How a Beverly Hills doctor powered his SUV using his patients' spare tires

[roo_ster]

Biofuel at its best.

Gives new meaning to the old saw:
"ass, Gas, or Grass: No Free Rides"



http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/21/fat-fuel-biodiesel-tech-sciences-cz_pcb_1222fatfuel_print.html

Fill 'Er Up With Human Fat
Peter C. Beller 12.22.08, 5:00 AM ET

LOS ANGELES -

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them.

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. Poultry companies such as Tyson are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz, and biofuel start-ups such as Nova Biosource are mixing beef tallow and pig lard with more palatable sources such as soybean oil. Mike Shook of Agri Process Innovations, a builder of biodiesel plants, says this year's batch of U.S. biodiesel was likely more than half animal-derived since the price of soybeans soared.

A gallon of grease will get you about a gallon of fuel, and drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel as they do from regular diesel, according to Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board. Animal fats need to undergo an additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference, she says.

Greenies like the fact that waste, such as coffee grounds and french-fry grease, can be turned into power. "The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel--and I have more fat than I can use," Bittner wrote on lipodiesel.com. "Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the Earth." Bittner's lipodiesel Web site is no longer online.

Using fat to fuel cars might be environmentally friendly, but it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department.

Although it's unclear when Bittner started and stopped making fat fuel or how he made it, his activities came to light after recent lawsuits filed by patients that allege he allowed his assistant and his girlfriend to perform surgeries without a medical license.

Attorney Andrew Besser, who represents three patients, says the assistant and girlfriend removed too much fat from clients and left them disfigured. Dozens of other patients have complained to the state medical board, Besser says. The board is investigating Bittner but declined to comment.

The investigations, however, might go nowhere: Bittner closed his practice, Beverly Hills Liposculpture, in November and moved to South America to do volunteer work at a clinic, according to a note on his Web site. Besser says Bittner likely fled the country because of the investigations. Bittner's lawyer didn't return calls seeking comment.

[El Tejon]

Good grief, a gun show could power the nation for six months!

[Mabs2]

Good grief, a gun show could power the nation for six months!

HAHAHAHA

Wow.  Is there actually an explicit law saying you can't use patients' fat to power vehicles?  Must be some big law that says something about just not using the fat period...

[AJ Dual]

HAHAHAHA

Wow.  Is there actually an explicit law saying you can't use patients' fat to power vehicles?  Must be some big law that says something about just not using the fat period...

I would suspect the law says you can't use the blanket-term of medical waste for anything. Any surgical doggie-bag leftovers that do get used for any reason probably is classified as "donor tissue" or "research tissue".

The law was probably written to prevent misuse of leftover human tissue, either in unsanctioned medical experiments, to prevent disease, or just weirdos/cults who want to decorate their mother's basement with the stuff. I would think that Dr. Biodiesel comes under the disease intent of the law, because there's no documentation or verifiable study to show how the fat is sterilized, if it is sterilized etc., creating a potential public health hazard.

And anyone else thinking of "Fight Club"? 

[Mabs2]

I would suspect the law says you can't use the blanket-term of medical waste for anything. Any surgical doggie-bag leftovers that do get used for any reason probably is classified as "donor tissue" or "research tissue".

The law was probably written to prevent misuse of leftover human tissue, either in unsanctioned medical experiments, to prevent disease, or just weirdos/cults who want to decorate their mother's basement with the stuff. I would think that Dr. Biodiesel comes under the disease intent of the law, because there's no documentation or verifiable study to show how the fat is sterilized, if it is sterilized etc., creating a potential public health hazard.

And anyone else thinking of "Fight Club"? 

Yea that's what I figured.
I seen Fight Club and I don't see what all the fuss was about.  It was an ok movie.

[Viking]

I would suspect the law says you can't use the blanket-term of medical waste for anything. Any surgical doggie-bag leftovers that do get used for any reason probably is classified as "donor tissue" or "research tissue".

The law was probably written to prevent misuse of leftover human tissue, either in unsanctioned medical experiments, to prevent disease, or just weirdos/cults who want to decorate their mother's basement with the stuff. I would think that Dr. Biodiesel comes under the disease intent of the law, because there's no documentation or verifiable study to show how the fat is sterilized, if it is sterilized etc., creating a potential public health hazard.

And anyone else thinking of "Fight Club"? 

I was thinking of the same thing when I read about this .
Howzabout medical stuff that's been properly sterilized then? And I don't see what's wrong with using such things for decoration . Besides, Cthulu told me to do it!

[Tallpine]

Just think, Ted Kennedy could single handedly eliminate our dependence on foreign oil 

[KD5NRH]

I would think that Dr. Biodiesel comes under the disease intent of the law, because there's no documentation or verifiable study to show how the fat is sterilized, if it is sterilized etc., creating a potential public health hazard.

IIRC, part of the biodiesel process involves mixing in some high-test alcohol.

Then, of course, you're incinerating the finished product.

[Firethorn]

I would think that Dr. Biodiesel comes under the disease intent of the law, because there's no documentation or verifiable study to show how the fat is sterilized, if it is sterilized etc., creating a potential public health hazard.

Probably - the conversion to biodiesel probably violated requirements for storage of human waste, disposal, etc...

The biggest question I have, considering that many/most reporters know less about biodiesel than I do, is whether he was actually converting it to biodiesel or just burning it straight using a secondary tank(ala 'greasecar').

Greasecar - dangerous practice.  Converting to actual biodiesel?  That involves things like methanol/ethanol, lye/potassium hydroxide.  Basically, I'd call the waste 'sterilized through chemical means' then 'incinerated'.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Bio-Diesel is made of people!