Where is all the oil? Nearly two weeks after BP finally capped the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, the oil slicks that once spread across thousands of miles of the Gulf of Mexico have largely disappeared. Nor has much oil washed up on the sandy beaches and marshes along the Louisiana coast. And the small cleanup army in the Gulf has only managed to skim up a tiny fraction of the millions of gallons of oil spilled in the 100 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig went up in flames.

So where did the oil go? “Some of the oil evaporates,” explains Edward Bouwer, professor of environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University. That’s especially true for the more toxic components of oil, which tend to be very volatile, he says. Jeffrey W. Short, a scientist with the environmental group Oceana, told the New York Times that as much as 40 percent of the oil might have evaporated when it reached the surface. High winds from two recent storms may have speeded the evaporation process.

Although there were more than 4,000 boats involved in the skimming operations, those cleanup crews may have only picked up a small percentage of the oil so far. That’s not unusual; in previous oil spills, crews could only scoop up a small amount of oil. “It’s very unusual to get more than 1 or 2 percent,” says Cornell University ecologist Richard Howarth, who worked on the Exxon Valdez spill. Skimming operations will continue in the Gulf for several weeks.

Some of the oil has sunk into the sediments on the ocean floor. Researchers say that’s where the spill could do the most damage. But according to a report in Wednesday’s New York Times, “federal scientists [have determined] the oil [is] primarily sitting in the water column and not on the sea floor.”

Perhaps the most important cause of the oil’s disappearance, some researchers suspect, is that the oil has been devoured by microbes. The lesson from past spills is that the lion’s share of the cleanup work is done by nature in the form of oil-eating bacteria and fungi. The microbes break down the hydrocarbons in oil to use as fuel to grow and reproduce. A bit of oil in the water is like a feeding frenzy, causing microbial populations to grow exponentially.

Typically, there are enough microbes in the ocean to consume half of any oil spilled in a month or two, says Howarth. Such microbes have been found in every ocean of the world sampled, from the Arctic to Antarctica. But there are reasons to think that the process may occur more quickly in the Gulf than in other oceans.

Microbes grow faster in the warmer water of the Gulf than they do in, say, the cool waters off Alaska, where the Exxon Valdez spill occurred. Moreover, the Gulf is hardly pristine. Even before humans started drilling for oil in the Gulf — and spilling lots of it — oil naturally seeped into the water. As a result, the Gulf evolved a rich collection of petroleum-loving microbes, ready to pounce on any new spill. The microbes are clever and tough, observes Samantha Joye, microbial geochemist at the University of Georgia. Joye has shown that oxygen levels in parts of the Gulf contaminated with oil have dropped. Since microbes need oxygen to eat the petroleum, that’s evidence that the microbes are hard at work.

The controversial dispersant used to break up the oil as it gushed from the deep-sea well may have helped the microbes do their work. Microbes can more easily consume small drops of oil than big ones. And there is evidence the microbes like to munch on the dispersant as well.

It is still far too early to know how much damage the spill has done — and may still be doing — to the environment. Tar balls continue to wash up on beaches. And the risk of a leak remains, until the well is permanently capped sometime in the next few weeks.

SOURCE: YNews By JOHN CAREY, environmental writer

The Congressional Budget Office recently completed a study of biofuel tax credits that aimed to determine if existing tax credits favor one type of biofuel over another and estimate the costs of those credits on U.S taxpayers. The study, titled “Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals,” was prepared by the CBO at the request of the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure.

Although the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax credit expired in December 2009, the CBO included it in the analysis. According to the report, this was done to provide policymakers with information on the value of the credit, should they choose to reinstate it in the future. In addition to the biodiesel tax credit, the report includes data related to tax credits for corn and cellulosic ethanol.

The CBO’s main findings included the following:

-The incentives provided by the tax credits differ between the three fuels. When adjusted to reflect the different energy contents of the biofuels, as well as the petroleum fuel used to produce them, the CBO found that corn ethanol producers receive 73 cents for each quantity of ethanol that contains the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. On the same basis, the incentives for cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel were a respective $1.62 and $1.08 per volume of energy equivalent fuel.

-The cost to taxpayers to use corn ethanol to reduce gasoline consumption by one gallon is $1.78. The same cost for cellulosic ethanol is $3 and the cost for biodiesel was found to be $2.55. According to the CBO, these cost estimates depend on the size of the tax credit for each fuel, changes in federal revenue streams that result from the difference in excise taxes collected on the sales of gasoline and biofuels, and the amount of each biofuel that would have been produced if the credits had not been available.

Source: Biodiesel Magazine

It’s a clean green solution to the BP Gulf Oil spill. View the video & share it!

What was the real cause behind this disaster? 60 Minutes Reports!

Powdered Algae Aviation Fuel Test

This is the latest algae jet fuel made from raw algae biomass. Sources say this will be the future of algae based fuels. With less processing than liquid fuels, dry algae fuels may be the right choice for early adopters.

Source National Biodiesel Board
The U.S. House has approved H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, by a 215 to 204 margin (the second portion of the divided question adding a provision pertaining to Medicare physician payment updates was also adopted). The legislation retroactively extends the biodiesel tax incentive through December 31, 2010.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated his desire to have the U.S. Senate consider tax extender legislation when the U.S. Senate reconvenes the week of June 7, 2010.

Both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate will be adjourned the week of May 31, 2010. NBB’s Washington, DC office will continue to provide timely updates as events warrant when Congress reconvenes the week of June 7.

Biodiesel Public Policy Benefits: The biodiesel tax incentive has helped achieve the worthwhile policy goal of increasing the production and use of biodiesel in the U.S. In 2004, when the incentive was initially enacted, the U.S. produced 25 million gallons. In 2009, that number rose to 545 million gallons. There are compelling public policy benefits associated with the enhanced production and use of biodiesel in the U.S. Among the most are:

* The Biodiesel Industry is Creating Green Jobs and Making a Positive Contribution to the Economy;
* Biodiesel is Good for the Environment, reducing carbon pollution by up to 85 percent, according to the EPA;
* Biodiesel Reduces our Dependence on Foreign Oil.

The biodiesel tax incentive has helped achieve the desired goal of increasing the domestic production and use of biodiesel, and in turn has helped the U.S. realize the energy security, economic and environmental benefits associated with displacing petroleum with domestically produced renewable fuels. These benefits, however, will be lost if Congress does not act in a timely manner to address the immediate issue facing the industry and retroactively extend the biodiesel tax incentive.

What Can You Do?

Do you think Congress should reinstate the biodiesel tax incentive and continue to realize the economic, energy secur ity and environmental benefits that come from the production and use of biodiesel?

If your answer to this common-sense question is “yes,” then you should contact your Federal Elected officials immediately about this issue. For your Congressman, click HERE and for your Senators click HERE to get the contact information to reach out to your elected officials on this important issue.

Thank you for your support of biodiesel.

Dr. Steven Chu, distinguished scientist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997), was appointed by President Obama as the 12th Secretary of Energy and sworn into office on Jan 21, 2009. He is charged with helping implement President Obama’s ambitious agenda to invest in substitute and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs, a very large task indeed.

In 2004, the United States consumed 20.7 million barrels of petroleum products per day (about 7.5 billion barrels per year). A barrel contains 42 gallons, so total petroleum consumption in 2004 was about 318 billion gallons. Roughly 60% (~190 billion gallons) of petroleum consumed was imported, with about 13% (~40 billion gallons) coming from Persian Gulf countries. The United States primarily imports crude oil but also imports petroleum products including completed motor gasoline, aviation fuel, and fuel oil. The United States Says imported about 15 billion gallons of completed motor gasoline and gasoline-blending components in 2004. (Source: Annual Energy Outlook 2006 from the Energy Information Administration).

Biofuels are liquid, solid, or gaseous fuels derived from renewable biological sources. The biomass can be burned directly for thermal energy or converted to other high-value energy sources including ethanol, biodiesel, methanol, hydrogen, or methane. Currently, ethanol from corn grain and biodiesel are the only biofuels produced in the United States on an industrial scale.  Current biodiesel in the United States in prefabricated from used cooking oil, yellow grease, waste vegetable oil and animal fats.

Most of the 4 billion gallons of ethanol produced in 2005 came from 13% of the U.S. corn crops thus igniting the food vs. fuel debate. This was an increase from the 3.4 billion gallons produced in 2004. Ethanol is widely used as a fuel additive. The oxygen contained in ethanol improves gasoline combustibility. E10 & E85 blends are acquirable from gas stations all over the United States Say this fuel is widely acquirable in corn-producing states. E85 can be used as a substitute for gasoline in cars that have been altered to use this biofuel.

Biodiesel is a biologically derived diesel fuel substitute created by chemically reacting vegetable oils or animal fats with alcohol. Most biodiesel in the United States comes from soybean oil or restaurant greases. Biodiesel is readily used by cars with diesel engines. In 2005, about 75 million gallons of biodiesel were produced, tripling the 25 million gallons produced in 2004.

Creating a minimum blend stipulation for the United States the biodiesel biofuels industry will help accomplish the goals of substitute and renewable energy expansion, place a halt on our addiction to foreign oil, reduce the effects of the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.
Substitute energy research does not stop with Algae or Jatropha, other plants such as the cassava and the Honge tree from India are alternatives for renewable green fuel feedstock sources. The research in these areas will help end our addiction to foreign oil, reduce harmful emissions by introducing green renewable fuel alternatives. Jobs will be created for agricultural research, farmers and renewable fuel industries from fuels home grown in the USA.

70CentsaGallon Inc. a Florida Biofuels technology company has started a petition for submittal to the new Secretary of Energy. They hope this petition will help secure America’s future prosperity for our future generations through a biofuel mandate. They only ask for your support of the petition for a minimum blend for bio-diesel in the USA. The petition is being hosted online at GoPetition.com and you can reach this particular petition at this link http://gopetition.com/online/29302.html

A new biodiesel production system has been delivered to a US Navy base in Southern California, so it can produce its own renewable fuel.

Modular Biodiesel Plant

Locally-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc., has been working with the Navy and aerospace technology firm Aerojet to set up a highly-automated production facility at the Naval Base Ventura County.

The project at the base located north-west of Los Angeles centers around an ARIES biodiesel plant – an Automated Real-time, Remote, Integrated Energy System.

The system can produce around 3-10 million gallons of biofuels per year to act as a replacement for the Naval Base’s petroleum-sourced diesel fuel. It could also produce heat for use on the base.

Russell Teall, President and Founder of Biodiesel Industries said: “The Integrated Energy System incorporated into ARIES will eventually allow us to generate our own heat and power, and to feed the surplus into a local micro-grid.”

It can be operated remotely, while its automated technology can control key chemistry and processing parameters to ensure optimized production capacity, according to Biodiesel Industries.

The company hopes the Naval project could act as a springboard to spread the use of the ARIES automated biodiesel system around the world.

Michael Cassady, Biodiesel Industries’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said: “ARIES is ready now to be deployed on a global basis. The ARIES platform fundamentally transforms biodiesel production and makes this possible.”

Naval Goals

The US Navy is currently working to cut petroleum use in its non-tactical vehicle fleet in half by 2015 while also developing biofuels for use in its ships (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

Our methods of feedstock development make ARIES an ideal solution for a globally distributed network of biodiesel production facilities” - JJ Rothgery, Biodiesel Industries

The move is being taken to improve its energy security, reducing its reliance on foreign oil, as well as environmental and economic considerations.

Global Independence

It has been reported the US government currently spends 5 dollars in transportation cost for every 1 dollars it spends on fuel in remote areas of the world such as Afganistan. A modular biodiesel processor that can produce fuel from variable feedstocks is a move towards fuel independence for the U.S. Military in its worldwide operations. Modular biofuel processing units co-location is not a new idea, but this is the first time the Navy has made a large move of this kind towards securing it’s global fuel supply using alternatives. GO NAVY!

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) issuance of the final rule to implement the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) provided for in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007(EISA).

“The U.S. biodiesel industry is pleased that the EPA has issued the final RFS2 rule,” said Joe Jobe, Chief Executive Officer of the NBB.  “There are significant job creation, energy security and environmental benefits associated with expanded biodiesel use.  Today’s rulemaking – in particular implementation of the Biomass-based Diesel program – will allow America to reap these benefits.”

EISA was enacted on December 19, 2007.  The legislation expanded the Renewable Fuels Standard and for the first time specifically provided for a renewable component in U.S. diesel fuel.  RFS2 requires the use of 500 million gallons of Biomass-based Diesel in 2009, increasing gradually to 1 billion gallons in 2012.  From 2012 through 2022, a minimum of 1 billion gallons must be used domestically, and the Administrator of the EPA is given the authority to increase the minimum volume requirement.  To qualify as Biomass-based Diesel, the fuel must reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 percent compared to petroleum diesel.  Biodiesel is the only fuel available in commercial quantities in the U.S. that meets the definition of Biomass-based Diesel.

On May 26, 2009, the EPA issued the proposed rule to implement the RFS2 program.  The proposed rule contained several significant flaws that were highlighted in NBB’s comments.  Many of these concerns have been addressed in the final rule, including:

• Final rule accounts for 2009 and 2010 Biomass-based Diesel use requirements. Consistent with EISA’s requirements, 1.150 billion gallons of biodiesel must be used domestically by the end of 2010.  Biodiesel used domestically in 2009 and 2010 will count towards this total.

• EPA’s lifecycle GHG emission calculations are significantly improved. NBB’s comments noted significant shortcomings with EPA’s initial lifecycle methodology, including inaccuracies pertaining to nitrogen fixing with soybeans; co-product allocation; energy balance; and agricultural efficiencies.  Industry comments also noted significant flaws associated with EPA’s initial international land use assumptions.  The GHG methodology used in the final rule has been updated to reflect industry comments, and biodiesel produced from domestic soybean oil is assumed to reduce GHG emissions by 57 percent compared to petroleum diesel fuel, and the EPA’s uncertainty analysis recognizes that the GHG reduction could be as high as 85 percent.  Thus, biodiesel produced from soybean oil will qualify for the Biomass-based Diesel program, and the rulemaking provides pathways for biodiesel produced from other vegetable oils to qualify for the program.  Though NBB continues to object to the use of international indirect land use change in EPA’s GHG methodology, the methodology employed in the final rule represents a significant improvement over the proposed rule.

“The U.S. biodiesel industry stands ready to provide the fuel that will be needed to meet the readily attainable Biomass-based Diesel goals established in RFS2.  We look forward to working with all industry stakeholders to successfully implement this worthwhile program,” concluded Jobe.

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.