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and a side order of fries...
So, the Tata Nano was just not your thing, eh? No problem! How about a "grease" car a.k.a. "french-fry mobile?" Can a car run on used cooking oil? Find out how! Post your answer here in 250 words or more by 11am Friday, January 25th.
17 comments:
Fuel deficiency has always been a large problem in the USA; this could be partially a result of having so many people driving cars. From the articles that I have read, I only see positive things coming from this new technology, they do not emit sulfur the way that many other cars do which should help reduce acid rain. Many restaurants pay to have people take away all of their used frying oil, based on this information alone it is inevitable that the price to keep a car running would decrease immensely. This frying oil would be beneficial because it is a renewable resource so we most likely will not run out of it as fast as we would with gasoline. I have two main problems with this new technology; if everybody converts to using frying oil as a source of fuel, we will most likely run through it faster than restaurants can go through it. The other problem that could happen is that people want to keep their cars; they do not want to go through the trouble of changing their car into a environmentally friendly vehicle. The most surprising thing about this new technology for me particularly was how it works; vegetable oil is most efficient when it is heated, the heat of the car will make the vegetable oil work much better. To convert your car into a car that runs on used vegetable oil, you need to start with a diesel, then you must add a heater to the tank so the oil wont congeal in the cold weather. A filter needs to be used to help the car run more efficiently, these filters can be costly and may be one reason for why more people haven’t started using this fuel efficient system.
It so happens that cooking oil—in fact, most vegetable oils in general—can be burned in a similar way as that of traditional gasoline. It also has an apparent appeal to replacing gasoline because restaurants, families, etc. use fairly substantial amounts of cooking oil.
However, I find two catches or problems with using cooking oil. First, several sources say that if you just pour cooking oil into your gas tank, it will be damaged and/or won’t run properly. There are also other problems with it, such as freezing in cold temperatures. The only way to use it properly is with special two-tank engines that use a combination of cooking oil and gasoline (or biofuel). However, there already have been some specially built cars for using cooking oil, so no big deal. Second, I sincerely doubt that there is enough cooking oil to supply any large fraction of the United States with cooking oil for fuel. Assuming that the average family uses fifteen gallons a week (mine uses probably more than that, and my parents don’t commute) well, there just wouldn’t be enough to go around.
Using cooking oil for engine fuel is an interesting niche—solve two problems by using a waste from restaurants as an alternate energy source. However, this cannot be a large or long-term solution—there’s only so much cooking oil the restaurants can use. Personally, I think people need to look more into other, more common sources of energy to solve this energy crisis. After all, why can’t you use more common energy sources to power cars or other machines? (And I just went through a research project proving you could)
Many new cars are being manufacturing that are more environmental friendly. One new invention can even take a normal diesel fueled car and turn it into an eco-friendly car. What a great idea! The catch is that you need to install a kit costing two thousand dollars and it can take up to three days to install. Once installed there is a button which switches the fuel source from gas to vegetable oil. There is a screen which tells the driver when it is alright to switch to the vegetable oil. There is also an auto pilot function which can automatically make the switch which makes the process even easier. Vegetable oil is only one option for fuel. The invention can also use grease from french fries which is how it gets the name “french-fry mobile.” Using the grease from the restaurants not only prevents more garbage, but puts the grease to good use. Since it burns natural fuels it is not harmful for the environment. It doesn’t burn the harmful fuels that contribute to the sulfur and nitrogen in the atmosphere that cause acid rain. The cost of this oil and grease can vary from being free to 10 cents a gallon. There are only a few negatives in using the “french-fry mobile.” First you have to convert the grease trappings into alternate fuel which can be time consuming. Also it takes time to install the system and many people are too lazy to deal with the installation. Despite the negatives, the positive impact of this grease car to the environment and the longer term financial savings especially with gas prices today makes it well worth your time and money to install the invention.
The transitition away from traditional gas usage has begun! Many people are switching to other methods, such as solar power, electric engines and finally used vegetable oil! A man converted his Ford- F250 truck which ran on traditional gas from oil suppliers, to a diesel engine which now runs on used vegetable oil. This is apparently the way the creator of the diesel engine was designed to run. It was invented to help farmers become completely independent from the industrialized world. The way this works is actually quite simple and makes me think as to why it took so long to discover. The oil itself is far to thick to be used as gas and power the engine, but once it is converted to a liquid state, the oil becomes one of the most helpful fuels. The way you do this is by heating the vegetable oil before you place it in the engine; you have to heat this until it becomes a thinner liquid, easily converted into energy. This is process is very time consuming though, it can take up to three days for the oil to thin out into a usable state. Once you have finally converted the oil to a usable state, you have to find a way to keep it warm in the while it sits in your gas take when the car is off. If the oil were to form a solid once again the engine would be doomed and your car ruined. Although you may have to make many other alterations to parts of your vehicle this idea and process will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Finding a reliable and cheap alternate source of energy has been a major field of scientific research during the past decade or so. As restaurants and factories use more and more frying oil to produce goods, the disposal fee for this used oil rises. A cheap way to rid of this used oil is to simply build a car which uses it as a source of alternate fuel. Cars which run on diesel can be easily converted into grease car by simply by adding a fuel tank to the back of the car to keep the oil hot and creating fuel lines to the engine to give the driver a choice of driving on the oil or the diesel. This conversion does not take a lot of money but rather only about $3,500. Using frying/cooking oil, at about $1.50 pre gallon, is much cheaper than using regular fuel, at over $3.00 per gallon. Although this method is a very clean and smooth one, filtering the oil of all small particles which could contaminate the engine is a job which requires a special government license, making it actually harder for the owner to keep the oil tank running. As of right now, there are only about 100 millions of gallons of used cooking oil annually, replacing only 0.07% of the oil that Americans use each year. Using this method of alternate energy would only replace a very small portion of the oil used each year, so finding other sources is an important task which requires further research.
The Grease car is an engine that runs on cooking oil also known as vegetable oil and diesel fuel. In order to modify ones car to run on vegetable oil the engine needs to be a diesel engine. The engine needs to be modified so it can run on the cooking oils. Even if an engine is modified so it can run on vegetable oils it still needs diesel fuel to run. Vegetable oil takes a long time to heat up meaning that the car would need to be running on diesel before the vegetable oil can be used. The grease cars are more efficient for people who use their car often, not those who rarely use their car. The French-fry car is probably more of a country or suburban car. It was not made to benefit those living in the city, unless driving across town. I think this is a great idea but I do not think it has been fully developed yet. This type of car could be more efficient and run only on vegetable oil if the engines heated at a faster rate. The thing that should become a concern is that the more people that get the grease car engine installed the price of vegetable oil will be raised. Many cars are being converted day after day wane off of the reliance on gas and move forward in bettering the planet. In the long run the transition is worth it.
French Fries can be beneficial. Who would have thought that the remnants greasy goodness of deep-fried food could be used to run the engine of a car? Well, a car running on used cooking oil has been shown to work as diesel fuel engines in a car. The used cooking oil can be found at any restaurant that serves deep-fried food. It is cheaper because most restaurants pay to have the oil taken away, because it is bad for the oil to be poured down the drain. Most independent restaurants will just give the oil to anybody that asks. Restaurants like McDonalds will not give away their used cooking oil, unless large amounts of paperwork are filled out. To use the cooking oil in the car it must first be filtered through 10-micron filter, which is like a five minute process, this is necessary to remove the chunks or old burnt food still mixed in with the oil. A problem with cooking oil is that is will solidify when cooled, is why there needs to be a mini heater near the gas tank to keep the vegetable oil in a liquid state. Also in the winter a dual tank is need with one for diesel fuel and the other with vegetable oil, because the oil will freeze and the diesel fuel will be need to get the car running so that the oil can melt. It is also necessary to turn the car off, because before you stop the car you have to let it run a little on the diesel so that no oil is in the pipes that can solidify and cause a blockage. The benefit of vegetable oil fuel is that it burns cleaner, it will also be cheaper
French Fries can be beneficial. Who would have thought that the remnants greasy goodness of deep-fried food could be used to run the engine of a car? Well, a car running on used cooking oil has been shown to work as diesel fuel engines in a car. The used cooking oil can be found at any restaurant that serves deep-fried food. It is cheaper because most restaurants pay to have the oil taken away, because it is bad for the oil to be poured down the drain. Most independent restaurants will just give the oil to anybody that asks. Restaurants like McDonalds will not give away their used cooking oil, unless large amounts of paperwork are filled out. To use the cooking oil in the car it must first be filtered through 10-micron filter, which is like a five minute process, this is necessary to remove the chunks or old burnt food still mixed in with the oil. A problem with cooking oil is that is will solidify when cooled, is why there needs to be a mini heater near the gas tank to keep the vegetable oil in a liquid state. Also in the winter a dual tank is need with one for diesel fuel and the other with vegetable oil, because the oil will freeze and the diesel fuel will be need to get the car running so that the oil can melt. It is also necessary to turn the car off, because before you stop the car you have to let it run a little on the diesel so that no oil is in the pipes that can solidify and cause a blockage. The benefit of vegetable oil fuel is that it burns cleaner, it will also be cheaper
For many years the world has depended on gasoline and petrol products to fuel our automobiles, and for as many years as there have been automobiles, there has been no alternative source of fuel until now, that is at least if you are and eccentric! There have been many people that have been converting their car engines to run on cooking oil. The cars have been appropriately dubbed “grease cars.” These french-fry mobiles have a normal engine except that it has been converted to run on cooking oil. You would assume that these cars have an odd eco-friendly design, and you would be wrong. These autos are normal cars, just outfitted with a french-fry input slot (not exactly) but along those lines. The gas can serves as it normally would on a car just that it holds Mazola instead of Mobil. People have converted cars I would not have imagined, for example one person converted a BMW 525turbo diesel to run on this oil. People are tired of gas prices and are looking for an alternative. This, however cool the idea, is not a feasible venture for the world. The cost-benefit of this undertaking would not even out. The amount of money it would cost to grow the corn or peanuts to make into oil for the whole world is not practical. However for the eccentric person willing to undertake this modification, the idea is a good one!
Experimentation with alternative fuel sources began in Europe as early as 1930, and has recently become a more popular as a way to solve America’s fuel deficiency problem. Although it would be much better for the environment if all of the large trucks and SUV’s throughout the country would run on natural fuel, some people are skeptical. The vegetable oil or used cooking oil does not emit gases that are harmful to the earth’s atmosphere, and would also help the widespread dependence on oil. Using vegetable oil as a gas substitute should become more widespread as technology progresses. Conveniently, vegetable and used cooking oils are easy to use with any diesel engine. Though they are more popular throughout Europe, vehicles with diesel engines are not all that rare throughout the U.S. If the large trucks that constantly travel across the country were to begin using natural oil to power their engine, it will help the environment as well as help the country’s economy because we wouldn’t be as dependent on foreign gas. Diesel fuel and vegetable oil share many similar characteristics, and therefore are extremely compatible. Those willing to switch their engines to run on vegetable oil must be willing to pay a $1200 fee as well as be willing to still buy some amount of diesel fuel. The compromise of buying diesel fuel is a small price to pay for all of the money people will save in the long run. The engine still relies partly on diesel fuel due to the viscosity of vegetable oil. If the veggie oil freezes, it can immediately damage the engine of the car or truck. Due to this, the car runs on diesel fuel until it warms up, and then switches over to vegetable oil, after the engine is turned off, the diesel oil is called to duty once again in order to cool down the car efficiently and make sure that there is no oil remaining in any of the pipes. There are so many benefits to alternative fuel sources; there are even small islands throughout the world that use coconut oil to run their cars. In addition, scientists are now perfecting a way to use cooking oil as home heating oil.
With the prices of gasoline rising each day, scientists and car designers have realized the profit and importance in finding alternate forms of energy to power cars. Vehicles that are powered by old cooking oil instead of gas and propane, commonly known as “french- fry mobiles, can save much money. Normal cars with diesel engines can be run with used cooking oil, which is given away to people for free by restaurants. Diesel engines can also run on the oils of peanut, canola, soy, con, sunflower, safflower, palm, olive, coconut, hemp, cottonseed, sesame, and many others. This grease car system is a two tank system. One tank will supply Diesel fuel which helps the car to start up and shut down. After starting up the car, radiator fluid transfers heat from the engine to the heat exchangers which in turn heat up the vegetable oil. This makes the consistency of vegetable oil much more viscous, allowing the vegetable oil to be injected into the engine properly. However, in order for normal Diesel engines to run on these fuel sources, a kit costing about two thousand dollars must be installed. Even so, over a long period of time, switching to cooking oil will save much money. In addition to benefiting the consumer by saving them money, these new “grease” cars also help the environment. Since the vegetable oil has no sulfur content, this new method does away with the most common carcinogen associated with diesel fuel. Grease cars also help the environment because vegetable oil plants absorb more carbon dioxide from the air during their growth than they release while burning. Because of this, vegetable oil does not emit excess carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Grease cars not only cost less, but they are also far less harmful to the environment and to people and animals.
It's ironic that in a country that has been trying to fend off the capacious beast of fast, greasy food, the concept of running a car on grease has been created and used successfully. With so many factors such as the lack of oil in the U.S. and around the globe, the overabundance of used vegetable oil from restaurants, and the scientific minds that can put two and two together, it is hard not to see why this could be a very beneficial type of fuel. By using diesel engines in normal cars with a few modifications, the “grease” car was created. The vehicle’s existing diesel tank and filter supplies diesel fuel to the engine at start up and shut down to avoid possible vegetable oil buildup, carbon buildup, incomplete combustion, and other complications with the engine. After start up, radiator fluid and other excess energy transfers heat from the engine to the heat exchangers in the fuel system, which warm the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and tank. This reduces the viscosity of vegetable oil so that it is similar enough to diesel to be injected into the engine. When the vehicle is shut down, the vegetable oil must be flushed out from the fuel system to avoid the aforementioned problems and replaced with diesel for the next start up. I think that this is a good TEMPORARY solution for the lack of oil and rising prices for fuel. Unfortunately, I believe that in the future, if this “fuel trend” continues to grow, there will not be enough cooking oil for everybody. Working on other types of fuels and technologies for transportation is much more important than this kind of off-beat technology and though it sounds like a cool way to save some money, I believe it will be dead technology as soon as new fuels, solar-powered automobiles, and other concepts are invented and perfected. As former Senator George Allen once said “Every day you waste is one you can never make up,” and I believe the same goes for French fries.
P.S. Sorry I went a little overboard on the amount of words.
Lots of cars manufactures are making new products that are now becoming more environmentally friendly. I believe that this is a great way to cut down on pollution. Cars burn fossil fuels, they are non renewable resource. This is horrible for the atmosphere. If we limit the amount of fossil fuels being burn then we will have a better shot at saving the atmosphere before it’s too late. For example, The Grease car Vegetable Oil Conversion System is an auxiliary fuel modification system that allows diesel vehicles to run on straight vegetable oil (SVO). The Grease car system is a two tank fuel system. The vehicles existing diesel tank and filter will supply diesel fuel to the engine at start up and shut down. After start up radiator fluid will transfer heat from the engine to the heat exchangers in the Grease car fuel system. These heat exchangers will heat the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and fuel tank. The heat will reduce the viscosity of vegetable oil so that it is similar to diesel and can be injected into the engine properly. When the vehicle is being shut down for a period long enough for the fuel to cool the vegetable oil must be purged from the fuel system and replaced with diesel for the next start up. I agree with Jessica, in the long run it is worth it. You won’t have to buy expensive gas, with a price that keeps on rising. Most Grease car users fuel their vehicles with filtered frying oil that is collected from local restaurants. Most restaurants are happy to give their oil away as the generally have to pay disposal fees. With using vegetable oil your are helping the environment too. You’re not polluting as much and you would with normal cars.
I also being that people should start looking into other ways of helping the environment, for example solar powered cars are a good alternative to burning fossil fuels.
While it may seem surprising, greasy fast food French fries are actually beneficial to the country. With the increasing rate of obesity in America, many people believe that fast food restaurants should be condemned, but what if a scientist told these discontent people that the vegetable oil used to make French fries can be utilized as an alternative source of gasoline to power cars? Would this statement change their opinion? Although it has not yet been completely perfected, scientists have discovered that cars can run on vegetable oil. This is a significant discovery because many restaurants throughout the country are forced to pay a fee to have vegetable oil removed, and with this discovery these restaurants can now offer vegetable oil to those who want to convert to this alternative of gasoline. However, a negative aspect of using vegetable oil is that a kit is required in order to convert the car’s engine, and these kits can cost over $1,000 and are very difficult to assemble. Also, vegetable oil has the tendency to freeze in cold temperatures, although this problem has been solved by placing a small heater next to the engine that maintains the oil in its liquid state. Despite the use of a heater, the vegetable oil can only function in a car with the addition of some diesel fuel, but vegetable oil is far more beneficial to the environment than gas since it does not emit carbon dioxide or fossils fuels. With the use of vegetable oil, the issue of global warming can be resolved, and the demand of expensive foreign gas will no longer be in high demand.
For over a century people have devoted their lives to finding new alternative sources of energy, from nuclear power to wind power and everything in between. However, ever since the invention of the car oil, gasoline, and other naturally occurring fuels have been the main source of power. The problem with these fuels today is that they are extremely expensive and are having a major impact on our environment. So a few individuals set out to find a new fuel to run their cars, something inexpensive and maybe even free, yet still run their cars efficiently. They came along with the idea of using used cooking oil. It was an efficient fuel when mixed with diesel fuel and was extremely cheap if not free from local restaurants. There are some pros and cons to using cooking oil to run your car. On the positive end, it is inexpensive, in today’s society that is all anyone is looking for. There are unfortunately quite a few disadvantages that come from running your car on used cooking oil. The first is that there are a few technical adjustments that need to be made on your vehicle in order to allow it run on cooking oil. Also you can’t just take the oil from the restaurant and just shove it in your cars gas tank. First you need to use a filtering process to remove the excess amounts of food in the oil. One final problem with running your car on cooking oil is that it needs to keep warm. If cooking oil is put at lower temperatures it will solidify in your gas tank, so you need a small heater in order to keep it warm. If you live somewhere with cold winters a car that runs on used cooking oil is not for you, in the winter you will have lots of problems with keeping the cooking oil warm.
As gas prices continue to increase, many people are looking for alternative solutions to pay outrageous amounts of money at the pump. A unconventional way that is growing in American today is to run your car with left-over vegetable oil used to cook food in restaurants such as McDonalds. Owners of grease cars are able to collect their fuel from restaurant at usually no cost because restaurants are more than willing to give away the oil that they normally would have to pay to be removed. French-fry oil burning cars produce less harmful emissions to the environment and are more eco-friendly. In some cases, vehicles run smoother with the grease fuel than regular diesel. However, the oil does need to be filtered thoroughly before putting it in a car. If not properly operated, the oil can destroy a car’s engine due to its ability to cause carbon buildup. Although using the vegetable oil to power a car can require work, more technology including conversion kits is available nowadays. Another obstacle preventing this alternative method from becoming more widespread is that the EPA considers the use of vegetable oil illegal and some states already are requiring users to pay taxes and keep logs of the fuel they burn. Scientists such as Dr. Krishna from Brookhaven National Laboratory have raised concern that the vegetable oil might production of nitrogen oxides, which lead to smog pollution. Despite drawbacks such as emissions released from the burning of the grease fuel smelling like fast food, the use of waste vegetable oil is beneficial to the environment. However, I don’t believe the method is reliable enough to impact fuel usage in the United States in the near future.
This is probably one of the most innovative concepts yet. Utilizing one material for varying purposes is both economically and environmentally propelling and secure. The energy required to make food is so scarce and expensive that prices keep increasing the dollar menu is soon to become the dollar and twenty-five cents menu however if we utilize oil for two large-scale purposes we're securing two main areas of the economy. Transportation and food consumption as well as protecting the environment by utilizing energy friendly alternatives. While many say the cost for the filtering system needed maybe too expensive or that there may not be enough oil these appear to be small excuses to combat the typical American mindset. First off considering today's current gas prices the price for a filter that saves the excess money on the gas we spend counteracting the money we would use. Secondly, there is more than enough oil the fast food industry is a major media mogul and economic force utilizing large quantities of oil which is more than sufficient to aid in fuel supply.
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