Willie Nelson's Biodiesel

[CarlGlas]

Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

Using Vegetable Oil as a Fuel

The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. He demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and described an experiment using peanut oil as fuel in his engine.

In 1911 Rudolf Diesel 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."

Biodiesel smells better than diesel fuel so it is a pleasant experience re-filling the vehicle's tank.

The smell of the biodiesel exhaust is far more pleasant than petroleum based diesel, some times smelling like pop corn or doughnuts if the fuel is made from a waste vegetable oil feedstock.

More: http://www.wnbiodiesel.com

 

[Garrabo]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

Yes sir.. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

Hi Carl -

How we are going to power this world after we run out of (economical) petroleum-based reserves is an interesting question indeed.

It sounds tempting to say that we'll just run around in vegetable oil-powered diesels, but I don't believe that the earth has, or will have, enough agricultural capacity to grow enough crops to both feed the world and power the world.

In fact, with the world's population increasing every day by the equivalent of the population of San Francisco, the agriculture industry will be doing extremely well just to be able to feed the estimated 9 billion people who will inhabit the earth by 2100.

Throw accelerated global warming into the equation (with the associated likely disruptions in agricultural output), and the fact that the world is running out of the fresh water that will be needed to raise these crops, and it begins to look as if we might be in for some tough sledding.

One possible solution? Carefully study the French model of nuclear power generation with their 59 modern and very "standardized" reactors, and see if we can overcome the mindset that "nuclear is bad" that has been engrained in many people's minds due to the unfortunate, preventable and relatively minor Three Mile Island incident, and the horrific, disastrous, but also preventable Chernobyl accident.

We now have a long-term depository for nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, a means of transporting the nuclear waste to that site that I consider acceptably safe, but most of all - we have a pressing need to continue to survive as a country, and a species. Do we really want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Here's a way. Nuclear power could produce electricity for consumption, for the production of hydrogen to possibly power vehicles, or to power desalination plants for the production of fresh water.

By standardizing the design of the reactors, their cost of operation can be significantly reduced from historical levels. The French are introducing the next generation of reactor this year, 2006. More powerful, more refined, and more reliable than any in the world. I think it's worth looking into the idea of starting to construct some of them here in the US. Selling out our children's and grandchildren's futures at $60+ per barrel just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

And yes, I would be willing to live next to a nuclear reactor.

John

 

[_RaT_]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

John, I believe you are right. I think advanced nuclear technologies are here and more to come as the need and pressure grows to have a powerful energy source that we have more control over. The answer is not more natural gas fired electrical plants. They are releatively cheap and quick but take a toll on the already short supplies of natural gas either because of pipe line restrictions or production ability. I hate to admit that the French are a shinning example of how to build something right, but in this case I must. I don't want to live next to a plant for the simple reason that when it comes time to sell, others will not so the marketability becomes an issue. On the other hand, they still have so much open land out here, that you can build them away from urban areas very easily and tie them to the grid. I for one see nuclear as a top alternative to todays energy replacement. There is one thing I'm pretty sure of and that is we are all going to be affected by whats going on in the world, good or bad, to think otherwise is similiar to burying your head in the sand in my opinion. Biodiesel is nice, but there is just no way it is going to make much of a dent in our energy needs.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

RaT -

As always, it's an honor to have you on the same side of an issue as me.

We have a lot of tough choices to make - as individuals, as communities, as a country, and as a world community. It pains me to see what I believe to be practical, workable and necessary actions not being taken for a variety of reasons that I would rather not go into right now.

Suffice it to say that there are many real and very serious problems facing this world that won't go away by themselves. I'd like to see a lot more open, honest, rational and respectful discussion of those problems, and a whole lot more action than what I've been witnessing.

We landed a man on the moon within a decade of setting out to do so, with a lot less technology at our disposal than what we have now. I'd love to see a similar effort put into reviving our very sorry nuclear program. I don't think it can be left up to private enterprise. I believe that an initiative like this would require a federally-backed effort that would make the Manhattan project look like a Science Fair project. Will it happen? Stay tuned I guess.

Maybe the recent Abramoff scandal will help to actually, finally transform true campaign finance reform from "wishful thinking" to reality, so tough decisions can be made on their own merits, rather than by who stands to benefit from them in the short term. Oops, and I said I wasn't going to talk about that. Oh well.

John

 

[hudr]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

You know, I DO NOT consider myself a tree-hugger in any way shape form or fashion. But, I do like to think of myself as a good steward of the land I with which I have been graced. We all have a lot of choices to make in the near future and maybe even some "growing up" to do. I had this conversation w/ a friend of the family (an older gent, and probably one of the 3 smartest men I know personally). I asked the question "why are we so wasteful in this country?" The answer "because we can". And its true. We have always had an abundance of everything in this country. I personally plan to take steps to reduce my footprint on this earth. Small steps, but steps nonetheless. My Mother-In-Law could not understand why my wife and I used cloth diapers on our kids. I carried her to the end of my 1/4 mile driveway and showed her the small mountain that is our local landfill. That is where all those Pampers end up. But, alas, it is going to take a lot more people making those small steps to really get something done. And there will have to be stop gap measures taken along the way, like biodiesel and other biomass fuels.
IMHO - A lot of energy production systems that were deemed too cost prohibitive before will start to look pretty lucrative in the shadow of $60 + per barrel oil. And our waste and excess and "cause we can" mindset will fade and hopefully morph into something a little greener.
Sorry to ramble. my .02

 

[RalphVa]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

We're gonna need some portable power source. Will have coal for a lot longer. Will probably end up converting coal to oil and portable fuel plus biodiesel, alcohol from corn, hydrogen from water using hydro, coal and nuclear power, etc. We should have gotta smart a lot time ago and kept what gasoline and diesel that came out of crude for portable power and used coal, nuclear and heavy petroleum for stationary or ship power. Instead, we came up with all sorts of technology to convert more of the petroleum to those 6-10 carbon atom stuff that we can put into gasoline.

Gotta start using more wind and solar energy, too.

Ralph

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

Ralph, you'd make a great Secretary of Energy! Can we lure you out of retirement? Your country needs you! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

 

[HEC]

Re: Willie Nelson\'s Biodiesel

John ,what you are saying sure makes sense to me. you have my vote.
Herb,