[Hidden-tech] Biodiesel

[Victor Danilchenko]

Garth Shaneyfelt wrote:
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> 
> At 04:19 PM 5/11/2006, Ben Liyanage wrote:
>>    ** Be a Good Dobee and help the group, you must be counted to post .
>>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>
>>
>> Does biodisel make less polution then disel, or gas?  What is the 
>> price per
>> gallon also?
> 
> regarding emissions, it's difficult to pin down exactly.  You do get 
> more NOx, but it's definitely better than petro-diesel.
> 
> In this forum,
> http://forums.biodieselnow.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=463
> (and related links) seems to indicate that CO2, and hydrocarbon 
> emissions are lower, NOx and particulate matter are higher.   You also 
> get better mileage, so the amount of burning per miles you need to do 
> are less.

	There is a very important point that is yet to be brought up. Biodiesel 
is zero-carbon cycle -- any CO2 it emits, was the CO2 the plants has 
absorbed from the air first; unlike fossil-diesel, which releases carbon 
which had been sequestered by the plants hundreds of millions years ago. 
So, *effectively*, the carbon emissions of biodiesel are zero.

> The UNH biofuels group has an interesting comparison of similar cars on 
> different fuels 
> http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_vehicle_compare.html
> http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_vehicle_compare.html
> 
> If you already have a PZEV honda civic (gas), a Mercedes sedan biodiesel 
> is probably a wash.  A VW TDI Golf will give you a run for your money 
> (and 50+ mpg to boot).


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