Biodiesel and New Energy

2006-07-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Tesla EV Roadster is a fine looking and well powered vehicle. I promote any vehicle that does not run on gasoline, even if it does not split water.

0-60 in 4 seconds, runs on ~6800 lithium ion laptop batteries. Impressive. It must have a few hundred good horses in there, electric. This is the electric car that will beat the bag out of gas cars.

A few weeks ago I designed the 2008 Grand Marquis to use certain power sources, either battery/air, biodiesel, or fuel cell. I would like to add to that and replace the power source with a water splitter. A 1994 Ford Escort can do it, so can a largecar. I estimate that this will reduce engine weight by perhaps 200-300 pounds, considering loss of catalytic converters and mufflering and consolidated air intake and radiation systems.

I would replace the transmission with a multitronic transmission, sparing time getting high and increasing efficiency and available torque. This too will reduce moving parts and weight of the vehicle by perhaps 100 pounds.

And, if we can create hydrogen heat hotter than the surface of the sun with the H20-HHO-2H2O2 method for *free*, we can afford to extrude carbon fiber without the cost of heating it. This will reduce the cost of carbon fiber to perhaps 1/5 of its current cost, $15/pound, even without new refining strategies. This will make carbon fiber within price range for the vehicle, and allow the 800 pound carbon fiber frame even on this monster. We could afford to reinforce it with carbon threaded nanotubules if necessary to give it the highest tensile strength of any known fiber. Excellent.

This will bring the car down to the $15000 price range or lower considering the costs of operation, and allow it to achieve unreasonable acceleration, pointless efficiency, and 5*+ safety rating. Let the games begin.

2006-07-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_killed_the_electric_car/

Rotten Tomatoes. Movie site containing reviews of an educational doc on the electric car. I also want to know who killed the watercar. Preferrably before 2007.

2006-07-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

I invite you all to make use of this website. They will machine parts for you online and deliver them to you in 6-8 weeks. If you've got a novel rig for a biodiesel or water splitting engine and want them ot make it or you, tell them and they will.

http://www.emachineshop.com/

And if you haven't examined the technological marvels... of the 20th century that we could use today, visit www.byronwine.com.

2006-07-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

New Links:

Biodiesel Station. Contains links to ebay'd diesel engined vehicles of many low price ranges near Poughkeepsie, NY. I'd drive it. Easy search!

Also, see what Canada is doing. They're switching from American 500ppm diesel to European 15ppm diesel. Take a lesson, America. This will remove 90% of lung damaging particles from the air and be the equivalent of removing 200,000 trucks from the road. This is the clean air action.

Seperately, this is an outrage. Why would California limit the sale of biodiesel? I also believe I saw Golden Gate Fuels selling B100 without any special mention of this law. I am disappointed in you, California.

Look at these quotes. Recycled grease fuel should cost about a buck. I don't know why someone would sell biodiesel costing more than regular diesel at any time.

2006-06-23T02:16:00.000-07:00

Byron Wine and Energy Information

I must ask you a question. This man has accumulated reports from Shell, Ford, GM and assorted CEOs and company heads regarding expectations and reuslts of tests of vehicles and carburaters reaching into the 100's or several hundreds of miles per gallon of fuel, from a spectrum between 1929 to 1973 and recent.

Am I to believe that these historic and early-industry reports from corporate dignitaries are false, and that the tests are bogus, or should i presume that they are correct? I think they are correct.

Do a search for the Pogue carburater and US patent #2,026,798. The reported worst tests measure 171mpg. NASA also received a patent for an item similar to the Pogue carburater. It was filed in 1935 and given in 1936, [AD].

Furthermore, examine this video and numerous others about water as a fuel source. AEC fuel cells has developed an alloy metal method for extracting hydrogen from water using no charge. This could be easily used as a source of electrical energy or in automobiles.

2006-06-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

"The Ford Focus Diesel (getting 55 mpg as opposed to 26 mpg for the gas version offered in the US) is one of the biggest selling cars in Europe. In fact 75% of the cars Europeans buy are diesels because they are more efficient, get great pick up and emit less carbon dioxide and pollutants of gas cars.

Why doesn't Ford (or Audi) sell their wonderful fuel efficient diesels in the US? Because our diesel fuel is dirty and therefore diesel cars in the States create too much pollution to pass emissions tests.

In Europe diesel fuel in refined to have only 15ppm sulfur and it burns cleaner than regular gas. In the States our diesel has 500ppm sulfur! No wonder diesels in the States have never overcome the bad rap they got in the 70s. "

Refining diesel fuel could aid American environments and technology. But turning to biodiesel could do the same! I recently learned that America does not allow the sale of many diesel engines because of pollution requirements, although the startling and exciting figures above destroy that concern. Using biodiesel is a much better choice than petrodiesel in the first place, and biodiesel offers the same torque and power as petroD.

Buying a European ford Focus diesel and getting 55mpg seems like a very attractive offer.

2006-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Minnesota and Biodiesel

Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington State have passed economic incentives to make B2 [2% biodiesel] standard in all diesel. This level is safe for cold-start functioning. Congradulations! New York State has also passed legislation promoting Bioheat, burning biodiesel for heat. Avilability of biodiesel fuel in Chicago, Kansas City, and at major pipeline distributors has increased. New Holland is the first enginemaker to sanction B20 biodiesel in their engines. If enginemakers can install a few simple components, diesel engines will be suited to run on B100 out of the factory, and our fuel cycle and environment clenliness will improve considerably. B2 may be designed to catch attention and familiarize people with biodiesel. Good work and job. See biodiesel.org for more news!

Biodiesel will help us clean the air. With fewer pollutants produced, low mpg shipment movers can improve environmental performance. As a state and society, we should be careful not to produce particulate matter in excess of the ability of earth's natural low-altitude negative ionic field to take care of it. When that happens we find long term accumulation of air pollution.

2006-06-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Batteries, Supercapacitors, and Metal Hydrides
Liion batteries feature ~135kw/kg. GM's 1996 electric vehicle used lead-acid batteries getting 25kw/kg and performed at industry standard, except for a 79 mile range. With 5.3X as much battery power, the new electric vehicle can have substantially greater performance.

Furthermore, supercapacitors are much like batteries.

Beyond this still, METAL HYDRIDES are much like batteries. They are basically big metal batteries like nickel metal hydrides, that hold hydrogen for power. Installing these metal hydrides in cars or gadgets is one of the easiest ways to store power. The metal can enhance structural integrity and can be seperated into about 4 packages for ease of replacement/refuelling. It is an infinitely reversible chemical reaction and holds hydrogen 2-3x as densely as liquid hydrogen, and will never explode. power.

I bet a piezoelectric handcrank or dynamo could recharge them using water, in the event of getting stranded. Or a small electrolyzer could recharge them from AC power. It might also be wise to begin using these infinitely rechargeable superdense batteries in, say, my laptop, as well as in cars.

2006-06-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is highly recommended that auto companies build vehicles whose cylinders will shut off in pairs when not needed. It may also be an effective choice to substitute a six piston engine for a four piston engine whose pistons are 3/2 as large. The efficiencies of this model are only outpaced by being able to shut off 2 of the 6 when not needed.

Multitronic transmissions can help make this efficiency more effective.

2006-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

Biodiesel VS Ethanol

Unfortunately, biodiesel can only be run in diesel engines, and less than 5% of American vehicles run on diesel. Since many low mpg trucks run on diesel, we may be able to replace more than 5% of America's oil requirements by converting diesel engines without touching gasoline engines.

Any gasoline engine can be converted to run on ethanol, as diesel engines can be converted to run on biodiesel. Ethanol is an alcohol, and can be acquired denatured 'made undrinkable' for perhaps $2.25 per gallon in bulk. This means that ethanol is a better deal than gasoline, but not much better for the time being. However, it is minimally polluting inside the vehicle, which can reduce urban smog and improve user experience. It is uncertain whether standard production methods increase or decrease net energy level. It may depend on the amount of heat added and method of extraction. Regardless, it is on the market for you and cheaper than gas.

Since alcohol burns slower than gasoline, the timing of the firing in the piston's cycle must be adjusted backwards. This can be done by wrenching your carburater a little bit or by changing the settings on your fuel injection system. This job sounded technical when I read it, so I recommend asking your mechanic to do it for you.

Much technical information is available at the Brazilian based site www.abcesso.com. Brazil is the world's #1 sugar producer, and has been using about 20% fermented sugar [ethanol] in its gas since the 1970's. The website sells equipment for your engine that will maintain its factory warranty and allow you to run on gasoline, ethanol, or both at once.

Ethanol is better and more environmentally friendly than petroleum. It can also be produced locally and makes fewer and less toxic pollutants than petroleum. On the plus, ethanol is a more powerful fuel source than gasoline and comes from farm wastes. It may also cost a few thousand dollars to convert successfully, but if engines are produced to run on gasoline-ethanol from the factory they will cost approximately the same amount as new gasoline-only engines.

Ethanol is an effective new energy in light of peak oil, world pollution, and agricultural efficiency. Links to ethanolcentric sites will appear on this page.

America and the world should change their agricultural practices to coincide with our changing fuel needs. In the coming years American and world farmers will need to devote more space to fuel crops as well as provide food for the world. Combined with the "2 million wells" program, this should be easily attainable.

2006-06-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Air and Battery

It is possible to build a vehicle whose power source is batteries augmented by compressed air. Even the best batteries can only charge so quickly, so to augment this and reduce a bottleneck, battery-laden carswill be fitted with compressed air tanks and supercapacitors. The car will be plugged in to a 220v socket. This will charge the batteries and superconductor, and power an air compressor which will begin filling the air tanks.

A compressed air motor will assist the electronic drivetrain, and either can run alone. This could also be duplicated with a small biodiesel, ethanol, LNG or petroleum engine assisting batteries. A small solar panel might be another good idea to trickle-charge the batteries, and a small amount of compressed air can be leaked continually to add charge to the battery packs. It is estimated that today's best Liion batteries hold 135watt hours/kilogram, making them a feasable choice. We may replace these batteries with metal hydride batteries. How many wh/kg do the best metal hydrides produce?

Note that if the electricity is made using solar electrolysis or bacterial photosynthesis, zero total pollutionis produced from start to park.

Adding piezoelectric coatings to the vehicle's shocks would also provide electrical charge for the batteries. [idea originated in April 06]

2006-05-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Canada

Please, America, join the Kyoto Treaty and reduce emissions. You can do it if you use biodiesel fuels.

2006-05-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Cheap Conversion?

i am planning on installing good fuel tank, fuel link, and piston heaters on the vehicle. i'd also like to add a splash tank of about a gallon that is closer to the piston which can be heated seperately and more quickly instead of heating the whole tank. by the time the splash tank completely cycles, the engine will be warm, and the fuel that enters the piston will be hotter universally than the same amperage through a larger amount of fuel.

but with the right fuel and this single conversion costing an estimated >$200, i am ready to roll on biodiesel in any environment. it'd be nice to get stronger glow plugs.

could heat alone prevent sprayer coking? if there was an element right up on the sprayer or piston, it might just melt the fatty acids off of the sprayer even under 100*C, leaving them to be combusted or go out the exhaust.

eh?

2006-05-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

When Making BioDiesel...

This is a resource on the internet. Use with caution and other research.

When you are making biodiesel, you should take some of the best oil you can haul away for free, or use coconut oil because of it's high quality and litres per hectare of production.[*1] If you're hauling, titrate it to find the amount of free fatty acids, using this chopstick method i've heard so much about.[*2] If the Ph is too high or the free fatty acid count is too high [above perhaps 10 drops of lye required] then the biodiesel is not going to be so excellent ad will be difficult to make and could damage your engine.

Titration

So water and oil do not mix. Biodiesel is oil. However, there are mono- and diglycerides in the oil if it is poor due to impartial reaction. These are emulsifiers and, like cinco de mayonnaise, cause the oil to hold water. The water is not good for your engine and the mono-s and di-s will clog your injector, i am told. I say fry em off, but that's a hassle and tastes terrible.

I have been told that to remove the water from biodiesel you can add epsom salt. The epsom salt may actually absorb the water and then settle out or be filtered. That would be a fine method to remove the junk from your BD mix.

*1 - plus, coconuts rock
*2 - link found below for 'titration'

Biodiesel vs Vegetable Oil

Many of the possible pitfalls that an engine experiences from using biodiesel come from improper production. Biodiesel process is basically taking vegetable oil and replacing an ethyl- chemical group with methyl, using methanol and lye to get it to react. This makes soap and introduces slow-burning methanol to the fuel, both of which can be very bad for engines, and also allow for the possibility of water in the fuel which is also bad.

If your biodiesel comes out the other side with no soap methanol or water in it, and fully reacted by using the correct amount of lye, it will be a good deal for your diesel. Commercial producers can control and guarantee this status.

But you might not always be able to. Can you just run straight vegetable oil? If it is appropriately filtered to remove cooking particles and is of a favorablly neutral pH, and if you have installed a tank and fuel line heater, it should perform suitably. Should is the word, though.

It could be linseed oil, which is more corrosive. It could be very fatty oil, in which case it'd contain more bits and junk and contribute to clogging. You may still need to dewater the vegetable oil, which could be done with epsom salt, which would then have to be filtered out, or just boil it off, which takes a lot of energy.

It would also be a good idea to have the fuel entering your pistons be at around 160-170*F [~75*C] because that is about the viscosity of #2 diesel fuel, which your diesel's injectors were tuned for.

this can be achieved with a good fuel tank heater. it seems that most of the common problems of biodiesel and svo can be addressed with a fuel tank, fuel line, and piston heater, and properly prepared fuels.

i bet it's a lot easier and cheaper to prepare biodiesel than it is to make 93 octane, and that a fair deal less pollution is created in the process.

2006-05-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

You can convert your diesel engine to run on treated vegetable oil selling at about 80 cents a gallon.

That is the long and short of this page and a positive achievable goal for most drivers.

-The Links-

http://www.journeytoforever.org/

http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel.html - these are the best and easiest resources on biodiesel.

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/groupee - forums about biodiesel fuels
http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/ - make your own biodiesel for even cheaper
http://www.bbibiofuels.com/biodieselmagazine/ -wow we've got a magazine!

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc & change
-- this is the best link and method i've found for testing vegetable oil ph to see how suitable it is for making into biodiesel. i also believe that if you check the ph of vegetable oil you can improve your selection of oils.

http://www.biodiesel.org/ -or buy biodiesel at any of these distributors.
http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/distributors/default.shtm

The Facts

Rudolf Diesel built the first diesel engines in ~1896, running them on vegetable oil. The diesel engines displayed at the 1904 World's Fair in Paris ran on peanut oil. Vegetable oil provides as much power and torque as petrodiesel. Modern Indirect Injection [IDI] diesel engines work best with biodiesel.

A diesel engine can run on regular vegetable oil or biodiesel, which is a treated form of vegetable oil.

Since vegetable oil and biodiesel are gummier than petrodiesel, it will get syrupy at temperatures below about 50*F/12*C. This is easily remedied by using an electric fuel tank, line, and piston heaters. It is a good idea to let any car idle up when it is cold out to give the engine oil time to circulate.

Biodiesel is also more viscous [wetter, or more soapy] than petrodiesel. Using biodiesel will loosen any old fuel residues in your engine, so it is recommended that the fuel filter be changed after the first 800 miles using biodiesel. After this the fuel filter should function normally. This cleans your engine.

If you use waste vegetable oil [WVO] you will want to filter it before runing it, as it will probably contain particles. Putting it through a 1-micron filter before putting it in your engine will circumvent this problem. You should also test the vegetable oil's ph to ensure it is not too acidic. This can be done with emery strips. Acidic oil will eventually wear out your engine. Also examine the links about about titration, to test oil for free fatty acids [FFA] content. Lower FFAs mean better oil.

Makes. Models.

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_vehicle.html -a bit on conversion

Vehicles built after 1993 to conform with ultra-low-sulfur-diesel all use treated rubber. Diesel engines commonly run longer than 500,000 to 1 million miles, but older cars use natural rubber, which will slowly corrode in the presence of biodiesel. If you do get a diesel older than 1993, be sure to replace the fuel line with one using treated rubber.

Since biodiesel has different properties than petrodiesel any vehicle you get will benefit from some conversion, but they are not so different that the conversion is mandatory. You can get good conversion kits from Diesel engines use pressure from glow plugs to combust the fuel. A biodiesel engine can benefit from stronger glow plugs. You may also want to 'retard the injection timing by 2-3 degrees'. The atomizer sprays fuel into the piston, and biodiesel atomizes slightly differently than petrodiesel. This will reduce power slightly but it will burn cooler and quieter, making less NOx emissions.

The Volkswagen Rabbit is the most common choice I have encountered. It's small and a manual 1.8L 4cyl gets about 35mpg. Good performance and reliability, large enough for tall people but less than comfy. Price: around $2000. Models are all from the late 1970's to mid 1980's.

I'd replace the bumpers with 6X6" hard rubber blocks boned with steel, and I might pack a turbocharger on top. Yes, biodiesel will run with a turbocharger.

Other diesel models are all VW TDIs [jetta, golf, new beetle, passat] and the 310hp Touareg [despite weighing 5700#!] Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500, Ford F-250 and F-350 have diesels, and the infamous Hummers have diesel versions.

And any gasoline car can be made to run on ethanol. This is project #2, for another site.