BioDiesel for all

World gas prices are at record levels, and experts all agree there won't be any significant downwards motion anytime soon. Why are gas prices so high now? What happened over the last year or two to make the price of gas double in the US?

There is much talk in the news about "energy speculators". This notion suggests that a group of very savvy Wall Street investors are somehow manipulating world gas prices for the sake of personal gains. While it is very convenient to scapegoat some unknown, unseen forces or individuals, the real answer is a little more mundane.

This simple answer to the high cost of oil is one of supply & demand. There is higher, rising demand, and stagnant or even declining supply. China and India are industrializing at breakneck speeds, and as a result demand for energy - oil in particular - is rising in lock-step.

The war in Iraq, among other factors, has reduced global supply.

The result is a recipe for increasing gas prices.

But why are gas prices so high now? Another piece of the puzzle is output capacity. Refineries have been running at or near capacity for years. If they weren't, they could probably meet the demand, and world gas prices would stabilize. But because they are already producing all they can, as demand rises, prices follow suit.

There isn't much we can do directly about these crazy gas prices. However, there are many gas mileage improvements that have the same effect of paying lower gas prices. So before you ask yourself why are gas prices so high, spend some time at sites like "Gas For Less Money" and educate yourself about how to spend less of your money on gasoline to begin with!

The Advantages of Biodiesel

Looking closely at biodiesel, we find that its physical and chemical properties are very similar to petroleum based diesel fuel in terms of operation in compression ignition engines (diesel engines). Therefore, biodiesel can be used in diesel engines without expensive alterations to the engine or fuel system. Besides the obvious cost savings, some other notable benefits of using biodiesel include the following:

• Biodiesel is biodegradable, non-toxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
• Safer to handle and transport
• Fewer noxious emissions than petroleum-based diesel, and virtually eliminating acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide
• Runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine
• Improved lubricity
• High cetane number
• Improved conductivity particularly compared to Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel

The best advantage is the fact that biodiesel is a renewable fuel source, where petroleum fuels are limited. This alone will be the reason for it's ever increasing popularity.

The Disadvantages of Biodiesel

LOWER ENERGY CONTENT

The energy content of neat biodiesel (100% biodiesel) is about 11% lower than that of petroleum based diesel fuel, resulting in a power loss in engine operation. Engine adjustment for the power losses could lead to violation of EPA anti-tampering provisions. Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum fuel to create biodiesel blends that can minimize the power loss. (Blends are designated as Bxx, where "xx" is the percentage of biodiesel in the blend. Most generally accepted by engine manufacturers is a B5 blend (5% biodiesel and 95% diesel fuel) or less.

ENGINE OPERATION PROBLEMS

Todays engines are designed to operate with petroleum fuel. Neat biodiesel and higher percentage biodiesel blends can cause a variety of engine performance problems including:

• Fuel filter plugging,
• Injector coking (carbon deposits),
• Piston ring sticking and breaking,
• Elastomer seal swelling and hardening/cracking, and
• Severe engine lubricant degradation.

Studies found injectors and pumps failing at around 50,000 miles with neat biodiesel. There is little information on the use of biodiesel with engine durability over the mileage and operating conditions of heavy-duty diesel engines.

STORAGE and HANDLING

• Long-term storage problems occur from the poor oxidation stability of biodiesel fuels.
• Biodiesel fuel at low temperatures can thicken and plug fuel filters.
• Biodiesel is subject to microbial growth causing operation problems, fuel system corrosion and premature fuel filter plugging.

EMISSIONS

There is little negative to say about biodiesel emissions, except studies found increased nitrous oxide (Nox) emissions with higher concentrations of biodiesel.

BIODIESEL EFFECT ON DIESEL OIL

Biodiesel fuel is very hard on your engine lubricant (oil). The following detrimental effects are noted when concentrations of biodiesel exceed 5%:

• Fuel begins to dilute the oil resulting in a viscosity reduction
• Increased sludge and varnish formation
• Depletion of alkalinity reserve in the oil indicated by total base number (TBN) decrease
• Certain metals such as copper and lead leached from bearings due to biodiesel fuel in the lubricant Oil filter plugging from sludge

As a result, most diesel manufacturers recommend cutting their recommended oil drain interval in half when using biodiesel fuel.

Well, we finally watched the Video of a Private Czech Fighter Plan, which was being flown on cooking oil, no it probably is not the first. I imagine at the end of the Third Reich that they were trying to fly their Messerschmitt 262 interceptors off anything they could find that would light jet engine. Nevertheless it is pretty cool from a bio-fuel standpoint to fly an aircraft off of cooking oil.

The other day we were joking around about this at the Online Think Tank, calling it the World's First Flying French Fry or Flying Freedom Fry, depending on how you feel about the French and their big Air Buses. One has to wonder if this little Czech Fighter plane actually did smell like a McDonalds fry vat, while taking off? Just think if you are firing the thing up and start to taxi and all of a sudden your entire ground crew got hungry and took off for the Golden Arches to see Ronald McDonald?

In the United States, there have been many folks who have converted Diesel Motors to run off cooking grease and cooking oil and they are able to do this by using special filters to remove all the scum and debris from the used cooking oil. Remember Kerosene which is basically Jet Fuel is nearly identical to Diesel Fuel, so if you can run a truck or motor home off the stuff, then chances are with a couple of additives, and some good filtering you can fly a jet aircraft too.

Learn More about the Bio-Jet running on only Cooking Oil:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biodiesel-takes-to-the-sky