WEBVTT - Do Biofuels Make Sense? 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:07.080 Brought to you by Toyota. Let's go places. Welcome to 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:14.000 Forward Thinking. Hey there, and welcome to Forward Thinking, the 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.360 podcast that looks at the future and says, here's to 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:18.880 our last drink of fossil fuels. May be vow to 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:21.959 get off of this sauce. I'm Jonathan Strickland, I'm Lauren 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:25.239 bog Obama, and our other co host, Joe McCormick, is 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.280 out today. Yeah. So it's a it's a once again 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:30.479 a two person show. We've been playing kind of musical 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:35.080 hosts because we all took vacations close to one another summertime, 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:39.160 and it's nice to swept in other places in your hometown. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:43.560 Fantastic to go someplace else and be just as uncomfortable 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:48.279 outside with a better view. Yeah. No, I was out 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:50.520 by the ocean for a week and it really was nice, 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.600 And you guys did an awesome job holding down the 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.600 fort while I was gone. Yeah. I mean, that's one 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.680 of the wonderful things about having two co hosts. Any 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.080 one person can be gone and still be confident that 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:07.920 the show will go on. Yes, and so we are 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.880 going to go on today. We are with a topic 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:15.600 that is one that I've been I've talked about before 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.800 on tech stuff. I've talked about it on the radio 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:23.400 with NPR, You've written blog posts on Forward Thinking dot Com. 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.759 I have, and we're going to talk about bio fuels 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:31.080 because it's a complicated topic. It's one of those that 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.880 on the surface, you think, oh, a biological alternative to 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.760 fossil fuels. Perfect. Yeah, it's cut and dry, you know, 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:42.800 obviously switched from one to the other. But as it 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.280 turns out, when you get into the details, it's a 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:50.120 lot more complicated than that. Yes, Also, biofuels have been 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:53.040 in the news recently because on May twenty nine, the 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.960 e p A proposed a new renewable fuel standard for 0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:00.080 the next couple of years. And this new propos as 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.760 all of theirs had been delayed so much like since 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.200 at least because part of their proposal that just came 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.200 out was for Yeah, it's it's hard to propose things 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.960 for the past. I've I've seen that bit referred to 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.160 as kafka esque, and I can't say I could be 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:20.520 a little or well into like the retconning of actual history. 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.040 Well it did, it did match up with what was 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:27.640 actually produced, but but at any rate, um uh so 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.040 it's seeing all of these huge delays um. So much 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:32.920 so that fossil fuel and chemical groups sued the e 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:37.040 p A for harm to the market over these delays. Um, 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.240 although getting this proposal out before June one settled that suit. 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:47.240 Uzzah um. So So this this proposal includes increases of 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.320 the u s S creation of renewable fuels by about 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:54.760 nine percent by the end of which falls short of 0:02:55.040 --> 0:03:01.239 Congress's mandate for for renewable fuels that year. Um. Basically, 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:03.640 proponents of the standard are saying that it's not enough, 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.320 and opponents of the standard are saying it's still too much. 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.600 And what does all of this mean. Let's let's back 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.600 up just a wee bit and and discuss what the 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:19.200 fuss is about these renewable fuels. Yeah, because again, the 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.880 name renewable fuel makes it sound incredibly positive. I mean, 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.520 the fact that we're not relying on a resource that 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:31.040 is deplenishing over time and will eventually reach a level where, 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.760 because of the amount of energy we need to get 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:35.760 at it, it will not make sense for us to 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:39.440 use as a fuel. Sure. I mean, and technically petroleum 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:43.600 based fuels are renewable, but just they're renewable geologic time scale, 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.560 not a human one. Yeah, so problematic. If you have 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:52.000 time to sit around for millions of years, not an issue. 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.800 But for those of us mirror mortals that have to 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.040 get around in our day to day lives, we need 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.600 something that's going to be a little more renewable for 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:02.920 the law term, for us short term, for the galactic 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.600 scale at any rate. Bio fuel, So bio tells you 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:09.200 a lot about what we're talking about here. It is 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:13.080 fuel that comes from living things. So sometimes we're talking 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:17.160 about using living things directly as fuel. Uh and not 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.839 like hamsters or something um, but but usually plants of 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.600 some kind or or algae. Yeah, yeah, for example, I 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:29.200 mean the simplest form would like you burn, would that's fuel? 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.240 So that would be one way. Or you could also 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:37.000 look at waste products generated by living things and using 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:40.320 those waste products as a source of fuel. So there 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:45.000 are a lot of microbes that will while consuming their food, 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.159 generate stuff that we can use as fuel as a result, 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.680 and we'll talk more about that. And biofuels can be 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:57.799 in solid liquid or gas form. U solids include refuse 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.679 derived fuel, which is just as pleasant as it sounds 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:06.640 it's it's fuel that you get from waste. Solid waste. 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:08.920 You generally want to get as much water out of 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.280 it as possible for it to burn efficiently. Um. And 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.200 you can also use that specifically to make stuff like 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:18.160 briquettes or pellets. You can make brickettes or pellets out 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.080 of other stuff. Besides, uh, they refuse derived fuel the 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:26.400 r d F stuff charcoal bricketts as an example, and 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.760 these are really efficient because of their surface area, they're 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.560 they're very efficient at burning, so they're very efficient fuel 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:35.839 in that sense. Uh. And again they also are designed 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.040 to get as much water out as possible, so they 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:43.640 burn thoroughly. You can also use sewage treated sewage as fuel, 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.240 right right. You don't want to just get a handful 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.440 of it. Again, you're gonna want to dry it out first. 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.560 Yet things burn less good. Yeah. A lot of these 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.320 things require some form of processing, which shouldn't come as 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:56.719 any surprise. Oils the same way, so like it's not 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:58.680 like we pull oil out of the ground and immediately 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.760 put in our cars. Uh. Industrial waste is another example. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.279 And then the simpler stuff like like would actual would 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:09.320 being in what the oldest fuel I can think of, UM, Okay, 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:12.159 so that covers the solids. What about liquids. The two 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.160 big ones are biodiesel and ethanol. And I've talked a 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.159 lot about these in the past, if you've heard me 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:20.520 talk about them. Uh, these are really interesting and they 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:24.880 are in use today. It's not like these are unusual products. 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:30.640 Certainly in many states there's a ethanol requirement. Absolutely, yeah, 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:35.360 there's most most gasoline is a blend of gasoline and ethanol. Uh. 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.839 You also have a lot of places where bio diesel 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:42.719 is h is on is available, specifically like in the Midwest. 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.159 That tends to be where you really find it. Um. 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:48.920 And of course there are people who have either converted 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:54.040 their diesel cars or have purchased an older model diesel 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.000 car who run it on stuff like the grease they 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:01.640 get from restaurants. This that made the news. Remember back gosh, 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:05.360 I must have been maybe a few years out of college, 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:12.239 so shortly after the sun shrunk down to its current size. No, anyway, 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.800 it was one of those moments where I heard you 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:21.080 can run a car on like restaurant grease. Yeah, I mean, 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:23.520 I mean you shouldn't. You probably shouldn't try to run 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:28.240 your car. You don't have a diesel vehicle, definitely don't. 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:30.880 If you do have a diesel vehicle, still you want 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.360 to look into this, yes, do some research first. Yeah. Well, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:36.920 while your car might smell of delicious French fries, it 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.400 may also not run anymore. Oh man, I just thought 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:44.320 about like like duck fat powered vehicles and how delicious, 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:49.360 how hungry you should be Like now, uh, yeah, no, 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:51.560 it's it's one of those things where, um, there are 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.760 actually a lot of issues that can come into it. 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.800 For example, when the weather gets colder, this stuff can 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.480 ca gel and congeal, which means that it will no 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:01.880 longer run. It's not liquids anymore. Yeah, it's a gel 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.960 and that is a problem. But uh, you know anyway, 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.520 Biodiesel usually is made in blends, Like you'll get a 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.360 blend of biodiesel B one hundred would be a hundred 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:15.000 percent biodiesel, B twenty would be twenty biodiesel and diesel. 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.040 And we'll talk more about that in a bit. Ethanol 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.320 is an alternative to gasoline, Like Lawrence said, it's also 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:25.480 used as an additive in gasoline, So you get gasoline 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:31.080 blends where it might be ethanol is gasoline. Uh, Ethanol 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:36.440 is created through the fermentation of sugars or ligno celluloses, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:40.800 which is biomass that is woody. It's the woody plant stuff. 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.280 That's that's a much easier thing to say. Yeah, it's 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:48.840 it's essentially cellulose and lignant associated together. Excellent. So okay, 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.680 those are your two liquids. Okay. So liquids and then gases. 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:57.800 Gases are typically a byproduct of some other um process, 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:00.800 So it's not something that you would like. Biogas is 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.200 not something that just is floating around the atmosphere that 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:08.360 we would capture. Biogas is something that you would get from, uh, 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.840 for example, heating up a biomass to the point where 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:16.000 it gasifies. So when we talk about plasma waste converters, 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.560 which use a plasma torch in a giant furnace, you 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:26.360 put waste in there. Non organic waste liquefies and turns 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:30.600 into slag. Organic waste, anything with carbon in it gasifies 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:34.640 and turns into gas that can be scrubbed chemically to 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:38.679 turn into sin gas. That would be very similar to biogas. 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.559 So sin gas, by the way, that stands for synthetic. 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.520 If you couldn't Yeah, it's s y N not I 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:51.319 And yeah, it's it's not not sinful gas. Yeah, you're 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.000 not fueling things based on your sins, right, No, that's 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:58.440 that's a different type of gas comes from pacobell, different 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.559 type of thing entirely. Oh man, if we could power 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:06.560 cars from yeah, if we could alright, So anyway, Yeah, 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:10.079 those are the three major formats, and really the the 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.680 one that most people are familiar with because it would 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.880 be the kind that they would come in contact with 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.320 in their daily lives. It would be the liquid versions, 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:22.959 the biodiesel and ethanol. Um solid and gas are typically 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:28.240 more associated with like co generation of power for things 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:34.000 like waste disposal places, incinerators, cement mixing facilities, that kind 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:38.120 of stuff, and also coal plants in Europe. There's some 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.160 coal plants in Europe have been used to just instead 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:46.319 of burning coal, burn these solid fuels, for example, which 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.679 is interesting because of lots of reasons, including the differences 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:55.040 between how much energy is in one form versus another. 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.240 We'll get to that in a second. Uh yeah, but 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.520 before we get into that, let's talk about a couple 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.400 of the other reasons why people are interested in in 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.839 making the shift. I mean, aside from the time span 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.520 of renewable that we talked about earlier. Sure, so a 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:13.360 big one is the carbon output, right, the green reason 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:17.720 for switching to biofuels reducing that carbon footprint that those 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.520 emissions of carbon dioxide and et cetera that go into 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.760 our air that contribute to climate change. Greenhouse gases in 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:29.440 general are a big concern. And it is true that 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:34.640 most biofuels would generate significantly lower levels of carbon dioxide 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:38.280 while burning the fuel than gasoline or oil. And of 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:41.040 course they still would produce some amount of carbon dioxide 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:43.520 because that's generally what happens when you burn stuff. Yep, 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:45.360 there would be there would be levels, it would just 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.800 be lower. Also, you have to keep in mind, and 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:51.360 we'll talk more about this later, that there's more going 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.280 into this than just the burning of the fuel. Right. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.440 There's the production of the fuel, how you process it, 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:59.120 how you harvest the biomass, how you grow it, how 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:02.520 you transport, so all of those things also contribute to 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.360 a carbon footprint. You have to look at the big picture, 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.080 not just what happens when you burn the fuel. And 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:10.560 that's where things get a little more complex, and we'll 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:12.640 go into more detail about that in a bit not 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:18.640 complex at all. That sounds totally easy to sess out. Yeah. Also, um, 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:23.360 there there's some other reasons why people have been touting 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:26.480 bio fuels over fossil fuels. Oh sure, well, I mean 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:31.440 there's the entire political concept of petroleum and all of 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:36.120 the contentious situations that it can get nations into. Sure. Yeah, 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:38.760 the fact that if you live in a nation where 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.040 you're getting a significant amount of your oil from foreign sources, 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:46.040 it means that your nation is dependent upon those foreign sources. 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.760 And if those foreign sources either decide no longer to 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.840 sell you that oil or sell it at an elevated price, 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.640 or you get into a political conflict, you being your 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:59.640 country really not not you personally. Like I was on 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:03.320 the phone own with the entire nation of you know, 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:07.480 uh Iraq, and as a result, gas is going to 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:09.600 be really expensive for the next three months. That would 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:11.960 be Jonathan. What did I tell you about calling around? 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:14.080 I know, I know, I just I was watching The 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.120 Simpsons and it just seemed like it was so funny 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.360 when Bart would call it MO, and I thought, I 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:21.960 want to do that. Um No, when I say you, 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.320 I I do mean countries. So if a country comes 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.440 into conflict with another one and they depend upon that 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.360 other country for some of their source of oil. That's 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.200 a problem, it's an it could lead to an energy crisis. 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.960 We've seen this happen in the past multiple times throughout 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.000 the world, not just in the United States. Of course, 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.280 that's the one that Lauren and I are most familiar with. 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:43.319 Perhaps I'm a little more familiar with Lauren because I 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.720 don't think you were born when the last one really happened, 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.560 but I was not in fact. Yeah, but at any rate, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.880 the uh, you know, going to bio fuels, you could 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:58.040 potentially grow all of your fuel at home, so you 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.480 can make it a domestic fuel source rather than a 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.360 foreign fuel source. Even if it just means that you're 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:07.640 offloading some of your oil needs so that you are 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:11.200 supplementing them with biofuel, it could mean that that you 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:14.200 are able to get a little more control over your 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:19.320 energy needs, and it could improve national security as a result. 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:24.200 So there is a political motivation for investing in renewable 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.520 sources of fuel. Also renewable energy in general. You'll hear 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.520 that argument used a lot. In renewable energy, whether it's 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:35.840 geothermal or hydropowered. You know, wind powered, solar powered, whatever 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.120 it may be. That tends to be. One of the 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:42.200 big arguments is get get off the dependence of foreign oil. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.520 So those are your big ones also. I mean, depending 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:50.760 upon the situation, you might be able to produce biofuels 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.960 more cheaply than you would be able to produce or 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:58.360 purchase oil or gasoline. And so there's a financial incentive 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.120 there form a consumer standpoint point, right, the idea that 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.920 you could buy the same kind of you know, fuel 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:05.720 that can do the same sort of things is what 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.240 you had depended upon before, but at a lower price. Now, 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:11.720 as it turns out, that's not true across the board, 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:14.320 but it could be true in certain cases depending on 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.280 where you are, when it is, and what kind of 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.480 fuel you're you're using, yes, and in the amount of 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:24.880 mass production that you can squeeze into something. So a 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.280 lot of a lot of the discussion about biofuels has 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:32.400 really been uh fiery. That's like a really bad pun. 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:37.720 I apologize fantastic for the past. It may be like 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:41.560 like ten years or so, um, but the idea of 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:45.320 using biofuels is certainly not new. Right. Yeah, first of all, 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.240 we've got the the ancient ones, you know, fire discovery 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.120 of fire, using wood to make fire, and that's we've 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.520 been using biofuels for ages, sure, and their use in 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.000 motor vehicles is actually pretty ancient too, I mean, like 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:02.400 as far as motor vehicle history goes. Rudolph Diesel himself 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.240 originally envisioned vegetable oil as a motor fuel, and his 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:09.520 engine at the nineteen hundred World Exhibition in Paris ran 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:15.040 on peanut oil probably smelled delicious. Henry Ford also tried 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:18.320 ethanol with his Model T, and through the kind of 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.600 tight pocket times of the nineties and forties, vegetable oils 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:26.360 were sometimes used as diesel engine fuel, and then petroleum 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.880 kind of happened. Um, it proved a lot cheaper and 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:34.720 more efficient than biodiesels, and so they went out. And 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:36.720 it wasn't until a few things happened in the nineteen 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:40.800 seventies and eighties that the US revisited the idea. First off, 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:44.160 the EPA passed the Clean Air Act in nineteen seventy 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:48.800 and that set new standards for for pollutants and vehicle emissions, 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:52.800 so that, you know, it became profitable for companies to 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:58.960 start looking into alternate energy sources. UM. Also, Hey, political 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.200 turmoil in the at least it more than doubled the 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.919 world price of curde oil from nineteen seventy one, like 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.240 fourteen dollars a barrel too, I think like thirty five 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.320 dollars a barrel. Yeah, more than doubling is is bad. 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:16.800 And and that's what also led to Russia's on gasoline stations. 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.760 You had gasolene shortages. It was a nightmare. Oh yeah. 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.560 And and the prices have never returned to those pre 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.000 turmoil points. I think they even doubt. It's something like 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:36.440 twenty eight uh. Yeah. So so the first International Conference 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.200 on Plant and Vegetable Oils was held in two I 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.480 did not know such a thing had existed. Does It's 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:46.760 glorious um. And of course since then, further acts from 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.960 the e p A have also driven development of biofuel 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:52.600 knowledge and technology here in the US and in the 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.280 rest of the world that the interest in biodiesel is 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:59.560 really booming. Brazil and China are the other two largest 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:04.199 produced years of bio diesels UM after the United States 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.000 and in India. In two thousand eight, for example, a 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:11.320 national biofuel policy set the goal of replacing twenty percent 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.520 of the petroleum diesel fuel in the country with biodiesel 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.520 bye when I'm not sure, but they set that goal 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.480 and the European Union produces a whole lot too. Yeah. 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.960 I actually read an interesting report that was obviously published 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:29.720 in the European Union because of all the figures being 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:33.119 in euros, which it's a tip off, yeah, made it 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:35.040 made a little tricky for me to figure out how 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.520 much is that in real money? Uh, of course that's 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.920 just a just just a little little uh joke there. 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:45.439 I do consider euros to be very real money. But 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:47.680 at any rate, Um, you know, there are a lot 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:51.240 of things you have to take into account with bio 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.679 fuels that make it this complicated issue where you can't 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:59.920 just say, oh, bio fuels are good, fossil fuels are bad, 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:02.520 let's switch to biofuels, because there are some things you 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.560 have to take into consideration. Some of them may involve 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:09.840 trade offs. Uh. For example, you might have to say, well, 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.439 we're gonna have to limit our use if we switch 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:16.719 over to this because of supply issues or the energy 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.800 that is contained within the fuel, that kind of thing. 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:21.840 And if you're willing to make that change, then it 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.440 may end up being the right choice full bio steam ahead. Yeah, 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:28.040 but there are other issues too that make get even 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:30.840 more complicated. So first we have to talk about specific 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:35.040 energy versus energy density. Uh. These are both very important 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:39.040 concepts as far as energy content is concerned. Now, that's 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:42.480 the amount of potential energy represented by the fuel. It's 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:45.679 whatever work you can do by burning that fuel, right, 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:48.920 because of course, you know, an ounce of of hamster 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:50.880 and an ounce of wood, are you going to get 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:56.480 you the same no output? I'm sorry, I'd prove the 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:02.439 hamsters are not worth their ou stairs for It's just 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:06.280 I'm just thinking about like I'm having these terrible mental 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:11.280 images of the boiler room on the Titanic shovels full 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:16.520 of ansters, and it's just the screaming is terrible. Okay, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.160 all right, I'm all right, I'm gonna I'm a bad person. Okay, 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:23.359 So let's talk about specific energy and energy density. Uh. So, 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:27.080 different fuels provide different amounts of energy for comparable amounts 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:29.800 or you know, whether you're talking about mass or volume, 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:34.159 and specific energy is talking about mass. It's the amount 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.879 of potential energy within a fuel per unit of mass 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:41.720 of that fuel. So if we're using the proper scientific units, 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:44.720 we would be talking about jewel per kilogram of fuel, 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:48.120 or more likely kill a jewel of kilogram per kilogram 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:52.719 of fuel. Energy density refers to the amount of potential 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:56.199 energy within a fuel per unit of volume, and volume 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:59.760 and mass are two different things, right, Density plays a 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:02.800 big part here. So if we're talking about the scientific 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:05.800 units again, where we'll be talking about jewels per leader 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:10.439 of fuel. So let's take a look at the energy 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:14.440 content of bio fuels versus gasoline. This is what I 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:17.680 gathered this data from lots of different sources. And here's 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:20.280 the thing is that the data on this stuff can 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:24.119 vary widely because there are so many different means of 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:28.399 production and so many different crops, and the types of 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:31.040 bio fuels you can produce from these different things are 0:21:31.040 --> 0:21:35.240 not all equal. So there's generally a range of what 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:40.000 these these different fuels, how much energy they represent, um. 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.360 So keep that in mind that any figures we give 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:47.280 our kind of estimations or ranges. Let's start with gasoline, though, 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:49.840 because that's the one that you know, we're trying to replace, 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:52.360 right at least as far as cars go. We can 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:55.080 talk about oil as well, but I'm specifically referring to 0:21:55.080 --> 0:21:59.359 gasoline gasolenes. Energy content ranges from one twelve thousand, one 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:04.320 teen to thousand ninety b t use per gallon. And 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:06.080 I know you're thinking, Hey, you just gave me all 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:09.280 those scientific units. Why are you saying BTUs per gallon? 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.880 What's a b t u? Who are you? What podcast 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:16.840 am I listening? Why did gallon suddenly come into the equation? Yeah? Okay, 0:22:16.840 --> 0:22:19.399 so that's because this is the way this particular source 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:21.640 had worded it. But don't worry, I did some work 0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:24.480 for you. So BTU stands for a British thermal unit, 0:22:24.760 --> 0:22:27.320 And just in case you're curious, one BTU is the 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:31.440 energy needed to heat one pound of water by one 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:35.960 degree fahrenheit. Thank you Britain. Yeah, keep in mind that 0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:39.800 a gallon is eight pounds of water. So yea, so 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:43.240 one pound of water is not a gallon, okay. So 0:22:43.400 --> 0:22:49.520 BTU is equivalent to jewels, So just over a killer jewel? Okay? 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:53.800 So uh converting gallons to leaders right, Okay, so three 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:57.080 points blah blah blah leaders per gallon. Okay, I did 0:22:57.080 --> 0:23:00.320 all this. I went to a conversion website because I 0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:04.000 was not trusting my math because once you start getting 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:06.280 into all this divide and my and my and UM 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:09.240 and your and your multiplan and stuff, you're no longer 0:23:09.320 --> 0:23:12.400 just adding. I know, you're just just a simple Georgia. Yeah, 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:14.920 you know. I come from simple stock folks, and I'm 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:19.080 an English literature major at heart. So I I did 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:23.600 a conversion using a website and it's about thirty two 0:23:23.680 --> 0:23:28.159 jewels per leader. So that's that's gasoline. Okay, what about diesel, 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:30.640 Because diesel is different, of course than gasoline. It has 0:23:30.720 --> 0:23:33.879 higher energy content than gasoline, which is one of the 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:36.840 reasons why it's being used in these really large vehicles 0:23:37.040 --> 0:23:42.080 because it has much higher energy content. It is around 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:44.560 one b t use per gallon or going into the 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:50.000 scientific units, hundred kilo jewels per leader. Now, pure biodiesel 0:23:50.400 --> 0:23:54.840 contains more energy per unit of volume than gasoline, but 0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:59.680 less than diesel. So you've got you've got gasoline and 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:03.240 d all. Bio diesel is smack dab in between them 0:24:03.280 --> 0:24:08.720 as far as energy content per volume is considered. Okay, um, 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:12.560