Biodiesel-Equipment.com

Archive for the ‘Biofuel’ Category

During his State of the Union address in January, Pres. Barack Obama pleased some alternative fuels producers by giving special mention to “advanced biofuels.” Biofuels have received presidential utterances in past addresses, but results haven’t always been forthcoming. “First of all, there were no specifics, so there was really nothing there,” said Jatrodiesel president Raj Mosali. “The president mentioned biodiesel specifically when he was campaigning, and now he’s talking about ‘biofuels,’ which could mean anything—and that’s concerning.”

In addition, grants, loan guarantees and even American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are not going to biodiesel producers for the purposes of plant optimization and upgrades. “That’s 100 percent true,” Mosali says. “All of this assistance is being directed toward things like fuel cells, cellulosic ethanol and electric motors—all technologies that are still far off.”

The Obama administration coming out with billions of dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase “clean energy manufacturing” could seem almost like a taunt to biodiesel producers.Obama announced “awardees” of the $2.3 billion clean energy manufacturing tax credits as existing biodiesel producers languish over the lapse of their specific federal blender tax credit. “Projects are assessed based on the following criteria: commercial viability, domestic job creation, technological innovation, speed to project completion, and potential for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,” the White House stated on Jan. 8.

While the word “biofuels” was good to hear spoken by the president, there’s a word that describes the 2009 biodiesel year—idle. Huge plants sat quiet for months as vegetable oils were high and diesel prices were not. Imperium Renewables Inc., which suffered an explosion at its Grays Harbor plant in Washington State, said it was in no big hurry to make repairs while the tax credit is nonexistent.

Enterprise Holdings, owner of the Alamo Rent-A-Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brand names, made a big announcement in support of biodiesel during day two at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Grapevine, Texas.

Big Business Goes Green

The company announced its commitment to move its entire fleet of more than 600 shuttle buses to B20 within the next 5 years, beginning with incorporating at least B5 in all its buses this year.

Nine Enterprise Holdings markets will convert to using B20 in its shuttle buses immediately, said Lee Broughton, director of corporate identity and sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, and by the end of next year, 50 percent of Enterprise Holdings’ shuttle buses will be running on B20.

Broughton said the company will have reduced its petroleum consumption by 420,000 gallons in the first year alone.

Also announced was the appointment of Richard Sayre as director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.

Sayre, former cellular plant and molecular biology professor at Ohio State University, and his team of 10 researchers will work to develop algae for biofuels, and will focus efforts in ways such as utilizing CO2 from coal-fired power plants to help grow algae, which would act as a carbon sink. Sayre said nutrients could be provided to the algae with water from sewage treatment facilities.

“We can use the contaminants as fertilizer,” he said. “Algae doubles it biomass in 24 hours, and it can be harvested daily,” he added—which captured the attention of the Department of Defense.

Sayre said algae’s energy balance today is only about 2:1, but theoretically this can increase four to six times with research and development.

Alaska is one of the coldest spots in the world, but its natural sources of heat represent a wonderful opportunity in renewable energy resources.

Geothermal Generator

One of these natural sources is the hot springs which give the town of Chena Hot Springs, Alaska its name. Recently, the owner of the Chena Hot Springs Resort, Bernie Karl, has developed a new way to harness this energy: a portable geothermal power generator which generates electricity from hot water.

The resort’s hot springs result from geothermal heat that rises to the earth’s surface through fissures in the planet’s core. But Karl realized that the heat from the springs can offer more than a spa experience; it can provide electricity. Karl developed what’s being called the first portable geothermal generator. The generator takes hot water from the ground and cycles it into a refrigeration system to generate power. Once the water is used, it gets pumped back into the ground to be reused again.

The resort’s work was the result of state and federal grants; Karl also worked with United Technologies of Hartford, Connecticut to develop the 400 kW low-temperature power generator that generates electricity from the 165 degree water at the springs. Basically a power plant on a flat bed truck, the mobile generator could be transported to communities anywhere in the world that are near hot springs.

“When this prototype starts making electricity it will totally change small energy consumption and production,” Karl said.
Karl has also developed a portable geothermal power unit that can be hooked up to oil or gas wells, which generate hot water as a byproduct of drilling. When it’s hooked up to an oil well the unit can generate enough power for 280 homes, allowing the oil industry to produce electricity as well as oil. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and several private companies will test a prototype generator at an oil well in Florida this fall.

“Any waste heat stream. Go to anybody that’s got an engine running, anybody that’s manufacturing something. It’s got waste heat,” Karl said. “You back it up and turn it into electricity.”

The technology can also use waste heat or geothermal energy to create hydrogen fuel which Chena Hot Springs plans to use to run its cars. Karl hopes the technology can help develop a cheap supply of power for rural Alaska, where fuel can cost as much as $6 a gallon.

“I’m telling you every community in Alaska can be totally sufficient in ten years,” Karl said.

Image courtesy of Chena Hot Springs

The new ASTM D6751 Cold Soak Filtration test left many biodiesel producers and consumers out in the cold. In response, Schroeder Biofuels brought Cold Clear to the market, a new proprietary multi-stage separation technology designed specifically to ensure that biodiesel products conform to the new ASTM standard for cold flow properties.

Well here is the latest update on product use. WVO Feedstock is now being cleaned with the Cold Clear system. That’s right! it is also used to filter waste vegetable oil before biodiesel processing begins.

-          Degumming

-          Free Fatty Acid Treatment

Instead of Acid Esterification the Cold Clear units are a suitable alternative to acid Esterification & FFA Treatment. This filtration system is saving time and money for biodiesel biofuel producers.

The Cold Clear TM system consists of a three-stage bank of housings using a combination of filtration and adsorption principles to capture compounds that could cause plugging or crystallization in biodiesel fluids and also yellow grease. Notably, Cold Clear TM is the premiere multi-stage treatment system for cold soak filtration & now waste vegetable oil feedstock for biodiesel production.

Turning turning algae into fuel, i.e. algal oil, on a commercial scale, could become one of the most significant technological and economic events of the early 21st century. If this feat is accomplished, and it’s not certain it will be, it will have dramatic, disruptive consequences to oil producers, oil refiners, ethanol, biodiesel, jet fuel and other biofuels producers, biotechnology companies, agricultural producers, consumers, motor vehicle makers, regulators, R&D activities and investors, among others. However, from this change will come enormous opportunities, including less dependence on petroleum oil, more geopolitical independence, reductions in CO2 and global warming, technological advancements, very large, new industries and markets, and huge profits. This is according to a recent report from Amadee+Company: Algae For Fuel, Algal Oil, Biofuels, Biodiesel, Ethanol And The Future Of Petroleum And Green Energy: Global Markets, Technologies, And Opportunities: 2009-2020 Analysis and Forecasts.

Algae for fuel is an emerging, third-generation biofuel, which is still several years away from commercialization. Both the concept of algal oil, the amount of investment in the space, the news on the subject and public interest have grown dramatically over the last year. To date, there has been no significant production of algal oil, however, it is moving from the proof of concept phase into commercialization.

The challenge for algal oil is not technological, but process driven: the science of making algal oil is well understood, how to make it cheap enough to compete with existing refinery products is not. But, algal oil is at an inflection point similar to that seen in the past with the wind and solar industries, where scale and ongoing technology improvements led to large cost reductions.

Since algal oil offers a direct potential replacement for petroleum and plant-derived oils, the market opportunity is tremendous. Global petroleum oil production is estimated at 4.73 trillion liters, worth $1.94 trillion, in 2009. By comparison, global production of biofuels in 2009, now primarily biodiesel and ethanol, is estimated at approximately 100 billion liters, worth $166 billion. Biofuels, currently represent about 2% of the petroleum oil market on a volume basis and 8.5% on a value basis. By 2020, they are forecast to equal 3.6% of the oil market in terms of volume and 14.7% in terms of value. By comparison, algal oil production in 2009 is so small it’s not meaningful in terms of ethanol and biodiesel production. However, it’s clear the opportunity for algal oil is huge.

Already, more than 200 companies are trying to commercialize algae for fuel. Most are small, private companies without much capital. But there are many large ones as well including: ExxonMobil (joint venture with Synthetic Genomics), BP (JV with Martek Biosciences Corp.), Dow Chemical, Shell Oil, Ingrepro B.V., SAIC, and UOP LLC (Honeywell) among others.

The report provides a review of algae in terms of biology, classifications, photosynthesis and applications and discusses algae for fuel in terms of its history, applications, cultivation technologies and R&D. Analysis of the algal oil market in terms of its advantages, challenges, production costs, scale-up, market opportunity and sector investments is given. The biofuels market in terms of technology generations, market drivers, industry consolidation, next generation technologies, fuel standards, winners/losers, government policies, the oil majors, capital costs and future outlook is discussed. An analysis of the biodiesel market as regards production technology, end use, global production, addressable market, feedstocks, market conditions, environmental controversies, jatropha oil and major players is given. An analysis of the ethanol market in terms of first, second and third generation technologies, food vs. fuel, global production, risks and opportunities, government incentives and major players is provided. Profiles of 56 major players in the algal oil market are given and 175 biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel companies and organizations are discussed. More information.

Algae Farming for Fuel is a Proven Science! Some proponents of clean renewable energy talk about being green and forward thinking with their sustainable green energy plans, but no one actually is willing to step up to the plate with the money needed to fund the projects! This technology is not a back yard set up that you put together from a box kit. You can equate the latest Algae Photo Bioreactor setups to the Amoco, Shell Oil and BP’s of the world when they start new operations. On the up side the operation cost are not as intensive, you are after all growing a plant. If you are smart about the Algae Farming operation, you will use free nutrients, Saltwater or Sewage Waste water that will provide you with the nutrient base.  What about the carbon dioxide? Well again smarter is better, contact the local coal fire plant or concrete refinery in your area and help them out with their Carbon Dioxide problem.

Bottom line, this new technology cost money for a renewable energy Biofuel plant, but being smart and using the resources in your area (Partnering) will make the job much easier and less capital intensive. Soon we will be able to make biofuel from algae at low cost and we will have wondered why it took so long to make it happen.

A new program at the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (Arpa-e) is looking to develop alternative liquid fuels using microorganisms. On Thursday, Technology Reviewreported that Arpa-e, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin funding research for biodiesel development.

Endeavors to create alternative fuels using microorganisms are hardly new. In July HeatingOil.com reported that biotechnology firms are working to develop biofuel using nonfood plant matter in order to avoid sacrificing food for fuel and contributing to rising food costs.

What is new about Arpa-e’s research is the goal of creating liquid fuels using organisms that do not require photosynthesis. According to Arpa-e director Arun Majumdar, photosynthesis is highly inefficient. Although not proven, the hope is that nonphotosynthetic microorganisms will allow for more efficient biofuel development.

Researchers also hope that the use of nonphotosynthetic microorganisms will allow for the creation of an alternative diesel fuel. Should Arpa-e researchers prove successful, the use of nonphotosynthetic microorganisms could potentially be used to create other alternative fuels that are chemically similar to diesel, such as heating oil.

FREE BIODIESEL EBOOK -

Premier News

70CentsaGallon.com a biofuel technology company of Florida announced visitation rights to their new Commercial algae production system today. You can learn how to manufacture biodiesel fuel with algae oil today.

For_Immediate_Release:

United States of America (Press Release) December 09, 2009 — Governments, Corporations & Biofuel producers can now produce algae oil using new closed process continuous harvesting algae photo bioreactors. Large vehicle fleet managers can now have a steady renewable energy resource to make biofuel that does not compete with our nation’s food crops.

“Schedule a site visit to view our commercial algae photobioreactor system with your group at our manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas at  http://www.70centsagallon.com/Algae.html” says Rich Fortun, chief engineer of the project.

Learn the safest, fastest, and most cost-effective means of making algae oil for Biodiesel fuel production. Not only is biodiesel fuel less expensive, it also burns cleaner and is better for the environment.

The breakthrough in the new technology is significant, the ability to control temperature and to have a closed system is very important.

Visit their web site to learn how you can make an appointment to view their commercial algae photo-bioreactor in person.

70CentsaGallon.com site http://www.70centsagallon.com/Algae.html will give you access to a downloadable specifications sheet on the new commercial algae machine. Learn how to increase your miles per gallon while reducing the cost per gallon by converting to Biodiesel fuel using algae oil.

Nathonal Ethanol Conference is being held in Orlando 15-17 in Orlando. Promises to be packed full of information. Even though biodiesel has not reached the heights of success as Ethanol “YET” these type of events are always great to network and learn stuff you had no idea of. Heck it may also generate new business. Check out the link here for more detailed info http://www.nationalethanolconference.com/