Alt fuels was Re: [AT] Gasoline $

[charlie hill]

Our local industrial park has a steam plant that sells steam to others in 
the park.  They make the steam by burning wood chips in a highly efficient 
boiler with tall exhaust stacks and scrubbers.  You never see a wiff of 
smoke from the place.  I don't know what their emmisions look like but it is 
very clean.

The wood comes from bark and dirty chips from local loging operations.  This 
is stuff the pulp mills don't want even though they are wood fired too. 
The ash by product from the wood energy plant is spread on farm land.  The 
guy that runs the company that spreads the ash is a retired county ag agent. 
He makes sure the ash goes where it is needed to help the soil.


Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ken knierim" <wild1 at cpe-66-1-196-61.az.sprintbbd.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 7:40 PM
Subject: Re: Alt fuels was Re: [AT] Gasoline $


> On Wed, 2005-08-10 at 14:35, George Willer wrote:
>> Ken,
>>
>> A reactor is the only way that hydrogen could possibly be produced to 
>> fuel
>> the miracle vehicles many  (on other sites) have been promoting. 
>> Hydrogen
>> fuel cells are really a way to store energy produced elsewhere.  (There 
>> can
>> never be wells producing hydrogen, as many seem to forget).  The waste
>> shouldn't be a problem... just bury it in the same hole the uranium was 
>> dug
>> from!!!!
>
> True, uranium comes from the ground and it's radioactive. When the fuel
> is spent, seems to me there's a lot less radioactivity. But... what
> about the stuff that's made in the reactor? Plutonium comes to mind, and
> that is a rather toxic substance, whether or not it's radioactive. I'm
> sure there are lots of ways of controlling things like this and I'm not
> an expert, but there seems to be some disagreement with what to do with
> the stuff.
>
> The operators of the plants have to be vigilant so we don't have an
> accident. Don't get me wrong, I think nuclear power is a great thing.
> It's not a do-all and end-all, but if we keep the dollars here, it's
> even better.
>
>>
>> A friend (and mentor) many years ago was searching for a crop that could
>> produce the fuel he would need with enough density to move his farming
>> operation to a third world country.  He's no longer with us, but I 
>> remember
>> his first choice... yams.
>
> Interesting. I really do not like yams myself (I know, sacrilege to
> some!) but it seems they have a lot of sugar. Was he intending to
> convert them to alcohol somehow and use that for power?
>
>>
>> If you could produce and install enough solar panels with high enough
>> efficiency (1KW per square meter), Arizona would freeze over!
>
> Solar influx, as a rough number, is 1KW per square meter. At the
> Springerville plant, the max is 1.25KW/sq meter. Now if we can invent a
> solar cell that's better than a few percent efficient, we'll be rich! :)
>   If there was a better method, say some process where we could use
> sunlight to crack water into hydrogen directly and efficiently, I'd
> suggest that. Arizona isn't going to get significantly cooler any time
> soon, even if someone invents a solar cell paint and we cover
> everything. (of course, there are folks that think it's gonna snow in
> Phoenix next month when I finally get married, but that's a different
> subject altogether!)
>
> What I said is it that it IS being done and it means we're not sending
> that money overseas for oil.  Not always does the best idea win...
> sometimes it's the first idea folks can figure out how to make work that
> wins. I know Sterling-cycle engines can convert heat to mechanical power
> a lot more efficiently than solar cells do it... but these beasts aren't
> cheap and they will require maintenance.
>
> Growing trees and burning them for fuel isn't overly efficient either
> (less than 1% according to my reading), but it works, it's cheap and
> it's low tech enough that even I can do it to a small degree.
>
> Ken
>
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