Most Efficient, Low Cost Energy Storage

[metalman]

Hyperspeed wrote:
Another novel new idea that has come to light lately is the fact that diesel engines will happily run off cooking oil. A simple modification means the fuel source won't line your cylinders with crispy bits from the fryer and some companies even offer dual-fuel option (the cooking oil goes in the boot/trunk and you can switch from the dashboard between Flora/Esso).

 :idea: New Idea!?

Rudolf Diesel, invented the diesel cycle engine in 1892.  Diesel demonstrated it in the 1900 World's Fair, running on peanut oil.

Bio-diesel refers to any petroleum diesel-equivalent biofuel REFINED from vegetable oils or animal fats. Biodiesel can be mixed with petroleum diesel in any amount in modern diesel engines. Bio-Diesels have higher viscosity and a higher gel point than petrodiesel.

Unrefined vegetable oils require fuel pre-heaters and other engine modifications. Using UNREFINED vegetable oils in a standard diesel engine will result in carbonized injectors, engine damage, and fuel pump failure.

[metalman]

Hyperspeed wrote:
So why are we lining up at gas stations making the Saudi sheiks and the Texas cowboys rich when we could be filling subsidized and unused farmland with sunflowers and peanuts?

Some genetic engineering to develop a plant that produces Biodiesel directly would result in US farmers switching from food crops to producing oil. Would result in the US no longer exporting food!

Hyperspeed wrote:
I'm not quite sure of the legality of running a car in the UK on sunflower oil but I've heard of one guy who got permission to pay excise duty and he got around it. He wasn't filtering his oil at all because he said the engine would probably die before it clogged with whatever (buy an old diesel folks and run it to death!).

Vegetable oil requires Transesterification to become biodiesel

A homebrew method to produce Biodiesel

Straight vegetable oil requires engine modifications or engine life is very limited.

Hyperspeed wrote:
Surely solar panels could be made to be more efficient if the energy was somehow directed into a flywheel so as the car is moving it only needs a trickle charge, a bit like a dog will eat it's food as you're still pouring the biscuits!

:-)

The power you can get from a solar collector is:
P (Watts) = efficiency x solar intensity (w/m sq) x area of collector (m sq)

US average 200(W/m sq)

Solar Cells are 15% efficient at best

converting energy from one form to another is at best 85% efficient

its the physics that make it impractical