Marine BioDiesel

[laser]

stumbled across this on the net and thought it mite be of use to some people with diesel engines.
http://biodieselnow.com/
http://forums.biodieselnow.com/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=9

[codprawn]

I actually believe they are MORE polluting than normal diesel - also more expensive!!! Remember the MAIN reason fuel is so expensive is TAX - get rid of the tax and we would be paying something like 32p per litre at the pumps!!!

[sunrider]

I used 100% biodiesel as the exclusive fuel during a 2-year, 35,000 mile circumnavigation of the world in a 24' Zodiac Hurricane about 10 years ago. It worked great and I had no technical or performance problems with it whatsoever. It's far less polluting for the air and water, and is a pleasure to use because diesel smell is eliminated entirely. I would recommend it highly over petroleum diesel in any application.
Bryan

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by sunrider

I used 100% biodiesel as the exclusive fuel during a 2-year, 35,000 mile circumnavigation of the world in a 24' Zodiac Hurricane about 10 years ago. It worked great and I had no technical or performance problems with it whatsoever. It's far less polluting for the air and water, and is a pleasure to use because diesel smell is eliminated entirely. I would recommend it highly over petroleum diesel in any application.
Bryan

But it puts out more particulates and more NoX so how can you say it is far less polluting???

A friend of mine suffers from bad Asthma and he was far worse when he caught a whiff of the exhaust from a vehicle running on bio stuff!!!

Awesome trip though - any links???

[jackcastoff]

Cut from above link :

Are there any negatives?
Of course. There is no perfect fuel.
1) Primarily that it's not readily available in much of the nation, YET (click here for a map of locations). Consumption jumped from 500,000 gallons in 2000 to 15 million gallons in 2001, so hopefully availability will change soon. 2) Biodiesel will clean your injectors and fuel lines. If you have an old diesel vehicle, there's a chance that your first tank or two of BD could free up all the accumulated crud and clog your fuel filter. 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.

Im really interested in this stuff, and am thinking about making it properly in my workshop. Really just for fun initially. I have run my P22 on it and another boat with a yamaha 420 sti. There is slightly more power plus the smell (smoke and when you spill it) plus it isnt nearly as messy / slippery as normal diesel.

Of course the main difference is that the stuff grows in fields, and i cant understand why it hasnt become more popular. It has a lower tax band but is more expensive to make so can end up the same price when bought at he pumps. However if you get the duty free version you score on price and eco friendly....

[hard1]

Originally Posted by jackcastoff

1) Primarily that it's not readily available in much of the nation, YET (click here for a map of locations).

I've clicked an clicked and worn out me feckin' mouse but still no list of bio stations.

[Dunc]

More polluting???

Fossil fuels are created from accessing carbon that was laid down millions of years a go. By burning these we are releasing gasses, which were absorbed over thousands/millions of years, back into the atmosphere over avery short perios of time. This is increasing the concentration of these gases enormously and thus affecting the life cycle of the palnet in a number of ways.
Biodiesel releases gases that were absorbed while the crop was growing and as they are fast growing means that the cycle of release and absorption is over a short perios of time.
Therefore pure biodiesel is the only real way to be truly carbon nuetral and is certainly not more polluting than standard deisel.
Duncan

[laser]

can you use pure bio diesel in cars? and if so does anybody know where it can be obtained in the portsmouth area?

[Polwart]

This link will point you to where to get it:

http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/outlets.htm

As for putting it in your car - try this:

http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/approvals.htm

Or make your own! :

http://www.greenfuels.co.uk/small.htm

- its roughly twice as expensive to to produce as mineral oil (traditional) based diesel before adding the tax.

Please note that road fuel duty is still payable on biodiesel if used in a road going vehicle. The rate of duty is about 28 p/L compared to standard low sulfur diesel 48 p/L (duty on full sulfur diesel is around 55 p/L). If its not used on the road then fuel duty on biodiesel is only about 3 p/L, compared to ~ 6 p/L for red diesel. Biofuel producers must register with HMCR and provide regular returns on production.

VAT is chargeable on biodiesel.

[SultanOfSoltron]

Hi - want to say hello to everyone - a newbie to the site has arrived, D'oh

Biofuels are excellent, but be aware they will attract more water into them than mineral diesel, and therefore tend to offer an ideal place for diesel bug to grow - which will stop you dead at the worse possible time.

So make sure your tanks are well topped up to stop condensation as well.
(that goes for normal diesel as well)