Bruce, here is another site with more technical info on making biofuels.
http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/
The more I read up about this, and the more people that I make contact with, the more I come to the conclusion that it is suitable for a cottage industry or small economies. If we utilize anything like our existing fuel distribution systems, we'll literally run out of rainforests pronto, as everyone wanting to make a quick buck, will simply cut down the 'green' that they need for biofuel production. Somewhere in my notes I have the links to places where this is already happening as we speak.
Personally we are in the process of making a biofuel still. Not too far down the road, just basically collecting the components as we've not figured what would be the best (read most sustainable) material to utilize here in the DR for feeding the monster, to have biofuel and gas come out on the other side, and without blowing ourselves to smithereens.
I was chatting to a friend who also is interested (but in the economics, i.e., his own pocket economics, not in the environmental aspects) and he suggested that it is easy - we just plant some kind of fast growing reed/weed type thing out of China. We add a few things and we have enough 'green' to make it. This of course made me cringe, thinking of introducing non-native species and impoverishing the soil and all that goes around that. Yes, I did call him a shortsighted boor and all that, but we're good friends... and now he is thinking a little :classic:
Unfortunately, globally we're still market driven and not people driven. We all know that can produce sufficient food today to feed the hungry, if we produce less food for animals and obviously have less focus on animal protein as a food. But, the market talks and more and more cropland is taken over by food production for animals for consumption in the developed nations - and people starve in the 'developing' nations. This is just the fact of it.
With the current popularity of the concept of biofuel, everybody that is somebody is jumping on the bandwagon and my early research is telling me that it is not so simple. Yes, we can make it. Yes, we can make a diesel engine run on it. Yes, it is cheap and relatively easy for a homesteading, ecovillage or small economy type utilization. Yes, it is being sold through conventional outlets. But large scale? There are some other factors that need to shift before this becomes feasible - one of which is the land that will be used to grow the makings.
Globally I get the sense that we are thinking quick fix and short term solution here. Perhaps we should be thinking long term solution and reduce our dependence on fuel - or even come up with a drastically changed method of propulsion.
One of these days I'll be ready to write down all these findings with the citations correctly 'citated' to make Keith happy :classic: It is interesting as my initial viewpoints are changing drastically the deeper I research.
The hippy part of me really enjoys the story of my countrymen driving all over making their biodiesel as they go in the journeytoforever site.