CCRES BIODIESEL

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 

(CCRES)

Biodiesel

The Popular Biofuel

The fuels obtained from biomass materials, like the waste generated by plants, animals and humans beings, are called as the biofuels. The biofuels are well known alternative fuels used for the production of heat and electricity and also driving the vehicles. The biomass is considered to be a type of renewable sources of energy since it is available in unlimited quantity and will continue to do so for unlimited period of time. One of the most popular types of biofuels is biodiesel.

Biodiesel is obtained from the fresh or used vegetable oil and animal fats by the process called transesterification. Efforts are being made to obtain biodiesel from waste grease and oils. The modern methods have been discovered to obtain biodiesel from algae as well.

Early Diesel Engine and Biodiesel

Rudolph Diesel had invented diesel engine in the period dating back to 1890. Though the present diesel engine is being run entirely on petroleum diesel fuel, in the days of invention itself Rudolph had envisioned that his engine could be powered by vegetable oil and could be used in the remote areas of farmlands where petroleum diesel is not available, but where the vegetable oil can be obtained easily from the plants. This way the farmers would be able to run the vehicles used by them for farming by using the vegetable oil. Rudolph had carried out extensive research to run his engine on vegetable oil.

In fact biodiesel was one of the earliest fuels used for running the engines of the automobiles.

After Rudolphs death in 1913, the gasoline including diesel became much cheaper so the design of Rudolphs engine was modified so that it can run on petroleum diesel. It is indeed interesting to know that after almost 100 years, the engine developed by Rudolph is now being run on the same fuel i.e. biodiesel made from vegetable oil, as per its original vision.

Biodiesel used for Running Vehicles

As mentioned earlier, the original diesel engine was designed to run on biodiesel or vegetable oil. For all the vehicles manufactured after the year 1993 biodiesel can be used as the fuel in all diesel engines without making any changes in the fuel injection system. When one uses the biodiesel there may be very little or no change in the performance of the engine.

The properties of biodiesel are very similar to traditional diesel obtained from the crude oil. While the combustion of traditional diesel produces lots of air pollution and toxic gases, the burning of biodiesel is clean and it does not cause any environmental pollution.

Biodiesel can be used as the fuel for automobiles in the pure form or it can be mixed with petroleum diesel in various proportions to form the blends. The two most commonly used blends of biodiesel are B20 and B100. B20 is the blend of 20% of biodiesel and remaining percentage of petroleum diesel and is the most widely used blend in US. It also meets all the regulations under the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) documented in 1992. Most of the other fuel blends containing lesser than 20% of biodiesel can also used for the running the vehicles. B100 is the pure form of biodiesel and it can be used in the diesel engines only after making certain changes in the hosesand gaskets of the engine.

Controversies Related to Biodiesel

Now that biodiesel is being blended with petroleum diesel and is being used as the fuel, its demand is fast increasing. A number of farmers are tempted to grow the crops that would yield biodiesel at the cost of the food crops. Instead of using the fertilizers, pesticides and energy for the food crops, farmers are using them for the biodiesel crops. This leads to not only the misuse of the limited resources but also shortage of the food crops.

In some parts of the world large areas of forests have been cut down to grow sugarcane for ethanol and soybeans and palm-oil tress for making biodiesel. US government is making efforts to make sure the farming for biomass materials does not competes with the farming of food crops and that the farming of biomass would require lesser fertilizers and pesticides. A number of other sources for biodiesel are also being explored like used oils and greases and algae.

Benefits of Biodiesel

Here are some of the benefits of using biodiesel as a fuel:

1) Biodiesel can be easily blended with petroleum diesel and the mixture can be readily used for running the vehicles without carrying out any changes in the engine.

2) Though the properties of biodiesel are same as the petroleum diesel, the combustion of biodiesel produces no greenhouse and other gases that would harm the environment.

As the proportion of biodiesel increases in the petroleum diesel blend, its tendency to generate pollution reduces.

3) Biodiesel is made from plant oil and vegetable fats, which are biodegradable, so they can be easily disposed of. When biodiesel is leaked or split it does not harm the environment.

4) The country manufacturing and using biodiesel is less dependent on other countries for their fuel requirements. Biodiesel has the potential to make countries self-reliant for their future fuel requirements. Further, since biodiesel is obtained from the renewable source of energy, it could be considered an important fuel for future planning.

CCRES 

special thanks to   

Escapeartist, Inc

 CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 

(CCRES)

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Aquaculture Cage Culture

An instructional video about fish farming.

 The program covers the recommended practices and guidelines for starting a successful cage culture operation. The video was supported by Purdue Extension, RMA, & Sea Grant Illinois-Indiana.

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CCRES SOLAR ENERGY

CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 

(CCRES)

  Solar Energy 

Sun has been producing energy in the form of radiations since billions of years without taking any rest. The energy obtained from radiations of the sun is called as solar energy. We know plants absorb energy from the sun by the process called photosynthesis. The humans beings and animals eat plants, thus directly or indirectly all the plants, animals and human beings are dependent on the sun. Human beings have learned to extract the energy from solar radiations and use it for various purposes.

Solar energy can be converted into heat and electricity. The British astronomer John Herschel is considered to be the first person in modern days to utilize solar energy. In the period of 1830s, on his expedition to Africa, he used solar energy to cook food. Since then there have been lots of developments in the field of solar energy.

The importance of solar energy has been understood since ages. Considering the fact that human life is crucially dependent on the energy emitted by sun, sun is considered to be the God in many religions. In Hindu mythology Sun God is considered to be the sources of energy and wisdom, which is always on the move to spread its energies and knowledge. The main deity in Egyptian mythology is sun god named Ra, who was also the first king. In Greek mythology, Helios is considered to be the sun god, who moves on the chariot throughout the world to illuminate it and spread the knowledge. Sun is also important part of many other mythologies and religions.

In which Places is Solar Energy most abundant?

Solar energy is the most promising energy with the potential for meeting all our future energy requirements. The main benefit of the solar energy is that it is available in all parts of the world. The quantity of solar energy is so huge that it is capable of providing many times the energy currently demanded throughout the world. Solar energy is being used for number of applications in countries like US, China, India, and many others.

The only problem with solar energy is that it is not available uniformly during all the hours of the day and all the days of the year. However, when supplemented with the other energies like thermal, and hydroelectric, solar energy can effectively meet our long-term requirements with little dependence on fossil fuels.

Applications of Solar Energy

Some of the common applications of solar energy are:

1) Solar water heaters: The solar water heaters comprise of the solar collectors that absorb solar energy which is use to heat water. The hot water can be used for various domestic and industrial purposes, in bathrooms, homes and swimming pools.

2) Producing heating effect: The solar energy can also be used for heating of the rooms during winter seasons.

3) Cooking food: Cooking food is one of earliest applications of the solar energy. Solar cookers are available in different shapes and sizes with different types of solar collectors. The most commonly used type of solar cooker consists of box inside which the raw food to be cooked it kept. At the top there is a reflective mirror on which the solar rays are directed. The solar rays get reflected on the utensil in which the food is kept. Due to concentrated solar rays, the food gets heated and cooked.

4) Photovoltaic (PV) cells: PV cells are the devices that convert solar energy directly into electricity, which can be used for running of number of appliances like calculators, mobiles, lanterns, street lights etc. The electricity generated from the PV cells can be stored in battery, which can be utilized for lighting the home and also running the cars. In the solar power plants large numbers of solar panels are spread over big area spread across several acres. The solar energy collected by the panels is transmitted to the PV cells that convert it into electricity.

5) Solar thermal power plants: The working of solar power plants is similar to thermal power plants. In these plants instead of coal, solar energy is used to convert water into steam, which drives the turbines that eventually produce electricity. At the end of 2008 there were nine solar thermal power plants operating in US.

Benefits and Limitations of Solar Energy

There are number of benefits of solar energy including:

1) Solar energy is available abundantly and free of cost in many parts of the world.

2) Solar energy is considered to be clean and green energy since it does not produce any environmental pollution like carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

3) The equipment required to collect solar energy can be kept at suitable locations in the campus of the building without affecting its aesthetics or surrounding atmosphere.

However, there are some limitations to solar power most notably:

1) The solar energy is not available in uniform quantity. The intensity of solar radiations changes during different hours of day and various days of the year, different climatic conditions and at different locations of the place. At times large amount of energy may be available, but at other times the available energy may be insufficient to meet the demands.

2) Large solar collectors are required to collect the solar energy of required quantity, which occupy large space inside the building.

CCRES 

special thanks to   

Escapeartist, Inc

 CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 

(CCRES)

Read more