biodiesel In His Kitchen

I can’t believe his mother lets him do this in the kitchen, and where are his gloves?!

Number 2: Newscast On Highschool Biodiesel Program

This video goes into greater depth on biodiesel quality control issues.

Number 3: How to Make A Test Batch In a Blender

Quick demo of how to make a small batch of biodiesel in a blender. Notice the gloves and facemask.

Number 4: The Chemistry of Making Biodiesel

Good explanation of the science of biodiesel, but potentially geared towards high-school students. Beware: this is discussion takes place on a whiteboard.

Number 5: This is What a Biodiesel Garage Looks Like

This video probably does the best job of showing you what happens to a garage converted to a biodiesel processing facility. Good discussion of making biodiesel at home for about $0.70 per gallon.

For more information on biodiesel, see Gas 2.0’s Biodiesel Guide :

7 Steps to Buying a Diesel and Running It On Biodiesel
6 Ways To Find And Use Biodiesel Anywhere (Part I) and (Part II)

Can you put whisky in your car?Technorati Profile

I remember watching an episode of the A-Team where B.A. (as played by Mr. T) poured a moonshiner’s distillate into the team’s signature black van after he had run the engine bone dry. Hannibal (George Peppard) was very relieved when the whisky worked just fine and the motor started right away. Unfortunately that only happens in the movies (and on TV). Most commercial whiskies are only about 100 proof and would make very poor fuel.

Brandy might be 120 proof, or 60% alcohol, and could be used, but it would have to be a pretty warm day, or the engine already pretty hot from running previously on gasoline for it to work.

But make no mistake, ethanol is alcohol, but its 200 proof - absolute alcohol

Ethyl alcohol, or grain alcohol, is, according to the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a "clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic, agreeable odour." Ethanol has been used since prehistory as the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. Dried residue on nine thousand year-old pots found in China imply the use of alcoholic beverages among Neolithic peoples.

Ethanol once served as lamp fuel in pre-Civil War United States. Automotive history mentions that it was used to power Henry Ford’s first Model T’s. What happened? As an energy source, ethanol couldn't compete with the low cost and availability of petroleum. By 1865 crude oil had been discovered in both the eastern and western United States – but there was still no demand for it anywhere. In the 1870s, when Rockefeller entered the game, the oil refineries in Cleveland were only bottling the kerosene which was sold as a cheaper alternative to whale oil. They would dump their gasoline directly into the river.

GreenField Ethanol has valuable information on their site http://www.greenfieldethanol.com/en/ethanol.html#q3

about how to convert automobiles to consume bio diesel and proper fuel mixtures for most North American cars.

Every adult has no doubt tasted really strong whisky, but unless its 200 proof, or absolute alcohol, I wouldnt recommend using it as fuel.

Hello All-

Here are some updates on my life! I am finally getting my new car. Below is a picture of a Jeep Liberty Sport. Mine will be that color but it actually looks lighter. It runs on Diesel Fuel (will also run on Bio-Diesel!!!!) and is of course 4 Wheel Drive. It's a new 2005 (left over from last year). This will be the first new car I've ever had!!!! My dad is obviously helping me buy it. When I sell my truck he'll keep that money. He's gifting me one third of the difference for my 21st birthday and I will pay him another one third on a payment schedule and the remaining third will be paid by me riding some of the horses back home this summer as well as starting the handling on my mares foal in June! I think it's a pretty reasonable deal! I'm very excited! I think I'll probably get in monday or tuesday of next week! Yay.

I know there was other stuff I wanted to talk about but I kinda forgot.... maybe it'll come to me later and I'll blog then. Who knows!

Well color me shocked today.... there really IS hope for NY.

After all this time I've spent griping over New Yorks complete and utter lack of alternative fuels I stumble on this:

  Nextgen Fuel and Northeast Biofuels

Whats more these aren't new articles. Construction of both facilities is slated to be completed this winter at the old Miller Brewing plant just outside of North Syracuse. Production capacity for the two facilities is set at 5 million gallons of biodiesel and 100 million gallons of ethanol a year. The ethanol plant will be the third largest in the country while the Nextgen plant will supply just under 5% of the 110 gallon Biodiesel capacity in the US. Clarkson University is supplying the technology for the Northeast plant which it claims increases production efficiency by 100%. If there was any debate over the cost of producing ethanol there isn't anymore. Between Clarkson's new technology and SUNY ESF's Willow biomass and Hydrogen gassification project just South of Syracuse, this just might be... the place to be.

Other Articles: 

  Sustainable Syracuse

For Champy:

EPA.GOV

Biodiesel (B100)

            Carbon Monoxide -50%

          Particulates -70%

          Total Hydrocarbons – 40%

          Sulfates -100%

          Nitrogen Oxide +9%

          Methane +/- 0%

Ethanol (Grain-E85)

            Carbon Monoxide -40%

          Particulates -20%

          Hydrocarbons –(lower reactivity)

          Sulfates -80%

          Nitrogen Oxide -10%

          Ethanol ++

          Acetaldehyde ++

Compressed Natural Gas

            Carbon Monoxide – 95%

          Carbon Dioxide -25%

          Particulates –little to none

          Hydrocarbons –potential 50-75%

          Sulfates -?

          Nitrogen Oxide -35-60%

          Methane +/- 0%

To put things into perspective,

"Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide."

While I couldn't find detailed emissions information for ethanol based on feedstock it’s important to know that using cellulosic material (whole plants or trees) instead of grains (corn kernels) suggests a reduction of green house gases (methane, CO2 NOx) by up to 80%. But as I said, there is little information on the exact percentages of each.

Comparing Biodiesel and Ethanol can get a bit tricky because some sources argue that Biodiesel results are skewed because the systems use filters and catalysts that aren't used with other alternatives and that it effects emissions, especially particulates greatly. They contend that Filters and CATs are only relevant when in working order and as we've seen in the past are seldom replaced. I for one don't tend to trust the general public to maintain their vehicles in that way as I am guilty myself of ignoring or even hiding a few dead CATs when inspection time came.  Some sites also suggest that diesel engines do not produce the same results in real world conditions as they do in the lab and this again could tie back to the maintenance issue. Realistically we shouldn't be comparing entire systems for this very reason anyway.

It’s going to kill me to say this but for once it looks like my father was right, Compressed Natural Gas seems the way to go from a conservationist’s perspective.  There are however, two drawbacks to CNG that I can point out right away. CNG would require either a new vehicle or a vehicle conversion kit ($4k-5k) which is not necessary with Ethanol or Biodiesel. Conversion on a grand scale would most definitely be costly. My other problem with CNG is that even though it’s in great supply, we're still trading one non-renewable resource for another. Remember, there was a time when Oil was cheap and plentiful.  I have read that biomass can be converted through gasification, but into what I do not know.  If it is indeed methane that would certainly solve the sourcing problem and I know of a certain local college that farms trees for this very process. Unfortunately again, it’s likely the process is too complicated or too expensive to do privately. 

Personally I like hydrogen systems and I know they are testing them in DC but I’m afraid they are probably the furthest away from realization.  Electrical systems are intriguing but until they solve the storage problem they just aren't practical and replacing a battery at least once during the life of the car... are you kidding???  When you consider too the source of the electricity to charge the vehicle and the increase in production on that front electric cars may not be as green as they seem. 

The more I research Alternative Fuels the more I realize that it really is a problem of circles.

Energystar.Gov

If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road.

On the other hand, maybe we're just thinking too BIG: