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Old 01-31-2009, 07:54 AM   #1
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Alternative Fuel??

Somebody passed this onto me and I laughed at the thought of a bus being fueled by it with the epidemic in our country. Enjoy!!

If you thought heating your home with cow methane or corn
is bizarre, wait until you hear how one Beverly Hills doctor
is gassing up his SUV.

While gross, the point Dr. Bittner is trying to make is
important. There are alternatives if the technology and
infrastructure is there to make them available.

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos
may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free
fuel is one of them.

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned
the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled
his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether
animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be ex-
tracted and turned into diesel. Poultry companies such as Tyson
are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz,
and biofuel start-ups such as Nova Biosource are mixing beef
tallow and pig lard with more palatable sources such as soy-
bean oil.

Mike Shook of Agri Process Innovations, a builder of biodiesel
plants, says this year's batch of U.S. biodiesel was likely
more than half animal-derived since the price of soybeans
soared.

A gallon of grease will get you about a gallon of fuel, and
drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel
as they do from regular diesel, according to Jenna Higgins of
the National Biodiesel Board. Animal fats need to undergo an
additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in
vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference, she says.

While using fat to fuel cars might be environmentally friendly,
it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical
waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by
the state's public health department.

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Old 01-31-2009, 11:17 AM   #2
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

I know how I'm gonna fuel my cross country trip now, and get thin in the process!

-Ray
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Old 02-01-2009, 04:10 PM   #3
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

America the beautiful! hehe
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Old 02-04-2009, 02:14 PM   #4
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Quote:
Originally Posted by drchefscott
While using fat to fuel cars might be environmentally friendly, it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department.
I want to know what was going on that they decided they had to make a law against that!
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Old 02-04-2009, 03:12 PM   #5
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Maybe stem cells were involved in the regeneration of fuel system components...
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Old 02-04-2009, 10:58 PM   #6
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve
Quote:
Originally Posted by drchefscott
While using fat to fuel cars might be environmentally friendly, it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department.
I want to know what was going on that they decided they had to make a law against that!
i doubt that there is a law specifically against it but it is improper disposal of medical waste, and use of non-taxed fuels of any kind is illegal throughout the US (yes running on veggie is illegal)
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Old 02-05-2009, 12:21 PM   #7
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Veggie Oil isn't untaxed though. Taxes are paid by the restaurants for the oil. A product shouldn't ever be taxed twice, am I right? Maybe there is a discrepancy between how much taxes must be paid for its use as a fuel versus its use as cooking oil, but the situation is not nearly the same as going down to the store and buying untaxed diesel for off-road use. Is this not correct?
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Old 02-05-2009, 01:04 PM   #8
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Are you kidding? The government loves to tax things more than once. They tax your money when you earn it, they then tax it again when you spend it, then do the same for every hand that money passes through. They tax your car when you buy it. They tax your car when someone buys it from you, and they'll tax the next owner, and the next, and the next.
Your veggie oil was taxed for use in a restaurant. It needs to be taxed for use as a motor fuel! If they can't adequately tax it they make it illegal.
You think rubbing alcohol HAS to be poisonous if you drink it? It doesn't have to be, except the tax man insists that it be because it wasn't taxed as an alcoholic beverage.... The tax man will get his money. Many times before he's through!!

</soapbox rant>

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Old 02-06-2009, 09:06 AM   #9
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

Double and even triple taxing is like the amerocan way. It has been going on for a very long time. Tax on the seeds; tax on the weight of the seeds being transfferred; tax on the wholesale seed oil; tax on the distributed oil(paid by restraunt); tax on the oil again by the grease pick-up company before they can recycle it or resell it; And tax on the oil to whomever buys it again for pig feed binder or whatever. Two things ya can be sure of......Death and taxes!
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Old 02-06-2009, 10:25 PM   #10
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

time for a modern day boston tea party
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Old 02-21-2009, 10:26 AM   #11
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

He wasn't using diesel in the Navigator because Ford doesn't make one.
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Old 02-21-2009, 05:22 PM   #12
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Re: Alternative Fuel??

I think he said his ford suv and his girlfriends lincoln navigator...
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