The energy giant BP and Martek Biosciences, a Maryland based company that uses micro algae to produce oil-based nutritional and dietary supplements, signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) earlier this month to produce microbial oils for biofuels applications.

Under this agreement, BP will provide the cash — up to $10 million for just the first phase — and Martek will provide the research expertise in algae fermentation technology. The idea is to develop a cost effective method of converting basic sugars derived from biomass into lipids, or microbial oils, with fermentation microorganisms. Chemical and thermocatalytic processes would then convert the oils into various types of biofuels.

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There is a LOT out there on the web regarding the proper blending of WVO, diesel, kerosene, etc. After several weeks of reading several hundred blogs and forum posts, here is what I’ve deduced: Nobody really knows.

And here’s what else I’ve deduced…it really doesn’t matter.  I’ve put every conceivable combination into my single-tank 240D. With the exception of a slight increase in power when using a higher ratio of dyno-diesel, there is no significant difference in performance or MPG.

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After years of development, the Washington-based company InnovaTek is testing a hand-sized microreactor that can convert virtually any liquid fuel into hydrogen, producing a portable hydrogen stream for use in adjoining fuel-cells.

Since the microreactor units can be linked together, InnovaTek has developed systems capable of producing anywhere from 1 to 160 gallons of hydrogen per minute—enough to supply a hydrogen refueling station or, even more exciting, creating on-board hydrogen for fuel-cell powered vehicles.

That’s InnovaTek’s eventual goal anyway: having their technology built into cars, where energy-dense renewable fuels could be converted into motion, bypassing combustion and the production of exhaust gases entirely, and powering a much more efficient engine. (Imagine for a moment, filling up on biodiesel and driving off to the exhaust-free hum of an electric motor.) InnovaTek plans on commercially licensing the microreactors by 2009.

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Fun fact: Timber Talk radio covers a population of 2,400,000 in three states.

We spoke for about 30 minutes on a range of topics, including the new renewable fuel standard, cellulosic ethanol and GM’s announcement, algae biodiesel, vegetable oil as a fuel, and so on.

Listen to the show here.

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Are biofuel mandates and tax credits such a good idea? It may be wise to learn from the EU’s experience…

After passage of the new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) late last year (see earlier post), which mandates production of 15 billion gallons of corn-grain ethanol by by 2015, many of us are left contemplating the vast implications for US industry, not to mention commodity prices, auto manufacturing, and the greater course of biofuel research and development.

Rewind to 2003, when the European Union (EU) passed a biofuel directive requiring 5.75% of transport energy to come from biofuels by 2010, increasing to 20% by 2020. When paired with tax credits for biodiesel production, business boomed, at least for a while:

Mirroring the U.S. experience with ethanol, European companies rushed to make biodiesel out of a range of things, including rapeseed crops and used McDonald’s frying oil. Low raw-material costs and generous tax breaks meant margins were high. By last year, Europe’s annual capacity to make the fuel had climbed to 10 million metric tons from two million tons in 2003.

As with ethanol in the U.S., though, Europe now has a glut of biodiesel. The world consumed only nine million tons of biodiesel last year. Europe’s producers found buyers for just five million tons. The industry is in trouble, under pressure from soaring costs, disappearing tax breaks, less-costly imports and waning public support.

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Outside of the juicy profits awaiting corporations like ADM thanks to the combination of U.S. farm subsidies and $60-plus-per-barrel sweet light crude, the ethanol frenzy offers more questions than answers. First, there is the questionable energy payback: some studies say ethanol yields more energy than it requires to produce ("The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update"), while others say it's a net negative energy source ("Ethanol Fuel from Corn Faulted as 'Unsustainable Subsidized Food Burning'").

There are other concerns as well: more fuel-crop fields mean fewer forests, grasslands and natural ecosystems, higher agricultural water demands, higher food-and feed-crop prices, and more intensive monocropping on already severely depleted soils. Too many questions, too few answers.

A more responsible approach would be to immediately start jacking up fuel-efficiency standards ("Fuel Economy: The Single Most Effective Step for Cutting Oil Dependence") while investing in serious R & D for all alternative fuels and energy sources. Of course, that approach isn't a gravy train for corporate share-holders, so I won't be holding my breath.

Dr. Andrew Weil, who has spent a lifetime instructing people on how to heal our bodies as naturally as possible, has taken on a new project. He's making his own biodiesel fuel in his Vail, AZ back yard.

In an Arizona Daily Star interview, written by staff reporter Carla Mc Clain, Dr. Weil has turned his garage into what he calls his "Bio-Depot", turning out 75-cent per gallon diesel fuel which runs several of his ranch vehicles. The feed stock is nothing more than vegetable oil collected from various Tucson eateries.

According to Weil, "I've always written and taught that it's very difficult to be healthy in an unhealthy world. … We have to be very immediately concerned about finding solutions for the toxic effects the combustion engine has on human health." He said what we all know, that biodiesel fuel burns cleaner, emits far fewer toxic compounds into the air, and decreases ozone and smog.

At first, Dr. Weil scoffed at the idea of using vegetable oil to run his vehicles, but after the 9/11 attack and the Middle East oil crisis worsened, he realized it was time to do something to ease our dependence on foreign oil. Weil, with his X-9 Ranch neighbor, Andre' Fasciola purchased some diesel operated vechiles, then installed a small scale bio-processor called the Bio-Pro and began making their own fuel.

Fasciola, according to the article, plans to expand the operation and set up a cooperative. Members would pay an annual fee and volunteer to pick up the used oil and pump the diesel when necessary. There are, according to the article, several bio-diesel co-ops operating in the Tucson area.

Arizona Daily Star