Biodiesel

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Permalink Reply by BIOWILLIE_FAN on August 21, 2008 at 2:25pm

Can you add everthing about Willie Nelsons Biowillie Biodiesel on this Blog ?

Biowillieusa.com

Earthbiofuels.com

Willierun.com

Willies place at Carls Corner; the First Biodiesl Truck stop is giong to open Labor day weekend.

On Sept 22 they are going to race a VW Diesel car from New York to California non stop on ONE tank of Biowillie Biodiesel

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Permalink Reply by James D Ballotti on August 22, 2008 at 7:54am

Go to Earth Protect and sigh up, it's easy. Then upload a video, write a blog article, or start a forum discussion.

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Permalink Reply by mike fallwell on August 22, 2008 at 12:58pm

As I understand it biodiesel requires large amounts
of chemicals that are made mostly from fossil fuels.

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Koch on August 22, 2008 at 1:48pm

Mike,

Biodiesel is made from left over grease or vegtable oil that is then mixed with ethanol or methanol as I remember..

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Permalink Reply by neil cox on August 22, 2008 at 2:44pm

My wife and I only have about a gallon of waste fat and vegetable oil per month. The USA average may be a gallon per person per week including farm, packing and restaurant waste. That is 400 million gallons per week total = enough for perhaps four million diesel trucks, but much of it has been used for other purposes for at least a century, but it is significant, if homeowners will collect a cup here and a spoon full there. Are you willing to bother with one spoonful? When you get a few quarts you can skim the top and pour in a diesel tank, but not the crud that sank to the bottom. The dirty skimmings, and crud are likely ok for fire starter or they can be cooked (one? hour) with fat scraps = rendering, and some clean oil poured off after it cools and settles, and is skimmed again. Neil

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Permalink Reply by James D Ballotti on August 22, 2008 at 4:23pm

Ken,

The vegetable oil doesn't have to be left over. It can be oil freshly pressed from a number of different sources, including algae.

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Permalink Reply by James D Ballotti on August 22, 2008 at 4:21pm

That's totally wrong Mike. Whoever told you that is either mis-informed or deliberately mis-leading you. In my biodiesel post on Earth Protect I provide links to the University of New Hampshire, a leading research University in the biodiesel field.

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Permalink Reply by mike fallwell on August 22, 2008 at 4:28pm

Most methanol comes from natural gas, no?

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Permalink Reply by James D Ballotti on August 22, 2008 at 4:38pm

No, methanol is made from wood and leaves and other cellulosic material in a process similar to the process used to distill ethanol. The problem with methane is it's toxicity.

I suspect you're thinking of methane, which is what natural gas is.

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Permalink Reply by Haveaclue on October 20, 2008 at 2:43pm

Actually, most of the methanol in the USA comes from South America, and yes, it's made from natural gas. However, it was originally made from wood and still can be, but I don't know if it's cost effective. There are no methane mfg. here in the USA.

Methanol and sodium hydroxide (lye) is what is used to make Biodiesel from vegetable oil. Yes, you can use potassium hydroxide or ethanol, even isopropyl alcohol, you just have to use more. Methanol is used at a rate of 25% of the total volume of oil. The amount of sodium hydroxide is minimal.

For example, for every 80 gallons of oil you would add 20 gallons of methanol and anywhere from 1500g-2100g sodium hydroxide, depending upon what the titration results of that particular batch was.

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Permalink Reply by James D Ballotti on August 22, 2008 at 4:31pm

If you go to my forum posting on Earth Protect, you'll find links to the work that UNH is doing to teach local farmers to make biodiesel from a number of locally grown sources, bypassing the large corporations all together.

Even if they bring back the electric car, you're still buying the electricity to run from a large corporation that probably produces it from fossil fuels it buys from other large corporations.

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Permalink Reply by mike fallwell on August 22, 2008 at 4:38pm

I don't trust any form of methanol.
Ethanol can be used in SI and CI engines and is safe to handle.

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