What would you like to ask?Can we use biodiesel instead of diesel in generators and boilers?
No I would not like to ask the ONE option you put forth. BUT a fact is……..
The Bio Diesel thing is almost over. It was/is a scam that was sold by the most creative of shady salesman. They sold the idea as a great way to go only to get kickbacks from sales within the Bio fuel community. Not only that but when this first started techs like me knew it was actually harmful to diesel engines causing a greatly shortened engine life.
The second any government sector started using bio whatever it hit the nightly news in a flash. BUT when they found that it was costing more and wearing the engines down the media said nothing, it just withered away as a foot note in history.
But MAN what a scam sales man had with this one. Who would not like the idea of going down to your local grease pit restaurant and getting free grease(a.k.a Vegetable oil) and making it run your vehicle FOR FREE!!! BUT what they didn’t tell you is the costs of the equipment to and the time it took to make the grease usable. OK then there were the guys who bought the equipment and made the grease usable for you BUT the cost per gallon is higher than regular diesel. Total scam that cost ya big time in every way.
Then you have the soybean stuff. Still and will always be more expensive than fossil diesel. Its a nice try BUT in the end COST is the deciding factor.
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Yes, but at a much higher cost than conventional fuel.
References :
If the generator/boiler normally runs on diesel you can run biodiesel in it safely with no modifications to the device. Biodiesel is cleaner, cheaper, and made in America from soybeans. And we’ll never run out of it.
References :
http://www.worleyobetz.com/BioFuels/BioDiesel/tabid/163/Default.aspx
It would be more efficient and cost effective to use natural gas or coal. Diesel generators whether running on fossil reserve based diesel, biodiesel or biomass synthetic diesel are too expensive to be used as a primary electricity source and are typically only used as standby backups to the grid.
Note that biodiesel is only made from the oils of the plants and hence is an inefficient way of producing a diesel fuel from biomass. At best, with genetically engineered algae, we may achieve algae that are 40% oil but we are far from doing so. Synthetic diesel by gasification/pyrolysis of biomass and Fischer Tropsch synthesis uses the whole plant and can also use old tires and dried sewage as feedstock. It’s likely that the role of biodiesel would be to act as a lubricant additive to synthetic biomass diesel (synthetic diesel lacks the sulfur used as a lubricant in the engines).
Even with the more efficiently made synthetic diesel, there isn’t enough biomass to meet all of our energy needs so other energy sources such as solar are needed. Biological systems may strike a chord with those wishing to be environmentally friendly but photosynthesis has a theoretical maximum efficiency of 6.6% while the current record for photovoltaic cells is 42.8% and 65% is expected soon. Note that solar energy can also be used to synthesize diesel as Sandia Labs have shown.
Of course, biomass sourced fuels will have a part to play. Biodiesel as an additive and the fact that gasification/pyrolysis of biomass results in some carbon being sequestered as charcoal (biochar) which can be used as a soil amendment thereby removing carbon from the atmosphere. Biochar is not readily bio-available so does not get released from the soil as CO2 like other carbon amendments such as from compost.
The future will require several sources of fuel so it’’s pointless to advocate one exclusively of the others.
References :
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5985
http://www.upei.ca/~physics/p261/Content/Sources_Conversion/Photo-_synthesis/photo-_synthesis.htm
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/004418.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071208150135.htm
http://www.thehydrogencompany.com/news_170.html
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007427.html
Yes, biodiesel is an excellent lubricant and can be used in diesel engine generator sets and boilers using #2 heating oil.
You should see lower SOx emissions but might see an increase of NOx, which could cause a regulatory problem.
There are even evaporator kits to allow you to feed biodiesel into a natural gas engine or boiler in vapor form.
Ask for biodiesel made from waste oil feedstock instead of virgin oil, so that you do not waste a good food source and thus do more environmental damage.
References :
http://www.marylandgreenpower.com/greenpower/?s=ethanol
No I would not like to ask the ONE option you put forth. BUT a fact is……..
The Bio Diesel thing is almost over. It was/is a scam that was sold by the most creative of shady salesman. They sold the idea as a great way to go only to get kickbacks from sales within the Bio fuel community. Not only that but when this first started techs like me knew it was actually harmful to diesel engines causing a greatly shortened engine life.
The second any government sector started using bio whatever it hit the nightly news in a flash. BUT when they found that it was costing more and wearing the engines down the media said nothing, it just withered away as a foot note in history.
But MAN what a scam sales man had with this one. Who would not like the idea of going down to your local grease pit restaurant and getting free grease(a.k.a Vegetable oil) and making it run your vehicle FOR FREE!!! BUT what they didn’t tell you is the costs of the equipment to and the time it took to make the grease usable. OK then there were the guys who bought the equipment and made the grease usable for you BUT the cost per gallon is higher than regular diesel. Total scam that cost ya big time in every way.
Then you have the soybean stuff. Still and will always be more expensive than fossil diesel. Its a nice try BUT in the end COST is the deciding factor.
References :
I think Mr. George M is confusing biodiesel and ethanol. Ethanol is a scam and it’s circling the drain.
He’s completely wrong about the cost of equipment. I have no doubt that he went to a trade show and saw some overpriced, custom made converters that some guy was hawking. But I’ve also seen converters assembled out of old junk for $100 or so. The best one was the worn out water heater, PVC pipe and an old vacuum pump from a hospital. Because of the vacuum pump, the biodiesel process required much less heat and dried faster. There are also people who burn WVO, not out of any eco-awareness, but simply because they work at a restaurant. And they do indeed save a lot of money, proven by the fact that they keep doing it year after year.
Yes, you should watch out for scam technologies. One measure of a scam technology is that people aren’t doing it at home. (fuel cells, E85). When you see people making it work at home, that’s a good sign.
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Hi Sateech,
_____You sure can. Otto Diesel originally built his engine
to run on peanut oil. With a few modifications a diesel engine
will run just fine on biodiesel. In a steam boiler it is even better.
A steam plant needs more maintenance and attention than a
diesel engine, but will work great with bio-fuels. Locomotives
were fueled with WOOD for decades.
References :
I like alternative energy