In an attempt to reduce the Navy's dependence on petroleum, engineers designed and built an experimental craft that runs on a blend of 50 per cent diesel and 50 per cent algae-based fuel.Ummmm ... biodiesel isn't really that new or transformational. Dude in town runs his Dodge on cook'n grease from a fish camp. Hush Puppy smell all up and down the street.
The 49-foot command boat, which is intended for use in rivers and marshes, was tested at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, reaching a speed of 44.5 knots.
So, OK - interesting fun and all, but .... don't get all that excited.
8 comments:
3-4 years ago, a local talk show host spent a few grand converting his truck to run on biodiesel. The best part was that he got it free from some local fast food places. He was so impressed he talked about it incessantly, and even put up pictures on his web page. In short order, several other people did the same conversion, leading to a shortage of raw materials. In fact, the restaurants started to charge for it, and the price quickly rose above that of regular diesel. Ain't supply and demand wonderful?!
<span>"Hush Puppy smell all up and down the street." Hahaha!!! Well played, sir!</span>
Gonna be a whole lot of hush puppies gettin' fried at the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party the next couple of days :)
The real problem lies in the current inability to produce fuel from algae in commercially viable quantities. There are several early stage technologies out there that show some promise. Algae needs light to grow and produce the petroleum. Currently, this occurs in large flat trays. The trick is to create a reactor that provides enough light and surface area for the algae to be commercially viable. A lot of this technology is batch produced (not in 250,000 bbl quantities as is the norm at most refineries), but in smaller less efficient quantites. With Mrs. O's war on obiesity (she could start at home) and the transfat cops starting to rear their ugly heads, the supply of good quality cooking grease should dwindle. The choice comes down to donuts, hush puppies and fuel or...ther is no choice; bring on the fired stuff.
You'll appreciate the money quote from George Will in a recent Newsweek article:
"So: There is ethanol promoted by government, which need not turn a profit. There is algae research by Exxon-Mobil, which does need to. Which do you think is most apt to serve the nation’s needs?"
How does this fuel effect the maintenance and duty cycle of those engines?
...and as soon as the state found out about all the road fuel taxes he was avoiding by using waste grease, they hit him with a big fat excise tax bill plus penalties, no doubt.
"Reporting aboard the USS McNugget!"
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