Can heavy trucks run on 100% biodiesel?

Question

I know that heavy trucks only like 20-50% bio-blends. Is there any tuning you could do to have a bus or something run 100%bio?

Maybe an HHO hookup? Or what about adding kerosene?

Answer 1

Any diesel engine can run on 100% biodiesel provided there are no natural rubber seals or fuel lines.  Most use blends because there is not enough biodiesel produced to replace all the petro diesel for the fleets.  Kerosene can be mixed with diesel and often is for cold weather use.  I wouldn't want an HHO devise connected to any car or truck I own.  I wouldn't trust them not to cause engine damage.

Answer 2

diesel trucks like any diesel.  Its the owners that hate pure biodiesel because it turns to a solid when the outside temp drops below 40 F.  Then its off to the shop for a $1000 repair and no way to earn money.

Hydrogen feed into a diesel would be disasterous.

The big oil companies have a special way to make biodiesel cheaper than the companies that make it now.  But they won't use it because they would shutdown every biodiesel plant send 100's home without jobs.  the dem congress has told big oil to stay out of bio diesel which means we pay more for it.

Answer 3

If fleets start trying to run on 100% bio diesel we run out and have to switch back to regular diesel.

If there were an interest in using hydrogen it would likely be added during refining of high carbon fuel sources like Alberta tar sands or heavy Venezuelan. But, since we get most hydrogen from methane, it is most likely that we would use straight natural gas to lower its carbon content.

European diesels have been running with CNG on a carburator  with diesel serving as ignition and extra power source. With CNG they are getting combustion all over the chamber as soon as the injector fires allowing for greater power as well as lower cost. The lower cost comes from competitive Russian natural gas.  

Answer 4

I know some prototypes are using reg. diesel fuel to start and then switching to biodiesel for running. 3/4 ton pickups can run straight bio

Answer 5

I currently run Bio Fuel (straight vegetable) in a 1999 Dodge 3500 truck. But all Cummins engines were modified from the factory to run on BioD since around 1992 without any modification.

Biofuel is recognized by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy as an alternative fuel, and qualifies for mandated programs under the Clean Air Act Amendments and the Environmental Protection Act of 1992 (EPAct).

USDA Clears Air with Biofuel: Buses and other diesel-burning vehicles run cleaner if they mix biofuel with regular diesel fuel, said the US Department of Agriculture at a biofuel fuel seminar at a USDA research center.

Conversely most major automotive manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, etc) recommend the use of bio fuels, and nearly every car manufacturer in the world approves ethanol blends in their warranty coverage.

In fact your probably even driving an ethanol car and didn't even know it.

The trick is finding fuel.

I've been producing biofuel for about 3 years now, it's not extremely difficult. Basically you need general household ingredients, a processor (or still for ethanol) and some used oil. Blend it, let separate, screen and use. I complied a guide a while back to help walk you threw the process step by step, just email me or check out..

http://www.agua-luna.com/guides.html

• 1 liter of new vegetable oil, whatever the supermarket sells as cooking oil

• 200 ml of methanol, 99+% pure

• lye catalyst -- either potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH)

• blender or mini-processor

• scales accurate to 0.1 grams, preferably less -- 0.01 grams is best

• measuring beakers for methanol and oil

• half-liter translucent white HDPE (#2 plastic) container with bung and s***w-on cap

• 2 funnels to fit the HDPE container

• 2-litre PET bottle (water or soft-drinks bottle) for settling

• two 2-litre PET bottles for washing

• duct tape

• thermometer

Use the "Methoxide the easy way" method -- it's also the safe way. Here's how to do it.

Measure out 200 ml of methanol and pour it into the half-liter HDPE container via the funnel. Methanol also absorbs water from the atmosphere so do it quickly and replace the lid of the methanol container tightly. Don't be too frightened of methanol, if you're working at ordinary room temperature and you keep it at arm's length you won't be exposed to dangerous fumes.

Carefully add the lye to the HDPE container via the second funnel. Replace the bung and the s***w on the cap tightly.

Shake the container a few times -- swirl it round rather than shaking it up and down. The mixture gets hot from the reaction. If you swirl it thoroughly for a minute or so five or six times over a period of time the lye will completely dissolve in the methanol, forming sodium methoxide or potassium methoxide. As soon as the liquid is clear with no undissolved particles you can begin the process.

The more you swirl the container the faster the lye will dissolve. With NaOH it can take from overnight to a few hours to as little as half-an-hour with lots of swirling (but don't be impatient, wait for ALL the lye to dissolve). Mixing KOH is much faster, it dissolves in the methanol more easily than NaOH and can be ready for use in 10 minutes.

Using a blender. Use a spare blender you don't need or get a cheap secondhand one -- cheap because it might not last very long, but it will get you going until you build something better.

Check that the blender seals are in good order. Make sure all parts of the blender are clean and dry and that the blender components are tightly fitted.

Pre-heat the oil to 55 deg C (130 deg F) and pour it into the blender.

With the blender still switched off, carefully pour the prepared methoxide from the HDPE container into the oil.

Secure the blender lid tightly and switch on. Lower speeds should be enough. Blend for at least 20 minutes.

Using a mini-processor. Follow the instructions below and improvise where necessary -- there are many ways of building a processor like this.

Proceed with processing as above, maintain temperature at 55 deg C (130 deg F), process for one hour.

www AGUA-LUNA com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

Answer 6

Yes you can

Research Biobutanol - It's actually got a higher BTU and octane rating than regular petroleum.

You can easily start up on biodiesel, and switch to straight veg oil when warm. Run everything hotter - use neat coolant without water, and add a water mist injection system - this will effectively steam-clean your cylinders removing carbon deposits.

Answer 7

Diesel engines were originally designed to run on peanut oil with a chain length of about 16 carbon atoms.   Modern diesel fuel is actually a refinery waste product with an average chain length of  about 13 carbon atoms, that's why it used to be so cheap.   Diesel prices have gone up now that low sulfur content has been mandated due to the Germans now having the catalytic converter technology to scrub sulfur from the exhaust thereby allowing them to sell diesel cars in North America by the old rules and the only way for US auto makers to compete was by removing the sulfur before it got to the cars.   The average chain length by using Sodium Hydroxide (commonly known as lye or drain cleaner) which reacts with oils to form soaps and glycerins.   Rather than use enough lye to reduce all the oils to soap, just enough is added that enough chains are broken so that the average length is about 13 atoms, the soap and glycerin sink to the bottom and can be separated out.   If you take the appropriate measures to reduce the chain length and to remove the resulting soap/glycerins then you can use 100% bio-diesel.   A blend allows you to not worry about the chain length as much and hence forgo much of the preprocessing required for modern diesel engines.

If you get the mix wrong, such as running a modern engine with 100% vegetable oil without reducing the chain length, the cylinders will get clogged with plastic over time as the high heat and pressures cause the larger chains to grow into ever larger polymers.   The idea behind adding kerosene or ethanol is to bring the average chain length down but those long chains are still out there, it's better to use the lye to cut down the chains so that the amount of long chain hydrocarbons have been reduced.   That's also the problem with used cooking oil which has as chain lengths as long as 30 atoms, even using lye on used cooking oil results in more of the troublesome long chains than using lye on fresh vegetable oil.

Answer 8

After reading everyone elses answers, it seems there's only two problems.

Replacing all of the natural rubber parts in contact with the bio-diesel (easy fix)

The other problem is freezing. This could be solved by pre-heating the fuel in the tank with an element. This shouldn't be much of a fire hazzard either as it's not so volitial and heating can be done in a controlled manner with the use of thermometer and cut off switches.

Answer 9

government-dictated preference for corn-based ethanol and other biofuels is causing massive land overuse, soaring food prices, and increased hunger in the poorest places