Ahhh.... alternative fuels! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
And...getting off of imported, foreign oil. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The USDA did a study on how much energy it took to create home grown fuel for how much you get out. The results are:
Ethanol....1 to 1.25 (get 1.25 out for every one put in)
BioDiesel..1 to 3.20 <--- clear winner!
Diesels are also inherently more efficient than gasoline engines because they operate at higher temperatures and pressures for the combustion cycle. You also get better "mileage" out of diesel because it packs more energy (more energy dense) per gallon than gasoline.
My 2003 VW Golf TDI (Turbo Diesel Injected) is EPA rated at 49 mpg highway.
A renewable fuel like BioDiesel puts HUGELY LESS CO2 into the air than petroleum powered vehicle because the plants (like soybeans) absorb C02 as they grow and then release it later when the oil is burned...only to be reabsorbed into other plants when the growth cycle is repeated. BioDiesel consumes some Methanol in the process of changing soy oil into SoyDiesel...so it is not a 100% no CO2 cycle, more like 78% less C02 (pretty good huh?!).
BioDiesel also lubricates the fuel injector pumps better than dino diesel so the engines last longer (some report 300,000 mile life!).
The story on emissions:
Diesels produce hugely less amounts of all pollutants except for two; NOx and particulates. NOx is associated with a fuel combining with oxygen. Nitrogen is 70% of our atmosphere, so...it is there too and when present during high energy combustion also combines with oxygen into NOx. The higher the pressures and temperature (diesel /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif), the more NOx. NOx is a contributer to smog. To clean up the NOx, you need a catalytic converter (like gas cars already have).
Here's the rub, sulfer will destroy the catalytic converter's ability to clean up the NOx. The standards for sulfer content in diesel fuel sold in the U.S. are some of the worst in the world. By law, the sulfer content of diesel fuel by 2006 needs to be about 10 times lower than it is today. Once we have the low sulfer diesel fuel, we can use catalytic converters on diesels just like we do on gas cars. In fact, a number of sites say at that point diesels will be overall WAY cleaner than gas cars.
BTW...there is no sulfer AT ALL in BioDiesel. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
So...there is this uncomfortable period until 2006 when low sulfer diesel fuel is mandated and the sales of diesel cars is unclear for that time. Although, VW has already announced a new diesel engine ("PD") for the Passat for 2004. So...(like Mark Twain), the reports of the diesel's demise may be a bit exaggerated!
As far as the amount of crop land needed for our fuel use, we import about 50% of our needs from foreign sources (Mexico, Venezuela, North Sea (Britain), Middle East, etc.). About 25% points of that come from the Middle East (hence commanding the attention of our gov't for decades).
So...at least for the U.S., we need to displace about half of our consumption of oil to stop importing.
A Minnesota agriculture site estimated that if all of its soybeans were crushed into oil and converted to BioDiesel, it would fill about 50% of that state's need for diesel. You can get about 49 gallons of BioDiesel per acre of soybeans (plus...you still get a lot of soy protein for animal feeds or other foods). Other oil seed crops (like rape seed @ 127 gal/acre) are more than double of that. I figured my 20,000 miles/yr of driving would require about 8 acres of soybeans just for me. At the moment, there are millions of gallons of soy oil that are "surplus" every year, so for a while...having enough is not a problem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Later, if this REALLY catches on, maybe we can switch to those other higher yielding crops. There is even a plant that grows in the desert or salty soils that gives a high oil yield (jojoba nut...194 gal/acre).
Actually, I find this pretty exciting! (maybe you can tell /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)
We might actually be able to get away from the spectre of our carbon based fuels "running out" and get on to a completely sustainable, renewable (and clean) source of fuel that we can grow what we need! No more ocean going super tankers (BTW...BioDiesel is also completely bio-degradeable and hugely safer to transport, it is after all, vegetable oil...one guy that runs a BioDiesel Co-op in CA drank some just to show how safe it was!), no more oil spills,....and maybe, just maybe, WAY less pressure to have wars and de-stabilize middle eastern gov'ts so we can ensure the continued flow of cheap petroleum to keep our cars and our economy humming.
I gotta tell ya, that seems like a goal worth supporting to me!
So...I got my diesel, and I will run BioDiesel (even though, at this early stage it costs more than dino diesel...$2.50/gal instead of $1.77 for dino diesel). It is starting to come down...it used to be $3/gal. But...it is a real, actual renewable fuel that you can burn RIGHT NOW. Not something we might have to wait 10 or 15 or 20 years into the future to be able to have.
BTW...Cedar Rapids, Iowa has been running a 20% BioDiesel mix in its buses downtown now for over 2 years...for the cleaner burning aspect.
Links:
Veterans of Foreign Wars site linking terrorism to foreign oil
Do diesels have a future?
The "Veggie Van" making BioDiesel out of used restaurant fryer oil ..."free" fuel!
BioDiesel.Org ...the whole BioDiesel story
VW TDI Club ...forum all about the VWs you can buy...and using BioDiesel in them
