Springboard Workshop - March 2010

Had a great time at the workshop, which had attendees from all over the US and even one fellow from Argentina! It was good to meet all the people at Springboard and hear about their new ideas to make small-scale biodiesel production a reality for businesses, municipalities, colleges, farmers, and just folks who want to enjoy fuel independence.

I still really like the model of decentralized fuel production, where people or organizations produce more of their own energy. Speaking of energy, we also got to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, where we saw their BioPro and their gigantic solar array (1.9 MegaWatt!) which supplies most of their power needs, and electric vehicle charging stations.
And of course sampled some of their great beer. They are truly a leader in sustainable and green energy.

New additive to counter effects of crankcase oil dilution

I was re-reading the postings by "Neurot" about his trials and tribulations using B100 in his '09 Jetta, which doesn't work well with VW's new emissions control technology. ("Neurot" is Jason Burroughs of Diesel Green Fuels who also wrote about this for BiodieselSMARTER Magazine). One aspect of the problem is that the biodiesel ends up in the crankcase oil where it dilutes the oil but also forms organic acids which can polymerize and coat the pistons. I noticed that his last post mentioned a new additive that Chevron has come out with which supposedly counteracts these negative effects. Check out the article in Biodiesel Magazine that he mentions. Anyone tried this stuff (Oronite Lubricating Oil Additive)?

www.biolyle.com