You may have seen it on television or in films — technology so advanced it can track down automobiles on almost any location. But vehicle tracking is more than just about putting carnappers and other criminals behind bars. This mode of tracking device is also used in other ways such as in businesses processes and security.

A prime example is the shipping industry, considered a pioneer in utilizing a commercial vehicle tracking system. Commercial vehicle tracking locates and collects accurate data. It spot-checks the location of a certain vehicle for commercial or business purposes.

Today, commercial vehicle tracking has expanded to several other smaller-scale industries. Not only is such a system abundant in terms of providers and services, it is also ultimately cost as well as time-efficient for the corporation using the vehicle tracking system.

A good example of a modern-day commercial vehicle tracking application is dispatching of freight vans and other delivery vehicles. By installing a transmitter on a particular freight van, an operator can easily monitor the activity of the freight van as it makes its delivery within the area; stops, detours, drop-offs, etc. are all display on a computer or another remote hardware device.

When freight vans and other deliver vans are dispatched systematically, this may be called a modern-day commercial vehicle tracking application. The operator installs a transmitter on a particular freight van to monitor the activity of the freight van as it makes its delivery within the area. All activities are monitored through a remote hardware device including  stops, detours and drop-off points.

Companies involved in commercial vehicle tracking services also offers other services and packages such as printable reports like speed reports, idling reports, and journey reports, detailed location mapping, route finding among others. Field sales and trailer tracking are other commercial uses of vehicle tracking. For instance, in field sales, vehicle tracking is used to retrieve driving directions and planning last-minute itineraries.

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by Dark Sith

To use biodiesel as fuel, you need the right equipment to turn plant oils or animal fats into biodiesel. Because of its environment-friendly nature and its usefulness, people are starting to shift to this fuel for use in their homes or their cars.

If a person wants to produce only a small amount of biodiesel, then a simple equipment set can be used. This equipment can be bought individually from retailers. A simpler way to obtain these things is through buying biodiesel kits from dealers. Many of these kits are available online.

Transesterification is the process of purifying animal fats or oils by them it react with alcohol through catalysts such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Plant oils are the easiest to make biodiesel. A person can use plant oils from corn, rapeseed, palm, sunflower, peanut, soybean or canola. Methoxide is formed by mixing together the catalyst and an alcohol, which can either be ethanol or methanol. When methoxide is mixed with the plant oils for a period of time, esters are obtained. These esters compose biodiesel.

A small amount of biodiesel can be made in a backyard or garage. However, if a person wants to make the fuel at home, he or she should be very careful when handling chemicals that could be dangerous and even fatal. The catalyst sodium hydroxide can severely burn the skin. Methanol is also dangerous and can cause blindness. These substances should be handled very carefully. These chemicals should be placed only in polyethylene, polypropylene, glass or stainless steel containers.

Here are the other tools required to produce biodiesel at home:

A reactor vessel where the chemicals are mixed together

A heater to heat the mixture

A dropper or syringe

Funnels, graduated beakers and scales to accurately weigh the substances

A reactor vessel where the chemicals are mixed together

A stirrer

A stirrer

Water to wash the biodiesel after transesterification.

For larger quantities of biodiesel, a different set of equipment is used. Complete sets of this equipment can be easily purchased over the Internet. Some of these tools are as follows:

A touchless processor, a more complicated type of processor than a manual one.

A manual processor, which is a tank that mixes and heats the substances.

A mechanical mixer, which can use propellers or pumps to mix the substances.

A touchless processor, a more complex type of processor than a manual one.

Almost everything you need to make biodiesel is available on the Web. The production of this renewable fuel is becoming a profitable clean and green business.

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Do you have a large family that likes to go on road trips? Is camping or driving through different states or provinces something your family enjoys? If it is, it might be a good decision to invest in a van. Vans are large vehicles that have seating capacities of around ten people. Aside from that, vans also have plenty of space inside them, enough to store all of your family's clothes, pans, and other camping items.

To maximize the money you spend on your van, buy a van that runs on diesel. You can save a lot of money with this type of van because of three things: durability, cost, and fuel economy.

Fuel economy is one of the best features of diesel engines. As a result of their higher density, diesel fuels burns slower compared to gasoline. The main thing about better fuel economy, though, is that you can drive farther using one tank of diesel compared to one tank of gasoline. This is ideal, especially since you will be going on long road trips with your van. Considering how many miles are traveled on such trips, it would save you a lot of money to have an engine that can go farther on one tank.

Cost is another great feature of diesel vans. Generally, diesel fuel costs less than gasoline. In some areas, however, diesel prices are equal or greater than gasoline prices because of factors such as taxes and tariffs for the implementation of high emissions standards.

Lastly, one other feature of vans running on diesel is the fact that diesel engines have a longer life. They are more durable compared to gas engines. This means that you and your family can travel more without having to worry about having any maintenance or changes to your engine. As long as the engine is working, your whole family can keep on traveling.

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The world is experiencing climate change and rising temperatures. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can make the Earth a better place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this fuel around the world.

Biodiesel is produced through transesterification, a chemical process where oils and fats in plants and animals are processed into the substances of the fuel. As early as 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had already conducted some kind of transesterification.

In 1900, Rudolf Diesel demonstrated a diesel engine that ran on peanut oil at the World Fair in Paris. However, this peanut oil fuel is not considered biodiesel because it didn't go through transesterification.

Countries, such as the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and France tested and experimented with vegetable oils throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, they encountered some problems because the viscosity of the oils led to engine deposits.

In 1931, the first biodiesel production was done by G. Chavanne of Belgium. Since then, research and experiments have been counducted to improve the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. By 1998, 21 countries began producing commercial biodiesel products. Today, manufacturers can use several sources to make biodiesel, like animal fats and plant oils from palm, sunflower, peanut, soybean or canola.

In Australia, all metropolitan trains and almost all buses in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel mixed with petroleum. The South Australian Government plans to move up to 20% biodiesel soon. In Canada, the government has set a goal of producing 500 million liters of the fuel by 2010. In Finland, a local oil company plans to build a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.

In 2005, a power plant capable of producing 50 million liters per year opened in Scotland. In Brazil, three commercial biodiesel factories have been producing 45.6 million liters of the fuel per year. In India, the government is encouraging the cultivation of Jatropha plants, the oil of which is used for railway engines. Malaysia has long been developing palm biodiesel as a diesel substitute.

Farmers in the United States use the fuel in tractors and other equipment to raise public awareness. Aside from these countries, Belgium, Costa Rica, Thailand, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Norway and others have also already taken steps to increase their biodiesel production.

National governments around the world are making policies to increase the biodiesel blends that they use to fight global warming. By improving fuel technology, establishing larger biodiesel networks, raising people's awareness and increasing biodiesel use, the Earth may see a better future through this clean and green fuel.

We could fight global warming with (http://www.runningdieselengines.com/Fighting+Global+Warming%3A+Biodiesel+Expansion+Around+the+World.28536.htm) biodiesel expansion, to learn more visit our online guide.

Bio Diesel Renewable Fuel Source

Biodiesel is better for the environment, it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel.  In the USA it is made from renewable resources such as soybeans and since its introduction has reduced the US dependence on foreign oil and as well as contributing  to the US economy by creating additional manufacturing jobs.  Biodiesel can be manufactured from algae, vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant greases and it  it can be produced locally in most countries.

Biodiesel feedstock plants utilize photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy.  Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil.  Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the US 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

Biodiesel Energy

Biodiesel has about 5–8% less energy density, but better lubricity and more complete combustion can make the output of a diesel engine only 2% less per volume compared to petrodiesel fuel usage.  

Biodiesel Engines

Biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources (such as vegetable oils) which can be used in unmodified diesel engine vehicles.  However, the engine components must be specially manufactured or modified to accommodate 100% pure biodiesel.  Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Some vehicle manufacturers are positive about the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as one of the fuel's benefits.  In the UK many only maintain their engine warranties for use with maximum 5% biodiesel which is blended in with 95% conventional diesel. This position is generally considered by many to be very cautious.  Peugeot and Citroën are also exceptions to this 5% rule, in that they have both recently announced that their PSA HDi engine can run on 30% biodiesel. 

Blends of 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel (B20) can generally be used in unmodified diesel engines. With the introduction of biodiesel in the UK, we will have a renewable fuel source, a reduction in our dependancy on  imported fuel and an oppotunity to  increase  manufacturing jobs.

The French company Peugeot states that the  E85-powered Peugeot 307 BioFlex will emit about 5 per cent less CO2 than a similarly equipped Peugeot 307 working on a lead-free gas, which will be some 169 g of CO2 per km as opposed to 178 g in the case of gasoline-powered vehicle.  The Peugeot 307 BioFlex is not an ordinary flex-fuel vehicle, it uses the so called SuperEthanol fuel, consisting of 85% agricultural ethanol and 15% of lead-free petrolwhich is "progressively being made available at service stations across  France".

Reduction in CO emmisions

The combustion of E85 fuel emits approximately 5 % less CO2 than that of lead-free petrol, and in the case of the 307 BioFlex working on a combined cycle, this corresponds to 169 g of CO2 per km as opposed to 178 g in the case of petrol.  This enables drivers to run the car only on lead-free petrol if  they want,  in which case the 307 BioFlex  mpg will be equivalent of the 307 equipped with the standard petrol engine, resulting in the 307 BioFlex running on lead-free petrol obtaining  identical results in terms of both performance and fuel consumption, as the standard petrol engine. 

The digital engine control unit specific to 307 BioFlex vehicles manages the fuel supply according to the fuel composition measured by the lambda (EGO) sensor.

Brazil's location in the tropical and subtropical zones of the world ensures intense solar radiation year-round, the basic requirement of bioenergy production. This comparative advantage enables the country to be a leader in the international biofuel market, promoting energy products derived from agroenergy.  Brazil has become the poster boy for ethanol production and with her massive sugar cane plantations have fuelled a wholesale switch from petrol to biofuels, enabling self sufficentecy in motor fuel.

The Peugeot 307 BioFlex emits 5% less CO2 than its petrol counterpart (169g per km instead of 178g / km)  and Peugeot is eager to promote biofuels, there will be no additional cost for the customer to cover the extra outlay for technical adaptation and  the 307 BioFlex models should  be available at the same price as the corresponding petrol versions.

Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is a clear colourless liquid, biodegradable, low in toxicity and causes very little environmental pollution when burnt.  Ethanol (E100) consumption in an engine is approximately 34% higher than that of gasoline (the energy per volume unit is 34% lower).  Ethanol is typically blended with petrol to form an E10 blend (5%-10% ethanol and 90%-95% gasoline), but it can be used in higher concentrations such as E85 or in its pure form.

Energy Supply

According to the International Energy Agency, cellulosic ethanol could allow ethanol fuels to play a much bigger role in the future than previously thought.  Dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass, are also promising cellulose sources that can be produced in many regions of the United States.  Concerns relate to the large amount of arable land required for crops,[4] as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production.  Production of ethanol from sugarcane (sugarcane requires a tropical climate to grow productively) returns about 8 units of energy for each unit expended compared to corn which only returns about 1.

Petrol vs Bioethanol

Petrol has an energy content by volume of 31.  Petroleum diesel and petrol consist of blends of hundreds of different hydrocarbon chains.  Petroleum derived ethanol (synthetic ethanol) is chemically identical to bio-ethanol and can be differentiated only by radiocarbon dating.  Blends of 90% unleaded petrol and 10% fuel ethanol are commonly referred to as E10.  (2007:) There are only a few gas stations where E85 is sold, which is a 85% ethanol, 15% petrol mix.  China is promoting ethanol-based fuel on a pilot basis in five cities in its central and northeastern region, a move designed to create a new market for its surplus grain and reduce consumption of petroleum.  Another study has suggested that replacement of 100% petroleum fuel with E85 (a fuel mixture comprised of 85% ethanol and 15% petroleum) would significantly increase ozone levels, thereby increasing photochemical smog and aggravating medical problems such as asthma.

Bioethanol is a completely renewable and sustainable alternative fuel source.  Bioethanol is an important renewable energy source and  produces considerably lower emissions on combustion and it only releases the same amount of carbon dioxide as plants bound while growing, which helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is  a readily available, clean fuel additive that is used incombustion engines.  Bioethanol can be used as a fuel in a number of different ways: As a blend (ranging between 5% and 85%).  Bioethanol-blended petrol is similar to ordinary petrol but contains bioethanol.

Wessex Grain subsidiary Green Spirit Fuels has just been given planning permission to create one of Britain's first bioethanol plant, which will eventually convert 340,000 tonnes of locally grown wheat per year into 131 million litres of ethanol.

Since the government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation demands that 5% of all motorcar fuel must come from renewable sources by 2010, bioethanol will be used to fuel a growing number of cars on British roads, insists Green Spirit Fuel's finance director, Arthur Llewellyn.

"The UK will need 10 production plants like the one in Henstridge to meet the government's requirements," he says.

Biofuel converted cars

Most of the bioethanol will be mixed thinly with petrol.

Ordinary cars can run on blends of 5% biofuel and 95% petrol, and this is quickly and silently emerging as a standard fuel at Britain's service stations.

But some of the ethanol will be mixed with just 15% petrol to produce a fuel dubbed E85 (since it contains 85% bioethanol), which can be used by specially biofuel-enabled cars, like the Ford Focus flex-fuel or the Saab Biopower

Nationwide benefits

For Britain's farmers, this anticipated shift towards bioethanol would be particularly good news, observes Wessex Grain trader Owen Cligg.

Every year, UK farmers produce 3.5 million tonnes more grain than they can sell. If this surplus were sold to bioethanol producers, prices should rise across the board by £10-15 per tonne, Mr Cligg estimates.

"We can provide farmers with a revenue for wheat that is above the cost of production," adds Mr Llewellyn.

The benefits are not limited to farmers who grow wheat. Bioethanol and biodiesel can be produced from a slew of other agricultural products, for example rapeseed and other virgin oils, according to Greenergy, which provides biofuel blends to Tesco forecourts.

An expensive solution

Nevertheless, the introduction of E85 in the UK is proving both costly and difficult.

On the face of it, "it is not that far removed from providing fossil-based transport fuel," according to Graham Meeks of Climate Change Capital, a specialist merchant bank: it is a liquid fuel that is transported by road to underground tanks at service stations, where drivers fill up their cars

However, most service stations are operated by the oil industry, which is "pathologically opposed" to going down the biofuel route, according to Green Spirit fuels' Graham Hilton.

Even the supermarkets are loath to allow E85 pumps to take up valuable space on their forecourts. "Persuading them to take bioethanol is very difficult," Mr Hilton laments.

In fact, as yet just a handful of supermarkets in Somerset have agreed to sell E85, and only after being offered some significant incentives.

"We had a real challenge getting those forecourts," says Mr Hilton.

"We'll pay for the pumps to be put in, we'll pay a forecourt rental [and] we'll rent an underground tank from them."

Bioethanol distribution is expensive too, with stainless steel tankers costing £120,000 each, and the fuel itself costs 35 pence per litre to produce, Mr Hilton explains.

In other words, as spelt out by the European Commission: "Biofuels are an expensive way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Red herring

But great expense is not in itself a reason not to push the biofuel solution, which the European Commission says "has a justifiably high political priority"

Bioethanol made from grain produces 65% fewer greenhouse gases than petrol, according to the UK government agency Central Science Laboratory

In its Biomass Action Plan, it describes biofuel as "the only direct substitute for oil in transport", and as such it is "one of only two measures that have a reasonable chance of [reducing greenhouse gas emission] on a significant scale in the near future" - the other being reduced emissions from petroleum-powered engines.

Indeed, there are those - and Climate Change Capital's Mr Meeks is among them - who insist that "with rising oil prices, biodiesel is becoming cost-effective in its own right".

Others disagree and point out that rising demand for grain, sugar beet, rape seeds or any other plant used to produce biofuels is pushing raw material prices higher too.

The demand is not just coming from biofuel producers. "China's increasing dependence on agricultural imports is expected to lead to a strong turnaround in grain prices," according to Deutsche Bank's commodity analysts - a strong reminder that any foodstuff used for fuel is taken out of the food chain, in a world where many people are starving.

"There's simply not enough foodstuff available and not enough land to grow it on," says one industry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, for commercial reason.

"E85 is good for raising awareness of biofuels, but on a worldwide basis it is a red herring. Eighty-five percent is not the solution," the official insists, adding that "the way it has been positioned as a solution to UK motoring is naive".

Several benefits

This is a moot point for Andy Taylor, Ford Europe's director of corporate citizenship, whose job it is to make Ford a "more socially and environmentally aware company".

"It's a renewable fuel that is adding to our world resources of fuel," Mr Taylor points out, though when pushed he also acknowledges that the automotive future is not bioethanol.

"This is niche," Mr Taylor admits. "You can't make a business on the assumption that some people will pay a premium."

Unless, that is, there are rich and powerful governments involved, such as those in Sweden and Brazil.

In Brazil, cars have been running on biodiesel for years, while in Sweden, Ford's flex-fuel models are outselling its ordinary petrol and diesel cars.

Such progress for the fuel is not primarily due to a particularly environmentally-aware customer base.

Rather, it has come about through government incentives.

In Brazil, where biofuel cars now outsell ordinary cars, a state-run bioethanol fuel programme was originally set up for patriotic, not financial or environmental reasons.

It was a strategic decision taken by the military government that ran the country from 1964 to 1985, inspired by a desire to reduce its dependence on petroleum imports following the 1970s oil crisis.

Sweden's state-backed bioethanol programme, meanwhile, ensures that there is no duty on the fuel. E85-enabled cars are offered free parking in Gothenburg, Stockholm and other municipalities.

Biofuel cars are also 20% cheaper to insure and are exempt from the Stockholm congestion charge, while both personal and fleet users pay less tax.

But if this sounds like a high economic price to pay for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, consider this: Sweden gets more than that for its money.

As is the case in Britain, Sweden too needs to create rural jobs, and the biofuels sector has the potential to provide that in spades.

Then there is the potential benefit from being at the cutting edge of a new technology; there is even talk of a future where grain is genetically modified to create more efficient biofuels.

But to this small, Nordic nation, perhaps the most important benefit from biofuel is the way it reduces its dependence on imported fossil fuels, and thus further cements Sweden's neutrality as a nation.

In a geopolitically unstable world, the sum of these benefits may well be enough to continue pushing biofuel further, despite any shortcomings.

Source BBC.co.uk

Eighty-two percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and power vehicles.

Fuel cell vehicles

Fuel cell vehicles powered by pure hydrogen emit no harmful air pollutants.  Fuel cells have been used on spacecraft for many years to powerelectric equipment.  Fuel cells combine oxygen from the air with hydrogen from the vehicle's fuel tank to produce electricity. It should be noted that fuel cells do get hot this means the water comes out of the fuelcells as water vapor, or steam.

Ethanol Fuel

Ethanol is produced domestically from corn and other crops and produces less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels.  Ethanol from corn will last only as long as the price of milk,  eggs, meat, and beer don't  go up in price due to diversion of crop lands away from other grains to energy production.  Ethanol is less efficient than gasoline, so vehicles get fewer miles to the gallon, and there are only about 600 refueling stations in the United States.

Research into Alternative fuel vehicles

Research and development of alternative fuel vehicles is largely focused onimproving their competitiveness with conventional vehicles.  Researchers and engineers are excited about the new technologies, cleaner fuels, and better vehicles.  "Alternative Fuel Vehicle Group"The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Group provides specialized news, data andinformation for professionals involved in the research and developmentand commercialization of the most promising alternative fuel vehicles.

Methanol Fuel

Methanol from any source can be used in internal combustion engines with minor modifications.  Methanol, like gasoline, is much more flammable than diesel fuel.  Methanol will attack and corrode certain metals, such as magnesium, aluminum and  rubber, this means special methanol-compatible storage facilities, tanks, hoses, pumps and parts are needed. Methanol fuel vehicles also came and went before their early use in corporate vehicle fleets transitioned to consumer sales.

Alternative fuel vehicles will be the future as petrol supplies become more expensive as the demand increases in growing economies such as China and India,