Jim Dauven wrote:

I have start looking around for substitutes for Diesel fuel and
lubricants for machinery. Well low and behold I found a sub
that grows well in the high deserts of Oregon and doesn't need
that much water

The RAPESEED produces an oil that is a direct substitute for
diesel fuel. From what I understand it can be used directly
but it is really dirty. If you put the oil through a process
of fractional distillation (I guess the old booze still will
have more than one use) it cleans up very nicely.

According to the Oregon State University agricultural extension
service we should expect to get 1200 lbs of RAPEseed per acre in
an average year.

When the seed is expressed for oil the oil recovery is about
10% by weight. So 1200 lbs of Rapeseed will yield 120 lbs
(20 gallons) of low quality diesel fuel. I suspect that through
fractional distillation we would probably get 18 gallons of
fuel per acre and 1 to 1.5 gallons of lubrication oil.

The distilled Rapeseed oil would also provide oil for lamps for
lighting.

So if we plant 100 acres of Rape seed we could expect to get
1800 gallons of high quality diesel fuel.

The Independent



Just a couple of thoughts, Jim.

Rape (Canola) oil is a non-drying oil and was used (highly refined) as
a high-speed lubricant at one time.

You need to add pitch or resin to it to make a decent lamp fuel.

[ That's what the Ukrainians do, anyway. ]

Makes good soap too.

Wood gas is a *much* better idea for fuel and light. A fraction of the
work.


-dir

--
The greatest fine art of the future will be the making
of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.

Abraham Lincoln