Thread: French Fries
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Old 07-05-08, 05:08 PM
  #10  
Rowan
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It has to do with the refining technique and the use of alcohol and lye as the two key ingredients if you are doing it yourself. Properly processed vegetable oil is as viable as a fuel as ordinary diesel (which incidentally comes in summer and winter form because of the wax content). There are no issues with starting or heating up to near flash point.

One of the problems that has been identified is that the vegetable oil fuels need to be run on older vehicles with a certain type of petrol pump that has bearings lubricated with oil within the engine, rather than the modern pumps that rely on lubrication within the diesel to run smoothly. One farmer we have spoken to who runs a Peugeot diesel car did in his fuel pump bearings running biodiesel. However, I suspect that as the world moves over to crop-grown engine fuels, these lubrication issues will subside as additives are developed.

We are about to plant 20 acres of canola with a high-yielding oil seed (65%) as an experiment to see if it is worthwhile converting to diesel fuel on the property. Considering we use $20,000 worth of diesel just for irrigation (the farm vehicle use is relativley small), it and mulching become become a very attractive proposition.

Of course, the move to these types of fuels will mean your Corn Flakes for breakfast will get more expensive. A report in the past couple of days has attributed the 75% of the increase in cereal prices to biofuel cropping.

Again I make the observation -- what choice is the world going to make when it comes to putting fuel in cars or food in the bellies of its children? I think the evidence is already on the table.
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