Mean Green

On the verge of several new inventions Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 was tested to fly on Biofuel. It was the first commercial jet ever to fly on Biofuel, a fuel produced from plant matter instead of petroleum or other fossil fuels.

This plane was tested with five people on board on one of London Heathrow’s two main runways. There were around 100 people watching to evidence this event standing on a nearby hangar. Virgin founder, Richard Branson told reporters just before its take off that, “This is the first stage on a journey towards renewable fuel,” His voice was not clear because of deafening noise of overhead planes.

For experiment purpose, Virgin’s eco-plane ran only one engine with that fuel and the other three engines were filled with standard jet fuel. In addition the Biofuel-powered engine was using a blend of conventional jet fuel and Biofuel: 80/20 in favor of the regular stuff. In sum just 5% of the 49,000-lb (22,000 kg) fuel load consisted of the novelty: a special mix of coconut oil and oil from the Brazilian babassu plant, prepared by Seattle-based Imperium Renewable over the last 18 months and tested by General Electric Aviation in Ohio.

Commenting against the people who were stating this incidence as mere publicity stunt, people said that it was just a businesses claim, meant merely as a demonstration. Branson told reporters, “What we’re proving today is that Biofuel can be used for a plane,” He further added, “Two years ago, people said it was absolutely impossible.”

It was also feared that Biofuel would freeze before a plane reached cruising altitude, or that it would require massive and costly changes to the aircraft or fueling systems to work at all. Those all believes were proved wrong with this successful experiment. The fuel used by Virgin did not require any equipment modifications and it flew to 25,000 feet (7,600 m) without incident; and the environmental benefits seem clear, at least once the fuel is loaded onto the plane.

For you to be able to fully understand the connection between ethanol and biodiesel, you should probably learn about them on a individual basis first, by doing this you should then be able to understand what the connections between these biofuels are. You will probably find that there quite a few similarities between ethanol and biodiesel, therefore both these biofuels should be considered when looking for alternatives to ordinary fuel.

So what is ethanol?

Ethanol is a mildly toxic,flammable and colorless mixture of chemicals with a very noticeable perfume like smell, it is also the same type of alcohol that you will find in your nice cool beer, however, it is simply referred to as alcohol.

Ethanol has been used by humans as far back as when the dinosaurs were on the planet, and even though it has been used for more negative reasons, such as explosives because of its volatile nature, it has also been though of as positive when made into alcohol drinks and other products. Ethanol has also been used as an essence to help illness for many thousands of years, and so this is also recognized as being a positive use.

Another point to consider is, ethanol is the fuel which is at present being considered to replace fossil fuels, this is a very important topic, particularly when we consider that we are in a crazy war with Iraq and this is a country where we get most of our fuel from.

What is biodiesel?

A fuel that is being considered as a replacement for diesel, is biodiesel. This is fuel that is made from crops like corn, oilseed and sugar beet. Both ethanol and biodiesel are mixed with fossil diesel and gasoline in order for older cars to be able to run on it, however some of the newer car designs are able to run on biofuel with just a few small modifications.

Because of consumers lack of understanding with regard to ethanol and biodiesel, they are not convinced that using this fuel is the right way to go as a alternative to fossil fuel. Although it has to be said that this is starting to change in the US and in the world at large.

Ethanol and biodiesel relationship:

There are many important things to question when pondering the relationship of ethanol and biodiesel, one thing for sure though is they seem to be the main two options when looking at creating a cleaner environment. Ethanol is seen as the better option my many people at this time. However, the biodiesel option should be looked at very carefully because it also as many benefits to offer the alternative fuel debate.

Biofuel production is benefiting the US farming community by putting millions of dollars into the industry, therefore this should be taken into account as well.

When looking into alternative energy car people are focusing mainly on electric power cars, ethanol cars and hybrid plugins as the cars of the future but I really think we have overlooked one power source that has always been here right on top of us and that the constant solar power that is coming at us from the sun. Solar power has all of the potential in the world because it is a virtually endless supply of power that has no chance of running out (that is unless the sun goes out, and if that happens we wont be alive to worry about it anyway) so it can power our cars virtually forever. Some of us already have solar paneled roofs to heat our houses so we already are starting to use this energy source in some manner. The technology for solar powered vehicles is almost here.

China has just put out its own solar powered car made by the Chinese car company DianZi. The great thing about this car is that you can buy it practically for a song and dance at just under $5600 bucks,but remember that this is just a first generation solar powered car and as such it wont be the perfect dream car. The bad part of it is that it needs about 30 hours to fully recharge the solar unit on top of the car but once its charged it can go up to 90 miles per charge so that is actually 50 miles more gas free than the Chevy volts but the volt gets charged up almost 5 times as fast.

They are not the only company working on a solar powered car. There are rumors now that Toyota itself has thrown its hat into the solar powered vehicle sector but this one differs from the other Chinese model in that it is a hybrid solar powered car. It will get about 30% of its power from the solar panel units on its roof while getting the rest through either gasoline or any type of biofuel. Toyota also publicly stated that it intends to one day develop a car that will get all of its power exclusively from the sun. Obama has also stated he will earmark a larger percentage to alternative energy vehicles than his predecessor President Bush . If he is really serious about this, it will mark a good start for his presidency and put us one step away from being totally dependent on Opec for its oil.

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As the United States and the European Union rush to find solutions to global climate change many less than ideal choices are being selected. Consider the growing demand for the biofuel E85. According to the Clean Air Trust in 2007 one out of every eight gallons of gas sold contains ethanol. What is E85? E85 is an ethanol based biofuel. In the United States it is largely produced from corn.

In the United States, our government has made the decision to back the corn based E85 biofuel. This government led support has dramatically increased demand for E85. How does the demand for biofuels like E85 effect us? Does it affect our health? Does it affect our environment? These questions become important when we consume more than four billion gallons of ethanol each year.

Clean Burning Ethanol?

While it is true that when burned pure ethanol release less hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in comparison to pure gasoline, it is also true we rarely burn pure ethanol in our vehicles. We burn E5, E10, E85 and E95, all ethanol mixes of varying purity – the most common being E85. E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% petroleum. When compared to pure ethanol, burning E85 is vastly more toxic. According to the Clean Air Trust, burning E85 produces ” peroxyacetyl nitrate, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde.”

Burning Food for Fuel

Every single day nearly 820 million people in developing nations do not have enough food to eat. This results in hunger and in some cases starvation. When we choose to convert food crops such as corn into biofuels like E85, we force food prices up. As the price of food rises it inevitably becomes unaffordable to many of the world poorest. Rising food prices have already sparked food riots in Mexico and Morocco. Recently, the World Food Program warned that rapidly rising food costs and threatening emergency food supplies.

Are All Biofuels Bad?

All biofuels are not bad. When efficiently produced or when produced from organic waste such as waste chocolate near their local markets biofuels may be part of the solution to global climate change. As an environmentally conscious consumer it is up to you to understand the differences between various types of biofuels and to see through potential green washing.

A Possible Solution

Since not all biofuels are bad, many are efficiently created and don’t force humans and their vehicles in to a competition over food. Existing technologies such as Brazilian sugar cane derived ethanol is vastly more efficient to produce than our E85 and new technologies that convert food waste into biofuel are also promising. To sort the environmentally sound biofuels from those that are not we need to establish strong global standards. Is a drive in our car worth depriving a starving child of food? We shouldn’t be forced to ask this question and strong global standards on biofuels can prevent us from having to.

What makes biofuels score lower compared to solar or wind power among those working for climate change mitigation? Biofuels are renewable energy, it being derived from bio-mass of living plants or biological materials. However, biofuels still use the same internal combustion engine that produces CO2. The only advantage biofuels has over fossil fuel is that before it is extracted from living sources, which are most plants or crops, and during the lifetime of these plants, they have absorbed so much CO2. Thus, biofuels are categorized to be at least carbon neutral. While it may not be the perfect answer to our excessive carbon output, it’s definitely a start.

Sugar and starch rich plants are sources of ethanol, a substance that could effectively replace gasoline. Oil-rich plants such as palms, coconuts, jatropha, etc. could be processed into coco methyl ester to replace diesel fossil fuels. Today, several countries have required oil companies to blend a graduated level of biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel or CME into gasoline and diesel products, respectively. This way, biofuel producers will have a fair share of the market to allow them develop competitively.

Experts believe that the fossil fuels have become depleted. The only remaining sources are located in places where extraction is already costly, and thus, resulting to higher prices. They have named this the “peak oil” scenario, and some countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have invested heavily on biofuel crops such as oil palm. They have planted millions of hectares with oil palm and encouraged the agriculture sector to move to industrial crops used to produce ethanol.

Most people are skeptical about these ventless wonders. They remember how often a chimney for a wood-burning fireplace gets clogged and how miserable it makes everyone. If anyone in the house has a compromised breathing system, the consternation is even deeper. It’s hard to believe that there can be a fire that gives out warmth and looks inviting without also spewing fumes.

Well, if the room is reasonably ventilated, the ventless fireplaces work well. You usually need to have one window open just a bit, but you’ll find that the warmth it puts out is very nice and you’ll probably not notice any fumes at all.

But wait! It gets better! If you choose a ventless fireplace that burns biofuel, there are essentially no fumes at all. There’s a little steam and a minuscule amount of carbon dioxide, not enough to be concerned about, and not enough that you will smell it.

It’s very good news that there are many of these on the market right now. You don’t need a fireplace with a chimney at all. You can even hang one of these on a wall. You can have two or three around your house to make your living spaces more comfortable and more gracious and heating them less costly. You can be certain that you are not contributing to the environmental gases that are leading us to a global-warming disaster in the not-too-distant future.

Where can you find these? Many dealers are currently marketing them. Some are dealers who are already in the fireplace business. However, there are many new dealers in the marketplace, so look around and do your research.

Just how do these wonders of the 21st century work?

Ethanol is sometimes called grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol and has a unique scent. The reason it is so apropos for a fireplace is that it’s very flammable. However, before it comes to you it will be denatured with additives and will be toxic for human consumption, so you’ll want to be careful where you store. It is ideal for fuel because of its high efficiency.

Even if you live in a small apartment, you can use one of these. The mess and maintenance of wood-burning fireplaces are a thing of the past. The ethanol fireplace is highly appropriate for the age when we live such active lives and are unwilling to allow them to be unnecessarily cluttered. They cost less to operate than the electric fireplaces that have become so popular in recent years and are bound to become more popular as the word gets out.

To find dealers online, just Google ethanol fireplace and you’ll find many dealers and will be able to compare models and prices. You can also find the fuel online.

By the way, if you have an outdoor fire pit, look into an ethanol burner that will work in it. You’ll reduce the fire danger from an outdoor wood fire and you’ll have a convenient means of heating your patio.

Copyright (c) 2009 Wes Fernley

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