Some ... and I point out some ...  Cincinnati area biodiesel oriented folks might appreciate a new "hot-button documentary" written, produced and co-directed by Scott D. Roberts call "Gas Hole." Its playing in Cincinnati's Esquire Theatre on July 16th at 7:30 and 9:00pm. If you are of the 'alternative' to gasoline type and enjoy a hard look at the history of oil prices, the politics of petroleum and the future for alternatives ... this might be something of interest. For more information visit their web site - www.gasholemovie.com

Synopsis

Here's some good news passed on by way of the ColumbusTDIDrivers Yahoo list.

The Wall Street Journal blog posted an article which moves closer to the quest of making biodiesel from algae which meets fuel standards. We are one step closer to a fuel alternative that doesn't require food and traditional farmland to produce base oils for biodiesel production.

Columbus area buses have been using soy based biodiesel for the past couple of years but due to the high cost have decided to operate only on ULSD according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Instead, the fleet will operate strictly on ultralow-sulfur diesel.

"It's an economic, as well as environmental, decision," said William Lhota, Central Ohio Transit Authority president and chief executive officer.

Earthrace, an attempt to round the world in record time on biodiesel fuel, is halfway across the Pacific Ocean and is now 700 or so miles west of Majuro in the Marshall Islands. They arrived on one engine and departed 4 hours later back on two.

After leaving San Diego the crew and ‘unique’ boat made a quick stop in Hawaii to exchange crew, pick up food and refuel, but a couple days out experienced a high pressure injector line leak which sprayed a mist of biodiesel fuel throughout the engine room. The engine was shut down and speeds reduced to 15 knots as there were no spare parts onboard for this particular leaking pipe. There was talk of making repairs with JB Weld, but injection pressures for this high tech Cummins diesel are 35,000 psi — that’s asking a lot from epoxy!

With Maria 'Mark' Alovert, author, Biodiesel Homebrew Guide and co-founder of BiodieselCommunity.org. Class is held at Washington State Community College Auto/Diesel Truck Systems department, room 121.  Cost is $120, no one turned away for lack of funds.

 Biodiesel fuel, which runs in any diesel engine and some heating equipment, can be made in your backyard or garage for under $1 a gallon with common ingredients, using very inexpensive equipment. Relatively little chemistry knowledge is needed to produce quality fuel that will run

 I’ve posted a few times before about different renewable oil crops used produce biofuels and have concluded that the most promising is algae grown to product biodiesel. (here’s an excellent PDF document) The desert cement pond approach has been my thinking all along, although several innovative companies are working on even better ideas. The efficiency in which algae grows and the non-competitive nature of algae for food makes it nearly ideal.

It's not automotive, but it might just be the future of aviation fuel and biodiesel. With an estimated 18% of greenhouse gases coming from the airline industry, using a better fuel make sense ... and when its produced from algae its even better!