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BANG FOR THE BITE
While these bio fuels aren't the be all and end all answer to the world's fuel problems, they're definitely better than ethanol and, some think, even hybrids.
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home › tip library › Alternative Fuels
Dino-fuel dependency got you down?
The Bite
Us, too - fossil fuels are going extinct faster than the T. rex during a comet shower. We're still waiting on a perfect solution, but a bunch of smarty-pants-asauruses have come up with new ways to get your car running on veggie oil in the meantime.The Benefits
- Stopping global warming. While it does increase nitrogen oxides (which cause smog), biodiesel emits 75% less CO2 than conventional diesel, and waste veggie oil emits only the amount of CO2 that was absorbed while the veggies were a-growin'.
- No premium on price. At about $3 per gallon, biodiesel can cost the same as gas and diesel. Veggie oil (while not approved as a fuel yet) is free if you get buddy-buddy with a local restaurant owner.
- Wider availability. Since we first covered biodiesel two years ago, about one new biodiesel station has opened every day, and there are now biodiesel stations in 44 of 50 states.
Personally Speaking
Jen's TDI Volkswagen Jetta wears its "Biodiesel Turns Me On" bumper sticker with pride.Wanna Try?
Billionaire Biter?- Biodiesel America - see a list of new, biodiesel-ready cars.
- Learn how you can convert an older diesel car here.
- Find biodiesel stations nationwide here.
Budget Biter?
- New Belgium Brewery - this beer producer turns brewery waste into biodiesel. Pop open a cold one while you mull over the biofuel options ($11/six-pack).
Biter Brainiac?
- Natural Resources Defense Council - reasons (and studies that show) why biofuels rock.
- Co-op America - go into a little more depth about ethanol and biodiesel.
- Journey to Forever - the most comprehensive site on waste veggie oil.
Sep 19,2007
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The Trixie of the Biodiesel Trade
I miss Trixie. Trix was this biodiesel '76 Benz I bought on Craisglist so I could tool around in her after I first got to SF last year. She was a lovely broad - sort of past her prime, but blissfully unaware of that fact. (She was insanely fun to drive, albeit a bit cranky about things like shifting into the right gear or starting at all.) But she drove like a dream once started, and she ran on biodiesel.
Then that pesky vixen Jen Boulden rear-ended me during a company retreat, bashing in the Trix's backdoor and locking up her trunk, and I couldn't afford the bodywork, so I donated her to help fund a women's shelter. Figured that was a good way to continue Trixie's grand good-girl/bad-girl, girl-power karma.
I don't know what karma is gonna do to the evil, trunk-bashing Jen.
-Heather...off to think of all the ways my Prius just isn't as much fun as my biodiesel was...
Then that pesky vixen Jen Boulden rear-ended me during a company retreat, bashing in the Trix's backdoor and locking up her trunk, and I couldn't afford the bodywork, so I donated her to help fund a women's shelter. Figured that was a good way to continue Trixie's grand good-girl/bad-girl, girl-power karma.
I don't know what karma is gonna do to the evil, trunk-bashing Jen.
-Heather...off to think of all the ways my Prius just isn't as much fun as my biodiesel was...
Biter Comments...
For regular gasoline cars, you can use E85 Ethanol without too much fuss. That is if you can find it. However unless you're using straight recycled vegetable oil in your diesel engine, biofuels actually create more pollution than gasoline and diesel. It takes a lot of electricity to make that fuel and this usually comes from coal in the producing states. You also have to add in the devastating effect of monocropping corn (ethanol) and soy (biodiesel).
Corn and Soy are environmentally intensive crops that require vast amounts of nitrogen based fertilizers that are made from petroleum. They destroy the land they are planted on and the rivers they are planted near. Corn and Soy from the Midwest plains states are responsible for an every growing dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. These crops are also filler foods. You will find corn and soy products in just about everything you eat these days. As more fields are sold for biofuels, you will continue to see the price of food outstrip inflation as you have for the last 2 years.
Ethanol works in Brazil because they have fewer cars and different processes to make it. If we wanted to make enough ethanol to power every car in the United States, we would have to plant every square inch of the lower 48 states with corn.
Increasing fuel efficiency is the answer. Our cars need to be made to go further on what we give them. Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are working on this. You can expect to see their non-hybrid vehicles get up to 40 MPG in the next few years. Honda has a diesel engine that tests out at 62 MPG right now. Coupled with hybrid drives, these engines will get even more mileage. We need to write our federal representatives and push for higher fuel efficiency from "domestic" car companies. They produce vehicles for Europe and Asia which have higher standards, they can do it for the United States as well.
AS to whether the Prius was a good buy, over its lifetime, it will probably pollute less than the biodiesel Benz.
If you're interested in running your diesel on veggie oil, check out these links:
1) An interview with my brother-in-law and sister about their greasecar (2002 Jetta TDI) and Montgomery County's plans to hook up veggie car owners and restaurants.
http://wamu.org/programs/mc/07/09/14.php#17666
2) Greasecar.com, where they got their veggie oil conversion kit.
3) Frybrid.com, another popular conversion kit.
I've just bought a diesel so that I can do this myself. I'm not the most mechanically adept candidate, but I know my brother-in-law is really looking forward to helping me out with this (right?) ... and actually, once you start looking into it, you'll find that there's a whole community willing to give friendly advice.
I just finished reading the biter-tip for the day and am a little disheartened. Today's tip was concerning biodiesel. Although I think that running a vehicle on waste veggie oil is a great step in the right direction, your hearts are certainly in the right place, I do not agree with using biodiesel. The amount of fossil fuels it would take to grow enough crops to power all of America's vehicles would be more detrimental to the environment. Not to mention all of the "food" going to be used for fueling vehicles, rather than feeding the millions of people who need it for survival in 3rd world countries.
A better alternative is a move toward going electric. According to the producer of the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car" the amount of pollution released from coal burning plants that produce the energy to charge an electric vehicle is a lot less than whty is produced by any gas powered vehicle. And if you happen to power your home with solar, wind, clean-hydro, or any combination on the 3, well then you just are winning the battle all the way around. Electric vehicles emit nothing! And there are companies, kits, and how-to's all over the web for converting a vehicle to electric (try www.evconvert.com). Lets not forget the new electric prototype, the Volt, from Chevy, and the Bay Area's own electric car company, Tesla (www.teslamotors.com).
Just FYI, there can be unforeseen legal costs associated with transforming your car into a bio-fuel machine: NPR's All Things Considered did a story last month on eco-minded folks who were pulled over by police and then charged fees and back taxes for unregulated fuel use. Ideal Bite readers should be informed of these liabilities as well... -Kaley
I have to agree with Kristins comment and add a little something myself. The most popular oils being used to make biodiesel are soybean oil and palm oil. Both are detrimental to the environment in many ways. In Malaysia and Indonesia, where they produce the majority of the worlds palm oil they are constantly tearing down rainforests which is leading to the endangerment of many animals including orangutans. The palm oil plantations are not capable of maintaining animal populations and when animals come to feed in the palms they are often killed or taken captive. The rainforest in borneo has been reduced by 50% in the last 20 years for palm oil plantations. In Brazil where soy is their major cash crop, the Amazon rainforest is being destoryed at an alarming rate, to the dismay of many animal species and indigenous peoples. I enjoy reading idealbite info and tips but I am disappointed that there would not be more research into the serious environmental issues a surge in biodiesel fuels can cause. Ozone for rainforest? No thanks, I would rather look at other options.
I think your making a mistake promoting the biodiesel or ethanol fuel cars. As it has been reported these fuels would only reduce carbon emmissions by 4% and thus have very little impact on global warming. The current only proper answers is to get moving with the fuel cell cars and solar electric power. In addition, one can also use the hydrogen fuel for any use such heating, electric generation, etc. Don't be fooled by their comments that hydrogen cannot be used, when in reality it only costs pennies on the dollar to produce and the scam blocking hydrogen production by the oil companies. Hydrogen is very easy to make and can be even produced by you by simply household kitchen products. Want to try it and see, get red devil lye (sodium hydroxide) mix it with water thoroughly, put it in a glass bottle than put in some aluminum foil. Quickly put on a 9 inch ballon and watch the ballon fill with hydrogen in about 5 minutes. Please also do this outside to avoid any possible hydrogen leakage or someone accidently breaking the bottle. Also, the liquid will generate heat up toward 180 degrees F so avoid touching the bottle without unprotected hands. I am explainly this for safety reasons just so people don't get careless, otherwise it is a very neat experiment to try. If one wants to really change the world than people should be promoting hydrogen use which by the way is far more safer than gasolene. If someone doubts this, I would be willing to discuss the pros or cons of hydrogen. Also, just as a note it would be better if you could use larger type print here, it would be better to read the articles than.
Is it too late to stop the ethanol con job?
(from reportonbusiness.com) Click here:
http://tinyurl.com/2he8yk
or here:
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070914.wibreguly14/BNStory/robColumnsBlogs/home
I for one hope it's not too late! I love some of the Biter's tips, but this one really made a big mistake.
Want to save the environment? Stop driving SUVs, start carpooling, stop working far away from your home, start cycling, stop using "biofuel".
My husband and I recently purchased a VW Jetta TDI that has already been converted to run on WVO. Although we didn't do the conversion ourselves, the man we purchased it from installed the Frybrid kit himself (www.frybrid.com). I can't say it's the most efficient for driving around town because the engine has to heat up enough to automatically switch from diesel to veggie oil, but after a few miles it switches over, making it perfect for longer trips. In my opinion, it's more efficient than any other fuel (45-50 mpg), less energy intensive to make (since we filter the waste oil ourselves) and free (thanks to the Chinese Kitchen Express)!!
Rolling Stone Magazine jumped all over E85 as a bad deal (Issue 1032, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15635751/ethanol_scam_ethanol_hurts_the_environment_and_is_one_of_americas_biggest_political_boondoggles).
But I'd rather log what Cleveland (yes, Cleveland) is doing about biodiesel. First, we have a highly decorated microbrewery, Great Lakes Brewery (http://greatlakesbrewing.com/), that reuses its biowaste as its delivery biodiesel truck fuel. If you are ever in town, please visit the restaurant (no, I have no affiliation with it, other than true gastronomic affection); the food is amazing. If not, buy the beer. It's a godsend. Burning River Pale Ale is perfect with hot curries and jambalaya, Black Out Stout is aged in old bourbon casks. There are dozens of brews to choose from. If you like finely crafted beer, Cleveland will please you and surprise you. Know that the beer is delivered in trucks that use biodiesel that recycle the spent beer mash.
Another fine establishment in Cleveland is the Lusty Wrench (http://www.lustywrench.com/who.htm), a repair shop in Cleveland Heights that makes biodiesel conversions to diesel engines. Even when he's not doing conversions, Sam's (the owner) motto is "EcoFriendly Auto Repair". And get this: everyone who knows Sam knows that he puts more mileage a year on his bike (emblazoned with the sticker "one more car off the road") than his car!
The City of Cleveland Heights recycles used motor oil to heat the vehicle maintenance zone of the Public Works garage. http://www.clevelandheights.com/citydept_works_refuse_recycling.asp?id=59
We in Cleveland are growing accustomed to seeing our city and surrounding area in the news for unwonderful labels like poorest or fattest or most foreclosures. I want you to know that there are folk here who are fighting to make sure not all the news is bad.
(On a slightly related note, Sam joined my husband and me and the 61 other bike riders on our team to raise over $40,000 for the Ohio Buckeye Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. More good news, more eco-friendly energy.)
Additionally, in the most recent VW Driver magazine we recieved, it is looking more and more like Volkswagen is getting tired of other people profitting from converting their TDIs. January 2008 will begin the launch of the "clean diesel" TDIs run on Sunfuel, allegedly up to 95% efficient and "made entirely from bio-mass feed stock", an amalgam of wood, 'bio-garbage', and other plant material. They say that it will not pollute. This would be a miracle, if true, and would be a revolutionizing concept in the Third World particularly, if it were made available and affordable. By the way, the reference info: Volume 45 No. 1 Spring/Summer 2007 pg. 18, Driver Magazine. Proprietary publication, so take it with a large grain of salt, and maybe push back production date at least 6 months; still, nice to see them FINALLY doing something about alternative fuels. We can all hope for this and much more. For myself, I'm pushing for the "much more".
Although I consider myself to be environmentally aware I have serious concerns about biodiesel.
I live in Hawaii and they are considered using biodiesel as a fuel. That means on an island that has roughly a 4 day food supply they want to convert agricultural land to biodiesel resources. Bad idea. Also NO is a major contributor to ozone degredation and therefore a plethera of other problems. Biodiesel is not all it is hyped to be.
I am a bio-diesel producer
and you should be ashamed ,
Bushies
I thought you could use E85 Ethanol only in a flex fuel car.As to some of the suggestions to save the environment-cycling in areas that get cold & snow in the winter is out. Summer would be fine. And carpooling in areas away from big cities is a joke. I have never been able to work the same hours with coworkers that live near me(different schedules). As for working out of the home-where do you find such jobs?? I'd LOVE to have one. No pollution,no commute. In the meanwhile, I'll keep my compact car tuned up & combine trips & get a hybrid when I can afford one. I'd love to convert my car to an electric one but all the power here in NW Indiana is coal powered with no change in sight.I'd love to make my house solar but it's too expensive right now:( Not trying to be pessimistic just realistic.
Not really on biofuel but...
Indiana has an RES (Renewable Electricity Standard) goal of 1,000 Megawatts by 2010. That is roughly 10% of the state's energy needs. That is better than Texas which is working towards 5.5%. 21 states actually have legislated Renewable Electricity Standards. Some more than others. If all meet their goals it will remove over 100 million metric tons of CO2 from the air.
Of course if the Federal Government set a goal of 20% across the board, it would remove 500 million metric tons.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/clean_energy_policies/RES-climate-strategy.html
I could not find Indiana's info on that site. Our power is NIPSCO that is coal powered & only has net metering. That only applies to your own solar/wind power right?? When I contacted them that was the only option they gave. They did not give any indication of green power in the near future or even looking into it. I will keep after them you can count on it.
Getting back to alt-fuel cars, I'm looking forward to the Tesla. It not only sounds like a fabulous idea, the car looks sweeeeeeeet! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/tesla-roadster-electric-060-in-four-seconds-188565.php
Here's a video from CNET. If you're eyes are quick you'll catch a glimpse of the Governator unfolding himself as he gets out of the passenger's side, post-launch. This car -- this *electric* car -- does 0-60 in 4 seconds and can reach a modest top speed of 130 mph. Drawbacks? Only one cupholder, only two seats. Oh yeah, and 100k pricetag. Ouch. http://www.news.com/1606-2-6102127.html
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Laureli | September 19, 2007 at 06:45 AM