Families across the country spent Thursday celebrating Thanksgiving and a great many of these families prepared their turkeys via a turkey fryer. Yes, this is a green car blog and yes, I am talking about turkey frying. Think about the byproduct of using a turkey fryer - a huge vat of vegetable oil. What better way to dispose of used turkey fryer oil than to recycle it so that it can be used for biodiesel?

The folks with the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises sponsored the Holiday recycOil 2008 event yesterday, November 29. Boulder, Aspen, Fort Collins and Littleton were just a few of the many Colorado municipalities that participated in the 2008 event.

Exact figures for oil collected at this year’s event were not available as of this posting but in 2007, the 10 collection locations gathered almost 2,000 gallons of cooking oil. The Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises program gathers cooking oil year round and converts it into biodiesel. The Holiday recycOil events are meant for residential customers but business interested in participating year-round can contact the organization directly at (303) 544-1500.

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Filed Under: Biodiesel Hybrid

For a variety of reasons, it is becoming increasingly apparent that oil is not likely to be the primary fuel of our future.  This begs the question – which alternative fuel will dominate the future?  Will there only be one alternative fuel or perhaps manufacturers will embrace this oil-dependent age and understand that diversifying is an integral part of not repeating our current situation? 

If you notice the poll in the sidebar, we’re interested in hearing which alternative fuel will have the greatest impact on reducing emissions.  As of right now we have 38 votes with electric garnering 42% of those votes. 

Electric
There are many gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles available in today’s market.  In addition to the hybrids, there are also 100% electric vehicles available for purchase.  In looking to the future, many of the world’s largest car manufacturers are planning for an electric vehicle production vehicle to be released in 2010.  That’s only two years away.  Could electric bee the main alternative fuel used in the future?

Hydrogen
Hydrogen has received 24% of the total votes in the poll.  The Scorpion, a planned hydrogen vehicle by Ronn Motor Company, is only one of the many hydrogen vehicles being planned for future production.  Residents of California can get in on the leading edge of hydrogen fuel by leasing a Honda FCX Clarity.  The Clarity produces zero emissions; when I participated in the poll, this is the option that I chose.

Solar, Biofuels, Natural Gas
The last three choices in the poll received a collective 34% of the total votes.  Solar vehicles aren’t something that seems to make the major media outlets on a regular basis despite the fact that a future model of the Toyota Prius will have solar panels to power the car’s air conditioning.

Biofuels are currently available to a large portion of drivers in the form of E85 and the infrastructure to provide E85 to the general public is already in place.  Natural gas received the lowest number of votes; so far the T. Boone Pickens Energy Plan seems to be the biggest supporter of NGVs.

Today I’d like to pose a thought-provoking question to the readers of The Green Motorist and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic.  Which alternative fuel is our future?

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Filed Under: Biodiesel Hybrid, General, Solar, electric vehicles, hydrogen

According to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, biodiesel is defined as “a type of biofuel made by combining animal fat or vegetable oil with alcohol and can be directly substituted for diesel as a stand-alone fuel.”  If you don’t have a do-it-yourself biodiesel setup, you’ll be interesting in learning the basics of biodiesel including how to fill up in your area.

Basic Biodiesel Information
If you use a biodiesel blend that is no more than 20% biofuel (B20) then you don’t need to make any engine modifications.  To be safe, you will want to stick to purchasing biodiesel from a reputable vendor and avoid those backyard biodiesel distributors.  It may be fine for their cars but don’t trust your engine to a process that has no oversight.

Biodiesel Benefits
In a statement from the National Biodiesel Board, biodiesel is “the only alternative fuel in the country to have successfully completed the EPA-required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act.”  Using biodiesel in an unmodified diesel engine reduces the amount of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulates. 

In addition to being a cleaner-burning fuel, biodiesel also lessens the United States’ reliance on foreign oil.  As oil prices are settling in at a new high, petroleum companies are looking for domestic alternatives like biodiesel.

Another possible benefit of biodiesel is improved engine component longevity.  Biodiesel acts as a lubricant which reduces the wear and tear on some engine parts.  As a result, some consumers are seeing a longer than expected engine life when using biodiesel.

Stations in Your Area
Biodiesel filling stations are found in more states than E85 filling stations.  As with the E85 stations, biodiesel stations are more prevalent in the Midwest.  Illinois has stations that offer blends starting at B2 (2% biofuel) to B100 (100% biofuel).  In addition to offering a wide variety of biodiesel options, several of the Illinois stations are open 24 hours a day.  To find a biodiesel filling station in your area, visit the National Biodiesel Board’s station locator.

Biodiesel is just one of the many alternative fuel types available in the United States today.  While the impact of switching to biodiesel isn’t going to be immediately felt on a national level, it is a good first step for diesel-equipped companies and consumers.

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Filed Under: Biodiesel Hybrid

Have you heard of Jonathan Goodwin, the diesel hybrid conversions master. He specializes in taking gas powered vehicles and not only making them fuel efficient by up to 40%, but also giving them major torque-age.

[photo - flickr]

Jonathan was profiled back in the November 2007 issue of Fast Company, as the possible savior of the major car manufacturers, such as in Detroit. He can take a Hummer to 60 MPG, yes you read right, 60 MPG, all the while souping up performance on the Hummer (H3) from horsepower of 300 to 600.

How does Jonathan Goodwin perform such magical feats? Well, it is a combination of ingenuity, creativity, innovation, and good ole fashioned elbo grease. Goodwin has all this and more. He is quite the busy mechanice right now, with everyone from California Governator Arnold asking for his services for a Jeep Wagoneer, to Neil Young and his 1959 Lincoln Continental.
Johnathan is a big believer and promoter of diesel engines. He even has created a bolt-on kit, for those DIY guys (and gals) who also wish to convert their gas engines into Duramax diesel powered engines at home. Why wait for the big auto companies to go biodiesel or hybrid, when you can just do it yourself, he clamors. The fuel savings are impressive and the power ramping just plain fun. With his customizations and modifications, cars become more powerful, and much more planet friendly.

The Neil Young diesel hybrid Lincoln Continental dubbed LincVolt, is still under modification, just this morning an update was provided by ABG. Looks like Goodwin is still working on this one.

Goodwin an ardent fan of electric plugin cars, in the Fast Company article, mentions that by now all Americans should have access to one. Why we don’t, he doesn’t understand. He states he gets all his parts from the big three car manufacturers. The infrastructure is already there, why are they so slow with the new fuel technologies.

Good questions, all of them. I believe that American car manufacturers slowly but surely will get on the ball with fuel efficient vehicles, and transform what will be available to all of us. I hope. We all hope!

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Filed Under: Biodiesel Hybrid, Diesel Electric Conversions, Duramax Engines, Eco Friendly, Fuel Efficient, Green, Johnathan Goodwin, Kansas, LincVolt, hydrogen