Students are making fuel instead of buying it...
By ersmommy1
@ersmommy1 (12588)
United States
May 1, 2008 10:27am CST
I think this a cool idea, and its working.One solution to the problem of skyrocketing fuel prices: don't buy it, make it.
People sick of paying the rising price of fuel are looking everywhere for a break.
One solution to the problem of skyrocketing fuel prices: don't buy it, make it.
People sick of paying the rising price of fuel are looking everywhere for a break.
Two men have found a way to never have to show up at a gas station. They are instead cleaning out grease tanks to fill up their car tanks.
They have been draining smelly fryer grease and feeding it to their bio-diesel reactor, a fancy name for a water heater, some pipes, valves, hoses, and filters that turn grease and two household chemicals into fuel. The newly formed fuel powers their diesel engine cars.
To make a gallon of bio-diesel, it's about 80 cents!!
2 people like this
2 responses
@DaddyOfTheRose (2934)
• United States
15 May 08
I've heard about biodiesel(1) before on NPR(2), I think. It sounds like a great idea except you still have to find the grease somehow. There is this group called Dads Against Drunk Driving in Grand Rapids MI(3) which has a bio diesel vehicle. They offer to go around and pick up used grease from people / restaurants. As more people invest in biodiesel restaurants will have more people not only willing to take away their grease, but even placed to sell your grease to.
Apparently, the use of biodiesel is also harder on the car's guts. One website(4) mentions offering full repair service for biodiesel burning vehicles. Apparently, different types of hoses or other parts might be needed to stand up to the additional demand of running biodeisel.
Biodeisel Mike(5) goes into detail on how to process the fat into biodiesel. I don't think it is a process undertaken lightly.
I think that regular joes like you and I should probably encourage our metropolitan buss lines to attempt to put biodiesel vehicles on the roads. It could even be simply mandated that waste from local restaurants are given over to the local jurisdiction for efforts in making biodiesel. I would think this is a good idea. IN fact, at least one place in Colorado is giving it a shot.(6)
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("It is a hot commodity, with fuel prices higher, the fact that you can make diesel out of grease, it's a valuable item, people are stealing it," said Healy. )
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(7)
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Various included footnotes:
1) Wikipedia:Biodiesel - ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel )
2) NPR:Driving a 'Green' Vehicle - ( http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mike.html )
3) DADDS.com - ( http://www.dadds.com/green_friendly.htm )
4) GreaseWorks.org - ( http://www.greaseworks.org/ )
5) JourneytoForever.org - ( http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mike.html )
6) Grease is the Word - ( http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200309/200309_grease_1.html )
7) Thieves steal used grease for bio-diesel - ( http://www.wbir.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=58022&catid=141 )
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