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Friday, September 30, 2005

Off to convert some diesels

Well, the car is packed, and we are getting ready to leave for our action packed weekend. We have 5 Diesels to convert this weekend, 2 VW's, 2 Mercedes, and a big straight truck. More details at Veggie Conversion Class, plus we will have lots of pics and documentary on our Forum next week. Stay tuned!

Pictures on our new photo album - http://www.green-trust.org/photoalbum/

For more info on Biodiesel and SVO/WVO conversions, see our

Bio Differences and Biofuels pages.

Make sure you checkout ESSN magazine, as the new issue goes live tonight at midnight! More off-grid and renewable energy info, including Methane and Ethanol.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Minnesota becomes first US state to require biodiesel

MINNEAPOLIS, United States (AFP) - Minnesota will from Thursday demand that all diesel fuel sold in the US state be partly distilled from soybeans in a bid to take a bite out of the nation's appetite for crude oil.

The northern state is the first in the United States to pass a law to promote biodiesel, fuel made from agricultural oils and fats, said Ralph Groschen, senior marketing specialist at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Read the full story at Yahoo News

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Univ. of Michigan, Day 3 - Australian Solar Car Race

Day 3

Start: 20km S. of Alice Springs
Finish: 100km N. of Glendambo
Current standing: 3rd


With just 800 km of racing left to go, over two years of hard work is nearing completion. We started this morning in 2nd with Aurora behind us in a close 3rd. By midday Aurora decided to speed things up and we swapped places with them. Aurora is now 2nd and we are about 10 kilometers behind them in 3rd. I’ve heard a lot of worrisome talk about Wednesday’s weather from other teams at the checkpoints, which may have pushed them to make risky decisions. Clouds had already moved in as we pulled off the road for the night, but they fortunately look like they are blowing south.

http://www.engin.umich.edu/solarcar/blog/index.html

Friday, September 23, 2005

TV Series "COOLFUEL ROADTRIP" promotes renewable fuels

Beginning the week of September 5, 2005, stations across the U.S. will air the first episode of COOLFUEL ROADTRIP™ (www.coolfuelroadtrip.com). In 18 episodes, viewers will travel with a crazy bunch of adventurers, meet celebrities including Daryl Hannah, Jack Johnson, Ed Begley, Jr., and Alexandra Paul and get to know America’s new innovators. These COOLFUEL ROADTRIP pioneers are involved in a 16,000 mile road-trip across the U.S. and are sure to change U.S. fuel woes into a happier reality.

In episode one, while trying to get from San Francisco to the Oregon border on geothermal charges, show host, Shaun Murphy, takes an unexpected turn and meets eco-friendly actor, Ed Begley, Jr. Using his dry wit, Begley reminds Murphy of the great energy that resides within and gives Murphy an opportunity to power an entire home with energy produced via pedaling; quite the electrifying work out. “Shaun is an excellent guest to have over when you have a home that can be powered by pedaling. That Aussie can pedal for hours on end,” commented Begley, Jr. “The COOLFUEL ROADTRIP seems pretty impressive too. I’d like to have Shaun come over and cycle so that I can watch it on TV.” The remaining episodes continue to deliver a wonderful mix of celebrities, comedy, adventure and entertaining education.

COOLFUEL ROADTRIP is a raucous ride on American back-roads, by-ways and highways exploring the variety of non-fossil fuel dependent vehicles and fuels available. Hosted by Murphy, Australian TV adventurer and personality, the show delivers the all-American road trip, complete with humor, drama and adventure. Murphy, his loyal dog Sparky (a better scene-stealer than Rupert Everett in My Best Friend’s Wedding), and their crew travel around the U.S. without using gasoline.

“A coolfuel is anything besides gasoline,” explains Murphy. “You can grow it, squeeze it, fry it, heat it up, or catch it. Heck, you can even generate coolfuel with your own two legs!” And in 18 episodes the energetic and passionate Aussie takes on the challenge of finding and using coolfuels. Murphy says, “Along the way we have a great time with the celebrities who are really into coolfuels, and we meet the innovators and inventors who know a thing or two about designing and building vehicles and developing fuels from a wide range of resources. It’s just fantastic!”

Throughout the episodes, the COOLFUEL ROADTRIP crew films the entire epic on cameras, powered by soybeans, as they try anything and everything to complete the ultimate road challenge. They take on a Ferrari 360 Modino in a road-race; visit Martin Luther King’s home in Montgomery, Alabama; battle raging forest fires in Northern California and spend time on Daryl Hannah’s Colorado ranch. A host of celebrities deliver comic relief, musical interludes and entertainment as the crew find their way in and out of mishaps, miscommunications, and mysteries.

Using a variety of fuel sources including; hot rocks, cow manure, garbage, hempoline, food, sugar and vegetable oil, the COOLFUEL ROADTRIP crew drives, flies, floats and peddles its way around the United States. They’re not worried by continuing barrel price increases or the unsightly $2.35 per gallon average pump price. They drive Hummers and Harleys, fly planes and jet-turbine trucks.

Guaranteed to please every member of the family, the show is FCC-friendly, environment-savvy, and literally, a breath of fresh air. COOLFUEL ROADTRIP, produced by Balance Vector Productions, Inc., is executive produced and hosted by Shaun Murphy.

Media Contact
Vendely Communications
Maggie Nye
818.623.1000
maggie@vendely.com

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Hurricane Risk for New Orleans

In September 2002, this was written:

Some scientists suggests there's a roughly one in six chance that a killer hurricane will strike New Orleans over the next 50 years.


3 years later, BAM .....

Meanwhile, ESSN headquarters in Texas is getting prepared for a deluge:

http://www.rebelwolf.com

The US National Hurricane Center said Rita had become "an extremely dangerous" Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (265 kph) as it moved over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A Category 5 storm can cause catastrophic damage.

http://www.planetark.com/

And now, the winds are at 175 mph. How fast does it have to spin before they come up with a Cat 6 designation?

Hurricane Rita is history's third most intense

Hurricane Rita: winds of 175 mph

How to get help or prepare.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

VeggieVan Needs Help in Atlanta, GA

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your continued donations and support for our relief work in Louisiana. If you are reading this email, then our ship has passed the Gulf oil derricks and dipped back into cell phone coverage, and we are likely close to, or inside of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It has been an amazing voyage and I will soon have updates available on my blog at http://www.veggievan.org

Until then, we need help organizing the next portion of the Veggie Van's trip across the Southeast.

We are in need of the following:

1) A car and driver to follow the Veggie Van from Lake Charles, Louisiana to Atlanta, Georgia. We will depart from Lake Charles on Wed. Sept. 21 and arrive in Atlanta on Saturday Sept 24. (This may slide forward a day depending on conditions). Car and driver will travel with a cameraperson to get shots from the road. We will be staying with families affected by the Katrina disaster. This is semi-voluntary work. We will pay for your food, fuel and take care of your accommodations as well as give you $25/day.

2) A qualified diesel or truck mechanic in Atlanta, Georgia that can take receipt of the Veggie Van upon arrival. Known problems so far include a coolant hose that must be replaced and a leaking brake system. Other problems may arise with the old van before she lands in Atlanta.

3) A friend who can offer two or three people a place to stay in Atlanta for one night.

4) A safe place to keep the Veggie Van in Atlanta for about a month. The van is 21 feet long, 8.5 feet wide and 8 foot 8 inches tall.

Please let us know if you can help us on this incredible voyage by emailing the item you can help with and your contact details to:

relief@veggievan.org

And don't forget to read my blog and listen to my audio updates on
http://www.veggievan.org

Thank you!

Josh Tickell

Monday, September 19, 2005

UK based Veggie Fueled Co-Gen (CHP)

CHP - Combined Heat & Power
Co-Gen - Cogeneration

The Fuel Facts:

Vegetable oil contains between 3392 kJ and 3700 kJ per 100ml - as read off the side of the bottle. This approximates to about 9 or 10kWh per litre.

A litre of vegetable oil will generate about 2kWh of electricity and about 6kWh of recoverable heat. Unfortunately some of the fuel energy will be inevitabley lost as waste heat.

Fuel consumption from waste vegetable oil will be approximately 1 litre per hour when running a 2kW electrical load.

New vegetable oil can be bought from supermarkets for around 45p per litre - almost half the cost of diesel.

However the real economies are achieved by using waste vegetable oil available for less than £0.10 per litre.

Waste vegetable oil should be first strained through a perforated metal screen to remove the burnt crispy bits (BCB's).

Then it is filtered using a 10um cartridge filter. Allow the oil to stand for some time so that debris and water can settle to the bottom of the can. Decant only the top 75% of the oil from the top.

The oil should be pre-heated before it enters the injector pump. This can be done by making a coil of 6mm copper tubing around the hot exhaust and passing the fuel through this, before it enters the injector pump.

Waste vegetable oil is widely available from pubs and restaurants, they will be glad to let you have it. Tell the chef or publican what you want it for and offer him/her a couple of quid (or a pint) per 20 litre drum!

Read more at http://www.powercubes.com/listers_2.html

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Build your own Emergency Generator

Want your own Emergency Generator? We have put together a kit which includes a 3hp vertical shaft gasoline engine, 94 amp alternator, mounting bracket, 4" pulley, V-belt, battery cables, 115ah deep cycle battery with case, 700 watt inverter, and mounting base with casters. You get both 12vdc and 120vac outputs. Will power a small TV and a 15 watt fluorescent light for 15 hours between engine charging. Can be used for pumping water from rain barrels and many other purposes. Additional battery capacity, 12vdc appliances, and custom configuration available.

2 year manufacturer's warranty on engine, 1 year on rest of system.
$750 (includes S&H, continental USA)




Add our PV kits to help keep the battery charged, and reduce engine run times. Propane conversion available for $200 extra. Horizontal shaft kits, and higher hp/amp systems available .

Friday, September 16, 2005

Heating Oil Prices Expected to Surge

Auburn, Maine - Richard F. Smith tried to prepare for high heating oil prices: He applied for home heating assistance, he's ready to seal off three unused rooms, and he has insulated his cellar and electrical outlets.

Despite all that, the 75-year-old expects to dip into his life savings to keep warm this winter, even with federal heating assistance.

Read more at http://www.sierratimes.com/05/09/14/oil.htm

You can make your own Home Heating Oil and Diesel Fuel for less than $1.00 / gallon with one of our Biodiesel processor kits.

Only $375 (includes S&H Continental US).

You supply a electric water heater of 30 - 80 gallon capacity, and consumables, consisting of new or used vegetable oil, methanol and lye. Assembly instructions are included, or order the complete biodiesel bible, the Biodiesel Homebrew Guide.

ETA, 4 weeks or less.





We have wash tank kits, carboys, labware, titration kits, scales and books ready to ship.

Ask us about our Waste Veggie Oil conversion kits for your diesel truck, car, generator or boat.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Letting people know you are green!

How do you tell folks that you are driving an environmentally responsible vehicle? One way is through bumper stickers. We all see funny ones, ones with a message, or bragging about how smart our kids are. How about telling the world that you are running a clean renewable fuel, you get higher than average fuel mileage, or that you are mitigating your pollution contributions in one way or another. These are some of the ways you can show the world you are trying to make a difference:

Are you running a clean burning, renewable fuel?






Does your car get higher than average miles per gallon?


Maybe you have an average (or not so average) vehicle, and just want to eliminate your green house gas contribution?


Leave comments about other sources of materials that tell folks your are doing your part to make this world a cleaner place to live!

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Why didn't they evacuate?

An aerial view of flooded school buses in a lot, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005, in New Orleans, LA.

The flood is a result of Hurricane Katrina that passed through the area last Monday.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Cost of 127 buses in a New Orleans parking lot:
$6,300,000.00

Gas to fill their tanks:
$11,112.50

127 drivers to drive them all day August 26 and 27:
$152,000.00

Having a Mayor with the foresight to use them:
Priceless

127 busses x 50 people each = 6350 people

60,000 people who could have been evacuated by the City of New Orleans on the above buses had the Mayor of New Orleans used the foresight he is accusing others of not using.

60,000 / 6350 = 10 round trip bus trips to evacuate people to higher ground prior to the storm hitting.

Instead, the buses sat, and the Mayor now complains about the lack of transportation, and blames those in charge of responding to the crisis for not getting him buses after the storm!

Read a first hand account of a tragic escape story by Charmaine Neville.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

WVO Conversion Class, Oct. 2nd, Falls Village, CT

Did you know you can run your diesel on used fryer oil? Yes, that stuff the restaurants throw away is actually fuel. Want to learn how to do it? We will be giving a class on converting diesels to run this clean burning renewable fuel on Oct. 2nd at 9am, at TEVA in Falls Village , CT. It's an all day class. The total cost is $50, and participants will be able to get hands on conversion experience. Bring a set of wrenches or socket set. We plan on having 4 different vehicles there for conversion. We will also give a quick introduction to the biodiesel processor on site. Also check out the companion manual, Sliding Home.

Pictures on our new photo album at http://www.green-trust.org/photoalbum/

Please pre-register ($15) so we know how many people are coming, the other $35 is due at the door.





Drop us an email for details on the class, or for your own wvo conversion kit or biodiesel processor. Make your own fuel for your vehicle, generator, or heating oil furnace. WVO Conversions start at $850 for a passenger car and can cost as much as $2k for a large truck. Processor kits start at $375.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

VW Beetle wins fuel economy prize: 76 mpg

Over the Labor Day weekend, the TDI Club had it's annual get-together called "TDI Fest." The club has a large percentage of car efficiency enthusiasts that have chosen diesel technology instead of hybrids. TDI (short for "Turbocharged Direct Injection" is Volkswagen's label for it's highly-efficient automobile diesel engines. 150 people showed up for the three-day affair near Madison, Wisconsin. They were a small segment of the approximately 35,000 club members that have registered at http://www.tdiclub.com. The meeting was about efficiency and also about high performance. With a TDI-powered car, you can definitely have both.

Attendees drove to the meeting from all over the U.S. and Canada to show off their beloved fuel-sipping cars. Cars were entered in a variety of competitions from road rallying to extreme fuel economy.

The fuel economy prize was won by Ernie Rogers from Pleasant Grove, Utah. His winning car is a 2003 VW Beetle TDI. He drove 1375 miles to get to the meeting using just 18 gallons of fuel-- 1200 miles of which was accomplished on just one tankfull (15.5 gallons). His trip fuel economy was 76 miles per gallon.

Rogers' car included several small refinements that added up to the exceptional mileage: a drag reducing device he designed and built himself (pictures at http://www.max-mpg.com), lower-rolling-resistance tires, low-friction engine oil, and use of a B5 biodiesel blend fuel to increase efficiency and improve emissions.

The hottest topic of conversation at the meeting, and the subject of a popular technical session, was on the benefits of using biodiesel or biodiesel-blend fuels. Most of the attendees were either already using biodiesel or had decided to start. It was noted that research in Canada had shown that a fuel blend with only 1% biodiesel can increase a car's fuel economy by as much as 14% while substantially lowering emissions.

Biodiesel is one of many new sulfur-free diesel engine fuels now entering the market in small quantities. Most of the new fuels (including biodiesel) are not made from petroleum, but from a number of renewable sources. Biodiesel can be made from soybean oil, canola oil, or other seed oils, and from many oily wastes such as animal fats. Low-grade oils and fats that are not fit for use in foods have now found a new usefulness. In the future, we will be able to make renewable diesel fuels from other wastes such as garbage and leftovers from harvesting of many crops including wood.

Diesel engines provide exceptionally high torque at low rpm, as well as 43% peak efficiency, higher than any other type of engine. While diesels gained a bad reputation in the past for high emissions, newly developed engines have overcome the problem, running clean on fuels with very low sulfur content.

Diesel engines naturally emit less carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) because of their higher efficiency.

For more in-depth information on TDI cars and TDI Fest, go to http://www.tdiclub.com Warning: If you were thinking of buying a TDI car, expect disappointment. These cars have become very scarce because of high fuel prices

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Cleaning up Katrina's Mess

BATON ROUGE - Hurricane Katrina left behind a landscape of oil spills, leaking gas lines, damaged sewage plants and tainted water, Louisiana's top environment official said on Tuesday.

BATON ROUGE - The potentially toxic brew of chemicals and human waste in the New Orleans floodwaters will have to be pumped into the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain, raising the specter of an environmental disaster on the heels of Hurricane Katrina, experts say.

WASHINGTON - Three people have died from bacterial infections in Gulf states after Hurricane Katrina, and tests confirm that the water flooding New Orleans is a stew of sewage-borne bacteria, federal officials said on Wednesday.

NEW ORLEANS - The mayor of New Orleans has ordered the forced evacuation of people refusing to leave the city, amid fears of serious threats to their health.


(CNN) -- Flooding from Hurricane Katrina's Monday landfall could wreak catastrophe on New Orleans, overwhelming the city's water and sewage systems and leaving survivors in a bowl of toxic soup, a top hurricane expert said.

EPA Response Activity - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are cautioning the public and all responders about the potential hazards associated with flood waters. Every effort should be made to limit contact with flood water due to potentially elevated levels of contamination associated with raw sewage and other hazardous substances. EPA has collected and sent New Orleans flood water samples to labs in Lafayette, LA and Houston, TX for analysis. Daily sampling is ongoing, and test results are expected later this week.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Fuel Efficiency: Technology Not Pulling Its Weight

I’ve always found such good stories on your site that I wanted to pass along a tip.

A friend of mine just forwarded me this article. It appears that the government is reconsidering the required fuel efficiency standards. No administration in the past 12+ years has made any significant increase in these standards because of special interest groups. The Technology Suits is trying to rally people in a push for higher requirements and more government funding into alternative fuel sources.

Sounds like a good cause to support. I called my Congressman and his office was unaware that the rules were up for consideration. It would be great if you could help give this a push. - Franklin Thomson

From http://www.technologybizdev.com

The U.S. Government is making structural changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements, but it is only a symbolic move. The country needs a real catalyst to spark innovation in fuel efficiency technology.

For those unfamiliar with CAFE requirements, these rules govern the minimum average fuel standards that each automotive company must meet with the vehicles it creates. While the government has made minor adjustments to the requirements for each category of vehicles, these rules are far out of sync with the original intentions.

The most substantial changes in the auto industry have come from the type of vehicles purchased by consumers. The CAFE rules originally offered minimal fuel requirements for trucks and vans to minimize the financial impact on businesses, while increasing requirements for consumer vehicles. At the time of creation, these classes of vehicles amounted for only a small percentage (single digits) of total vehicles on the road, with consumers purchasing almost entirely cars. Since then, the consumer market has made a drastic shift towards trucks and vans. As a result, the lower standards allotted for these “business class” vehicles have now become the dominant vehicles on the roads.

In addition, the overall fuel economy trends have essentially hit a plateau over the past 12+ years. Green Car Congress recently issued a report summarizing the most recent findings on the area. The most interesting take away from their research is that at a time when the automobile industry claims it is spending tremendous amounts of money on R&D into new fuel sources all research into gas powered engine efficiency seems to have stopped.

The release of many of the hybrid vehicles the attempts at creating fuel cell vehicles should be applauded, but these advances simply are not large enough, and they do not offer enough of a benefit to consumers. Most hybrid vehicles on the market today cost several thousand dollars more than their counterparts on the market. Even with the current high gas prices, it still takes regular driving for more than three years for consumers to begin to see any real benefit from ownership of a hybrid.

Given the additional cost of most hybrid vehicles, consumers have been reluctant to purchase these vehicles in real numbers. Not to mention, that the new mini-SUV hybrids, such as the Ford Escape, appear to offer only minimal fuel efficiency improvements under the driving conditions of many of their owners (e.g. less stop-n-go traffic).

Hydrogen power vehicles do hold the promise of a best case scenario, with zero pollutants and long distances between refills. Automotive companies promise that these vehicles will begin to be rolled out in the next five to ten years, and the State of California is hoping to have small numbers on their roads as early as 2007. However, industry experts do not believe that we will see significant volumes for much longer due to the lengthy time to build the refueling infrastructure, and that assumes that the safety concerns can be overcome.

Will hybrid vehicles be the way of the future? Will consumers be forced to live with a continuing of the current fuel efficiency technology?

Without a real catalyst, the market is likely to see more of the same until hydrogen vehicles hit the market. The drastic increase in gas prices recently may serve as such a spark to the market by pushing consumer demand, but this is unlikely. The restructuring of the CAFE standards have the possibility of accelerating innovation in fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, the government has not announced specifics for the proposed restructuring, and industry analysts expect the changes to only amount to a splitting of current categories with little overall impact.

The time has come for our politicians to drastically increase the CAFE requirements on new vehicles. The technology is available for at least a 10% to 20% increase in current standards. A significant increase in the standards would encourage the core parts of the industry to further increase funding in engine technologies and would offer a real opportunity for new technology firms.

Most consumers have never contacted their elected officials for anything more than contesting a local parking ticket. If you are feeling the “pinch at the gas pump”, please contact your congressmen/woman and encourage them to increase the CAFE standards and fuel efficiency requirements that automakers must follow (an email only takes 2 minutes, and a call only take 4 minutes - be sure to include your home address for you opinion to count). For those that work in mechanical engineering and technical fields, the opportunity exists for you to make your mark.

Please post back with links to advancements and technology available today. We are also interested in hearing about fuel efficiency projects currently underway.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Katrina Livestock and Animal Rescue!

Steve Spence

I got your contact info from one of the alt fuels groups I'm on...and wanted to know if you could help out several folks, including commercial livestock shippers and some farm owners, who are despirately trying to get supplies to folks and horses, pets, etc, OUT of the area. There are methods in place to help people, but not the animals, and some people won't leave their animals until help arrives to get their livestock and pets out. As a farm owner, I cannot imagine what they are going through!

Locals, the few with fuel, have helped by trucking horses to designated pick up spots, and I can get info on these locations to you.

I personally know those who have taken their rigs down to the areas to get these supplies in and the animals out, and they are doing this with their own limited $$ supply. They have stopped at a PetSmart that donated tons of feed and supplies, and one other feed store that supplied hay and horse feed...so loaded trucks are down there. They have said that their rigs are being damaged due to so many down power lines and trees.

Biodiesel for truck fuel would really help them out, so I'm trying to be a go-between here, as they are down there trucking in and out of cell phone range. We are talking about 3/4 and 1 ton trucks pulling gooseneck horse trailers, not big rigs as far as I know right now. They are trucking most horses to the upper south for temporary safe-keeping.

Please let me know ASAP if this is a possibility, or where these guys might be able to go and get some free fuel.

If you have any additional ideas concerning this issue, please let me know.

thanks,
Amanda B. Stewart
Tunnelton, WV
phone 304-282-2177

Beverage Can (aluminum) Hydrogen

OK, so, do you want to take the empties back to the store, or would you like to drive 3 miles to the can? Here is a guy who took an old science class idea, and is driving on almost free fuel. Add store bought red devil lye and some water to an aluminum beverage can, and you get hydrogen gas:

He's not disconnected the gasoline system quite yet, but he's working on it. Participate in his forums and help him develop this system.


According to Hydrogen Appliances:

A 20 lb. slab of aluminum has enough energy to power an electric car for over 500 miles.

1 gram of Al = 0.0370 moles
Each mole Al yields 3 moles of electrons.
0.0370 moles x 3 x 96500 C/mole = 10700 Coulombs
An Amp is a Coulomb per second, so one Amp flow would last 10700s.
10700 amp-s / 3600 s/hr =~ 3 Amp-Hours per gram of aluminum.
At 14g per beer can, that comes to about 42 Amp-Hrs per can!!!
At 2 volts, that's about 300 kJ per can! And you thought only the beer kicked butt !!! : )



The Fred McGalliard method of hydrogen production:

I like aluminum in sodium hydroxide solution. (That's a common form of drain cleaner.). This has the bad habit of getting very very hot and accelerating the production as it heats up. I think the vapor also tends to suck along some of the hydroxide, so you may want to clean and cool it before using it in a cell. This method uses the hydroxide to dissolve the aluminum hydroxide that is formed. The aluminum is actually burning the oxygen from the water in the cell. Hydrochloric acid (commonly sold as muratic acid at hardware stores) and zinc pellets is also a good chemical method, and I think it is not as hot as the hydroxide method. The hydrochloric acid method is amenable to adding acid from a funnel column to obtain a self regulating pressure source. Pressure drops, the weight of the column forces more acid in and increases the production rate.


- Green-Trust's Hydrogen pages -

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Award winning fuel cell kit!

Green-Trust offers this educational kit as a way to raise funds for Katrina Relief and to teach you about solar energy and hydrogen fuel cells:

Build your own hydrogen fuel cell with this kit. Assemble and Experiment with a Unique Reversible Fuel Cell Kit. This fuel cell kit provides a playful introduction to one of the most significant technologies of the 21st Century. With this kit you can build a model car that actually runs on water! Pour in the water and watch it separate into hydrogen and oxygen, forming a gas to power your vehicle across the floor. Fuel cells are one of the most promising means of producing energy in the future. Because they do not consume fossil fuels they are considered environmentally friendly.

The electricity required to activate electrolysis is created with a large solar cell included with the kit. During electrolysis, water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen and the resulting energy is stored as a gas. When needed, the gas is fed into the fuel cell, which then serves as the power source.

Kit contains:

Complete reversible fuel cell (hydrocycle system), Wire, Motor, Chassis, Axle, Gas collector, 4 Wheels, Solar panel with support, Syringe, Tube, Digital multimeter, Test tube, Protective goggles, Labels, Bag of small parts for fuel cell, Bag of small electronic parts, Comprehensive lab manual with 30 experiments and demonstrations

$150 (Free S&H Continental USA)
10% of sales goes to Katrina Relief Efforts





Email us for shipping to other areas.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

More fuel is coming

Administration to release up to 2 million barrels daily
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-six countries in an international energy consortium will release more than 60 million barrels of crude oil and gasoline to relieve the energy crunch caused by Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

As part of that effort, the Bush administration will release 30 million barrels of crude oil from U.S. reserves.

http://www.usatoday.com

In the mean time, interest in homegrown biofuels is at a new high. We have been getting many more inquiries on how to make biodiesel, requests for our biodiesel processor kits, veggie oil conversion kits, and our newly introduced ethanol conversion kits. ESSN magazine has new articles on making ethanol and biomethane. Drop us an email for more information.

Biodiesel advocates like Joshua Tickell and Girl Mark are helping with the relief efforts, as well as producers of kits and accessories.

Joshua says:
I am working with biodiesel suppliers in the Mid West as well as generator companies to bring a convoy of biodiesel-powered electricity generators and extra biodiesel fuel to hospitals and relief centers in Louisiana. While much of the fuel and services are being donated, the many relief centers can use as much as we can provide. For this reason, we have re-activated the Veggie Van Organization web site and its donation form. If you are compelled to help us in this effort, please donate through the web site. Donations will go toward the purchase of fuel, fuel transfer equipment, generator rentals and travel expenses. We will keep this web site up to date on our progress. We estimate the first biodiesel fuel will be hitting Louisiana within the next week.


Rick Boggan says:
OK Folks, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm donating a
portion of this months revenue to the Red Cross relief effort. I
challenge you to do the same. Katrina will be a boon to biodiesel,
please help those that were devistated by the disaster.

I challenge all of the biofuel businesses here that have benefited
from high fuel prices to donate a portion of your revenue to your
favorite relief charity and to encourage your customers to do the same!

For those that have already taken such action I applaud you!


Girl Mark says:

Hi Steve,
good blog , thank you.
there's an effort to bring some 2500 pounds of clothing from the Northwest to Houston for refugees that's being coordinated by Chris Goodwin of Frybrid Conversions- and we're having trouble finding affordable shipping for it- none of the shipping companies or charities can help. I've offered to drive it from California if it can be driven down here from Seattle. Also, there are a lot of housing offers for refugees here on the West Coast and I think an effort to drive clothing to Houston could take back refugees on the trip back (surely some of them have family here in California).

Could you add a link to this page to the blog entry you just wrote?:
http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1562&page=1&pp=10


Green Trust is donating 10% of our PV, WVO, and Biodiesel kit sales to Katrina Relief Efforts.

Real news from inside New Orleans, the real scoop as seen from an insider. Do not pass this link by, it's a day-by-day blog from ground zero.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/2005/08/27/

The city of New Orleans has been blasted by Hurricane Katrina, but the Times-Picayune has still continued to publish electronically... http://www.nola.com/


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