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Thursday, October 26, 2006
Cuban Oil Exploration
By Gary Marx. The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2006 - Cubanet
I got the link to this article from the Energy Crisis Now blog. Thanks!
Excerpts from the article:
1. An offshore basin has non-U.S. companies excited. Cuba has become the latest country drawn into the frenzied hunt for oil.
2. Last year the U.S. Geological Survey estimated Cuba's northern offshore basin contained 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
3. "Cuba is not Saudi Arabia or Venezuela, but it could become a major oil and gas player in the region"
4. Already, oil companies from Canada, Spain, Norway, Malaysia and India have signed agreements with Cuba's state-owned company, Cupet, for explorations.
5. Bringing a deep-water oil well on line would take many more years and cost $1 billion or more.
6. Venezuela's state-run oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela, and Brazilian and Chinese companies also are interested
7. American oil corporations are barred from participating because of U.S. trade sanctions against the island.
8. In February, executives from ExxonMobil Corp. and other U.S. corporations met with Cuban officials; but the meeting was disrupted under pressure from the Treasury Department
9. Energy has long been an Achilles' heel for Cuba...To ease the crisis...Sherritt International Corp. and a second Canadian company have helped the island's oil production
10. Cuba gets about 98,000 barrels of high-quality discounted crude a day from Venezuela.
Personalities mentioned: Jorge Pinon, former president of Amoco Oil; R.S. Butola, a top Indian oil executive; Manuel Marrero, senior petroleum adviser at Cuba's Ministry of Basic Industry; U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.)
Full 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
Auto Plugins - Manufacture of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles, Cars
Source: PR Newswire
[Oct 12, 2006]
Excerpts:
1. Next-generation batteries are significantly more powerful and can tolerate discharging and charging much more forgivingly than earlier versions.
2. America's largest automotive retailer, has joined the Plug-In Partners campaign calling on automakers to manufacture plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
3. These "hybrids would offer consumers a 50-mile all-electric range, get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, be fully recharged at night and deliver all the performance and comfort of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles without the damaging emissions..."
4. The Plug-In Partners campaign was launched in January 2006 by the City of Austin and Austin Energy. It has attracted nearly 60 cities and counties, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore and Phoenix
5."Next-generation batteries are significantly more powerful and can tolerate discharging and charging much more forgivingly than earlier versions..."
Full article here
Additional information about the campaign is available at http://www.pluginpartners.org.
Personalities mentioned: AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson; Austin Mayor Will Wynn
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
Micro-renewables (Wind, Solar...), Micro-energy not Useful
By George Monbiot. Published in New Scientist, 3rd October 2006
Excerpts:
1. ...discovery that renewable micro generation has been grossly overhyped. Those who maintain that our own homes can produce all the renewable electricity and heat they need are probably incorrect.
2. Last year, there was a claim that a micro wind turbine could meet half of all a household's electric needs. It was later proved that a much larger wind turbine is required for generating equivalent power.
3. Turbulence makes wind generators even less efficient. To avoid it, you must place them at least 11 metres above any obstacle within 100 metres(4). On most houses, this means constructing a minor hazard to aircraft, and also a hazard to your house.
4. In almost all circumstances, micro wind turbines are a waste of time and money.
5. Similar claims for micro-solar energy are misleading as well.
6. Constraints affect all micro renewables
7. The electricity system cannot be run on wind alone. But surely it’s clear that building giant offshore windmills is a far better use of our time and money than putting mini-turbines.
Personalities mentioned: environmental architect Bill Dunster; Half Gone, Jeremy Leggett, the chief executive of Solar Century
Link found at the Watt blog
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
Impact of Global Growth on Carbon Emissions - PwC Report
The world in 2050 - Impact of global growth on carbon emissions
This report was produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers in advance of the Stern Review report published in the UK on 30 October 2006
Excerpts
1. The rapid economic growth of emerging countries such as China and India could have serious long-term consequences for global energy consumption and carbon emissions.
2. A scenario such as the "Green Growth Plus" strategy outlined in the report could allow for continued healthy growth whilst controlling carbon emissions.
3. The report considers six possible scenarios but focuses most attention on two key possibilities: (a) A baseline scenario in which energy efficiency improves in line with trends of the past 25 years, with no change in fuel mix by country; (b) A scenario called Green Growth + CCS, which incorporates possible emission reductions due to a greener fuel mix, annual energy efficiency gains over and above the historic trend, and widespread use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
4. Of the scenarios considered in the report, only this ‘Green Growth Plus’ strategy stabilises atmospheric CO2 concentrations by 2050 at what the current scientific consensus suggests would be broadly acceptable levels.
5. The author of is John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ UK firm. He says: "...the emerging ‘E7’ economies ...could account for almost half of global carbon emissions by 2050 according to our model...Can the world sustain such rapid growth without serious adverse effects on its climate? Our new report provides one possible answer to how this might be achieved".
6. According to a plausible scenario detailed in the report the G7 economies will need to reduce their current level of emissions by around half by 2050 to achieve this scenario, whereas the E7 economies would still be able to increase their emissions by around 30% from current levels.
7. China is set to overtake the US as the leading carbon emitter by 2010, while total E7 emissions would be more than double total G7 emissions by 2050.
8. John Hawksworth concludes: "Our analysis suggests that there are technologically feasible and relatively low-cost options for controlling carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Estimates suggest that the level of GDP might be reduced by no more than around 2-3% in 2050 if this strategy was followed, equivalent to sacrificing only around a year of economic growth for the sake of reducing carbon emissions in 2050 by around 60% compared to our baseline scenario".
Full report here
Link suggested by an article at the Bioconversion Blog
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
Terra Preta - CO2 sequestration with Amazonian Dark Earth
Terra Preta: Black is the New Green - David Zaks and Chad Monfreda @ this World Chaging article
Excerpts:
1. Technical geosequestration methods for CO2 could pump large amounts of CO2 deep underground but are still under development. On the other hand, natural methods that store carbon in living ecosystems may be possible in the short term but require huge swathes of land
2. An ideal solution, however, would combine the quick fix of biological methods with the absolute potential of technical ones. Terra preta may do just that.
3. Amazonian Dark Earth, or terra preta do indio is three times richer in nitrogen and phosphorous, and twenty times the carbon of normal soils, terra preta is the legacy of ancient Amazonians who predate Western civilization...
4. The difference between terra preta and ordinary soils is immense. A hectare of meter-deep terra preta can contain 250 tonnes of carbon, as opposed to 100 tonnes in unimproved soils from similar parent material...
5. There are some who believe that that a strategy combining biochar with biofuels could ultimately offset 9.5 billion tons of carbon per year-an amount equal to the total current fossil fuel emissions!
6. Danny Day, the founder of a company called Eprida is experimenting with systems that turn farm waste into hydrogen, biofuel, and biochar. He says, "We don't maximize for hydrogen; we don't maximize for biodisel; we don't maximize for char...By being a little bit inefficient in each, we approximate nature and get a completely efficient cycle."
7. Terra preta's full beauty appears in this closed loop. Unlike traditional sequestration rates that follow diminishing marginal returns-aquifers fill up, forests mature-practices based on terra preta see increasing returns.
Full article here
Link suggested by Bioconversion Blog
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
Cyanobacteria Sequencing Project for Biofuel, Ethanol
Department of Energy Funds cyanobacteria sequencing project
Making green mats of ethanol
By Tony Fitzpatrick
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 great sources of biofuel
2. Microscopic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) 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 Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, and Professor of Energy in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, will head a team of biologists at Washington University and elsewhere in the analysis of the genomes of six related strains of Cyanothece bacteria.
4. One additional Cyanothece strain, 51142, already has been sequenced by the Washington University Genome Squencing Center, the other six will be sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif.
5. The strains, two isolated from rice paddies in Taiwan, one in a rice paddy in India, and three others from the deep ocean, are related, but each one comes from different environmental backgrounds and might metabolize differently. Thus, combining traits of the different strains could provide the most efficient form of bioenergy.
6. 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.
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.
Full report here
Link suggested by the Bioconversion Blog
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 23, 2006
An individual's Perspectives on Biodiesel & Biofuel
An individual's Perspectives on Biodiesel & Biofuel
Was lazy browsing "green" blogs, when I came across a lengthy but useful blog article @ the Amy King blog
The author, in this article, tries to provide reasons why biodiesel in specific and biofuels in general are a useful idea. This is intended as a rebuttal to many of the criticisms that are commonly levelled against biofuels.
While many of the points she makes are possibly quite familiar to someone acquainted with the bio-energy domain, it is nice to all the arguments and facts (and links and data) presented in one place
Read more @ Really? Really? Really @ Amyking.org
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
A Little More on Algae - Oil Drum
A Little More on Algae - Oil Drum
Here is a long list of comments on the use of algae for biodiesel production. This is from one of OilDrum.com's discussion threads.
While not every comment is an expert opinion, the discussion has a pretty large number of comments, quite a few of them on the problems that could be faced by the algae to oil bandwagon
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
Three Big Problems with Algae
Three Big Problems with Algae
The following are some of the main problems with the algae to biodiesel concept:
1. Harvesting algae is much more difficult and energy intensive than most people realize.
2. Random natural algae tend to start taking over from artificially seeded algae fairly rapidly unless the pond is covered, and covering ponds costs money.
3. Ponds often have to be lined to meet groundwater regulatory requirements, which adds quite a bit to costs.
These are not the only problems, but each of these is a significant issue to be tackled...
Thought I'd just make a mention of this...will pick this up and provide more detail in some other blog soon
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
Two companies pursuing Algae to Oil technology
Two companies pursuing Algae to Oil technology
Here is a brief mention @ Novak's Weblog of the two companies that are at the forefront of the algae to oil process
1. GreenFuel Technologies - Cambridge, Mass. based co has garnered $11 million in venture capital funding and is conducting a field trial
2. GreenShift Corp. - Mount Arlington, N.J., technology incubator company, licensed CO2-gobbling algae technology that uses a screen-like algal filter - developed by David Bayless
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
Partnership Aims to Replace Oil with Biocrude
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
Scientists hope soon grow oil from algae
By Scott Nance, Oct 18 2006
Excerpts:
1. A small California firm has partnered with one of the largest U.S. government labs in an effort to create biocrude oil by the year 2010. The project aims to use algae to replace dependence on imported oil.
2. Funded by LiveFuels Inc., the scientific alliance will be led by Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy national lab, and is expected to sponsor dozens of labs and hundreds of scientists by the year 2010.
3. Algal oil is similar to soybean oil but can be grown on marginal lands unsuitable for food crops. Algae can be grown in fresh or brackish water, making it an ideal solution for farmers dealing with issues of agricultural run-off.
4. Algal oil could fill the gap for non-edible uses like biofuels, according to the company.
5. The challenge facing LiveFuels' scientists will be growing and transforming algae cheaply into biocrude within days rather than millennia, the company says.
6. Theoretically, algae can yield 1,000 to 20,000 gallons of oil per acre.
7. Various stages of research at LiveFuels are: breeding various strains of algae, working on driving down the costs of harvesting algae, and working on extracting the needed fats and oils from the algae.
Personalities mentioned: Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones, chief executive officer at LiveFuels
Organizations mentioned: Sandia National Laboratories, a DOE laboratory managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
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
Here Comes the Sun - Maximising the Use of Solar Energy
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
An interesting blog post from Scientific American
Here Comes the Sun
The blog article discusses why it is imperative that more research be undertaken to figure out how to utilise sun's energy better.
Excerpts:
1. The sun pumps out more energy in one hour--4.3 x 1020 Joules of it hit the Earth--than all of the energy consumed by all of human endeavor in one year--4.1 x 1020 in 2001. That energy is largely wasted despite falling on some of the most efficient chemical converters of light energy--photosynthetic plants. Green plants and, more importantly, green algae and plankton only store up 0.5 percent of the sun's bounty.
2. Some good news on the solar front: increases in the efficiency of silicon solar cells, new technologies, and new types of cells, such as the efficient, flexible ones, innovative new ways to finance photovoltaic installations.
3. With climate change upon us, it is imperative that we make the switch to carbon-free technologies. There are only two with any realistic chance of working: solar power and nuclear power.
4. Nuclear power has drawbacks, such as residual, deadly waste, reliance on uranium enrichment, chance of catastrophic accident. Nukes however have provided steady, dependable power to the U.S. for the last several decades.
5. Solar power is typically small and dispersed. It tends to provide power more to those who fear grid interruptions. It too has drawbacks, such as the competition for high quality silicon, woeful efficiency and the problem of intermittency.
6. In order to provide every human being with power--a noble goal--we are going to need 27 terawatts of power by mid-century, and we are going to need that power to be carbon free.
7. Lawrence Berkeley has launched Helios, an effort to harness the considerable but disparate research that might help us harvest the bounty of the sun. Other institutions are following suit, from the Sun Grant Initiative on biofuels at various land grant universities to a new X Prize for efficient automobiles.
Personalities mentioned: Steven Chu, the director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Richard Smalley, one of the discoverers of carbon-60, more commonly known as buckminsterfullerene; Nathan Lewis of Cal Tech and Daniel Nocera of MIT in PNAS
Events mentioned: The Solar Power conference
Companies mentioned: SunEdison
Full blog 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
High Octane Algae - Biodiesel Research in Hawaii
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
The search for a new fuel source for cars continues
by Keala Francis / 04-19-2006
Excerpts:
1. Almost any organic material can be converted into energy. Hawai‘i’s potential comeback crop, sugarcane, whose fibers, affectionately called bagasse, are a form of organic waste which can be fermented into ethanol, an alcohol fuel. Other potential “cellulosic” materials for ethanol production include sawdust and wood waste, rice hulls, rice straw, corn, wheat, soy beans, potato skins, sugar beets and yard clippings.
2. Unfortunately, alternative fuels, or clean technology, still cost more per gallon to produce than good old fossil fuel.
3. With new algae technology, a barrel of biodiesel would cost $32 to $75 per barrel, still too high to compete, and a couple of Hawaii scientists are experimenting with algae as the feedstock.
4. Waste oil, free from restaurants, is another low (no?) cost feedstock. But scalability is an issue with waste vegetable oil (WVO)
5. Scientists should look into genetically modified crops for alternative fuel options.
6. Hybrid cars have continued to develop better technology and made in-roads into the car market. Some companies even offer additional plug-in kits to popular hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, for more alternative power.
Personalities & organizations mentioned: Dr. Barry Raleigh, a researcher at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and managing partner of HR Biopetroleum, a start-up company working to manufacture algae-produced biodiesel.
Full article here from the Honolulu Weekly
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
Biodiesel Edges Out Ethanool
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
Biodiesel Edges Out Ethanol
Here is a nice article from Renewable Energy Access blog that compares energy efficiencies of ethanol & biodiesel, and wow, it turns out that biodiesel is a clear winner.
Excerpts
1. Ethanol (from corn) delivers 25 percent more energy than is used (mostly fossil fuel) in producing it, though much of that 25 percent energy dividend comes from the production of an ethanol byproduct, animal feed.
2. Net energy gain is much higher -- 93 percent -- from biodiesel fuel derived from soybeans
3. Alternative crops such as switchgrass or mixed prairie grasses, which can grow on marginal land with minimal input of fossil fuel derived fertilizers and pesticides, offer the best hope for the (ethanol) future
4. Growing both corn and soybeans caused soil and water pollution from such chemicals as the nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizer and from pesticides. But biodiesel used, per unit of energy gained, only a fraction of the nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticide (by weight) of corn production.
5. Re greenhouse gas emissions, emissions from the production and use of corn grain ethanol were 12 percent lower than the net emissions from gasoline; the reduction was 41 percent for biodiesel from soybeans.
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
Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production
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
This article is about a year old I reckon, but is a useful read
Excerpts:
Cultivating Algae for Liquid Fuel Production, Thomas F. Riesing, Ph.D.
WITH THE INCREASING INTEREST in biodiesel as an alternative to petrodiesel, many have looked at the possibility of growing more oilseed crops as a solution to the problem of peak oil. There are two problems with this approach: first, growing more oilseed crops would displace the food crops grown to feed mankind. Second, traditional oilseed crops are not the most productive or efficient source of vegetable oil.
Micro-algae is, by a factor of 8 to 25 for palm oil. and a factor of 40 to 120 for rapeseed, the highest potential energy yield temperate vegetable oil crop.By some estimates, only 15,000 square miles could produce enough algae to meet all of the USA's ground transportation needs.
Summary of Results form the Aquatic Species Program
Some results listed in the Close Out Report of the ASP are:
· Under optimum growing conditions micro-algae will produce up to 4 lbs./sq. ft./year or 15,000 gallons of oil/acre/year. Micro-algae are the fastest growing photosynthesizing organisms, can complete an entire growing cycle every few days.
· One quad (1015 BTU or 7.5 billion gal.) of biodiesel could be produced on 200,000 ha of desert land (equivalent to 772 sq. mi., roughly 500,000 acres). (To produce one quad from a rapeseed crop would require 58 million acres or 90,000 sq. mi.)
· The outdoor race-track pond production system is the only economically feasible approach given the cost of petroleum in 1996.
· Some of the micro-algae contain up to 60% fat. Once the fat is 'harvested'— some 70% can be harvested by pressing—what remains becomes a good animal feed or can be processed to produce ethanol.
· The desert test location in New Mexico had sufficient sunlight, but low nighttime temperatures limited the ability to achieve consistently high productivity.
· There were problems getting lab-cultured algae to grow in the outside pond environment.
· No tests were carried out on mechanisms and procedures for harvesting the algae nor on the extraction of oils from the algae.
The article also provides inputs on large-scale and small-scale algae production.
Full article can be read from here.
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