This stinks, literally, right now it doesn't (it's too cold), let it get hot outside again...
I really did hope to post a link to a 'hi tech' solution that somehow our over worked and under paid public servants simply missed, but sadly...
Oil from algae
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html#alg
Algae yield is not included in the yield tables because, in spite of all the hype about yields of 20,000 gallons of oil per acre and even 100,000 gallons per acre and so on, biodiesel from algae is still something of the future, not of the present.
As of mid-2008, there is no such thing as biodiesel from algae apart from a few laboratory samples. There are some hopeful signs, but technical obstacles remain, pilot projects are not yet feasible for production purposes, and the claims made for high yields have never been demonstrated and remain theoretical.
No doubt that will change, but it's been "just around the corner" for years. When it does emerge, it's very likely to be in the form of high-tech industrial-scale solutions, not for backyarders or farms or villages.
We're sad to be so negative about it, but there's a lot of confusion about biodiesel from algae.
On a brighter note, this guy's site is chock full of alternative fuel "How To's"!
And full to the brim with footnotes and geek speak.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
I'm not a biodiesel scientist but I did stay at a Holiday Express last night"
Does that count?
Issue #22
November 16, 2008
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