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alternative fuels
Algae Diesel Passes Final Exam, Plans For Weekend Bender
When we covered the magical algae-powered VW Westfalia, we didn't imagine there would be a commercially viable version of the faux dino-juice available anywhere in the near term. Little did we know about the happenings over at Solazyme, which has just completed the rigorous ASTM D-975 (nerd speak for standard test) certification for diesel fuels. This new green diesel is made with a combination of algae and enzymes in a big enclosed vessel with all kinds of industrial leftovers as the feedstock. Huh, sounds like some kind of silver bullet. We, for one, welcome our new algae-baron overlords. Presser below the fold. More »
alternative energy
One of the more interesting but overlooked facts from the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was that the Audi R10 TDI cars not only ran, but won, on a mixture of Shell V-Power Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) racing diesel and a newly designed Biomass-to-Diesel (BTL) fuel. We've been fascinated with prospects of biomass diesel since taking a trip to the Sears Tower in the algae van, as BTL offers cleaner output, has no fossil-fuel base and doesn't interfere with the food chain. The version used in the race cars was also 90% cleaner than American low-sulfur diesel. We talked with Audi of America's Christian Bokich about his experience at Le Mans with the winning diesel team.
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Behind Audi's Biodiesel Victory At The 24 Hours Of Le Mans
One of the more interesting but overlooked facts from the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was that the Audi R10 TDI cars not only ran, but won, on a mixture of Shell V-Power Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) racing diesel and a newly designed Biomass-to-Diesel (BTL) fuel. We've been fascinated with prospects of biomass diesel since taking a trip to the Sears Tower in the algae van, as BTL offers cleaner output, has no fossil-fuel base and doesn't interfere with the food chain. The version used in the race cars was also 90% cleaner than American low-sulfur diesel. We talked with Audi of America's Christian Bokich about his experience at Le Mans with the winning diesel team.More »
12:30 PM on Thu Jun 26 2008
By Matt Hardigree
4,128 views,
41 comments
Latest by Dudemeister on the Run: @jbownsabmw: Hope you meant to say the french. This does stink, people are always bragging about stuff they've done in the racing world. How about taking that bragging and putting it on the street. I wouldn't mind not paying $5 for a gallon of gas. more »
alternative energy
Interview WIth The Teacher Behind The Algae-Powered VW Van
Since everyone has been so enthusiastic about the Algae-Veggie Van I thought I'd follow up with some bits that didn't make it into the original feature article, specifically a Q&A I did with teacher David Levine, who originally came up with the idea to do this with project his students. He's one of the incredibly committed and intelligent teachers that I've met in the Chicago area who decided to postpone going out into the corporate world (where they'd clearly be successful) and instead make a measurable impact on society through the Teach For America program.More »
alternative energy
It was when the oil light came on that I started to run through the appropriate next steps in my head...and realized that there aren't any appropriate next steps when warning lights start going off in a 1982 VW Vanagon camper. Particularly one converted to run on a mixture of vegetable oil and algae biodiesel grown and refined by a group of Chicago high school students. As the Sears Tower, our goal, loomed in the distance, a question loomed in my mind: Was our shared belief in the future of petroleum alternatives and, more importantly, in the fuel processing abilities of public school students and their teachers, strong enough to convince us to push further into the knot of congestion forming around the city?
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Sears Tower Or Bust: My Algae-Powered Car Adventure
It was when the oil light came on that I started to run through the appropriate next steps in my head...and realized that there aren't any appropriate next steps when warning lights start going off in a 1982 VW Vanagon camper. Particularly one converted to run on a mixture of vegetable oil and algae biodiesel grown and refined by a group of Chicago high school students. As the Sears Tower, our goal, loomed in the distance, a question loomed in my mind: Was our shared belief in the future of petroleum alternatives and, more importantly, in the fuel processing abilities of public school students and their teachers, strong enough to convince us to push further into the knot of congestion forming around the city?More »
12:00 PM on Mon Jun 2 2008
By Matt Hardigree
13,671 views,
43 comments
Latest by rexplex: @texajeff: @texajeff: But I don't think the big oil companies are going to want to let that happen. I agree with you, but I still can't understand that position. Big Oil has to know better than anyone else when the oil is going to run out. At this point more »
alternative energy
GM Says Challenge X Is The Future, We Say We Want It Now
Looking at the array of biodiesel hybrids, ethanol hydrogen hybrids and fuel cells on display in Central Park this morning, the impression we got was GM is looking to these technologies as the future. All we could think was how much they should be the present. You see, this wasn't a display of pie-in-the-sky concepts or prototypes, but actual vehicles capable of competently carrying humans and all of them designed and built by students on a limited budget. If a couple of pubescent geeks still waiting for their first pocket protectors can put a functioning biodiesel hybrid on a driveway, why isn't GM doing so right now?More »
3:00 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Wes Siler
1,245 views,
16 comments
Latest by tekdemon: Actually I believe that the major problem isn't that GM isn't technically capable of putting something like this on the road. It's that GM's cost premium for doing so is so high that they'd rather not sell anything than sell cars at a $10,000+ loss per vehicle. Of course, one more »
question of the day
What Should Mad Science Drive To Work?
We're all about helping out our fellow Jalop, and Mad_Science has more than proven his bona fides yesterday as a worthy commenter. When not getting all verklempt over abandoned racers, Mad has to commute about 60 miles round-trip on Southern California freeways and, as we all know, gas isn't getting any cheaper. Says Mad:I'm looking for input from my fellow Jalopniks on the best "alternative" commuter car. The obvious choice would be either a bike or something like an old CRX or Civic Hatch, which can be entertaining in their own right, but I'm looking to get a little more creative. Electrics, bio-diesel/veg oil (but what car?), bike-powered kit cars are all on the table. It's gotta be reasonably reliable and cheap, like under $15k and preferably under $10k, with the goal of minimizing $/mile while keeping me out of a soulless Prius. I've got tools, skills, space and (some) time to make it work, but I need some ideas.More »
offbeat news
Man Arrested For Stealing Burker King's Grease, Biodiesel Blamed
A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing a South Bay, Ca Burger King's used cooking grease. Burger King normally pays contractors to remove and dispose of the inedible and previously worthless oil, but the franchise's manager called police when he found 49-year-old David Richardson pumping the storage bins behind the burger joint clean. More »
alternative fuel
Grassolean Helps You Find Hippie Fuel Stations
Need to find a station to fuel up your Mercedes 300D with biodiesel? How about tips on how to prevent all that soy based fuel from gelling up when the hard freeze hits? Well now you can find out where all the professional hippy fuel buyers get their fix at Grassolean (it's funny cause they replaced the word gas with grass and came up with a clever wordplay version, see how they did that?). The site offers everything you need to know about the art and science of being a veganfueler. As an added bonus, the eco-warrior himself Bill O'Reilly interviews BFF Darryl Hannah about biodiesel in this clip from 2003. You can tell it's that old since Bill quotes LA gas prices that aren't a thousand dollars a gallon. More »
alternative energy
