fuel

700 KM on 4 Liters of Fuel?

- Adam Clare

Yes it is possible, FactCheck.org says so:
Can a freight train really move a ton of freight 436 miles on a gallon of fuel?

Yes.

Some rail lines do better. The Soo Line, which is the U.S. branch of the Canadian Pacific, operating in the upper Midwest, reported moving each ton of freight 517.8 miles per gallon of diesel fuel, on average. Lines operated by the Grand Trunk Corp. reported 510.5 ton-miles per gallon.

The national average figure of 436 miles is the highest on record, according to AAR, and a 3.1 percent increase from the 423-mile figure reached in 2006.

The rail industry says its fuel efficiency has increased by 85 percent since 1980. It attributes that to factors that include using new and more efficient locomotives, training engineers to conserve fuel, using computers to assemble trains more efficiently in the yard and to plan trips more efficiently to avoid congestion, and reducing the amount of time engines are idling.

Amazing Algae Aviation Fuel

- Adam Clare
algae
algae

There has been a lot of interest into using algae as a fuel before, and recently we on Things Are Good we saw that algae can be used for nearly any engine. The aviation industry is no different when it comes to celebrating algae as they are looking into mixing kerosene with algae.

According to the ASU researchers, their kerosene provides a competitive advantage because it eliminates an expensive thermal cracking process which is necessary for traditional kerosene production.

The new algae kerosene fuel is compatible with jet planes when mixed with a small amount of fuel additives.

And with the increasing speed of new developments in algae fuel, we may all be driving around in algae-powered cars and flying algae-powered planes within the next few decades.

Algae Good For Most Strokes

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Algae is freaking awesome! Here’s more information on the goo of goodness: it can be used as fuel for nearly any engine.

I’m utterly convinced that if we heavily funded algae research we could create amazing fuels, clean the air, and basically save the world.

ome oils created by algae might be appropriate for fueling a motor vehicle; another might be more suited for home heating oil; and yet another might be the right type to power an airplane. While we’re at it, some algae oils might also provide useful for other products, in the same vein that omega 3 fatty acids make fish such a popular and healthy product.

In fact algae’s are quickly turning into the star of the biofuel world. It does not require masses of farmland to produce, and can use wastewater instead of diverting freshwater. And with fuel prices skyrocketing, water availability a real and present issue, and the loss of farmland for these products a concern, algae comes out on top in all categories.

And though it could take 10 to 25 years before algae-based biofuel is readily available to the public, the possibilities are huge. Erick Rabins, vice president of Allied Minds, based in Quincy, Mass, and interim manager of the startup company between Allied Minds and UW, says that “The most optimistic assessment that I’ve heard is that it could be six to eight years before there’s something that’s useable, but the tools and techniques to make it possible are being created right now.”

Algae Goo FTW

- Adam Clare

*FTW = For The Win

Algae, the best goo on the planet, continues to capture the minds of people who want to transition away from oil. Entering the fray recently is a company from San Diego that promises to make algae a replacement for diesel.

A San Diego company said Wednesday that it could turn algae into oil, producing a green-colored crude yielding ultra-clean versions of gasoline and diesel without the downsides of biofuel production.

The year-old company, called Sapphire Energy, uses algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and non-potable water to make “green crude” that it contends is chemically equivalent to the light, sweet crude oil that has been fetching more than $130 a barrel in New York futures trading.

Chief Executive Jason Pyle said that the company’s green crude could be processed in existing oil refineries and that the resulting fuels could power existing cars and trucks just as today’s more polluting versions of gasoline and diesel do.

“What we’re talking about is something that is radically different,” Pyle said. “We really look at this as a paradigm change.”

Scroll To Top