Would it surprise you if I said that my car runs on chip fat?
Well it doesn’t.
But it could if biodiesel becomes more commercial. Biodiesel can be made from many different types of oil, including chip fat and animal fats. In fact the idea of using chip fat to power a car isn’t so far fetched as some home owners are already using it to make their own home brew of biodiesel for their cars.
Biodiesel is becoming more popular with companies and commercially biodiesel is made from a variety of plant sources. Different countries use different ingredients depending on their resources; the US makes their biodiesel from soy and corn products, whereas Brazil makes it from sugar cane.
While biodiesel is on the up it is not expected to replace oil by more than 25%. The reason for this is that there is a fear that by using food products for fuel will drive the price of those products up so much that no one saves any money by using them. The counter argument to this is that there is enough land in the world to support both fuel and food crops. The problem is managing that land effectively.
Because of this debate supporters of biodiesel are looking at alternatives to food products as fuel. One of the plants suggested was algae and having researched it I have to agree that it does look good. Apparently I am not the only one who agrees as Bill Gates has already invested millions in developing algae as a biofuel.
A few facts about algae:
- Algae is the world’s fastest growing plant
- Algae processes sunlight in on of the most efficient ways on Earth
- Useful algae can be grown in sea water
- When the algae have been processed and the oil removed, the remaining matter can make an excellent mulch, feedstock or even fertilizer
- Algae for biodiesel is still a relatively new concept and its full commercial capabilities are as of yet unknown
As mentioned previously the main criticism of biofuel is that it takes up land growing fuel that could be used to grow crops. However clever companies have taken the initiative to grow algae in tanks. These tanks can be put anywhere where there is a lot of sunlight. Desert areas are ideal, and best of all this does not impact on the amount of available farming land.
The other challenge for biofuel production is how to transport it once it is made without the transport costs out weighing the benefits of using biofuel. So far it has been proposed to build biofuel plants close to the coast and use boats to transport it. Admittedly this is not entirely ideal but it is a step in the right direction.
In comparison home brewers who use algae as a biodiesel fuel source aren’t faced with the same problems as a commercial supplier. Home brewers grow the algae on their own land (presumably their garden) and as they are using it for their own use there are no transportation issues. The only problem they may face is how to refine the process to make it more cost effective.
Already there are many home brewers dedicated to finding the right mixture of growth and production which leaves them paying less for their algae fuelled biodiesel than what they would pay at the petrol station.
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August 21st, 2010 at 12:37 am
Sound good. Its also my favorite topic.That’s great andthanks for the fine sharring.