Friday, October 20, 2006
Analysis of Microalgae Ponds for Conversion of CO2 to Biomass
Final Report
J.R. Benemann and W.J. Oswald
Publisher: U.S. Department of Energy
Creation date: March 21, 1996
Abstract
There is growing evidence that global warming could become a major global environmental threat during the 21st century. The precautionary principle commands preventive action, at both national and international levels, to minimize this potential threat. Many near-term, relatively inexpensive, mitigation options are available. In addition, long-term research is required to evaluate and develop advanced, possibly more expensive, countermeasures, in the eventuality that they may be required. The utilization of power plant CO2 and its recycling into fossil fuel substitutes by microalgae cultures could be one such long-term technology. Microalgae production is an expanding industry in the U.S., with three commercial systems (of approximately 10 hectare each) producing nutriceuticals, specifically beta-carotene, extracted from Dunaliella, and Spirulina biomass. Microalgae are also used in wastewater treatment. Currently production costs are high, about $10,000/ton of algal biomass, almost two orders of magnitude higher than acceptable for greenhouse gas mitigation. This report reviews the current state-of-the-art, including algal cultivation and harvesting-processing, and outlines a technique for achieving very high productivities. Costs of CO2 mitigation with microalgae production of oils biodiesel are estimated and future R needs outlined.
Key Words: DOE • Algae • Microalgae • Hydrogen • Biodiesel
Full report here (PDF)
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
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algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Services of Algae to the Environment
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Services of algae to the environment
Authors: RAI LAL CHAND (1) ; HAR DARSHAN KUMAR (1) ; MOHN F. H. (2) ; SOEDER C. J. (2) ; Affiliations: (1) Department of Botany, Laboratory of Algal Biology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 221 005, INDIA; (2) Forschungszentrum, Jülich, Institut für Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphäre (ICG-6), Postfach 1913, 52425, Jülich, ALLEMAGNE
Résumé / Abstract
Being autotrophic, algae occupy a strategic place in the biosphere. They produce oxygen both directly and indirectly through the chloroplasts of all green plants. The chloroplasts are believed to have originated from archaic prokaryotic algae through endosymbiosis with primitive eukaryotic cells. Phytoplankton and other algae regulate the global environment not only by releasing oxygen but also by fixing carbon dioxide. They affect water quality, help in the treatment of sewage, and produce biomass. They can be used to produce hydrogen which is a clean fuel, and biodiesel, and fix N[2] for use as a biofertilizer. Some other services of algae to the environment include restoration of metal damaged ecosystems, reducing the atmospheric CO[2] load and mitigating global warming, reclamation of saline-alkaline unfertile lands, and production of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) involved in the regulation of UV radiation, ozone concentration, and global warming. Algae can be valuable in understanding and resolving certain environmental issues.
Original report here
Revue / Journal Title
Journal of microbiology and biotechnology (J. microbiol. biotechnol.) ISSN 1017-7825
Source / Source
2000, vol. 10, no2, pp. 119-136 (143 ref.)
Langue / Language
Anglais
Review ; Algae ; Environment impact ; Biomass ; Nitrogen fixation ; Nitric oxide ; Monitoring ; Carbon dioxide ; Water quality ; Greenhouse effect ; Waste treatment ; Bioremediation ; Biofuel ; Heavy metal ; Hydrogen ; Pollution ; Application ; Thallophyta ;
Mots-clés français / French Keywords - Article synthèse ; Algae ; Impact environnement ; Biomasse ; Fixation azote ; Azote monoxyde ; Monitorage ; Carbone dioxyde ; Qualité eau ; Effet serre ; Traitement déchet ; Bioremédiation ; Biocarburant ; Métal lourd ; Hydrogène ; Pollution ; Application ; Méthyle sulfure ; Thallophyta ;
Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords
Artículo síntesis ; Algae ; Impacto medio ambiente ; Biomasa ; Fijación nitrogeno ; Nitrógeno monóxido ; Monitoreo ; Carbono dióxido ; Calidad agua ; Efecto invernadero ; Tratamiento desperdicios ; Bioremediación ; Biocarburante ; Metal pesado ; Hidrógeno ; Polución ; Aplicación ; Thallophyta ;
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Aquatic Plant Growth Response to Very High Co2 Concentrations
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Aquatic Plant Growth Response to Very High CO2 Concentrations
This is an article from CO2 Science -
Abstract
Plants grown in elevated atmospheric CO2 environments typically exhibit increased rates of photosynthesis and biomass production. Most of the studies that have established this fact have historically utilized CO2 concentration increases on the order of 300-400 ppm, which represents an approximate doubling of the air's current CO2 concentration; and they have been conducted on terrestrial plants. So what happens to aquatic plants if the air's CO2 concentration is super-enriched, to a value one to two (or even three) orders of magnitude more than it is currently? Are the consequences of the massive elevation of the atmosphere's CO2 concentration positive? Or are they negative? In what follows, we attempt to answer these questions by summarizing what we know about the subject via a brief review of pertinent scientific literature we have previously discussed on our website.
Kubler et al. (1999) grew a red seaweed common to the Northeast Atlantic intertidal zone, Lomentaria articulata, for three weeks in hydroponic cultures subjected to various atmospheric CO2 and O2 concentrations to determine the effects of these gases on growth. In doing so, they found that oxygen concentrations ranging from 10 to 200% of ambient had no significant effects on daily net carbon gain or total wet biomass production rates in this particular seaweed. In contrast, CO2 concentrations ranging from 67 to 500% of ambient had highly significant effects on these parameters. At twice the current ambient CO2 concentration, for example, daily net carbon gain and total wet biomass production rates were 52 and 314% greater than they were under ambient CO2 conditions. Likewise, Tisserat (2001) grew water mint (Mentha aquatica) plants for four weeks at ambient and enriched atmospheric CO2 conditions, finding that compared to plants exposed to air of 350 ppm CO2, those grown in air of 3,000 ppm CO2 produced 220% more fresh weight.
Full summary can be seen here...
I thought some of the references mentioned in the article could be of use to you. So here is that list:
References
Andersen, T. and Andersen, F.O. 2006. Effects of CO2 concentration on growth of filamentous algae and Littorella uniflora in a Danish softwater lake. Aquatic Botany 84: 267-271.
Andersen, T., Andersen, F.O. and Pedersen, O. 2006. Increased CO2 in the water around Littorella uniflora raises the sediment O2 concentration. Aquatic Botany 84: 294-300.
Hanagata, N., Takeuchi, T. and Fukuju, Y. 1992. Tolerance of microalgae to high CO2 and high temperature. Phytochemistry 31: 3345-3348.
Kodama, M., Ikemoto, H. and Miyachi, S. 1993. A new species of highly CO2-tolerant fast growing marine microalga suitable for high density culture. Journal of Marine Biotechnology 1: 21-25.
Kubler, J.E., Johnston, A.M. and Raven, J.A. 1999. The effects of reduced and elevated CO2 and O2 on the seaweed Lomentaria articulata. Plant, Cell and Environment 22: 1303-1310.
Logothetis, K., Dakanali, S., Ioannidis, N. and Kotzabasis, K. 2004. The impact of high CO2 concentrations on the structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus and the role of polyamines. Journal of Plant Physiology 161: 715-724.
Muller, C., Reuter, W. and Wehrmeyer, W. 1993. Adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus of Anacystis nidulans to irradiance and CO2-concentration. Botanica Acta 106: 480-487.
Tisserat, B. 2001. Influence of ultra-high carbon dioxide concentrations on growth and morphogenesis of Lamiaceae species in soil. Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants 9: 81-89.
Watanabe, Y., Ohmura, N. and Saiki, H. 1992. Isolation and determination of cultural characteristics of microalgae which functions under CO2 enriched atmosphere. Energy Conversion and Management 33: 545-552.
Yue, L. and Chen, W. 2005. Isolation and determination of cultural characteristics of a new highly CO2 tolerant fresh water microalgae. Energy Conversion and Management 46: 1868-1876.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Photonic Crystal Sunscreen For Sea Scum
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Photonic Crystal Sunscreen For Sea Scum
Physicists have added algae to the list of plants and animals that rely on photonic crystals to manipulate light.
Photonic crystals are microscopic patterns of material that can reflect or guide light without relying on pigments and other materials we normally associate with colorful surfaces.
Models of the optical properties of holococcolithophore algae, which wear plates made of patterned calcium carbonate, showed that the algae are particularly good at scattering ultraviolet (UV) light.
The team of Mexican and Spanish physicists who analyzed the structures speculate that the patterning may serve as a kind of sunscreen, allowing the algae to live high in the water column without the threat of damage from UV rays, while giving them improved access to the light wavelengths that drive photosynthesis.
The photonic plates join peacock feathers, beetle carapaces, and butterfly wings in the growing catalog of naturally occurring structures that control light using photonic crystals.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Sequencing the DNA of Bacteria to Make Biofuel
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Sequencing The DNA Of Six Photosynthetic Bacteria To Make Biofuel To Warm Homes And Run Cars
Article Date: 11 Oct 2006
From Medical News Today
Excerpts:
1. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has devoted $1.6 million to sequencing the DNA of six photosynthetic bacteria that Washington University in St. Louis biologists will examine for their potential as one of the next sources of biofuel
2. There's a lot of power potential from microscopic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that capture sunlight and then do a variety of biochemical processes. One potential process, the clean production of ethanol, is a high priority for DOE.
3. Himadri Pakrasi, Ph.D., Washington University Endowed Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, and Professor of Energy in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, analyse genomes of six related strains of Cyanothece bacteria. One additional Cyanothece strain, 54112, already has been sequenced by the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif.
4. The amazing Cyanothece 54112 is a one-celled marine cyanobacteria. In particular, Cyanothece produces oxygen and assimilates carbon through photosynthesis during the day while fixing nitrogen through the night.
5. Cyanobacteria have a distinct advantage over biomass, such as corn or other grasses, in producing ethanol, because they use carbon dioxide as their primary cellular carbon source and emit no carbons and they naturally do fermentation. Cyanobacteria can offer a simpler, cleaner approach to ethanol production.
6. The diversity in those gene sequences will give the researchers an undrstanding of what the organisms do, allowing them to pick and choose and make a designer microbe that can perform specific functions.
7. One possible way to produce ethanol using Cyanothece strains is a hybrid combination of the microbe and plant matter where the cyanobacteria coexist with plants and enable fermentation. The model exists in nature.
8. A photobioreactor is used to make Cyanothece convert available sunlight into thick mats of green biomass, from which liquid ethanol can be extracted.
Full article here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
A Blueprint for Energy Efficiency - Brazil Example
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A blueprint for energy efficiency
Birmingham News
Sunday, October 08, 2006, MARK HALL
Excerpts:
1. Brazil embarked on a long, arduous path toward energy independence more three decades ago. Its determined quest for energy self-sufficiency finally has paid off.
2. Brazil is now one of the world's leaders in renewable energy resources, with roughly 60 percent of its sugar production invested in ethanol. Ethanol alone accounts for 13.5 percent of Brazil's energy use. Ethanol fuels nearly half of Brazil's automobiles.
3. Brazil producers are confident that if they can keep the cost of ethanol at less than 70 percent of the cost of gasoline, as many as 9 out of every 10 cars sold in Brazil will be flex-fuel.
4. There is a lesson here for Americans - All levels of government must continue to help us stay focused on the prize.
5. Policymakers and Americans in general also should bear in mind that renewable fuels make up a very big and complicated picture. Indeed, current biofuels may only represent the first step toward energy independence and should be viewed as bridge technologies...
6. Feedstocks, such as corn, may turn out to be only short-term solutions until other more efficient technologies prevail.
7. Lucrative technologies? (1) use of algae, which can be bred and developed specifically for energy needs. (2) biomass derived from the cellulosic material of trees, switchgrass and other crop residue.
8. These second generation biofuels may be closer than we realize. For example, scientists recently announced that they had completed genome mapping of a poplar tree, black cottonwood or Populus trichocarpa, which offers huge potential as a biofuels source. The poplars mature in as little as four years and can reach as high as 100 feet.
9. Gene mapping could enable scientists to undertake dramatic improvements in plantation productivity associated with the tree.
10. Recently, Honda Motor Co. announced that it has co-developed the world's first practical process for producing ethanol out of cellulosic biomass. The new process would allow large volumes of ethanol to be produced from widely available biomass such as waste wood, leaves...
11. Meanwhile, Auburn University's David Bransby has emerged as a world leader in the adoption of switchgrass and other cellulosic materials as bioenergy alternatives.
12. Bransby believes by 2025, as much as 35 percent of energy in the United States could be produced by farmers.
13. The critical ingredient for the bioenergy success will be government incentives.
Full report can be found here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
East Japan Railway Debuts Hybrid Fuel Train
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Hybrid train debuts in Japan
20 October 2006
Source: The Engineer Online
Excerpts:
1. East Japan Railway (JR East) has demonstrated an environmentally friendly fuel cell hybrid train it developed, powered by a storage battery and two 65KW fuel cells.
2. The New Energy Train (NE Train) can run at a maximum speed of 100 kph and it can travel for 50 to 100km between hydrogen refuelling stops, discharging only water. The train can store the energy that is produced when it brakes, and hence unlike conventional trains it does not require a constant supply of electricity from overhead wires.
3. Japan hopes to make it a commuting train 10 or 20 years from now.
4. It is estimated that the NE Train will consume about 20 per cent less energy than traditional trains.
5. The new trains could be used in remote areas where there are no overhead power lines.
Full report here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Windpower Not Reliable Enough for Electricity Needs
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Windpower Not Reliable Enough to Satisfy Electricity Needs?
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/13/06
BY JAMES MCGOVERN
Excerpts:
1. Power failures were narrowly averted in California recently when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to reduce electricity consumption by 25 percent and many large industries and businesses agreed to voluntarily shut down.
2. To prevent future blackouts, there is a growing recognition that we need to bring back the only source of non-polluting, non-global-warming energy that can provide large amounts of reliable electricity.
3. California's Rancho Seco and San Onofre 1 nuclear power plants were closed prematurely more than a decade ago
4. Instead of nuclear energy, the state has been relying more heavily on "renewable" energy sources, especially wind energy.
5. California's power shortage confirms...wind energy's credentials ...are undercut by the reality of its unreliability.
6. Wind energy has many virtues. It's clean. And the fuel is free. The Achilles' heel of wind power is its intermittence. Sometimes the wind blows, sometimes it doesn't.
7. Despite a massive investment in wind turbines wind energy contributes only 1 percent of all electricity in the United States.
8. Opposition to new wind projects is growing — not just in California but in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Michigan, Kansas and New Jersey.
Personalities: James McGovern, Ocean Township, has been a consultant to government and industry on energy issues.
See full article here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Wind Energy in Texas Gets A 10 Billion Boost
Wind Energy in Texas Gets $10 Billion Boost
Oct 2006 news report
Private companies to invest billions in wind projects if Public Utility Commission constructs the transmission lines.
by Sara Parker, RenewableEnergyAccess.com
Excerpts:
1. Texas Governor Rick Perry announced a major public-private initiative this week that could increase wind-generated energy in the Lone Star State by approximately 7,000 megawatts. Eight companies have committed to invest a combined $10 billion-plus in new wind projects -- as long as the state's Public Utility Commission constructs the necessary transmission lines.
2. Texas, which has abundant wind energy, particularly in West Texas and along the gulf cost, surpassed California as the nation's leader in wind generation capacity earlier this summer.
3. The council's report, issued in December 2004, recommended that by 2025, 10 percent of the state's power needs come from renewable sources and that the PUC takes steps to overcome transmission obstacles that limit the development of renewable energy sources.
Companies & personalities mentioned: Andrew Bowman, Airtricity Inc., senior vice president, Phil Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff at Governor Perry's office, AES Wind Generation; Babcock & Brown, LP; Horizon Wind Energy; PPM Energy; Renewable Energy Systems; Florida Power & Light Company; and Gamesa Energy.
Full report here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Grow Biofuel, Biodiesel in Bioreactor with Light, Algae, CO2
Factory Farmed Biofuel
by Ramesh Suri
Complete article here
Growing Biofuel in a Bioreactor Using Light, Algae & CO2
Excerpts
1. The best way to extract fuel from algae, however, may be through using a totally enclosed "bioreactor."
2. Biofuel boom is already having unintended negative consequences.
3. In the following assessment of biofuel produced in a "bioreactor" from algae, the pitfalls of producing biofuel from algae ponds is recognized, and then the author explains the potential to produce biofuel within illuminated, enclosed containers, infused with carbon dioxide.
4. Characteristics of algae cultivation are: The productivity per area is 2 to 5 fold higher as compared with traditional agricultural crops; Lower quality water can be used for growing algae; Algal systems can remove CO2 (and NOx) from flue gases; Many algal species produce valuable products, such as colorants, polyunsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds; The remaining biomass can be used for production of 'green' electricity and heat. Alternatively, microalgae can be used for the production of methylesterfuel (bio-diesel).
5. From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fuels Development funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae. The main focus of the program, know as Aquatic Species Program (or ASP), was the production of biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds utilizing waste CO2 from coal fired power plants.
6. GreenFuel Technologies Corp., a Massachusetts based research company, is working in collaboration with theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for algae to fuel process.
7. The article provides a SCHEMATIC OF AN AIR LIFT BIOREACTOR
8. GreenFuel uses an implementation of an air-lift reactor (ALR), which is a type of pneumatic contacting device in which fluid circulation takes place in a defined cyclic pattern through channels built specifically for this purpose.
9. The GreenFuel team has been growing algae on the Cogen gases, and harvesting algae 'crops' daily. Algae reduced NOx day and night, regardless of temporal and weather conditions. An evaluation certified that over the seven-day test period, the GreenFuel beta system simultaneously removed 85.9 percent NOx, and 50-80 percent CO2...
10. The Academic and University Centre in Nove Hrady, Czech Republic developed a closed tubular photobioreactor.
11. GreenShift Corporation has acquired rights to Ohio University's patented cynaobacteria based bioreactor process for reducing greenhouse gases emissions from fossil-fuel combustion processes.
12. Future research in this area would involve determination of the operational and economic feasibility of such systems for organic biomass production from the viewpoint of cement industry.
References mentioned in the article:
Novakovic, G.V., Kim, Y., Wu, X., Berzin, I., and Merchuk, J.C., 2005. Air-Lift Bioreactors for Algal Growth on Flue Gas: Mathematical Modeling and Pilot-Plant Studies. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Vol. 44, pp. 6154-6163.
Sheehan, J., Dunahay, T., Beneman, J. and Roessler,P., 1998. A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species ProgramBiodiesel from Algae. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fuels Development.
De Boer, A.J., and van Doorn, J., 1998. Combined production of chemicals and biomass with microalgae in a closed photobioreactor. ECN Contribution to the 10th European Conference: 'Biomass for energy and industry'. ECNRX-98-003, pp. 27-29.
Reith, J.H., van Doorn, J., Mur, L.R., Kalwij, R., Bakema,G. and van der Lee, G., 2000. Sustainable co-production of natural fine chemicals and biofuels from microalgae. Conference Biomass for Energy and Industry, Sevilla, June 2000.
Bayless, D.J., et al., 2002. Enhanced Practical Photosynthetic CO2 Mitigation (http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/5a4.pdf)
Masojdek, J., Pap?cek, S., Sergejevov?, M., Jirka, V., Cerven, J., Kunc, J., Korecko, J., Verbovikova, O., Kopeck, J., tys, D. and Torzillo, G., 2003. A closed solar photobioreactor for cultivation of microalgae under supra-high irradiance: basic design and performance. Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol. 15, pp. 239-248.
Algae strains mentioned: Didymosphenia geminata.
Complete article here
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Algae could be fuel of the future
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Algae could be fuel of the future - Slimy stuff used in experiment to cut greenhouse gases
Mark Shaffer, The Arizona Republic, Oct. 13, 2006 06:03 PM
Excerpts
1. But algae absorbing vast quantities of carbon dioxide from smokestacks at Arizona Public Service Co.'s Redhawk electric plant is being billed as an answer for greenhouse gases and a source for biodiesel and ethanol.
2. A yearlong experiment has been so successful that it's about to expand into greenhouses on the plant grounds.
3. There is hope that algae fuel will replace more than one-third of the natural gas used to power the Redhawk plant.
4. The idea is the brainchild of Isaac Berzin, who was experimenting with growing algae on the International Space Station three years ago when he came up with the idea of using it to clean up power-plant exhausts.
5. Algae ingests carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in the photosynthesis process. Algae is laden with oils that can be used to produce biodiesel, starches that can be transformed into ethanol and protein that could have a market niche in cattle and fish feed.
6. Berzin founded GreenFuel Technologies of Cambridge, Mass.
7. GreenFuel went to the desert west of Phoenix after the company struck a deal with APS to conduct a demo project beginning last year
8. Some problems faced were: (1) How to give it enough light to maximize its growth. Algae thrives on the surface of water and other moist surfaces, but the growth rate slows considerably at more than a centimeter beneath the surface. (2) How to get the carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of electric generation, into the water rapidly enough to spur maximum growth.
9. One of the problems Japanese researchers faced was that the algae would attach to the microfibers that were necessary to produce more light for growth inside the growth containers.
10. One algae cell can produce seven others within a 24-hour period in optimum growing conditions
11. The GreenFuel CEO reckons that they could get maybe even 200 tons of algae per acre annually during mass production
12. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2008 in Arizona
13. One of the challenges is getting the right strain fast in order to be the dominant culture against its predators
14. Algae is a tremendously large resource base compared to that and other vegetable oils because you don't have to worry about a growing season
Full article here
Personalities mentioned: APS senior engineer Ray Hobbs; Cary Bullock, GreenFuel's CEO, Qiang Hu, an assistant professor of applied biological sciences at Arizona State University; John Sheehan of Denver, who led a research project for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the early 1990s examining smokestack emissions for algae production
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Biofuel, Biodiesel Cos Face Feestock Supply, Glycerine Glut
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Biofuel Cos Face Feestock Supply, Glycerine Problems
An excerpt of a news item from Dow Jones
1. Securing a reliable and continuous feedstock supply is not an easy thing to do for biofuel producing companies that do not have their own plantations.
2. They also need to find a way to sell glycerine ( a by-product of biodiesel manufacture) in a profitable way. There has been a glut in the market for glycering owing to the significant increase in biodiesel production in the last two years.
3. One form of securing feedstock supplies will be through some form of supply agreement or alliance or joint ventures.
4. Securing dependable buyers of the end product is an equally difficult challenge for the feedstock producers.
5. Biodiesel producers in south east Asia should look closer to home to establish their markets.
6. South Korea, Japan & China hold great potential for biodiesel and biofuel, as these countries have expressed a commitment to reduce carbon emissions, while at the same time need to import because of a lack of domestic oilseeds.
Companies mentioned: JJ-Lurgi Engineering Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Jebsen & Jesson (Singapore) & Lurgi AG (Germany). JJ-Lurgi is a major supplier of processing technology and engineering for edible oil factories.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Oil Demand Estimate Cut for 2006, 2006
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Oil Demand Estimate Cut
Oct 19, Source: Bloomberg
Excerpts:
1. The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its estimates for the global idea demand for this year and next
2. The main reasons cited are high crude prices and slowing US economic growth
3. World oil demand will be 84.5 million barrels a day this year, about 100,000 barrels fewer than what was estimated last month. The 2007 estimate is 86 million barrels per day.
4. World oil demand is expected to rise 1.2% this year and 1.7% next year. These increases will be driven by China's demand for oil.
5. Demand for OPEC crude oil is estimated 29.5 million barrels a day for 2006.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Some Inputs on Nuclear Power Plants
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Some Inputs on Nuclear Power Plants
1. Nuclear power plants have a life of about 40-60 years
2. The power is commercially viable at about 2.2-2.5 paise per unit (Indan data, needs to be converted to intrenatiobnal standards)
3. The stability in nuclear fuel costs, combined with sufficient availability worldwide, have been the key contributors to the low power tariffs.
4. Capital costs of nuclear power plants will be about two and a half times that for a conventional thermal power plant of similar capacity, per megawatt of power.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Some Inputs on Nuclear Power Plants
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Some Inputs on Nuclear Power Plants
1. Nuclear power plants have a life of about 40-60 years
2. The power is commercially viable at about 2.2-2.5 paise per unit (Indan data, needs to be converted to intrenatiobnal standards)
3. The stability in nuclear fuel costs, combined with sufficient availability worldwide, have been the key contributors to the low power tariffs.
4. Capital costs of nuclear power plants will be about two and a half times that for a conventional thermal power plant of similar capacity, per megawatt of power.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Wind Energy Equipment & Technology Manufacturers
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Wind Energy Equipment & Technology Manufacturers
Was going through an article in Wikipedia on Wind Energy, and it was interesting to see the companies who were in the forefront of producing equipment and technology for this alternative energy segment.
Am providing the list, taken from Wikipedia:
Companies in wind turbine industry
World market for wind energy plants in 2003ABB Ltd. — Wind turbine generators[3]
Airtricity — only operates turbines
AWS Truewind, LLC — Wind Energy Consultants
Bergey Windpower
Det Norske Veritas — Certification of wind turbines and wind turbine projects
DeWind
Ecotècnia sccl — Spanish manufacturer
Eclectic Energy Ltd — UK manufacturer of small wind turbines, including the grid-linked turbine StealthGen
Eirbyte — Supplier of small turbines in Ireland
EMD A/S — WindPRO software package for project design and planning of turbines
Emergya Wind Technologies
Enercon GmbH, Germany — wind turbines up to 6 MW
Eoltec, France — manufacturer of wind turbines from 6 kW to 250 kW
Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica
Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd.
General Electric, through its subsidiary GE Energy
The Green Company — Installers of small grid linked domestic wind turbines in the UK
Hansen Transmissions Int. — supplier of multi-MW wind turbine gear units
O'Connor Hush Energy — Australian supplier of small, quiet turbines
LM Glasfiber A/S — Rotor blades ranging from 13.4 to 61.5 m
Moventas Oy — Moventas provides leading mechanical power transmission technology to the energy and process industries
Natural Power — International wind energy consultancy services
NEG Micon — Merged with Vestas in 2004
Nordex
Pauwels Trafo Belgium/Ireland[14] — Major Wind Turbine Generator Transformer Manufacturers
PB Power — Global Engineering Company servicing Power industry
REpower, Germany — wind turbines up to 5 MW
Selsam Innovations / Superturbine Inc. , California multi-rotor wind turbines http://www.selsam.com
Siemens Wind Power A/S (formerly Bonus Energy A/S)
Southwest Windpower
Suzlon Energy Ltd
Valmont Wind Energy, Inc. — modular tower systems for MW wind turbines.
Sustainable Living Projects — South African Micro Wind Turbine Consultancy
Vergnet — french manufacturer of wind turbines, 30 years of work for 5kW to 250 kW wind turbines
Vestas Wind Systems , Denmark — the worlds largest wind turbine producer — wind turbines up to 4.5 MW
Wind Harvest — Makers of straight bladed, vertical axis turbines
Wind Prospect — Independent wind energy developer in the UK and Australia
Windside — Wind Energy Solutions for Extreme Conditions
WinWinD Oy — Manufacture of 1 and 3 MW turbines based in Finland
Soytes Clean Energy And Electrotechnics Inc.
The Wikipedia article also provide some records for wind turbines
The world's largest turbines are manufactured by the Northern German companies Enercon and REpower. The Enercon E112 delivers up to 6 MW, has an overall height of 186 m and a diameter of 114 m, the REpower 5M delivers up to 5 MW, has an overall height of 183 m and a diameter of 126 m.
The turbine closest to the north pole is a Nordex N-80 in Havoygalven near Hammerfest, Norway. The ones closest to the south pole are two Enercon E-30 on Antarctica, used to power the Australian Research Division's Mawson Bay station.
The highest located turbine is at 2300 m on the mountain Gütsch near Andermatt, Switzerland. Originally a prototype of the Dutch company Lagerwey was tested there, however, it failed to meet the expectations and was demolished in 2002. Since October 2004 an Enercon E-40 produces electricity there.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Small Hydro Power - The Future of Hydro-power?
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Small Hydro Power - The Future of Hydro-power?
Came across a useful article on small hydro power, am providing the excerpts:
1. Typically, a small hydro power project generates less than 25 MW (megawatts) per project.
2. Building larhe hydro power projects has to overcome a number of problems - local impact, environmental issues, relocation of the population, and more. These factors do not hamper small hydro projects significantly.
3. In India, in a number of states, small hydro projects are being implemented though a private-public participation
4. Small hydro projects' gestation period and costs are decreasing with time
5. SHPs can reduce transmission costs since most of these will be set up to supply a local region. They can also help in reducing flooding of downstream areas and provide employment opportunities to local population.
6. They generate clean power at low production costs.
7. The scope for large hydro project is likely to decrease steadily, with the building of more and more such plants. It is more likely that small hydro power plants could be most value adding in the long run, and at some point of time, they might be the only alternative available within the hydro-power domain.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Rice Husk to Solar Photovoltaic Cells
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Rice Husk to Solar Photovoltaic Cells
Came across this interesting, but really brief, piece of info in a news article and was intrigued - what exactly do they mean.
So I did some research and the following are what came up...interesting:
1. An abstract from an Indian university research paper: Rice-husk may constitute a viable alternative raw material for production of solar grade silicon. Powdered silicon obtained by Mg reduction of rice-husk ash was subjected to melting and directional solidification resulting in large-grain polycrystalline silicon ingots. The material was found to be p-type with resistivity 0.1-0.3 ohm-cm within the grains. The hole concentration was 8 x 10 to the 17th/cu cm and mobility 69 sq cm/VS as found from Hall effect studies. Steady-state photoconductivity indicated electron life-times greater than one-millionth of a second which is promising for photovoltaic applications. The conductivity activation energy of 0.045 eV showed that B was the active impurity. (see the original abstract here - Large Grain Polycrystalline Silicon from Rice Husk)
2. Appears to be another abstract from the same team? - Polycrystalline silicon of reasonable purity has been prepared by metallothermic reduction of purified rice-husk white ash (amorphous silica) by using calcium. The mechanism of reduction of the silica with calcium was investigated using simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis, which revealed the reduction temperature to be around 720 C. The paper also discusses the method of preparation of silicon and its purification procedure. Characterization of the silicon sample thus prepared was made by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and emission spectrography. (see the original abstract here - Production and purification of silicon by calcium reduction of rice-husk white ash)
India appears to be doing most lot of the (limited) research in this segment - not surprising with the country being one of the largest producers of rice in the world
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Tamilnadu to Get Energy Gear Special Economic Zone
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The southern Indian state of Tamilnadu is planning to set up India's first special economic zones (SEZ) for manufacturing and testing non-conventional energy equipments.
The state already has the distinction of being a leader in India for wind energy projects, as well as in renewable energy.
The SEZ will house industrial R&D units, educational & vocational training centers, besides specific areas for vendors. Universities will be linked in this SEZ project for technical tie-ups.
With distributive energy set to play a significant role in future, the SEZ is looking at matching local road requirements with locally available energy resources
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
EU Plans Laws on Energy Efficiency
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EU Plans Laws on Energy Efficiency
1. Wasteful television/TV usage settings, energy efficiencies of computers and water heaters are likely to be targetted in a new drive from the European Union aimed at saving 100 billion euros from the EU energy bill.
2. This is likely to impose Europe's green energy agenda on the suppliers, since all imports into Europe will need to comply with these norms.
3. Europe is looking at a 20% energy saving by 2020.
4. New energy standards will be set for buildings as well.
5. Some of the prominent products targetted will be boilers, computers, washing machines, office lighting & air conditioning.
6. Special attention will be given to stand-loss reduction - the power consuming stand-by modes.
Personalities mentioned: Andris Piebalgs, EU energy commissioner.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Old Vehicles, Autos, Cars Need Tuning for Gasohol
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Old Vehicles & Cars Need Tuning for Gasohol
A report from an Indian newspaper recently mentioned that old vehicles, especially two-wheelers such as bikes and motorbikes using carburettors, will have to modify their vehicles for using petrol (gasoline) blended with 10% ethanol which the Indian government has decided to introduce from November 2007.
The modifications will need to be made in changes and adjustments in rubber hoses and pipelines of the fuel system of vehicles. There are over 5 lakh (half a million) such cars including popular models such as Maruti 800, Maruti Gypsy, Ambassador and Omni. There are over 50 lakh ( 5 million) motor-bikes that use carburetor fuel systems.
According to the report, the initial phase of ethanol blending, which requires only 5% ethanol addition, would not require any such changes as these will not affect the carburettor working.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Monday, October 16, 2006
Going nuclear 'could save billions'
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Going nuclear 'could save billions'
A brief Oct 16, 2006 report
Originally found the link here...see also the comments
THE world needs 20 times more nuclear power plants to avert the deaths of billions of people due to global warming, a top nuclear advocate said today.
John Ritch, the director general of the World Nuclear Association, said at least 8,880 reactors were needed worldwide, compared to the current 440.
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Green Energy Market Worh 30 billion pounds to UK SMEs
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Green energy market worth £30bn to SMEs
NICK BEVENS, BUSINESS EDITOR, The Scotsman
Oct 13 2006
Excerpts:
1. OIL giant Shell predicts the market for SMEs in UK tackling climate change could be worth £30 billion over the next ten years.
2. This is based on carried out for Shell Springboard - an awards programme.
3. The report added that international action to avert climate change could create a global market worth US$1 trillion (£539bn) in the first five years alone.
4. The biggest identified markets for SMEs are building regulations for commercial and industrial use, renewable electricity, renewable road transport fuels, domestic energy efficiency and building regulations for domestic use.
Personalities mentioned in report: Shell Oil's chairman, James Smith, Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Chris Huhne
See the full report here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Tidal Power Draws Interest
See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy
Tidal power draws interest
Peroleum News report, Oct 8, 2006
Report triggers proposals to harness powerful tidal flows in Cook Inlet, Knik Arm
Alan Bailey, Petroleum News
Excerpts:
1. At least three companies see Alaska tidal energy power generation as a possibility within the next few years.
2. And in a report published in June, the Electric Power Research Institute (commonly known as EPRI), a California-based non-profit research organization, estimated that the tidal currents in Knik Arm could practically generate about 17 megawatts.
3. Natural Currents Services LLC is proposing to build a tidal energy facility in Knik Arm, in the narrows between Cairn Point and Port MacKenzie.
4. The Knik Arm facility would consist of a farm of turbine-powered generators, known in the parlance as tidal in-stream energy conversion (or TISEC) devices.
5. In the last five years, some companies have developed expertise in in-stream or free-flow hydro generation, where it does not require dams or impoundments
6. State-of-the-art computer simulation of tidal power sites coupled with the use of thermoplastics for generator manufacture is driving rapid advances in tidal energy technology
7. A breakthrough turbine design called a Gorlov helical turbine involves a series of aerofoil blades twisted into helical spirals around the perimeter of a cylindrical turbine rotor.
8. Right now there are something like 35 or 40 tidal power applications in before FERC
9. In its New York harbor project, a company has used fish migration periods as an opportunity to do turbine maintenance.
10. “In New York harbor we have 32 species of fish and a lot of migration down the rivers and out into the ocean, so during those fish migrations that happen during a two or three week period during the year we can pull these turbines up and let the fish go through and do our maintenance,” Bason said.
11. An operational full-scale power station system in Knik Arm might come to fruition late in 2009.
12. The FERC application envisages “(1) rotating propeller blades, approximately 20 to 50 feet in diameter; (2) an integrated generator, producing 500 kilowatts to 2 megawatts of electricity; (3) anchoring systems supporting the TISEC device at varying depths underwater; (4) a mooring umbilical line to an anchor on the sea bottom; and (5) an interconnection transmission line.”
13. According to one expert, “If one tenth of 1 percent of the energy in the oceans was converted into electric power it would satisfy the demands for the entire world’s energy five times over.”
14. Alaska has 50,000 megawatts of potential capacity just from conventional hydropower
Companies mentioned: E3 Inc., Natural Currents Services’ sister company within the Natural Currents Energy Group, Alaska Tidal Energy Co., Chevron Technology Ventures
Personalities mentioned: Dr. Peter Henderson, a director of Pisces Conservation Ltd. and a senior research associate of the Department of Zoology in the University of Oxford, England.
Full news report here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
US to Cut Funds for Geothermal & Hydropower - Renewable Energy Sources
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US to cut funds for two renewable energy sources
From the September 15, 2006 edition - CS Monitor. By Mark Clayton | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Geothermal and hydropower are mature enough for private enterprise to take the lead, the government says.
Excerpts:
1. The US Department of Energy (DOE) is quitting the hydropower and geothermal power research business - if Congress will let it.
2. Declaring them "mature technologies" that need no further funding, the Bush administration in its FY 2007 budget request eliminates hydropower and geothermal research, venerable programs with roots in the energy crises of the 1970s.
3. "Zeroing out" such research could end up being a penny-wise, pound-foolish move, some energy advocates say
4. The idea that geothermal is a mature technology that doesn't need further research isn't correct according to many industry professionals. Today more than 60 geothermal plants with the capacity of about three big coal-fired power plants produce less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity (in the USA)
5. Together, high-tech hydropower and geothermal resources could contribute at least enough power to replace more than 100 medium-size coal-fired power plants with emissions-free electricity - about the number now on the drawing board.
6. Some energy industry experts also feel that research should be done on the next generation of hydropower - ocean, tidal, wave and conduit energy coming on. Power from tidal flows, waves, and irrigation canals are expanding the definition of hydropower - none of which are likely to get DOE research funding...
Personalities mentioned: Craig Stevens, chief spokesman for the DOE; V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, an environmental group based in Sacramento, Calif.; Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, a Washington trade group.; Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of the National Hydropower Association, a Washington trade group; Robbin Marks, director of the hydropower reform campaign at American Rivers, a Washington environmental group; Jerry Taylor, the Cato Institute's director of Natural Resource Studies; Trey Taylor, cofounder and president of Verdant Power in Arlington, Va.
Organizations mentioned: Department of Energy, Govt of USA; National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Original news article link here
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
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algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
Power from Not-so-Hot / Warm Geothermal
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Power from Not-So-Hot Geothermal
This power system could make it feasible to generate cheap electricity from lukewarm geothermal sources.
By Prachi Patel-Predd, Thursday, September 21, 2006 @ Technology Review
Excerpts
1. A large share of the geothermal resources suitable for power generation - with temperatures higher than 300°F - are deep underground, beyond the reach of current technology.
2. Lower-temperature resources, common across the United States, are generally used for heating, but could be a bountiful source of power as well, if researchers were able to find an economical way to convert them into electricity.
3. A company says they have developed a low-cost system that can utilize low-temperature geothermal resources. The technology could be particularly useful in generating electricity from waste hot water generated at oil and gas wells.
4. In this technology, steam or hot water vaporizes a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant that drives the turbine - the refrigerant has a lower boiling point than water.
5. The UTRC power plant can be thought of as a reverse cooling system.
6. In Texas alone, more than 12 billon barrels of water are produced from wells. Oil companies usually discard the waste water by re-injecting it into the earth.
Companies/organizations mentioned: United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), a unit of United Technologies based in East Hartford, CT, Carrier Corp.,
Personalities mentioned: Bruce Biederman, who leads the project at UTRC
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source
Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer
An Introduction to Geothermal Energy
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An Introduction To Geothermal Energy
By Brian Yanity and Amanda Kolker of Insurgent49
Excerpts:
1. Geothermal (or "Earth heat") energy is naturally occurring underground heat found in the form of dry hot rocks or hot water.
2. The geothermal energy of the Earth is diffuse and diverse, but also immense by any measure. The estimated amount of total heat flowing from the Earth's interior is equivalent to 42 terawatts of power, or more than ten times the amount of electric generation capacity existing in the world today.
3. Geothermal energy is exploited commercially around the world, in places such as Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Central America, Russia, France, and Italy.
4. Geothermal energy potential is high in several areas of Alaska, especially on the Alaska Peninsula and along the Aleutians.
5. Geothermal Indirect Use: Electricity Generation
6. Dry steam, Flash steam, Binary cycle
7. In the U.S., geothermal energy produces utility-scale electricity in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Hawaii.
8. Overall, geothermal energy provides 5% of California's electricity, and 10% of the power used in northern half of Nevada.
9. Western North America and Pacific islands such as Hawaii and the Aleutians owe their geothermal resource to the high degree of tectonic activity, and the resulting abundance of mountains, volcanoes, and faults.
10. Closer to Alaska, a single geothermal power plant provides an Anchorage-sized city on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula with about one-third of its electricity.
11. A prime example of geothermal energy utilization is Iceland, which receives about 15% of it electricity from geothermal. The Philippines generates almost 20% of its power, and New Zealand about 7%, from geothermal.
12. Geothermal energy production is growing rapidly in Latin America and Asia, and East Africa (Kenya).
13. Geothermal Direct Use: Heating and Absorption Refrigeration.
14. Geothermally-heated greenhouses are used to grow a variety of indoor crops in Iceland, including tropical fruit. Such greenhouses also used in Hungary, Italy, Idaho and New Mexico. Other possible uses include warm-water aquaculture and process heating for seafood processing.
15. Challenges and Economics - Many potential geothermal energy sites are located in remote areas, long electric transmission lines would have to be built in order to serve populated areas. Construction of geothermal power plants is capital intensive.
16. Sustainability of Geothermal Energy - Geothermal energy resources (i.e. "geothermal reservoirs") require three basic components: heat, groundwater, and permeable rocks (which