Teeny Reactor Pumps Out Biodiesel

[The_Penguin]

PORTLAND, Oregon -- A tiny chemical reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate agricultural equipment instead of relying on costly imported oil.

"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," said Goran Jovanovic, a chemical engineering professor at Oregon State University who developed the microreactor.

The device -- about the size of a credit card -- pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly.

By comparison, it takes more than a day to produce biodiesel with current technology.

-snip-

http://wired.com/news/wireservice/0,70702-0.html?tw=wn_index_4

I want one.

[Joe]

Yay! Bitch that's MY CITY! We're starting the new age! Fuck oil!

[The_Penguin]

Yay! Bitch that's MY CITY! We're starting the new age! Fuck oil!
Fuck yes! I want to grow the shit that goes in my tank (but first I'll need a car.)

Also, I've found this article.
When Erwin Rommel's Panzer tanks ran out of diesel fuel in North Africa in World War II, the German general poured cooking oil into their gas tanks to keep the vehicles fighting.

The U.S. military thinks Germany's "Desert Fox" might have been onto something. At bases throughout the United States, soldiers are filling their gas tanks with biodiesel -- diesel fuel made from soybean or other vegetable oil.

The Marines are among those leading the charge. At Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego, for example, the semis that haul the Marines' 70-ton M-1 tanks have been running B20, a mix of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel, for more than two years. So have the buses and trucks that carry the troops and their gear, forklifts, generators -- even a diesel locomotive in the base's switchyard.

-snip-

http://wired.com/news/technology/0,68969-0.html

I need one of them big-ass ford trucks that have diesel engines. I want to grow my own gas, fill that shit up and go to work... hmm... would having a gun-rack be too much?

[Kwiz]

Whoa, that's sweet. Biodiesel could never be a permanent energy solution (read: pollutants), but it can certainly help us on the way.

[Kaji]

Ah, Camp Pendleton, that's where I was born.

That said, if this stuff works, then more power to them!

[The_Penguin]

Whoa, that's sweet. Biodiesel could never be a permanent energy solution (read: pollutants), but it can certainly help us on the way.
Actually it is. The fact that it outputs pollutants is irrelevant. What's important is that we're making it in our backyards and not shipping it in from the Saudis.

[The_Penguin]

Two evils. Some people would disagree with you on which is the lesser.
The amount of pollution created from burning biodiesel is very small. The primary component is carbon dioxide (what you and I create by breathing.)

[MNJetter]

Carbon dioxide is also the thing that people complain about killing the earth. It is one of the greenhouse gases, and happens to be the more prevalent one in current cars as well. So really, there's no difference between it and normal gas as far as the atmosphere is concerned. The problem with gasoline pollution is not that it puts out toxic gas, but that it puts out more CO2 than the environment is able to process back into oxygen, and that hurts the atmosphere.

Biodiesel is a step forward, certainly, both environmentally and politically, since it's self-reliant and burns marginally cleaner than normal gas. But it is by no means a permanent solution to the pollution problem.

[kyaa the catlord]

Need more trees. Go plant some.

[Klilynkun]

Best way to recycle paper.... Turn them back into trees

[Jay]

MNJetter: I always thought that was Carbon MONoxide...?

[The_Penguin]

I'm beginning to regret having started this thread...

[Kwiz]

Actually it is. The fact that it outputs pollutants is irrelevant. What's important is that we're making it in our backyards and not shipping it in from the Saudis.
Both of those points are relevant. It's great to finally stop importing oil from other countries, but at the same time we can't keep burning stuff forever. Biodiesel can be one of the stepping stones to a true 100% renewable energy economy.

[The_Penguin]

Both of those points are relevant. It's great to finally stop importing oil from other countries, but at the same time we can't keep burning stuff forever.
Yes we can. And please don't scream global warming.
Biodiesel can be one of the stepping stones to a true 100% renewable energy economy.
From a practical point of view, this is the most realistic option. We have the land in this country to grow enough stuff in order to produce enough biodiesel to replace most of our gasoline and petro-diesel needs. Hell, if we covered 10% of Texas with algae producing farms, we could probably stop importing oil from SA complete. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel#Base_oils)

[Matt W]

[QUOTE=The_Penguin]Yes we can. And please don't scream global warming.
QUOTE]
Obviously we cant, and yes, GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!! If you don't think that it is serious, you don't know what your talking about.

[Kwiz]

Yes we can. And please don't scream global warming.
On the scale that we're burning fuels now? My god.. if we kept up with the current rate we'd be sure to badly damage the biosphere in a century or two.

Don't get me wrong, as an American I love the idea of pulling the plug on some of the OPEC nations - we are their biggest customer after all. I'm simply saying that biodiesel can't permanently replace the role that crude oil currently fills. Not even crude oil can be used permanently.

[setrict]

I wonder how much of an issue the pollutants really are? Plants consume Co2 and give off oxygen. Biodiesel comes from plants which use solar power to suck it out of the air to build carbon chains, which are then refined and burned to make more Co2, repeat. The whole cycle of life thing going on. Even if it's not near 100% efficient, it's got to be better than burning stuff that isn't part of the cycle at all (ie stuff in the ground for ages like oil and coal). It's like solar power with a middle man.

[Kwiz]

I wonder how much of an issue the pollutants really are? Plants consume Co2 and give off oxygen. Biodiesel comes from plants which use solar power to suck it out of the air to build carbon chains, which are then refined and burned to make more Co2, repeat. The whole cycle of life thing going on. Even if it's not near 100% efficient, it's got to be better than burning stuff that isn't part of the cycle at all (ie stuff in the ground for ages like oil and coal). It's like solar power with a middle man.

The excess CO2 does get taken care of by it's production source, but you also have to think about seasonal delay. In other words, the crops that the biofuel is extracted from won't be growing constantly all-year-round. If biodeisel were to be such a permanent success in the US, other countries capable of growing crops on a large scale would surely follow suit. Think winters with more than normal atmospheric content of CO2 - even a "small" deviation from the norm is enough to cause problems.

[setrict]

That's a good point, and one I hadn't thought of. I wonder how that cycle would affect the weather. It wouldn't exactly be global warming, but I bet there would be some changes.

It would seem to me though that as long as the biodeisel was replacing fossil fuel consumption, it would still not be any worse than it is now when we are burning fossil fuels. Now we have a delay of pretty much infinity, a delay the length of the off season would be a serious improvement.

[Kwiz]

Now if we could just figure out fusion nuclear power and stop being jerks to one-another on the international scale.... this planet could support another 20 billion people.

[MNJetter]

MNJetter: I always thought that was Carbon MONoxide...?

Yeah, that's one of the other pollutants. Monoxide is poisonous to humans, and also comes out of gasoline exhaust, but it's dioxide that affects the greenhouse thing specifically.


EDIT:
Now if we could just figure out fusion nuclear power and stop being jerks to one-another on the international scale.... this planet could support another 20 billion people.

Even if we hate each other and swear off electricity altogether, we might have to support that many in the future anyway. :D

[Klilynkun]

I thought that we actually gave off carbon monoxide or am I thinking of a different gas lol

[Kwiz]

I thought that we actually gave off carbon monoxide or am I thinking of a different gas lol
We give off CO2. What makes carbon monoxide so bad is that it binds really tightly to hemoglobin and effectively makes the molecule useless. A red blood cell picks up enough of that crap, and it has to be flushed out of your bloodstream.

[羽之助]

Am I the only one who read the title of this thread and thought it was about a teenage music group with excrement issues?

[Smidge204]

Hello... long time lurker, first time poster :) My college thesis focused on alternative energy, so stuff like this always peaks me interest.

Biodiesel Pros & Cons!

Pros:
-Diverse sources for fuel. BD can be made from any plant oil (corn, soy, rapeseed, hemp, etc) as well as animal fats and oils extracted algae.

-Renewable. As long as the environment is suitable for growing something, you can make more of it.

-(Potentially) Reduces atmospheric carbon. Carbon released as a result of burning the fuel was previously absorbed by the plants that produced the oil used to make the fuel. However, not all of the carbon the plant absorbs is extracted from the oil, and not all of the carbon from the oil makes it into the fuel. Depending on what is done with the leftover biomass, there is a net reduction in atmospheric carbon.

-Biodegradable and non-toxic. Pure BD is very environmentally friendly.

-Good efficiency. BD burns hotter and more efficiently than petrol diesel. It also has a better lubrication quality which improves engine performance.

-Clean burning. BD contains no sulphur and, because it burns hotter, produces only a tiny fraction of the particulates that petrol diesel produces. A properly tuned engine will also produce fewer NOx emissions due to the higher temperatures. Reduced particulates in the exhaust makes it possible to use catalytic converters and further reduce pollutants.



Cons:

-Hydrophilic. BD readily absorbs moisture, which is not something you want in a fuel... besides effecting combustion, it can damage parts of the fuel system and makes the 'gelling' problem worse...

-Unusable at low temperatures. BD 'clouds' and 'gels' at warmer temperatures than petrol diesel. This makes tank and fuel line heaters more important, and the gelling can damage some parts of the fuel system.

-Because BD burns hotter, it is more difficult to start a cold engine.

-BD contains slightly less energy per gallon than petrol diesel, which means you need to burn more of it to get the same work done. (Better efficiency helps offset this, though)

-Biodegradable and non-toxic. Ironically, what makes a good fuel for your vehicle also makes a good fuel for bacteria. Combined with the tendency to absorb moisture and the relatively warm temperatures required to use the fuel, fighting off bacteria becomes a real issue. Being biodegradable also makes it difficult to store for long periods of time.

-Limited production. You need to grow the plants/animals to get the materials you need to make the fuel. Growing stuff takes time and space - lots of space. The biggest problem with growing something like rapeseed or corn for fuel is that you need arable land, fertilizer and fresh water - which could be used for growing actual food. (Research into algae based production holds promise, though, since you could potentially grow it in saltwater in otherwise useless areas.)

-Dangerous chemicals used in production. In order to produce BD on a commercial scale, some rather nasty things like hexane, methanol and sodium hydroxide are required. Interesting to note that the device mentioned at the start of this thread eliminates the need for the NaOH (which is only a catalyst) and would eliminate the need to wash it out of the glycerin byproduct. The other chemicals are recovered and recycled anyway.

Biodiesel is already commercially available in many places. Around my part of the world (NE USA) it is very common to mix BD with low-sulphur petrol diesel and kerosene. The exact mixture depends on the climate and intended use, and can vary from 5% to 30% BD.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope someone finds it as interesting as I do :)
=Smidge=

[Kwiz]

Thanks for the list, Smidge. My only big concerns with biodiesel are the amount of space required to grow the producer crops and the seasonal buildup of CO2.

Can you tell us anything about those two?

[Smidge204]

My guess about 'seasonal buildup' is that it really doesn't matter - with fossil fuels, we are adding an unbalanced amount of CO2 year-round. If we use a renewable source that completes the carbon cycle, then by year's end we would at least break even even if there is a season where we produce more CO2 than is absorbed.

Amount of space required would depend a lot on the type of crop used, which would be determined by season and climate. In short, the answer is "tens of millions of acres." How much detail are you looking for?

Biodiesel is not the end-all solution to our energy problems. The only way we're going to stay ahead is by an earnest conservation effort and a mixture of appropriate renewable sources. Biodiesel has a distinct advantage, though, in that no change to the existing infrastructure is required to use it. (Unlike that 'Hydrogen Economy' crap... which would be perfect if only we could use snake oil for fuel)
=Smidge=

[Kwiz]

Biodiesel has a distinct advantage, though, in that no change to the existing infrastructure is required to use it. (Unlike that 'Hydrogen Economy' crap... which would be perfect if only we could use snake oil for fuel)
=Smidge=
No change to the infrastructure? Agricultural areas would have to be modified, for one.

And running stored hydrogen through an F-cell is nothing more than a glorified battery arrangement - you're just able to store and release more energy that way. It's just that electrolosis isn't as conveniently efficient as we'd like it to be, so it takes more electricity to make hydrogen than we can get out of it. That issue could probably only be resolved once cheaper-than-dirt fusion power is available.

[Smidge204]

You would have to expand existing infrastructure. Expand agriculture and built processing facilities. Since we have such an extensive and efficient system for distributing and using liquid hydrocarbon fuel, the logical "now" solution would be to find a new source of hydrocarbon fuel.

After that, you can use the same tanker trucks and pipelines to bring the fuel to the millions of existing fueling stations which can use the existing storage tanks and pumps to dispense the fuel into the existing (diesel powered) vehicles and equipment.

Assuming we can solve the whole "Where does it come from?" problem, Hydrogen still requires new transport systems, new storage systems, new dispensing methods, and new vehicles -- a totally new infrastructure.

This creates the chicken-and-egg scenario. Nobody is going to convert their gas station to hydrogen until there are hydrogen cars for customers. Nobody is going to buy a hydrogen car until there is a convenient way to refuel it. You can do this gradually with hybridization, but it will take decades and trillions of dollars to switch everything over.

You can go out and buy Biodiesel right now. In fact, if you buy diesel in Minnesota, it is required by law to be at least 2% BD. Washington State has passed a similar law that will supposedly take effect by the end of 2008.
=Smidge=