Biofuels

[probes]

Actually I wonder. It has been more or less proven that they are not as 'green' as they're supposed to be, given the petrochemicals and fertilizers needed to produce the stuff, plus arable land off food production, plus how it affects food prices, plus the possibly varying quality in time. And, of course, the machinery needed to cultivate the stuff.
Well, maybe if the food leftovers were the main 'source' for production .
So, what's behind the hype?

BBC has an article on 'planemakers' trying to reduce their emission. Biofuels considered, too.

Could aviation ever be less polluting?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Corn-derived ethanol in gasoline is the major biofuel here.

Article here, targeted against increasing the ethanol percentage, gives a good, short summary of the major points.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/the_case ... nvironment

One of the main problems with all alternative transport and energy strategies is Government regulation and subsidies. The main arguments for them are respectively that they reduce Problem X and act as a means to get a new sustainable, profitable industry going. However, time and again, it turns out that Problems Y and Z get created also, Problem X isn't reduced half as much as was said, and the new industry isn't sustainable.
It's not even that insufficient research is done*. All the problems being experienced with, say, wind turbines as a major energy source, were known about 35 years ago. I did them on my degree courses. It was only ever sensible to have them as an addition to a major reliable load source like nuclear or tidal. However, some smuck politician got a PR campaign going, industry jumped on the subsidies bandwagon**, a bunch of huggy-fluffs went on marches that the media reveled in covering, and now the same huggy-fluffs are parents and p!ssed off that their taxes keep going up and their toasters burn out.

Plus, of course, nothing works if people aren't prepared to change their behaviour, which leads to hypocrisy by the bucketload
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/em ... li=BBqfP3n

* Though potentially negative research sure gets defunded and/or suppressed after the decision is made
**Far easier than working for a living!

[ian16th]

I believe that Brazil is the biggest user of biofuel.
They produce fuel from sugar cane.

Dunno the details but the fuel is used in cars with modified engines.
The cars so modified had a badge on them.

Mind you its about 30 years since I was there so thing will probably have changed.

[probes]

Thanks, Fox!
"Shrouded in the political fumes and corrosive influence of special interests, the economic fundamentals of ethanol are clear in the light of day. Two prices determine its profitability: the price of corn and the price of oil."
and
"...more recent scientific analysis links corn for ethanol to declining bee populations, with potentially catastrophic implications for many other high-value agricultural crops (almonds, apples) that depend on these insects for pollination. A recent study found that declines in bee populations are greatest in areas of intense agriculture... [---] “These results,” the study noted, “reinforce recent evidence that increased demand for corn in biofuel production has intensified threats to natural habitats in corn-growing regions.”
and
"The American Automobile Association (AAA) has objected to ethanol blend increases even to 15 percent, noting that it could cause accelerated engine wear and failure, as well as fuel-system damage." - meaning more resources to produce new ones? That's the point, maybe (well, after all, if you're followed it doesn't mean you're not paranoid? )

OK, tell me there's no 'global conspiracy', then?

P.S extra thanks for the link in the article, Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security

P.S ian - sugar is white death anyway, no harm there, then, I guess

[603DX]

Although I'm aware that this subject is of major relevance in this world of short-term thinking, I simply can't suppress a mental image of the greenest of green biofuelled vehicles, sleek, powerful, symbolic of the testosterone levels of its typically male driver. This hypothetical Ferrari/Porsche/Alfa Romeo type pootling about our highways and byways, followed not by the illusory smell of Castrol X and burnt rubber, but by the unmistakable aroma of fried chips ...

It won't do the fragile male ego much good, chaps!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

From personal experience, ethanol is a pain in the backside with engines, especially small engines like lawn tractors and chainsaws. It's less fuel efficient, absorbs water much faster than straight gas, and deteriorates much faster, leaving gummy deposits. I sometimes have to clean out the carb on my lawn tractor twice a year, and my old truck rough-runs on every fuel except Shell, unless I use aftermarket cleaner additives. Ethanol is a false economy in my experience, even on the less pollution argument, because of all the extra care needed on engines which use it. One can now buy pre-mix 2-stroke fuel for chainsaws, and it sells well, not because foresters are too lazy to mix, but because of a loophole in the laws which allows the makers to use regular gas with zero ethanol.

A friend of mine runs his tractor unit, and his pickup truck, on waste cooking oil from restaurants. One can tell which ethnicity of restaurant he's just collected from by the exhaust smell! Also, you gain street cred driving a big ugly tractor unit powered by chip oil, whereas I agree you lose it if driving a Ferrari

[ian16th]

This hypothetical Ferrari/Porsche/Alfa Romeo type pootling about our highways and byways, followed not by the illusory smell of Castrol X and burnt rubber,

Shouldn't it be Castrol R?

The stuff that kept WWI pilots running to the loo.
It had a high castor oil content.

[603DX]

Yes, ian16th, it's clear that I can't tell my R's from my X's ...

[ian16th]

Apparently sugar can cause other problems.