The end of the age of oil means the end of any one particular fuel.  There is not going to be a holy grail to replace it.  We are going to have to get used to the idea that we are going to use fuel from multiple sources, whatever is available, and will have to build engines and power generators accordingly. 

There is a small chance that all transportation could be covered by some alternative fuel source, but that leaves power plants to generate electricity for homes and petroleum products still out of the equation.

I for one welcome the advances in nuclear technology and power plants, for instance the nuclear powered generator/battery the size of a hot tub that could generate power for an entire neighborhood.  I believe that was covered on NewsReal.

Detractors of nuclear energy should realize that they are basing their prejudices on power plant technology that is between 20-30 years old and new plants would be much more efficient and most importantly much more safe.  In fact, there are several older ones still in operation right now in the U.S.

Biodiesel and Butanol sound like pretty good options, at least as stop gap measures, I'm not so sure as far as replacing gasoline entirely. I don't really like the idea of the government mandating ethanol production though, it seems that the food vs. fuel argument covered that (as a bad idea) a long time ago. 

I think finding creative ways to use fuel out of waste products is one of the most sustainable methods we can come up with.

I should caveat my last reply by saying that ethanol is not exactly 'mandated' but it is subsidized, and I don't know of any other alternative fuel sources that are right now. 


So you don't agree with the argument that using all the corn would compromise the food supply? I don't know much about corn farming, but I guess from what you said before that this is being used mostly for corn oil, not food?


Is that for biodiesel too or just alcohol based fuels?


I totally agree.

Nope.  With modern farming methods the United States has the capacity to feed about a third of the world's population at full swing.  We don't because it's not cost effective to do so.  We ran into surpluses years ago so bad that farmers were going broke because supply so severely exceeded demand.

I submit to you that all the arable, fertile land in the United States being wasted right now, idle, could be put immediately to use making non-fossil fuels without disrupting...hell, without even being NOTICED by the food supply sources.

Besides this, there are techniques such as the "racetrack" (a shallow constantly moving oval-shaped creek in which an oil-rich algae is constantly being produced) method that, if implemented in a wide enough scale, has the potential to supply the entire logistical infrastructure with Biodiesel.  This technique, most easily implemented in areas not particularly conducive to building and commercial venture (such as up-to-now useless swamp land), could be utilized in a way never done before in order to provide us an endless supply of fuel.  Fuel for trucks.  Fuel for locomotives.

The big killer is the alcohol part of the equation.  There just isn't an efficient enough method of distilling the stuff yet.  Especially Butanol.

The eggheads should really be working on that.  Because those two substances, if able to be produced in sufficient quantity and efficiency, really do spell the end of the United States' dependence upon petrofuels.

The result would be twofold:

1) The remaining crude oil could be used for other, more directly productive specific ventures such as synthetics.
2) Overnight, our dependence upon middle eastern countries would cease.  Thus, funding for terrorism would stop.  Cold.

If their oil is worth less, there's less money for guns or jihad or anything.  Let them sit on their sea of devalued oil.

And starve.

It would really pay off to research the hell out of these technologies.  Especially by the oil companies, who, with their large budgets and immense research capabilities along with already existing distribution systems, could spearhead their own monopolies ahead by having the next greatest fuel sooner than all the others.

Too bad they don't see it that way.  The profit potential for the already existing players is staggering.  Imagine, just for a moment, how much of an advantage an oil company would have if it was THEIR scientists who made the breakthrough to distill Butanol efficiently.  The marketing campaign alone "We now have a green fuel that will never run out.  That will never be dependent upon non-renewable resources."  And: "We now can provide fuel for the entire world that is kinder to the environment and better for you."  Or, if a minimalist marketing campaign:  "Fuel.  Forever."

Go ahead, imagine that for a moment.

That oil company, even if they only held the secret for a year, would find itself as the primary fuel power of the world.

And since the entire world runs on fuel...

...well, you do the math.

S

Sorry I didn't answer this one earlier.

Since biodiesel is NOT a distillation process, merely a conversion from a vegetable oil, used or not, into a methyl diester through the USE of lye and ethanol in specific amounts, then settling out the glycerin, no license is required to produce it.

There is a place here in Tampa that sells a turn-key miniature biodiesel production plant that produces 40 gallons every 24 hours (as long as the raw materials of vegetable oil, lye, and a small amount of ethanol, are available) for about 3 grand.

For about half that, there are plans on the Internet RIGHT NOW that you can follow and build your own.

I don't know about selling it.  But many folks who already drive a diesel are only about three thousand dollars away from being non-dependent upon gas stations.

Especially since many restaurants actually PAY a renderer a fee to come pick up their waste oil.  Some would be very happy to give away their waste vegetable oil (like frying and cooking oil) for free.

That significantly cuts the cost of making Biodiesel.  Because you can use even USED cooking oil to make biodiesel.

Talk about recycling!

You can also use virgin vegetable oil from at least twelve different kinds of plants to make biodiesel:  Peanut, Soy, Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, Rapeseed, Canola, Cashew, Oats, Cotton, Hemp, Linseed (Flaxseed), and others.

Here, check this website out:

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html

These are comparative biodiesel yields from many different sources of vegetable oil, centralized in a table for comparison.

Imagine, for just a fleeting moment, if Sean had had the option to buy an old diesel truck instead of the camaro or the bronco, and then managed to use some PVC piping and tanking with some valves to make his own biodiesel plant and be completely independent of the filling station?

How Wog is that?

Have "Wog Ops" where teams of Wogs go to restaurants and offer to cart away their waste vegetable oil FOR FREE, then take it back to a centralized location and turn it into FUEL...

"Wogs build their own logistical infrastructure.  Film at 11."

What if WE had the infrastructure?  What if WE driving diesels were the only ones who still had fuel BECAUSE WE'D BEEN MAKING IT OURSELVES ALL ALONG ALREADY??

Who'd have the power then?

It exists right now.

All you have to do is reach out and grab it.

S

One pitfall of making biodiesel is the possibility that the government will require producers to pay tax on fuel.  http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/06/a_price_to_pay_for_altern.html

It also assumes that there will continue to be a ready supply of used cooking oil for the taking.  As long as waste oils can be used this is a practical way to solve fuel problems but I believe that a peak oil situation will make other fuels scarce and the production of cooking oil is dependent on a strong agricultural system.

We are already seeing the price of corn go up because of the demand from ethanol producers and biodiesel has to compete with other users of waste cooking oil -- it isn't thrown away, it gets processed into soaps, cosmetics and other products.  Restaurants have to pay to dispose of waste oil right now but if that changes and they can make a profit from selling it then it changes the whole economics of things.

Still, biodiesel is something to look into.  I am considering building a wood gas generator from the FEMA directions, mostly as an experiment for gasoline engines.  It makes sense for a stationary engine that could be used for powering a shop or generating electricity and the waste heat could be used for heating a shop or some manufacturing process.

It won't be a matter of which fuel we switch to, it'll be a matter of how many can we switch to.

Sci, totally agree.  Stockpile tools and material.  Tools can be gotten for realitivly cheap still, espically since a lot of tools come from China.  Why these tools might not be as high of quality as more expensive tools, as long as the tool works when you need it to, your good to go.  Just be aware that you should take it a little easier on them if you expect they might break. 

Dead on about growing your own food, it's very rewarding and it just tastes better.  I just bought a bunch of seeds for my garden this year, looking forward to it.  This is my third year gardening now, and I have decided to try to start from seeds this year, where I usually buy starter plants from the local big box hardware store.  I hope to have a better harvest than I did last year, I was away a lot of business and couldnt take care of my garden like it needed.  This year I don't have that problem, so I'm pretty excited.  I'm really thinking about building a little greenhouse in the backyard, to see if vegis will survive the winter months, or grow something else during that time.  You got a execellent point, Sci, about growing your own food, it's all about being self-sustainable.

The part about running made me laugh.  Although, in a real situation, I think you will be glad you put forth the effort to get out and go run so that when you needed it, you had that ability.  More than likely in those situations though, you always wish you had trained a little more.  I try to think about that, and it's good motivation to get me off my rear and get around the block.

What ever happened to the Ballard Power cell. Those puppies where where supposed to take over the oil industry years ago.