09-22-2014, 08:22 PM
One solution to the problem of peak oil is to use a much more common fossil fuel - coal - as feedstock for liquid fuel production. We already know how to do this!
Another possible source of liquid fuels, although probably a minor one, is conversion of waste fats and oils to diesel fuel. Which is actually quite easy; although eventually problems such as clogged injector ports crop up, it's quite possible to merely run used frying oil through a filter and pour the stuff into your vehicle's tank. Apparently, the problems caused by using biological oils such as this can be prevented by simply filling up with "proper" diesel once in a while.
It seems that the main problem with using fuel derived from waste oils is a legal one. In the UK, one can be prosecuted for fuel duty evasion if one is caught running a vehicle on used chip fat. Unfortunately, the use of such oils is easily detectable by smell, even by humans. The characteristic acrid smell of partially burnt diesel is replaced by a smell reminiscent of a chip shop.
I don't know how many others thought of this, but the story in the news of the discovery and removal of a "fatberg" weighing several tons from a London sewer made me think of how much potential energy was being wasted by simply throwing it away.
Another possible source of liquid fuels, although probably a minor one, is conversion of waste fats and oils to diesel fuel. Which is actually quite easy; although eventually problems such as clogged injector ports crop up, it's quite possible to merely run used frying oil through a filter and pour the stuff into your vehicle's tank. Apparently, the problems caused by using biological oils such as this can be prevented by simply filling up with "proper" diesel once in a while.
It seems that the main problem with using fuel derived from waste oils is a legal one. In the UK, one can be prosecuted for fuel duty evasion if one is caught running a vehicle on used chip fat. Unfortunately, the use of such oils is easily detectable by smell, even by humans. The characteristic acrid smell of partially burnt diesel is replaced by a smell reminiscent of a chip shop.
I don't know how many others thought of this, but the story in the news of the discovery and removal of a "fatberg" weighing several tons from a London sewer made me think of how much potential energy was being wasted by simply throwing it away.