Wednesday, October 27, 2010
last one!
So it turns out my blog is already wayyyyyyy too long, so I'm going to go ahead and close it out now. I hope the information included in here has been informative for you, and at least I got myself a blog opened, and can add things into it as I go. I plan on running my car at Pinks All Out November 19/20/21 in Phoenix, the furthest I will have traveled to date to do some racing. Pinks All Out from Denver airs next weekend, November 7th I believe. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope this helps you make a decision to think about change over your race car to an ethanol blend.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
no real update
so it turns out I've been citing things incorrectly, and this paper is mostly about citing, so I'll be making a few edits soon so it's in a turn-inable shape. I've decided that when I'm president, I'm going to totally change the MLA and APA versions of citations to be easy, and not as stupid.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
As promised... Biodiesel
Turns out, according to my "writing at RRCC" manual thingy I had to shell out $75 for, I'm not citing my sources correctly. Please forgive me as I figure out the correct MLA way to cite websources. Edits will occur.
Before we get started on biodiesel, I'm going to go ahead and define it:
Biodiesel: a fuel made primarily from oily plants (such as the soybean or oil palm) and to a lesser extent from other oily sources (such as waste cooking fat from restaurant deep-frying). Biodiesel, which has found greatest acceptance in Europe, is used in diesel engines and usually blended with petroleum diesel fuel in various percentages (see also renewable energy).
"biodiesel." . (hey I did one correctly)
And next, so you understand how this fuel can be used in a diesel engine, a little class on diesel combustion. The diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel, and he achieved his patent for the engine in 1898. His first prototype was "green" way before its time, and ran off of peanut oil. The greatest difference between a gasoline internal combustion engine and a diesel internal combustion engine is the source of ignition. Where a gasoline engine has spark plugs to ignite the fuel/air mixture, a diesel relies solely on compression to ignite the air/fuel mixture. Rudolf Diesel knew that if you got any liquid, except for water, hot enough and under enough pressure, it would ignite. Although some diesel engines have "glow plugs" to aid in cold starting, they are not, in fact, spark plugs, and the mixture does ignite by compression still. Why is this important in the operation of a diesel with bio fuels? It's simply because a diesel engine can ignite any oily substance still in its combustion process. At the time the engine was invented, it was an astounding 70% more efficient than the standard at the time, the steam engine.
In the last 3 years, all diesel fuel sold has been reduced to an "ultra low sulfur diesel" (ULSD) , an attempt to keep the soot that a diesel exhaust expends in check. The problem with this system is that the refining properties to diesel fuel have made it as expensive as premium unleaded, as well as striped much-needed lubricant from the fuel. The latest diesel engines have combated this problem by using different types of pumps and injectors, but for my 1991.5 Dodge, this is an impossibility. To offset the now low lubrication fuel from destroying my injection pump, I began adding a quart of non-detergent SAE 30 motor oil to my fuel. Yes, I put a quart of oil in with each fill up. I get some strange looks when I do this, but the non-detergent oil is exactly only that... oil. The oil strands do not get broken down by the fuel, and since there are no detergents, the oil does not reduce what lubricant lubricant properties the fuel does still have. I have yet to have an issue, although the black smoke "sooty" exhaust that I lost with the swtich to ULSD has come back (I don't mind). So why the want for biodiesel if I've come up with an alternative? Well, basically because of the first three letters in the word. Bio. I'd prefer not having to put another refined fossil fuel into my tank to gain the lubrication I desire. Since biodiesel is made from oils, it adds back the lubrication that was lost, and then some. With that fact, and the fact that biodiesel is cleaner, more powerful, and environmentally friendly, I'm sold.
Biodiesel can be made out of many different oils that occur in nature or as byproducts. The latest innovation has been making algae to press and make an oil that can be processed and made into fuel. However, like the definition above states, it can be made by anything that's oily. There's many homebuilt kits a person can get to produce biodiesel in their garage made from an old hot water heater and a few storage containers.
This setup, and others like it, can make fuel at around $1.25/gallon, assuming you get free oil. Problem with this is when fuel was over $5/gallon 2 years or so ago, these got popular, and restaurants that used to give away oil, now started charging. I believe, from what I've heard, one can still produce biodiesel in one of these processors for under $2/gallon, but it's not instant, and it's messy. (Biodiesel, par 4)
So if it's so cheap to produce, why doesn't everyone do it? Well, it's a matter of supply and demand. There's only so much waste oil around, and the brewing process is not quick and its not clean. Enter the commercial biodiesel plant. These plants began studding the midwest when farmers were looking for other ways to get rid of biowaste, so why not burn it? Shortly after, Congress got wind of this phenomenon and as part of the "JOBS" act, added a tax credit for retail diesel pumps that began mixing biodiesel into regular diesel at a percentage equal to 2% but not more than 98%, and thus B2, B20(most common), and B98 began springing up at truck stops all over the country, the number corresponding percentage of bio to diesel. This was made possible by several biodiesel co-ops that produced biodiesel for legal dispensaries nationwide. The bio component (a mixture of waste oil and actual bio components) are mostly farm waste and algae farms that worked with fish farms in the midwest. Unfortunately in 2010, congress did not re-instate this credit, and the B2/B20/and B98 pumps disappeared in favor of pure ULSD again.
Another option? Greasecar! If a biodiesel savvy person had a source for waste oil, and decided not to go through the hassle of producing biofuel from it, they could purchase a kit to run the waste oil straight into the injection pump of their car/truck and run on the oil for another inexpensive fuel alternative, as well as a more environmentally conscious choice. Although there are at least a dozen companies doing these conversions, the folks at greasecar have taken their operation to new heights. The system turns a vehicle into a two tank system, one for diesel to warm up the engine, and the other for either waste or straight (unused) vegetable oil (WVO, SVO). Heat is key with this type of system as the saturated fats in the vegetable oil fats begin to coagulate at around 40 degrees F. As long as the oil stays above that level, it flows as a liquid, and can be burned in a diesel engine. (Greasecar, par 2)
This picture is from a Volkswagen turbo diesel injection (TDI) installation. All of the red lines are the oil lines. The idea with the system is great, but the drawbacks are many. If the engine is shut off while it's running on oil, the lines, injectors, pumps, etc. will all eventually become gummed up with saturated fat... which is not easy or pleasant to clean up. The system is pretty much only a summer use system for this reason; even if the engine is properly warmed up and properly shut down, the amount of energy it would take to heat a 30 gallon coagulated tank of oil in it to a flowing temperature would be outrageous. Although the heat from the engine and coolant would eventually do it, it would likely take 2-3 hours before it was safe to use. (Greasecar, par 1)
So what's the moral of the story? Bring back the tax credit, and the blends will begin appearing again, and I'll start buying it again!
Before we get started on biodiesel, I'm going to go ahead and define it:
Biodiesel: a fuel made primarily from oily plants (such as the soybean or oil palm) and to a lesser extent from other oily sources (such as waste cooking fat from restaurant deep-frying). Biodiesel, which has found greatest acceptance in Europe, is used in diesel engines and usually blended with petroleum diesel fuel in various percentages (see also renewable energy).
"biodiesel." . (hey I did one correctly)
And next, so you understand how this fuel can be used in a diesel engine, a little class on diesel combustion. The diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel, and he achieved his patent for the engine in 1898. His first prototype was "green" way before its time, and ran off of peanut oil. The greatest difference between a gasoline internal combustion engine and a diesel internal combustion engine is the source of ignition. Where a gasoline engine has spark plugs to ignite the fuel/air mixture, a diesel relies solely on compression to ignite the air/fuel mixture. Rudolf Diesel knew that if you got any liquid, except for water, hot enough and under enough pressure, it would ignite. Although some diesel engines have "glow plugs" to aid in cold starting, they are not, in fact, spark plugs, and the mixture does ignite by compression still. Why is this important in the operation of a diesel with bio fuels? It's simply because a diesel engine can ignite any oily substance still in its combustion process. At the time the engine was invented, it was an astounding 70% more efficient than the standard at the time, the steam engine.
In the last 3 years, all diesel fuel sold has been reduced to an "ultra low sulfur diesel" (ULSD) , an attempt to keep the soot that a diesel exhaust expends in check. The problem with this system is that the refining properties to diesel fuel have made it as expensive as premium unleaded, as well as striped much-needed lubricant from the fuel. The latest diesel engines have combated this problem by using different types of pumps and injectors, but for my 1991.5 Dodge, this is an impossibility. To offset the now low lubrication fuel from destroying my injection pump, I began adding a quart of non-detergent SAE 30 motor oil to my fuel. Yes, I put a quart of oil in with each fill up. I get some strange looks when I do this, but the non-detergent oil is exactly only that... oil. The oil strands do not get broken down by the fuel, and since there are no detergents, the oil does not reduce what lubricant lubricant properties the fuel does still have. I have yet to have an issue, although the black smoke "sooty" exhaust that I lost with the swtich to ULSD has come back (I don't mind). So why the want for biodiesel if I've come up with an alternative? Well, basically because of the first three letters in the word. Bio. I'd prefer not having to put another refined fossil fuel into my tank to gain the lubrication I desire. Since biodiesel is made from oils, it adds back the lubrication that was lost, and then some. With that fact, and the fact that biodiesel is cleaner, more powerful, and environmentally friendly, I'm sold.
Biodiesel can be made out of many different oils that occur in nature or as byproducts. The latest innovation has been making algae to press and make an oil that can be processed and made into fuel. However, like the definition above states, it can be made by anything that's oily. There's many homebuilt kits a person can get to produce biodiesel in their garage made from an old hot water heater and a few storage containers.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Biodiesel.org |
So if it's so cheap to produce, why doesn't everyone do it? Well, it's a matter of supply and demand. There's only so much waste oil around, and the brewing process is not quick and its not clean. Enter the commercial biodiesel plant. These plants began studding the midwest when farmers were looking for other ways to get rid of biowaste, so why not burn it? Shortly after, Congress got wind of this phenomenon and as part of the "JOBS" act, added a tax credit for retail diesel pumps that began mixing biodiesel into regular diesel at a percentage equal to 2% but not more than 98%, and thus B2, B20(most common), and B98 began springing up at truck stops all over the country, the number corresponding percentage of bio to diesel. This was made possible by several biodiesel co-ops that produced biodiesel for legal dispensaries nationwide. The bio component (a mixture of waste oil and actual bio components) are mostly farm waste and algae farms that worked with fish farms in the midwest. Unfortunately in 2010, congress did not re-instate this credit, and the B2/B20/and B98 pumps disappeared in favor of pure ULSD again.
 | |
| Biodiesel production facility in Washington State | Photo courtesy United States Department of Energy |
Another option? Greasecar! If a biodiesel savvy person had a source for waste oil, and decided not to go through the hassle of producing biofuel from it, they could purchase a kit to run the waste oil straight into the injection pump of their car/truck and run on the oil for another inexpensive fuel alternative, as well as a more environmentally conscious choice. Although there are at least a dozen companies doing these conversions, the folks at greasecar have taken their operation to new heights. The system turns a vehicle into a two tank system, one for diesel to warm up the engine, and the other for either waste or straight (unused) vegetable oil (WVO, SVO). Heat is key with this type of system as the saturated fats in the vegetable oil fats begin to coagulate at around 40 degrees F. As long as the oil stays above that level, it flows as a liquid, and can be burned in a diesel engine. (Greasecar, par 2)
 |
| Photo courtesy of Greasecar INC |
So what's the moral of the story? Bring back the tax credit, and the blends will begin appearing again, and I'll start buying it again!
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