Ford E85 Direct Injection Boosting Study

Keep an eye on this one. Direct injection ethanol boosting could revolutionize driving and the ethanol industry.
Green Car Congress: Ford E85 Direct Injection Boosting Study: A Less Expensive Alternative to Diesel: "Improved engine efficiency leverages the effect of the limited supply of E85, compared to simply displacing gasoline as in an FFV [flexible fuel vehicle]...this leveraging can be very substantial, and has the effect of dramatically improving the net energy balance of ethanol, and therefore its beneficial impact on reducing petroleum consumption.
—Stein et. al. (2009)"

Institute researches Jerusalem Artichokes for ethanol

Jerusalem artichoke stems contain lots of simple sugars. Also, it is a perennial, so it would not need to be planted every year as with corn. Researhcers are working on Jerusalem Artichokes at the Institute for Advenced Learning.
Institute the backbone of regional efforts to go green | GoDanRiver: "“Jerusalem artichoke is a really cool plant,” said John Kennedy, director of research and innovation. “It has a lot of soluble sugar in it, and you need sugar to make ethanol.”"

Solar power captured in space, beamed to Earth

They say radio waves would be beamed to earth where they would then be converted to electricity. Cost has been the obstacle until now. PG&E thinks they have lowered costs sufficiently.
Solar power captured in space, beamed to Earth csmonitor.com: "PG&E wants to put solar cells above the clouds, where they don't need to worry about anything blocking their view of the sun."

Biogas from industrial wastewater

Here is an example of energy production that helps solve a problem--wastewater treatment.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "Ken's Foods Utilizes Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor to Generate Biogas to Power Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation"

Ethanol from Duckweed

This "duckweed" is a fast-growing aquatic weed that would grow in wastewater. It would clean up the water from municipal wate treatment or livestock production. At the same timw, researchers say it would produce more starch per acre than corn. The starch could be a feedstock for ethanol in existing biorefineries.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "North Carolina State University Researchers Find High-Starch Duckweed Could Be Utilized to Produce Ethanol More Quickly and Efficiently Than Corn"

Engines can retrofit to run on half ethanol and half water

Perhaps the most significant advantage of using dilute ethanol (aka hydrous ethanol) is that it shoul dbe less expensive to make. It takes a lot of energy to remove the last bit of water from ethanol.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "Sand Point, ID—An Idaho company is developing an internal combustion steam engine that will run on 50% water and 50% ethanol."

Bacteria for cellulosic biofuels from poor soil

A successful crop involves the cooperation of numerous microbes. Scientists have found that adding specific bacteria to poplar trees accelerates their growth considerably, even when they are growing on poor soils. These are soild that would be next to useless for row crops such as corn.
Scienceline » Bacteria for Better Biofuels: "Adding the right kind of bacteria, scientists find, can boost plant growth on poor quality soil."

Making ammonia fertilizer from corn cobs

Here is an example of cellulosic technology thinkinging outside the box. It may be more efficient to make fertilizer from cellulosic material rather than liquid fuels. This would displace natural gas now used in the production of ammonia fertilizer.
Plant to make ammonia from cobs | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register: "SynGest of San Francisco said it will make anhydrous ammonia fuel and fertilizer from corn cobs and other biomass from a factory to be located on 75 acres near Menlo."

Ethanol biorefinery using landfill gas as process fuel

Co-locating an ethanol plant near a landfill is one way to utilize landfill gas. Most landfills are not exploited as they could be.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "The POET plant will utilize the landfill gas in a wood waste-fuel boiler to generate process steam."

Methane form sewage to power buses

Plans are in the works to run city buses in Oslo, Norway, with biomethane extracted from sewage and food waste. These underutilized resources are available in any city.
Norway turns to poo-powered buses COSMOS magazine

Lower cost method for processing algae

ALgae is a potential feedstock for various biofuels such as ethanol or biobutanol. If the cost of harvest, drying, and dewatering can be lowered as much as the linked article mentions, it could make algae much more competitive.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "'We have demonstrated a truly disruptive technology that reduces that cost by more than 99 percent - from $875 per ton to $1.92 per ton,' Youngs said."

Ethanol pipeline studied for U.S.

It seems that some ethanol commentators are under the impression that ethanol cannot be shipped by pipeline. This is not strictly true. Many years ago, a U.S. compamy did some successful tests on shipping ethanol in a multi-product pipeline. Recently, Magellan and Poet announced plans to explore the possibility of building an ethanol pipeline from the midwest to the east coast. Brazil is already shipping ethanol by pipeline.
Poet, Magellan to study ethanol pipeline - Ethanol Producer Magazine

Solazyme turning out auto-ready ‘crude’ from algae

Solazyme Inc. is using a non light dependent algae fed with biomass. The result is a sort of crude oil that can be made into many products including biodiesel. A bid advantage is he compatibility with existing automobiles and distribution infrastructure.
ABC7.com Green Content - Algae fuel start-up Solazyme turning out auto-ready ‘crude’

Algae promising for biofuels

USAgNet.com - Illinois News - Algae a Credible Frontrunner as Source for Biofuels

Dairy converts trucks to biogas power

A California Dairy is using biomethane from cattle manure to power two farm trucks.
GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry: "Nationally, dairy cows could power about one million vehicles with clean-burning biomethane."

Plans to produce flex-fuel ethanol engine with better fuel economy

The British firm Ricardo expects to roll out a new engine design in 3-5 years that would run more efficiently on ethanol. They expect it to have only a 15% drop in fuel economy on ethanol, much better than the 30% drop experienced in most models today. This will make ethanol, such as E85, more cost-competitive and more attractive to consumers. The use of such engines in plug-in electric hybrids would create an attractive package in terms of fuel efficiency, low emmissions, and low cost of operation.
Ethanol stalled, but experts say it remains viable fuel option - Rebranding Michigan - Michigan Business Review – MLive.com: "It aims to leverage the higher octane and higher heat of vaporization elements of ethanol to increase fuel economy. It integrates direct injection technology, variable valve timing, exhaust gas recirculation and optimized ignition technology."

Direct Solar to Hydrogen Plant to be built in Australia

Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity. This facility in Australia will use solar concentrators to directly heat water to 1000 degrees. At this level of heat a given amount of electricity can produce more than twice as much hydrogen in the electrolysis process. In essence, then, they are making hydrogen from direct solar energy (as opposed to solar electricity) by displacing some of the electricity needed for the electrolysis process.
Direct Solar to Hydrogen Plant Goes Up in Australia Hydrogen Cars and Vehicles: "Solar Systems of Hawthorne in Victoria, Australia is developing the country’s first and perhaps even the world’s first direct solar to hydrogen commercial power plant."

Ethanol from Idaho agricultural waste

Solving two problems at once can make a process more economically viable. In this case, it is waste management and fuel production.
ISU Headlines » Researchers seek to create ethanol from Idaho agricultural waste: "They are not exactly alchemists trying to turn lead into gold, but almost: researchers from Idaho’s three largest public universities are seeking to create ethanol from the Gem state’s agricultural waste.
And they have a realistic shot at converting potato, sugar beet and other agricultural waste – perhaps even cow manure – into a fuel that can run in your car.

Iowa Plant To Create Fuel From 'Pond Scum'

If all goes as planned, The CO2 coming from an Iowa ethanol plant will soon be used to promote the growth of algae for additional biofuel production. This kind of symbiosis could become important for the biofuel industry.
Iowa Plant To Create Fuel From 'Pond Scum' - The Green Pages News Story - KCCI Des Moines: "SHENANDOAH, Iowa -- In Shenandoah, green algae is going from pond scum to a power source."

Tax incentives for biogas proposed

Perhaps the most important benefit of biogas production from waste manure would be the reduction of odor and water pollution from manure handling. It would also replace some natural gas and produce new rural jobs.
The Independent > Archives > News > Ag > Nelson, Johanns sponsor biogas bill: "Nebraska Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns are among the sponsors of legislation promoting the development of biogas — a natural gas substitute created by converting agricultural, animal or other organic wastes — through tax incentives."

Bateria increases poplar biomass yield up to 50%

Poplar is being researched as a promising crop for cellulosic ethanol production. These trees grow very fast, even on marginal land unsuitable for most types of food production. It has long been known that many plants rely on organisms such as fingi and bacteria to optimize uptake of nutrients. The research described in the linked article seeks to optimize this relationship by innoculating with the most desireable types of bacteria. This technique might have applications for food crops as well. Farmers already innoculate legume crops on a routine basis to improve nitrogen fixation from the air. Other types of innoculation might be a good way to unlock the potential of nutrients found in the soil, but in a form that is unavailable to most plants.  
Greentech Media: Green Light � Blog Archive � Good News for Zeachem: Bacteria That Increases Poplar Growth

AFEX Pretreatment could reduce cellulosic ethanol cost

A more efficient way of releasing sugars from cellulose could revolutionize cellulosic biofuel production.
MSU-patented process can reduce the cost of making cellulosic biofuels MSU News Michigan State University: "The AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreatment process, developed by Bruce Dale, University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science, uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient than when conventional enzymes alone are used.The AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreatment process, developed by Bruce Dale, University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science, uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient than when conventional enzymes alone are used."

Biomass Gasification plus CHP in Denmark

A demonstration plant in Denmark is perfecting biomass gasification combined with CHP (Combined Heat and Power). The BioGas is used to power generators and waste heat is captured and used. This method results in more electricity produced from the biomass as compared to direct burning without gasification.
Biomass Gasification in Skive: Opening Doors in Denmark - Renewable Energy World

Cornell technology makes small scale biogas more feasible

Biogas can be made on a farm or landfill scale with simple technology. Removing the hydrogen sulfide, however, has been a more complicated process and not suited to small scale. It is toxic and needs to be removed for many applications and to reduce pollution. Scientists at Cornell have developed a small scale solution for removing hydrogen sulfide that is suitable for farms and other locations outside the large refineries. Biogas than then be used in properly equipped engines for electricity generation, transportation, and other work.

Cornell Chronicle: Cornell technology makes biogas greener: "Cornell plant scientists have invented a new method that uses manure and other farm byproducts to remove toxic hydrogen sulfide from biogas -- a renewable energy source derived from the breakdown of animal waste."

Companies turning algae Into jet fuel

The article linked below discusses these 5 companies: Solazyme, Inventure Chemical Technology, Sapphire Energy, Aquaflow Bionomic Corp., and Algenol Biofuels.

Algae in the Air: 5 Startups Turning Algae Into Jet Fuel

Scaling up biochar and pyrolysis for energy and agriculture

Pyrolysis means heating biomass in an oxygen-deprived environment. The result is pyrolysis oil, syngas (can be burned to make electricity) and biochar (a promising fertilizer). If it can be sacaled up, it could be an important solution for food production, greenhouse gas reduction, and clean energy production.
Carbon Sequestration, Agriculture, and Charcoal - Can Biochar Stop Global Warming? - Popular Mechanics: "Biochar goes beyond this, directly removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by stimulating plant growth as well as storing the carbon from decomposing plants in the soil as well as those that were burned to make it for as long as 5,000 years."

Interactions between ethanol, oil, and food prices

With the plummetting oil and food prices around the glode, we now have data needed in order to analyze what effect ethanol truly has on food prices. As the article below points out, food prices are tied more to oil prices than anything else. Ethanol production continues to expand even as food prices fall due to lower oil prices. All this should promt us to develop more regionalized and localized sustainable food systems that are less reliant on oil (fossil fuel) inputs.
Fact vs. Fiction on Food vs. Fuel - International Analyst Network: "At the height of the oil crisis, ethanol was responsible for keeping the price of oil 15% lower than where it would otherwise have been. This means that as vexing as some find annual ethanol subsidies of roughly $5.6 billion, the use of ethanol saved the U.S. economy in 2008 roughly ten-times that amount which otherwise would have ended up in the coffers of foreign oil-exporting countries - many of them hostile to us."