OilPrice.com | Alternative Energy | Biofuels

OilPrice.com | Alternative Energy | Biofuels Biofuels news and analysis. Our research covers ethanol, sugarcane, algae and new developments within the biofuel sector. http://oilprice.com/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:53:31 GMT Oilprice.com (info@oilprice.com) New Technique Discovered to Help Harvest Algae http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/New-Technique-Discovered-to-Help-Harvest-Algae.html At the UKs Sheffield University (SU) a team led by Professor Will Zimmerman in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering believes they have developed an inexpensive way of producing microbubbles that can float algae particles to the surface of the water, making harvesting easier, and saving biofuel-producing companies time and money. One of the cost of production problems that holds algae back as a major biomatter resource is an efficient cost-effective method of harvesting and removing the water from the algae for it to be processed.…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:39:56 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/New-Technique-Discovered-to-Help-Harvest-Algae.html The Dirty Truth: Some Biofuels are More Polluting than Fossil Fuels http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/The-Dirty-Truth-Some-Biofuels-are-More-Polluting-than-Fossil-Fuels.html Biofuels are a clean, alternative energy that many are hoping will become the next source of liquid fuels for internal combustion engines; a clean substitute for polluting fossil fuels. The US is a huge supporter of biofuels, last year producing 1 billion gallons, and the EU has also stated its intentions for 10% of all transport fuel to be biofuel by 2020. Wait a minute though, new data obtained from a leak by the European Commission provides evidence that not all biofuels are clean. In fact some are more polluting than fossil fuels. The EU proposed…

]]> burgessj@oilprice.com (James Burgess) Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:02:41 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/The-Dirty-Truth-Some-Biofuels-are-More-Polluting-than-Fossil-Fuels.html Algal Biofuels - Time for Grand Scale Production? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Algal-Biofuels-Time-for-Grand-Scale-Production.html Though there is much mention of the promise of algal biofuels and word of their commercial development, it seems timely to view what precisely has been achieved in terms of significant algal biofuel production rather than laboratory-based research, which has been going on for about 50 years. The U.S. Navy has fuelled a destroyer ship using 20,000 gallons of algae-based biofuel for a 20-hour trip, and is its largest alternative fuel experiment to date. Thus a decommissioned destroyer made a successful journey from San Diego to Port Hueneme, in California.…

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]]> profs@oilprice.com (Professor Chris Rhodes) Thu, 19 Jan 2012 0:16:01 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Algal-Biofuels-Time-for-Grand-Scale-Production.html Has Algae.Tec Cracked Algae's Biofuel Pricing Ability to Compete with a Barrel of Oil? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Has-Algae.Tec-Cracked-Algaes-Biofuel-Pricing-Ability-To-Compete-With-A-Barrel-Of-Oil.html Amidst the relentless promotion of renewable biofuel alternatives to traditional fossil fuel hydrocarbons, the three leading contenders are jatpropha, camelina and algae. But among the many barriers holding back industrial production of biofuels is that no company up to now has yet figured out how to produce a gallon of biofuel at a price that can compete with gasoline. Apparently until now, if press releases by Algae.Tec are anything to go by. The company, founded only three years ago, has offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Perth, Western Australia.…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Tue, 17 Jan 2012 4:04:06 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Has-Algae.Tec-Cracked-Algaes-Biofuel-Pricing-Ability-To-Compete-With-A-Barrel-Of-Oil.html Indian Seaweed - Biofuel's Aquatic Future? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Indian-Seaweed-Biofuels-Aquatic-Future.html The long-term impact of yesterday startling announcement by Standard & Poor's that it was downgrading US government bonds to one notch below AAA, a rating that the U.S. had maintained since 1917, has yet to be seen on Wall Street. But there is little doubt that it will spook the investor community, all of whom are looking for the next Big Thing to park their cash and hopefully make piles more money. One of the few financial markets certain to prosper over the next decade is that of renewable biofuels. The ASTM as certified them for civilian…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Tue, 17 Jan 2012 3:43:31 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Indian-Seaweed-Biofuels-Aquatic-Future.html Move Aside Corn Ethanol - Sweet Sorghum Being Engineered as a New Biofuel http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Move-Aside-Corn-Ethanol-Sweet-Sorghum-Being-Engineered-As-A-New-Biofuel.html This is one to take seriously. A deal has been made by Pioneer Hybrids, the corn seed company started by the Vice President back in one of Roosevelt’s terms, Henry A. Wallace who introduced hybrid corn seed and started the green revolution we and billions of other people rely on for food today.Sweet Sorghum at an Oklahoma State U. Test Plot. Now a division of DuPont, Pioneer has entered into a deal with NexSteppe for collaboration in developing sorghum varieties. The expectation for expert observers is that the collaboration is meant to bring…

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]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:53:00 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Move-Aside-Corn-Ethanol-Sweet-Sorghum-Being-Engineered-As-A-New-Biofuel.html U.S. Abandons Renewable Fuels, China Picks up Slack http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Abandons-Renewable-Fuels-China-Picks-Up-Slack.html There’s stupid, and then there’s Washington. The U.S. government is ending a three-decade-old policy of subsidizing corn ethanol, dating back to the Carter administration, which in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran pushed development of alternative fuels to lessen U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East. The tax credits are now 46¢ per gallon. Congress mandated that the United States produce 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022, of which nearly half must be corn-based ethanol, which had the ethanol lobby in ecstasy…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:33:52 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Abandons-Renewable-Fuels-China-Picks-Up-Slack.html Are Biofuels the Best Use of Our Limited Land Resources? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Are-Biofuels-The-Best-Use-Of-Our-Limited-Land-Resources.html About seven million tonnes of grain corn was grown in Ontario in 2011, and by year’s end roughly 30 per cent of that is expected to go toward ethanol fuel production. Let’s ignore for the moment the whole food-versus-fuel debate, and assume that devoting nearly a third of Ontario corn production to making renewable fuel doesn’t help drive up global food prices, or for that matter, reduce our capacity to feed the world. Let’s focus instead on the use of corn as part of a greenhouse-gas reduction strategy that returns more economic value…

]]> tylerhamilton@oilprice.com (Tyler Hamilton) Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:59:50 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Are-Biofuels-The-Best-Use-Of-Our-Limited-Land-Resources.html U.S. Biofuel Camelina Production Set to Soar http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Biofuel-Camelina-Production-Set-To-Soar.html The U.S. biofuel industry has long been stymied by the lack of USDA federal crop insurance, leaving only the most adventurous farmers willing to plant renewable energy crops. Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel for passenger flights is now more than 40 billion gallons annually. Camelina has a number of advantages over its competitors, including using far…

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]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:35:50 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Biofuel-Camelina-Production-Set-To-Soar.html Biofuel Advances: Obtaining More Energy From Switchgrass http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuel-Advances-Obtaining-More-Energy-From-Switchgrass.html Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) a DOE Bioenergy Research Center led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have made an important step in switchgrass production. The team of JBEI researchers, working with researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), has demonstrated that introducing a maize (corn) gene into switchgrass, a highly touted potential feedstock for advanced biofuels, more than doubles (250 percent) the amount of…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:24:00 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuel-Advances-Obtaining-More-Energy-From-Switchgrass.html Biofuel Breakthrough: Could the Energy Landscape be About to Change? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuel-Breakthrough-Could-The-Energy-Landscape-Be-About-To-Change.html A pioneer of liquid fuel from the sun proves to be more productive than all biofuels processes Joule Unlimited, a Massachusetts biotechnology company, claims it can now produce diesel fuel from the same ingredients that make plants grow. They have developed a genetically-engineered organism that secretes diesel or ethanol under conditions of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. It can be manipulated to produce renewable fuels on demand in mass quantities in facilities of any size and at costs that are competitive with the cheapest fossil fuels.…

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]]> energydigital@oilprice.com (Energy Digital) Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:55:10 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuel-Breakthrough-Could-The-Energy-Landscape-Be-About-To-Change.html Biofuels: Not the Savior we Hoped For http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuels-Not-The-Savior-We-Hoped-For.html When we enter the decline phase of conventional oil—likely before 2020—we will scramble to fill the gap with alternative liquid fuels. The Hirsch Report of 2005, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, took a hard look at alternatives that could respond to the scale of the problem in time to have an impact. Not one of the approaches deemed to be currently viable in the report departs from fossil fuels. But what about biofuels? To what extent can they solve our problem? We’ll dip our toes into the math and see where a first-cut analysis…

]]> murphyt@oilprice.com (Tom Murphy) Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:10:35 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuels-Not-The-Savior-We-Hoped-For.html China Completes First Biofuel Jet Test Flight http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/China-Completes-First-Biofuel-Jet-Test-Flight-.html On 28 October Air China conducted its first trial flight of a passenger jet powered by a mix of biofuel and traditional aviation fuel. The Jet A-1 biofuel kerosene used in the flight was derived from the seeds of tung trees, more commonly known as japtropha. Air China’s Boeing 747-400 landed safely at Beijing Capital International Airport at 9:30 a.m. after burning more than 10 tons of the biofuel, a 50-50 mixture of traditional Jet A-1 derived from oil and Jet A-1 processed from the japtropha seeds. The jatproha Jet A-1 is what’s known as…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:57:07 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/China-Completes-First-Biofuel-Jet-Test-Flight-.html U.S. Biofuel Production Increase - Fact or Wishful Thinking? http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Biofuel-Production-Increase-Fact-Or-Wishful-Thinking.html A recent study, released on 11 October, “Biofuel Markets and Technologies” released by Pike Research states that the global biofuel market will double within the next decade to $183.3 billion from its current level of $82.7 billion, with ethanol production accounting for $78 billion of future worldwide biofuel production, while predicting that biodiesel production will reach $25.5 billion. Perhaps not surprisingly, Pike Research predicts that the US will become the world’s leading biofuel producer, accounting for 71 percent of alternative…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:53:00 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/U.S.-Biofuel-Production-Increase-Fact-Or-Wishful-Thinking.html Biofuels False Promise: Breakthroughs May be Tougher Than Previously Thought http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuels-False-Promise-Breakthroughs-May-Be-Tougher-Than-Previously-Thought.html In the August issue of Scientific American, David Beillo published an article called The False Promise Of Biofuels. I have a paper copy, but not an electronic copy ($ubscription), so I won't be quoting it extensively. Here's the summary, which is good enough for our purposes. Despite extensive research, biofuels are still not commercially competitive. The breakthroughs needed, revealed by recent science, may be tougher to realize than previously thought. Corn ethanol is widely produced because of subsidies, and it diverts massive tracts of farmland…

]]> coheng@oilprice.com (Dave Cohen) Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:43:25 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Biofuels-False-Promise-Breakthroughs-May-Be-Tougher-Than-Previously-Thought.html European Union Biodiesel Production Slumps in 2011 http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/European-Union-Biodiesel-Production-Slumps-In-2011.html Greening the European Union has suffered a setback. The European Biodiesel Board is reporting that the European Union biodiesel industry production forecasts are noting a 2011 decrease in output, the first since data has been gathered, down from 2010 figures of 9.57 million tons. The European Biodiesel Board reported that biodiesel generation in Europe in 2010 grew by 5.5 percent over 2009 production figures, while in 2009 the European Union’s biodiesel industry grew by 17 percent. Recently the European Union’s best year for biodiesel output…

]]> admin@namecake.com (John Daly) Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:19:21 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/European-Union-Biodiesel-Production-Slumps-In-2011.html Virgin Atlantic to Use New Jet fuel Created from Industrial Waste Gases http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Virgin-Atlantic-To-Use-New-Jet-Fuel-Created-From-Industrial-Waste-Gases.html Waste gases emitted by blast furnaces, coke ovens and BOF (basic oxygen furnace) operations can now be converted into low-cost ethanol and high-value chemicals. The new fuel production process recycles waste gases that would otherwise be oxidized further to carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airline announced the development of a low-carbon, synthetic jet fuel kerosene produced from industrial waste gases with half the carbon footprint of the standard fossil fuel alternative in partnership with New Zealand’s…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:52:09 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Virgin-Atlantic-To-Use-New-Jet-Fuel-Created-From-Industrial-Waste-Gases.html How Fungi Could Help Create the Next Generation of Biofuels http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/How-Fungi-Could-Help-Create-The-Next-Generation-Of-Biofuels.html The genetic make-up of heat-loving fungi could form the basis of better enzymes for use in the extraction of sugars from biomass for the next generation of biofuels. A team of researchers from the United States and Canada have decoded the complete genetic make-up of the fungi Myceliophthora thermophila and Thielavia terrestris. These fungi are classified as rare organisms known as thermophiles which thrive at temperatures between 45 and 122 degrees Celsius - temperature thought too high to support most life forms. A key component of these organisms'…

]]> ecoseed@oilprice.com (EcoSeed ) Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:53:49 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/How-Fungi-Could-Help-Create-The-Next-Generation-Of-Biofuels.html New Biofuel Could Replace Today’s Standard Fuel for Diesel Engines http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/New-Biofuel-Could-Replace-Todays-Standard-Fuel-For-Diesel-Engines.html From Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory comes the announcement that researchers with the U.S Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a potential new advanced biofuel that could replace today’s standard fuel for diesel engines. It would be clean, green, renewable and produced in the U.S. The full announcement can be found here. JBEI research team used synthetic biology tools to engineer strains of two microbes, a bacteria and yeast, to produce a precursor to bisabolane, a member of the terpene class…

]]> james@pokemoncard.info (Brian Westenhaus) Fri, 30 Sep 2011 8:59:58 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/New-Biofuel-Could-Replace-Todays-Standard-Fuel-For-Diesel-Engines.html Novozymes Looking to Displace Charcoal with Biofuel in Mozambique http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Novozymes-Looking-To-Displace-Charcoal-With-Biofuel-In-Mozambique.html Novozymes is to help finance a novel integrated food and energy venture in Mozambique which aims to displace charcoal with biofuel – offering a more sustainable alternative, it says, with a view to opening a massive market. The Danish enzyme producer has made an undisclosed investment in CleanStar Mozambique, a joint venture between it and CleanStar Ventures, an Australian “venture development partnership”. The venture will work with farmers to improve their farming methods, help them diversify the crops they grow and buy surplus…

]]> nicholls@oilprice.com (Mark Nicholls) Tue, 27 Sep 2011 6:45:12 GMT http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Biofuels/Novozymes-Looking-To-Displace-Charcoal-With-Biofuel-In-Mozambique.html