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GTB · Bentlian Oldboy Joined: 05 Jun 2007 Posts: 865 Status:

Is bio diesal all it's cracked upto be? We are currently working on a farm where they are harvesting rape seed. There is a heck of a lot of fuel used in the ploughing of the soil, the planting of the seed, spraying it (if not organic) and the harvesting of it. It doesn't stop there neither. The seed has to be artificially dried using massive amounts of gas and electric in the drying process, it has to then be loaded up into lorries and taken to a proccessing plant which also uses up huge amounts of energy. Once it is transormed into fuel it is then shipped out to dispensing garages ready for use.

Are we really kidding ourselves that this is a clean way of buring fuel when it takes so much to make it in the first place?

pimpdriver · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:16 am Post subject:

there's biodiesel and biodiesel.

You can add some oil to diesel, or you can run your vehicle on used veg oil.

I might convert one of my vehicles to use WVO (waste veg oil)

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php

Geddi · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

There is a vast amount of controversy over bio-diesel at the moment with a growing concern over using food plants for fueling transport systems. Essentially it's been termed as burning food while people starve!

Ok. great points raised about the CO2 footprint just to get the local grown oil seed rape to a stage where it is usable as a fuel, but all fuel has to go through similar and that argument is that as a plant grows it absorbs carbon. As it's oil is burned, it releases it back into the atmosphere - hence CO2 neutral.

Here's one way of looking at the thing - there are more than one way, as someone already said, although the better (greener) way is 2nd use veg oil, or waste fats from chippies and the like. MacDonald's - bless them - are running their fleets on a high % of 2nd use 'waste' oil. Saves them a fortune and they are now ahead of the game with 'carbon tax'and 'arbon rationing'in mind for the future. Believe me, as a Greenie, this is coming like it or not!

There are some amazing websites and organisations which are pushing and pulling to get these ideas off the ground. There is even an ongoing trek across Africa in a van using nothing but waste from chocolate processing to fuel the van they are in.

The bio-diesel which is being put into your tank without your permission as a minimum % mixed in with normal fuel is damaging the planet and is a step in the wrong direction. Multi-national companies/corporations are swathe clearing tropical forests to grow oil bearing trees and plants for a fast dollar off the back of this new fad and thereby doing massive damage by removing tree cover which absorbs carbon! Daft, but vastly profitable for the few for a limited time only. The EU intends to make this up to 10% soon, even thought it is only 2.5% at the moment. It's a con to click into (underimaginitive) targets in order to abide by their own guidelines and targets set to reduce the CO2 footprint of the entire EU.

Sites: http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/

http://www.lowimpact.org/factsheet_veg_oil_motoring.htm

The above are both for veg fuels (googled).

Do a google for biodiesel and see the mass difference in what sites you get. Phenomenal differences.
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Democracy is dead.

pimpdriver · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

which is better?

biodiesel (i.e. waste oil) or LPGing a petrol car?

Clunk · Ejected Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 935 Status:

Bio diesel is better.
What annoys me is that any attempt at using any fuel in your car, other that what you get at the pumps, is classed as tax evasion.

And this is where the government have us by the short and curlies.
We cannot stop using fuel. So they can and will continue to up tax on it. IIRC, fuel has gone up 20p in the last year. The difference in actual use is this.
a year ago, £10 fuel pw would get me 3 trips to calne, and a trip to a local mine and back.
Now £10 pw will get me 2 trips to Calne, and a mine trip once every three weeks.
I would have to put an extra £5 a week in to make up the shortfall.
Problem is, I cant pull that cash from any other item I budget for.

With things like TV licence and road tax, these things can be boycotted. If everyone stopped paying for them, they would have to be scrapped. It worked with the dog licence and the CB licence.

I heard somewhere that BP bought the patent for an engine that can run on sea water, just to stop it being developed.

Geddi · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject:

There are a lot of myths abounding about all kinds of fuels. For those who wish to get all geeky and nerdy and involved in it there are engines which produce more energy than they use and a whole range of stuff which has been shelved or hidden from public view.

The Nazis had a lot of things which stemmed from centripetal force rather than centrifugal force (inward flowing rather than outward). The USA took a lot of the Nazis brains and technologies and hid them away for decades. Some of the ideas are now getting light, some are still shelved. Bare this in mind, some of the richest ever men and companies are oil companies. This week it has been reported that tow largest oil companies are netting £3million per hour!

It's a fabulous amount of money while people struggle to put a few gallons into their family cars. It's even more tragic that there are already riots breaking out as food prices double in countries where food staples are not subsidised, as here, and prices have doubled or more. Partly, if not mainly, due to bio-diesel policy in the US, UK and EU.
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Democracy is dead.

pimpdriver · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:36 pm Post subject:

I drive 104 miles a day to work and back. My car does 30mpg. It costs me £18 a day in petrol. 20 working days a week. £360 a month!!!!!

I have no other choice. The work I do is that far away.

If I LPG my car (£1200 or so) then I recoup my costs in 5 months.

I like my car, and know it, so I don't want to sell it and get a diesel.

I am thinking of doing an engine swap for an engine that does 38mpg on a run.

Clunk · Ejected Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 935 Status:

pimpdriver · Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject:

how much to get it certified by someone competent?

I'd rather pay the extra £700 and know it was safe!!!