A dead elephant has been turned into fuel in the former Yugoslavia.
The giant animal, named Sony was donated to the country 40 years ago by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as a symbol of peace - but has now been turned into biodiesel following its death at the age of 42.
Up until his death, Sony lived at the Brijuni National Park in Croatia, where his tusks - valued at $293,600 - will now go on display.
A spokesperson for the park said: "We wanted to make sure we treated the remains with respect."
Yugoslav ex-president Josip Broz Tito used to regularly visit Sony before the elephant's death.
via Dead elephant becomes fuel | Showbiz | STV Entertainment.
Related:
A German inventor named Dr. Christian Koch has invented a process whereby old tires, weeds, and animal cadavers (in this case, dead cats) are used to create high-quality bio-diesel. The process produces roughly 2.5 liters (under two-thirds of a gallon) of diesel per cat. Dr. Koch has driven 105,000 miles so far in his own vehicle on the fuel without any problems.
The process involves heating the mixture to 300 degrees Celsius, which filters out hydrocarbons. The mix is then converted to diesel fuel by use of a catalytic converter. (Semi-scientific details are listed on the Solutions page of Dr. Koch's website.) - link
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A Texas company plans to develop an $80 million biodiesel plant in Clovis, where another company is already preparing to break ground on a similar project.
Dallas-based American Renewable Fuels, a subsidiary of Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd., plans to begin construction on its plant this summer.
Ross Garrity, chief executive of American Renewable Fuels, said one of the reasons his company chose New Mexico was that the state doesn't have a large biodiesel industry.
"After talking with the governor, it became very apparent to me that New Mexico was very aggressive in wanting our business in the state," he said Feb. 22.
American Renewable Fuels will get $6 million in incentives from the state in the form of tax credits for jobs and investment as well as help from the Job Training Incentive Program, Gov. Bill Richardson said.
Additional tax credits for producers and distributors of biodiesel fuel are currently under consideration by the Legislature along with a measure that would require 5% of every gallon of diesel sold in New Mexico to come from agricultural sources by 2012, Richardson said.
The new Clovis plant will be capable of producing 75 million gallons of biodiesel fuel each year by processing animal fat from feed lots within a 100-mile radius of Clovis, Garrity said.
The plant will be near another biodiesel facility being developed by California-based ARES Corp., which will produce 15 million gallons of biodiesel fuel annually by processing refined soybean oil with methanol and glycerin.
Richardson said the country uses more than 20 million barrels of mostly imported oil every day. By switching to biodiesel fuels, he said the U.S. can decrease its reliance on foreign oil. - link
How long until everyone who dies, by law, is recycled as biofuel?
1 comment:
"Sony lived at the Brijuni National Park in Croatia, where his tusks – valued at $293,600 – will now go on display."
And how come ivory from elephants' tusks fetches such an astronomical price?
Is that a direct consequence of the international prohibition of the use and trade in ivory?
I would bet that - just like with drugs - prohibition actually PROMOTES a black market for ivory.
I wonder what the price of ivory was before we had the great idea of destroying most of it in our frenzy to protect the animals, and whether poaching of elephants has increased or decreased...
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