BrevardBioDiesel Blog

Brevard BioDiesel will be at the Space Coast Progressive Summer Social at Kiwanis Island Park, Merritt Island on Saturday July 30 from 5pm - 8pm. Stop by and say hello while enjoying the entertainment.

Brevard BioDiesel will present will present information about "home-brewing" biodiesel fuel on Monday, August 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Eau Gallie Public Library, 1521 Pineapple Avenue, Melbourne. (Next to Conchy Joes, link to map). Free to the public. We'll review some of the procedures commonly used today, review some of the systems out there, and discuss trade-offs with buying commercially made biodiesel. Email with any questions.

In a New York Times story entitled "Hybrid Cars Burning Gas in the Drive for Power", author Matthew L. Wald reports that while the 2005 Honda Accord hybrid achieves only marginally better fuel economy than its non-hybrid equivalents, it does provide much stronger acceleration. He cites several similar examples to show that marketing has again prevailed on engineering to produce cars that are more powerful instead of more fuel-efficient.

Honda's progression from the 2001 ultra-efficient Insight to the
ultra-marketable 2005 Accord Hybrid is not unique. Toyota has made similar
moves from their first Japan-only hybrids to the Prius series and now the
Highlander. And General Motors didn't even bother with efficiency - their
first announced hybrids are strictly to provide extra power for large pickup trucks.

For now, the word "Hybrid" provides a marketing and tax-saving advantage,
and the manufacturers are slanting its benefits to best short-term financial advantage. Perhaps if we're lucky, Volkswagen's engineers will be allowed to maintain more focus on fuel efficiency as they develop their first hybrid diesel during the next couple of years.

I was just reviewing some of the large amount of detailed biodiesel information available at Iowa State University's biodiesel site. I'll point out a few highlights:

The Technical Papers section. I found two terrific reports on biodiesel emissions tests here: The Effect of Timing and Oxidation on Emissions from BioDiesel-Fueled Engines (PDF) and Comparison of Engine Performance and Emissions for Petroleuim Diesel Fuel, Yellow Grease BioDiesel, and Soybean Oil Biodiesel (PDF). There was good information on NOx variations and engine timing and the associated mechanisms.

The BioDiesel Course. Good detailed information and numbers, with "Digressions" from time to time. Here is a digression on "Diesel Combustion and Emissions"

There is also a gargantuan bibliography, only in PDF or Word format.

Thank you to the ISU Biodiesel Workshop Team for sharing all this information.