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Forum » Alternative Fuel Car Forum » Alternative Fuels and their cars

Biodiesel market on thin ice in Germany

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Written on: 10. 02. 08 [11:52]
ecoadmin Administrator Topic creator registered since: 20.07.2007 Posts: 387	The german union for the promotion of plants suitable for biodiesel has in its monthly news publication reported that the market for biodiesel has collapsed in Germany. According to the union, the wholesale price index has risen to 100,30 cent/l, too high for most forwarding agents. Many have now stopped taking delivery of biodiesel. Rapeseed oil prices have also reached prices above 91 cents/l. With prices at this level production is no longer cost-covering. I would be very interested to hear the actual status of biodiesel in other areas of the world. Would anyone share their insight (UK, US and other biodiesel markets)? ecocarforum.com - Green Car Network Community for sustainable transport
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Written on: 14. 02. 08 [20:39]
childress registered since: 14.08.2007 Posts: 81	For the most part, corn-based ethanol is the big bio-fuel in the US. This of course has problems with competing with a food source, as well as the obvious takes-oil-to-make-it (fertilizer, fueling farm machinery, etc). It is pretty highly government subsidized. I'm not as familiar with biodiesel. I don't believe that I will ever be behind biodiesel until such a point as I can get a biodiesel/plug-in electric hybrid, in either a mini-van or a cross between an SUV/stationwagon (like the Suburu Outback). Then I could potentially generate all of my local fuel needs either from solar/wind/coal and brew up biodiesel on my own using my favorite restaurant's used frying oil. The 'answer' to ethanol production is to use cellulistic production, with Miscanthus being pretty big in Europe but fighting a battle against switchgrass here in the states. Factory-level production chemistry is the big hangup last time I checked, and of course, the whole chicken-and-the-egg, how do you get a fatory to produce miscanthus-ethanol, when there's currently no miscanthus being grown (and it takes 3 years to get a harvestable stand). www.miscanthus.uiuc.edu Better yet, use the raw baled Miscanthus co-fired in a Futuregen sequestering style coal electrical plant (injects CO2 and particulate pollutants back into the ground) and use that to fuel a plug-in electric like a Twike. (http://www.futuregenalliance.org/) In this case, you're actually extracting CO2 out of the air (the Miscanthus uses the CO2 to build the plant's superstructure) and then when you burn it in the sequestering coal plant, it injects the CO2 back into the ground. The StarTrek atmospheric/climate adjusters are possible, and as a side-benefit, you get electricity (and a whole bunch of other cool side benefits as well) Commute suck? Twike it; You'll like it! http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/twike
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Written on: 17. 02. 08 [12:34]
ecoadmin Administrator Topic creator registered since: 20.07.2007 Posts: 387	I am always surprised about how many innovative ideas are out there. But it seems that many of them are not suitable for mass production or are not cost-covering at present times. Biofuel comes in the mean time in so many different ways that it is easy to loose overview. The problem with Biofuels is that if we would do a massive switch to biofuels to power our cars, the environmental impacts could be horrendous. For the most part, corn-based ethanol is the big bio-fuel in the US. This of course has problems with competing with a food source, as well as the obvious takes-oil-to-make-it (fertilizer, fueling farm machinery, etc). It is pretty highly government subsidized. The problems related to landspace and competing with food crops seems to remains, no matter where the the biofuel comes from. Biodiesel is very sismilar to Bioethanol. Pros and cons of bioethanol and biodiesel are not identical but thay are similar. Generallly there is a risk that these fuels are overpromoted and touted as green alternative to fossil fuels. Problems: landspace, competing with food crops, rainforest destruction, intensive agriculture, energy-balance, cost I've read an interesting statement in a green consumer book: "If all the corn grown in America was used for biofuels it would supply fuel for less than 4 percent of the cars and trucks on American roads." In my opinion biofuels will have their share on the market and if not overused and they can be one of many other alternatives to fossil fuels. My wishlist for biofuels: .crops should be homegrown .strict environmental standards should be applied .no palm or soya oil should be imported .biofuels should be manufactured in small local plants I've come across biomethane the other day as a fuel. I still need to do some more reading on it, but it has good potential as it reduces its potency as a greenhouse gas. ecocarforum.com - Green Car Network Community for sustainable transport
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