Biofuels
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The U.S. is sitting on top of a fuel goldmine, it seems. Not shale gas or crude oil, but fresh water and suitable land to produce 25 billion gallons of algae-based biofuel--a month's worth of the country's fuel needs each year. The discovery comes from the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which looked in-depth at the water resources needed to produce suitable amounts of algae for the production of biofuels. Algae grows best in areas of plenty of sunlight and water. To provide the stable conditions allowing the algae to grow best, warm weather and a...
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Biofuel From Bacteria Perfectly Mimics Hydrocarbon Fuel (In The Lab)
There are many reasons for wanting to wean ourselves off oil, but environmental issues and measuring out dwindling resources are two fairly significant ones. The trouble is, oil is incredibly convenient. It's energy dense and in cars, we can replenish it in minutes. So how do you take those...
Antony Ingram -
Biofuel From CO2: Too Good To Be True?
We currently have two main issues in our transport future. The first is cutting down on fossil fuel use, ensuring our finite supplies can be used for longer than our current consumption levels would account for. The second is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helping prevent runaway climate...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Biofuels & Ethanol Mandate: More Vulnerable Than Ever Now?
Since 2007, U.S. fuel producers have been required by law to include more and more ethanol and other biofuels in their blends. Now, Pike Research suggests, the biofuels mandate enacted as part of the 2007 U.S. Energy Act may be vulnerable to renewed political pressure. Pike notes that the drawbacks...
John Voelcker -
Air Travel Gets Greener: Biofuel Route Opens Between NYC & Netherlands
Air travel is currently the only realistic way of covering huge distances in very short spaces of time. Unfortunately, it's not a particularly green way of doing so either--airliners use large quantities of fossil fuels and emit plenty of pollutants as they whizz you to a far-flung destination...
Antony Ingram -
Diesel Fuel Derived From Algae Now Testing In 2 VW TDI Models
For a century, we've gotten almost all our gasoline and diesel fuel from petrochemicals. Now Silicon Valley startup Solazyme [NSDQ:SZYM] is testing diesel fuel derived from refining renewable oils--produced by specialized algae--in two Volkswagen turbodiesel models. Since July 2012, the VW Passat...
John Voelcker -
There are many facets to green motoring, but for some the prospect of buying a new hybrid or electric car is neither realistic nor desirable. For these people, biofuels may be an option, particularly those recycled from other products. Biodiesel made from used cooking oils is one such fuel, and is becoming a popular option for those with access to large quantities of cooking oil. On a large scale, it even powers large portions of McDonalds' delivery trucks. With the right tools though, you can make it in your garage. Biobot, a UK company, sells just such a tool for converting waste oil into...
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Classic Green Biodiesel Benz With Racing Pedigree For Sale
Just because a car is old, or because it races, it doesn't mean it can't be green. Mercedes-Benz has been building diesel cars for what seems like an eternity--indeed, they were one of the first to produce a diesel production car. One such example is this 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190d that just sold on...
Antony Ingram -
EPA Quota For Cellulosic Fuels Tossed Out By Court As 'Wish'
Whatever the merits of ethanol as a fuel or a gasoline additive--and it's taken some hits lately--it's still in the running. The same cannot be said, however, for cellulosic biofuels, those derived from advanced crops or waste products. On Friday, a Federal appeals court ruled that an EPA mandate...
John Voelcker -
McDonald's Trucks Travel Greener On Recycled Frier Oil
The United Arab Emirates isn't known for its aversion to fossil fuels. The country has made its money from the stuff, and rapidly expanded in the last four decades into the vastly wealthy, oil-rich nation it is today. Yet as of December last year, McDonalds delivery trucks in the country have...
Antony Ingram -
DoE Increases Biofuel From Biomass Funding By $10M
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has announced it will put up another $10 million in funding towards the expansion of biofuels. It's the second positive announcement in recent weeks for biofuel advocates, as the Senate's "fiscal cliff" avoidance measures have also seen many biofuel initiatives...
Antony Ingram -
Green Energy Wins In Last-Minute U.S. 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill
It wasn't until 2 am yesterday morning that the U.S. Senate voted 89 to 8 to approve a bill to avert the "fiscal cliff" that took effect on New Year's Day. The House of Representatives then took an entire day of political wrangling before voting 257-167 to approve the Senate bill late yesterday...
John Voelcker -
There's a lot of talk nowadays about renewable energy and energy independence. One product of such chatter is a new blend of gasoline called E15, but not everyone is happy to see it coming down the pipeline. Ethanol is a common additive in gasoline, thanks in large part to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (PDF). Today, it's found primarily in two fuel forms: gasoline blends of up to 10% ethanol (known as E10), which can be used in most modern vehicles, and E85, which is 85% ethanol and can be used only in specially designated cars and trucks. The Energy Independence and...
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Scientists Convert Algae To Crude Oil In 60 Seconds
Crude oil, from which all fossil fuels are made, is a dwindling resource. There will come a point, some time in the future, where the expense of extracting it from deep under the ground becomes too great for the return on investment. While one solution is to wean ourselves off fossil fuels...
Antony Ingram -
Renewable Diesel Fuel Shines, Production Surges
Alternative fuels have recently suffered at the hands of the current Renewable Fuel Standard, a set of guidelines that dictate various aspects of alt fuels. Combined with droughts and political factors, the industry has had it tough recently--but renewable diesel is on track to change the...
Antony Ingram -
Yes, There IS A Veggie-Oil-Fueled Diesel Corvette--For Sale
Of all the Chevrolet models, the Corvette sports car may be the one least likely to be considered green. Indeed, the world rocked on its axis when the lead engineer said two years ago that, one day, there might be a Corvette Hybrid. But considerably sooner than that, you can have your very own...
John Voelcker -
Big Food Steps Up Fight Against Ethanol Mandate (Infographic)
Ethanol continues to be a political football, with the alcohol fuel coming under fire from the auto industry, environmental pressure groups, and others. The latest to line up against the corn-based fuel is a coalition of industrialized livestock and poultry producers that might collectively be...
John Voelcker -
Will U.S. Military's Biofuels Efforts Lose Funding In New Defense Bill?
Politics is never pretty, and the politics of alternative fuels seem even less so. Today, The Detroit News reports that the U.S. military's program to reduce its reliance on oil by using ethanol and other non-petroleum fuels could be de-funded in the military authorization bill that's now working...
John Voelcker -
Ethanol has been problematic for several years now. Promoted as a way for the U.S. to grow its own vehicle fuel, the alcohol was so popular several years ago that Congress passed a Federal Renewable Fuels Standard as part of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Now Hart Energy has issued a study saying there is no viable way U.S. fuel producers can comply with the mandates. Hart expects the law to be changed within a few years. The 2007 regulations require 36 billion gallons of ethanol to be included in U.S. vehicle fuel by 2022--a volume more than three times the 11.1 billion...
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NASA Ready To Show Off Algae Biofuel Research Project
NASA has developed a system that captures carbon dioxide and helps to prevent pollution from wastewater while creating renewable algae biofuel, fertilizer and possibly animal feed, too. NASA calls its system OMEGA, for Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae, self-contained bags of...
Talking Points Memo -
EBay Goes Green, Launches Green Driving eBay Motors Spinoff
Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a used car, the place to start your search was the local used car dealer or newspaper listings. Over the past decade however, searching for a used car has become a lot easier thanks to Internet auction site eBay and its eBay Motors listings. Listing everything...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Sapphire Energy Gets $144 Million To Turn Algae Into Gasoline
Sapphire Energy, a company that creates algae-based fuel, just announced a whopping $144 million in funding. In recent years several startups have emerged to create fuel out of plant material, all hoping to lure people away from gasoline made from crude oil. Solazyme, Algae.tec, and Sapphire Energy...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Big Ships To Use Biofuels To Cut Emissions, Spill Risks--Eventually
Progress comes slowly to the world of commercial shipping, but it is coming. Three years ago, we noted that one giant cargo ship emits as much as 50 million cars. Now, shipping lines are starting to experiment with biofuels, which offer several advantages: They contain no sulfur or so-called...
John Voelcker -
Food Or Fuel? Researchers Critical Of Biofuel Targets
On the face of it, biofuels seem like an ideal short to medium-term solution for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. After all, they could not only be grown at home--reducing dependence on foreign oil--but growing crops is also a renewable process, and net CO2 emissions are lower than burning...
Antony Ingram