Sounds good, let's wait and see if the government can louse it up, or do it correctly benefiting motorists.
Brazil's Biofuel Strategy Pays Off as Gas Prices Soar
Brazilians buck rising gas prices with innovative fuel
Posted on 01/07/2006 7:38:04 PM PST by neverdem
ALBANY, Jan. 6 - Some 200,000 New Yorkers own vehicles that can run on corn-based ethanol instead of gasoline. But many have no idea that their Ford Explorers, Chevy Impalas or Nissan Titans can use this type of fuel, which some view as a way to liberate Americans from Middle Eastern oil.
In any case, the closest station carrying ethanol is in Ottawa, as the Northeast is the one region of the United States that uniformly does not offer ethanol to the public.
But Gov. George E. Pataki wants to change that and make ethanol and biodiesel, two controversial alternative fuels, available in the 27 service areas on the New York State Thruway and in 100 more stations throughout the state as early as this year, in a first small step toward reducing the state's petroleum consumption. The governor is also proposing incentives to bring refineries that produce ethanol into the state.
Costs and further details of the plan, which Mr. Pataki first sketched out in his State of the State address on Wednesday, will not be disclosed until he makes his budget proposal later this month. If the plan is approved by the Legislature, it will give New Yorkers one of the nation's most diverse ranges of fuel choices. Only Minnesota offers an ethanol-rich blend known as E85 at more than 100 stations. Likewise, biodiesel is offered at only a few hundred of the nation's roughly 180,000 stations.
Both fuels can be made from a variety of crops, trees and plant material, and even used grease from fast-food outlets in the case of biodiesel. Ethanol, or grain alcohol, is already mixed with gasoline sold in the New York metropolitan area, but in amounts of...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It's not really that simple. Car manufacturers have to make the FFV's (mine is one); however, until two months ago I wasn't able to purchase E85 within 50 miles of my home.
The major chains don't want to go to the expense of putting in a new underground tank and pump (around $30,000 IIRC) until there are enough vehicles to recoup the cost. So there is an impasse...no one buys the vehicles because they cannot get fuel; therefore not enough fuel is sold to justify the cost to the gas station.
It's a chicken-or-egg thing. Minnesota for example, subsidized the tank/pump installations and people are buying up FFV vehicles.
IMO, we need to ditch as much ME oil as possible. We subsidize a lot of things; this is actually important to our national security.
The local radio station did about a six-hour special on this; they brought in ethanol producers, convenience station owners, corn growers, etc. That was pretty much the conclusion.
I do fill up with Ethanol already.
It's called Bombay Blue Saphire Gin. I like mine with Tonic and ice. :)
Sounds good, let's wait and see if the government can louse it up, or do it correctly benefiting motorists.
Brazil's Biofuel Strategy Pays Off as Gas Prices Soar
Brazilians buck rising gas prices with innovative fuel
Biodiesel can cost as much as a $1 a gallon more than regular diesel when pure, though it is typically sold as B20. Prices vary depending on volume and region, and new tax incentives are aimed at closing the cost gap. In fact, BioWillie was selling for $2.37 a gallon on Thursday in Carl's Corner, Nelson's own truck stop in Texas that serves as headquarters of his year-old company, Willie Nelson BioDiesel. That was just 4 cents more than the conventional diesel selling at another station nearby.
Nelson's BioWillie is aimed mostly at truckers and is usually sold as B20 — pure biodiesel can congeal in colder climates. BioWillie is currently sold at 13 gas stations and truck stops in four states, mostly in Texas, and is used to fuel the buses and trucks for Nelson's tours.
Every alternative to oil, however, has its drawbacks. Biodiesel would reduce most emissions of smog-forming pollutants and global warming gases, and it could be used instead of foreign oil.
But some studies show that it increases emissions of one harmful pollutant, nitrogen oxide, and it could not be produced in vast enough quantities to supplant oil-based fuel, or come close to it, unless the nation starts turning the suburbs over to farmland. And like producing ethanol, producing great quantities of biodiesel from corn or soybeans could drive up food prices.
Bill Reinert, a top advanced technology engineer at Toyota, said in an interview earlier this year: "I frankly don't see biodiesel being an early alt-fuel player across a wide swath of geography. It's a boutique fuel. There's not enough payoff and not enough people into it."
Peter J. Bell, the chief executive of Distribution Drive, a distributor of biodiesel that is working with Nelson, said of the nation's nearly 200,000 gas stations, "650 carry biodiesel, so we have a job in front of us." Nelson sits on the board of Distribution Drive's parent, Earth Biofuels, a publicly traded company.
"I hope somebody makes money out of it. I'm sure they will, and probably what'll happen is that the oil industry will wait until everybody else builds all the infrastructure and then they'll come in and take over," he said. "But that's OK, I don't worry about that. As along as the idea progresses because all I'm caring about is getting it out there and maybe helping the country, the farmer, the environment."
Asked if he intended to become a fat cat CEO with a big cigar in his mouth, he replied: "I'll give you my part of it. I'll just sign over all my earnings and belongings to you right now and I'll sing 'Whiskey River.'"
......like producing ethanol, producing great quantities of biodiesel from corn or soybeans could drive up food prices. [#44]
Well... at least you can find 100% American made synthetic lubricants here in NH.
Gives you about 10% better fuel economy.
Lasts much longer then the petroleum stuff.
I saw Daryl Hannah on the Late, Late Show (I love that show!). She bragged that, living in Colorado, she's "gone green"--living on solar power and recycling vegetable grease from fast-food places to power her car.
The hypocrite then avoided answering what she used in LA, in regards to her auto and her being "on the grid." She lamented that she had to spend much time in LA because of her job.
In my experience, "green people" are the most hypocritical. (And what's with that facelift? Is that part of being "green"?)
MEEEEOOOOoooow!
Pataki Wants Drivers to Fill Up With Ethanol or Biodiesel
Does that include engines that are said to be E-85 compatible?
I suspect not.
Mogger, I am a Amsoil Perferred Customer. That is all I run in my Dodge Cummins diesel and VW TDI diesel. Great stuff.
Come to think of it, I need to put in another order for a case of 15W/40 HD diesel oil for my truck.
It depends upon the age of the vehicle and the components in the fuel system. I had all sorts of problems with my 1986 RV after taking a trip to Yellowstone and using corn gas. Rubber hoses disintegrated and all sorts of gunk filled up the fuel filter and jammed the fuel injectors.
The RV broke down 3 times on the way home and I took almost a $1,000 to repair the damage to a point where I could trust the RV on a trip again.
Corn gas should not be a problem on newer vehicles as this problem should have been addressed by using different materials. It would mean that my RV is useless however.
I guess that means I can sue someone. On second thought that would mean I need to speak to a lawyer and I'd rather have a plugged fuel system.
Do you think repeating this false opinion enough will make it true? I guess the $1,000+ I spent to fix damage done to my RV is not serious in your opinion.
LOL!!!! Do you think calling my true statement a false opinion will make it false? LOL!!! Good one!
The MSM calls President Bush a liar and AWOL from his Reserve service. Since it' s the MSM reporting, it **must** be true! LOL!!!
It's a shame that Freepers depend on the MSM (in this case an NBC article!) to support their claims.
Yes, fuel lines gumming up is NOT major engine damage. The fuel line would have cost about ten or twenty dollars at any auto parts store. Now running an engine without oil will cause major engine damage. I would suggest paying $10 for a few quarts of oil to put in the engine too.
I recall hearing the price of the corn is responsible for something like 5¢ of the cost of a $2.00 box of Corn Flakes.
So, I'm confident the answer to your question is "No."
Good! I'll put a bag in my tank.
Possibly- I really don't know. But since Ethanol is close to the specs (volatility, etc.) of gasoline I don't see the point. Possibly a blend of 95% Ethanol/ 5% Biodiesel (for example) would raise the BTU value of the fuel while still allowing it to function in conventional spark igniiton engines, but I haven't tested this myself. Might be a good project for somebody with the time to tinker.
Actually, as mentioned on the thread, clean vegetable oil will function in a diesel engine without further refining- just don't let the car get chilly, as the vegetable oil will turn to goo and clog filters, fuel injectors, etc.
(Petroleum diesel does this also, just at much lower temperatures.)
I can imagine a future engine designed to run on a mixture of grain alcohol and vegetable oil.
As I recall, some early vehicles had special heated manifolds which allowed their spark-ignition engines to run on cheaper "distillate" (modern day diesel) after the engine was warm. The engines were started on gasoline from a smaller tank when cold.
Thanks for the insights. I'm also reminded of the first airplane engines that ran on Castor oil.
Also the model airplane engines that ran on a derivative of it.
Regards
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