Ford is putting its money where it's mouth is. A story is coming out of Detroit that has Ford believing diesel hybrid cars will be the next big thing in automotive world. They Reflex is a diesel hybrid that gets 65 mpg. Additionally, it also has solar cells for auxillary power. We're excited about this news and hope more manufacturers come to this realization as well.

We were a little baffled by this, but a Iowa State study has devised a method for making biodiesel from styrofoam. All those little peanuts your mother told you were not good for the earth may have a purpose after all. It's still too early to determine what this means on a larger scale, but we'll keep a watch for it.

 

The Examiner has a good comparison of the pros vs cons of using biodiesel.

According to the Examiner, the pros are:

" It’s eco-friendly—about an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases
• Significant reduction in sulfur
• 90 percent reduction in cancer agents
• When blended with standard transportation diesel, biodiesel helps to extend
the energy capacity of the diesel
• It can also be used as a home heating oil
• It is less combustible than petroleum, making it safer to store and transport
• If biodiesel spills, it is biodegradable and breaks down roughly four times faster than petroleum diesel
• Runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine"

while the cons are

"

• It would take a lot of land to create enough biodiesel to put an end to the oil crisis conflict. Statistically to produce just five percent of the total diesel consumption of United States, approximately sixty percent of the crops would have to be diverted towards the production of diesel
• The use of biodiesel results in increased levels of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx)
emissions when used in diesel engines, although not usually in residential heating equipment. Biodiesel also releases the same amount of hydrocarbon
(or soluble carbon) emissions when burned as regular diesel
• Pure biodiesel has a high "clouding" point, meaning that liquid biodiesel begins to thicken into a solid at low temperatures. Because of its higher clouding point, biodiesel is more difficult to store and transport in cold climates, which adds to its cost
• Regarding its use in vehicles, purchasing used restaurant cooking oil locally and either making your own biodiesel at home or via an aftermarket system that is installed in your vehicle may not be such a good idea. In general it does not perform as well as petroleum diesel in cold weather, and biodiesel made from used cooking oil is even more significantly affected by cold weather than that made from soybeans. In simple terms, cold temperatures cause biodiesel to turn to a gel-like substance, which in turn can cause a whole host of engine problems like fuel filter clogging, severe engine lubricant degradation and carbon deposits, just to name a few…"

 

We think the pros far outweigh the cons. There are chemicals to lower the cloud point so that cold weather usage can occur. We talked more about it here . And, there are studies underway to show the NOx level can be controlled. What do you think?

 

 

 

The biodiesel industry could become much smaller if the $1.00 tax credit is not renewed. Let's see just how serious the new Obama administration is about renewable energy. Currently, biodiesel is slightly more than diesel. If we add another dollard to the price of it, the market will shrink, forcing what manufacturers have survived to shut down, allowing Big Oil to recapture some of the market share.

Vegetable Oil Diesel has a good article on why vegetable oil is not the new fuel for our cars. We have not talked much about WVO/SVO, but it's a cousin to biodiesel. It has a higher entry point but lower overhead. We prefer  biodiesel over WVO/SVO though since no modification is required and it can be used in almost all diesel vehicles.

FOX News has a good article on why biodiesel is green. There are a few key points in this article, including that biodiesel is not going to end petroleum imports, but it is an important part of the solution. The other is that carbon dioxide released by biodiesel combustion is offset by the carbon dioxide sequestered while growing the soybeans and other feedstock. In layman's terms, that means that the CO2 emitted from biodiesel use is the same amount as the soybeans grown in the field.

With $4 a gallon petrol last year, renewable energy is on everyones mind- including the Saudis. The New York Times reports that the Saudis are nervous. Why would they not be? The possibility or using biofuel (biodiesel) in place of their dyno-diesel could mean an end to their livelihood.