I’ve been watching (but not participating) in the initial public offering of Solazyme (SZYM), one of the first algae based biofuel companies to come to the market. Although they haven’t been trading for much more than an hour, the price well well above their $10 target and $19.70 open. As I post this over my […]
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about biodiesel … perhaps because I’m not driving a diesel vehicle at the moment. Nevertheless, the promise of “growing fuel” is better then ever considering the panic we find ourselves in over the high price of fuel. Currently I’m seeing regular unleaded gasoline at $3.80/gallon and a […]
The US military continues to move forward with renewable alternatives to petroleum. The latest being the a 49-foot naval gunboat testing a algae-based biodiesel in Norfolk, Virginia. (See Green Investing article from Green Chip Stocks) Algae Biodiesel Filling U.S. Naval Tanks Last week, a 49-foot naval gunboat was the first to test-drive algae-based fuel as […]
For alternatives to petroleum, the hype has recently been about EVs and almost all auto makers are rolling out their electric vehicles, yet for most American automotive owners they are far from practical considering the miles of highway and distances we travel. For that, efficient clean diesels running biodiesel makes a lot of sense … […]
The Discovery Channel is active in reviewing science research in alternative energy and can usually dice apart the ‘self-promotion’ of company researcher as well as combat the establish energy industry’s lobby efforts. One industry that I advocate is ‘algae to biofuel fuel’ research. The benefit in using algae as a feedstock for biofuels is that […]
An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal highlighted algae based biodiesel as one of the “Five Technologies That Change Everything” recognizing that a new generation of biofuel made from nonfood crops is one of the more promising sources of energy. Snippet from WSJ Article: Researchers are devising ways to turn lumber and crop wastes, garbage […]
I’d be all set if I only knew a bit more about algae based fuels — like biodiesel make from algae! (mentioned many times before) Here in southwest Ohio I’ve seen more than one pond or small lake showing signs of spring; it the algae bloom season. The heavy algae growth come a bit before […]
I’ve posted a few times before about different renewable oil crops used produce biofuels and have concluded that the most promising is algae grown to product biodiesel. (here’s an excellent PDF document) The desert cement pond approach has been my thinking all along, although several innovative companies are working on even better ideas. The efficiency […]
LiveFuels Inc. is an alliance of scientists expecting to make algae ‘biocrude’ a viable biodiesel oil source by 2010. They believe if the Manhattan Project took only 3 years that their project can be done in 4 years. The alliance is being lead by Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy Nation Laboratory and […]
Its nice to see the next generation of our nations’ students focused on science and research … and this looks to be the case for two high school students, Holly Jacobson and Tessa Churchill, from Cumberland, Maine. According to an article in the Portland Press Herald, the 17 and 18 year seniors have been invited […]
The publicity around Ford’s new “bucking” Bronco for 2021 had me thinking about cars this week … as well as seeing a post from 12 years ago highlighting 100,000 odometer reading on Katelyn’s first car. Bronco aside, a few of my favorite vehicles are running through my head, but have a special soft spot my […]
It has been a shockingly mild winter, at least in Cincinnati this year. Generally I don’t put the snow blower on the John Deere 330 tractor until it is needed, yet this year I prepared early … and may have frightened the snow away? Having a winter without much snow is not totally unheard of, […]
As a conservation minded “conservative” and as someone who has always balanced the cost vs benefits of decisions, I once thought “recycling” was as simple as “not littering” and cleaning up pollution highlighted by the 1971 ad campaign (Iron Eyes Cody photo above). From an early age we were bombarded by pointing out how careless […]
After watching a short YouTube video of the Coquina Clam emerging from the “swash zone” on a beach after a wave retreated, I thought a short animated gif would make a great winter filler post for the blog. The coquina clam (Donax variabilis) is a common inhabitant of Florida’s sandy beaches. Known for their highly variable […]
It’s the holy grail in energy production: produce a fuel that is both carbon neutral and can be poured directly into our current cars without the need to retrofit. There are scores of companies out there trying to do just that using vegetable oil, algae, and even the microbes found in panda poop to turn […]
While walking out to the boat in the evening, I glanced down to see an odd looking object floating and then sinking in the water next to the dock. Sure enough a quick LED light from the iPhone illuminated the Manatee “sleeping” just beneath the water. The purpose of this trip was primarily to meet […]
After our 16 hour drive on Wednesday from Cincinnati to Florida, Brenda and I were welcomed by our liveaboard friends Mark and Dar with a cold drink. They had already turn on our refrigeration making it convenient to repack a few items from our cooler box into the galley. I sure appreciate them keeping an […]
A friend shared a video a YouTuber, Amy Siewe, collecting Northern Water Snakes a couple years ago and he asked me if we were concerned about snakes crawling aboard when we sailed on Lake Erie … my answer was “no, we never even though about it.” It is interesting to see the perception people have […]
It has been a few years since the automatic update from WordPress.org failed on my server … and only after the fact did I regret not doing a full backup prior to attempting the update (really, I’m posting just to see that all is working after the upgrade). After downloading the new install files and […]
My kids roll their eyes when I strike up offhanded conversations with strangers in parking lots, gas stations, etc. Take Friday for instance, I saw a guy get out of his new Passat TDI and glanced over to ask how he liked his new diesel. He grinned and exclaimed, “I’m getting 47 mpg!” which I […]
I’m an advocate for using recycled cooking oil and non-feedstocks (and surplus soybean, etc.) to produce biodiesel fuels and am particularly fond of algae based biodiesel fuels as an entirely new renewable industry. It is one that can create tens of thousands of jobs as well as utilize our desert areas in this country for […]
It’s easy for someone like me with a fiscally and socially conservative ideology to disagree with President Obama and his expansion of government. I disagree with his irresponsible deficit spending, his liberal social philosophies and adding new entitlements. As he approaches re-election he has also returned to blaming someone else for problems, even after 3+ […]
When oil prices doubled not too long ago, many along with our government saw expanding clean, renewable and domestic biofuels as one component that could help our nation become more self sufficient. Just as many pointed out that an agricultural based source would not provide real solutions to the problem in part due to the […]
According to Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Salisbury, the biofuel company Ag-Oil is planning to build a biodiesel production facility in the Agricultrual Reserve west of Delray Beach Florida. (MP3 Audio — really just testing for my Palm Pre) The facility has the potential to produce 15 million gallons of biodiesel each year from jatropha, […]
For those that appreciate engineering and diesel automotive history, today was the day in 1893 that Rudolf Diesel was granted a German patent for his diesel engine design. Rather than burning gasoline in a cylinder with spark ignition, the diesel engine uses ‘fuel oil’ (or vegetable oil — peanut oil in Rudolf Diesel’s case) using […]
The US military’s DARPA research agency is sponsoring research under the Biofuels-Cellulosic and Algal Feedstock program. Its goal is to develop the technical capability and commercial experience to produce an affordable JP-8 surrogate fuel from algae, in order to create a wider range of options if some of the US Army’s Corps of Engineers’ predictions […]
An analysis article written my Timothy Gardner and published in Reuters summarizes the challenges of running a biodiesel business. Although fuel prices have risen significantly and demand for alternative have tripled sales of biodiesel to 250 million gallons last year, the oil feed crops have risen as well. Soyoil, the primary oil feed crop in […]
I liked Megan Murphy’s post over on the Renewable Energy Access site enough that I didn’t want it to get lost … so I’m archiving it here for reference. An algae biodiesel article is in the works and I’ll keep my eye open for it. May 8, 2007 How Does Biodiesel Affect U.S Energy Consumption? […]
By now anyone following world news knows that President Bush took a six day trip to South America talking with the leaders of countries like Brazil and Uruguay. (link) The primary purpose seemed to be a U.S.-Brazil ‘pact’ that calls for studies in regard to ethanol production and use in Latin America. This agreement puts […]
I filled up this morning at a Sunoco station in central Ohio that offers clean alternate fuel to travelers on Interstate I-71 between Columbus and Cleveland. This station, as of September 2006, offers corn-based ethanol – E85 – and soy-based Biodiesel in three blends: B2 (2%), B5 (5%) and B20 (20%). Pricing is competitive with […]
The biodiesel industry and supporters are making ground in getting manufactures to support biodiesel in their engines. Although most already approve the use of B5 (5% biodiesel), DaimlerChrysler has issued a press release that will expand this to B20 (20% biodiesel) in their Cummins diesel powered Dodge Ram pickup truck. It is good to see […]
As noted in the journal Nature, Japanese scientists may have found a cheaper and more efficient way to produce “biodiesel.” This breakthrough could reduce the cost and improve the efficiency just as the demand for the cleaner, greener fuel is increasing. Any vegetable oil can become fuel, whether as ethanol or biodiesel, but for the […]
A discussion about petroleum and how to encourage the US toward alternative energy revisited a group I belong to today, so I’ll include part of my post below. First … B2, B5, B10, B15 and the quazi-standard B20 are all within the realm of possibilities when incentives are in place, prices are high and the […]
With crude oil once again closing above $55.00/barrel and the potential for gasoline to rise closers to $3.00/ gallon, the pressure is being felt by congress to actually get an energy bill passed and sent to President Bush. An article in today’s WSJ (subscription required) details some fo the components that have derailed the the […]