BioDiesel, why cant I find it anymore?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Now that OPEC agreed to cut down the production for a while in order to allow Venezuela and Angola dictatorships to increase their financial reserves, it might be a good time for biodiesel brewers to recover some of their investments.

[123gts]

The Safeway gas station Where I live only sells B20, no strait Dino diesel. As for B100 the only station that sells it near me is not a normal public gas station. As others have said price is the biggest issue when it comes to availability. I know a lot of people that would happily use Biodiesel but only if it was the same price as Dino diesel.

RustyLugNut things must have changed a lot since I lived in California. When I looked into WVO for my VW the only way I could get it was by buying it from the restaurants.

[freebeard]

Episodes 1001 and 1002 of the Max Keiser report have had a North Carolina biodiesel producer as guest (actually they are his guest — following the pulse of the planet, Keiser Report has decamped from London to NC). The second half of 1001 has some interesting detail. They settled on restaurant oil after two cheaper sources had dried up. They do a million gallons a year. They have mead and hard cider breweries as allies.

Me? I pay extra for clear Premium gas-o-line.

[rmay635703]

Biodiesel decreases engine wear, too bad they don't require .5-2% of the stuff in all diesel. Would help reduce issues with low sulphur fuel in older diesels

Sad to say without a mandate waste oil conversions or converting power plant exhaust to algae bio diesel won't happen for a long while

[freebeard]

I still think the nuclear subterrenes should bore an aqueduct from the Pacific to
Death Valley, to grow algae in holding ponds.

You could cheap out and go with an overland siphon pipe.

[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by 123gts

RustyLugNut things must have changed a lot since I lived in California. When I looked into WVO for my VW the only way I could get it was by buying it from the restaurants.

The depressed price of diesel has left all but the largest producers without a profit motive. The large producers have fixed contracts to provide bio-diesel for blends. A significant amount gets exported. Smaller concerns have closed. The hobby sector has dried up and people simply buy commercial bio-fuel or just use fossil diesel.

I used to have locked holding barrels to discourage theft. Now, restaurants are calling me to dispose of their oil or they are dumping illegally. My personal vehicle as well as my work trucks do not need more than the oil I already collect.

[rmay635703]

Why is not finding BioD a unicorn?

[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Why is not finding BioD a unicorn?

This is hardly a unicorn topic.

There is resistance to alternative fuels especially straight vegetable oil as fuel, but biodiesel is a proven pathway especially if the stock is a waste stream. The only real attack against the "Green nature" of biodiesel has been the need to use methanol which derives from natural gas in most areas. Some areas have ample supply of waste wood derived methanol so it is less of an issue. Methanol from bio-gas is also a possibility if the will is there.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by RustyLugNut

There is resistance to alternative fuels especially straight vegetable oil as fuel, but biodiesel is a proven pathway especially if the stock is a waste stream. The only real attack against the "Green nature" of biodiesel has been the need to use methanol which derives from natural gas in most areas. Some areas have ample supply of waste wood derived methanol so it is less of an issue. Methanol from bio-gas is also a possibility if the will is there.

Either straight or waste vegetable oils are more suitable to indirect-injection engines, and the mileage may even get higher than with regular petroleum-based Diesel fuel since its slower burn is more suitable to the two-stage combustion process in an IDI. But since they're now confined to some markets with a lower car sales volume and fewer emission restrictions, it's now quite underestimated in the developed markets.

Regarding methanol, it can also be "accidentally" brewed in the same process that was used to make that "moonshine" booze. At least in my country, it's still not uncommon for inmates to get intoxicated by some residual methanol content in a similar alcoholic beverage brewed in the prisons.

[freebeard]

"it's still not uncommon for inmates to go blind by getting intoxicated, by some residual methanol content in a similar alcoholic beverage brewed in the prisons."

Enhanced fuel cell performance using one atom thick 2D material

Enhanced fuel cell performance using one atom thick 2D material
Methanol fuel cells are widely considered as a potential source of future energy due to the usage of methanol as a liquid fuel; simplicity in operation; higher energy density of methanol fuel; high power density obtained etc. However their commercialization is greatly hindered by methanol crossover taking place in the membrane area of fuel cells, leading to short circuits and greatly affecting overall performance.
More precisely, this problem could be defined as diffusion of methanol from anode to cathode through the membrane. This methanol – instead of reacting on the anode side – also reacts on the cathode side, thereby generating a short circuit.
....
By using two-dimensional (2D) materials – graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBn) – in methanol fuel cell systems, we now have overcome this bottleneck.