Green Options » Anthony Cefali

Virent Energy Producing Gasoline From Raw Plant Material - Update

Anthony Cefali — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:09:05 +0000

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.

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Hybrid Sales Plunge in January

Anthony Cefali — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:01:03 +0000

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.

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Global Warming, Our Immediate Responsibility

Anthony Cefali — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:20:40 +0000

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.

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Study Shows Pollution From Driving Worse Than Flying — The Road More Traveled Has Made All the Difference

Anthony Cefali — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:31:17 +0000

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.”

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Optimistic: T. Boone Pickens Expects Obama Administration to Implement Pickens’ Plan

Anthony Cefali — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:32:56 +0000

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.

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Obama’s Secretary of Energy: Who Will Get the Call?

Anthony Cefali — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:36:55 +0000

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.

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Where We’re Going We Won’t Even Need Lithium: A Neurotic Look at Our Energy Future

Anthony Cefali — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:17:33 +0000

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).

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Renewable Energy is Homeland Security (Opinion)

Anthony Cefali — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:33:18 +0000

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.

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A German in Paris

Anthony Cefali — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:52:33 +0000

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.

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Mercedes Goes Green with BlueEFFICIENCY Engine

Anthony Cefali — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:46:43 +0000

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.

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The European Union’s Emission War

Anthony Cefali — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:42:52 +0000

The European Union decided pull of the accelerator of its fairly ambitious bio-fuel plans for the future. Nearly two thirds of the European population feels that climate change is a big issue, yet the EU itself is not planning on holding up its end of the bargain.

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Style and Grace: BMW Shows Significant Fuel Economy Improvements (Op.)

Anthony Cefali — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:50:59 +0000

Good news for BMW this year. Studies by the European Union committee on transport pollution, or the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), showed that the high-performance, luxury automotive maker reduced carbon emissions by more than 7% across all models released and sold in 2007.

The average level of greenhouse gases emitted by BMW vehicles dropped from 184 grams of CO2/km to 170 g/km. That number is still a bit too high as far as the European Union is concerned, but it’s admirable to see an automobile manufacturer known for performance attempting to clean up a fraction of the mess it leaves behind.

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EcoDriving: The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturerers Gift to the Masses (Opinion)

Anthony Cefali — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:57:16 +0000

You look west to see a barren landscape, tumbleweed breezing lazily through the charred remains of a forest. The rust laden skeleton of what used to be a city echoes the promise of a future long gone. You are fighting out your days amidst gunfire and tribal warfare in armor composed of animal fur and long deserted hockey pads. Ironically water isn’t the most important liquid on the planet that spins where the Earth once spun. You begin to wash the grease smears off your face in a shallow pool…

…oh wait, am I jumping the gun here?

While our gas crises hasn’t quite reached ‘Mad Max’ proportions yet, things are close enough that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers will make this September “Green Check-Up Month.” After countless years of making oversized and inefficient autos, Ford and Chevy are now going to tell us how to save gas.

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GM Determined to Think Big with Better Fuel Economy

Anthony Cefali — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:35:19 +0000

GM is set to unveil fuel efficient models of all of its biggest gas guzzlers in 2009. The Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, and even the Cadillac Escalade will be equipped with gas saving technology. Can innovations like this help clean up GM’s archaic image?

As a basic principle of fuel economy, smaller cars get better gas mileage. Engineering trends keep pushing the limits of the term ‘compact’ car while somehow keeping the interiors large enough to carry people. Unfortunately, the Prius won’t suffice for all drivers, and rightfully so. There are people in the United States who require space shuttle sized SUV’s and Titantic trucks, and nothing is going to change that in the immediate future. America runs on progress, and progress cannot happen without construction and high a high towing capacity. The next generation of GM trucks is attempting to bridge the gap between brute force, and environmental friendliness.

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Every Drop Counts: Nissan to Equip Cars with Fuel Efficient ECO Pedals

Anthony Cefali — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:25:11 +0000

The 1990’s were the host of many great fads. Furby, Tamagachis, string theory, the examples are as numerous as the many incarnations of Prince. Fast forward to 2008, and it seems that America’s fads are finally becoming practical. Hypermiling is the new hoola-hoop, and it’s even more convenient because there is more than one way to do it. While some prefer drafting and coasting in neutral whenever possible, most drivers just watch their tachometers.

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Nissan Joins Tennessee in Electric Car Initiative

Anthony Cefali — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:27:11 +0000

The electric motor movement continues to rev its lithium powered engine in the face of high gas prices. Nissan announced its ambitious partnership with the state of Tennessee to better understand how to make the US an electric nation.

Last week, Nissan Motors announced a partnership with the state of Tennessee to study what transportation framework will be required to integrate electric cars into the global transportation economy. Nissan hopes that the study will provide insight that will allow them to market their electric cars globally by the year 2012.

What Nissan lacks in hybrid technology, they are attempting making up for with electric foresight (Nissan has some smaller, more efficient cars, but none have hybrid technology). The company is banking on a high demand for zero emission vehicles and has taken the necessary steps to facilitate the use of electric vehicles. Nissan recently announced they will sell electric cars in the US in 2010 with plans for another electric vehicle to be globally released in 2012. There will be no backup combustion engines in any of Nissan’s electric vehicles.

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2018: The Year of Petroleum Independence?

Anthony Cefali — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:16:14 +0000

Former Vice-President Al Gore says we cannot wait until 2050 to curtail our carbon emissions. In Washington this week Gore made his case for eliminating petroleum from the United States economy by the year 2018. Is his goal too ambitious?

Editor’s Note: This is Anthony’s first post as a contributor to Gas 2.0. Anthony works on sugar-based biofuels at the Raines Lab of Petroleum Alternatives, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I have a lot of admiration for Al Gore. I was in the 7th grade when he lost his bid for the presidency, and even then I could feel that something awful was upon us. Fast forward eight years and we find ourselves in a world where Al Gore is running a campaign to help mankind in a much more focused manner. Instead of defecting to the private sector, Gore remains a public servant dedicated to the environment. Recently, he called for the United States to lead the way to stop global warming, and now he is calling for the United States to be off of carbon based fuels by the year 2018.

Green Options » Anthony Cefali

Virent Energy Producing Gasoline From Raw Plant Material - Update

It’s almost been a year since Virent Energy partnered up with Shell to advance their biogasoline synthesis technology, known as bioforming.

Hybrid Sales Plunge in January

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.

Global Warming, Our Immediate Responsibility

Study Shows Pollution From Driving Worse Than Flying — The Road More Traveled Has Made All the Difference

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.

Optimistic: T. Boone Pickens Expects Obama Administration to Implement Pickens’ Plan

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.

Obama’s Secretary of Energy: Who Will Get the Call?

Where We’re Going We Won’t Even Need Lithium: A Neurotic Look at Our Energy Future

Renewable Energy is Homeland Security (Opinion)

A German in Paris

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.

Mercedes Goes Green with BlueEFFICIENCY Engine

The European Union’s Emission War

The European Union decided pull of the accelerator of its fairly ambitious bio-fuel plans for the future. Nearly two thirds of the European population feels that climate change is a big issue, yet the EU itself is not planning on holding up its end of the bargain.

Style and Grace: BMW Shows Significant Fuel Economy Improvements (Op.)

EcoDriving: The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturerers Gift to the Masses (Opinion)

GM Determined to Think Big with Better Fuel Economy

GM is set to unveil fuel efficient models of all of its biggest gas guzzlers in 2009. The Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon, and even the Cadillac Escalade will be equipped with gas saving technology. Can innovations like this help clean up GM’s archaic image?

Every Drop Counts: Nissan to Equip Cars with Fuel Efficient ECO Pedals

Nissan Joins Tennessee in Electric Car Initiative

The electric motor movement continues to rev its lithium powered engine in the face of high gas prices. Nissan announced its ambitious partnership with the state of Tennessee to better understand how to make the US an electric nation.

2018: The Year of Petroleum Independence?

Former Vice-President Al Gore says we cannot wait until 2050 to curtail our carbon emissions. In Washington this week Gore made his case for eliminating petroleum from the United States economy by the year 2018. Is his goal too ambitious?

Gore’s battle cry could not have come at a better time. Read more of this story »

Gore’s battle cry could not have come at a better time.
Read more of this story »