Alternative fuel source
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Seeing as how the security climate in Iraq is not going to resolve soon I don't see how oil prices will be going back to pre war levels in the near future.
What do you people think if we use vegetable oil like palm as another alternative fuel source to power our economy and lower our crude import bill instead? We could build a refinery and generator for palm and buy the oil directly from our neighbours in this region like like Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand and either pipe it down or tanker it by sea to us.
Sure, we have Indonesian gas supply contracts and our crude oil refining facility is the world third largest so there is no worry right? but no one knows what the future may hold for us. Indonesia already reeling from high oil prices is already thinking of cutting 23% of their crude import and trying to use their own natural resources like maybe gas in Natuna island which by the way is we are also getting our gas, who knows next time if this will be a sore point in our relations with the Indonesians when their domestic needs becomes really intense as oil price goes above $100 Â… Just like our earlier water problems with the Malaysia.
With an electricity generator that runs on palm we could on a small scale supply electricity for SMRT trains or light industries with it, and with a palm refinery we could use to replace diesel for all our taxis and eventually replace all the diesel guzzling vehicles. This will take some of our energy burden off and reduce crude import bills.
By the way this region with the countries that mentioned are already a major producer for palm oil for the world with Malaysia and Indonesia already having a combined market share of more than 80%. With the exception of Nigeria in Middle East/Africa this SEA region supply 99% of the palm oil world market. -
Now think of the cost needed to fund the building of new combustion engines. Think of the cost of putting them everywhere next.
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Other than getting the money to build the the palm electricity generator I think here you are misinformed abt diesel enginesOriginally posted by ditzy:Now think of the cost needed to fund the building of new combustion engines. Think of the cost of putting them everywhere next. 
, the good thing abt using veg diesel is that you don't need to re-invent the car, but in our case it's taxis. Normal diesel engine have been tested to run a doctorated diesel with 90% veg oil +10% petroleum diesel with no problems or performance issues. Reason for this mixture is that veg oil takes longer to heat up in an engine that why have to mix.
However the european car diesel engines which are more advanced can run 100% on various vegtable oils.
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There are alternatives to get round the problem.
Some years back there had been talks of MRT running on magnetic fielded tracks which will greatly reduce energy consumption. The MRT carriage was supposed to float on a magnetic field when applied energy it will accelerate.
No news of the project thereafter.. -
actually it's more of moving away from reliance on conventional crude, we are too dependant on it that's why we are also highly exposed to price preassures.Originally posted by Love Story:There are alternatives to get round the problem.
Some years back there had been talks of MRT running on magnetic fielded tracks which will greatly reduce energy consumption. The MRT carriage was supposed to float on a magnetic field when applied energy it will accelerate.
No news of the project thereafter..
We should get out early while we still can -
Tidal wave power is being used in Japan to supply energy. We have large open seas and can surely tap on the seas for large supply of tidal power.Originally posted by Love Story:There are alternatives to get round the problem.
Some years back there had been talks of MRT running on magnetic fielded tracks which will greatly reduce energy consumption. The MRT carriage was supposed to float on a magnetic field when applied energy it will accelerate.
No news of the project thereafter..
Solar power for now might seem expensive but can still strategically develop and nurture such use on smaller scale for certain environmental or incineration projects and from there develop further to use such power or reduce our reliance on fuel.
Do not just go about such projects from initial costing as such costing would only end up with over-pragmatic rejections. Take a larger view of investment goals and long-term benefit of all energy or environmental projects like the above-mentioned as we have large supply of sunlight and tidal wave. Similarly take a more strategic view of project like fuel-cell vehicle as we can develop certain types for our miliatary use.
For example at one time inverter motor was rejected for less cost effectiveness but now the country which has taken the lead in inverter technology is the one which has taken larger investment view of such project. -
What about heavy vehicle engines? Can our buses and trucks run on diesel-cooking oil mixture?Originally posted by KumSioJui:Other than getting the money to build the the palm electricity generator I think here you are misinformed abt diesel engines , the good thing abt using veg diesel is that you don't need to re-invent the car, but in our case it's taxis. Normal diesel engine have been tested to run a doctorated diesel with 90% veg oil +10% petroleum diesel with no problems or performance issues. Reason for this mixture is that veg oil takes longer to heat up in an engine that why have to mix.
However the european car diesel engines which are more advanced can run 100% on various vegtable oils. -
Any news of those vehicles run on hydrogen?
Have they finished testing it in Singapore?
Hydrogen just get it from water = cheap but need electricity to extract -
Mercedes did a trial of its H2 fuel-cell Citaro bus in Perth. Think it ended sometime around CNY.Originally posted by maggot:Any news of those vehicles run on hydrogen?
Have they finished testing it in Singapore?
Hydrogen just get it from water = cheap but need electricity to extract
Wish Scania were the first. They could force more fleet owners to buy their products and steal customers from Mercedes and Volvo. -
any news on what the govt is doing ?
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I know in the states, E85 is increasingly used, a product of corn which is distilled into some form of ethanol.
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The search for alternative fuels to petrol and diesel has been going on since the last bid to hold the world to ransom by the cartel of oil producing countries ( OPEC ) .
Unfortunately, a series of events prevented the various researches from coming to any successful conclusion.
Firstly, there was little incentives to research and develop any alternative fuels, as crude oil was still relatively lower in price and in refinery costs than the cost to research and develop alternative fuels.
Large petroleum firms have found it not to their advantage for the success of any alternative fuels; or the search for the next generation of cars that will be delivered during the weekday.
Some of the alternative fuels that are being considered are: Sugar Cane, Soya, Palm Oil, sunflower , and rape seeds.
Brazil has successfully refined Fuel Ethanol from SUGAR CANE, and have successfully launched it on a commercial basis to allow cars to run on flexi-fuel.
The Fuel Ethanol that is extracted from the humble sugar cane, has now successfully been tested by the Brazilian manufactured Executive Aircrafts - the Embraer.
Palm oil has been tested in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand to replace diesel fuel for trucks, cars, and ships.
With current oil price hovering at US$65 per barrel ( or 44 US Gallons ) and still climbing, it makes Palm Oil and other Bio-products as the attractive alternatives to diesel oil.
Brazil has successfully tested the processing of the humble sugar cane, - and has also successfully tested the ethanol from sugar cane to power a 8 seat ambassador's family.
Alternative Fuels - Technical Programmes
http://www.fisita2004.com/programme/programme/V16
BRAZIL: World's first mass-produced, commercial sugar-powered plane unveiled - 21 October 2004
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1254063/posts
Converting Biomass to Liquid Fuels :
Making Ethanol from Sugar Canes in Brazil
http://www.undp.org/seed/energy/policy/ch10.htm
FORBES Feature - Brazil sugar producers pin hopes on Flex-Fuel cars:
http://www.forbes.com/home/newswire/2003/12/21/rtr1188699.html
Scientists churn out Alternative Fuel from Vegetable Oil
http://www.rense.com/general19/fuel.htm
Malaysian Palm Oil Board plans bio-diesel exports to Europe - 6 September 2005
http://feeds.malaysianews.net/?rid=018a6460fdd9ceb7&cat=48cba686fe041718&f=1
Global bio-diesel production expanding, says USDA
http://www.soyatech.com/bluebook/news/viewarticle.ldml?a=20040813-8 -
Originally posted by Atobe:
can u enlighten me on this? or issit a typo?
Some of the alternative fuels that are being considered are: Sugar Cane, Soya, Palm Oil, sunflower , and rape seeds. -
If ever also won't be Singapore implement..We only monkey see-monkey do..
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Singapore has too much at stake to move away from oil, and oil is what the corporate industrial complex deals in.Originally posted by stellazio:If ever also won't be Singapore implement..We only monkey see-monkey do.. -
Originally posted by alexkusu:
Picture 1 : Rapeseed seed
can u enlighten me on this? or issit a typo?
Extract from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed
Rapeseed Brassica napus, also known as Rape, Oilseed Rape, Rapa, Rapaseed and (one particular cultivar) Canola, is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae.
The name is derived through Old English from a term for turnip, rapum (see Brassica napobrassica, which may be considered a cultivar of Brassica napus) .
Some botanists include the closely related Brassica campestris within B. napus
Cultivation and Uses:
It is very widely cultivated throughout the world for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel; leading producers include the European Union, Canada, the United States, Australia, China and India. In India, it is grown on 13% of cropped land.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, rapeseed was the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after soybean and oil palm, and also the world's second leading source of protein meal, although only one-fifth of the production of the leading soybean meal.
The FAO reports that 36 million tonnes of rapeseed was produced in 2003. In Europe, rapeseed is primarily cultivated for animal feed (due to its very high lipid and medium protein content), and is a leading option for Europeans to avoid importation of GMO products.
Natural rapeseed oil contains erucic acid, which is mildly toxic to humans in large doses but is used as a food additive in smaller doses.
Canola is one of many selected cultivars of rapeseed bred to have a low erucic acid content. Canola was developed in Canada and its name is a contraction of "Canadian oil, low acid".
The name was also chosen partly for marketing reasons, so successfully that the name is sometimes mis-applied to other cultivars of rapeseed.
The rapeseed is the valuable, harvested component of the crop. The crop is also grown as a winter-cover crop. It provides good coverage of the soil in winter, and limits nitrogen run-off. The plant is ploughed back in the soil or used as bedding.
Processing of rapeseed for oil production provides rapeseed animal meal as a by-product. The by-product is a high-protein animal feed, competitive with soya. The feed is mostly employed for cattle feeding, but also for pigs and chickens (though less valuable for these). The meal has a very low content of the glucosinolates responsible for metabolism disruption in cattle and pigs.
Rapeseed leaves are also edible, similar to those of the related kale. Some varieties of rapeseed are sold as greens, primarily in Asian groceries.
Rapeseed is a heavy nectar producer, and honeybees produce a light colored, but peppery honey from it. It must be extracted immediately after processing is finished, as it will quickly granulate in the honeycomb and will be impossible to extract. The honey is usually blended with milder honeys, if used for table use, or sold as bakery grade. Rapeseed growers contract with beekeepers for the pollination of the crop.
Picture 2 : Rapeseed in yellow flower
Biodiesel from rapeseed oil of Turkish origin as an alternative fuel
http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=588683
Review: Utilization of Rapeseed Oil, Rapeseed Oil Methyl Ester or Diesel Fuel
- Exhaust Gas Emissions and Estimation of Environmental Effects
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ro_rev.html -
I read a paper in scientific America some years back about an experiment to harness Nitrogen as a source of fuel to replace the oxygen combustion engine.
Nitrogen, being the other abundant gas in the atmosphere, is readily available in large quantities and unlike its counterpart Hydrogen, is not volatile nor is it flammable.
With the right mix, the end product could be water, hence, environmentally friendly. -
Alternative fuel sources are a long term solution to the rising fuel prices, and I don't think the prices will come down much even when the war is over.
What we could do as a short term plan is to cut down the usage of electricity in unwanted areas. We could adopt the switching off of traffic lights at deserted roads at night during a certain time, even switching off the street lamps at these locations.
Anyone got other ideas? -
4years ago on news, a guys invented a car that runs on water! or was it oxygen?
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oh, thanks for that. Its great they find uses from partially usable resourcesOriginally posted by Atobe:Picture 1 : Rapeseed seed
Extract from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed
Rapeseed Brassica napus, also known as Rape, Oilseed Rape, Rapa, Rapaseed and (one particular cultivar) Canola, is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae.
The name is derived through Old English from a term for turnip, rapum (see Brassica napobrassica, which may be considered a cultivar of Brassica napus) .
Some botanists include the closely related Brassica campestris within B. napus
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those of you who have been to paris reccently would have noticed the "SMART" cars. fuel efficient little boxes with wheels.
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Those cars are already in Singapore although not in huge nos. The best thing about them is that they can reverse park into a parallel lot.Originally posted by vito_corleone:those of you who have been to paris reccently would have noticed the "SMART" cars. fuel efficient little boxes with wheels. -
nuclear-powered car anione???
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Inventor fuels car with dead cats
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Posted: 1358 GMT (2158 HKT)
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A German inventor has angered animal rights activists with his answer to fighting the soaring cost of fuel -- dead cats.
Christian Koch, 55, from the eastern county of Saxony, told Bild newspaper that his organic diesel fuel -- a homemade blend of garbage, run-over cats and other ingredients -- is a proven alternative to normal consumer diesel.
"I drive my normal diesel-powered car with this mixture," Koch said. "I have gone 170,000 km (106,000 miles) without a problem."
The Web site of Koch's firm, "Alphakat GmbH", says his patented "KDV 500" machine can produce what he calls the "bio-diesel" fuel at about 23 euro cents (30 cents) a liter, which is about one-fifth the price at petrol stations now.
Koch said around 20 dead cats added into the mix could help produce enough fuel to fill up a 50-liter (11 gallon) tank.
But the president of the German Society for the Protection of Animals, Wolfgang Apel, said using dead cats for fuel was illegal.
"There's no danger for cats and dogs in Germany because this practice is outlawed in Germany," Apel told Bild on Wednesday in a story entitled "Can you really make fuel out of cats?"
"We're going to keep an eye on this case," Apel said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/09/14/germany.catfuel.reut/index.html -
i've never seen one here.Originally posted by ndsef:Those cars are already in Singapore although not in huge nos. The best thing about them is that they can reverse park into a parallel lot.