REAL alternatives to fossil fuels

Earlier this summer we reported on Dragon Fire, the event about alternatives to fossil fuels, in Llanberis, Wales. Here is an extract from The ‘Bio-power ’ presentation, by John Nicholson at Dragon Fire, to get us thinking!

Other forms of life get their energy from the digestion of plant matter - could we?

We are surrounded by stores of renewable energy, but we still rely upon almost entirely upon Fossil Fuels. Coal, Petrol, Diesel, Paraffin, Kerosene and LPG, they are all fossil fuels. We use them because they are presented to us as an easy and irresistible choice. But if we knew the real extent of the damage using these fuels causes to the future of life on earth as we know it, we would not use fossil fuels at all.

Out there, nature is busy storing energy from the sun. So why is all this energy needed? Because all living matter must survive. As soon as any material began to take up a simple form of life, it must be able to store energy in some way. Firstly, to survive the night, from receiving energy from the sun during the day to keep alive as the globe rotates through the cold darkness. Then, to survive the winter, a long period with relatively low energy levels. And finally, to survive from one generation to the next. Each new living entity must have enough energy to organize its self until it can meet its own energy needs directly from sunlight.

How does living matter store energy? Living material is built with, and stores energy as a form of chemistry known as hydrocarbons. These are a group of molecular structures unique to living material, which we think of as ‘organic chemistry’. Hydrocarbons can develop the vast number of permutations using the creative relationships between hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. It is carbon that makes this possible because it has four facets or arms with which it can connect to other atoms to form hydrocarbon chains. Plants collect and store the sun’s energy in hydrocarbon chains, by a process called Photosynthesis.

Other forms of life get their energy from the digestion of plant matter. Plants and animals are absolutely dependant upon each other. Without plants there would be no free oxygen in the atmosphere, and we animals could not survive. Without us animals there would be no carbon dioxide which plants need to create hydrocarbon chains to store energy. This process of storing energy is very efficient. Hydrocarbon chains are very stable, and can store energy for thousands of millions of years.

What is a hydrocarbon? It is a molecule consisting of a chain of carbon atoms, each of which holds on to two hydrogen atoms. Hydrocarbons chains can take many different forms, and therefore there is a wide variety of potential bio-fuels. The Bio- Diesel Molecule looks like this.

So how is all this energy stored? It can be stored in many forms of hydrocarbon chain, each of which has some advantage. Lipid fats – are found in seed oils. Sugars – are found in fruit and roots. Starch – is found in potatoes and root plants. Cellulose – is the basic structure of branches, trunks and leaves. All these materials are hydrocarbons, but they have different forms, for example Starch molecules are like coiled up springs.

There are many examples of materials that have a potential for use as non-fossil fuels. Acorns, Beetroot, Canola Oil, Dung and Excrement, Fat, Gut and offal.

Heather, Jatropha oil, Lawn mowings, Myscanthus, Nut shells, Olive oil & stones, Peanut oil, Palm oil and palm waste, Rapeseed oil, Soya bean oil, Sunflower Oil, Straw, Sewage, Timber, Vegetable Waste.

To be useful as a bio-fuel, the bio-feed stock must be readily available, cheap, stable and secure, and finally, non-toxic. Many potential materials are available now which serve no other useful purpose for example used cooking oil, non-food quality or out of date oil, tyres, wood chippings, and forest waste, nut shells and olive stones and abattoir waste.

The first Diesel Engine, designed and built by Rudolf Diesel ran on pure ground nut oil, not transesterified oil. If Diesel was around to-day he would be a front line environmentalist. He was very concerned about the soot grime and dirt of the industrial age, and he decided to make a clean engine to replace the use of steam boilers. His engine was much cleaner than coal fired steam boilers. It used renewable energy, and it was seen as a way to prevent the smog, soot and grime of the 19th century. But then the petrol chemical industry came. They made cheaper fossil fuels available. This is why we now have to face the problem of Climate Change and Global Warming. Now we have the task to put things back as they should be, only it is probably 100 years too late.

Bio-power’s primary aim is to make available REAL alternatives to fossil fuels. ‘Real’ means fuels that are competitively priced, easy to use, can be mixed with fossil fuels and can be used with minimal alteration to the engine.

This month you can also see our Transport 2000 feature where Steve Hounsham argues that we should reduce car use. He too looks at alternative fuels and puts another side of the argument. Read the article now www.grownupgreen.org.uk/features

Did you see our feature ‘Run My Car on Chip Fat?’ read it now in our library http://www.grownupgreen.org.uk/library

For more information about Bio-power go to http://www.bio-power.co.uk/
Or contact John Nicholson, Bio-power (UK) Ltd. Tanrallt, Rhostryfan, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL54 7NT 01286 830312

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John Nicholson - Bio-power - 01/11/04

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