alternate fuel

[87manche]

waste vegtable oil is not the ideal stock for producing bio diesel. A single celled algae bas stock is much more effiecient as a base, and could be produces in mass quantaties using nothing more than some shalllow pools and sunlight.

 

[Flip94ta]

alot of greaser fans find out about the two/three heated fuel filters that they have to find room for under the hood and get discouraged. Frys leave more than unspent fuel behind. My college is converting our bluebirds over to bio, it costs 6-8K per bus.

I'd like to knock flex fuel vehicles while I'm at it. Alot of research has shown that E85 hurts mileage on FFV's by 25-30%. The fuel is only 5% cheaper locally. If the companies would build vehicles for E85 only they mileage hit would be MUCH smaller. E85 has 105 octane if I remember correctly. But a 12-1 compression motor with healthly timing and the mileage will increase. Instead they are building 9.5-10 to 1 motors that are a poor compromise so they can run on 87.

The easiest way to save fuel and lower the price for all of us is to convert large city fleet vehicles into hybrids. GM allready has diesel-hybrid buses running in the intercity routes on the west coast. They get 60% better mileage than the regular buses. in 2004 those buses saved more US fuel than all other hybrids combined. Lets say you convert over my companies fleet, the largest vehicle fleet in the world. How much fuel could we save? I work for the postal service. We use around 125 million gallons a year in our 210,000 vehicle fleet. We have been testing hybrids/E85?LPG/CNG for years. We have the largest alt fuel fleet in the world. The newest hybrid test just hit the street in NYC. The producer thinks it will get about 30-50% better mpg. I drive the regular diesel version of the truck now and it gets a respectable 10 mpg in city stop and go, off and on stops. Thats pretty good for a 12,000lb truck. If all our trucks and UPS/Fedex/buses got 40% better mileage prices would fall nicely.
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2006/pr06_036.htm