Questions about Biodiesel

What exactly is your question? What type of machines do you have in mind? Even computers are machines, and those do not need Biodiesel Fuel to run.

By a machine I meant a machine that could make/ manufacture biodiesel.using vergin/ used vegitable oil etc

i' will assume that by the word, you mean a plant or facility or even a box that you pour in the right materials, you will get the material (biodiesel) you want.

You can buy kits or machines that make bio diesel. they are not automatic as you will have pour, mix, heat, seperate, dispose of wastes to make biodiesl.

Th costs are the greater or 1.5 times the cost of your oil or cost of the oil per gallon US plus $1.50 per gallon US.

if you have $4/gallon oil, then biodiesl will cost the greater of $4 * 1.5 or $6/gallon or $4 +1.5 = $5.50, so $6.00/gallon

If you have free oil, then it will cost about $1.50 per gallon.

Thanks for your answer.However I do not agree with the cost calculation.We did an open seminar at which an expert on the subject made a presentation. The calculations were also done using the cost of imported used vegetable oil.Even under those conditions the cost was 40% less than the existing price.

do you trust salesmen? we are shutting down biodiesel plants in the US. the reasons for shutting down is the cost to manufature is greater than the sales price. Also. people are upset with exporting it to europe where the taxpayers are subsidizing the price.

The latest biodiesel plant shut down in southwestern Colorado/southeast Utah area.

You have pricked my curiosity. I am hoping that I can learn something from the failures of the Biodiesel Production operations.

Can you tell me something about the process design - at least the chemical reactions set on which the process design was based? Which alcohol - ethanol or methanol - was used for the process? What was the source that provided the oil used for the process? Was the process actually designed for the specific chemistry or was it simply an adaptation of a home-based configuration? What was the volume of production? Again, is this really a full-fledged Chemical Process?

From a political stand - I am supposing because you said plantS are being shut down, so it seems that many plants are being shut down and - I am curious why they are being shut down?

Well stated!

I think as educated people we have an obligation towards the society to make a technology like bio diesel which is eco friendly, as popular as possible. If there are any shortcomings in the existing technology we can try to solve them. Bio Diesel certainly is preferable to the popular monster fossil fuels.

I find some people perhaps with vested interests trying to discourage new comers.. perhaps wanting not to share the pie with others.

My understanding is that quite a number of bio diesel plants which have been or are being shut down are based on some fancy process design and/or in the beginning when bio fuel was new some people have run scams to collect money from gullible investors.

Bio Diesel as a technology is certainly viable, but as a business venture each person who venture into should perhaps to a SWOT to find out economic viability as economics may differ from region to region.

Having said all these to in favour of bio diesel I am very much against edible oils being used in the process as I believe it is not ethical when there are so many hungry people in this world.

As an educated person I will not follow fancy liberal socialist trends. If a science doesn't stand on merit (meaning, tech, finacial, and sfaety) I won't support it. We have seen the price of food rise because of bio fuels, that is NOT right. The next fad being Jatropha, will take water from food plants, if not soil, so even though it is not food, it takes from food.

As fro the scam part, read up on US subsidies and actual biodeisel movements.

I am sorry to bother you again, but you continue to prick my curiosity by your remarks. Apparently, by your statement, you seem to be a position to shut down businesses that has some issues; however, you seem to be shutting the businesses down more from a political conviction than on a rational basis of issues analysis. That is rather curious.

Yet, I should like to ask: Your mightyness, would you be kind enough to explain the essence of your phrase, "fancy liberal socialist trends"? You see, I find your use of the word "socialist" extreme curious. Historically, mostly Mccarthyets tend to use such expressions.

Now on to the more rational aspects of your statement. I am also curious, as to how exactly it is that the biodiesel production process does not stand on its own merit "tech"nologically and in "safety"?

Finally, I do believe that you explained the "financial" aspect of the biodiesel process not being able to stand on its merit, because it costs more produce it than it could be sold for. However, while am not contesting your assertion, your mightyness, I must admit that we will feel more obliging if only you would answer my previous questions so that we may also conduct our own anlysis so as to agree with you wholeheartedly.

I hope that these my statements do not offend you, your mightyness, because like you I entirely disagree with the concept of "fancy liberal socialist trends".

Dear Vicini,

I wish to know what you meant by FANCY LIBERAL SOCIALIST trends. If the ideas which I expressed in my comment are fancy and/or liberal and/or socialist I am surprised.

I just wonder whether you really live in this world! If trying to help the less privileged people in my world (note not my country or my village) I become a fancy liberal socialist so be it!!

In my education as an engineer (and also 25 years later as a computer science graduate too) I have been taught to be logical in my thinking and be rational. When in a forum like this we should state our position with reasons rather than just making unfounded allegations and/or stating mere assumptions. If we do we will be acting in a non professional manner.

You have made comment that "price of food rise because of bio fuels". I will have more respect for you if you give any facts on which you based your comment. Next you have come to the conclusion that Jatropha is a fad. May be you know something which we lesser mortals do not know! Why not share your wisdom in this forum if you are not selfish? I am afraid otherwise based on your concept one can even decide to destroy all these tropical forests and grow only food plants.

Actually as this is a global engineering forum (not a US forum) I do not have much interest in reading on whether US govt has been stupid in giving subsidies to US bio diesel makers or not.. as I have a lot more to read these days about Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, Freddie Mac, AIG (just to name a few of the small messes US has gifted to this world). When I say US please understand I do not include all US citizens, but just the leadership who are driven by greedy rich robber(oil) barons.. I invite you to read page 18 to 26 of Time Magazine of 29th September 2008!

By the way I am just curious to find from which planet you are. As for me I live in a small town called Colombo in a small country called Sri Lanka in a small planet called Earth. Some of my ancestors I believe for the sake of development have acted in an irresponsible manner and I think it is the duty of our generation to try to rectify at least some of those errors.

Are you talking about a macine that would filter the oil,spin and mix in the lye, spin it seperate out the solids, the filter again, then store the fuel?

There are some solids they use in make up which come from certains oils that are very valuable on the market.

Yes. I mean a machine/plant that will make biodiesel using vergin/used vegetable oil,sunfloer oil,jatropha oil etc

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