Schmaltz: it's not just for matzo balls any more. Consurmeraffairs.com reports that researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a method of converting chicken fat into biodiesel, with a yield in excess of 89 percent. Most biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils. With the exception of home-brewed biodiesel made from used fast food fry oil, vegetable oils are more expensive to produce than petro-diesel because of the high cost of farm production (including petro-chemical based fertilizers). The new process converts chicken fat, a byproduct of Arkansas' thriving poultry industry, into biodiesel in one step, using methanol under high temperatures and pressures. So far there's no talk of turning it into a commercial process, but it may not be too long before your exhaust smells more like your Bubbe's kitchen than a truck stop.
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89% Yield sounds great. But where do we get the methanol? Or the heat for the reaction?
Is this irrelevant? Have any of these researchers run the numbers to determine how far we can get if every chicken is rendered down for its fat? Until I see that number, this goes in the goofy research bin.
These kind of niche technologies make sense in certain situations, just as electricity co-generation at industrial or food processing facilities sometimes is a brilliant idea. Chicken fat based bio-diesel isn’t going to displace very much crude oil, but it is much better to turn it into something useful than it is to landfill the stuff. Bio-diesel can be made out of almost any animal fat or vegetable oil.
Just to make the point, one guy is using some human liposuction body fat converted into biodiesel to partly power his boat:
http://calorielab.com/news/2005/11/11/biofuel-promoter-to-power-boat-using-human-fat/
Imagine having the option at McDonalds to not only convert the old kitchen grease into fuel, but also a few pounds off the customers. “Would you like to loose 5 lbs with that?”
They’d better not take the little chicken fat “eggs” out of Mrs. Grass’s Noodle Soup!
Hmmm… too bad the Thermal Depolymerization plant in Carthage, Mo. can’t seem to turn turkey guts into gold; seems that chicken guts would work as well…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization
Recently, there have also been efforts to make biodiesel out of chocolate:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/7109085.stm
Everyone I’ve told about this thinks that wasting good chocolate in this way in a sin….:-D…
Changing World Technologies is making “green” diesel (chemically speaking: hydrocarbons, i.e. the same stuff as real petro diesel) as opposed to biodiesel (CS: fatty acid methyl esters). CWT has a superior product, especially in cold weather.
Unfortunately, CWT made the classic mistake of overpromising (claiming they would make diesel fuel for ~$15/bbl) and underdelivering (actual cost ~$80/bbl).
Their process also raises a stink (literally), according to the residents of Carthage.
Everyone I’ve told about this thinks that wasting good chocolate in this way in a sin.
ANY process that converts food into fuel is a sin, including corn ethanol (you should always ADD value, no?). Your example just brilliantly illustrates the point.
Engineer: To be fair to the chocolate biodiesel guys, my understanding is that the chocolate was unsaleable and would have been thrown away anyway.
I don’t they’re seriously promoting it as a long-term mass-market fuel source. They used it for its attention-getting value.
Look out Texas! Here come’s Kentucky! With the Colonel leading the charge!
Just imagine if Chik-Fil-A and Popeye’s were the next Exxon or BP.
i don’t mind solving the nation’s obesity problem this way, but if you can smell french fries from the tailpipe by burning frier oil, i worry about the smell of burning people fat.
if you don’t eat a bag and a half of pork rinds every single day and burn your lipoed belly in your cummins dodge, the terrorists have already won
I have said it before in another post, but how does Williams come up with his Kosher references? If you wind up covering NYIAS we have to take you out for some Katz’s Jewish soul food.
What will vegetarians drive?