nursecosmo wrote:
Hi Relfex. I appreciated some of your posts towards the end of this thread about diversified energy production. Some of your blanket statements on biodiesel however should be clarified. Biodiesel is not a solvent of "everything" that it comes into contact with, anymore than petro-diesel is a solvent of "everything" that it comes into contact with (yes diesel is a powerful solvent contrary to some of your earlier statements).
Reflex wrote "Diesel when it gets into your oil does not break it down like gasoline and biodiesel do. This is one reason oil changes in diesel engines are 2-4x less frequent than they are on gasoline vehicles. This is my point, it increases wear via multiple methods, a major one being that if you adhere to oil changes on a 'normal' diesel schedule you will have problems that will not happen on regular dino diesel.
Really? Maybe you should tell that to some of the Powerstroke or Duramax owners who have had their whole engine replaced because of diesel in the crankcase with only 30k miles on the clock. Diesel, Gas, WVO and Biodiesel are
all very detrimental to engine oil. If you are getting enough fuel past the rings and into the oil its time for an overhaul. There is no evidence of increased need for oil changes when running bio, just check some of the posted UOAs on this forum. Many new gas vehicles have oil change intervals similar to our KJ CRD.
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It is not a solvent of automotive metals at all, or perhaps you know of an alternate kind of chemistry unfamiliar to modern science. You are very pro-algae biodiesel(which is good) but bash vegetable biodiesel as being very bad for engines. perhaps you do not realize that they are both the same fuel, FAME.
Reflex wrote "I don't claim otherwise, I am aware that algae has the same properties and will also degrade the lifespan of an engine. But my entire argument is not based on engine life, and if a solution can solve the energy independence issue, a somewhat shorter lifespan would be perfectly acceptable to me.
Yes you do claim otherwise. Or does so much misinformation in your head cause memory problems?
Reflex wrote "Diesel in general is a lubricant, but Biodiesel is a solvant just like gasoline. It will eat away at an engine that was simply not engineered to run with a solvant inside. It will degrade even the metal over time. Ever wonder why gas engines last roughly half as long as diesels despite lower pressures/compression? Diesel people like to believe its 'superior engineering and tolerances' but thats only part of the equation. The fuel is the other part."
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... 16&start=0Take a course in chemistry, then get, read and understand a Comprehensive book on diesel theory and mechanics (Bosch makes a couple of good ones). Don't just repeat what "some guy" said about how biodiesel dissolved the engines in some secret government tests as fact, because it misleads those who are genuinely trying to research a more earth friendly fuel for there vehicles as the thread author was doing.
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Yes most independent mechanics love it when fleets switch to biodiesel because they initially get a lot of business from plugged fuel filters and crap caught in injectors, but once all the nasty stuff is gone business drops off because the fact is that engines run better on a higher lubricity, higher cetane, lower soot fuel than Dino-juice. While vegetable biodiesel will likely never be able to meet the demands of transportation, it will never displace food crops. Even bio produced from soy which is one of the poorest gallons per acre oil crops, creates a high grade soy meal byproduct or perhaps the oil is the byproduct depending how you look at it. AT any rate, biodiesel should be encouraged as a positive step toward petroleum independence.
Reflex wrote "It already has displaced food crops. Even worse, its displacing natural areas, and destroying rainforest. Deforestation in southeast asia to support palm oil based BD has approached 80% in some countries according to National Geographic, which made a cover story out of the issue last year. Corn prices(due to ethanol, not BD) have skyrocketed, people in Haiti have been reduced to eating dirt as a result(yes, dirt from the ground). This is the human toll of crop based biofuels. The UN has called biofuels a crime against humanity, and they are correct, as we are unwilling to conserve and give up our luxury in the first world in order to save the lives of those less fortunate.
No, biodiesel has not replaced any food crops. if it had there would be a world shortage of food. There is however a surplus of millions of tons of food which rots in harbors and silos every year. The inhabitants of Haiti have experienced hunger and starvation for the past century. It is nothing new. It is a political problem and always has been, politicians blame on it on anything they can and get every poor sap who wants to sound like an expert to bite on it, as evidenced by your using corn ethanol as an argument against biodiesel. By the way, corn is not the largest component of the Haitian diet, cassava, rice and beans are. Even though there is an ongoing ecological disaster in SE Asia, it is not from the fuel, it is from the methods used to farm it as well as abuse by forestry companies.
http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0425-oil_palm.html There are very sustainable techniques for palm oil cultivation which are also economically and environmentally feasible.
Reflex wrote "And before any of the right wingers get too upset, I'm not some bleeding heart hippy, I just hate to see us jump from the frying pan into the fire and so casually kill thousands just so we can drive our SUV's around with impunity.
It's just very strange that you seem to come down so hard on Biodiesel as a segway towards more sensible transportation alternatives when it just makes so much sense to promote it.
Reflex wrote "The real solutions are simple:
1) As UFO said in another thread, CONSERVE!
2) Pour money into research for next generation renewable energy sources without simply dismissing critics(like myself) who often see the long term issues long before the proponants do.
3) Food should go to the hungry, not into cars.
Your statements on nuclear energy as a superior source of energy in the alternative energy thread appear to be very well researched.