I'm on my way out the door, but when I get to work, I'll post in more detail. 
My immediate thought: Most biodiesel makers use a BASE (either KOH or NaOH) to covert fatty acids (oil) to esters (methyl esters=biodiesel when methanol is added to esters). This article (which I haven't actually read in its entirity yet), seems to only pertain to the few who use an acid+base process, which is more expensive, but only necessary when you're using really really crappy oil (usually oil that has been used far too long by the restaurant).
I never deal with any acids as catalysts for making my biodiesel. I'll add more in a bit...
Okay, this may be a little cooler than I originally thought. Using an acid+base method is essentially full-proof because a titration is not needed to determine the free fatty acid content of the original oil.
However, I'm not sure how much cost savings there would be, since using a base catalyst (KOH or NaOH) is still absolutely necessary.
Seems to me that the real savings would only be in time and hassle since the titration process is probably the most difficult (and easiest to mess up) step in the process. The article is vague on how this new "sugar acid" process works, so I'll need to look into it more.
Thanks for your input... For those of you not familiar with Ryan's biodiesel experiments (which have been largely successful), go check out his posts at The Higher Pie...
This from a commenter at the Infopop Biodiesel Forum:
"The catalyst which you describe here is actually based on an article which was recently published (Nature magazine)by Japanese researchers. They partially decomposed glucose in an oxygen-free atmosphere and afterwards treated it with sulphuric acid. The result is an acid (lewis acid) which is insoluble in water, just like zeolites are. They proved it could catalyze the esterification of oleic acid but they have NOT made tests regarding transesterification reactions. And obviously they havenīt tested if it can produce biodiesel from WVO. There are currently many catalysts used in the industry and many are currently acid and highly efficient (some zeolites for example)."
In other words, like I said above, it only works (so far) for the acid stage of the process (esterfication) but not for the transertification stage, which is where biodiesel is actually made. Still need a base, still need to pay for that base, and if you want to do an acid stage, which not many of us have a need to do, you still have to pay for and use an acid, even if that acid is this cheaper sugar.
But to put it in perspective, it costs me $.74/gallon to make biodiesel. The cost isn't really the problem. The problem with biodiesel is its energy intensivity, both in human labor terms (me spending weekends almost entirely in my garage) and in terms of the heat needed to make it.
Interesting stuff.
neat japanese tech!
a few questions... don't you no longer need a catalyst when using a SVO pre-heater? (i agree a weekend mixing lye and methanol is not a fun weekend)
and is this the way we go? of will there be more work happening with the cool stuff, like biodiesel from algae (who suck 90% of the CO2 out of coalfired electricicty plants)... and stuff like the algae's cousins who now turn into Hydrogen? ...cause i love using waste-oil but would be even happier using waste-emissions
Sorry it took me a while to get back to you.
Yes, when using SVO there is no need for a catalyst. You're just using "Straight Veggie Oil" with no modifications to the oil (you have to modify the car instead).
There's been a ton of talk and hope about using algae to mass produce "algae oil". If it ever happens, that would be a major step forward for biofuels (since it would make it much more possible to mass produce biofuel in an environmentally friendly way). I hadn't heard of the hydrogen algae before. That's some interesting stuff.
yeh i'm a big fan of the Algaes...
(and SVO, but thats more a DIY activistic thing...)
the main algae guy is Dr. John Sheehan from the NREL. A sweetheart of a guy if ever there was one...
i'm goping to have to troll around for a little bit Ryan, but will get back to you on this: see NREL sold the technology (incl. genetc hgh lipd algae) a fe wyears ago-- and I am pretty sure its a company in Boston who is commercializing it.... will get u that info, promise!
ok-- never underestimate the power of an obsessive-- what was that like 2 minutes?
ANYWAY-- yes! it is in Boston. The guy who owns it is 37 year old Issac Berzin and the company is called GreenFuel Technologies
....am now going to now have to rush out and write something about it on my blog before it gets out there in everyone elses heh heh.....
only thing.. they must be doing some thing diofferent then Sheehan was doing, cause they only seem to suck up 40% of the CO2, and when NREL ws doing it (in, of all places, Roswell NM, perfect for green slimy creatures!)they hit 90%
still pretty fly if you ask me!
Slightly OT, but have you guys seen this article:
Forests paying the price for biofuels
22 November 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Fred Pearce
THE drive for "green energy" in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests. From the orang-utan reserves of Borneo to the Brazilian Amazon, virgin forest is being razed to grow palm oil and soybeans to fuel cars and power stations in Europe and North America. And surging prices are likely to accelerate the destruction
The rush to make energy from vegetable oils is being driven in part by European Union laws requiring conventional fuels to be blended with biofuels, and by subsidies equivalent to 20 pence a litre. Last week, the British government announced a target for biofuels to make up 5 per cent of transport fuels by 2010. The aim is to help meet Kyoto protocol targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
Rising demand for green energy has led to a surge in the international price of palm oil, with potentially damaging consequences. "The expansion of palm oil production is one of the leading causes of rainforest destruction in south-east Asia. It is one of the most environmentally damaging commodities on the planet," says Simon Counsell, director of the UK-based Rainforest Foundation. "Once again it appears we are trying to solve our environmental problems by dumping them in developing countries, where they have devastating effects on local people."
continues at:
http://www.newscientist.com/
arti...=mg18825265.400
What about industrial hemp as a feed source for industrial biodiesel?
Using SVO as the direct fuel without the proper treatment.
It is a big damage for the life cycle of all engines.
We must consider the bottom line wht will be the balance .
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