Hello Marcel >never heard of ethanol gel. would be very interested in getting a >recipe.
Well, I just posted one. "Mix 11 grams of Calcium Acetate with 30 mg of water. Make sure all the Calcium Acetate is dissolved, this might take an hour of occasional stirring. Measure 10 mg of the solution. Slowly add 40 mg of ethanol. As you add the ethanol, the mixture should gel instantly. Pour off any remaining ethanol (a very small amount). Because the mixture gels instantly, you do not have to combine the two until you need to use it for cooking." I made some Calcium Acetate by neutralizing acetic acid with lime. Works well, gels immediately, burns very nicely, but it's not very stable, best to make it when you need it. This way, since it's bioduels in the Third World rural development setting that we're most interested in, everything required is probably available locally, or could be. Ethanol can be brewed on-site (and probably is already), even if it's not absolute; acetic acid can be brewed the same way, by aerating the mash, and agricultural lime is fairly ubiquitous. Here's another one, with proprietory ingredients: Ethanol Solid Fuel Gel / Fire Starter Carbopol EZ-3 Polymer á Primary thickener for alcohol systems - neutralization with a specific amine is critical á Provides good clarity and overall aesthetics á Low skinning & cracking á Approximate burn time of 2.5 hours per 200 grams á Self-wetting polymer for improved handling and easier full-scale processing Formulation Percent Function Trade Name Supplier Carbopol EZ-3 - Weight Percent 0.55 - Thickener - Noveon, Inc. DI Water - Weight Percent 23.90 - Diluent Ethanol - Weight Percent 75.00 - Fuel Triisopropanolamine - Weight Percent 0.55 - Neutralizing agent - Dow Chemical 100.00 Procedure 1. Add the Carbopol EZ-3 polymer to the deionized water with no agitation. The polymer will wet out in a few minutes. 2. With moderate agitation, add the ethanol. 3. Heat the triisopropanolamine until melted and add with good agitation. The product will thicken during this step. Increased agitation will be required. >check out this funny "ask umbra" relating to the most >ecofriendly way to grill. it came from grist magazine, an online >environmental publication that does a pretty decent job of reporting. > >http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask090602.asp?souce=count Have you seen her view of diesels? http://www.gristmagazine.com/ask/ask081502.asp?source=daily#diesel Grist | Ask Umbra | Auto pilot | 15 Aug 2002 Let's recall some stale high school stereotypes: the cruel football player and the catty cheerleader. Diesel oil is the football player -- big, strong, lunk-headed, unwashed, and mean. Gasoline is the cheerleader: slimmer, well-groomed, and socially manipulative. They're both toxic to the school atmosphere, but people are more inclined to avoid the bully, because he is more immediately physically hazardous. In California, diesel exhaust is listed as a known carcinogen, is the most significant source of airborne toxins, and accounts for 70 percent of the cancer risk from air pollution. So, we can see what your neighbors to the south think of your decision. As for the refining process: When you refine a barrel of crude oil, you get some gasoline, some diesel, and some other stuff, including such nasties as chlorinated wastewater and the gaseous chemical byproducts of combustion. It's all the same process, so you can't avoid the manufacture of diesel by buying only gasoline. The toxics created by oil refineries are bad for the environment at large and disproportionately affect the people -- mainly poor people -- who live nearby. Good ol' Environmental Defense gives a pithy description of the environmental impact of refineries and suggestions for actions to get them cleaned up. Although refinery pollution is bad, pollution from vehicles is considered a more pressing environmental issue, as most of us are closer to the tailpipe than to the smoke stack. As we toodle along the road, our tailpipe exhales carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and sulfur dioxide. Such chemicals bring us ozone, particulate matter, acid rain, nitrification of water bodies, respiratory ailments, lung disease, cancer, smog, and of course climate change; these are the shadows that trail behind our cars. Diesel engines are more culpable than gasoline on almost all counts. This is in part because diesel is dirtier. Also, gasoline-powered engines have been targeted for cleanup in the past several decades, with regulatory standards such as unleaded gas and the catalytic converter resulting in somewhat cleaner emissions. Diesel is just beginning that process, but currently, the allowable emissions from diesel exhaust are rather horrifying. By way of summation, all diesel cars are considered 'inferior' in the ACEEE's Green Book, mentioned above. I feel this may not be welcome news to you. My apologies. Yours truly, Umbra Yours even more truly Keith >marcel ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Home Selling? Try Us! http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/MVfIAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
