Archive for the ‘biodiesel’ Category

Environmentally conscious drivers sticking with biodiesel even at higher prices

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

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Over the past year, the price of diesel fuel has climbed up above the cost of gasoline and stayed there consistently. Unfortunately for diesel drivers, that price differential also applies to biodiesel to an even larger degree. Nonetheless, the extra 10 cents a gallon for B20 over straight petroleum diesel hasn’t stopped people at one station in Fort Collins, Colorado. Sales of Blue Sun B20 at the Team Petroleum have continued to climb this year even at the higher prices although some other stations have discontinued selling B20. It’s possible that drivers who are only marginally interested in using a greener fuel have given up on the more expensive option. With the reduced availability, other more environmentally conscious drivers have probably switched over to the Team station as a result. The city of Fort Collins is still using B20 in city vehicles as well although they may have to reconsider if prices continue to climb.

[Source: The Coloradoan]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Birds not the only beneficiaries from switch to biodiesel in Rhode Island

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

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Save $3,000 a year using biodiesel? That’s attractive, but no the only benefit for a bird sanctuary in Rhode Island. By switching to the biofuel to heat two buildings and to power a tractor, the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown not only saved money last year but also, according to Robert Cardeiro, executive director of the Sanctuary, found a “natural fit.”

“It was so easy and such a good thing for us to do that it made perfect sense for us to use biodiesel,” Cardeiro told the Newport Daily News. “Why wouldn’t we?”

The benefits go beyond the environment. Newport Biodiesel, a local producer that was looking for more space, gets to use some land at the Sanctuary to produce the biofuel (made from “recycled cooking grease collected from Aquidneck Island restaurants”) in exchange for giving some of it to the Sanctuary. Talk about a win-win. Or is that a win-win-win?

[Source: Christine McCall / Newport Daily News]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Earthrace captain really, um, “getting into” next biodiesel circumnavigation attempt

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

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The first Earthrace attempt ended in defeat back in April. The idea was to circle the globe on a biodiesel-powered boat, but there were just too many problems (and one deadly accident). But, the idea - and boat - are just too cool to be sent into history without a second chance, so the New Zealand team will try again in 2008, trying to beat the circumnavigation record of 74 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes. And, with a little special help from the captain, the second time just might be the charm.

The plan is to set sail from from Valencia, Spain at the beginning of March and “traverse the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as the Panama and Suez canals in its more-than-24,000-nautical-mile journey,” according to Fox News. That’s similar to the plan from last time. What’s new? How about a little bit of fat taken from the captain and turned into biodiesel? The Fox article says:

He [Pete Bethune] also made a symbolic gesture towards the project, undergoing liposuction with two other volunteers, which produced 10 liters - a bit more than 2 1/2 gallons - of human fat, enough to power the boat for 8 nautical miles.

That’ll help. For the entire carbon-neutral trip, the Earthrace will need 165,000 liters of biodiesel. Anyone want to donate?

[Source: Fox News via Domestic Fuel]

 

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

New large biodiesel plant to be built near Miami

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

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Oilsource Holdings and Greenline Industries announced something big for Florida yesterday, and it isn’t another Cocoon sequel. Instead, the two companies hope to give new life to old biofeedstocks through what will become the largest biodiesel plant in the southeastern U.S. The 60-million gpy plant will be built near Miami and use “an integrated approach to harvest, production and distribution using marine-based logistics with a multifeedstock process that prioritizes oil from non-food crops.” It should begin operations in early 2009. Want more info? There’s a little bit more after the break, but the companies are saying that they “cannot disclose any additional information about the project” at this time. Instead, the plan is to “educate the community as to the benefits of using biofuels.” AutoblogGreen readers’ education would be a whole lot better with more details about this plant, you know.

Related:

[Source: Oilsource Holding, LLC; Greenline Industries, LLC]

Oilsource Holdings and Greenline Industries to Build Major Florida Biodiesel Production Facility

New Plant Largest In Southeast USA

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Oilsource Holding, LLC and Greenline Industries, LLC announced today that they are teaming up to develop the largest biodiesel plant in the Southeastern United States. A 60 million gallon per year plant is expected to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2009. The plant will be located in Miami, Florida, with rail spur access for distribution within a ninety-mile radius of three of Florida’s most important ports. The project is planned to be completed in three phases with a vertically integrated business strategy and reaching its target capacity in the third phase. The estimated $96 million investment will represent over $1 billion flowing through the economy of Florida.

Felipe Cano, CEO of Oilsource Holdings, commented “Oilsource Holding has been studying the Sunshine State for the past two years, and we believe that now is the time to act. Florida has tremendous potential to become a leading player in the biofuel industry. Our unique strategy combines an integrated approach to harvest, production and distribution using marine-based logistics with a multifeedstock process that prioritizes oil from non-food crops. This will enable us to provide our customers with a steady biodiesel supply at a competitive price”.

Working with Greenline Industries, the production process becomes modular so we can scale up quickly as demand increases. The execution of a biodiesel project of this size and caliber from planning to large-scale production will require the combined efforts of the community, the local governments, and the industry in general.

“At this time, the Company cannot disclose any additional information about the project. However, the Company believes that part of the first step in the project is to educate the community as to the benefits of using biofuels. The project is a proactive move towards to the green movement,” concluded Mr. Cano.

Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases emissions by almost 80% and has lower level of emissions of several air pollutants compared to traditional diesel, without compromising engine efficiency or durability. Nevertheless, biofuels made from vegetable oil often competes with food security in some regions; such is the case of biodiesel from soybeans or ethanol from corn. Oilsource will use vegetable oil from non-food crops (like jatropha and waste oil from restaurants) or those with less impact on the food chain (like palm or coconut oil). These true “energy-crops” will enable us to achieve sustainable growth without compromising the wealth of the communities or the environment.

John Kinney, CEO of Greenline Industries, continued, “last year, Greenline Industries installed more biodiesel plants than any other company in the United States. We now enjoy the advantage of a proven, EPA award-winning technology that doesn’t use water so it doesn’t need the waste water treatment expense or permit complications. We know from our experience that the logistics and market opportunities in Miami are exceptionally positive”.

Steven Karpel, Chief Operating Officer of Oilsource Holding and BioEnergy, the production subsidiary of the joint venture, states, “The concept of Biomix was generated by integrating resources in the Americas, blending different raw materials, cultures, and business approaches to produce a more environmentally friendly fuel source.”

Mr. Karpel added, “I believe that this is a very important development for the South Florida community. South Florida is ready for an alternative and most importantly, sustainable fuel source that will also help protect our environment. Florida depends on its environment on a number of levels, and I having lived in South Florida almost all my life, I am looking forward to working with the local governments, corporations, and media to making this project a success.”

 

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

So, who wants to get into Daryl Hannah’s biodiesel El Camino?

Monday, December 10th, 2007

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I’m a big fan of Daryl Hannah’s biodiesel El Camino. Now, it turns out, I could buy it. According to Hannah’s own website, this dark monster of a bio-car will be put up for sale on Dec. 20. The price and other details will be announced then, but Hannah is already telling us that she’s offering up a B100 pump and station with “the baddest assest biodiesel ‘el camino’ ever.” While some car sellers tell potential buyers that the vehicle was only driven to church on sunny days, Hannah is targeting a greener audience with this line in the vehicle listing: “this super stealth flat matt black el camino hasn’t seen a lick of petroleum + has been my daily driver 4 several years.” The car has 139,000 miles on it and was turned its exquisite shade of matte black by a custom shop. Very curious to see what the price will be.

As for the pump and station, Hannah claims that it is “oh so easy” to operate. “I can do it myself all dressed up + no mess,” she writes, adding that the buyer will get a 55-gallon storage drum and a guide to find local B100 with the deal.

Once she’s without the black beauty, I wonder what car Hannah will be driving next. She does say that “u know i’ll find another one 4 myself” (I’m beginning to wonder if she’s 14 and posting this listing from her cell phone - either that or she’s channeling Prince). Other items Hannah is offering for sale include a solar boat and a ranch bio-beast.

[Source: DHLovelife via Ecorazzi]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Videos: truck that runs on chocolate, car made from potatoes

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

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The video above from Sky News is of a truck that runs on chocolate and is going around the world. The truck actually runs on biodiesel made from chocolate and they are going to Timbuktu to promote biodiesel. Below the fold is a video of a race car made from potatoes called Eco One. Eco One is made by students at Warwick University and can go up to 160 MPH. Along with potatoes, Eco One is also made from hemp and the students hope to encourage racing to go green. I can’t wait for the day when I can eat my car or the gas that fuels it.

[Source: YouTube]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

NY Times: San Franciciso city government wants your used vegetable oil to power its fleet of cars

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

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As a blogger for AutoblogGreen, I read about waste vegetable oil used as a car fuel daily but I have to admit to a “WTF?” moment when reading about details of what fuels were used by San Francisco’s new fully biodiesel-capable fleet. According to the New York Times, the fleet uses virgin soy from the Midwest in a B20 mix … and the city of San Francisco wants your used grease. Cue the sound of a record player needle being loudly pushed off an LP. They want what?

Yes, the Times writes about the new SFGreasecycle, which you will remember was launched in November with a website run by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, that will collect waste vegetable oil from homes and restaurants for free and convert it to biodiesel. This is the first city-wide program that collects used veggie oil for its car fleet, an activity usually seen as something done by small garage companies. If you have not seen or don’t recall the hilarious 1977 movie The Kentucky Fried Movie, enjoy the predictive powers of comedy in a clip below the fold.

I am not making fun of San Francisco because I think this is a good program. They have the greenest car fleet in the nation. It will save money, reduce waste and hopefully inspire more agencies and companies to collect waste vegetable oil but can you imagine the average Joe reading about this program in the Times? WTF!

[Source: New York Times]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

All 1,500 San Francisco city-owned diesel vehicles ready to run on biodiesel

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

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Golden Gate

We told you San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in May 2006 calling for all diesel-powered city-owned vehicles to run on biodiesel by the end of 2007 and we told you recently it was almost complete. With a month to spare, this week the administration announced the goal has been accomplished: San Francisco’s city-owned fire engines, ambulances, street sweepers and buses all run on biodiesel. Who knew San Francisco was such a liberal place? (I kid) Congrats San Fran!

[Source: SF Gate]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton

Orlando Florida to test out new biodiesel fuel in city fleet

Friday, November 30th, 2007

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The city of Orlando, Florida is starting a new test program for their diesel vehicle fleet with a new biofuel. The fuel is being supplied by H2Diesel, a Houston-based company that is producing diesel from vegetable oils and animal fats. The test will start off with one city truck running on the biofuel for the next several months while the emissions and fuel consumption are monitored on a regular basis.

Related:

[The Auto Channel]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Ineos plans 70m Euro biodiesel plant expansion in Baleycourt, France

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

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The UK chemicals group Ineos will be expanding its Baleycourt, France biodiesel complex with a 70 million Euro (around 104m USD) project that will result in a huge facility that can make 230,000-tons of the biofuel annually (up from 110,000) from 400,000 tons of locally produced rapeseed. The French farming cooperative SICLAÉ and German oil mill operator C Thywissen are partners in the project. Ineos has been making biodiesel at Baleycourt for more than ten years with help from the French government. The expanded facilities are expected to be operational by late 2008.

[Source: Forbes, Ineos]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Australian companies will use coal plant emissions and algae to make biodiesel

Monday, November 26th, 2007

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I wonder if this is the kind of thing the San Francisco Green Party would have a problem with: according to C-NET, two companies in Australia announced they will work together to run emissions from a coal plant through a bioreactor to make biodiesel. C-NET’s Martin LaMonica writes that Linc Energy and Bio Clean Coal will create a prototype bioreactor (cost: $1 million) that will grow the algae that eat the carbon from the coal plant’s emissions. Dry those suckers out and you’ve got a biomass that can be turned into biodiesel (or fertilizer; or even burnt to produce more power). One more step in the road to turn waste into fuel, one more step to turn algae into biodiesel.

[Source: C-NET]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

SF Green Party Sustainability co-chair on the “Terrible Illusion of Biodiesel”

Monday, November 26th, 2007

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We just revisited the moves that San Francisco is making to add biodiesel to the city fleet, with the latest news being the establishment of SF Greasecycle. In response to the city’s latest progress on the biofuel front, Eric Brooks, the co-chair of the San Francisco Green Party sustainability working group, has lashed out at the idea of biofuels in general and biodiesel in particular. The response comes in a guest editorial in Beyond Chron called “The Terrible Illusion of Biodiesel.” Brooks writes with the gloves off. Check out these selections:

  • Those who trumpet “the valor of biodiesel and other biofuels, need to knock it off immediately.
  • The new biofuels boom is -worse- than global warming. And unwitting starry eyed supporters of it like Willie Nelson and E. “Doc” Smith are the keystone that is helping massive multi-national corporations get the planet’s increasingly environmentally conscious public to become blindly hooked on a devastating, diseased, biofuels illusion.
  • The problem is one of sheer scale. The amount of fuel that can be produced from recycling used cooking oil is only a tiny fraction of the total fuel used every day by diesel automobiles. What this means is that projects like San Francisco’s waste oils biodiesel program will quickly run out of those waste oils long before even a small part of San Francisco’s fleet of diesel cars, trucks and construction equipment is converted to biodiesel. At that point there is only one place to get the supposedly magical biodiesel; from massive corporate plantations of monocrops grown specifically to produce biodiesel.

You can read the whole thing here.

I take Brooks’ point that biodiesel won’t solve everything. Long-time reader can guess (sorry I’m so predictable) that I’m once again about to point out the Australian government’s advice to its citizens last year: Drive less. Of the three Rs of the green movement (reduce, reuse, recycle), the one that has the best chance of helping our planet is the first. Reducing the amount of stuff we use is key. I don’t think criticizing someone who is following that last R is a good way to go about enacting positive change, though. Turning a waste product into a usable fuel is good news. No question.

[Source: Beyond Chron]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Recycling waste grease in San Francisco

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

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The City of San Francisco announced earlier this week that it will start a free grease recycling service called SF Greasecycle. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, commercial food preparation establishments (think restaurants and hotels) can donate used oil to the city, which will send out trucks to pick up the fuel and deliver it to local biodiesel producers that will turn it into biofuel. The Chronicle says that “San Francisco officials believe theirs will be the largest such effort” and that the hope is to expand the service to home and individual oil users in the future. The biodiesel will initially be used by MUNI buses, but eventually all city diesel vehicles will likely be run on this locally-recycled fuel.

This is sensible and good news. The Biodiesel Blog, where I first caught wind of the announcement, calls it great. By taking the waste oil out of the garbage stream (lots gets illegally dumped into sewers) and into the fuel system, San Francisco is showing other cities how to solve multiple problems at once. Since the city has long had a plan to use more biodiesel in its fleet (see links below), shifting the biomass source from Midwest soybeans to local waste is just smart planning. Read the details in the Chronicle.

Related:

[Source: Biodiesel Blog]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Back to “Back to the Future”

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

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Remember the “Back to the Future” movies staring Michael J. Fox? Remember the Professor character played by Christopher Lloyd who refueled his DeLorean-based time machine with banana peels and half-filled beer cans? Well, we are approaching a similar solution. Not banana peels for fuel, but pond scum instead. Pond scum biodiesel fuel!

Diesel fuel is a small market next to gasoline - only 40 Billion gallons a year or thereabouts compared to about 140 Billion gallons. Still 40 Billion is nothing to laugh at. Biofuels production in the U.S. is still under one billion gals/year. In all of Europe it is 1.4 billion gallons. To ramp up production may cause as much disturbance in soy and other oil-rich crops as ethanol has caused in corn and other food prices. But algae, well that’s another story. It grows where and when people don’t want it. It is part of nature’s system of reprocessing chemicals in water and air, powered by sunlight. Algae grows very quickly and, like all plants, it eats CO2.

I am not a biologist. The information on algae biodiesel is available in the Nov. 3 issue of BusinessWeek’s What’s Next section. One venture firm is Imperium Renewables of Seattle, which readers will likely be familiar with. Investments and research are now underway to get to the most commercially viable production system and to get that system up to sufficient size. What strain of algae is most productive and resilient? Which is easiest to process to biofuel?

A production rate of 8 billion gallons a year would allow every US gallon of diesel fuel to be B20 biodiesel. I just hope we get the algae to work with us. What if the best kind of algae for biofuel smells like skunk? Or eats thru piping? Or is toxic to the touch? We’ll have to go to the near future to find out.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Art Vatsky

Video: first look at John Goodwin’s diesel add-on kit

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

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NBC News got a look at mechanic John Goodwin’s soon-to-be-released add-on kits for diesel cars in this video. The NBC video also takes a look under the hood of John’s turbine, hybrid H3 that will get 60 MPG. That’s not the only TV interview John has done recently. As promised, here is the article and full video of singer Neil Young and John Goodwin’s appearance on CNN. In the CNN interview, John says “it’s not cost-effective for someone to run out and spend $40,000 to double the fuel economy, but I have no shortage of customers.” The CNN article also says John’s $200 green conversion kit will include downloads to your car’s computer.

John also did an interview with NPR’s Weekend Edition last Sunday spreading the world that cars can be green and powerful. “The ironic thing is you can have a 1,000 horse power vehicle and get 25 MPG,” says John. Below the fold is a video John did in June with Media Talk. Is John the first green, celebrity mechanic?

Related:

[Source: CNN, NPR, NBC News, Media Talk]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Original post by Lascelles Linton