I was going the ethanol/KOH route originally but we found with the caustic
soda technique  we could recover all the water and make a nice (after some
adjustment) liquid soap, and refine the remaining 17% of glycerin to make a
good hand soap.

The latter two items are worth 4 times the biodiesel. But this is not a
business, it is just one of those projects a NPO I sponsor decided to
tackle.  That translates to the inability to say NO.

The project keeps some of the elder folk in spare change making soap and as
of next year it will keep a few garbage trucks running around the city.

Biodiesel made from used cooking oil is not the answer in any way to solving
a nation's need for fuel.  There is simple not used or neat oil around .
Nonedible new or 'neat' oil is  better obtained by planting marginal lands
with oil palms or Jobajoba as two of many possible candidates. Biofuels
(including ethanol) IMHO are on the way to stay with us, but it doesn't make
sustainable sense to take a food crop and make it into a fuel.  Of course it
is better to eat the corn directly rather then feed it to steers but I'll
back off on that issue since this is a rotary engine discussion I am already
pushing the limits:)

The next challenge is a small ethanol stile [Sp?] making five liters/day so
I can have some fuel to run in the test engine.  I am considering about 90%
ethanol, 1% - 2% biodiesel for lubrication purposes and the remaining mogas
and/or other additives. Obviously there is still some water absorbed in the
ethanol portion. Not a problem in small amounts. There is water absorbed in
your gasoline fuel tank right now as well.  None of this is rocket science
and anyone on this newsletter can make their own fuels. Ethanol may not have
the BTU content that gasoline has but it does have some attributes that
allow it to capture and use a greater percentage of the BTU values available
to it. As Bill and others have said that would be a boosted environment up
high. To me in any case it is not a issue of which fuel has more BTUs.  I
decided on biofuels, the journey and then choose the airplane and engine to
do it in that order.  Lycontinental  have done long journeys on ethanol and
they are the fall back plan.  I suspect if the turbo compound works the
rotary can do it better and the T.C. idea is what keeps me going.

The bath house brick wall is finished and the final painting happens this
week.  Then I am free.  How about you Paul?  Did the 'one who must be
obeyed' release you yet?


Doug

Doug,
All very interesting and educational!
George ( down under)



Not yet. We still have a concrete floor to lay
and a lot more moving.

Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.

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