Mexico to Patagonia on homebrew biodiesel

Two Mexicans are currently travelling across Central & South America refuelling in restaurants along the route. Have a look at this BBC broadcast:

Homebrew Biodiesel

Canal SUR in Sotogrande

Alejandro, student at Sotogrande Internacional School explains how to produce biodiesel to a TV crew from Andalusia State TV, Canal SUR on October 2^nd

You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI3RcllAz-k

Homebrew biodiesel, a practical course

During the months of October & November, we shall be offering hands-on courses at Sotogrande International School. The courses will run every Saturday from 11 to 2 limited to a maximum of ten participants. The first three courses are fully booked, but if you care to participate, please reserve for Oct 25th or any Saturday in November. It is essential that you reserve by calling Vincent on 952 78 56 31

Homebrew Biodiesel, but how can I do it?

On September 23rd and 25th, we organized two conferences at Sotogrande International School on home made biodiesel. For the first time ever in Spain, and thanks to the support of the local media, particularly Euroweekly and Sur in English, we had a great audience, and as you know only too well, it is an interested audience which makes a conference a success. In our case, both David Taylor, director of Etruk, the leading UK company producing processors to convert waste vegetable oil into biodiesel and Sean Johnson, chemistry teacher at the Sotogrande International School were delighted by the interest the audience showed. David Taylor, who has given many lectures on the subject, told me that he would not find such a diverse mix of people, with such enthusiasm back in the UK.
Also, we received some great feedback from participants, which I am delighted to share:


Thanks for the e.mail and it was good to know that we, the audience, proved to be a good one. I personally thought that the subject matter was excellent and that all the speakers’ explanations were extremely good.
I do however feel that the young lad who acted as the translator should be given a medal. He was confident; obviously knew the subject and projected extremely well. Sean should be proud of his student.....
Many thanks
Patrick Hill


Many thanks for a fantastic seminar, it was very very interesting something that I wish to follow up on!

I have booked and paid to attend the course on 25th October with you and wondered if my 9 year old Son could come along. He is very interested in chemistry and I think he would enjoy it.
Many thanks
Kind regards

Dave Herring


A substantial proportion of the attendees have already enrolled in the hands on training courses starting Oct 4th. If someone wants to participate please reserve for Oct 25th or any Saturday in November, as the first three Saturdays are fully booked by calling 952 78 56 31

On Thursday, October 2nd, you may want to tune in on Canal Sur TV and watch Andalucia en Directo, who will do a piece on our project.

Both the Periodico de Sotogrande & Europa Sur de Algeciras have kindly run articles in Spanish on the subject.

http://www.sotograndedigital.com/noticia.asp?ref=3764

http://www.europasur.es/algeciras/detail.php?id=239224

UN forecasts boom in 'green jobs'

The UN says millions of new jobs will be created worldwide over the next few decades by the development of alternative energy technologies.

More than a million people already work in biofuels, but a UN report says that could rise by 12 million by 2030.

It says "green jobs" depend on a shift of subsidies from oil and natural gas to wind, solar, and geothermal power.

New jobs could also include the expansion of recycling and making environmentally friendly vehicles.

The report, 'Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World', was commissioned and funded by the UN's Environment Programme (Unep).

To Greece, by car, on grease

Carbon-conscious enthusiasts beg restaurants and cafes for waste vegetable oil to power their European journey, converting an estimated 350 litres of oil into fuel on their 11 day trip

• Helena Smith
• guardian.co.uk,
• Thursday August 28 2008 13:04 BST
• Article history

The 'Grease to Greece' rally makes its way to central Athens to promote awareness of alternative biofuels. Photograph: Yiorgos Karahalis/Reuters

A group of British eco-enthusiasts have just pulled off the greenest and grubbiest car rally ever, driving from London to Athens in vehicles powered exclusively on waste vegetable oil.

The team motored with unexpected ease across Europe on the proceeds of the grease thrown away by restaurants and cafes along the way. Their hope is that the 2,500-mile feat will help a drive to create a commodity out of cooking oils that otherwise end up in landfills or the sea. Unlike ethanol and other controversial biofuels, recycled cooking fat does not impact on food production.

"I think we can safely say that this is the first long-distance car journey in Europe that has relied on restaurants and burger bars as an informal network of filling stations," said Andy Pag, a 34-year-old Londoner, who organised the rally.

"It's true we spent a lot of time fat-finding, knocking on the doors of restaurants begging for their waste, but it worked. And the beauty, of course, is that when such supplies are collected straight from a restaurant and used as fuel they have a zero-carbon footprint," he told the Guardian, after an awards ceremony highlighting alternatives to fossil fuels at the British embassy in Athens.

Eight teams took part, driving cars that ranged from a brand new Renault to, in Pag's case, a 13–year-old former taxi. They estimate that 350 litres of cooking oil were used to fuel the 11-day expedition.

Some of the vehicles had been converted to run on vegetable oil. Those driving "uncoverted" cars brewed up biodiesel using a portable "fuel pod" processor – a 2,500lb (1,134kg) contraption carried in a transit van that they described as being "as easy as a washing machine to use."

Pag conducted his first carbon neutral trip in 2007, driving from London to Timbuktu in a lorry powered by diesel made from cocoa butter, produced by a chocolate factory in the UK. He said he was amazed at the curiosity the rally engendered, with crowds invariably gathering to witness the re-fuelling process.

"We used what is known as an oily bits centrifuge system, the world's first mobile purification system for cars, to filter the waste en route," said Pag's co-driver, secondary school teacher Esther Obiri-Darko. "It gets rid of all the crud." Manufactured in the UK, the system costs around £500 and includes a pump.

The group's overarching aim is to encourage people to look at alternatives to fossil fuels. "I think we made quite a lot of converts along the way," said Pag. "There's a whole trail out there of restaurant owners who are now looking at their waste products with different eyes. Our hope is that others will start to realise the energy that is in waste, too."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/28/biofuels.carbonemissions