[TheForge] OT biodiesel

[Ries Niemi]

I gotta say, I am suspicious of this whole biodiesel thing-
As far as french fry oil, I cant imagine there is enough used cooking 
oil in the average town to supply 1/100th of a percent of the current 
diesel fuel consumption.
So for a few guys who feel like spending lots of time instead of money, 
french fry oil will work- but it sure isnt a solution to oil 
consumption.

And from what I have read, at current prices, it costs more to make 
biodiesel from plant material like corn than it does to buy diesel fuel 
from refineries.
There are only two reasons so many biodiesel refining plants are being 
built- government subsidies, which means we all pay extra so some 
farmers can burn more diesel to farm, and scams- it seems there is a 
company in Minnesota that develops and builds biodiesel refining 
plants-- using NONE of their own money- they go into a town, convince 
all the local farmers to mortgage their farms and houses to become 
"investors" in this big growth industry, then they pay themselves to 
build and manage what are money losing businesses. Once a critical mass 
of farmers and locals have their futures tied up in these plants, they 
start to lobby the state government to REQUIRE biodiesel for many state 
vehicles, give it tax breaks, etc.
There are currently something like 50 of these plants either built or 
under construction in the midwest, and not a single one of them was 
built by big business- kinda makes you think somebody knows something. 
Well, I heard Archer Daniels Midland did build one or two, but totally 
paid for by government grants- none of their own money on the line.

If all the gas and oil was used up, then biodiesel would make sense as 
an alternative, but right now, there is a lot of smoke and mirrors 
around this one- its kind of like the 150mpg carburetors.

ries