The place where I purchase fuel from in the bay area only uses biodiesel made Waste Vegetable Oil
http://biofueloasis.com/

Also you might want to check out this video: http://www.mofilms.org/
As 300sdToronto said there should be a lot of focus put into where you are getting your fuel from. For example, clear cutting rainforest to grow palm to produce palm oil to make biodiesel is not in my opinion a good way to save the environment.

Done a ton of reading on this in preparation to do some investing in some emerging companies in biofuel technologies......but have held off because the raw materials/crops are the weak link in the US.
In your country....France, I am sure there is a lot of reference material on reseach done since WWII on crop yields and biofuels. Germany mobilized their entire military using mostly biofuels!

There was some serious research in this country that sprung from the Oil Embargo of the early 70's. That same information has not changed much but is still pertinent to todays tech advances. You can dig up some info. from the USDA and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).


One real good reference on crop oil yields can be found at journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html
Out of about 20 different oil producing crops Corn has the lowest yield per Acre and Soy Bean is about a quarter of the way down the list towards higher yield crops. Oil Palm is the highest yield.....but Rapeseed is probably the most capatable with the temperate zones of North America and Europe. Just think what could be done with a little genetic engineering!!

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FRED

Daily Driver: 98 E300TD 199K
Hobby Car: 69 Austin Mini
Past Diesels: 84 300SD, 312K
87 300SDL, 251K
94 Chev. K-1500 6.5Ltr.TD, 373K

The discussion/decision about what should be the source vegetation for biodiesel in the US repeats a familiar theme. The Europeans- lead by Germany decided long ago that for their climate and infrastructure Rapeseed (Canola) oil is the best from a cost benefit perspective. When the US got it's collective feet held to the fire on the same subject, the lawmakers in their infinite stupidity, decided that WE could do better!
Nevermind that the Germans have been doing some pretty good engineering over the years (they DO build Mercedes after all). They are also darn fine chemical engineers. If they have figured out that Rapeseed oil is the way to go we had better have some pretty good evidence to NOT go that route. All the information to date points out that we DON'T HAVE that evidence!
Not to say that soy (Soy Methyl Ester - SME - Soyate) can't work or that biodiesel made from WVO isn't a good thing; on a large scale its just not the best thing "energywise".
The flap over ethanol for fuel in the US is a classic study in lobbyists/subsidies ending up with exactly the Wrong conclusion. Large subsidies which ADM and other monopolistic conglomerates lobbied for and got, high import duties against Brazilian ethanol, mandated ethanol use before the energy balance results are in. Large fundamental changes in the way our food agriculture system works without sufficient consideration of the consequences. We'll be paying for this bad goverment for a LONG time!

I smell biodiesel everywhere here. That said I smell it in Arlington VA too behind the city minibuses.

The DOE/NREL published a report which I cannot find any more showing that ethanol (again, not a fan, like butanol idea more) was a profitable product even from corn and did not take more energy to produce that it made. In fact in the pilot plant study they were putting a significant amount of electricity back on to the grid.

If you look at co-gen scenarios they work out the best since one of the larger energy costs in processing is heating the feedstocks, fermenters, distillation columns etc, whatever the fuel. In co-gen the heat is extremely cheap since it's just waste from the electricity generator next door.

I spoke to a partner in a 2 million gallon bioD processing facility who said he certainly wouldn't pick one technology over the other in this market (he's also a ChemEngineer). Too much change, too many new things. It's risky at the moment as the tech. can be obsolete tomorrow. In any case, I don't there's anything that can be done at room temperature regardless of tech, so my eye at the very least would be the smart ones teaming up with generators.

__________________
1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)

Our biodiesel is made right here in our town, with oil sourced from the byproduct of Purdue Farm's quest for chicken feed from crushed soy beans 15 miles west of here. About as sustainable as you can get these days.

When our biodiesel comes from the oil of the algae grown here in passive solar ponds and fed by our town's waste water treatment plant and local ag waste I'll be much happier.

We'll get there one day, the lack of options will be driving us to make common sense choices.

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300TD W124, Two VW TDI Passat Wagons,Cummins Ram 250, Kubota Tractor
23 cylinders sipping the sweet sauce of the soy bean

Soypwrd is on to something. I read where the entire Amazon forest could be cut down and planted and STILL not have enough arable land to grow the tonnage needed to meet today's fuel needs.

Maybe some good news. Daughter Julia did a summer intership assisting at the USDA labs in Beltsville, MD, in several projects studying methods wherein the fat content of various algae could be increased. The objective is to farm this stuff off-shore, harvest, process into biodiesel. Still in the lab phase but they are doing large-scale aglae production in sliuces up near Baltimore somewhere. The key will always be ROI on the cost of production. However it is controlled, the use of the sea frees up the land. Maybe politics.

On biodiesel production, especially DIY, I recommend Kemp's book. Here is a URL to the Amazon site: http://www.amazon.com/Biodiesel-Basics-Beyond-Comprehensive-Production/dp/0973323337/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2817709-7127851?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189878321&sr=8-1

About the first half is dedicated to what, why, and the analysis of maybe six home-brewers doing it now and why thier process might not be optimal. Then he goes on to describe his "outback" process (lives in the boonies of Canada) , mini-plant, quality control, testing lab, etc. He emphasizes the need for any homebrewer or co-op to meet ASTM specs and to dispose of by-products responsibly. Kemp apparently uses the produced biodiesel to power not only his home but also the mini-production plant.

One of these years, when I'm allowed to stay home for more than a couple of months a year, I might try to get a diesel generator, couple of water heaters, pumps, etc. and give it a try. Hope there is a biodiesel forum as well-informed as this one is on MB diesels.

Folks can also access the USDA website on the algae and other biofuel research going on.

Hmmm. Might not be a bad idea to request a forum catagory, separate or under Diesel Discussion, for this subject. The energy issue is not going away...

Other opinions?

__________________
FRANKNBENZ

1985 300D "Old Blue" 265,000 (parts car )
1985 300D "Gray Ghost" 245,000
1985 300D "Silver Bullet" 160,000
1975 914 VW/Porsche "BC Car" 125,000
2010 Prius "Shocking!" 60,000
Text Message only: 301-728-1115

There was a good article about the political reasons for ethanol in Rolling Stone http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15635751/the_ethanol_scam_one_of_americas_biggest_political_boondoggles

A much more promising biofuel is butanol. It doesn't absorb water readily, so it doesn't have the storage, shipping and corrosion problems of ethanol. It can be made from a number of non-food sources and produces more energy by weight.

__________________
1983 300SD "Guderian"
1987 MR2
2015 Camry
2015 Chevy Spark
2006 Hyundai Tucson

The big problem with that one is it has such an awful smell!!!

__________________
1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

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Hello Everyone


This stuff caught my eye.

It is called Terra Preta

There may be a way to grow all of the fuel stock we need and
return, yes return, carbon, and other nutrients to the earth.

That would mean you could drive your car
And be carbon negative.

http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/terra_preta/TerraPretahome.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta

http://forums.hypography.com/terra-preta.html



Some real hippie, tree hugger, dirt worshiper, air breather, stuff.

Have Fun Everyone !
RichC


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When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix

Here is your carbon offset.




That should offset a few thousand hippies.

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Thats funny !

I own a 1994 Dodge Cummins diesel also.

It runs on veggie oil, and will do the same stuff
as the one in your pictures.

Gotta love those trucks.

Fear the hippie !!!

Have Fun !
RichC


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__________________

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix