A fascinating and erudite article on combustion. According to Biodiesel.org, available studies show that diesels running on biodiesel produce 75% to 85% less PAHs than diesels running on petrodiesel. This information is supported in much more technical terms in a study published on the Journey to Forever website-
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/UCDavisSumm.html On an undieselish note, I believe that the comparison of metabolization of glucose to combustion is a loose anology at best. Our bodies utilize a complex, seventy+ step process known as the Krebs cycle to break the chemical bonds of glucose and use the energy thus released to attach a phosphate molecule to adenosine diphosphate, making adenosine triphosphate or ATP which then fuels our biological activity. My college biology instructor claimed that the role of oxygen in this process was more to act as transport agent to remove carbon from the body in the form of CO2 rather than to combust in the way that the term is commonly understood. Not being a biochemist, this simplistic overview exhausts the limits of my knowledge on the subject, but I feel fairly confident in saying that the Krebs cycle is both different in character and much more elaborate that what goes on in a match flame. In a match flame, energy is released in the form of heat and light. In the Krebs cycle, energy is not released so much as transferred to an ATP molecule in order to store energy for later use by the cells. Granted, both processes involve the oxidization of the carbon. The Krebs cycle is near and dear to me. It was, according to my dear wife, my helping her understand the Krebs cycle for an upcoming college exam despite the fact that I was fairly well under the influence that won her heart on our first date. Regards, Lee _______________________________________________ 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/
