Free webinar for small producers Jan 28 at 11 am

Montana State University (MSU) will be putting on "DIY: Keeping it safe, keeping it legal" targeted toward home brewers and small producers. The presentation will be put on by experienced home brewers, one of whom I know from other meetings, Steve Fugate of Yoderville Biofuels Coop.. he's great and very knowledgeable. You'll need to register by going to a site 10 min before the webinar starts- see the DIY link for info.

Community Energy Meetings- Jan 29 and June 2,3

A couple of great chances coming up to be involved in discussion of community energy projects:

Meeting:
January 29, 2010
1 - 1:45 pm Tour site to preview 21 Acres Center under construction
2 - 4:30 pm Meeting at Sammamish Valley Grange

21 Acres will host a meeting on Friday January 29 to explore opportunities to partner on energy-related projects. You can download the invitation at the upper left corner of the 21 Acres homepage, which includes links for additional information about the 21 Acres Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living.

This is a meeting targeted to key people in business, academic, and civic communities. Join the meeting or share with others you think may be interested in partnering with 21 Acres.
RSVP to Brenda at: generalinfo at 21acres.org

And June 2, 3 2010:
COMMUNITY ENERGY ROADMAP INNOVATORS SUMMIT & WORKSHOP
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA
Register by Jan 22 to get $100 off

Earthrace Biodiesel ship rammed and sunk by illegal Japanese whaling ship!

Just heard the following from my friend Ravi who has helped the Earthrace project:

"Earthrace, the futuristic biodiesel boat that claimed the world record for circumnavigating the globe has sunk in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.

It had been purchased by the Sea Shepherd organization to harass the
Japanese whalers in those waters and it was run over by one of them on
Monday. One person suffered some broken ribs, but the Skipper Pete
and the others are fine and there was no loss of life.

Here are some videos of the incident.

views from Sea Shepherd
http://www.seashepherd.org/matilda/video.html

view from Shonan Maru Whaler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dXCR9LX-Kc

I wrote to and received a short reply from Pete today and he said that
he is shaken, but that they are all safe.

I wanted to let the biodiesel community here know since many people
helped Earthrace while it was here." Ravi

Be sure to watch the last video on that Sea Shepherd page above to get a sense of their mission to stop such illegal whaling operations. Also, see this video on the role the Earthrace boat was playing..

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

Not sure how I got associated with this article

On New Year's day, an AP article came out about the problems that the commercial biodiesel industry has been having, and they used a picture of me holding a cup of biodiesel in my garage that they had in their stock photo collection. The article makes no mention of me, which makes sense because I have very little to do with commercial biodiesel. My business is focused on helping people learn how to make their own fuel (although I have had some students go on to start their own biodiesel companies). I do support commercial production of biodiesel as long as it's done in a sustainable manner, which to me means using waste grease, or oil from rotation crops, farm coops, etc. If you support biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum sources, you might want to contact your rep's in congress, because they didn't get around to renewing the $1 / gal tax credit, and if that doesn't get renewed, it'll be the death knell of the biodiesel industry. The House passed it, and word has it that the Senate probably will too (and make it retroactive to Jan 1), but a little pressure will help.

7th Annual Sustainable Biodiesel Conferece: Feb 6 & 7, 2010

The seventh annual Sustainable Biodiesel Summit (SBS) will be held in Grapevine, Texas on February 6th and 7th, 2010. Join community activists, backyard brewers, farmers, and other passionate individuals to discuss the future of sustainable, community-based Biodiesel. As always, the National Biodiesel Board’s Annual Conference and Exhibition will follow the Summit.

This year's keynote speaker will be Bill Holmberg, long time champion of biofuels and sustainable new wealth industry. The schedule this year will feature a series of action-oriented roundtable discussions at a small, local winery and a trip to Willie’s Place at Carl's Corner to visit the truck stop andbiodiesel production facility.

Register before January 22 and pay only $100, saving up to $100 off the price of on-site tickets. For more information or to register online, go to http://sustainable-biodiesel.org

The SBS is a golden opportunity to address today's issues regarding biodiesel and sustainability. This unique Summit is organized through the joint efforts of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels, and The National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel tutorial DVD trailer - selling worldwide!

Just wanted to add the trailer here. I've been heartened to see the interest in the DVDs from all over the world, including very cold places such as Iceland and Sweden, plus Australia, Jamaica, England, and even Bahrain (hey right in the heart of oil country!).

www.biolyle.com

Global Warming & Biodiesel

Enjoy this short animation that my son Matiah made illustrating the difference between biodiesel and fossil fuels in terms of global warming impact. What it boils down to is that fossil fuels are a one-way street in terms of carbon going from underground into the atmosphere, whereas biofuels are recycling carbon that's already in the atmosphere. Of course, this is simplistic, and doesn't take into account land use issues. If we're cutting down rainforest to produce biodiesel it's much worse for the environment and global warming. But if we're already using land to grow crops primarily for food and the oil is a byproduct (as it is with soy), then it makes more sense. Another good option is to grow plants such as mustard or camelina that can grow in poor soils where not much else will grow. The key thing in terms of getting fuel via the ag route is that we're not using land just to grow the fuel crop unless it's land where we can't grow food. Also, that we're not destroying what was there to do grow our fuel crop. Even better is to use a no-till method, because tilling the soil releases carbon into the atmosphere. (See this article showing that the managing of the cropland has a lot to do with sustainability of biofuels). Seeds of camelina can simply be sowed on top of the snow in the winter and will germinate beautifully in the spring (according to farmer's who spoke at the U Montana Oilseed & Biodiesel Conference in '08).
And of course even better is using waste vegetable oil that's already been used to cook our french fries! Unfortunately there's not enough waste oil to supply very much of our fuel needs.. (Estimates I've seen say we could supply only 3 - 4% of our diesel fuel needs if we used all available waste vegie oil for biodiesel).
See my previous post from May of '08 discussing the unfair maligning of biodiesel due to confusion with ethanol.

City of Seattle stopping use of virgin soy biodiesel

Not sure the City realizes that the soybeans are mostly being grown as cattle feed, and the oil is a byproduct. (See next post containing more info and a sample letter to the EPA). But I am encouraged that they are looking into using waste oil based biodiesel. Maybe they could scale up the Dirty Hands Coop's bring-your-own-oil style structure. We just celebrated our 2nd anniversary of continuous operation. I think we're the most consistent producer of sustainable biodiesel in the area!

Making biodiesel with 7th graders

I had fun presenting about biodiesel to 7th graders at Hamilton Middle School in Seattle.  Kids really get the need to do something about global warming.  They love the peanut burning demo, which shows the potential of biofuels.  The kids worked in groups to make pop bottle batches of bio from a variety of waste oils.

EPA rally

It's been a while since I've posted.. Last week, I went to the EPA rally for global warming.  It was good to see all the support for progress on this issue- nothing earthshaking in the speeches, but left me feeling hopeful- finally things are moving in the right direction.  The rally coincided with an EPA meeting in Seattle to discuss these issues, at which Gov Gregoire spoke amongst many others.  The meeting was one of only two held nationally. I especially enjoyed the polar bear with the nice eyelashes! .. see video:

Peugot's 4WD Diesel Electric Hybrid!

Check it out... hopefully 68 mpg will be the low end of such cars pretty soon.

www.biolyle.com

How to change your TDI's fuel filter- great short video

Here's an excellent video to help you change your own filter... those special curved pliers really help!  You don't need the "mighty vac"... just fill the new filter with some clean fuel, and re-attach the lines, and it should start right up.   

I always carry a spare filter in my car just in case..  

www.biolyle.com

Tax Credit for Biodiesel Equipment Increased to 50%!

The new stimulus bill passed in Feb '09 has increased the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit to 50% of the cost of equipment (such as BioPro processors!) used to refuel vehicles for a business and $2000 for individuals.  More detailed info in this pdf document; also see IRS Form 8911 for details- this is the form you'd need to file to get the credit.  Read about other new incentives for Biodiesel in this article from Biodiesel Magazine.  

www.biolyle.com

VW, others drop the ball on bio- Write them a letter!

You've probably already heard the stories, but it's looking like VW isn't making a biodiesel-compatible car anymore (only B5- they're not even supporting B20 !).  It has to do with the pollution control devices they're using, which is supposed to burn soot off the diesel particulate filter, but with the higher flash point of biodiesel is causing a lot of bio to get into the crankcase oil and stay there.  Read the detailed explanation here by Neurot.   This was reported also in the NY Times blog recently.

Neurot is Jason Burroughs, owner of a biodiesel company in Austin, Texas, has been testing his 2009 Jetta TDI, and experiencing problems significant enough that's he's going to "unload this petroleum-sucking turd and buy something that I can safely fuel with domestically-produced biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil," as he so eloquently puts it.  You can read his posting about his experience here.  

Write a letter to VW and other car manufacturers to let them know you want cars that can run high amounts of biodiesel!!  BiodieselSMARTER magazine is promoting this "Save-a-Diesel" letter writing campaign, and you can get talking points and who to write to here. 

www.biolyle.com

Biodiesel that can go to 60 below zero!!!

Check out this article showing how researchers at Purdue have figured out how to make biodiesel that can withstand extreme cold... This could open up the possibility of using it as jet fuel.  Hear the Alternative Fuel podcast story here.

www.biolyle.com

Sustainable Biodiesel Summit 2009

This conference (which precedes the industry's national conference in the same place) is kind of like the conscience of the biodiesel industry, bringing folks together to talk about how biodiesel can be produced in the most sustainable way possible. The title of this years conference is "Localize It: Celebrating Community Scale Biodiesel." The conference is Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2009. For more info, go to: http://www.sustainable-biodiesel.org

www.biolyle.com

New Research- Biofuels C footprint not so bad!

Biofuel carbon footprint not as big as feared, Michigan State University research says

Published Jan. 19, 2009

"Publications ranging from the journal Science to Time magazine have blasted biofuels for significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, calling into question the environmental benefits of making fuel from plant material. But a new analysis by Michigan State University scientists says these dire predictions are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct..."

Read entire article on the Michigan State U study from Science Daily.

www.biolyle.com

Meeting for Biofuel Growers & Potential Growers

Biofuels farmers networking opportunity:
Meeting is Tues Jan 27, 2009 at 7 pm at 800 Second St in Snohomish, WA
Info: Ryan Hembree 425-388-7112 or ryan.hembree@snoco.org
Sponsored by Washington State University and Snohomish County

'09 Jetta - TDI Indigestion

A story in the latest BiodieselSMARTER magazine, indicates that the latest VW TDI's may not be so bio-friendly- read the account by Jason Burroughs (of Diesel Green Fuels in Austin TX) : http://biodieselsmarter.com/
I found the story incomplete, since it didn't tell what eventually happened. You might ask him by posting a comment at biodiesel@yahoogroups.com (you'll need to join the group first here).

www.biolyle.com