oilgae: November 2006

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Jatropha using Mycorrhizae Fungi for Biodiesel Production?

Came across this rather intriguing tidbit while reading an Indian article on India's biodiesel, biofuel scenario. (full article here)

The portion of the article that attracted my interest states:
"
It is understood that TERI has achieved a "technological breakthrough by mass cultivation of a consortium of mycorrhizae" and 60,000 plants of jatropha using mycorrhizae have been established across the country.
"

Mycorrhizae are a type of fungi. I'm yet to figure out how exactly the fungi helped in the production of biodiesel, but will hopefully dig up soon and update this brief note.

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae provides links, directory, web links resources for algae-based biofuels & biodiesel. Intended to be useful for research, information, inputs, news for buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, suppliers, producers, exporters / importers of algal oil and algal fuels. Will provide info on biofuel feedstock, algal feedstocks, algae oil and link details on fuel from algae, bio-fuel, bio-diesel, algal oils & bio-fuels production and uses, biofuels trade & market resources, price data, statistics, prices, demand-supply for buyer, seller, manufacturer, trader, supplier, exporter and producer

The Truth about Hydrogen as a Renewable Energy Fuel

The Truth about Hydrogen as a Renewable Energy Fuel

One keeps hearing about how hydrogen will power our cars in the near future. But the truth is, the scientific community is far from convinced that we have a way of efficiently utilising hydrogen as a fuel, and specially as a transportation fuel.

Read this detailed article to know why.

The Truth about Hydrogen @ Popular Mechanics

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

BES Low Cloud Point Biodiesel Made from Palm Oil

La Fabril S.A. and Biodiesel Energy Systems Announce Cold Flo Biodiesel, a Sub-Zero Celsius Biodiesel Made from Palm Oil. La Fabril and Its Marketing Partner Make This Their Premier Product for the United States and the European Union

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--La Fabril, one of the largest producers of biodiesel from Palm Oil in the world and currently the largest exporter of biodiesel into the United States, announced today that it is commercially producing a biodiesel product made from Palm Oil that has a sub-zero Celsius cloud point. Palm Oil has been widely recognized as being the premier feedstock for making biodiesel. The only negative that has been attributed to biodiesel made from Palm Oil has been its relatively high cloud point. The new “Cold Flo Biodiesel” erases the negative. The product is not an additive but a biodiesel fuel that meets ASTM 6751 in the U.S. and EN 14214 in the European Union. The cloud point (the point at which liquid starts to gel) of the palm biodiesel produced by La Fabril and others to date has typically been above 13º Celsius. The “Cold Flo Biodiesel” has consistently been tested to -3° Celsius, and is being sold with a guarantee of 0° Celsius.

The biodiesel will be marketed by Biodiesel Energy Systems, Inc., La Fabril’s marketing partner for the United States and Europe. It will be sold to a variety of customers that will put it into transportation, marine, heating oil and power generation applications.

Full press release here

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

Researchers Superheat Energy Sources for Syngas

Researchers superheat energy sources

Came across this article in Science Daily; excerpts:

1. University of Minnesota scientists have developed a process that "cooks" matter such as oil and sugar into a mixture called synthesis gas.

2. The superheating process works 10 times to 100 times faster than current technology and doesn't need fossil fuels.

3. This could pave the way for cheap, worthless biomass to be transformed into useful fuels.

4. The new process skips the biodiesel step (and hence does not require menthol), turning soy oil right into hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases.

5. The secret is an ultra fast flash vaporization used to heat the mass

Read the complete article here

Personalities mentioned: Lanny Schmidt, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the university's Minneapolis campus

Update: Came across a news item in Scientific American on the same topic: This is the intro provided by SciAm:
"Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new, carbon-neutral way to convert vegetable-based fuels to syngas, a breakthrough that could allow producers to power hydrogen fuel cells or create a replacement for America's dwindling supplies of natural gas, all without relying on fossil fuels." Read the full Sci Am article here

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

George Monbiot Take on Biodiesel Disadvantanges, Problems

George Monbiot Take on Biodiesel Disadvantanges, Problems

I'm sure you have heard of George Monbiot and I'm equally sure you have read his watershed piece on why does not think biofuels will make the cut.

But it never hurts to read a useful piece like that again.

I chanced upon his article again, this time in a Spanish daily, and here is the link for you to read it again

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

Students take algae-to-biofuel project to MIT

Students take algae-to-biofuel project to MIT

By J.T. LEONARD, Staff Writer, Maine Today

Saturday, November 4, 2006

An example of how the energy crisis has made even the youngsters and teenagers alert to the problem is exhibited by two bright school girls who have started working on the algae-to-oil project.

Excerpts:

1. Tessa Churchill and Holly Jacobson, two high school seniors (Cumberland, Maine) started doing some research on oil derived from algae a couple of years ago. And recently, they were at MIT to show the panel of judges at a competition their results.

2. The project got its start two years ago when Jacobson and Churchill began examining natural oils stored in fatty acids (lipids). Recently, they identified a strain of algae that produces more oil for a given mass. (I wish I knew what that strain was)

3. "It started as a project in a science research course. Holly actually had the idea and about a month later we kind of turned into a team," Churchill said. "It definitely had to do with the oil crisis and everybody talking about finding some other substitute for fossil fuels, so we started researching algae. It grows very rapidly, and it grows in environments that won't support other food stocks so space wouldn't be taken up that could be used for growing food."

Sure, these girls have not doing something breakthrough (not yet), but it is extremely encouraging to see youngsters take up energy research at an age when most of their co-students are probably at a disco.

One wonders whether the big biodiesel breakthroughs are gonna come from the MITs or from the schools!

Read the full article from here.

See also: Oilgae Blog Article Directory for a complete listing of all Oilgae blog posts - covering news, research and updates on biodiesel from algae & other plant feedstock, ethanol, and other renewable energy such as wind energy, hydrogen, hydro-energy, tidal/wave energy, geothermal, solar energy & nuclear energy

Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae
Oilgae Blog
algOS - Biodiesel from Algae Open Source

oilgae