Comment Re:NaOH is a reactant not a catalyst (Score 1) 369
one of the parts is getting the raw materials Agreed, but if the demand for biodeisel spiked, the market would respond. I hear this argument a lot, and simply can't accept it as a long term problem that would require some kind of major effort to overcome. Also, as you said, 10% would be a big help. That would be something like half a million barrels of oil A DAY just for the US (or maybe I have the number wrong in my head and that would be world wide [500 million barrels/day is the number I remember]). Either way, holy cow!
another is getting oil companies to adopt it I really couldn't care less, and neither should you. The oil companies are dinoaurs (pardon the pun), and they know it. They have known it for years, we have just (foolishly?) allowed them their delusions because there wasn't anything 'better'. If we as consumers demand biodeisel, some smart entrepeneur will sell it and will make billions if sold properly. The popularity of hybrid cars is proof positive that people are sick of OPEC and their ilk. Furthermore, consider the trucking industry. Have you seen what they are paying for normal diesel right now? A single semi truck uses hundreds of gallons a day...
most people .... don't seem to like diesel engines I don't agree with this, but you are correct on the surface. If people can be made to watch (and enjoy) shows like "American Idol" or "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", then they can also be made to understand that diesel cars are far better, faster, and shinier now than even five years ago. I would like to think people are smarter than that, but sadly most are not, so run a bunch of commercials during American Idiot showing Audi's diesel powered concept race car that will be running LeMans this year zooming past a gas pump and I bet my next paycheck the phones would be ringing off the hook. Diesel has gotten a bad rap over the years, but its starting to come into its own, and the average family in this country is desperate for an (economic) alterantive to gasoline.
The simple fact of the matter is, it all comes down to cost. If this guy can produce biodiesel on the cheap, and no one adopts it, I will lose the last shred of hope I have in humanity.
another is getting oil companies to adopt it I really couldn't care less, and neither should you. The oil companies are dinoaurs (pardon the pun), and they know it. They have known it for years, we have just (foolishly?) allowed them their delusions because there wasn't anything 'better'. If we as consumers demand biodeisel, some smart entrepeneur will sell it and will make billions if sold properly. The popularity of hybrid cars is proof positive that people are sick of OPEC and their ilk. Furthermore, consider the trucking industry. Have you seen what they are paying for normal diesel right now? A single semi truck uses hundreds of gallons a day...
most people
The simple fact of the matter is, it all comes down to cost. If this guy can produce biodiesel on the cheap, and no one adopts it, I will lose the last shred of hope I have in humanity.
