Making fuel for the future

With the Earth’s supply of fossil fuels
rapidly dwindling, alternative fuel sources
are becoming more popular

Story by Jenny Manning
Photos by Mark McInnis

Staff Photo

Jeremy Hall decided to convert his Mercedes-Benz into a biodiesel vehicle to hep conserve fossil fuels.

Jeremy Hall isn’t your typical Mercedes-Benz owner. But this is no ordinary Mercedes. The car owned by this Eugene landscaping contractor and environmental activist exudes the faint odor of a fast-food restaurant as it chugs down the street. The bumper sticker on the back gives away this vehicle’s unique fuel source: “BIODIESEL No Dinosaurs Were Harmed While Fueling This Vehicle.”

Although the Mercedes is best known as a symbol of wealth, opulence and excess, Hall sees his car as part of a growing movement to change the world, one small individual step at a time. Converting his diesel-powered Mercedes to a fuel source made entirely from vegetable oil is one way he has found to reduce the amount of planet-warming emissions that America’s 210 million cars and light trucks are pumping into the atmosphere.

“I was fed up with the oil cartel and wanted to reduce my contribution to negative ecological impact,” said Hall, who first bought a gasoline-electric hybrid car six years ago but then decided to go totally fossil fuel-free with a car that runs on biodiesel.

He has reduced his emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, by approximately 17,500 pounds per year, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

Although Americans are snapping up the Toyota Prius and other gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles faster than car companies can make them, biodiesel-powered vehicles are still in their infancy. But biodiesel shows enormous promise as a fuel source that, over time, could make a
significant dent in the world’s thirst for oil and lead toward a transportation future built on a more sustainable
fuel supply: Plants.

The National Biodiesel Board reports that biodiesel production, “from plant to pump,” rose from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 75 million gallons in 2005. That still pales in comparison to U.S. gasoline consumption, which topped 24 billion gallons in 2005, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Information Institute.

Engines also can be equipped to run on an ethanol/gasoline mix, a grain-based alcohol made from starchy sources such as corn, switchgrass and woodchip waste blended with regular gasoline. These cars are called flex-fuel vehicles because the kit allows the engine to run on any ethanol/gasoline blend. Today there are 700 biofuel stations in the United States and 16 biofuel stations in Oregon, three of which are in Eugene.

But Hall’s Mercedes is part of a growing “niche” vehicle type: diesel-powered cars that are converted to run straight biodiesel. A number of local entrepreneurs have figured out a “niche” business: Buy older-model diesel Mercedes or other vehicles and install a conversion kit so they can be powered by biodiesel made from vegetable oil or other pure plant material.

Because most conversions are done on older cars, the Environmental Protection Agency does not have an estimate of how many converted vehicles share the road with their fossil fuel counterparts.

Nevertheless, they are becoming popular among some governments and the likes of Hollywood celebrities and rock musicians in bands such as the Barenaked Ladies and Pearl Jam.

Mark McInnis / Photographer

An abandoned gasoline pump shows the possible future of traditional fuel.

Hall, who used to work for an Oregon environmental organization, first bought a Toyota Prius gasoline-electric hybrid in 2001. He then became interested in biofuels, but soon realized that there were very few places to fuel up. The opening of a SeQuential Biofuels station in Eugene more than a year ago helped him make the decision to switch to a vehicle that runs on biodiesel.

Hall sold his Prius and bought the 1982 Mercedes-Benz with 190,000 miles on it for $4,300 — less than half what he paid for the Prius.

He took the car to Tony Reidhl of Reidhl Diesel, located on Van Buren Street and West Second Avenue, who changed the fuel pumps and hoses.

Clark Tippen and Jacob Frankfort, owners of Green Eye Autos, a local shop on River Road in Eugene, specialize in converting vehicles to run on biodiesel or pure biofuels. Neither Clark Tippen nor Jacob Frankfort ever intended to own an auto shop or car dealership, but Tippen launched the business after tinkering with biofuel conversions as a kind of hobby. He then taught Frankfort how to do it, and Green Eye was born.

“I never thought I'd be a used car salesman,” said Frankfort, who used to make furniture. They decided to call their business Green Eye Autos because the name suggests viewing the world though a sustainable perspective.

During their first year of business, Green Eye Autos, located at 285 River Road, only installed biofuel conversion kits and sold cars that ran on biodiesel.

Now in their second year, they have sold more than 100 biodiesel cars and have expanded to include sales and services for cars that run on ethanol and all-electric “Zap Cars.” In the future, they hope to sell hydrogen-run and compressed air-run cars.

Even before starting Green Eye Autos, Frankfort said he had always been “green conscious.”

“I'm interested in a sustainable environment and I don't want to support the bigger issue of what goes on to get oil,” said Frankfort.

Mark McInnis / Photographer

Attendants answer questions for curious customers at SeQuential Biofuels at 86714 McVay Highway in Eugene, Ore.

Biodiesel fits Frankfort’s sustainability ideals because it is made from local resources. This means that it supports the local economy and it is the only fuel that meets the Clean Air Act health effects requirements.

“I still think people should only drive as their last option,” Frankfort said. “They should walk or bike if they can.”

Green Eye Autos office manager Toby Gamberoni sees the business as a way to extend the life of cars already on the road.

“We take old cars and recycle them into new cars,” he said.

The amount of energy and resources put into manufacturing one new Prius would take the owner 20 years of zero carbon emissions — the primary cause of global warming — to become “carbon neutral.”

Converting a Mercedes that is nearing the end of its “carbon life” is much more sustainable and environmentally friendly, Gamberoni said. “It's about consciousness,” he said. “We have enough already.”

Green Eye Autos recently began installing ethanol conversion kits.

The business converts 1991-model cars and newer to run on ethanol with a plug in conversion that works with the car’s existing engine. The conversion process for a gasoline car costs between $300 and $600.

The changes in our fuel economy have brought a growing number of other cleaner burning fuels. A decade ago, gasoline and diesel were the only options; now there are at least seven different categories of fuel on the market today.

Here is a guide to the most common types of alternative fuels:

Mark McInnis / Photographer

Green Eye Autos mechanic Richie “The Vegan Mechanic” Thomason performs routine maintenance on an alternatively fueled vehicle in the shop located at 285 River Road, Eugene, Ore.

BIODIESEL: All diesel engines can run on B5, a mixture of 5 percent vegetable oil and 95 percent diesel without special modifications. Even a small amount of biodiesel added to regular diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

There also are blends of up to 50 percent vegetable oil and 50 percent diesel. Conversions are required to run vehicles on any fuel containing more than 20 percent biofuel. Biodiesel burns cleaner and does not emit the gasoline smell that normal diesel engines spew into the air while running. After the first few tanks of biodiesel, car owners must change their fuel filters. Regular diesel leaves sediment in the fuel tank, said Gamberoni. The corrosive nature of biofuel cleans out the sediment that collects in the fuel tank from being run on regular diesel fuel, which initially clogs the fuel filter. Once a couple of tanks have been run, and the filter changed, people can go back to regular maintenance, he said.

When he runs pure biofuel in his tank, Gamberoni said. “It smells a little like fried food, but I don't mind it.”

STRAIGHT VEGETABLE OIL: Diesel engines can run on all kinds of spent cooking oil from restaurants including waste vegetable oil and animal fats like tallow.

The downside to SVO is that in colder climates, these oils gel (for the same reason natural oils gel in refrigerated food) and the conversion to SVO is the most expensive, ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 said Gamberoni.

SVO vehicles have two fuel tanks, one for biodiesel and one for SVO. The engine starts with the thinner biodiesel fuel.

Once the heat of the engine has warmed the pipes leading to the SVO, the driver flips a switch so the car then runs on the natural oil source. Currently, SVO cannot be legally sold for fuel purposes, said Tippen.

ETHANOL: Ethanol fuel can be derived from any form of carbohydrate. The most commonly used ethanol crops are corn, switchgrass and woodchip waste.

The higher octane of ethanol results in a cleaner burning fuel and improves vehicle performance, but this cleaner-burning fuel provides low fuel efficiency than gasoline, even though they both cost about the same price.

“Ethanol burns about 70 percent cleaner than regular gas,” said Gamberoni. But for people interested in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, the trade off may be worth it.

HYBRIDS: Electric/gasoline hybrid cars are the most well known of sustainable car options and require no conversions. The Toyota Prius debuted in 1997 in Japan as the first hybrid vehicle on the world-market and then in 2000 in the United States.

Honda introduced the first U.S. hybrid car, the Insight in 1999. Hybrids are another option for eco-savvy consumers.