Developing Negative Carbon Gasoline with Cool Planet Biofuels

Biomass is being harnessed to produce biofuels
Source: Alice Birkin / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Cool Planet Biofuels will soon be testing their newly developed negative carbon gasoline on the streets of California. They say that they are able to produce a revolutionary fuel from biomass – woodchips, corncobs and grass. What’s more is that they can alter it to become a blendstock for current E-10 gasoline or even as a drop in fuel that entirely replaces the fossil fuels that run the vehicles that we have today.

Cool Planet Biofuels is backed up by companies such as GE, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy and BP – companies who can further assist with the development of their next generation negative carbon and cost competitive fuel.

Should they deliver what they are saying, dependence on fossil fuels will be lessened and atmospheric carbon dioxide target levels are more achievable.

For more information, you may visit www.coolplanetbiofuels.com.

Renewable Energy Surpasses Nuclear Power in Production and Consumption in the US

Solar Energy Generation
Source: Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Renewable Fuels are slowly inching their way as a viable energy source. Based from the recent Monthly Energy Review released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), they overtook nuclear energy in terms of aggregate production and consumption in the first nine months of 2011, taking a slump only in August and September.

While it is still a long way before renewable energy sources become our main energy source and the likelihood of replacing coal in generating electricity in the near future is dim, it is comforting to know that there are other possible alternatives to fossil fuels that we can tap in case the need arises. In addition, the feasibility of using renewable fuels for energy generation instead of nuclear energy is also shown by this circumstance.

This new development in energy use also addresses the matter that the energy used to power electric vehicles comes from non-environment friendly sources. Current electricity generation may not be green but having a cleaner source of energy is not far from reality.

The renewable sources of energy included in the EIA’s Monthly Energy Review for December 2011 are hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, wind, waste and ethanol.

For more information, you may visit www.eia.gov.

Fairfield, Texas - Green Energy Oilfield Services

In Fairfield, Texas - Green Energy Oilfield Services, a new Texas owned and operated company established in 2011, is holding a job fair on January 19, 2012 at the Fairfield Convention Center from 4:00PM until 8:00PM. Positions are open for drivers, mechanics, office managers and clerks.

For more information, you may visit http://greenenergyoilfieldservices.com.

Superior Township, Michigan - Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc.

In Superior Township, Michigan - Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. is investing $15 million in building a new Hot/Cold Weather Dynamometer Test facility. The facility will conduct Federal Test Procedures as well as tests on alternative fuel vehicles. They are planning to hire 50 additional employees.

For more information, you may visit http://hyundaiamerica.us.

Edwardsville, Illinois - Employment Expo: Metro East

In Edwardsville, Illinois – The Office of the Comptroller will hold the Employment Expo: Metro East, a job fair that will be participated in by more than 40 employers. In addition to the employment opportunities, there will also be trainings and workshops. It will be held from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Lewis & Clark Community College inside the N.O. Nelson Campus.

For more information, visit www.illinoiscomptroller.com.

BASF, Renmatix and Cheap Industrial Sugars

Hopefully even wood can be a viable
source of industrial sugar
Source: Jiri Hodan / www.publicdomainpictures.net

With the participation of BASF in Renmatix through a $30 million investment, we are keeping our hopes high that somebody, Renmatix in this case, will come up with ways to produce cheap and viable biofuels from wood chips and corn stovers. The biofuels industry, particularly in the US, is in need of innovative companies that can produce ethanol from sources that will not compete against food.

Although current known processes of extracting industrial sugar from cellulosic materials have been expensive, Renmatix claims that they have made breakthroughs in reducing the cost. Now, backed up by BASF, we are hoping that this is true and that Renmatix will soon be able to commercialize their process.

Renmatix is the proprietary of the Plantrose process, a two phase method of extracting sugar from cellulosic materials using supercritical water. For more information, you may visit http://renmatix.com.

A Bleak Look Into Our Climate's Future

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Schemes seem to be futile
Source: Petr Kratochvil / www.publicdomainpictures.net

Browsing the IEA website regarding the projections of coal use and carbon dioxide emissions, will give you an update of the worsening climate conditions that will soon follow. The projections through 2035 states that coal use as well as carbon dioxide emissions will continue to increase. What is alarming about these projections is that they were probably made while taking into consideration many factors such as international policies and advances in technology.

The recently held UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol along with their claimed future legally binding agreements lack the teeth to enforce the terms that will be agreed upon. India and China are still contending that their economic development should not be hampered by greenhouse gas reduction schemes unless other developed countries also abide by them. The United States, on the other hand, refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and lately, Canada withdrew from it.

What all of this will boil down to is that unless we can develop a clean alternative drop-in fuel that is cheaper than coal and oil, we may well be on our way past the 2°C ceiling on global warming. At present, fossil fuels are still the primary fuel for electricity production and transportation around the world. Finding a suitable substitute for it seems to be bleak. Anyone got an idea? You’re most welcome.