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To use this in automobiles. That would put a stake in the hearts of those in the middle east (assuming it's not oil based).

It is a petroleum product. But you're on the right track--we already have a way to use biofeuls in your existing diesel car. You can use a manufactured Biodiesel or roll your own more or less for free. And there are some good cars with diesel engines! Trucks, SUVs, Volkswagens and Mercedes.

I read last year that Rudolf Diesel actually developed the engine so that it would be useful in undeveloped regions where they would have to use alternative fuels such as biodiesel.

According to this website:

Dr. Rudolf Diesel first developed the diesel engine in 1895 with the full intention of running it on a variety of fuels, including vegetable oil. Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 using peanut oil as fuel. In 1911 he stated "The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture of the countries which use it." In 1912, Diesel said "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time." Since Diesel's time, the design of the diesel engine has been modified so it can run on the cheapest fuel available: petroleum "diesel" fuel.

Here is a list of retail diesel pumps that provide Biodiesel. Here is a good forum discussing the Volkswagen TDI vehicles.

When I purchased my diesel Beetle, someone suggested I look into BioDiesel. As far as I can tell, the only way I would be able to use BioDiesel in my car would be to purchase the stuff in bulk and store it somewhere. I don't think I can legally do that in my condominium. And at $1.90 to $3.00 a gallon, I don't think I can afford it compared to the $1.55 a gallon (or so) that I will generally pay for standard diesel.

I work in the DC area, so reducing emissions would seem to be a priority here. Except that someone apparently removed funding for BioDiesel. Someone who, I think, currently lives in the White House. Someone who, I think, has more of an interest in preserving oil company interests (being something of an oil man himself) than protecting even his own health.

Anyway, here's a couple of useful links:

BioDiesel.Org

US Government's Alternative Fuels Data Center Homepage

The last link is particularly nice. While I will fault the US government for doing anything substantive, they at least have provided a lot of interesting research on the topic.

www.biodiesel.org

And you can make your own in your kitchen.

Maybe he meant Hemp derived Bio-Diesel. Diesel fuel can be produced from any oil ( ie. the french fry powered car you've probably seen on television ) Fat or Oil is rendered by combining it with alcohol ( methanol ) in the presence of a catalyst to produce glycerine, and bio-diesel. Unfortunatly Biodiesel can't compete at all in price when compared to petrolium derived diesel.

http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/Production.PDF

While the idea of a Hydrogen-powered vehicle is a great one, if Slashdot readers are interested in a "more" environmentally-friendly vehicle there are options right now.

Biodiesel (more info here and here) is diesel fuel that will work in any new-ish diesel-powered vehicle with out ANY modifications. Benefits?

- Availability of the vehicle. Volkswagen produces a line of turbo diesel injected vehicles right now. They are available from about US$15k - $30k, depending on which model and features you ask for.
- Availability of the fuel. Biodiesel is NOT as wide-spread as diesel - not by far. But it IS available. There's a station in my hometown, Portland, OR and one down in Eugene, OR. According to the map of refueling sites provided by biodiesel.org, there are nine biodiesel stations in California.
- Cost of the fuel. B20, that is 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel, costs about US$1.75/gallon in Portland, OR. That's about what premium/super goes for here, give or take 10 cents. I don't have info on what B100 costs - probably around $2.25 or more or possibly less. Depends on your supplier.
- Biodiesel benefits the American (or local) economy. Biodiesel is created from plants. Soy and such. Soy beans can be grown locally in many places of the world. Oil can be had in America, too, but there's not much of it and one it's gone, it is GONE. More soy beans can be grown at any time.
- Biodiesel is "environmentally friendly". According to the US EPA in this PDF document, use of B100 biodiesel will reduce the output of carbon monoxide from a single veh by 50%. B100 will reduce particulate emissions by 70% (less smog). Total hydrocarbon emissions reduced by 40%. Reductions in sulfate emissions by 100%.
- Biodiesel takes less energy to make than diesel and much less energy to make than gasoline.
- Diesel vehicles, particularly the TDI's from VW, are VERY fuel efficient. Expect to get 40/city, 45+/highway (expessed in miles per gallon). Many people report getting 600+ miles to the tank.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles will be great when they are mass-produced in 10 years. Until then, look at Biodiesel. I think the benefits far outweigh the added expense of the fuel.

While the idea of a Hydrogen-powered vehicle is a great one, if Slashdot readers are interested in a "more" environmentally-friendly vehicle there are options right now.

Biodiesel (more info here and here) is diesel fuel that will work in any new-ish diesel-powered vehicle with out ANY modifications. Benefits?

- Availability of the vehicle. Volkswagen produces a line of turbo diesel injected vehicles right now. They are available from about US$15k - $30k, depending on which model and features you ask for.
- Availability of the fuel. Biodiesel is NOT as wide-spread as diesel - not by far. But it IS available. There's a station in my hometown, Portland, OR and one down in Eugene, OR. According to the map of refueling sites provided by biodiesel.org, there are nine biodiesel stations in California.
- Cost of the fuel. B20, that is 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel, costs about US$1.75/gallon in Portland, OR. That's about what premium/super goes for here, give or take 10 cents. I don't have info on what B100 costs - probably around $2.25 or more or possibly less. Depends on your supplier.
- Biodiesel benefits the American (or local) economy. Biodiesel is created from plants. Soy and such. Soy beans can be grown locally in many places of the world. Oil can be had in America, too, but there's not much of it and one it's gone, it is GONE. More soy beans can be grown at any time.
- Biodiesel is "environmentally friendly". According to the US EPA in this PDF document, use of B100 biodiesel will reduce the output of carbon monoxide from a single veh by 50%. B100 will reduce particulate emissions by 70% (less smog). Total hydrocarbon emissions reduced by 40%. Reductions in sulfate emissions by 100%.
- Biodiesel takes less energy to make than diesel and much less energy to make than gasoline.
- Diesel vehicles, particularly the TDI's from VW, are VERY fuel efficient. Expect to get 40/city, 45+/highway (expessed in miles per gallon). Many people report getting 600+ miles to the tank.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles will be great when they are mass-produced in 10 years. Until then, look at Biodiesel. I think the benefits far outweigh the added expense of the fuel.

Not many people realize this, but every single diesel automobile produced today is capable of burning 100% Biodiesel fuel. Here is how you would buy Biodiesel. Here is a forum site for the only passenger automobile diesel engines available in North America, the TDI. On this site, are forums, among many others, that deal with biodiesel fuel itself, reducing emissions, and getting better fuel economy. Another little-known fact: approximately 40% of the automobiles sold in Europe today are diesel-powered, yet only 1/3 of 1% of the automobiles sold in the U.S. are diesel-powered.

use plastic lumber or simply buy it and donate it to local community gardens or others who can use it.

A serious solar charger for batteries and use rechargable batteries wherever possible (I know that this has shortcomings, but still helpful for now).

buy LED light bulbs (especially for hallways and other areas you use briefly)

a wind turbine based-system rather than a PV one (more bang for the buck, generally longer lifespan)

an on-demand water heating system, ideally one able to be run on methane

buy a diesel car and convert it to biodiesel, or even better, offer to help others who already have diesel (like local school buses) convert.

The last one is the biggest and the most effective. If you want to spend serious cash then funding a biodeisel support program that buys kits, pays engineering students or auto mechanics to install and support them, and then funds the processing of waste oil (local fast food outlets will have plenty) would make a huge difference. These folks have solid conversion kits and these folks can get you up and running. I figure an effective program would cost about $20K to set up and about $3K to $5K a year to maintain.
Good luck,

Rustin

The major benefit of biodiesel is that you don't need any major change in hardware. All diesel powered vehicles can use Biodiesel with no modifications.

I am a student at the University of Washington, and we recycle the used grease from restaurants by the university to fuel many of the campus vehicles.

The major benefit of biodiesel is that you don't need any major change in hardware. All diesel powered vehicles can use Biodiesel with no modifications.

I am a student at the University of Washington, and we recycle the used grease from restaurants by the university to fuel many of the campus vehicles.

To learn a little bit more about Biodiesel try HempCar.org, the hemp car (as the title may suggest) is a car developed to run on hemp as a Biodiesel. They are currently driving it across Canada. Sure, not a commercial solution and probably not legal in the US. but it gives you an example of one Biodiesel solution.

To learn a little bit more about Biodiesel try HempCar.org, the hemp car (as the title may suggest) is a car developed to run on hemp as a Biodiesel. They are currently driving it across Canada. Sure, not a commercial solution and probably not legal in the US. but it gives you an example of one Biodiesel solution.

To learn a little bit more about Biodiesel try HempCar.org, the hemp car (as the title may suggest) is a car developed to run on hemp as a Biodiesel. They are currently driving it across Canada. Sure, not a commercial solution and probably not legal in the US. but it gives you an example of one Biodiesel solution.

Biodiesel is one alternative energy means that I think has real potential. Apparently there's all sorts of new grants available for folks wanting to get involved.

Just don't try to start that french fry grease up on a cold morning.

www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/business/27DIES.html
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle / rchive/2001/05/23/MN110637.DTL
journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
www.greasecar.com
www.lupo80days.com/route_en.html
www.a-car.com/index.html
www.biodiesel.org/
lowtech.bigstep.com/
www.veggievan.com
www.americanbiodiesel.com/
www.icta.org/projects/trans/rlprexsm.htm
news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1309000/ 1309201.stm
www.wired.com/news/technology/1,1282,31920,00.html

I love raining on environmentalist's parades. It turns out that diesel particulates are really, really bad for you - much more so than previously expected or understood. One researcher concluded there may be NO safe level of exposure to micro-fine particulates.

You miss the point. Biodiesel isn't just clean diesel, it's made from vegetable oil! (no oil drilling, refining, etc, involved.)

What's nice about it is that it doesn't have the toxic emissions and particulate matter you speak of. Read about it at biodiesel.org.

With all this talk about technologically risky fuel sources, nobody seems to pay attention to a replenishable, efficient and very low polluting fuel that doesn't require an entirely new infrastructure.
Biodiesel

Yes, you can run a diesel engine on basically same the oil that MacDonalds uses to make french fries. The diesel engine was originally designed to work with vegetable oil, but the oil companies scuttled that.
Modern diesel engines have less carbon monoxide than gas engines, but more particulate matter (soot). Put biodiesel in the diesel engine and the carbon monoxide goes down even more, and the particulate matter virtually goes away. And it is not 5, 10, 20 years away. It works today, on current technology. And you can get 50 miles to the gallon on a diesel engine, while blowing off OPEC.
How cool is that?!

Diesel engines are already all over the place, so we don't need to create a new infrastructure, and biodiesel is actually easier and safer to store than petrodiesel. Check it out!
VeggieVan
BioDiesel.Org
Biodiesel Mike
Pacific Biodiesel

Now then, if you really wanted to get me excited.... you'd be talking about a consumer grade 5 Kw or so Fuel cell that could operate with good efficiency using a high grade of Bio-diesel. Which BTW can be made from virtually any vegetable oil or even oil derived from diatom algae. Of course, you'd have to learn to make your own fuel from the leftover peanut oil that the local burger joint cooked it's fries, in, but fortunately, the book with the recipe for how to do it isn't that hard to obtain...

The Veggie Van - the guy also wrote a book called "From the Fryer to the Tank" all about making your own fuel

National Biodiesel Board

Catalytic converters are indeed basically useless (and even counter-productive) for very short distances, but standard diesel fuel has higher nitrogen oxide emmisions due to the high sulpher content in fossil fuel diesel. The excess sulpher makes filtering the output (what a catalytic converter does for an unleaded fuel vehicle) for NOx harder.

Biodiesel lacks sulpher so making an emmisions filter for it is much easier. That and it's a renewable resource.

I must say that I agree with one of the other posts today; It's time for a hybrid diesel/electric vehicle. Just as long as it's biodiesel.

"Recycled" cooking oil? I think you're talking about biodiesel. The last I heard, there was no recycling going on. They grow crops (such as the soybean) for the explicit purpose of making it. The only recycling going on is being done by Mother Earth.

It is cool though. Most people are using blends (part biodiesel, part standard diesel) because the fossil fuel is currently cheaper. Not by much, but more than enough to cut into trucking profits. Luckily, standard diesel and biodiesel mix well so the infrastructure can gradually get up to speed.

Check out the hemp car, a Mercedes Benz touring the U.S.A using hemp-based biodiesel. Hemp is such a great plant, it's a shame the D.E.A won't let us grow it!

Biodiesel could be the next great thing, outside of the US of course. Plus it helps out the farmers of this country that have been struggling to make ends meet.

It's time for the USA to take the lead in adopting new transportation technologies, and time to ditch the gasoline engine. Unfortunately, with the ExxonMobil Bush/Cheney team in command, it's gonna get worse before it gets any better.

Check out: www.biodiesel.org

That's got to be an awful smelling vehicle.

Not necessarily. I've read that vehicles run on biodiesel (see the National Biodiesel Board and the Veggie Van for more info) have exhaust that smell like french fries. I'd take a wild and crazy guess that this car's exhaust smell more like wet leaves than anything. But then again, I'm an optimist.

Take a look at the FAQ from the biodiesel.org site. They claim:
Biodiesel also has a positive energy balance, generating three or more units of energy for every unit required to make it.

The Biodiesel web site has more information on renewable fuel sources.

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Sorting, transporting and handling several kinds of wastes instead of just one results in higher fuel and manufacturing consumption and thereby pollution.

Ah, but fuel/ energy use doesn't have to mean pollution . As well as renewable sources of electricity for plant (factory machinery), vehicle engines can be powered by biodiesel, alcahol or other such annually renewable resources.
However energy saving measures could drastically reduce the amount of energy we are using now and in the future.

Anyway you are talking garbage (ouch, bad pun). Recycling uses far less energy than manufacturing from raw materials, never mind the cost of clearing up pollutants if something is simply thrown away.

"It smells like cooking oil, burning vegetable oil," said Joe Jobe, executive director of the National Biodiesel Board, which coordinates research and development of the fuels.

See Biodiesel's site.

Actually, you can do that with any liquid oil (though doing it with solid fat or animal fat is tricky because it gels more easily in cold temps), and the resulting mix of esters is supposed to be quite a bit cleaner-burning than regular #2 petroleum fuel oil (and also very easy to make; the process is very similar to soapmaking). I read most of what I know about it here. Based on what they say, this stuff is pretty cool.

-lee

I've also heard of all kinds of wacky fuels like vegetable oil. The guy did this to his volkswagen and got the oil from local fast food places that usually have to pay to get rid of it. His car exhaust smelled like french fries. No sure why this caught on, probably because it was an obscure idea that isn't practical on the large scale.

Simple answer: Get yourself a recent diesel powered car and make your own Biodiesel. It's open-source, and cheap! Just hop down to your local fried-food place and buy their old fryer oil and convert it to biodegradable, cheap (@$.50/gal) fuel that makes your exhaust smell like french fries.

Or, if you want, buy some from a commercial distributor, that is most likely soy based.

Check out the following:
The National Biodiesel Board
The VeggieVan

You should also remember to point out biodiesel - a diesel fuel formulated from soybean oil.