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Monthly Meetings at the Phinney Center:
Sunday
14Feb2010

February Monthly Meeting - Tuesday Feb. 23rd. 7:00 pm

DateSunday, February 14, 2010 at 9:21AM

Biofuels Use in Aviation

Boeing is doing research and performing tests of bifuels use in aviation.  The Department of Defense is also doing research and performing tests in aviation use of biofuels.  What is the status and when can we expect to have our flight to New York fueled with biofuels?

Boeing’s Darrin Morgan, Director, Sustainable Biofuels Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will speak about the use of biofuels in aviation.  Darrin leads strategy development and execution for Boeing Commercial Airplanes' Sustainable Aviation Fuels Program.  In addition, Darrin is a co-founder of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, whose members account for more than 15 percent of global jet fuel demand and whose goal is to diversify aviation's fuel supply, while also reducing the industry's lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, he has served as co-chairman of the world's first global algae-for-energy trade association, the Algal Biomass Organization and on the National Academies of Science Transportation Review Board Panel on alternative fuels integration.

Darrin is at the forefront of biofuels use and research in aviation.  This is a unique opportunity to learn about biofuels use in aviation, and Boeing's leadership in this field.  Get your questions answered!  7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Seattle Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103. Cost is Free.  Information at www.nwbiodiesel.org/.

 

AuthorJoe | Comments Off |
Monday
18Jan2010

January Monthly Meeting - Tuesday, Jan 26th. 7pm

DateMonday, January 18, 2010 at 9:20AM

Be sure to check our Monthly Meeting Schedule for the date and topic of this month's meeting!

See you there!

AuthorEric Forrer | Comments Off |
Monday
18Jan2010

Discussion List signup instructions

DateMonday, January 18, 2010 at 9:13AM

NW Biodiesel Network Discussion List signup instructions

We’re working to redesign (some might say “resurrect”) our website for 2010 to be more informative, and a go-to resource for those that want to find out more about Biodiesel as a viable alternative fuel for them, as a transportation fuel and even a heating fuel.  And to make it easier for you to make informed decisions.

In the meantime, I thought it might be handy to publish a couple of resources for you to check out.  One of these are the NW Biodiesel Network discussion list, which is a venue to post questions, and read up on what others are doing and finding out about BD in the PNW. Follow these easy instructions to get onto our Discussion List (basically a forum that works through email, to all list subscribers).  It's a handy place to read along and learn, or post your own questions for others on the list to offer answers to.


- To Subscribe to the NW Biodiesel discussion list, send an email request to:

            discussnwbiodiesel-subscribe@lists.groundwire.org

with the word “subscribe” in the topic line. 

 

You will then soon receive a confirmation email from the list agent (called “SYMPA” – so make sure it does not end up in your ‘Junk’ email folder), which will ask you to confirm your subscription by simply replying to the message.  Shortly thereafter you will receive an email notifying you that your request is pending, and upon approval you will begin to receive a digest of messages of discussion threads as they are updated, or daily (whichever is more frequent).

 

- To email a question to the list for others to answer:

Simply compose your question in an email and email it to discussnwbiodiesel@lists.onenw.org . 

Replies to your inquiry or topic will soon arrive in your email, as folks reply.  To answer questions that are sent out in emails to you, simply reply to the list email address.  Keep in mind if you reply to all, you will likely send the reply twice to the recipient...  (since they are on the list, too)

 

- To unsubscribe from the list (remove yourself from the updates), simply send an email to:

         discussnwbiodiesel-unsubscribe@lists.groundwire.org

 with the word “unsubscribe” as the topic line. Note that this is different than the original email address, as it contains the word "unsubscribe" in the email address.

You should then receive one last email from “SYMPA” confirming that your email address has been removed from the list.  Be sure to send this Unsubscribe request from the same email address you used to Subscribe to the list.  (FYI: in the new website plans will be a form to make this easier for you in the future…)

Happy Biodieseling!

-kDavid



AuthorkDavid | Comments Off |
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Sunday
10Jan2010

Great article on Biodiesel Production in Washington State

DateSunday, January 10, 2010 at 7:58AM

The Spokesman-Review just published a very good and accurate article on biodiesel.

 

 

The article is focussed on the Odessa Canola plant and the farmer cooperatives that feed into it, but it also touches on state and federal politics and other producers in the state.

You can find it here:  "Odessa refinery helping meet demand for biodiesel"

 

-kDavid

AuthorkDavid | Comments Off |
Friday
11Dec2009

Cold weather tip: An easy way to "see into" your fuel system

DateFriday, December 11, 2009 at 9:46AM

Clear, crisp winter mornings, and spectacular mountains all around - seemingly moved up to the edge of town every night for our viewing pleasure.  We are truly fortunate to live in such a pretty place.

Recently we have experienced an early cold snap for the Seattle area.  Overnight temperatures in the teens and single digits have signalled that it is indeed wintertime now in the PNW.  For some of us who have to park our Biodiesel rigs outside overnight, it adds at least a smidgen of worry with longer crank times (will that battery hold up?) and slower warm-ups (diesels do warm up slower than spark ignition engines).

And then there is the anxiety about what's in our tank?  Is it a blend of D2 and BD that is good down to these temperatures?  Or is my fuel getting cloudy - or worse yet: is there a layer of mayonaise-like goo forming in the bottom of my tank, just waiting to gum up my filter and starve the injection pump for fuel???

One way to "see into" your tank and fuel system, to know the state of your current fuel viscosity, is to keep a small bottle of fuel in your trunk.  In the morning, take it out and look at it:

Is it cloudy?  Is there "goo"?  Or is my blend adequate for the temperature and not going to cause problems down the road (literally).  Remember that you may be able to start and run your biodiesel powered car, and get all the way down to the freeway and merge on - only to have that sickening loss of power that indicates a plugged filter.  And some "quality time" on the shoulder of the road, talking to AAA and wondering why in a city of 2 million folk it takes 90 minutes to get some help...

If you do notice some clouding, you can head off problems by blending in some D2.  And maybe an anti-gelling addictive, too (though there are findings that the additive does not really work that well if it isn't in the presence of a little bit of D2).  Or, you can do like I did recently, and get a 5 gallon jug of D2, and bring it into your house to warm it up, and then blend it in with the cold stuff in your tank.  (I actually put the jug in my laundry sink with some really hot water to warm it up even more!)

Believe me, forewarned is forearmed, and having a view into what your BD might look like in that cold dark tank of yours can potentially save you a lot of trouble with a stalled car later on.

-kDavid

 

ps - thanks to Dan Freeman of Dr. Dan's for this tip to me years ago.  Dan goes up skiing every weekend in the winter, and this is what he does to make sure he's not trying to pump mayo through his fuel system...  ;-)

AuthorkDavid | Comments Off |
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