Green Options » Alternative Fuels

Green Options » Alternative Fuels http://greenoptions.com/tag/alternative-fuels Posts tagged 'Alternative Fuels' Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en BP Could Start Selling Biofuels By 2010 http://gas2.org/2009/11/06/bp-could-start-selling-biofuels-by-2010/ http://gas2.org/2009/11/06/bp-could-start-selling-biofuels-by-2010/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:23 +0000 Christopher DeMorro http://gas2.org/2009/11/06/bp-could-start-selling-biofuels-by-2010/

As it stands right now, there are comparatively few places to purchase alternative fuels. As of 2005, there were approximately 168,987 gas stations in the United States; of those, just 2,200 sell E85 ethanol fuel.

No major oil outlets have fully embraced biofuels, although British Petroleum has just announced that it may begin commercial production of ethanol starting in 2010.

BP has partnered with Verenium to bring a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility online next year to start bringing alternative fuels to a gas pump near you.

BP has big plans for biofuels and seems to be marching towards an alternative fuel future faster than many of its competitors. Verenium already has a demonstration plant in Louisiana capable of producing over a million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually, and BP hopes to ramp production up. The Verenium process uses proprietary enzymes to break down grass feedstock and convert it to ethanol more efficiently.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/11/06/bp-could-start-selling-biofuels-by-2010/feed/ US Arpa-E Funding Enlisting Cyanobacteria to Make Fuel For Humans http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/us-arpa-e-funding-enlisting-cyanobacteria-to-make-fuel-for-humans/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/us-arpa-e-funding-enlisting-cyanobacteria-to-make-fuel-for-humans/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:18:24 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/us-arpa-e-funding-enlisting-cyanobacteria-to-make-fuel-for-humans/

We are actually the second planet-altering species. Three billion years ago, Cyanobacteria were the first. They totally changed this planet to one that is safe for oxygen breathers. That was a big change for species at the time, and most species didn’t make it. Nearly all of them went extinct.

If we’re lucky, we won’t change our environment as much as Cyanobacteria did. That’s the goal of the US Department of Energy ARPA-E. Inspired by the success of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; ARPA-E will fund high-risk, high-reward advances with the potential to completely change the way our species generates and consumes energy.

Arizona State’s Wim Vermass was of the 37 recipients of the DOE ARPA-E funding. He is teaching the ancient species to make our future fuel and to custom-make it just the way our species wants it.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/us-arpa-e-funding-enlisting-cyanobacteria-to-make-fuel-for-humans/feed/ Using Waste Heat Energy for Industrial-Scale Air Conditioning http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/30/using-waste-heat-energy-for-industrial-scale-air-conditioning/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/30/using-waste-heat-energy-for-industrial-scale-air-conditioning/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:51:04 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/30/using-waste-heat-energy-for-industrial-scale-air-conditioning/

Here’s a low carbon cooling technology that uses hot water from waste to make A/C without fossil fuels, saving 80% over fossil-fueled chillers.

This industrial scale chiller from the Chinese company Broad Central Air can convert many different kinds of waste heat into air conditioning. The waste heat can come from many industrial sources, including what the Chinese site calls “town gas” - methane from town landfill, collected and burned to generate heat.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/30/using-waste-heat-energy-for-industrial-scale-air-conditioning/feed/ Is Global Scale Biofuels Production Good or Bad for Climate Change? http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/28/is-global-scale-biofuels-production-good-or-bad-for-climate-change/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/28/is-global-scale-biofuels-production-good-or-bad-for-climate-change/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:07:24 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/28/is-global-scale-biofuels-production-good-or-bad-for-climate-change/

There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about biofuels and whether or not they are actually green, especially when produced on a large, global level.

A new study led by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) senior scientist Jerry Melillo says no, they aren’t green (when it comes to climate change). However, there are still many important factors to keep in mind before claiming this is the end of a long and complicated discussion.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/28/is-global-scale-biofuels-production-good-or-bad-for-climate-change/feed/ $400 Per Gallon Gas And The Green War Of The Future http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:34:35 +0000 Tina Casey http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/ It costs $400 per gallon to transport fuel to remote combat locations in Afghanistan.

It costs $400 per gallon to transport fuel to remote combat locations in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has been pushing for the development of alternative fuels for a while now, and nobody paid much attention until the Pentagon finally put a price tag on the oil habit. As reported by Roxana Tiron in thehill.com, last week Pentagon officials disclosed that getting conventional petroleum fuel to remote combat locations in Afghanistan costs a whopping $400 per gallon.

There couldn’t be a more clear illustration of why the “drill baby drill” mentality is a non-sequitur when it comes to energy security. Regardless of whether petroleum fuels are domestic or imported, they need to be transported to their point of use. That’s not much of a problem when you’ve got modern seaports, highways and fuel depots, but to paraphrase one infamous former Secretary of Defense, you have to fight the war you have, not the war that’s got the ideal infrastructure to support your fuel of choice.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/feed/ $25 Billion for Imported Oil — In One Month! http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/19/25-billion-for-imported-oil-in-one-month/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/19/25-billion-for-imported-oil-in-one-month/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:48:31 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/19/25-billion-for-imported-oil-in-one-month/

That is correct — not million but billion, not in one year but in one month! That is how much the US spent on imported oil in September 2009.

For those concerned about the US economy or national security risks, T. Boone Pickens and data from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) show us that foreign oil imports should be at the top of our list. We rely very heavily on foreign oil and send a good chunk of our money to other countries to supply us with that oil — $25 billion last month alone!

Take a closer look.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/19/25-billion-for-imported-oil-in-one-month/feed/ Report: Energy Secretary Chu Thinks Every Cent Should Go to Electric Cars [Updated] http://gas2.org/2009/10/13/report-energy-secretary-chu-thinks-every-cent-should-go-to-electric-cars/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/13/report-energy-secretary-chu-thinks-every-cent-should-go-to-electric-cars/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:27:27 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2009/10/13/report-energy-secretary-chu-thinks-every-cent-should-go-to-electric-cars/

Attendees at a recent alternative fuels gathering in Washington are reporting that US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu remarked, “If it were up to me, I would put every cent into electric cars,” when referring to the way stimulus dollars should be distributed. With a focus on alternative and renewable fuels, the group was obviously shocked at the concept.

If this statement is being represented accurately, it would not only put Chu directly at odds with Obama administration policy, it would mean that he doesn’t really believe in how his department is distributing their $36.7 billion dollar slice of stimulus funds. The statement would also contradict Chu’s previous stances on biofuels development. Comment from DOE was not immediately available, but I’ve got a request in to confirm or deny the statement as accurate. I’ll update as soon as I hear word.

Update 8:00 PM Pacific Time 10/13/2009: DOE’s Director of Public Affairs, Dan Leistikow, responded to my request from earlier today in an email, saying “I can’t verify the quote the blogger is using from an undisclosed source at an undisclosed meeting, which is at best wildly out of context.” He also added, “Anyone who has spent five minutes listening to Secretary Chu also knows he is one of the country’s staunchest advocates for pursuing a broad portfolio of clean energy research, and has warned against investing all our resources in a single technology to the exclusion of all others.”

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/13/report-energy-secretary-chu-thinks-every-cent-should-go-to-electric-cars/feed/ Biofuel to be Made from Tuberculosis Bacteria http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/biofuel-to-be-made-from-tuberculosis-bacteria/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/biofuel-to-be-made-from-tuberculosis-bacteria/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:01:23 +0000 Bryan Nelson http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/biofuel-to-be-made-from-tuberculosis-bacteria/

researcher examines biofuel-producing microbes

A team of researchers at MIT are engineering a strain of bacteria, which is similar to the type that causes tuberculosis, to produce biofuel.

The researchers say that the bacteria are useful because they are hungry for a number of sugars and toxic compounds and produce lipids that can be converted to biodiesel.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/biofuel-to-be-made-from-tuberculosis-bacteria/feed/ Dead Forests to Fuel Vehicles http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/dead-forests-to-fuel-vehicles/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/dead-forests-to-fuel-vehicles/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:14:21 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/dead-forests-to-fuel-vehicles/

Here’s a resource we’ll have plenty of as ever wider swathes of our forests get decimated by pests like the Pine Bark Beetle. Dead trees. In an adaptation eerily reminiscent of Thomas Edison’s dictum We live like squatters, not as if we owned the property” a university has invented a technology to harvest one of the horrific effects of climate change.

The University of Georgia Research Foundation has developed an innovative way to turn dead trees into a liquid fuel and has licensed it to Tolero Energy in California. We could be driving on our dead forests as soon as 2010.

The technology represents a leap forward for the biofuels industry. Not only does the resulting biofuel need no additional refinement before blending with diesel fuel, but it is a naturally very low-sulphur biofuel.

And it would prevent additional CO2 from being released if the forest was left to decay.

But the biggest leap is in thinking of using a non-food source (at least for us humans) of biomass that we will have an ever increasing abundance of, as our climate gets worse and worse. And it doesn’t take scarce water resources to grow. Quite the contrary. Droughts and rising temperatures are all it needs.

Dead trees are one of the major sources of waste biomass, says Tolero CEO Chris Churchill.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/dead-forests-to-fuel-vehicles/feed/ Zap! U.S. EPA Uses Solar Power to Fight Indoor Air Pollution http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/14/zap-us-epa-uses-solar-power-to-fight-indoor-air-pollution/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/14/zap-us-epa-uses-solar-power-to-fight-indoor-air-pollution/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:40:35 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/14/zap-us-epa-uses-solar-power-to-fight-indoor-air-pollution/

Small solar panels provide enough electricity to power an exhaust system that almost eliminated TCE fumes in contaminated homes.

The U.S. EPA has found that a simple, inexpensive rooftop solar panel can provide enough power to run a fan and remove toxic fumes from homes sitting on contaminated ground. The EPA gave solar-powered venting a test run on several homes earlier this year, in a Superfund action aimed at tricholoroethene (TCE) vapors in a Grand Prairie, Texas neighborhood. The pollution had been traced to a site occupied by the now-bankrupt Delfasco Forge company.

Compared to conventional remediation that involves weeks, months or even years of work along with a potentially huge carbon footprint for transporting or capping soil, the solar-powered exhaust systems took mere hours to install and resulted in an immediate 95% reduction in TCE vapors within the homes. The EPA plans to extend the program this fall to other homes affected by the Delfasco site.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/14/zap-us-epa-uses-solar-power-to-fight-indoor-air-pollution/feed/ U.S. Navy Super Hornet Has Camelina Biofuel in its Sights http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/13/us-navy-super-hornet-has-camelina-biofuel-in-its-sights/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/13/us-navy-super-hornet-has-camelina-biofuel-in-its-sights/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:47:54 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/13/us-navy-super-hornet-has-camelina-biofuel-in-its-sights/ $The U.S. Navy\'s F/A-18 Super Hornet could soon be flying on camlina-based jet fuel.$

The modern U.S. Navy may be about to put a 3,000-year-old weedlike biofuel crop in its tank. Camelina, the “new darling” of next-generation biofuels, is among a small group of biofuels under consideration for testing this year by the U.S. Navy. One of the aircraft to be tested is the F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter, the latest incarnation of the battle-proven Hornet. Sustainable Oils of Montana has just won a contract to provide 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet fuel to the Navy, so the chances look good for putting the ancient crop to a new use.

The Naval Air Systems Command fuels team will start with a lab analysis of the new fuels, then move on to charting their performance on a bench-mounted Super Hornet F414 engine before moving on to the big one, an in-flight test. Some time in 2010, the Navy could be flying high on a more sustainable fuel.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/13/us-navy-super-hornet-has-camelina-biofuel-in-its-sights/feed/ The First Algae Fueled Car Travels from San Francisco to Washington, DC http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/11/the-first-algae-fueled-car-travels-from-san-francisco-to-washington-dc/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/11/the-first-algae-fueled-car-travels-from-san-francisco-to-washington-dc/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:07:08 +0000 Beth Graddon-Hodgson http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/11/the-first-algae-fueled-car-travels-from-san-francisco-to-washington-dc/

The Veggie Van Organization unveiled the first algae fuel powered car this week in San Francisco. It’s actually a plug-in Prius that has been converted with the nickel-metal hydride battery. The green vehicle doesn’t run strictly on algae, but rather a 5% algae/95% gasoline blend. Since this vehicle uses a standard engine without any modifications, it demonstrates the opportunity to use alternative fuel sources like algae in a vehicle, and only 5% algae might be used today, but it gives some hope for the future.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/11/the-first-algae-fueled-car-travels-from-san-francisco-to-washington-dc/feed/ LanzaTech Plants New Zealand Flag on New Waste Gas-to-Ethanol Process http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/10/lanzatech-plants-new-zealand-flag-on-new-waste-gas-to-ethanol-process/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/10/lanzatech-plants-new-zealand-flag-on-new-waste-gas-to-ethanol-process/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:56:15 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/10/lanzatech-plants-new-zealand-flag-on-new-waste-gas-to-ethanol-process/

LanzaTech of New Zealand develops microbe that converts waste gas from steel mills into pure ethanol.

LanzaTech, a small company based in New Zealand, has developed a proprietary microbe that feasts on the carbon monoxide in waste gas from steel mills and converts it to pure ethanol. Last year the company launched a pilot facility at the New Zealand Steel plant near the city of Auckland, and its microbes have been happily churning out ethanol without the need for expensive pre-conditioning to remove contaminants.

LanzaTech has found that the same low-cost technology can be applied to biomass syngas, but the real excitement is in the success of this first-ever attempt to capture and convert steel mill waste gas into a clean, sustainable fuel.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/10/lanzatech-plants-new-zealand-flag-on-new-waste-gas-to-ethanol-process/feed/ Optimism In the Biofuels Industry: Dynamic Fuels Opens Commercial-Scale Biodiesel Plant http://gas2.org/2009/09/10/optimism-in-the-biofuels-industry-dynamic-fuels-opens-commercial-scale-biodiesel-plant/ http://gas2.org/2009/09/10/optimism-in-the-biofuels-industry-dynamic-fuels-opens-commercial-scale-biodiesel-plant/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:31:15 +0000 Tom Schueneman http://gas2.org/2009/09/10/optimism-in-the-biofuels-industry-dynamic-fuels-opens-commercial-scale-biodiesel-plant/

Syntroleum Corporation and Tyson Foods have partnered in a 50/50 venture called Dynamic Fuels to produce a new high-grade renewable diesel fuel. Using a proprietary Bio-Synfining process and a feedstock of animal fats, greases, and vegetable oils supplied from Tyson, Dynamic Fuels will produce diesel fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emission levels of any transportation fuel available today.

Last month Dynamic Fuel chose Emerson Process Management to provide the digital automation and process management systems to help operate a new $138 million renewable diesel facility in Geismar, Louisiana, the largest such plant in North America. Scheduled to begin operation in 2010, the plant will produce 75 million gallons per year of of the fuel.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/09/10/optimism-in-the-biofuels-industry-dynamic-fuels-opens-commercial-scale-biodiesel-plant/feed/ Alkol Says your Car Can Run on E85 in About an Hour http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/alkol-says-your-car-can-run-on-e85-in-about-an-hour/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/alkol-says-your-car-can-run-on-e85-in-about-an-hour/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:28:52 +0000 Jeff Kart http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/alkol-says-your-car-can-run-on-e85-in-about-an-hour/

Is Al Costa pulling our leg? The CEO of Delaware-based Alkol Inc. says he has a system that will convert your car to run on E85 in about an hour.

“Flexing” your vehicle with the Alkol conversion system will allow you to use one of those high-ethanol pumps, which contain a mix of 85 percent ethanol, as opposed to the normal 10 percent mix in conventional gasoline. You won’t need a brand new shiny vehicle with one of those “Flex Fuel” badges either.

How does it work? Does it work? Is it like one of those quick-fix radiator sealer bottles that high school kids used to pour into their old jalopies?

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/alkol-says-your-car-can-run-on-e85-in-about-an-hour/feed/ Sewage Biofuel Hits the Big Time with Waste Management Venture http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/sewage-biofuel-hits-the-big-time-with-waste-management-venture/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/sewage-biofuel-hits-the-big-time-with-waste-management-venture/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:44:49 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/sewage-biofuel-hits-the-big-time-with-waste-management-venture/

Terrabon LLC has developed a new process for converting wastewater into a feedstock for gasoline.

Industry juggernaut Waste Management is convinced there’s a future in sewage-to-biofuel, and to prove it the company has just joined with the largest refiner in the U.S., Valero Energy Corp., to blend wastewater “crude” into gasoline. The two companies have invested in Terrabon LLC, which was formed in the 1990’s to commercialize three technologies including a biofuel process called MixAlco. With a half-billion people (and counting) contributing to the feedstock in the U.S. alone, it looks like sewage could be the answer to the search for a truly sustainable biofuel.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/28/sewage-biofuel-hits-the-big-time-with-waste-management-venture/feed/ #1: Clean Energy Patents Hit Record High in the US http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:14:00 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/

The economy is down, but here is another sign that green technology may be the way out of our economic dilemma. US clean energy patents hit a record high last quarter.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/feed/ Watermelon Juice — Next Source of Renewable Energy http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/watermelon-juice-next-source-of-renewable-energy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/watermelon-juice-next-source-of-renewable-energy/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:49:28 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/watermelon-juice-next-source-of-renewable-energy/

Hundreds of thousands of tons of watermelons are tossed every year because they aren’t good enough for market. A new study finds that the juice from these watermelons could easily be used to create the biofuel ethanol and other helpful products.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/watermelon-juice-next-source-of-renewable-energy/feed/ Micromidas Sees Goldmine in Converting Wastewater to Bioplastic http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/24/micromidas-sees-goldmine-in-converting-wastewater-to-bioplastic/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/24/micromidas-sees-goldmine-in-converting-wastewater-to-bioplastic/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:52:58 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/24/micromidas-sees-goldmine-in-converting-wastewater-to-bioplastic/

Biodegradable plastic products could be made from wastewater instead of petroleum.

Midcromidas, Inc. has turned its green eye on wastewater, and it is seeing gold. The company has developed a strain of microbes that can convert the carbon in wastewater into PHA (polyhydroxylalkanoate), a high performance plastic. PHA biodegrades quickly in compost piles and landfills, but otherwise it behaves the same or better than conventional petroleum-based plastic. It resists water and odor permeation, and it holds up under high temperature and exposure to sun. As a sustainable alternative to petroleum as a plastics feedstock, wastewater could be setting the gold standard.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/24/micromidas-sees-goldmine-in-converting-wastewater-to-bioplastic/feed/ Greenbird Breaks Wind-Powered Car Land Speed Record http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/21/greenbird-breaks-wind-powered-car-land-speed-record/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/21/greenbird-breaks-wind-powered-car-land-speed-record/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:26:37 +0000 Moiz Kapadia http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/21/greenbird-breaks-wind-powered-car-land-speed-record/

The Greenbird broke the wind powered vehicle land speed record clocking in at 126.4 mph

Tested on the California/Nevada border, the Ecotricity Greenbird broke the land speed record for wind-powered vehicles. The Greenbird clocked in at a top speed of 126.4 mph and maintained a speed of 126.2 mph for three seconds. The previous record was 116mph.

The Greenbird is a collaboration between Ecotricity and engineer Richard Jenkins. Ecotricity is an independent green electricity company based in the UK founded and owned by entrepreneur Dale
Vince. Jenkins is the founder of the Windjet project and has a wide range of skills in engineering, design, piloting, and construction experience. Both sides are innovative, experienced, and have a passion for wind energy as a solution for transportation and utilities.

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