Biodiesel Rulez!!! [ARCHIVED]

[Hibiki]

Please allow me to join the discussion on the use of Biodiesel. I have been using Biodiesel for over two years now. Personally, I believe that the mileage issue is debatable. The point is, increase in mileage is not really the main purpose in moving to renewable fuels in the first place. I borrowed the following from BiodieselNow.org to go explain the main reasons:

What are the benefits?
1) National security. Since it's made domestically, it reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

2) National economy. Using biodiesel keeps our fuel buying dollars at home instead of sending it to foreign countries. This reduces our trade deficit and creates jobs. [In the philippines, there will be an increase in income for the Agri sector. More purchasing power, more rural development. Although a long shot, once the rural areas develop, pressure (overpopulation, etc etc) on the urban centers decreases.]

3) It's sustainable & non-toxic. Face it, we're going to run out of oil eventually. Biodiesel is 100% renewable... we'll never run out of it. And if it gets into your water supply, there's no problem - it's just modified veggie oil! Heck, you can drink it if you so desire, but it tastes nasty (trust us).

4) Emissions. Biodiesel is nearly carbon-neutral, meaning it contributes almost zero emissions to global warming! Biodiesel also dramatically reduces other emissions fairly dramatically. We like clean air, how about you? Plus, the exhaust smells like popcorn or french fries!

5) Engine life. Studies have shown it reduces engine wear by as much as one half, primarily because it provides excellent lubricity. Even a 2% biodiesel/98% diesel blend will help.

6) Drivability. We have yet to meet anyone who doesn't notice an immediate smoothing of the engine with biodiesel. It just runs quieter, and produces less smoke.

Are there any negatives? Of course. There is no perfect fuel.
1) Primarily that it's not readily available in much of the nation.

2) Biodiesel will clean your injectors and fuel lines. If you have an old diesel vehicle, there's a chance that your first few tanks of biodiesel could free up all the accumulated crud and clog your fuel filter. But this is a GOOD thing... think of it as kicking up dust around the house when you clean.

3) It has a higher gel point. B100 (100% biodiesel) gets slushy a little under 32°F. But B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% regular diesel - more commonly available than B100) has a gel point of -15°F. Like regular diesel, the gel point can be lowered further with additives such as kerosene (blended into winter diesel in cold-weather areas).

4) Old vehicles (older than mid-90s) might require upgrades of fuel lines (a cheap, easy upgrade), as BD can eat through certain types of rubber. Almost all new vehicles should have no problem with BD.

5) Finally, the one emission that goes up with biodiesel is NOx. NOx contributes to smog. We feel that a slight increase (up to 15%) in NOx is greatly offset by the reduction in all other emissions and the major reduction in greenhouse gasses.


So, if you ask me, .5% or even 1% is too conservative. If we can only balance the costs --- minimize the increase in the fuel cost and increase the overall benefits, while introducing more amount of biodiesel into the fuel, then the effort (Biofuel Law) will be a big move forward.

[garyq]

From my side I am hoping that as I participate in this discussion I can encourage newbies to try out biodiesel "with eyes wide open", ika nga. For me yun ang first step siguro since bago pa lang for many Filipinos. Of course further fine tuning will done regarding its use or even production after marami rami na ung gumagamit. Siguro and suggestion lang, we can maintain a discussion wherein pag nag back read ung mga newbie they will be encouraged to try out BD dahil the benefits truly outweigh any negative results BD brings. What do you think guys?

Im posting some materials from The Philippine Journal of COCONUT STUDIES:

Summary na lang:

a. "Diesel performed slightly better than CME with respect to thermal efficiency and fuel consumption index. This is attributed to the heating value difference, CME has 16,430 BTU/lb while diesel has 19,494 BTU/lb. After 25,000km may 1km/liter difference between CME and diesel. 8km/ltr yung CME, 9km/ltr yung diesel.
b. No sluggishness in the engine with CME.
c. CME burns cooler with respect to lower exhaust and radiator water temp.
d. Initial crankcase oil analysis shows better performance of CME for maintaining lube oil viscosity.
e. Exhaust gas analysis: carbon dioxide: CME ca.32ppm, Diesel ca.23ppm(thousands). Carbon Monoxide CME 275 ppm, diesel ca.340ppm. Exhaust gas analysis showed CME was more environmental friendly than diesel.
f. Engine was dismantled and injection nozzles re-calibrated. No damage or change in color was noted." **

** E.V.Carandang,Ma.L.Ferrer, V.P.Red, Philippine Journal of COCONUT STUDIES,Vol.XVI No.1, Pasig City,Manila: PCR&D Foundation Inc.,1991, pp.22-25

[rsnald]

gary pre... medyo luma na yang reference na ginamit mong reference. 1991 pa yan. a better reference is the SAE study done in 1998.
http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/981156
remember na 2000 or 2001 lang yata nabuo yung preliminary specs ng ASTM biodiesel (and based on soya oil pa) which we copied (copycat kasi tayo).
madami ng refinements sya quality ng CME back in 91' compared to today. That's a 16 year difference. I think the main culprit back then was the lack of refining of the cme in terms of removing the unreacted oil and free glycerine.

kung gusto nyo ng track record on CME usage, i've been an on-and-off user since 2003. i can give you my emission test records and fuel efficiency records. offhand, i'd say wala masyado conclusive data whether i really save when I use CME dahil highly dependent talga yung fuel efficiency sa driving conditions. Pero well established fact na mas mataas talga heating value petroleum diesel compared to cocobiodiesel or soya bd. What's not yet fully established is whether the "enhanced" fuel combustibility by adding 1% or even 0.5% bd will result better fuel efficiency. siguro nga may konting improvement. but in a real world driving scenario, what's indisputable is the improved /lessened emissions.

just my 2 centavos :D

[alwayz_yummy]

mura pala disel sa seaoil(30.60 lang ung sa mindanao ave,near congre/mercury, tapat ng caltex)+34 ung 200ml na additive nila(na good for 20 liters daw.)

ok naman pa, parang tumipid, pero cant say kung talagang tumipid, kasi 31.6-31.78/L kaya 6.xx lang ako noon sa iba(200 pesos) vs 8.xx liters ngayon sa 266pesos ko-->kasi 266+34=300 pesos. pero 8.xxL +l aman ng tank na approx. 10-15L/200ml=concentration ng blend.

sa susunod, fofollow ko muna ung 5% blend.

[biogas.works]

Dear Fuego 4x2, GaryQ, Rsnald & MazdaMazda,

Thank you for participating in the discussions. The BioFuels Act forces us to use 1% whether we like it or not and whether it is good or bad. In two years, the Act will even increase CME to 2% in 2 years (with no provision for a reduction - even if uses more diesel?)

CME is new and largely mis-understood. Please allow me to clarify:

... I borrowed the following from BiodieselNow.org to go explain ...

While the information provided in this website is all TRUE, much of it is based on other biodiesels – not CME. The only report on CME in this website was the fuel property test done by NREL (heating value, cetane numbers, etc.). The 102 page report did not even cover emissions.

... Im posting some materials from The Philippine Journal of COCONUT STUDIES:
... After 25,000km may 1km/liter difference between CME and diesel. 8km/ltr yung CME, 9km/ltr yung diesel. ...

Your research, not mine, confirms LONG-TERM use of CME increases fuel usage from 9km/L on diesel to just 8km/L on CME. In simple terms, this means using 100% CME will need more diesel to cover same distance.

... offhand, i'd say wala masyado conclusive data whether i really save when I use CME dahil highly dependent talga yung fuel efficiency sa driving conditions...

This why we need to get involved and design conclusive tests. Kaya natin ito.

I am not trying to debate or make anyone look bad. I simply want to illustrate that even among us "well-informed" tsikoteers -- there is much to learn about CME.

CME is expensive. As I use CME from Petron at P75/500mL, testing costs me P150/L. Now that you know how much I am spending (altho Chemrez provided me 1 box that I gave away as samples), I hope you can see why 1% & 0.5% matters -- specially if the latter gives me just the same (or more) fuel savings.

Unlike the KHAOS Turbo charger that costs P6,000+ (for 10% increase in mileage?), 0.5% CME can give 10-15% fuel savings on just a few centavos. I want to share this finding so that you too can begin saving on fuel, reducing emissions and finding out whether 1% or 0.5% is BETTER (in a safer manner.)

We all want a locally-made & environment-friendly biofuel. However, at this time of high costs, are you willing to pay P65/L and get lower mileage or use 0.5% (75centavos/L diesel * P150/L CME) to get 10-15% more mileage.

Thank you for your attention.

Gerry

[garyq]

rsnald: kamusta na bro? oo nga luma na,hehe, so mas better siguro ngayon kidding aside I have results until 2005. Inuna ko muna yung pinaka luma na nasa akin. Post ko yung mga data I have.

biogas: bro hindi ko data eto. I am just posting data that I have. Naka footnote yung source di ba? Gerry, a little cautious lang kasi ako when approaching initial BD use through the fuel savings route. Naging dealer din ako before bro. Pag may claims kasi na parang napapasa as 100% sure tapos hindi nangyari dun sa newbie many times nadi-disappoint tapos tigil sa pag gamit ng BD. I've always encouraged people to use BD first for the environment. Kung may side benefits like better fuel consumption like your exprience, better performance, etc then mas ok di ba? Bro sana don't feel na I'm questioning yung magandang benefits na nakukuha mo based on your experience. Sa iyo yun bro and if its happening to you then well and good di ba? Im just laying sa table other data na based naman sa studies or even experiences ng iba.

I have been using BD since late 2003. Sa experience ko and I am not saying this should be taken as canon, hindi conclusive yung fuel savings. As per rsnald one thing sure ako> na-improved ang emissions ko coz I had it tested before and after suing BD. When I still had my 4JG2 feeling ko smoother yung ride and better response but of course subjective yun. Of course if based on your experience .5% improves your fuel consumption by all means continue doing it. Mahalaga gumagamit ka ng BD. Yun ang first step more than 1000 posts na sa discussion nato!!

[rsnald]

rsnald: kamusta na bro? oo nga luma na,hehe, so mas better siguro ngayon kidding aside I have results until 2005. Inuna ko muna yung pinaka luma na nasa akin. Post ko yung mga data I have.

I have been using BD since late 2003. Sa experience ko and I am not saying this should be taken as canon, hindi conclusive yung fuel savings. As per rsnald one thing sure ako> na-improved ang emissions ko coz I had it tested before and after suing BD. When I still had my 4JG2 feeling ko smoother yung ride and better response but of course subjective yun. Of course if based on your experience .5% improves your fuel consumption by all means continue doing it. Mahalaga gumagamit ka ng BD. Yun ang first step more than 1000 posts na sa discussion nato!!

gary,
ok naman ako pre and my ride. i just had my emission test, and as usual, pasado. 0.32K, medyo tumaas from my record low 0.16k last year, although may daya yung last year dahil may butas tambutso ko nun hehehe. still and all, my emission results is remarkable for a 5 year old diesel engine na di naman gumagamit ng any special oil or that has'nt been recalibrated or anything. i'm glad you're doing a research on bd pre. may copy ka na ba nung NREL report on CME? sabihin mo lang kung kelangan mo, i can email it to you.

gerry,
ako rin, i'm not questioning the 0.5% and 1%. in fact, i use 1% most of the time. that's about half a liter per 50 liter full tank. take note pre yung qualifier ko about fuel efficiency data, in real world driving conditions, fuel efficiency depends on a lot of factors, so mahirap talga mag establish ng baseline data. personally, sa test runs ko, for the same route and almost samedriving conditions, i.e., same traffic, same rate of acceleration, same driving habit (w/c is near impossible in metro manila traffic), i get a 1 kilometer improvement per liter of diesel w/ 1% CME in city driving, from 11km/liter to about 12km/liter. sa highway driving, roughly 2 km/liter or slightly less than that. what's totally independent of driving conditions is that i'm spewing out less harmful emissions in terms of unburned fuel. I don't belch out black smoke, and my engine runs smoother-- sabi nga nung isang ad --- swabe noh?! hehehe i've also have not had the need to recalibrate (knock on wood) despite the fact that i've ran more than 150,000 kilometers already. only goes to show that cme does a good job of keeping my fuel injectors/fuel pump clean and in good working condition.

anyways... no debate here on the beneficial effects of bd. if it were not for the relatively high price of coco oil vs. petroleum diesel, then there would be no debate at all whether we want to use more bd or not. what's unquestionable here is CME DOES HAVE ITS BENEFITS. It's the economics of using 1% or 2% CME that's still being questioned. The petroleum companies have used a scare tactic that basically says using more CME will result in an artificial price spike in the price of coco oil and will eventually be detrimental to the farmers and our economy. w/c, imho again, is nothing but BS.

[kihtmaine]

Guys here's some link about biofuel.
Napansin ko lang yung isang source ng biodiesel

http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/11-mo...o-fuel-part-i/

http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/11-am...-fuel-part-ii/


http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArti...rticleID=12266

Marami sa atin to di ba?

[garyq]

rsnald: may copy ka na ba nung NREL report on CME? sabihin mo lang kung kelangan mo, i can email it to you.

BRO PA EMAIL NAMAN. MAY ALAM KA BA BOOKS I CAN PHOTOCOPY REGARDING BD? PURO JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES SOURCE KO AND I NEED AT LEAST 3 BOOKS FOR MY SOURCE. DAMI SA U.S BUT I NEED TO BUY IT. HANAP AKO SANA HIRAM NA LANGTHANKS AND GOD BLESS!

[Dr.Kamiya]

What's the EROEI on biodiesel now? 3:1?
IMO EROEI on biofuels is still too low for them to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels.