Archive for the ‘energy conference’ tag

Bio Diesel Fuel – An Energy Source Now and for the Future

Bio Diesel fuel is a diesel equivalent, processed fuel derived from biological sources, such as vegetable oils, which can be used in unmodified diesel engine vehicles. It can also be used as a heating fuel in domestic and commercial boilers. There are a number of naturally occurring and renewable resources it can be refined from including algae, vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant greases. It can also be processed where ever the raw materials to make it exist.

Bio diesel fuel is nearly completely free of sulfur and aromatics and is a naturally oxygenated fuel because it is composed of almost 10 percent oxygen. Because of this biodiesel provides a significant reduction in particulate and carbon monoxide emissions then petroleum based diesel fuel.

It is also safe to handle and transport because it is has the biodegradability of table sugar, is 10 tens less toxic then plain salt, and has a high flashpoint, the temperature at which it catches fire, of 300 degrees Fahrenheit as compared to regular diesel fuel which flashes ate 125 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bio diesel can also be blended with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend as well as its ability to be used in almost any diesel engine without any modifications.

Many gas stations are beginning to make biodiesel available to consumers and a growing number of transport fleets are using it as an additive to their fuel. It is important that fuel grade bio diesel be refined to tight industry specifications in order to ensure proper performance. One of the benefits of this fuel is it lower engine wear. In fact some vehicle manufacturers are beginning to make engines specifically for bio diesel for this reason.

Because it is a better solvent then regular diesel it tends to clean the engine when first used and removes deposits from the fuel lines which can clog fuel injectors. After switching to biodiesel most car manufacturers recommend changing the fuel filter to help prevent this. Use of this fuel leads to lower engine emissions while improving engine lubrication. Many government fleets on the federal and state level as well as utility fleets are now required to purchase 75 to 90 percent alternative fuel vehicles these days. Since biodiesel is the lowest cost alternative fuel option many of these fleets are converting to its use.

Diesel forms nearly 40% of the energy consumed in the form of hydrocarbon fuels, and its demand is estimated at 40 million tons per year. In the coming years as concerns about rising fuel prices and the lack of renewable energy sources rises the value of bio diesel fuel as a cheap renewable energy source will continue to rise.

Facts About Solar Energy – Part 3

You want the best value for your money, and knowing all the facts about solar energy is the best way forward. Whether you’re looking for a whole home electricity or heating installation or a portable power supply for camping, it’s better to know what’s a great deal and what’s not. Let’s take a look at some more solar energy facts:

- Establishing that solar power isn’t only for hotter climates, the British have decked out Manchester’s biggest building, the CIS Tower, with solar panels. In 2005 it began pumping energy into their national energy grid.

- Solar energy can play a huge role in the transportation industry. The 3000+ KM Australian Darwin-Adelaide yearly car race for solar-powered vehicles leads solar research. It draws in multinational competition and is making lots of headway in the field. In the first race in 1987, the racer’s average speed was 67 km/hr. By 2005 it was 103 km/hr. Speed isn’t necessarily the most crucial aspect of solar energy, but to the solar transportation industry it is. Car exhausts are a leading cause of global warming.

- The human being ecological footprint is huge, some countries bigger than others. There are approximately 2 billion global citizens with no electricity whatsoever. To these people, the facts about solar energy are that they can’t just hit a switch to turn it on and are often engulfed in poverty. By contrast, America accounts for over 25% of global energy consumption, but only 5% of the global population.

- Shell has forecasted that 50% of the world’s electrical energy will come from renewable sources by 2040. Shell will also unite in a monumental renewable energy development project backed up by the UAE. Numerous industrial heavyweights will join, such as British Petroleum, Total, Occidental Petroleum Corp, General Electric, Rolls Royce, Fiat and Mitsubishi.

- The facts about solar energy are not only about technology. The fact is the acceptance of solar energy alone isn’t going to give rise to a sustainable Earth. Without a larger passion of favorable human being fundamental interaction it will still be a frigid, and unsustainable, world.

Are Flex Fuel And Biodiesel Viable Options?

Once thought of as only a dream, Flex fuel vehicles are fast becoming a reality. The high cost of gasoline and fuels like Diesel have prompted auto makers around the world to start building automobiles that will burn more than one type of fuel. For example, the country of Brazil for over 10 years now have been producing there own Ethanol product and are almost completely independent of Middle Eastern oil. It seems now the big three auto makers in this country are behind producing and building more automobiles that will run on E-85 ethanol or gasoline. This is good far all of us, not only will ethanol cost less, it will make the United States much less dependent on that black gold that has been coming into the US from those middle eastern country’s. And as an added bonus, the air we breathe will be much cleaner.

Ethanol in itself is not new, E15 and on a small scale E85 have been around for some years. The production was not at a point where auto makers got to excited about it, and as a result only a token amount of vehicles were produced that would burn the E85 ethanol, although most automobiles could and still today burn the E15 ethanol. The E15 and the E85 is the percent of ethanol that is added to gasoline to make the product. Ethanol can be made from several different sources, in this country most of our ethanol at this time is made from corn. In the future other products will be used in the making of ethanol that should also help get the cost down for all Americans. GM has said the cost to convert automobiles that were not already flex fuel to be some where around $500.

American companies are starting to produce more ethanol. This will help get more cars rolling off the assembly line, and get some of those big gas guzzlers off the road. Toyota is another company that seems to have a lot of interest in the flex fuel vehicles. They seem to be working very hard to catch up. Things will not happen over night, it will take some time to change the thinking of some of our politicians and get them behind ethanol and flex fuel vehicles. Once the ball gets rolling things can only get better for all of us.

There is another fuel out there for the folks who burn diesel. It’s called BIODIESEL. This product is a combination of animal fats and diesel fuel. Again like the ethanol product it contains a small amount of diesel and a large amount of the animal fats. This product can and is being made by some people to burn in their own vehicles, making the fuel from byproducts of oil from many of their local restaurants. Most automobiles need a conversion kit, but the high mileage they receive per gallon is worth the investment. As far as places across the country that sell Biodiesel, there are only a few at this time, but they are gaining every day. Watch for this product to become more popular and thus increasingly available in the future as things get rolling. I guess the high price of fuel has helped in some way. Only time will tell.

Hydrogen – Fuel of the Future, or Just a Spark in the Dark?

The Fossil Fuel Crisis ? Hydrogen as an Alternative.

Thirty years ago, hydrogen fuel appeared to have a massive future as a direct replacement for petrol/diesel. In those days the main threat was the expiry of fossil fuel reserves. More modern times bring us other concerns, with global warming currently topping most agendas.

Hydrogen?s star has waned a little in the current environment as it requires lots of energy to produce a useable hydrogen fuel. That energy in turn needs to be produced in an environmentally sympathetic manner.

We also have to bear in mind that the nations who hold the current fossil fuel reserves are dependant on the sale of their oil/coal field produce to maintain internal development.

We appear to have reached a stage where, instead of standing back in horror, uttering the words – ??there are only fossil fuel reserves for two more generations?? we can now stand back and say ? ??okay, we have two generations before fossil fuels are gone, that?s time enough to develop the alternatives??

The big concern is, of course, managing fuel production in such a fashion that environmental damage is held or, better yet, reduced.

Hydrogen can be produced from natural gas or from water. The extraction of hydrogen from water requires the use of an electrolytic process. This requires an electricity consumption of around 50kw hours per 1kg of hydrogen produced. Global scale hydrogen production would require vast amounts of electricity and that in its turn would need to be generated.

Taken to the logical conclusion, this would require the electricity production to be nuclear based as, currently, that is the only means available to produce the bulk required in an environmentally neutral fashion.

To commit fully to hydrogen would also mean committing irrevocably to a nuclear power society complete with all its waste management problems.

This scenario would only apply for so long as the hydrogen fuel cell remains a better means of energy transportation than the battery. As the years go by it is certain that battery technology will also undergo a few major developments.

While it looks unlikely that the world will stop for want of fuel or power, do we wish to continue down the spiral path of consume (and waste) because the resource is cheap? This always leads to an increase in production and supply simply to satisfy demand.

We need a strategy of gradually increasing the cost of power to the consumer, while slowly bringing on line alternative power production methods. Nuclear, hydrogen, bio-mass, bio-diesel, wind, and water power will all be exploited, but non will be the ?silver bullet?. Placing restrictions on the ways in which currently available fuels are burned will certainly increase the price of power and make the alternatives gradually more attractive.

Of course, we also have to keep in mind that increasing affluence in countries with emerging economies will play a major role. More comfortable home environments, more cars, more manufacture, more transportation will all carry a price, but nothing affects a market like cost and the only way to get the consumer to care about power wastage is to make energy more expensive.

If we can eventually attain a culture of less waste we may yet achieve a sustainable existence.

? Copyright 2007

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