Latest Updates: biofuel RSS

• Biofuel From Waste Beef
  Srikant Rajan 05:44:14 pm on July 31, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: animal waste, Beef Products Inc, biodiseal, biofuel, celullosic, dynamic fuels, Natural Innovative Renewable Energy, tyson food

  Corn and Soy for producing biofuel seem to be falling out of favor with biofuel producers.After Tyson’s ambitious plans to convert animal waste into biofuel ,another enterprise plans to convert beef tallow into commercial biofuel.South Sioux City based , Beef Products Inc the worlds largest producer of boneless beef plans to team with Natural Innovative Renewable Energy(NIRE) to churn biofuel from beef tallow.The two firms together are planning a $100 million project  that would become Nebraska’s largest biodiesel plant, and the first in the state to make the clean-burning, renewable fuel from animal fat.This plant is  expected to produce 60million gallon /year of biofuel.In addition, the factory is expected to annually produce 55 million pounds of glycerin, a product widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

  This is a welcome step that again signals the growing relevance of second generation biofuels in the global world.Additionally the economics of producing second generation biofuel , are more than producing biofuel from corn or soy.As John Lucken, chairman of the NIRE board highlights that with increase  of soybean oil prices from 24 cents to over 60 cents it is no longer good business to use the same for biofuel production.

   

• Dupont to Investigate Cellulosic Biofuels
  Srikant Rajan 05:20:34 am on July 27, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: biofuel, cellulosic, DuPont, Mascoma Corp, University of Tennessee

  University of Tennessee and Dupont have partnered to create a pilot scale model of a cellulosic ethanol plant.The pilot plant and process development unit will be located at the Niles Ferry Industrial Park in Vonore, Tenn and will investigate the feasibility of switchgrass for biofuel.Additionally , sources such as corn stover, cobs, and fiber as feedstock would also be used as feedstock .Dupont was roped in by University of Tennessee after it failed to reach an agreement with Mascoma Corp.

  Dupont technology lead John Pierce, said “ The high cellulosic content of switchgrass makes it an optimal feedstock for ethanol production. Its yields today make it more than competitive with other biomass sources, and it has the potential to produce over 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre in the future. The joint venture is now targeting the two optimal biomass feedstock in the United States and we are ready to take our technology to the next level of commercial viability “

   

• Shell To Develop Biofuels
  Srikant Rajan 05:30:57 pm on July 19, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: biofuel, carbon emissions, cellulosic, iogen corporation, royal dutch shell

  Royal Dutch Shell has entered into an alliance with Iogen Corporation for accelerating development of second generation cellulosic ethanol. Iogen demonstration plant was opened in 2004 in Ottawa and now Shell plans to contribute to further Iogen’s feasibility and design assessment work.Shell also plans to develop “ next generation “ biofuels using materials such as wheat straw that offer upto 90% reduction in carbon emissions as compared to conventional gasoline.

  Shell’s VP ,Dr. Graeme Sweeney,  said “   This is a strong statement that Shell is committed to accelerating the development of cellulosic ethanol in collaboration with Iogen. We have come a long way together already on this particular technology pathway for sustainable biofuel and we will be working ever closer to meet the technical and commercial challenges facing larger scale production “

   

• Costly Oil ? Biofuel To Blame Says OPEC
  Srikant Rajan 02:56:07 pm on July 17, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, biofuel, blended fuels, Chekib Khelil, ethanol, oil speculation, opec

  Oil price increase has been linked to numerous reasons ; speculation and increased demand being the most common. The reason being these  are easy to construct ,  subjective and to a certain extent non verifiable . However OPEC seems to think otherwise . OPEC, president Chakib Khelil has now found ethanol to be the reason for almost 40 % increase in oil prices. The remaining 60 % is apparently due to rising dollar and an essentially vague factor  – “ geopolitical worries “ ( fancy word for plain speculation ).  How Mr.Khelil has arrive on this conclusion is anybody’s guess as he refuses to explain the logic behind such rationalization

  Biofuels have been on the receiving side of criticism (sometimes fair !) for reduced food grain output. However the technology has been slowly maturing with the development of second generation and algae based biofuel. OPEC is undoubtedly worried as ethanol is a direct competitor to oil and also makes oil supplies “ stretch “ significantly ( bended fuels). OPEC’s attack, in my opinion signifies that this industry  is definitely on the road to commercialization.

   

• Biofuel From Wood
  Srikant Rajan 08:40:40 am on July 13, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: biofuel, European Union, finland, fossil fuels, Neste oil, Stora Enso, VTT, wood residues

  Stora Enso a Finnish  paper and and timber producer has joined hands with Neste Oil Corporation to set up a plant that will utilize wood based residues to produce biofuel. The demonstration plant will be owned on a twin sharing basis and is expected to be functional by the year 2008. VTT, Technical Research Center of Finland will also provide technical expertise for setting up of the processing plant. This plant would cost EUR 14 million  and would be later integrated with existing energy infrastructure and would be capable of powering an estimated 4000 households.

  There has been a lot of  research to produce high quality biofuel from a variety of sources such as animal fat,residual grease from restaurants,and even garbage. The ambitious target set by EU of replacing 18 million tonnes of fossil fuels used for transportation by 2010 is a major act fueling this research . (simply put there isn’t enough land for growing biofuel crops such as jatropha )

   

• Boeing to Fly on Biofuel
  Srikant Rajan 05:51:50 am on July 4, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: algae biofuel, Algal Biofuel Organization, biofuel, boeing, japanese airlines

  Japan Airlines(JAL) plans to test a biofuel based alternative for powering its flights as early as 2009.JAl plans to use a mixture of conventional jet fuel and second generation biofuel to power one of the 4 engines in a Boeing with the rest being powered by conventional fuel. Additionally the fuel used will be specifically processed from non edible food products thus avoiding any potential adverse impact on food grains consumption.

  Rising fuel prices have hit airlines operating cost, forcing them to look for alternative fuel sources. In February, Virgin Atlantic successfully conducted the world’s first flight of a commercial aircraft powered partially with biofuel — a mixture of coconut and babassu oil in one of its four main fuel tanks. German based Lufthansa also plans a 25% reduction in GHG emissions and biofuel use in its aircrafts by 2010. Finally the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO), in which Boeing plays a leading role, also plans to employ algae for producing a biofuel alternative to jet fuel.

   

• Algae Biofuel Vs. Cellulose Ethanol
  Tate 10:39:30 pm on July 2, 2008 | 2 | # |
  Tags: algae, algenol, biofuel, cellulose, ethanol, greenfuel, sapphire energy

  There’s a good comparison of algae biofuel vs cellulose ethanol at EcoWorld that was just posted today.. Algae isn’t nearly as developed as cellulose ethanol but in my mind holds much greater potential while using a much smaller foot print.  Companies looking to meet the challenge of using algae for fuel are Algenol, GreenFuel and Sapphire Energy, all privately held companies.

   

• Biofuel Production May Be Hit By Heavy Rains
  Srikant Rajan 12:12:23 pm on July 1, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: biofuel, corn, corn production, cost biofuels, ethanol

  Rains and flooding in US Midwest would likely lead to a lower corn production in US this year,further impacting biofuel production.US Department of Agriculture has lowered its predictions of estimated corn production from 12.1 billion bushels to 11.7 billion.Corn future prices have also risen to $7 a bushel from $4 a bushel in January.Experts, however predict that soaring oil prices would make it profitable to produce ethanol from corn even if the prices rise to $9.50 a bushel for corn.

  Again such a scenario would lead to decrease in corn feedstock for agricultural and consumption purposes ,as corn producers would find it more profitable to sell corn to biofuel producers than to the livestock industry.

   

• Coal Plant To Produce Biofuels
  Srikant Rajan 08:45:20 am on June 26, 2008 | 4 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae biofuel, algae growth, biofuel, carbon dioxide, Inventure Chemicals, israel, Seambiotic Limited

  Inventure Chemicals has entered into a joint venture with Israel based Seambiotic Limited to construct a pilot commercial biofuel plant.The biofuel plant will use algae as a feedstock that will be produced using the emissions from a power plant.The algae thus grown would be harvested to produce biofuels such as ethanol , biodiseal and other commercial chemicals.

  This joint venture will help in gauging the feasibility of carbon dioxide to algae to biofuel model.Additionally this conversion technology also provides an attractive option to reduce the carbon emissions of a coal plant ,a major environmental polluter.Furthermore, the biofuel obtained by algae processing can also act as a substitute power source in the coal plant,making it a win-win proposition all the way.

   

• Global Warming ??? Suck Up The Carbon !
  Srikant Rajan 01:59:11 pm on June 25, 2008 | 1 | # |
  Tags: algae, algae biofuel, algae growth, Algal Biomass Organization, biofuel, boeing, carbon dioxide, global warming, petroalgae

  Algae based biofuel provides a lot of advantages.This process of algae growth ,like a crop and further harvesting it to obtain biofuel leaves a very low carbon impact on the environment.The biggest advantage of algaaculture is that it can act as a source for removing carbon dioxide from air.Research has proven that algae growth in  CO2-enriched air can yield oil that can be converted into high grade biodiseal.Additionally the byproducts left behind after processing algae can be used as animal feed.PetroAlgae,is one of the organizations actively pursuing this endeavor.Fred Tennant, VP,PetroAlgae is overseeing the development of a process in which algae is harvested from fresh-water ponds , converted to oil and refined to biodiseal. The byproducts ,can be further used as a protein rich animal feed.

  The recently formed  Algal Biomass Organization for promoting renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae,is being promoted by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.Thus it seems that algae has enormous potential for developing as a sustainable energy source.

   
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