Jul/100
Synthetic Gasoline Is Created From Biomass and Solar Power
Synthetic Gasoline Is Created From Biomass and Solar Power
via Synthetic Gasoline Is Created From Biomass and Solar Power.
Concentrated solar energy is most commonly used for electrical power generation. However, a Colorado company, Sundrop Fuels, has a unique approach to the production of biofuel by that marries the mirrors and tower of concentrated solar power with their process for the production of bio-based fuels.
Instead of burning biomass for the energy needed to create biofuel, Sundrop uses concentrated solar as their energy source to gasify a range of feedstocks including agricultural waste, energy crops, and wood waste. The Sundrop process can produce a range of fuels including gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. Many other biofuel processes produce ethanol which has a lower energy density than other fuels, meaning that more of it must be used for an equal amount of work. (Flex-fuel cars get fewer miles per gallon from ethanol than from gasoline, but the ethanol fuel costs less per gallon, and the ethanol is not derived from petroleum.)
Sundrop uses the high temperatures from the concentrated solar array to vaporize the biomass feedstock and form syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. As with other biofuel processess, the syngas is the basic building block which is turned into useful fuel.
Sundrop’s process has other efficiencies that provide additional benefits. By using solar energy, the process yields 100 to 125 gallons of fuel per ton of biomass, which is more than twice what other biofuel producers obtain. The process also requires far less water, needing only a half gallon of water per gallon of fuel produced, versus 6 or 7 gallons required in other systems. The process also creates electrical power from the waste heat generated in the reaction tower.
One of the only significant drawbacks that the Sundrop process faces is the distance between areas with excellent solar access (and few cloudy days) and ready sources of biomass.
The Sundrop process is expected to be able to create gasoline, without subsidies, for less than $2 per gallon. The company is constructing a pilot plant and aims to have a full, commercial-scale plant with a capacity of 100 million gallons by 2015.
Apr/100
Question for the Kennedy’s
I wonder what the Kennedy’s would prefer -a windfarm, or an exploding sinking oil rig – resulting oil slick – and subsequent unknown environmental damage?
Feb/100
Sugar Cane Based Plastic
None of these obstacles applies to the plastic featured here. In a radical new approach to polyethylene production, ethanol derived from renewable and eco-friendly sugar cane is used to make ethylene, which is then converted into PE using standard processes. One major producer of bio-polyethylene estimates that its carbon footprint equals roughly 15% of that of traditional PE production — even after taking into account the transport of the sugar cane and the use of fertilizers. Incredibly, the only byproducts of bio-polyethylene production are recyclable water and a tiny amount of ethanol. Discarded parts are fully biodegradable and they can be composted with other organic matter.
Dec/090
ExxonSecrets
The database compiles Exxon Foundation and corporate funding to a series of institutions who have worked to undermine solutions to global warming and climate change.
Dec/090
ExxonMobil continuing to fund climate sceptic groups, records show
ExxonMobil continuing to fund climate sceptic groups.
Records show ExxonMobil gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to lobby groups that have published ‘misleading and inaccurate information’ about climate change
via ExxonMobil continuing to fund climate sceptic groups, records show | Environment | guardian.co.uk.
Jul/090
Exxon investing in Algae Biofuel Research
Exxon – your favorite environmentally friendly oil company – is apparently getting interested in algae for biofuels. I wonder what 10.8 million gallons of spilled algae would look like. Green I guess. This is an example of oil companies proving the point of the peak oil theory. If there’s so much oil in the ground to be had endlessly for cheap, why spend all this money on a gamble technology.
“Earlier this week, the oil giant ExxonMobil announced a significant shift in direction: Rather than drilling ever downward in an attempt to find more oil, the company will invest heavily in green, growing things that can manufacture biofuel. Exxon plans to put $600 million into the production of algae-based biofuels, and will partner with the genetics company Synthetic Genomics run by genomics pioneer Craig Venter. The announcement came just a week after another industrial giant, Dow Chemical, declared its own investment in algae technology.” (More in the Discover Article)
via Could Exxon Go Green? Oil Giant Invests in Algae Biofuel Research | 80beats | Discover Magazine.
Jul/090
Big Oil Investing in Big Alternative
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Apparently Exxon is not the only big oil company investing in alternatives.
“Exxon’s (XOM) announcement of a $600 million investment in algae seems like a stunner to many.
The oil giant is traditionally skeptical of all alternative energy investments. Plunking this much cash, $300 million today, $300 down the road, seems like a change of pace.
Not so, says the FT’s Lex column:
But Exxon’s investment is hardly an about-face. Algae could pay big dividends down the road, which is why many peers are doing the same. Biofuel gases and liquids are closer to the core competency of oil and gas companies than shovel-ready wind farms or solar arrays.
BP, the third largest US wind generator, will still invest $5bn over seven years into alternatives, with more focus on advanced biofuels. Shell spent $1.7bn over five years to reduce its carbon footprint. Chevron invested $3.2bn into renewables since 2002 and is the world’s largest geothermal energy provider. By contrast, Exxon’s $1.5bn in spending over the last two years was focused on energy saving. That provided few photo-ops for its annual report.
This measured approach is consistent with a capital expenditure philosophy that has served shareholders well. Relative to smaller peers, for example, it spent far less on capital investments during the oil bubble – some 40 per cent of earnings over the past three years versus between 84 and 99 per cent for BP, Shell and Chevron. When prices collapsed earlier this year, it was the only supermajor to announce a big spending increase.”
Jul/090
The latest on algae-to-energy
Hot Topics: The latest on algae-to-energy
Here are some of the most popular latest stories on algae-to-energy that have run in Biofuels Digest:
Profile of Aquatic Energy: In Louisiana, Aquatic Energy unveiled significant progress in its pilot algae-to-energy project in the Lake Charles-Lafayette corridor of the state. The company is now preparing to expand from a “couple of acre” pilot in Lake Charles, to an 30-acre demonstration project that will feature the company’s 1-acre open-pond system that is yielding 2500 gallons per acre without using an external CO2 source.
Profile of Aurora Biofuels: “It’s the Florida panther of algae biofuels: little seen, but capable of making a big mark and certainly, of late, issuing a big roar with completion of its 18-month pilot and confidence now high that they will be at demo-stage next year and on target for $1.30 algal fuel.”
Profile of PetroAlgae: “You will not see giant corn ears, gas pumps or a string of billboards in Burma Shave style at Fellsmere. What you will see is the first near-to-workable platform for a national energy solution. They, or rather PetroAlgae, is making algal oil in Fellsmere, and nearing completion of a vertically integrated, scaleable, licensable 5-6,000 gallon per acre algae-to-energy production system.”
Sapphire Energy speeds up path to commercialization: In California, Sapphire Energy said the pace of algae commercialization is increasing and that it will reach commercial scale by 2011, and producing 1 Mgy of diesel and jet fuel from algae that year, double its previous estimate.
OriginOil announces breakthrough oil extraction technology: In California, OriginOil announced a breakthrough, one-step process for extracting oil from algae. The company said that its patent-pending process does not require chemicals or significant capital expenditure for heavy machinery, and no initial dewatering is required.
Solazyme says lifecycle analysis of Soladiesel shows 93 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: In California, Life Cycle Associates, the same consultant that performed lifecycle greenhouse gas calculations for the California Air Resources Board, completed a field-to-wheels assessment of Soladiesel, the company’s algae-based biodiesel using the Argonne National Laboratories GREET model. LCA found that Soladiesel’s full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are 85 to 93 percent lower than standard petroleum based ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD).
Jul/090
U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports
Ever wondered what country we import the most oil from?
Voila: Canada? Who knew.
U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports. From the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Jul/090
Tires Made from Orange Oil Instead of Petroleum
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Tires Made from Orange Oil Instead of Petroleum.
“Tire maker Yokohama has begun selling a new type of tire made mainly from orange oil instead of petroleum. The substitution plus the use of natural rubber allows the tires to be 80 percent petroleum-free.”
via EcoGeek