Just when you thought thieves had run out of new things to steal, now the old grease from restaurants has become the latest pilferable item. Officials are blaming the home-made biodiesel craze for making criminals out of people who just might not have realized that’s it’s wrong to take that used cooking oil. Some probably good-intentioned folks have been taking …
Brewing Biodiesel at Room Temperature
Scientists in India are experimenting with a method that could make biodiesel production a whole lot more efficient. Instead of heating sunflower oil and methanol for several hours, researchers at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology are running the mixture over a bed of fungal spores. This article on the Wired Science web site says an enzyme produced by the …
Nothing “Funny” About This Biodiesel Car
In a blur of yellow… pushed by a yellow flame shot out of the back of a J60 Pratt and Whitney jet engine… this Corvette funny car might be one of the fastest things on Earth. Kevin Therres’s funny car that runs on canola oil-based biodiesel wowed the crowds this week at the Hot August Nite event at the Castrol …
Historic Scottish Steamer to Get New Life with Biodiesel
For more than 100 years, The Sir Walter Scott has sailed the waters of Loch Katrine in Scotland… one of the last coal-powered steamers in the country. A 2.2 million Pounds (4.35 million U.S. dollar) renovation is due for the old girl, and officials want to run her on biodiesel. This story in the Scotsman.com says the conversion will take …
Pumped About E85
Tonight Show host Jay Leno is an equal-opportunity biofuels promoter. We recently pointed you to Jay’s on-line interview with Joe Jobe of the National Biodiesel Board. There is also a video on Jay Leno’s Garage about ethanol called “E85 Demystified.” The interview is with Gale Banks of Gale Banks Engineering, “Turbocharging Since 1958.” This guy is “an unadulterated gearhead with …
Indiana State Fair Running on Biodiesel
A new tradition at the 150-year-old Indiana State Fair has started this year as biodiesel powers the fair’s midway. This story from Gary Truitt’s Hoosier Ag Today web site says they’re even making sure it’s biodiesel produced from Indiana soybeans: “The Indiana State Fair is a showcase of the state’s agriculture industry, so it’s fitting that Hoosier-grown soybeans are helping …
Biodiesel from Cellulose
While refiners have been making ethanol from cellulosic material for a while, a Japanese-government affiliated research institute is working on turning grass clippings and wood chips into biodiesel. This story on CattleNetwork.com has more details: The Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth is aiming for commercial production in three years. RITE was established in 1990 by the government …
Earthrace Re-tools for Another Biodiesel Circumnavigation Run
At the end of May, the Earthrace… a biodiesel-powered speed boat… had to abandon its record-breaking attempt to circumnavigate the globe. At the time, they were down… but not out! Captain Peter Bethune says he should be ready for another attempt next March. This story posted on Grainnet.com says, this time, they’ll be better prepared: The 78-foot boat is currently …
Imperium Opens Biodiesel Plant on Wednesday
A biodiesel plant that will add 30 percent to the U.S. biodiesel production capacity when it opens will start doing just that when the Imperium Renewables plant at Gray’s Harbor in Washington state starts production on Wednesday. This article in the Kitsap Sun says the 100-million-gallon-a-year refinery will make biodiesel from canola and soy oils, as well as other crops: …
Go RVing… Go Green
They’re not exactly the most environmentally-friendly mechanisms out there, but recreational vehicles… RVs… are moving to greener fuels. This article in the Bend (Oregon) Bulletin says while hybrid motors may not be coming up, biodiesel is certainly gaining popularity: Ty Adams, a 28-year-old freelance journalist and green RV activist from Bozeman, Mont., has spent the past nine months on the …