>From: [address removed] >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Belgium, the french fried banana republic >Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 > >hallo, > >i' ve spent the last few days reading practically all the biodiesel >content of your amazing site. Many, many thanks... >Where can one start? I'll have to write things down in a schoolbook >sort of way, because my English has become a bit rusty. >As you might know, Belgium is a French fry eating country; we >produce vast amounts of WVO, which is still considered as hazardous >waste product by our authorities. This has a reason. A couple of >years ago there was a big national health scandal: A malafide >company who collects WVO and animal grease, used these products for >the fabrication of live stock food (fudder?). Due to criminal >negligence, there had been a contamination of WVO with PCB's >(polychloorbifenyl, highly toxic stuff that's being used in electric >transformators). >This poisin got into the food chain, so many tons of various food >and animals had to be destroyed. It caused a national panic, not in >the least in political matters. To avoid similar contaminations in >the future, strict regulations were set for the collection and >treatment of WVO. Practically, this means you can't just buy a >couple of barrels of WVO from your local "Friterie", if you want to >start homebrewing biodiesel. Only a few big compies have a permit to >collect WVO from restaurants etc., and they're obliged to destroy >the WVO. One company in my town would like to start to produce >biodiesel, but the government will not give permission. As you can >guess, the production of any kind of "fuel" is strictly regulated, >and making your own biodiesel"fuel" without permission is considered >illegal; the punishment for breaking the law is considerable. A >while ago, the Belgian media entousiastically spread the news that >Belgian companies will soon start with the production of biodiesel: >only a few candidates were granted a permit to produce biodiesel, >and guess what... They were all related with or funded with money of >BIG OIL and BIG CHEMICAL like TOTAL and BASF. It would take me too >far to explain how the rules were written to favor BIG CAPITAL, and >to exclude small cooperatives. The vast amounts of biodiesel that >they intend to produce, will not be sold as pure biodiesel, but will >be mixed with fossil fuel. Cynical, isn't it? For the individual, it >is illegal to convert your own WVO (if you can get a sufficiant >amount, ILLEGALLY) into biodiesel, and there are no gas stations >where you can buy pure biodiesel. It is however LEGAL, to drive a >converted vehicle with PPO, but you have to pay the same amount of >taxes on this fuel, as you do on fossil fuel. As mentioned on your >site, companies like Elsbett do their misleading tricks, and it >works. The public transport companies let them install costly kits >on coaches and garbage trucks. These so called "green projects" >produced by "green" politics appear to be very naieve, or worse. On >top of that, it is also forbidden to produce your own PPO, unless >you can get a permit, and produce at least 500.000 liters per year: >BIG AGRICULTURE says thank you to the fools who made that one up! >Even engineering university students tend to consider the biodiesel >production as a strictly large scale industrial process. They are >simply denying the importance of a smallscale decentralized >energyproduction, which is assumed only to be suitable for third >world countries. In many ways, i think Belgium has become a sort of >third world country, when you see how it is being run by BIG >CAPITALISM and BIG CONSUMING. >The uninformed public opinion doesn't give a ****, because the media >apparently decide to treat the biodiesel (and other renewable >energy) issues in a very trivial or entertaining way, reporting >about for instance those Norwegian jokers who will produce biodiesel >with fat liposucked out of overweight Americans... >Thank God i found your website! I'm well informed now, thaks to you. >Anyway, my point is, that i've considered to do my small scale >biodiesel thing as legal as possible, but practically, this is >impossible due to absurd and unfair laws and regulations. I have >little hope that these rules, typical for my country, will change in >a short term. In the best national tradition of civil desobediance, >i will simply ignore these injust laws, and start with "moonshine" >biodiesel production, as soon as possible. >I owe you people big time, so if you ever consider to visit my >country, and the wonderful medieval town of BRUGES (where i live), i >would like to introduce you into our amazing food & beer traditions. >Good luck and > >Best regards, [name removed]
Fwd from Gasification list: >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 1:23:2 +0100 >From: "Philippe Raufast" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [Gasification] Limonene fuel > > >On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 2:17:21 +0100, Philippe wrote in message > ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > >> Here in France, people have investigated the use of limonene to hide > >> the french fries smell of veg oil in Diesel engine. It was to avoid > >> being arrested by the customs or police and being heavily fined. > > > >...huh? I thought the EU _wanted_ people to stop burning fossil fuel??? > >Yes, but they dont want to loose the huge fuel taxes money ! >They want to force us to buy biodiesel from Total ... But we will >not surrender ! > > > > >> But limonene is expensive and hard to find, so people prefer using 0.2 >0.2 percent > >> of lavandin oil extract. ( i dont know the english name for > >> lavandin, but it's a blue flower that is cultivated in Mediteranean > >> climate. The oil is used as an industrial perfume, for detergents and > >> other household chemicals.) > > > >...the blue flower has a Latin name? (Will help translation.) > >Yes, > Lavandula intermedia, wich is a high yielding natural hybrid : >Lavandula angustifolia X Lavandula latifolia = Lavandin (fr) > Lavandula angustifolia = Lavender = Lavande (fr), this one is >lower yielding (= more expensive), much better smelling and used >only in perfumery. >It seems in the US, people use the name "Lavender" for any Lavandula >species, but the difference is just like between Natural Vanilla >and Vanilin. > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender >http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavande _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
