Green Options

It’s almost been a year since Virent Energy partnered up with Shell to advance their biogasoline synthesis technology, known as bioforming.
I’ve been curious about their progress, and recently listened to a lecture given at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by Virent researcher Paul Blommel on the bioforming process.

During bioforming, sugars and polymers are rearranged into alkanes (biogasoline) that can be used for fuel in combustion engines. The gasoline produced is of a higher volatility and better production efficiency than corn ethanol.

Virent is still in the developmental stages of gasoline production. Their patented aqueous phase reforming (APR) technology and BioForming process is currently producing a liter per day of pure gasoline from plant material. For now they are mainly using simple sugars found in plants, but plan to tap into the more woody lignocellulose too.

After the lecture, I had a chance to talk with Blommel in depth. Read more of that conversation after the jump.

We all know the economy is broken. Nobody is spending money on anything (especially if no one gets bonuses). According to UK auto statistics firm, Autodata, even hybrids have taken a sales plunge in January.
Looking at the Autodata compilation, there was a purchase surge beginning in February of 2008 which lasted until April before hybrid sales began to decline. They saw another quick increase over the summer when gas price caused a panic, and then began to teeter off as gas prices came down.

January is a good month. It’s a month that is the human symbol of starting over. Out with the old, in with the new. This January was particularly exciting for us here in the US, as we ushered in a new era of progressive politics with almost a little too much pomp and circumstance. But underneath the excitement lies a particularly disconcerting truth. We still have a nation to fix.

To drive or to fly?  That is the question.  Researchers at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo have predicted that pollution from cars will be the chief global warming agent for the next 100 years.  So the green answer is to fly.

The study carried out by CICERO monitored known pollutants in different transport sectors (air, ground, rail, and shipping), and how the global emissions in the year 2000 affects current global temperature.  The good news is that pollution from aviation is rather short lived, and not directly linked to long term global warming.  According to researcher Jan Fuglestvedt, “air transport has several strong, but short lasting, effects on global temperature.”

Billionaire American entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens is optimistic that the Obama administration will bring the United States’ energy infrastructure into the new millennium by implementing his plan for energy independence.
After eight long years there is finally a cause for hope here in the United States. George Bush may still be in office, but right now all America’s problems are President-Elect Obama’s to solve (see Obama Recession, thanks Rush), but he seems ready for them.

The dust has barely settled from Tuesday’s election and the rumor mill is already up and running for potential White House staff. President-elect Obama faces a tough four years (if not eight), and will need all the help he can get. Undoubtedly, the job of Secretary of Energy is going to be a tricky one. So the question is, who is going to be up for the job?

Being a member of the President’s White House staff is no easy task.  President Andrew Jackson actually had two cabinets to hold the union together.  One was the formal cabinet which met in the White House and the other was known as his “Kitchen Cabinet” which met after hours across the street.
The Secretary of Energy will not be an easy role to assume.  The price of gas may have fallen recently, but that does not make us immune to future shortages and overseas skirmishes over resources.  President-elect Obama has been a symbol of American progress.  I sincerely hope his choice for the head of the DOE will share his vision and make sure we are on the right path to energy independence.

Editor’s Note: Gas 2.0 writer Karen Pease has written a response to this post entitled “Lithium Counterpoint: No Shortage For Electric Cars.”

So I stumbled across a time machine the other day and made my way into the future. I noticed something rather bizarre while I was riding my hover-board and wearing a pair of Air McFlys. First I couldn’t pump any more gas into my Delorean, so I asked the good people of the undisclosed future what they used for fuel. They used lithium-powered batteries, and their supply was running out…
For the record, I support all forms of alternative energy.  Anything but oil I say, it’s a relic of the Cold War as far as I’m concerned.  But what will be the future of energy?  Well, my time machine wasn’t completely accurate.  While I sincerely hope that we can establish an electric infrastructure, it appears that the market will decide our energy future (for more on the economics, read my last post).

I have my pet peeves.  I really hate roller-bags, people not walking down escalators, and discovering that Flex Fuel has been around for over 20 years and nobody bothered to implement it.  My feelings are not limited to Flex Fuel, but all abandoned fuel economy technologies all together.  The fact that a nation as wealthy as ours has not been implementing fuel saving technology does not bode well for our collective energy future.

High-performance diesel engines, BluePerformance, and a hybrid oh my!  BMW is set to roll out the green at the Paris Auto show this year.  As the European Union tightens its emissions restrictions, everyone is expected to do their share to help clean up.

We’ve heard a lot about luxury motor vehicles trying to change their worn out images. Personally I feel like I’ve been writing more than I would like about luxury cars saving gas, and while the gas saving gesture is nice, we should be able to expect more from a company with the resources to do more for the world.

Editor’s Note: This post is a guest contribution by Anthony Cefali.

Idealism aside, the BlueEFFICIENCY technology at least green in nature. The four-cylinder 200 horsepower diesel engine keeps the performance integrity of a Mercedes vehicle with a 45 mile-per-gallon economy. I do not drive a Mercedes, probably never will, but I do feel that 0-60 in 7 seconds is respectable for a car that is meant to save gas (most Prius driver’s brag that their car will hit 60 in under ten seconds). The cars eco-rating is awfully high. It complies with the European Union’s current emissions standards and is expected to meet the next revision of standards as well. The engine is presently being equipped to its latest C250 model.