e-fuel, synthetic fuel, bio-fuel still alive?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Biomethane station opens capable of refuelling 80 HGVs per hour

CNG Fuels has opened what it is claiming to be the world’s largest public access biomethane refuelling station in Avonmouth, near Bristol.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Who came first Just Have a Think Dave or his American Equivalent Undecided Matt.

I think Dave was the original by a few months, and Matt's channel is not advert free as Dave's is. It is a bit off putting when in the middle of the subject matter he breaks off so say how much he likes the new vegan deodorant from "Native".

Very similar channel content and presentation, and phrases. Here's Matt on e-fuels...



Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

An interesting development on the cards!!:

https://www.carandclassic.com/magazine/ ... &bsft_tv=5

[NewcastleFalcon]

This is the latest report I could find from April 2022 of Porsches investment in an e-fuel plant in Chile.
Sparsely populated areas with a lot of solar and wind capacity that they don't require, can indeed make large quantities of e-fuel where the highly inefficient process can be overcome. Its then got to be tankered half way across the world but as well as Chile, Porsche are looking at new sites in the USA and Australia.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/busi ... hetic-fuel

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/113 ... fuel-plant
At the plant in Chile
" Fuel will be produced using electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from the atmosphere will then be combined with the hydrogen to produce synthetic methanol, which in turn will be converted into fuel, which Porsche has dubbed "eFuel." All electricity needed will come from wind power, Porsche claims, lowering the carbon footprint of the production process."

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Ross kicked of a thread with this bit of news relevant here

Interesting article I saw on another forum, which talks about Toyota introducing support for HVO100 "non-fossil" diesel across Hilux, Land Cruiser and Proace models in 2023:

https://newsroom.toyota.eu/toyotas-dies ... esel-fuel/

HVO100 (hydrated vegetable oil) meets the EN 15940 European quality standard for paraffinic diesel. It has a higher cetane number (c80) than standard diesel and has a lower sulphur and aromatics content. It is made from vegetable oil (palm, rapeseed) or waste-based feedstock (for example used cooking oil).

HVO100 fuel pumps are becoming an increasingly common at filling stations in Europe, with around 1,000 already in use across Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. At the same time as more customers are switching to HVO100, production is increasing – with ambition to reach 15.5 million tonnes by 2030 from around four million tonnes currently produced per year.

The principal technical change from current vehicles is an adjustment of the fuel injection system to increase fuel volume. This is required as HVO100 is less dense than standard diesel. The change does not affect the vehicle’s ability to run on standard diesel, so either fuel can be used day-to-day. As a result of using HVO100 and the adjustment to the injection system, there is a modest increase in maximum engine output.

Probably no coincidence that Europe is planning to completely ban Russian diesel imports by the end of 2022...

HVO still hangs around and still alive, but burning anything is at best Carbon Neutral, not addressing reduction and still producing atmospheric pollutants and particulates regardless of what is bolted on or injected into to the exhaust.

viewtopic.php?p=709608#p709608

Regards Neil

[Ross_K]

HVO still hangs around and still alive, but burning anything is at best Carbon Neutral, not addressing reduction and still producing atmospheric pollutants and particulates regardless of what is bolted on or injected into to the exhaust.

viewtopic.php?p=709608#p709608

Regards Neil

Very true. The marketing materials mention an up-to-90% reduction in CO2 but the jury's still out on NOx etc:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 6117314151

[Sloppysod]

Ross kicked of a thread with this bit of news relevant here

viewtopic.php?p=709608#p709608

Regards Neil

This is interesting because Toyota have never been committed to 100% electric vehicles, partly because so much of their engineering economy is in ICE vehicle part supply.
will wait to see what the results of the NOx tests show...

Side thought - if the use of this HV100 fuel is an injector timing issue, how easy would it be to modify existing Ecu's?

[andy5]

HVO still hangs around and still alive, but burning anything is at best Carbon Neutral, not addressing reduction and still producing atmospheric pollutants and particulates regardless of what is bolted on or injected into to the exhaust.

I've been hoping this fuel might become more easily available, and with the price of ordinary diesel rocketing up the price margin might narrow.

I managed to get a price the other day. Minimum order 500 litres, about £2 a litre, plus VAT.

Another couple of years wait, I reckon

[NewcastleFalcon]

Robert Murray Smith has a very interesting you tube channel, mainly making stuff out of everyday materials in the energy area. Wind turbines, rocket stoves, heaters, electricity generators etc.

Came across this fairly recent one in which he discusses "Methanol".



Regards Neil

[myglaren]

^Better at .75 speed or he is a bit excitable and hard to hear.

[NewcastleFalcon]

PepsiCo famously owners of Quaker and Scott’s Porage Oats, and Walkers Crisps, are using a bit of HVO, as a diesel substitute on the run between Leicester and Cupar in Fife linking porage and crisps


https://www.commercialfleet.org/news/tr ... lternative

Regards Neil

[Hell Razor5543]

I have worked at the PepsiCo office in Reading (visible just by J11 on the M4). Ricoh provide onsite technical support, so when one of our guys is taking time off I usually get called in to provide coverage.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Latest news on the Porsche e-fuel plans from the electric viking



Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

A bit off-topic for this forum as I'm not aware of many steam powered French cars still in everyday use but over the past year or so I've been following with great interest the development of e-coal for use in steam locomotives on preserved railways...

The developed has somewhat speeded up this past year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine - much coal was imported from Russia but no longer. The other reason has been the upcoming ban on burning lump coal domestically by DEFRA and the impeding closure of the last coal mine in the UK that produces coal suitable for steam locomotives - the Ffos-Y-Fran pit. It's due to fully close in 2023 but in January this year their washery broke down and they could not produce lump coal as a result. Due to Russia they got the washery up and running again and for now supplies are safe...

The proposed new mine in Cumbria is no use for locomotives... The only remaining sources of decent steam coal after Ffos-Y-Fran finally closes is Australia and Columbia. Both sources are frightfully expensive.

Some reasonable success in standard gauge locomotives is now being enjoyed by the latest in e-coals that are made from olive stones and a mix of coal fines (dust) and anthracite, a type of coal that's almost pure carbon.

Lots of issues remain but things are looking promising. The next development is to make e-coal that's free of coal fines and much of the anthracite...

It's a very deep subject with lots of devil in a heck of a lot of detail. Absolutely fascinating...

The side-benefactors of all this work that's largely aimed at heritage railways are those who run traction engines, steam rollers and other road-going steam powered vehicles such as steam boats...

Sorry for going way off-topic...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Sorry for going way off-topic...

Never even thought of e-coal as an add on to the thread title when I kicked it off but it hits the general area. To go on a brief marginally off-topic ramble myself, the bottom paragraph of this post of mine from 2016 revealed a bit of fakery in the fuel department of a "steam" locomotive which I wasn't aware of...

Now if you ever holidayed in Scarborough as a child, then you may well have had a ride on the North Bay Minature Railway from Peasholm to Scalby Mills. My particular vintage for this was early 60's. The railway was opened on 23rd May 1931, and Triton resplendant in apple green arrived in 1932, and 84 years later, pulled our little train yesterday and hopefully created some memories for the next generation.

So here's Triton, as my Picture of the Day, or should I say yesterday



Now as a child I was under the impression that they were steam locomotives but my illusions were shattered. I asked the driver, the rather stupid question for anyone in the know,......has it been converted to run on diesel now? To which he replied It always has sir! The illusion of steam was given by a "Steam Outline"

... and so look up phrase of the day for the curious is "Steam Outline"


Regards Neil