NOLS SVO

The National Outdoor Leadership School's Educational RV is cruising around the country, and it's powered by straight veggie oil:

"Powered by recycled vegetable oil (RVO), solar power, and sponsored by Silk™, the makers of organic soymilk, this educational program on wheels provides an active, environmentally conscious way to learn about the outdoors and celebrate leadership in your community."

They've got a blog, too: http://nols.blogs.com/

Frybrid

If you're looking to convert your diesel-powered vehicle to straight veggie oil (SVO), check out the Cool Tools review of the Frybrid Kit:

"Frybrid was the first to introduce a really efficient heat exchanger and a microprocessor controller that will automatically switch to vegetable oil when the system is hot enough and which will not let you forget to switch back to diesel. The components of the Frybrid system were designed to handle the most challenging conditions, so that they could be installed in a Mercedes or a Mack truck."

Coconut Oil

WorldChanging reports on coconut oil-powered rental cars in Vanuatu:

"Unlike with many biofuels, coconut oil doens't need to be transesterized - mixed with sodium hydroxide and alcohol to change its chemical composition - to run in a diesel engine. Filtered and warmed to temperatures about 25C, coconut oil is a better than satisfactory substitute for "mineral diesel" - it burns more slowly, which produces more even pressure on engine pistons, reducing engine wear, and lubricates the engine more effectively."

[Via BoingBoing]

AltWheels Festival

The AltWheels Festival is next weekend, in Brookline, Mass.

"No matter what your interest or age, AltWheels has something for you.
Exhibits will include working electric, solar, flex-fuel, and hybrid vehicles, as well
as the latest in human-powered transportation. There will be a special section of
ArtCars — motorized flights of fancy designed to delight. Come build and race a
model solar car or watch a fuel conversion workshop and see a car drive in
on gasoline and drive out on an alternative fuel."

Gas prices

Ouch.

(from Kottke's Flickr photos)

I'm currently paying $3/gallon for biodiesel at the Pacifica co-op, here in the SF Bay Area.

Biodiesel pump at The Grange in Issaquah, WA

Rob let me know that Propel just opened up another Biodiesel pump in a Seattle suburb. Nice work, folks!

Massive Biodiesel Plant coming in Iowa

According to Treehugger, a 37.5 million gallon/year Cargill biodiesel plant is in the works in Iowa.

Iowa Biodiesel Plant Coming

The High Plains Journal reports that Cargill is building a:

"37.5-million-gallons-per-year biodiesel plant and a 30-million-pounds-per-year glycerin refinery in Iowa Falls, adjacent to its existing soybean crush facility..."

"Initially, the plant will produce biodiesel and USP-grade glycerin exclusively from soybean oil, but Cargill officials expect to have the capability for using animal fat or waste grease for biodiesel production in the future. The biodiesel plant has been designed to meet the requirements for BQ-9000 certification, the leading, accepted industry standard."

Investing?

A BiodieselBlog reader writes:

"If one believes in the future of biodiesel and wanted to invest in companies either growing the raw material(s) or engineering the technologies for its commercial use, where would be a place, if any, to find a list of them?"

Please post any feedback in the comments.

Feed ads

Hi folks,

I just added Google's AdSense for Feeds to the BiodieselBlog's feed. Hopefully the ads will continue to add value (as do the ads on the site) and be relevant to the content.

Cheers!
-E

Seattle Update

Rob from Propel just wrote to let me know about Laurelhurst Oil's recent grand opening, up in Seattle. KOMO has the scoop:

"Chances are you've heard of soybean-based "Biodiesel" but the high price per gallon may have kept you away. But now the nearly emission-free fuel is finally competitively priced."

"About 2,000 people in the Seattle area fill their diesel engines with Biodiesel, but that number could easily double this summer. New filling stations, like one behind University Village in Seattle, are popping up all over..."

"Right now, you're paying about $2.79 for a gallon of diesel in the greator Seattle area. The price of Biodiesel at this station is $2.96 per gallon."

Great work, folks!

Specs?

A BiodieselBlog reader writes:

"I'm working on a small plant to produce biodiesel in Southern California. Do you know where I can find the actual biodiesel regulations enforced by the dept. of weights and measurements? I'm having trouble finding the actual specs."

Anybody know where he can find info about this?