BioDieselNow - Renewable biodiesel fuel

I am a commercial brewer and have recently started making biodiesel. I am curious if anyone has heard of a brewery that uses B100 in their brewery kettles, or may know of a manufacturer that can build a 600,000-1,000,000 BTU kettle that runs on B100.

Using Biodiesel to heat seems inefficient to me. I suspect that straight vegetable oil would be a better option, taking all energy costs into account.

Biodiesel is adapted for the purpose of more easily extracting mechanical work from chemical energy. You want to extract heat from chemical energy, which is notably easier.

I agree.

In fact, there are some mechanical applications that can utilize vegetable oil more efficiently.  For instance, I would rather see older diesel vehicles using veggie oil conversions.  Save the good stuff for the newer vehicles using high pressure injection systems.

I would recommend using crude glycerine for the kettles.  Make sure it's burning hot (1500 F)

CA-BIODIESEL:

In fact, there are some mechanical applications that can utilize vegetable oil more efficiently.  For instance, I would rather see older diesel vehicles using veggie oil conversions.

I've seen a fair number of scientific studies, include those listed here, that indicate VO can cause substantial engine damage; I've seen people make it work, relatively trouble free, but it's their own experiment. Also, there's the issue of toxicity (alt) when using VO as a fuel; has the EPA recognized VO as a fuel?

I would recommend using crude glycerine for the kettles.  Make sure it's burning hot (1500 F)

Good advice.

"It has been suggested that these problems can be addressed by heating the oil (usually with engine coolant) and starting and stopping the engine with regular diesel fuel. This approach has been used with some success although long-term durability has not been proven."

The main problem with vegetable oil as a fuel is viscosity, which can be corrected with heat.  The author of the website you provided seems to lack knowledge surrounding veggie systems.  There are multitudes of veggie cars using twin-tank, heated systems with great success (over 100,000 mile mark)

The toxicity study you referenced involved Rapeseed as the source of oil.  Since most of our domestic veggie cars utilize soy oil in the engines, this study does not translate well to U.S. veggie cars.  There have been other studies indicating that VO as a fuel would reduce the polyaromatic compounds.  However. I don't envision the EPA recognizing VO as a fuel in the near-term.

CA-BIODIESEL:

"This approach has been used with some success although long-term durability has not been proven."

This was my point. I'm not stating that VO won't function as a fuel, just that it's not guaranteed to work properly, can produce toxic exhaust, and isn't legal (EPA).

The main problem with vegetable oil as a fuel is viscosity, which can be corrected with heat.

I've read otherwise; the main problem is getting larger molecules to oxidize completely. The unburnt portions become the "lacquer" build-up and  possibly carcinogenic exhaust.

The author of the website you provided seems to lack knowledge surrounding veggie systems.

The site is under the purview of Jon Van Gerpen. Have you heard of him? (I have one of his books - it's great). While not all-knowing, he is one of the leading biofuel researchers. Send him a comment about the page if you think its in need of repair/addition.

There are multitudes of veggie cars using twin-tank, heated systems with great success (over 100,000 mile mark)

Impressive,  and I've seen this myself, though I've seen the less-successful results of using VO fuel too - rather expensive results.

The toxicity study you referenced involved Rapeseed as the source of oil.  Since most of our domestic veggie cars utilize soy oil in the engines, this study does not translate well to U.S. veggie cars.

I'm not sure why you say it doesn't translate well. Are you asserting that minor chain-length differences affect combustion of  TGs significantly? The publication discusses triglycerides in general, stating, "triglycerides boil under decomposition—and those products are usually considered as hazardous to human health." The researchers were unable to conclude what, specifically, was causing the toxicity, though one of their working hypothesis was - byproducts of incomplete combustion. You warned about the necessity of high glycerin-burning temps above, for the same reason. Note that this study also states that preheating the oil to lower viscosity increases the amount of toxins produced.

Next week, I'll dig through my library; if I recall correctly, I have at least on other study discussing WVO exhaust toxicity. 

 

I have Jon's book, but I didn't realize he was the author of the web-page.  Evidently, he isn't very fond of veggie systems.  I'm a biodiesel advocate and I always praise the molecular advantages of of biodiesel over vegetable oil.  However, my main point is that people driving older Mercedes can experience an appreciable difference in using vegetable oil over petroleum diesel and I've never seen one fail as a result of the conversion. 

Not all triglycerides are created equal.  In chemistry, one simple bond can change the equation.  My opinion is that removing the polyaromatic compounds created from burning petroleum diesel is a step in the right direction.  Not to mention the variety of other advantages of using a domestic and renewable source.

CA-BIODIESEL:

I have Jon's book, but I didn't realize he was the author of the web-page.

His program hosts the page. The author isn't listed.

However, my main point is that people driving older Mercedes can experience an appreciable difference in using vegetable oil over petroleum diesel and I've never seen one fail as a result of the conversion.

After speaking with quite a few happy VOer's today at the MREA Fair, I concede the point. I still wonder why the scientific studies indicate problems with using WVO; what's different about the tests versus real-world applications?

There are so many variables with WVO and vehicle operating temperatures that it's very difficult for scientific studies to design an empirical formula that can translate to all vehicles and all triglycerides. 

I'm confident that Biodiesel and Vegetable oil are both "better" fuels that petroleum.  If anyone tries to argue my definition of "better", I simply define it as "domestic".  I hold my environmental card for special audiences.  The common "domestic" denominator is the strong, non-partisan point that will ultimately hold the renewable fuel movement together. 

CA-BIODIESEL:

There are so many variables with WVO and vehicle operating temperatures that it's very difficult for scientific studies to design an empirical formula that can translate to all vehicles and all triglycerides.

I've been to the U of M CDR and ISU ME Dept (and a number of other research facilities) and have read numerous studies on the subject. I'm confident that there would be no problem testing vegetable oil as a fuel (for a competent researcher with such facilities). Soy and canola fatty acid profiles are similar, but with the Stearic and Linoleic percentages swapped from 60/20 to 20/60. Obviously the additional double bonds will affect overall energy content (slightly), but how does this cause such large differences in performance? Please be as specific as possible.

Can you direct me to any peer-reviewed research on vegetable oil fuel that indicate "success," particularly regarding emissions?

I'm confident that Biodiesel and Vegetable oil are both "better" fuels that petroleum.  If anyone tries to argue my definition of "better", I simply define it as "domestic".  I hold my environmental card for special audiences.  The common "domestic" denominator is the strong, non-partisan point that will ultimately hold the renewable fuel movement together.

I agree completely on this part.