The Freedom Fuel
The Biofuel That Can Make the U.S. Energy Independent
Why Switching to a Diesel and Using Biodiesel is a Patriotic Act
Ron AlexanderYou have heard of “freedom fries” (instead of French fries)? Well, real freedom can come from the oil in which you fry the potatoes.
The boat was attracting attention at the fuel dock. It was demonstrating fueling with wasted vegetable (veggie) oil, the crew had obtained from nearby seafood restaurant. There was a built-in filter at the pipe leading to the fuel tank. It was a simple operation pumping the oil from the 50 gallon container. The boat’s diesel started instantly and the motor ran very quietly. The onlookers smiled upon smelling the slight potato/fish/chicken fry smell coming as an invisible vapor from the exhaust.As a retired yacht captain, I know of many advantages of diesel engines and biodiesel fuel. Any commercial fisherman or captain of a passenger-carrying vessel can relate to these advantages, and hardly any of them would think of using a gasoline-powered boat instead. Matt Ruby, who owns three fishing boats run out of Little River, S. C. and also operates the fish plant there, maintains that diesel engines are “much more efficient, durable and safer than gasoline powered ones.”
Many are confused about biofuels. We are told that they can take away from valuable food crops, and lead to more world hunger. If that is true, it does not apply to biodiesel, as it uses only the oil and leaves the nutritious part of plant or animal. Yes, biodiesel can come from either veggie oil or animal fats. And it can be the only recyclable fuel, as this biofuel can be filtered from used cooking veggie oil. It can be blended with petroleum diesel to make a more effective and less polluting fuel. Confusion comes from the facts about a different biofuel - ethanol that uses a plant feedstock, such as corn, beetroot, sugar beet or sugar cane and then fermenting it. It can be blended with gasoline to make “gasohol.” Personally, I think this gives independent farmers a much needed chance for some income, but when the big corporate farms grow plants for fuel instead of food could make a difference in the world’s nutrition?
Another important advantage is that diesel is much less explosive than gasoline. Also, there is virtually no carbon monoxide associated with diesel. Being a compression-driven engine, there is no need for electronics that corrode easily such as spark plugs, points, distributors and wires that connect them. Also, this is one of the reasons that diesel engines are simpler and much easier to repair.
Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the diesel engine in 1895 in Germany and developed it to run on veggie oils. In 1912, he stated prophetically that “the use of vegetable oils for a fuel may seem insignificant today but may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time”. Not long afterwards, Standard Oil, the monolithic giant fossil fuel corporation of the time, researched veggie oil. Sadly, Dr.Diesel was found face down in a river the next year.
Diesel powered vehicles are now about 50 % of all the autos manufactured in Europe today, and biodiesel distilleries are being built in increasing numbers, especially in Germany and Russia. Diesels have not caught on well in the U.S. because of smelly diesels associated with trucks, buses and a poorly built diesels (adapted from gasoline engines) by GM in the 1980’s and the older noisy Mercedes diesel powered vehicles. Volkswagon Corporation knows about this problem and does not even use the term diesel but “TDI” instead. There is new optimism however as newer turbo-charged diesel are quieter, more efficient as well as very powerful. A colleague of mine, Terry Smith, will not sell me his diesel powered “85 Toyota Truck” , because of its durability and great mpg. The increasing price of diesel fuel in this country is an enigma, as sulfur-based petroleum diesel is cheaper to produce than gasoline. Besides its biased research, is this another ploy by large oil and automotive corporations to keep diesel unpopular in this country? Despite all of this, new turbo-charged diesels are coming out not only from Volkswagon but from Mercedes, Jeep Liberty & Grand Cherokee, Honda, and Chrysler. A friend of mine who has driven the new Jetta TDI raves about it. Unfortunately, the new economy Smart Car which is diesel -powered everywhere else is being imported as a gasoline- powered here, because of this unpopularity.
I observed a Smart Car from Canada at an I-95 rest stop near Florida, and the owner stated he was really sold on this 8 foot car and it’s very economical diesel engine at 70 mpg. When I mentioned I would not feel safe in it. He replied that it had plenty of power and was built like a race car with a steel rebar-protected driver and passenger area.
South Carolina was one of many states that mandated a 20% biodiesel for School Buses and all of its maintenance vehicles. The state’s congress put out $25 million in grants for biodiesel fuel producers in 2006. Two established biodiesel plants in Charleston and Gray Court took advantage of these grants. Carolina Biodiesel in Charleston, started by Dean Schmelter has a handsome large plant on the Cooper River at the old North Charleston Navy Base that started out processing wasted vegetable oil. When I had the pleasure of touring the impressive plant, Mr. Schmelter said that for economical reasons, they had to switch over to discarded chicken fat that is plentiful and cheap from the chicken food distributors like Tyson. Carolina Biodiesel has the capability of producing 5200 gallons per day for now. Carolina has kept the original wasted veggie oil plant and use it in their older Mercedes autos. They started the engine of one of them for me, and I have never heard a diesel run more smoothly and quietly. Mr. Schmeltzer told me it was because of the much increased lubricity of veggie oil compared to the fossil diesel fuel. There was also a pleasant slight smell of fried chicken coming from the exhaust.
Matt Ruby, the owner of the three fishing boats mentioned earlier told me he wants to switch to biodiesel mainly to reduce his awful $20,000 dollar fuel bill monthly, but also to help save the fishery because of much reduced pollution in the sea. Imagine how much better for the ocean’s life is with veggie oil rather than sulfur and CO2 from petroleum. Unfortunately, Carolina Biodiesel only distributes to land-based service stations and truck stops within a one hundred mile basis. However, they do have room for fuel dock on the Cooper River and plan to expand to marine industry in near future.
Algae is now object of intense research in universities all over country as best possible biodiesel source because of its high oxygen producing qualities. Soybean sells for such a high price by our farmers to China that it is not feasible for biodiesel production. Other good plant oil sources are sunflowers and canola. My aunt leases her adjacent farm land, where they are growing canola – a good looking plant.
I have been promoting biodiesel use for a couple of years first inspired by Willie Nelson’s biodiesel outfit that starts out from Texas deserts where they can grow “oil seed”, (flax seed, I think) and has spread as far as South Carolina (Greer) where a truck stop became the first biodiesel source for truckers a few years ago. Much information can be had for the whole large operation at wnbiodiesel.com. Recently, I have been re-inspired by Matt Ruby from Little River and his strong need for a cheaper cleaner fuel to help save the fishing industry off the Carolinas. Then listening to “Science Friday” just last week, I heard about a very successful new documentary about biodiesel initiating and debuting at the Sundance Film Festival this week. It is called Fields of Fuel (Make Fuel Not War). Josh Tickell, who directed the film, is famous for driving around The Veggie Van all over U.S. and Europe promoting the use of wasted veggie oil since 1997. He has also written a book called Biodiesel America: How to Achieve Energy Security, Free America from Middle-east Oil Dependence And Making Money Growing Fuel (Yorkshire Press). I ordered this book from Amazon recently, and hope to be able to order the film in near future. I was further encouraged by John Edwards statement in the debate last night “to use large investment in green energy to help jumpstart the economy”.
Of course, biodiesel can be used for generators, home heating and cooking.
