Ethanol: Good for car fuel, mouthwash?

Ethanol: Good for car fuel, mouthwash? - Oil & Energy - MSNBC.com:
August 27, 2006
"AMES, Iowa - Now that ethanol has become common in gas tanks, two Iowa State University professors are working to get it into martini glasses."

Gov. Bush Puts Clout Behind Use of Ethanol

Investor Vinod Khosla puts an interesting twist on this idea. He recommneds eliminating the ethanol import tariff, but only for ethanol to be sold as E85. This would lower the price of e85 so much that the many flex-fuel vehicle owners would finally take notice and the result would be a thriving E85 market that could be exploited by future U.S. producers of inexpensive cellulosic ethanol. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Gov. Bush Puts Clout Behind Use of Biofuel | theledger.com:
by David Adams, ST. Petersburg Times -- The Ledger Online -- August 26, 2006
"In April, Bush wrote to his brother advocating lifting the 54 cents-per-gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. 'In light of the challenge we face in meeting the growing demand for fuel, I believe we should reconsider the U.S. policy that taxes ethanol imports from Brazil -- while allowing other tax-free oil energy imports from Venezuela,' he wrote."he

Professor optomistic about future of bio-based fuels

DesMoinesRegister.com:
by Jerry Perkins -- August 29, 2006
"Ames, Ia. � The future is now for farm crops and other potential substitutes for petroleum products, Dartmouth College engineering professor Lee Lynd said Monday at the Biobased Industry Outlook Conference at Iowa State University."

British Petroleum Investing $500 Million in a Bioenergy Institute

DesMoinesRegister.com:
by Anne Fitzgerald -- August 29, 2006
"Ames, Ia. � Iowa State University is being considered as a possible site for a $500 million bioenergy institute to be established by BP, one of the world's largest oil companies, company and ISU officials said Monday."

Panda announces third manure powered ethanol refinery

Panda Ethanol to Build 100 Million Gallon Ethanol Plant in Sherman County, TX:
Biofuels Journal -- August 29, 2006
"Once complete, it will be one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation and equal in size to Panda's Hereford facility which is the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States.
The Sherman facility is the fourth 100 million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the third to be powered by cattle manure."

Confronting Today's Oil Crisis in the U.S.

The author of this article published one of the first books on the production of ethanol fuel. -- Jeff G.
RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Confronting Today's Oil Crisis in the U.S.:
by Paul Notari -- August 28, 2006
"With little doubt today the United States is being confronted with a crisis of major proportions. As world oil demand keeps growing and oil supplies are curtailed or threatened by political turmoil in the Mideast, world oil prices could well continue to escalate upwards at an alarming rate."

Wisconsin paper mill reborn as biorefinery

Oshkosh Northwestern - Paper mill reborn as biorefinery:
Associated Press -- August 5, 2006
"But, with the mill soon to reopen with all the jobs being restored and new plans to establish an experimental biorefinery to make ethanol from wood products, the mood was far different Friday, Mayor Tom Ratzlaff said. "

SW Kansas Electric/Biofuel Complex will Recycle all Byproducts

The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kan., | Regional News:
by Tim Vandenack -- August 24, 2006
"As envisioned in a complex flow chart outlining the plans, waste from one facility would be used to help power another. For instance, flue gas, or combustion exhaust, from the coal-fired generators would be fed into the algae reactor, which would produce the algae oil that would power the biodiesel plant.
Manure, animal fat, paunch and wastewater from area feedlots, packing plants and dairies also would figure heavy in the mix. Fat, more properly known as tallow, would help run the biodiesel plant, while wastewater and manure would be fed into the anaerobic digester, which would generate the methane that would help run the ethanol plant."

Electric Utility to Develop Integrated Bioenergy Center in Western Kansas

This kind of project drastically improves the renewable energy balance of ethanol. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Sunflower to Develop Integrated Bioenergy Center:
August 22, 2006
"When completed, the center will involve several subsystems which may include: livestock facilities, an anaerobic digester, an algae reactor, an ethanol and a biodiesel plant which are integrated to utilize corresponding waste steams."

British company to make butanol fuel

New British biofuel plan beets ethanol | Science & nature | The Australian:
by Ben Webster, London -- August 24, 2006
"British Sugar, which is building Britain's first butanol plant in Norfolk, eastern England, plans to produce 70 million litres of the fuel a year. Butanol is expected to be introduced in all 1250 BP petrol stations by 2010."

BlueFire Ethanol Identifies Southern California Landfill as Initial Location in the U.S. for Commercialization of Cellulose Ethanol Technology

PRESS RELEASE BlueFire Ethanol Identifies Southern California Landfill as Initial Location in the U.S. for Commercialization of Cellulose Ethanol Technology:
Market Wire -- August 22, 2006
"BlueFire's Southern California Biorefinery will process 700 tons of green waste and other cellulosic waste material per day into 24 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol per year with projected revenues of about $55 million and operating income of approximately $25 million per year. "

KC Company Intends to Acquire Cellulosic Ethanol Developer Flex Fuels USA

Alternative Energy Sources Intends to Acquire Cellulosic Ethanol Developer Flex Fuels USA: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance:
August 11, 2006
"Alternative Energy and Flex Fuels USA estimate four to five months of design and engineering, with an anticipated construction beginning in the second quarter of 2007. Once processes are finalized, he said the company anticipates building the first cellulosic ethanol facility in the Eastern United States."

XETHANOL converting fiberboard plant to produce cellulosic ethanol

XETHANOL CORP.: "The company, presently known as Carolina Fiberboard, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueRidge and change its name to Spring Hope BioFuels, LLC. It is believed that this plant may well become the first commercial-scale cellulose ethanol plant to come on line in the US... It is anticipated that, after retrofitting the plant to produce ethanol, production will reach 5 million gallons per year in approximately 6 months and then progress rapidly to capacity. The primary feedstock of local hardwood chips and wood waste has already been established. "

Pilot Cellulosic Refinery to be Located with PA Corn Refinery

BioEnergy International to Build Pennsylvania's First Ethanol Plant in Clearfield County:
Clearfield, PA -- Grainnet.com -- August 18, 2006
"The plant will employ conventional corn-based technology and will be among the largest east of the Mississippi River, and one of the nation�s top 10, based on output.
The smaller pilot-cellulose plant will use BioEnergy�s ground-breaking technology to produce fuels using locally available organic wastes, such as wood and agricultural residue."

Electric Power Company Considers Making Ethanol

Using steam that is normally wasted from coal fired power generation facilities is one way ethanol can be made more environmentally friendly, with a better energy balance. The needed steam would otherwise be made from dedicated boilers at the ethanol plant, usually fired by natural gas. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
NRG Energy Considers Making Ethanol:
by Matthew Dalton, Dow Jones Newswire -- August 18, 2006 (Associated Press)
"These plants have much lower fuel costs than other ethanol plants, as they run on steam produced by existing coal-fired power plants. By using excess steam from the power plant boiler, they eliminate the need to buy large amounts of coal just for the ethanol plant."

Polluted Sites Nationwide Could Become Biofuels Proving Grounds

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Polluted Sites Nationwide Could Become Biofuels Proving Grounds:
August 17, 2006
"East Lansing, Michigan [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Growing crops for biofuels summons images of fuel alternatives springing from the rural heartland. But a Michigan State University partnership with DaimlerChrysler is looking at turning industrial brownfields green. "

1-butanol better option than ethanol

The Enquirer - 1-butanol better option than ethanol:
by Milton Orchin -- August 13, 2006
"...there is an alternative that not only retains these merits but is far superior to bioethanol as a gasoline substitute. It is biobutanol, or more specifically, 1-butanol, one of the four different kinds (isomers) of butanol. 1-Butanol is a second cousin to ethanol."

Interest in the Scuderi Group's Air-Hybrid Engine is growing

The Fuel economy advantages of a hybrid electric engine at a fraction of the cost! Sounds like a winner, and of course it could be fueled by ethanol or biodiesel. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Concern about Fuel Efficiency and Energy Independence Drive Interest in the Scuderi Group's Air-Hybrid Engine:
Theautochannel.com -- August 15, 2006
"By adding a small air storage tank with some simple controls costing only a few hundred dollars, the Scuderi engine can recapture energy normally lost during the braking of a vehicle. To accomplish this with electric hybrids requires a complex electrical system costing thousands of dollars, consisting of generators, motors, and large batteries."

Hydraulic Hybrid Delivery Truck gets 60 to 70% Better Fuel Economy

Environmental Protection Agency - EPA Press Release: Hybrid Technology Takes Giant Leap into Commercial Vehicles - EPA Unveils UPS Delivery Truck with 60 to 70% Higher Fuel Economy:
June 23, 2006
"Hydraulic motors and hydraulic tanks are used to store energy, in contrast to electric motors and batteries used in electric hybrid vehicles. Like other hybrid systems, energy saved when applying the brakes is reused to help accelerate the vehicle. Following a road tour of EPA Regional offices, the vehicle will be delivering UPS packages across Michigan this summer."

Governor announces testing of E85 conversion kits

Minnesota Commerce : Governor announces testing of E85 conversion kits:
News Release
"Testing at Minnesota State University, Mankato Center for Automotive Research to provide data to EPA "

State Tests E85 Conversion Kits

Their goal is to convince the EPA to do the testing required for EPA certification of E85 conversion kits. These conversions are technicaly feasible. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
wcco.com - State Tests E85 Conversion Kits:
August 4, 2006
"(AP) St. Paul -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Friday that the state would start testing conversion kits that allow E-85 fuel to be used in vehicles built to run solely on gasoline."

XcelPlus Eyes Lube Centers for E85 Conversions

LUBE REPORT: XcelPlus Eyes Lube Centers:
by Nancy DeMarco -- April 12, 2006 -- Vol. 6 Issue 15
"XcelPlus says it will start acquiring fast-lube centers in the Midwest this month, where it will adapt vehicles to use E85 ethanol fuel and promote a planned line of E85 motor oils."

MIT Researchers Fired Up over New Battery

RenewableEnergyAccess.com | Researchers Fired Up over New Battery:
August 10, 2006
"Nanotube-enhanced ultracapacitors would combine the long life and high power characteristics of a commercial ultracapacitor with the higher energy storage density normally available only from a chemical battery"

Cellulosic Ethanol System to be installed in Louisiana

SunOpta Announces System Sale to Celunol | Nachrichten |:
August 8, 2006
"SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company) (Nasdaq:STKL)(TSX:SOY) today announced that the company has sold a continuousprocess system, including SunOpta's patented and proprietary biomassconversion technology, to Celunol (formerly BC International) forCelunol's cellulosic ethanol commercial demonstration facility inJennings, Louisiana."

Mascoma getting closer to cellulosic ethanol at competitive price

Local firm to revolutionize motor fuel industry:
by Kristen Senz -- 7/28/2006
"HANOVER - A company recently formed by Dartmouth College researchers has developed the technology to make ethanol available as an inexpensive motor fuel throughout most of the world. "

Having a Gas with Biomass

Ag Innovation News, Apr-Jun 2006: BURN POWER:
By E.M. Morison -- Vol 15, No. 2
"Now, high natural gas and oil prices are sparking renewed interest in small-scale gasification. This time around, though, the feedstock isn't coal but renewable biomass plant and animal materials such as crop residue, manure and wood waste. Processing companies that generate their own low-value biomass coproducts are especially interested in this emerging technology, says Michael Sparby, AURI project director."

Corn stover biogas could be viable for municipal electricity

Ag Innovation News, Apr-Jun 2006: "A biomass gasification system installed at the Morris industrial park would use 69,000 tons of corn stover, roughly 25 percent of Stevens County's stover production. The system could produce about 507,000 million metric Btu or decatherms at a cost of $10.44 per decatherm, compared to the $14.50 that industry pays for natural gas."

Liquid Gold: Syrup from ethanol production may nourish soils

Ag Innovation News, Apr-Jun 2006: AURI ENERGY CENTER NEWS:
Vol. 15, No. 2
"By Dan Lemke, Waseca, Minn. � Minnesota may be sitting on an abundant, low-cost, high-nutrient fertilizer that's easy to handle and available statewide. Better yet, it may reduce costs for farmers and one of state's fastest-growing industries. "

Panda Ethanol to Begin Construction on Manure Powered Refinery

This will be a 100 million gallon per year ethanol refinery -- the biggest yet of those refineries powered by methane from cattle manure instead of fossil fuels. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Panda Ethanol Completes $188 Million Financing for Hereford Facility:
Biofuels Journsl -- August 1, 2006
"The company will immediately begin facility construction on the 380-acre site and anticipates ethanol production to commence in the second half of 2007.
The first-of-its-kind facility will generate the steam used to manufacture ethanol by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year making it one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation."

Energy Dept. to establish two centers for cellulosic ethanol research

Waste News | Waste Management/Recycling/Landfill Headlines:
by Bruce Geiselman
"Aug. 2 -- The U.S. Energy Department will spend $250 million establishing and operating two new Bioenergy Research Centers to accelerate basic research on the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels."

Big Players Join Race to put Farm Waste Into Your Gas Tank

Iogen Corporation:
by John J. Fialka and Scott Kilman, The Wall Street Journal -- June 29, 2006
"WILMINGTON, Del. - One way to wean America from its addiction to foreign oil might well lie in the muddy solution swirling about a glass container on top of a DuPont Co. laboratory bench.
Inside the liter-size vessel, a desert-loving bacterium is making motor fuel. The organism, which normally lives on the agave plant of tequila fame, is munching on the chopped-up leaves and stalk of a plant, and excreting a dilute form of ethanol, the gasoline substitute normally made from corn kernels in the U.S."

A Conversation with Vinod Khosla

The Oil Drum | Discussions about Energy and Our Future:
by Robert Rapier -- July 31, 2006
"In my recent essay Vinod Khosla Debunked, I challenged Mr. Khosla to a written debate on his recent ethanol claims. Mr. Khosla e-mailed me shortly after that essay appeared, and offered to discuss the matter by phone."