Biofuel
« Previous EntriesBio-Insanity: Ethanol Subsidies Will Make Food Costs From Flooding Worse
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Salt Lake Tribune:
If you think that food prices are high now, wait until the full effects of the flooding of farmland in the Midwest hit store shelves. Prepare to be pinched harder at the checkout stand.
The damage to crops from heavy rains and failing levies is the result of a natural disaster. But […]
S&P Highlights Risks For Ethanol Producers Amid Volatility
Friday, June 27th, 2008CNNMoney.com:
Standard & Poor’s said smaller pure-play ethanol producers face “high” business and financial risks due to market volatility.
The ratings agency said in a report that political-event risk also could become a risk factor for the industry “if the food versus fuel debate sways currently positive public opinion.”
The report comes a day after VeraSun Energy Corp. […]
Convert Kudzu To Biofuel
Thursday, June 19th, 2008TECH.BLORGE.com:
Having grown up in the South, I am intimately acquainted with kudzu and its dangers. Stand in one place too long and disappear. Ok, so that’s an exaggeration but not by much. Now kudzu is being researched as a possible substitute for corn in biofuel.
Kudzu was originally imported as a way to combat erosion […]
Performance Improvement On Biofuels
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008Processing Talk:
The Pavilion Technologies Ethanol Solution will help maximise plant performance, increase ethanol yield, and reduce energy consumption for leading ethanol producer White Energy of Dallas.
Leading ethanol producer White Energy, of Dallas, Texas, has awarded a multisite Model Predictive Control (MPC) project to Pavilion Technologies, a Rockwell Automation company. The project will help improve ethanol […]
Biofuel From Bacteria? Startup Says It’s On The Way
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008Ars Technica:
Oil is running out. Our yearly usage of oil, coal, and natural gas are the products of around 1 million years’ worth of organic matter converting sunlight to chemical energy, and unfortunately for us, much of our way of life depends upon the plentiful supply of petrochemicals. A Silicon Valley startup called LS9 might […]
Some Drivers Save Big With Ethanol Fuel
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008KDKA:
Remember when gasoline sold for $3.45 a gallon? It still does if your vehicle can use E-85.
E-85 is 85 percent corn ethanol made in America and only 15 percent oil-based gasoline. Right now, it’s 55 cents cheaper than regular gas.
There’s a slight reduction in fuel efficiency, but the dollars saved make up for that. […]
All Biofuels Are Not The Same
Monday, June 16th, 2008Washington Post:
Last month the Wall Street Journal accused me of advocating subsidies for food-based ethanol. I ought to “take a vow of embarrassed silence,” it said, for claiming that ethanol’s contribution to the food crisis is “overblown.” The Journal’s claims would be laughable if the stakes were not so high.
Cellulosic biofuels offer a chance to […]
Sugar Companies Have Answer To Fuel Shortages
Friday, June 13th, 2008New Vision:
The Ministry of Energy published its Renewable Energy Policy in November 2007. This policy also covers bio-fuels and improving efficiency of bio-mass utilisation. With respect to bio-fuels production, the ministry’s target is to blend 20% bio-fuels into all gasoline fuel and diesel. For petrol, this is planned to be done by blending with ethanol. […]
Ethanol Is A Complex Issue
Friday, June 13th, 2008Barrie Advance:
The issue of ethanol fuel is not as simple as politicians would have us believe:
1. Ethanol is not a clean burning fuel. Moreover, an engine’s emissions on ethanol are more toxic than the same engine produces fuelled with gasoline.
2. Adding ethanol to gasoline will not reduce gasoline prices. Ethanol is considerably more costly than […]
Results Of Investigation Into Ethanol’s Impact On The Food And Fuel Markets
Friday, June 13th, 2008USDA, DOE Release Results of Investigation into Ethanol’s Impact on the Food and Fuel Markets (6-12-08)
Source: Ethanol.org.
Algenol Trains Algae To Turn Carbon Into Ethanol
Thursday, June 12th, 2008Reuters:
Private U.S. company Algenol plans to make ethanol from a primordial green soup that won’t raise food costs compared to other biofuel feedstocks like corn and sugar cane.
The company has signed an $850 million deal with a Mexican company BioFields to grow algae, one of the planet’s first life forms, that has been trained to […]
Food-Related Industries Launch Anti-Biofuel Campaign
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008Houston Chronicle:
Industry groups representing companies including Kellogg, Tyson Foods and Kroger are coordinating efforts to reduce U.S. biofuels-use requirements with a new “Food Before Fuel” lobbying campaign.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Meat Institute, the National Restaurant Association and other groups say rising corn-based ethanol production is pushing food costs higher. Adding industry muscle to […]
Formula 1 Considering A Switch To Ethanol
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008Wired News:
Formula 1, widely considered the pinnacle of automotive engineering but woefully behind in environmentalism, is reportedly considering a switch to ethanol.
The move comes as the sport faces increasing pressure from Max Mosley, the beleaguered president of F1’s sanctioning body, to make its cars more energy-efficient and the engineering behind them more relevant to road […]
Biofuels: Brazil Disputes Cost Of Sugar In The Tank
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008guardian.co.uk:
The roar of large truck engines is drowned out by the thunderous sound of giant crushing machines and a piercing hiss from steam generators at a sugar-processing plant near the Brazilian city of Sertãozinho.
The 32-wheeled lorries and trailers - each with 60 tonnes of long, blackened stems of sugar cane protruding from their open tops […]
Ethanol Is Like Cholesterol So Don’t Blame Brazilian Biofuels
Friday, June 6th, 2008Guardian.co.uk:
Brazil’s President Lula strongly defended his government’s biofuels programme at the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation conference in Rome earlier this week. Since his remarks run directly counter to the Guardian’s call to “use this summit to press the case for stopping biofuel production” in certain circumstances and it is worth elaborating why liberals in […]
The Race For Nonfood Biofuel
Thursday, June 5th, 2008Christian Science Monitor:
Way back in 2006, when gasoline cost just $2.50 a gallon, President Bush called for home-grown biofuels to replace three-quarters of oil imports from the Persian Gulf – or about 72 billion gallons – by 2025.
How to achieve that goal is still a question. Corn-based ethanol production is expected to be 12 billion […]
Just Like Cholesterol There Is The Bad Ethanol And The Good Ethanol
Thursday, June 5th, 2008IRINnews.org:
Biofuel is in the dock at the global food summit in Rome this week, with counties divided over whether it is the villain behind food insecurity, or the cheap energy of the future.
At issue is the impact of grain-based biofuels on food prices - now at their highest levels since the 1970s - and […]
Finding The Holy Grail Of Ethanol Biofuel For Cars
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008IslamOnline:
In the search for renewable energy, turning low-value materials like switchgrass and corn husks into ethanol to fuel cars is something of a Holy Grail.
In theory, these materials would replace corn as the main feedstock for ethanol in North America, reducing the pressure on farmland that has played a role in rising food prices and […]
High Fuel Prices Make Cellulosic Biofuels Increasingly Competitive With Gas
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008Mongabay.com:
A new institute in the San Francisco Bay Area is seeking to make cellulosic biofuel an economically viable alternative to corn ethanol and gasoline within the next five years.
The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a partnership between three national laboratories and three Bay Area universities, was formed in June 2007 after the U.S. Department of […]
Madison-Area Gas Stations Hyping Benefits Of Ethanol-Free Fuel
Monday, June 2nd, 2008RedOrbit:
Ethanol has been touted as a step toward the nation’s energy independence, but with gasoline prices soaring above $4 a gallon last week in Madison, some area stations are marketing ethanol-free gasoline.
The attraction of ethanol-free fuel goes beyond its compatibility with older or smaller engines to anyone who wants to squeeze the most gas mileage […]