Does anyone have a source of information on biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol? I'm especially interested in the energy investment required -- X number of acres of soybeans/corn/etc needed to provide fuel to grow Y number of acres of food crops. Also, production technology info would also be appreciated. Thanks.

Cash

-- Cash (cash@andcarry.com), June 28, 2000

Answers

I should add -- I'm also interested in finding out how much land in required for work horses (or mules or oxen, for that matter) versus the amount of land they can work on a farm. I've been told that a third of a horse-powered farm's productive land must be devoted to raising the food necessary for the horses.

-- Cash (cash@andcarry.com), June 28, 2000.

Check www.vita.org under publications, tech-papers.

They have all kinds of short papers on various topics, one is bio-gas. Good luck.

-- JerryR(La.) (jwr98@hotmail.com), June 29, 2000.

Here are a couple of links to look at for more info on bio diesel. A great book is "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" By Joshua & Kaia Tickell 1-800-266-5564 or order@bookmaster.com The authors used to have a GREAT web site prior to the ILOVEYOU virus.

I talked with Josh at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair this year He is a super nice guy and he didn't mind taking the time to answer everyone's questions on the veggie van and his trip around the U.S. on Bio diesel that they made from used cooking oil.

http://www.oilpress.com http://www.biodiesel.org/main.htm

-- Steve Belanger (steveb2win@yahoo.com), June 29, 2000.

I have the Tickell book. Here is a pertinent piece of information from it:

If all the CRP agricultural land was put into production of rapeseed (source of canola oil and the most oil-productive plant), it would provide 18% of the total demand market for diesel fuel today.

However, there is hope. A certain type of algae produces a huge amount of oil (compared to canola). It can be grown on farms situated in the desert (not using up ag land)! They love heat and sun. This is the source that holds the most hope for market quantity in the future. I guess they would have a hard time calling it a "fossil fuel" anymore.

BTW, you can also make biodiesel from waste veg oil from restaurant deep-fryers. It is a more complicated process (but not much), and should be relatively free.

-- Mike O (olsonmr@yahoo.com), July 01, 2000.

Thanks for all the information. There's some experimentation going on up here in Maine with various ag oils in diesel engines, but there's the problem of winter usage (soybean oil at 10 below bears a remarkable resemblance to sludge, I hear). I've also been told that hemp seed (from the commercial grade of grass, not the smokable kind) produces more oil per acre than anything else. As for ag alcohol, I got these numbers for corn from another site:

>>Using information from the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, limiting the numbers to all oil being fuel:

127.30 Bushels/acre, using present farming methods

2.48 Gallons alcohol per bushel of processed corn

316.20 Gallons of alcohol per acre cultivated.

Of course, alcohol doesn't have the energy content of gasoline, so you need more of it to perform the same amount of work.

Still looking for draft-horse numbers. Anyone have any ideas?

-- Cash (cash@andcarry.com), July 03, 2000.