Survivalist's Diesel Factory: ARIES Goes Anywhere!

On the US west coast, opposite California's Channel Islands, is a small US naval base that is trying out a remarkable biodiesel manufactory: ARIES (Automated Real Time Remote Integrated Energy System). Portable ARIES converts non-food feedstock into high quality biodiesel by remote control. The Port Hueneme naval base is trying out the unit to see if it can be used for more forward bases. But if you are a survivalist, ARIES may sound like a nice little unit for your compound.

ARIES is equipped with a new and revolutionary element: remote control technologies that provide real-time sensing and management of key chemistry and processing parameters. The tools were developed by Aerojet, the same company that developed remote sensing and automated technology that sent man to the moon.

Real-time sensing can eliminate lengthy testing steps such as transesterification, which can take up to 1.5 hours, according to Russell Teall, Biodiesel Industries founder and CEO. When the reaction can be seen as it’s happening, those tests become unnecessary. “It’s a major advancement,” he said. “It’s the first time that sort of technology has been applied to biodiesel. It speeds things up by a factor of two.” The system includes stop points where it will show readings, asking if the operator would like to proceed with the reaction.

...The system also monitors the feedstock characteristics in real time. It can take several kinds of feedstocks including yellow grease, animal fat, energy crops, waste agricultural products and more. Not only that, but they can be mixed together. “You have to know what sort of characteristics the feedstock has,” Teall said. “Separating is burdensome, but ARIES can mix them up and tell you what the characteristics are on the fly.” The system will also recommend the best formula for the process with those particular feedstocks, leaving less room for operator error. The best feedstock mix depends on the location and climate. Teall cautions dependence on one feedstock can be unsustainable and vertical integration is crucial.

The Navy will make good use of the remote-controlled system, as it has identified 20 locations for the initial rollout, Teall said, adding that he doesn’t know a timeline for their establishment. The Navy has an obligation to meet between 20 percent and 50 percent of its energy needs internally by 2012. “So it’s going to be a fairly rapid rollout,” he said. The Navy’s immense consumption of fuel prompted the seven-year project, which began in 2003. “They’re the largest user of biodiesel in the world and it’s important they have access to their fuel,” Teall said.

The integrated energy system makes ARIES applicable to non-Navy endeavors, as well. The system produces about eight times more power and heat than it needs for its own processes. “In the international market, there’s a huge need in rural communities to create income and businesses that don’t exist right now,” Teall said. He cites India, where about 150,000 villages are without electricity. “It becomes a very efficient source of local heat.” _BiomassMag

Spokesman Teall above refers to using ARIES in rural Indian villages, but who is he kidding? ARIES is one expensive piece of hardware (if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it)! Only the US military and wealthy survivalists need apply.

More info here.

If you can afford an ARIES for your survival bunker (or remote off-grid cabin in Patagonia), you may also consider the self-fueling, free-roving robot that lives off biomass and can patrol a wide perimeter around your location while you are sleeping.

Remember, just because world economies and governments are committing debt and demographic suicide, is no reason that you have to. Although the fancy new tools of energy, nanotech, biotech, and transportation are not meant for collapse-of-civilisation use, always keep in mind the off-label uses for any technology.

Taken from an earlier post at Al Fin Energy

An ARIES unit could provide a nice energy nucleus for a small, remote settlement, or a post-apocalyptic group of survivours trying to jumpstart civilisation once again. You could power a diesel generator, a few diesel tractors for crops, and some diesel vehicles for your heavy-duty explorers. Placing fuel caches at strategic locations would become easy.

While limited in energy output in comparison to a small, modular nuclear reactor and steam powerplant, the ability to fuel diesel engines is a crucial early step back on the road to the next level.