[Vision2020] Greasel/ was Question for Environmentalists

[Garrett Clevenger]

Donovan,

There is a lot of info on the web.  Youtube has videos
and google comes up with all kinds of websites. 
tdiclub.com is a site I've checked out as my VW is a
TDI, but it is not limited to greasel info.  Now, it
is hard to find TDI's in the US, as the supply is
limited.  I got mine right before the demand started
to peak.

Making your own greasel is messy.  You need a warm
place to keep the grease from solidifying.  You have
to filter it.  Since it is vegi oil, it burns cleaner
than petro diesel (it smells like french fries)  I
haven't used it in my rig, but theoretically I would
get the same gas milage as petro diesel (around 44
mpg)

Ironically, it was the Nazi's who were really big into
biodiesel, using vegi oil to make it.  That's why the
VW is one of the more popular diesel cars, as the
Germans have really fine-tuned diesel engines.  I hear
diesel engines in Europe get about 100 mpg.  Makes you
realize US is losing out on this technology.

One cool thing is that farmers here on the Palouse can
grow their own fuel.  They can yield about 100 gallons
per acre.  If 10% of their land were devoted to seed
oil crops such as canola or mustard, they could make
their own biodiesel to run their tractors on all of
their land, eliminating their need for petro diesel. 
I see a future where there is localized fuel
production, which would empower local communities,
keep the price of fuel stable, and keep money local.

Of course, the current ag subsidy programs would have
to be revamped, but why should large-scale farming
operations be allowed corporate welfare in the first
place?  Ethanol does not reduce greenhouse gasses, as
it needs just as much energy to process it as you get
in return.  Certain types of biodiesel, on the other
hand, have a net decrease in greenhouse gasses, as 2-3
times as much energy is created then needed to make
it.  Unfortunately, politics in the corn belt and
Washington skews sound policy.  In the process, the
price of food is escalating as the corn acreage has
increased to reap the ethanol subsidy.  This, in turn,
creates food scarcity in other countries.

Michael Pollan has a great new book, The Omnivore's
Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, which goes
into detail some of this and a whole lot more. 

Take care,

gclev

--- Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Garrett,
>    
>   What would you have to do to the grease before
> putting it into a diesel engine? Can you put it
> straight in, does it need to be filtered? How do you
> filter it? Does it burn cleaner? Get better mileage?
> Do you have any links?
>    
>   Thanks,
>    
>   Donovan
> 
> Garrett Clevenger <garrettmc at verizon.net> wrote:
>   Donovan writes:
> 
> "I heard some people used cooking oil? Is that
> true?"
> 
> 
> I bought my diesel VW in order to burn greasel,
> which
> is used grease (vegi oil) that is filtered.
> 
> As soon as my warranty expires, I plan to convert my
> car to be able to burn greasel, which basically
> means
> adding another fuel tank.
> 
> Any diesel engine can burn grease. That means being
> able to use grease from restaurants, which they give
> away to avoid costly disposal. It's pretty much free
> fuel.
> 
> A friend of mine gets 50 miles per gallon in his
> pickup burning grease.
> 
> You can also make biodiesel out of grease, but that
> requires a more technical process.
> 
> After seeing the cars that are fueled by water,
> though, that seems like a way better alternative.
> 
> Any one willing to invest in one of those cars? I'd
> love to see if that really works...
> 
> gclev
> 
>
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