Biofuels

The seeds of a humble weed could lower a jet fuel's cradle-to-grave carbon emissions by 84 percent. Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop and it might be used as fuel in aircrafts in the near future. A study conducted at Michigan Technological University claimed that Camelina has shown to be one of the more promising alternatives to petroleum jet fuel. They studied the whole process i.e. from planting to airplane’s tailpipe. David Shonnard, Robbins Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering, studied the carbon dioxide emissions of jet fuel made from Camelina oil. He elaborates, "Camelina jet fuel exhibits one of the largest greenhouse gas emission reductions of any agricultural feedstock-derived biofuel I've ever seen. This is the result of the unique attributes of the crop – its low fertilizer requirements, high oil yield, and the availability of its co-products, such as meal and biomass, for other uses." 20 Comments

When we think about sources of alternative energy, we often feel a rush of positive thoughts engulfing us. We often think that while developing alternative sources of energy we are doing nothing wrong. But building up new sources of alternative energy is a double edged weapon. If we don’t tread cautiously we might hurt ourselves in the process. Caution should be exercised if we are going for biofuels as alternative source of energy. USA can boast of beautiful flora and fauna. We have the wild lands of the Cumberland Plateau in the southeast and formidable Rocky Mountains and Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Wildlife and natural forests of these places are rich and varied. But big businesses are trying to inflict irreversible damage to these pristine places in the guile of electricity and biofuels. We know that once destroyed we will never be able to restore the flora and fauna of these places to its former glory. So we have to be aware of those alternative energy resources that do more harm than good. 7 Comments

Biomass fuel is liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced by conversion of biomass. They are actually organic materials produced by plants, animals, or microorganisms. Those plants animals or microorganisms can be burned directly as a heat source or they can be converted into a gaseous or liquid fuel. Scientists are looking to biomass for sources of alternative fuels. Biomass can be directly converted to energy (not appealing for an environmentalists or non compatible to modern day living) or converted to liquid or gaseous fuels such as ethanol, methanol, methane, and hydrogen. 6 Comments

Scientists are continuously working on to find an alternative to fossil fuels. We are familiar with the side effects of fossil fuels and its impact on environment. Right now the fossil fuels seem to be necessary evil we can’t do without. Scientists want alternative fuels that have none of the ill effects of traditional fuels. 14 Comments

We all want to live in a clean and green world and breathe pollution free air. For this kind of environment we desperately need a fossil fuel free world. Scientists are toiling hard to come up with alternative fuels which can replace conventional fuels. One such study was presented at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. This study throws interesting light on the first economical, eco-friendly process to transform algae oil into biodiesel fuel. The scientists are quite hopeful that one day America will become independent of fossil fuels. Ben Wen is the lead researcher and vice president of United Environment and Energy LLC, Horseheads, N.Y. According to him, "This is the first economical way to produce biodiesel from algae oil. It costs much less than conventional processes because you would need a much smaller factory, there are no water disposal costs, and the process is considerably faster." 10 Comments

We have been hearing about artificial leaves and artificial trees for energy generation for quite sometime. Our life giver green plants are performing this function called photosynthesis for millions of years. The green plants trap sunlight energy and convert it into electrochemical energy. Now scientists want to imitate the process of photosynthesis to produce clean and green liquid fuels from carbon dioxide and water. 4 Comments

Common man and policy makers both are increasingly being made aware of the importance of clean and green fuels in near future. The governors of 3 states have come forward with a plan to transform Interstate 5 from a freeway dotted by gasoline burners to a sanctuary for eco-friendly cars and trucks. The people chalking out this plan are Marty Brown, Gregoire's legislative liaison, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski. 1 Comment

We love to read about different travelers and their adventures, wishing secretly that we could be in their shoes. Here is a young traveler, Stacy Jurich, 2006 graduate of Ohio State University. She is on a 3 ½ month journey across the country, driving her 1981 Mercedes across America. So what is new? She is driving a Mercedes using waste vegetable oil as fuel hence promoting use of alternative fuel. She lives in Toledo, Ohio where she shoulders the responsibility of running a non-profit organization known as "Toledo Choose Local." This non-profit organization promotes self sustenance using local resources. 5 Comments

Tomorrow our vehicles may derive power by enzymes. These enzymes may originate from the cellulose of woodchips or grass and instead of emitting poisonous gases they will exhale hydrogen. We know that when hydrogen is burned, the only emission it makes is water vapor, so a key benefit of hydrogen fuel is that when burned, carbon dioxide (CO2) is not produced. Clearly, hydrogen is less of a pollutant in the air because it omits little tail pipe pollution. Hydrogen also has the potential to run a fuel-cell engine with better effectiveness over an internal combustion engine. 1 Comment

We all want to live in a clean and green environment and leave this planet in a livable condition for future generations. Scientists are continuously trying to find alternative clean and green fuel for our daily use. These days we hear and read about ethanol and biobutanol as alternative fuels. Biobutanol seems to have several advantages over ethanol. New pipelines are not required for transportation of biobutanol – existing pipelines will do. Biobutanol is less corrosive compared to ethanol. Biobutanol is less prone to water contamination. Biobutanol can be used alone in internal combustion engines or it can be mixed with gasoline. Biobutanol provides more energy per gallon than ethanol. 13 Comments

Biomass power is the largest source of renewable energy as well as a vital part of the waste management infrastructure. An increasing global awareness about environmental issues is acting as the driving force behind the use of alternative and renewable sources of energy. A greater emphasis is being laid on the promotion of bioenergy in the industrialized as well as developing world to counter environmental issues. 11 Comments

While alternative fuels are being heavily studied for automobiles, we’re now seeing a push from a different direction. The aviation industry has taken an intense interest in the subject, and this might be enough to push biofuels over the edge into economic viability. The aviation industry produces only about one-ninth as much carbon dioxide as motor vehicles do. However, environmentalists are vocal about emissions from aviation, because they tend to go into the upper atmosphere, where some scientists say the impact is greater. Plus, the industry is growing quite rapidly. 8 Comments

There are many ways to generate electricity from biomass using thermo-chemical pathway. These include directly-fired or conventional steam approach, co-firing, pyrolysis and gasification. 11 Comments

Everyday alternative energy scene is garnering bigger and important space in newspapers and industrial lives. People are feeling the need for greener energy and cleaner environment. Some researchers are focusing their attention on one of the ancient living organisms, the cyanobacteria. 1 Comment

Algae fix the sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy and that too very fast. Scientists want to utilize this quality for alternative fuels. And when it comes to greener alternatives to fossil fuel what could be greener than pond scum? Why algae are more suitable over other bio-fuels? Algae can grow anywhere, practically anywhere. They can grow in sea-water or salty water or adulterated water or even in sewage. They can bear extreme temperature. They can grow on waste-land. Another good thing about algae is they multiply very fast. They can double their weight many times in a single day. Algae produce oil as a byproduct of photosynthesis. They can produce fifteen times more oil per acre than other plants such as corn and switchgrass. 17 Comments

Today we all are feeling the need of growing green. We have already put the various resources of planet earth on risk and some of the resources will not last for our great-great grandchildren for future use. So it’s better that we start mending our ways. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Carolina State University (NC State) are in the process of developing new green technology that could lead to production of hydrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria. ARS inventors Paul Bishop and Telisa Loveless and NC State inventors Jonathan Olson and José Bruno-Bárcena developed the patent-pending technology. Bishop first demonstrated novel aspects of bacterial nitrogen-fixing more than two decades ago. 3 Comments

Nicholas Albertini, a physics major from Lawrence University recently came up with an idea for a new renewable energy source. They propose that a plant be developed to generate an electrical current. The most likely base organism, suitable to be genetically engineered for this purpose, seems to be prairie grass (Poaceae stipoideae). Such grasses have the physiology, growth period, growing conditions and reproductive fitness needed for this use. The base organism will need to be genetically recombined with genes from other useful organisms or synthetic genes produced in the laboratory. 1 Comment

The generation and disposal of organic waste without adequate treatment result in significant environmental pollution. Besides health concerns for the people in the vicinity of disposal sites, degradation of waste leads to uncontrolled release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. Conventional means, like aeration, is energy intensive, expensive and also generates a significant quantity of biological sludge. In this context, anaerobic digestion offers potential energy savings and is a more stable process for medium and high strength organic effluents. Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants, based on anaerobic digestion of biomass, are highly efficient in harnessing the untapped renewable energy potential of organic waste by converting the biodegradable fraction of the waste into high calorific gases. Apart from treating the wastewater, the methane produced from the biogas facilities can be recovered, with relative ease, for electricity generation and industrial/domestic heating. 9 Comments

Wind energy is 'sustainable energy', just like solar energy and water power. We already know the benefits of wind energy and why we should opt for it. But currently manufacturers are concentrating on the drawbacks of the wind energy and trying to eliminate or minimize those shortcomings. For example turbines are noisy and this sound nuisance can be a problem for the residents of the areas. Wind turbines are unsafe for birds too. Birds can be injured or die if they are caught up in the wings of the turbines. Turbines might annoy you due to horizon pollution i.e. they might meddle with your aesthetic sense. 15 Comments

Middle Eastern oil sheiks move over. There’s a new kid on the energy block! Bio-fuel is the new green, completely clean fuel source. It’s also known as “agro-fuel” and can be broadly defined as any solid, liquid or gas fuel consisting of or derived from biomass. Biomass is nothing more than materials that were recently living organisms—in this case, plants and their by-products. Even better, it is a renewable energy source, unlike petroleum and coal, which once used are gone forever. Thanks to a new miraculous feat of engineering and science, this energy source has suddenly become competitive with oil, catapulting it from a backyard business into a global economic phenomenon. 10 Comments