subscribe to the RSS Feed

Saturday, December 7, 2024

LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas

Posted by Krzysztof Lis on January 30, 2014

LNG, or liquified natural gas, is natural gas in a liquid state. It has been cooled to cryogenic temperatures, and because of that in atmospheric pressur it is in liquid state.

LNG can be used as car fuel, as well as CNG (compressed natural gas) can. Both these fuels have significant advantages over gasoline and diesel fuel.

Because of the liquid state, LNG is more than twice as dense as CNG. It needs to be stored in insulated tanks because of the low temperature, but under pretty low pressures, as compared to compressed natural gas. The latter requires over 200 times atmospheric pressure (3,000-3,600 psi, or 21 to 25 MPa), while LNG requires only 70-150 psi (0,5-1,0 MPa, 5-10 times the atmospheric pressure). LNG is supplied to the engine in liquid state and then vaporised, similarly to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, propane-butane mix, also known as autogas).  WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Alcohol yield from various feedstocks

Posted by Krzysztof Lis on December 16, 2011

Below you will find a table representing 199+ proof (99,5%+) alcohol yield from various feedstocks. The values are both in US gallons per ton (2,000 lbs) or litres per metric tonne of feedstock. The numbers were obtained from calculation of the amount of fermentable substances contained in the feedstocks. As you can imagine, real values will be noticeably lower.

It doesn’t surprise that the best feedstock for ethanol production is the wheat, along with other grains, like corn and buckwheat. Raisins and prunes work great as they’re dried, and thus contain a lot of sugar per unit mass. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Is ethanol really an alternative fuel?

Posted by Krzysztof Lis on November 18, 2011

In the vast amount of information about alternate energy, there a lot of sources of alternate energy that are really not as effective as they are promising to be. Some of these energy sources are much hyped and marketed because the interest in alternate energy is conducive for investor interest in the process. The hype can be a quick source of earning money for alternate energy fraudsters.

Therefore, although it is safe to invest money in established alternate energy solutions, especially solar panels, because the government is spending billions to foster their development, one should be careful before spending money and thought on miraculous alternate energy solutions like ethanol. A common notion that has been slowly gaining ground is that biofuels like ethanol can offer a long term solution to America’s fuel crisis and provide substantial returns to investors. This notion, although technically true, yet has several real life obstacles facing it before it turns into a successful alternative to gasoline. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Biodiesel versus SVO and WVO

Posted by Krzysztof Lis on November 11, 2011

A lot of people say that biodiesel is the future biofuel. You can pay to learn how to make biodiesel (or read it for free here) and buy an expensive biodiesel processor (or make your own for small fraction of the price). But is biodiesel really a good alternative to petrodiesel?

I believe not. I think that it’s better to use straight or waste vegetable oil, and not biodiesel. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »