Science: Energy: Bioenergy: Human
Fat Powered Engine   (+3, -18)  [vote for, against]
Human fat powered engine

What if instead of using gas a car would run off fat? This way you could eat and drink whatever you wanted and still loose weight just by driving to work... This techology would aslo bring for a great new acronym, FPE...
-- scooter64, Feb 13 2002

BunsenHoneydew's Link http://www.ata.org.au/76veggieoil.pdf
Grumble, newbies, mutter [BinaryCookies, Aug 31 2002]

(?) Plastic Surgeon uses Lipo Fat to power SUV http://green.autobl...ade-from-human-fat/
[joshannon, Jul 30 2012]

[joshannon]'s link repaired. http://green.autobl...ade-from-human-fat/
eeew. [pocmloc, Jul 30 2012]

It's called a bike.
-- phoenix, Feb 13 2002


Ha, ha, so true pheonix. And it was baked before the car was even invented!
-- georgie, Feb 13 2002


A car has already been made that runs on vegetable oil. Fats and oils are both lipids, so baked again.

Also, how were you planning to get the fat out of your body assuming you're not talking about exercise?
-- seal, Feb 13 2002


Implanted fat line plugs into the fuel pump intake of the engine.
-- neelandan, Feb 14 2002


Or for the environmentally-conscious wannabee skinny: fat-powered liposuction.
-- pottedstu, Feb 14 2002


Your idea is somewhat unclear, and I take it there are 2 possible meanings.

1. If you mean "human powered vehicle," then say it. Saying "fat powered engine" to mean "human powered vehicle" is faux clever, disingenuous, orwellian, marketdroid speak.

2. If you really intend for human fat to be extracted from a body for fuel purposes, in "real time," then provide a mechanism. Otherwise it is just WIBNI magical.

Fishbone unless you can provide me a third interpretation.
-- quarterbaker, Feb 14 2002


Actually, georgie, the first steam-powered cars pre-date the first bicycle.
-- mrthingy, Feb 14 2002


seal: Liposuction.
-- mrthingy, Feb 14 2002


seal: a faster, more painless way to extract fat - pop a couple of xenacals.
-- superspygirl, Feb 15 2002


Thingy, your right. I stand corrected.
-- georgie, Feb 19 2002


what if one runs out of fat? with no fast food place in sight?
-- gastello, May 14 2002


i dont wanna pay for that kind of food bill... are we thinking economicaly here or just wishing you didnt have the love handles? what about people who have faster motabolisms?... "excuse me sir... could you lend me a bit of your fat ... im all out and i really have to get to my track meet" if we REALLY wanna put fat to energy ... we all switch to electric cars and at the gym the bikes and tredmills are used to produce energy instead of take it ... that is about as close as you are going to get... sorry
-- Speed8500, May 20 2002


<what if one runs out of fat? with no fast food place in sight? gastello, May 13 2002 > There is no such place.
-- mrthingy, Jul 08 2002


// There's no such place. //

Sure there is. Siberia. I'm going there in 4 days.
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 09 2002


Oh. Make sure you refrain from driving any fat-powered cars while there.
-- mrthingy, Jul 10 2002


Google "biodiesel"

not quite the same, but... diesel engines were originally developed to run on vegetable oils. Two friends of mine have been cruising around Australia for the last three years, powered by used fry oil they scavenge from round the back of road-houses. The engine is an unmodified, street legal diesel. They have a second tank for the oil, with a heat pipe coming off the radiator to keep it liquid. Start on diesel from the main tank, and switch to vegetable oil when the system has warmed up. Then everywhere you go, your car smells like fish and chips.

Course, there's a certain amount of filtering involved :)

http://www.ata.org.au/76veggieoil.pdf

Still, it doesn't do anything about the human fat problem; in fact, by driving around smelling of tasty snack treats, it could conceivably make it worse...
-- BunsenHoneydew, Aug 31 2002


[BunsenHoneydew], Please use the link feature. It's there for you to use, courtesy of [jutta]. I added your link for you this time.

Also, try reading the help files under "meta" to your left.
-- BinaryCookies, Aug 31 2002


mrthingy, the Fred Flintstone foot powered car predates both steam & bicycles.. (so does the original 'hobby horse', which really DID exist!)
-- pfperry, Sep 02 2002


You guys should have stuck to your gun in this one - as it took until 2007 / 2008 for firstly a guy on his boat to use his own fat as biofuel, and in 2008 for a plastic surgeon to power his SUV for the lipo fat (not his admittedly).
-- joshannon, Jul 30 2012


"Waist not, want not ...."
-- 8th of 7, Jul 30 2012


hmm... Engines are more efficient than people... so stuffing your face then running an ICE from the resultant fat is a carbon neutral exercise.
-- FlyingToaster, Jul 30 2012


That depends on how much energy is consumed by the fat- removal process.
-- Alterother, Jul 30 2012



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