Seaweed to Biofuel: 6 (!) Harvests per Year !

The Earth is a biological planet. For that reason, the best way to make any chemical -- including fuels -- will be to use a biological approach. Large areas of the land surface can be used which are not suitable for growing food. But even more, the ocean itself can be used to grow abundant biomass for making chemicals and fuel. And the ocean can produce an abundant harvest indeed.

Now a group at the Korea Institute of Technology in South Korea has developed a way to use marine algae, or seaweed, to produce bioethanol and avoid taking up land altogether.

The group says seaweed has a number of advantages over land-based biomass. It grows much faster, allowing up to six harvests per year; unlike trees and plants, it does not contain lignin and so requires no pre-treatment before it can be turned into fuel; and it absorbs up to seven times as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as wood.

The group's patent suggests treating all sizes of algae - from large kelp to single-celled spirulina - with an enzyme to break them into simple sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol.

The resulting seaweed biofuel is cheaper and simpler to produce than crop or wood-based fuels, and will have no effect on the price of food, says the group. _NS

Of course you can make other fuels such as butanol, jet fuel, diesel, gasoline . . . . All you need is the right catalysts and either a gasification plant or a pyrolysis plant (or both). You can make plastics, solvents, or program the algae to make valuable pharmaceuticals or other commercial products.

The only thing that threatens the human enterprise on this planet is bad leadership, and unfortunately we have a bumper crop of that.

Coal: From 49% to 47% US Power Generation Over the Next 20 Years

Currently, coal-fired plants produce just under 50 percent of America's electricity. Renewables, other than hydroelectric, produce 3.4 percent of our electric power. _ Reason

Yes, that's right. In the US coal's share of power generation will drop a whopping 2% over the next 20 years, according to the EIA. The alternative to coal is an energy starvation that the US economy would never recover from.

In early 2008, Obama told the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle, "If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

Coal is cheap, but CCS (carbon sequestration) is not. Currently, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates suggest that the cost of electricity from new coal plants designed for CCS will be 40-80 percent higher than from conventional coal-fired electric power plants. It's not just the extra capital costs, but also the additional 30 percent of energy it takes to capture, compress, and transport the carbon dioxide emissions. EPRI analysts believe that it might be possible to cut the energy penalty from 30 percent to 15 percent eventually. _Reason

As you know if you are an AFE reader, IGCC is a highly efficient form of utilising coal for power generation. Coal is gasified to syngas, syngas is fired in a gas turbine, and the resultant heat boils steam for a steam turbine. The CCS is an add-on carbon sequestration step to satisfy the carbon hysterics who are taking over the asylum. CCS takes away much of the efficiency of IGCC. Go figure.

The good thing about carbon sequestration is that CO2 can be used to feed algae for biofuels and other valuable processes. So eventually, the insanity can be put to good use.

Personal Fuel Cells from Nippon Oil Corp

In Japan, various corporations have been experimenting with supplying homes with their own fuel cells for CHP, combined provision of power, heat, and hot water. These projects are likely to be emulated in other parts of the world, as the bugs are worked out, and as new technology comes online that is better adapted to home use.

Nippon Oil Corp. will begin full-scale sales of home-use fuel cell systems in the year ending March 31, 2010 by creating a nationwide dealership network comprising 100 or so liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene sales agents. The company is targeting sales of 10,000 units in fiscal 2010.

Switching to fuel cells reduces carbon dioxide emissions from homes by 30-40%, and the Japanese government is expected to start subsidizing fuel cell installations in fiscal 2009 as a measure for reducing Japan’s global warming gas emissions.

Nippon Oil’s fuel cell production joint venture with Sanyo Electric Co. is slated to start mass-production in April. By fiscal 2015, the company hopes to lower the price of its household fuel cell systems to around 500,000 yen [US$5,500] and bolster their sales to 40,000 units a year.

Idemitsu Kosan Co., in partnership with Toshiba, is also developing home-use fuel cell systems. _Fuelcellsworks

Notice that these fuel cells were designed to run on natural gas or kerosene. Hydrogen is a cleaner fuel for such purposes but the infrastructure for hydrogen distribution and home use is not in place. Trying to adapt hydrogen fuel cells for homes will be easier than for automobiles, however.

The CHP aspect of fuel cells is a good match for home use, particularly in colder climates. But even in warm climates, hot water is always needed, and more creative uses of waste heat are being devised all the time.

Wind Kite Power, Hot Air Balloon Power, More

This Rotokite wind generator is an interesting variation on the wind power theme. It has much in common with this new hot air balloon power generating scheme. Both methods utilise natural forces to provide a slow cyclic up and down movement over significant distances, like two stroke engines with a very long stroke.

The sun only provides about 6 hours of useful energy per day, and the wind is quite unpredictable. The best way to make use of solar and wind currently, is by either grid intertie or off-grid, on a small to medium scale. For grid intertie, you will need to negotiate with the utility. For off-grid, you will need your own method of power storage, for sunless, windless periods of time. Off-grid applications will need to be extremely energy efficient, preferably making maximum use of passive solar design and insulation. Power use and state of energy storage will need to be metered in real time, to prevent excessive depletion of power storage. A lot of trouble, sure. But for some it is worth it.

For large scale "modern" society, attached to utility power, the choices are clear: increase power generation and upgrade the transmission networks. Failure to do either or both will result in energy starvation and increasingly serious power failures on a wide scale. Addicted to power, modern societies will not function well without plentiful power supplies.

We understand that the narcissist-elect is inexperienced, unqualified, and incompetent. But is he completely unintelligent, so unintelligent as to be unaware of the problem? Is he as stupid as Boxer and Pelosi? We will soon see.

Gasifier Equipped Honda Runs on Syngas

For more information, go to AllPowerLabs. They can get you started building gasifier kits of your own.

A Million Ways to Get Rich Here Are Two:

Free market economies offer abundant opportunities for personal advancement and enrichment. Within the bio-energy field, two ways of making it big include producing the bio-energy yourself, or facilitating the production of bio-energy by someone else.

NextStep Biofuels Inc. plans to get wealthy via the production of cellulosic ethanol from tree-based waste products.

OMAHA, Neb. - NextStep Biofuels, Inc., an Omaha-based cellulosic ethanol development company, has signed a 20-year feedstock procurement contract with Arkansas-based wood processing giant The Price Companies.

The contract calls for The Price Companies to supply NextStep annually with up to 500,000 tons of woodchips, bark, pulpwood and other tree-based waste products for conversion into cellulosic ethanol.

“There are three key pieces to the cellulosic puzzle: technology, feedstocks and operations,” explains NextStep President Kevin Dretzka. “There are a lot of sharp companies out there with viable cellulosic technologies, but that doesn’t mean they know how to secure price-stable access to feedstocks, identify and permit sites in strategic locations or cost-effectively build and operate bio-refineries.” _Bioenergy

In the example above, The Price Companies plan to acquire more wealth by supplying NextStep with ample feedstock to meet production goals.

Two companies that plan to act as technology facilitators for bio-energy producers are Promethegen and Proteus. Promethegen specialises in advanced microbe technology for converting biomass feedstock to fuel.

Promethegen’s approach includes using genetically altered microbes that enhance the biomass fermentation-to-fuel process. The targeted biomass can be composed of a wide variety of organic matter, such as sugar cane or corn, cellulose or wood waste.

The company’s offering will include both the microbe technology and processes connected with the conversion, said Johnsen. It will be easier to sell Promethegen’s highly productive microbes and process improvements to the existing ethanol and biodiesel production plants instead of trying to build its own facilities, said Johnsen. _Bioenergy

Proteus is a biotech company specialising in producing valuable proteins and enzymes. It plans to team with Syngenta to produce special enzymes for next generation biofuels production.

Protéus is a worldwide recognized biotechnology company which focuses on the discovery, engineering and manufacturing of proteins of industrial interest, and on the development of innovative protein-based bioprocesses. The efficiency of Proteus' technology platform has been demonstrated by the successful track record of the company in the life sciences industry, including healthcare, chemistry (fine or specialty chemicals), environment and bioenergy.

Protéus reinforces the competitive edge of its clients by providing them new industrial solutions and new industrial property rights. The comprehensive offering of Protéus includes industrial manufacturing capabilities to accelerate the development, the industrialization and the time-to-market of its clients' new products.

In order to fulfill this mission, Protéus possesses unique proprietary technologies including an exclusive biodiversity (source of new genes), protein engineering tools (for the delivery of bespoke enzymes for industrial application) and a protein manufacturing platform, allowing use of proteins as new industrial biocatalysts.

_Bioenergy

So you see that some companies make the end product, and a host of other companies act as facilitators for the "producer." This type of relationship works all the way down the line in a market economy, as the facilitators are themselves "producers" who utilise facilitating companies themselves.

It is important to teach children such market relationships as they grow older -- particularly children who display an interest or aptitude in business or entrepreneurship.

In socialist societies, the best way to achieve financial security is by working one's way up the bureaucracy to a nice sinecured position. Maximum security, minimum risk. Of course, in a socialist society a lot of other things are minimised -- desirable things.

Obama brings greatly expanded socialism to the US. This will reduce the type of widespread innovation and risk taking that causes market economies to be so dynamic and unpredictable. The country will suffer and the world will suffer. But who will ever know? (what might have been)

Biomass to Chemicals Too Valuable to Burn?

Butanol is one form of bio-chemical that is currently too valuable to burn. It cannot compete with gasoline at the pump, but bio-butanol will easily compete with petro-butanol in the chemicals market. Brian Westenhaus describes how new organisms for fermenting butanol from biomass are opening the door to a bio-butanol boom in the chemicals trade.

Currently butanol is much more costly than gasoline. With attributes like clean burning, high energy density, and good prospects for bio sources, bio butanol could well find a market to displace or substitute for gasoline. There remain several unanswered problems, like the low concentration of butanol poisoning microorganisms, separation issues and other process matters.

In any case, what the paper makes clear is that the possible range of biomass to butanol has grown and the organism can produce to higher concentrations – both worthwhile results. Butanol is in fairness dozens of centuries behind ethanol and methanol in its development. The small carbon molecules are easier to make and do offer more hydrogen available if the market goes to fuel cells.

But for internal combustion, chemistry and industry butanol is a top target, the current best use if it can be made to market scales in the tens of millions of gallons per year. _NewEnergyandFuel

More on butanol here.

In Quebec, Enerkem is preparing to produce bio-ethanol and bio-methanol from cellulosic feedstocks at its new gasification plus catalysis plant. Gasification plants can also easily feed more advanced catalytic synthesis processes to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other chemicals. Such biofuel plants can get an early start producing ethanol, then convert to more sophisticated processes as they gain experience.

One place that more sophisticated catalysts for thermochemical conversion of biamoss are being developed, is at the Oklahoma University Chemical Engineering Dept. OU chemical engineers are working to make the pyrolysis oil to biofuel conversion more economical. Pyrolysis to biofuels cannot compete with current prices for petroleum, but prices will certainly rise within the next 5 to 10 years. And perhaps engineers can develop chemicals from pyrolysis oils that are more valuable than fuel -- too valuable to burn. These products may finance production while the cheaper petroleum is being used up.

What Would You Do With 49,000 Horses?

American Superconductor and Northrop Grumman have successfully tested a 49,000 hp (36.5 MW) superconducting electric motor at full power. The motor is built for naval ship propulsion, powered by a nuclear reactor capable of providing 36.5 MW of power. Don't try this at home, the cost of feed for 49,000 horses alone will bankrupt you.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today at the Surface Navy Association’s 21st National Symposium the successful completion of full-power testing of the world’s first 36.5 megawatt (49,000 horsepower) high temperature superconductor (HTS) ship propulsion motor at the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Power System Land-Based Test Site in Philadelphia. This is the first successful full-power test of an electric propulsion motor sized for a large Navy combatant and, at 36.5 megawatts, doubled the Navy’s power rating test record.

This system was designed and built under a contract from the Office of Naval Research to demonstrate the efficacy of HTS motors as the primary propulsion technology for future Navy all-electric ships and submarines. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) funded and led the successful testing of the motor.

Incorporating coils of HTS wire that are able to carry 150 times the power of similar-sized copper wire, the motor is less than half the size of conventional motors used on the first two DDG-1000 hulls and will reduce ship weight by nearly 200 metric tons. It will help make new ships more fuel-efficient and free up space for additional warfighting capability.

“The successful load test of our HTS motor marks the beginning of a new era in ship propulsion technology,” said Dan McGahn, senior vice president and general manager of AMSC Superconductors. “This motor provides the U.S. Navy with a truly transformational capability relative to size, stealth, endurance and survivability, providing our Navy with a clear performance advantage for years to come. We are grateful for the steadfast support from the Office of Naval Research, Naval Sea Systems Command and the Naval Surface Warfare Center.” _Source _ via _ NextBigFuture

Putin Holds Europe Hostage, Time to Go Nuclear?

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have all been affected by last week's halt in Russian gas supplies coming to the region through Ukraine. On Sunday night, Russia and Ukraine were still negotiating the restarting of gas flows to Europe. Even after they reach an agreement, it will still take days before Eastern European consumers are ensured normal levels of gas supplies. _ipsnews

Eastern European nations are torn between EU environmental concerns demanding that they give up their nuclear power reactors, and the stark reality of being held hostage to Russia's natural gas. And the winter is cold, very cold.

... with entry to the EU, Bulgaria has had to start phasing out its nuclear plant at Kozloduy, considered an environmental and safety hazard. Kozloduy was producing much of the electricity used in the country, and allowed Bulgaria to become an exporter in the Balkans.

Kozloduy became a hot issue between Bulgaria and the EU during the accession negotiations, but over the past week some European officials have been pushing for reopening two reactors at the plant. _ipsnews

Slovakia had a similar problem recently, and is forced to re-start a reactor previously closed by EU insistence.

Bio-Syntrolysis BTL from Idaho National Labs

Researchers at Idaho National Lab are claiming revolutionary biomass carbon to biofuels efficiencies from a new process they call "bio-syntrolysis."

Bio-Syntrolysis would thus convert about 90% of the carbon in biomass to liquid synthetic fuel, INL says. By comparison, INL notes, conventional biomass or coal gasification to liquid fuels converts only ~35% of the carbon to liquid fuel. Likewise, conventional biological routes for ethanol production convert only ~35% of biomass carbon to liquid fuel.

In Bio-Syntrolysis, process heat from the biomass gasifier produces the steam to improve the hydrogen production efficiency of the HTSE process, while the biomass itself is the source of the carbon. Hydrogen from HTSE allows a high utilization of the biomass carbon for syngas production, while the oxygen resulting from water splitting is used to control the gasification process. The new process is an evolution of INL’s earlier work on co-electrolysis (Syntrolysis).

... INL is proposing locating Bio-Syntrolysis plants regionally, close to where the biomass is grown. A 25,000 barrel (1.05 million gallon US, 3.974 million liter) per day plant for full biomass to liquid fuels would entail a capital cost of around $2 billion and an annual operating cost of $1 billion per year.

The plant, according to INL analysis, would have a production cost of around $2.80 per gallon, and use 1,000 MW of electricity. Biomass would be gathered from an area 40-50 miles in diameter. _GCC

So INL researchers claim that their new process increases BTL conversion efficiencies by a factor of 2 to 3? Impressive if true. The new process attempts to achieve maximal chemical work from the process heat created by the gasification step. Each bio-syntrolysis plant may require a nearby biomass to electricity to supply the necessary electric power used by the process.

Production costs of $2.80 per gallon would not be profitable for producing fuel compared with today's US fuel costs. Such plants are not being researched, tested, and designed for today, however.

Biomass cannot compete with coal or gas in terms of energy per kg or cubic foot. But biomass can be produced into the indefinite future, whereas it is possible to foresee the end of cheap oil, coal, and gas. Wise species plan for contingencies.

German 3 Stage Biomass to Liquids Process

Lurgi GmbH of Germany has announced an interesting 3 Stage process pilot plant for BTL to be completed by 2012. The cost of production would not be competitive with US diesel prices as they are now, but perhaps competitive with European diesel prices. Certainly by 2012 the odds are good that such a process would be a useful alternative to expensive or uncertain supplies of diesel.

According to Lurgi, the first stage of the bioliq process is to use flash pyrolysis at 500 degrees Celsius to generate pyrolysis oil and pyrolysis coke from virtually any dry biomass within a twin-screw mixing reactor. The oil and coke are mixed in the reactor to form the bioliqSynCrude liquid suspension. In the second stage, the bio-crude is then heated to 80 degrees Celsius, pressurized, atomized, mixed with oxygen, and fed into an entrained flow gasifier where it’s converted to syngas at 1400 degrees Celsius and 80 bar of pressure. In the third stage, the syngas is purified and converted into synthetic fuels. It’s expected that the process will produce one liter of synthetic diesel fuel for less than €1 ($1.29). _BiomassMag

Interestingly, after the pyrolysis step the pyrolysis oil and pyrolysis solids are mixed to form a "biocrude". This biocrude is then processed to syngas, and then refined to synth fuel hydrocarbons.

The 3 step process allows the removal of intermediate pyrolysis oil or bio-char or syngas in the first and middle stages if desired, or the full 3 step synthesis can deliver diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, or other desired chemicals. In other words, it is a more versatile BTL process than one that involves pyrolysis alone, gasification alone, or gasification plus chemical synthesis without pyrolysis. The ability to also torrefy the biomass would allow a further versatility in dealing with the feedstock, depending upon customer requirements. That would make it a 4 step process.

Can anyone think of any other advantages to the pyrolysis step 1? To be economical, one must use the least amount of process energy to make the product.

Thermoelectrics Revolution

Image Source

Most of the energy from combustion processes such as an automobile's engine, is lost as heat. It seems a lot of waste to pump or dig fuels from the ground, only to lose most of the energy to the atmosphere as waste heat. Consequently, around the world engineers, scientists, and technologists are scrambling to find better ways to re-capture the huge mass of energy that is going missing every year.

Thermoelectrics is a growing and revolutionary method of redeeming waste heat to electricity -- analogous to photovoltaics except converting heat to electron flow rather than light. Brian Westenhaus brings us up to date on Nextreme Thermal, a company at the forefront of efficient thermoelectric conversion.

The thermoelectric field is gathering momentum and increasing efficiency. Many manufacturers are attending to this technology, as it requires no moving parts so the durability and miniaturization prospects look quite good.

For many heat producing power generation kits the excess heat is a nuisance, expensive to dispense with and money simply lost into things like rivers, the atmosphere and simply radiated away warming anything nearby which can be even more expense. From huge power installations generating electricity to automobiles thermoelectric on to microelectronics, thermoelectric conversion should find welcoming places. In the U.S. and Europe automakers from GM to BMW express enthusiasm for the technology to add to the electric output and reduce fuel requirements.

...The breakthrough product seems to be the Thermal Copper Pillar Bump (CPB) design that has applications in electronics where the technology can be used to cool and recover heat back into power. A highly desired goal is application in PC data centers where the operating costs for power to cool the electronics exceeds the power to process the data.

How good have they managed to get? A temperature difference of 60ºC has been achieved across the 60 µm (0.06 mm) high Nextreme CPB by running an electrical current through it. The Nextreme CPB demonstrated maximum power pumping capabilities exceeding 150 W/cm2. When subjected to heat the Nextreme CPB has demonstrated the capability to generate up to 10 mW of power per bump.

150 W/cm2 . . . That seems like a lot of power from a differential of 60ºC. Things are coming along faster than I had expected. _NewEnergyandFuel

Here is another look at the growing field of thermoelectrics, from Brian Wang.

More efficient retrieval and use of waste heat amounts to an energy revolution in its own right. Consider it but one more important piece in the puzzle problem to provide abundant energy to the growing needs of the future.

Cross posted at Al Fin

Biofuels Help Keep Demand for Oil Flat

The US Energy Administration (EIA) projects a flattened demand for oil in the US through the year 2030, thanks at least in part to biofuels expansion. As biofuels and bio-electricity production expands rapidly, bioenergy will be used to substitute for fossil fuels -- particularly oil.

Algae company GreenShift is pairing up with Montana maize ethanol operations to utilise their CO2 output for producing algal biofuels.

In California, Primafuel revealed ambitious plans for both algal biofuels and specialty chemicals operations, designed in the two phases of bioproduction and chemical refinery.

Another bioenergy company with big plans for production of specialty chemicals from biomass is BioEnergy International of Quincy, MA.

Commercial alcohol distilleries are discovering advantages to bioenergy. Yet another distillery in the UK is installing a biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generating plant to provide operating power and process heat/steam for its main operation. The new plant will be installed at Combination of Rothes Distillers LTD in Scotland by Helius Energy. Over 1.5 GW of power from biomass has been announced in the UK since the beginning of 2008.

It took humans several thousand years to learn how to use the energy stored by the sun in fossil fuels over billions of years. Now, in the dozens of decades left before humans use all the accessible fossil fuels, would be a good time for them to learn to use shorter term solar storage, such as bioenergy, and for them to learn to use solar energy directly.

Earth orbiting solar power plants would be best, able to collect solar energy at its strongest, for 23 hours a day or so.

Top Bioenergy Companies and Biofuels Stories

From Biofuels Digest, the top 10 biofuels stories of 2008.

The top 50 Bioenergy Companies ( source). 17 are involved in cellulosic ethanol, 9 are algae fuels companies, and 9 companies plan other types of advanced fuel or energy processes.

1. Coskata
2. Sapphire Energy
3. Virent Energy Systems
4. POET
5. Range Fuels
6. Solazyme
7. Amyris Biotechnologies
8. Mascoma
9. DuPont Danisco
10. UOP
11. ZeaChem
12. Aquaflow Bionomic
13. Bluefire Ethanol
14. Novozymes
15. Qteros
16. Petrobras
17. Cobalt Biofuels
18. Iogen
19. Synthetic Genomics
20. Abengoa Energy
21. KL Energy
22. INEOS
23. GreenFuel
24. Vital Renewable Energy
25. LS9
26. Raven Biofuels
27. Gevo
28. St.1 Biofuels Oy
29. Primafuel
30. Taurus Energy
31. Ceres
32. Syngenta
33. Aurora Biofuels
34. Bionavitas
35. Algenol
36. Verenium
37. Simply Green
38. Carbon Green
39. SEKAB
40. Osage Bioenergy
41. Dynamotive
42. Sustainable Power
43. ETH Bioenergia
44. Choren
45. Origin Oil
46. Propel Fuels
47. GEM Biofuels
48. Lake Erie Biofuels
49. Cavitation Technologies
50. Lotus/Jaguar - Omnivore

Even most of the conventional maize ethanol or soy biodiesel companies on the list have plans to move into cellulosic fuels, algae fuels, or other 2nd and 3rd generation bioenergy projects.

My favourite crop for all-around bioenergy is hemp. But since the dufus government refuses to let farmers grow hemp, there are several dozen other alternatives for normal soil, arid soil, salty soil, and saltwater cultivation. Other than glaciers and other ice cover, very little land area of Earth cannot support some form of biomass or bioenergy crop, given proper support. After a few more years or decades of genetic engineering, bioenergy crops will probably be able to dance and sing.

Biomass to electricity is more efficient, but there will be a continuing need for biomass to liquid and biolipids to biodiesel for along time. Of course, once algae cultivators get all their ducks in a row, and once Craig Venter and his fellow magic microbe wizards develop their full repertoire of tricks, the game will truly be on.

Microbial Communities Can Form "Super - Organisms" to Produce Fuels and Other Products Beyond the Ability of Single Microbe Species to Create

Synthetic biologists are working to find ways to manipulate entire microbe communities to get them to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t — like tracking down cancer cells to deliver drugs, fighting antibiotic-resistant infections or manufacturing fuel. _ScienceNews

Most of the microbial approaches to bio-fuels and synthetic fuels involves the attempt to find or create the perfect microbe. This perfect microbe would be able to turn feedstock into a valuable fuel, virtually on its own. But it is possible that a community of multiple microbe species working together might be able to out-perform even the "perfect microbe." Using Adam Smith's famous specialisation of labour, microbe production workers may show the same improved productivity that human factory workers demonstrate on the job.

Ideally, a synthetic bioengineer would be able to choose from a number of organisms to design a community capable of getting the job done. At the moment, most labs are focusing on ways to engineer communities of bacteria made up of a single species because these systems are better characterized and easier to manipulate than multispecies groups. And bacteria’s well-studied system for communicating provides a way for scientists to steer the conversations among congregating microbes by changing the way they talk to each other....

Bacteria sense their neighbors and respond to the presence of others in the colony by exchanging small molecules and bits of proteins called peptides — a process known as quorum sensing. Through this exchange, bacteria send and receive chemical cues that turn genes off or on. This process enables many types of bacteria not only to communicate with their neighbors, but also to collaborate in intricate ways to divide labor and perform tasks requiring multiple steps. At first, quorum sensing, discovered in marine bacteria, seemed a special ability, but in the time since its discovery, scientists have racked up quite a list of chatty microbe species. In fact, some scientists believe that nearly all bacteria communicate in one form or another. _ScienceNews

South Korea to Build 12 New Nuclear Plants

South Korea has announced an important new investment in energy production, including plans to build 12 new nuclear plants and 19 new fossil fuel thermoelectric plants.

It plans to spend 37 trillion won (28.5 billion dollars) from 2009 through 2022 in constructing 12 commercial reactors and 19 thermoelectric power plants, the ministry of knowledge economy said in a statement.

The ministry said 12 new nuclear power plants -- including eight under construction -- will be completed by 2012.

Eleven of the thermoelectric power plants to be built by 2022 would be fuelled by liquefied natural gas, seven by coal and one by fuel oil, it said.

South Korea, which relies heavily on oil imports, has tried to reduce its dependence on crude, diversify energy sources and cut down on the emission of greenhouse gases amid increasing power demand at home.

The country now has 20 commercial nuclear reactors and 85 thermoelectric power plants fuelled by either coal, gas or oil.

Nuclear power plants meet 34 percent of the country's total electricity demand this year, and they will cover 48 percent by 2022, the ministry said. _Energy-Daily

Every nation that considers its future seriously, will need to commit to nuclear power, and coal -- particularly if it has coal deposits under its own territory. Idiots and fools will gamble on wind energy. The unserious will gamble on large scale solar without utility scale storage. But the sane and the serious will be forced to commit to nuclear and coal -- preferably coal by gasification.

In the long run, large-scale solar (with storage), enhanced geothermal, advanced bio-energy, and nuclear fusion, will all carry humans cleanly and energetically for as long as the race survives. For the short and intermediate terms, fossil fuels and nuclear fission will be the workhorses of intelligent societies that wish to survive past the fossil fuel age.

Carbon hysterics such as Al Gore, the IPCC, the EU climate bureaucracies, and the idiots making up much of Obama's incoming administration, have no clue about either the climate, or the energy needs of thriving, healthy societies. Best to bypass them at every opportunity.

US Nuclear Industry Faces Manpower Shortage

The median age of an employee in the nuclear-energy field is 48, and up to 35 percent of the industry's workers may be eligible to retire within five years. _Forbes

Nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence worldwide. The need for clean and abundant electrical power is growing in the US and the western world. Universities in the US are beginning to gear up to produce more nuclear power engineers, a specialist that is in short supply.

Universities and colleges are developing or restarting nuclear-education programs, often working with energy companies to replenish the industry's aging work force in anticipation of new plants going online to meet increasing electricity demand.

...Energy companies are also applying to build new plants, Berrigan said, and the licensing process itself requires more workers. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received 17 license applications since 2007, and five reactor design proposals have either been certified or are in the certification process.

...Nationwide, enrollment in undergraduate nuclear engineering programs rose to more than 1,900 in 2006-07, up from 470 in 1998-99; graduate enrollment grew from 220 to more than 1,150, NEI figures show.

...Anticipating more U.S. nuclear power plant construction, French firm Areva SA will work with Northrop Grumman Corp. to build a $360 million plant in Newport News to make large reactor parts. Areva's design has been selected for six reactors awaiting NRC approval. _Forbes

Obama is certainly out of his league, whenever a situation requires more than mere talk. It is hoped that somewhere among the large crowd of corrupt and inept cronies the narcissist elect is bringing to Washington from Chicago, that somewhere someone who understands energy will begin to make wise decisions. Perhaps it will be Chu, or someone else. The morons in Obama's dieoff.org choir of circular jerkulators are in no position to help anyone, and so far, the jerkulators have had the loudest voices of the crew.

In-Situ Coal to Methane via Microbes & More

Luca Technologies has raised almost $76 million to turn inaccessible coal into methane for safe and clean extraction. Luca will use injected micro-organisms to perform the coal to methane transformation.

In a nutshell, the microorganisms eat coal and methane comes out the other end, which is really the same thing that occurs when cows eat grass. Burning methane is cleaner than burning coal. Thus, Luca’s bugs can cut down the fumes and pollution from what is probably the inevitable continued consumption of coal.

The microbes can also eat dirty shale oil. They are anaroebic too.

This sort of biogenic production of methane is already taking place underground naturally, the company has said in published papers. Luca’s goal is to commercialize and standardize it. Microbes are the central players in a number of clean tech companies: Amyris, Genomatica, Cambrios, ZeaChem, Mascoma. _Greentech

A different type of in situ coal to gas process is planned by Laurus Energy, which plans to perform in situ gasification using a high tech igniter. Laurus intends to separate the CO2 from the H2 and CH4, and use the CO2 for oil well extraction and the flammable gases for producing electricity (hopefully CHP) in a combined cycle process for high efficiency.

It works like this. Rather than mine coal in open pits, Laurus digs a deep production well in which it sticks an industrialized cigar lighter. This ignites the coal still locked in subterranean seams. The coal then turns into a synthetic gas, which gets drawn to the surface through another well.

Laurus then fractionalizes the syngas: carbon dioxide is separated and sent via a pipe to oil fields, where it is injected deep into other wells to help pull crude out of the ground. The rest of the gases-a combination of hydogen, methane and hydrocarbons-is then burnt in a gas-fueled power plant. _Greentech

Coal is an abundant and near ubiquitous substance over large sections of the planet subsurface. Developing cleaner and more efficient ways of utilising coal as an energy source will be crucial for bridging the energy gap between the years of cheap oil, and the coming years of cheap abundant sustainable energy from enhanced geothermal, nuclear fusion (fingers crossed), advanced bio-energy, and utility scale solar with integrated large scale storage. Nuclear fission has the potential to be a significant provider of power for at least the next century, but in the long run, the other four are far superior.

The point is that we are at least 30 years away from being able to utilise the big three sustainables. Oil may carry us that far if the oil dictatorships are taken over by enlightened democracies -- but what are the odds? Coal is the dark dirty horse that is capable of being cleaned up at least to the level of oil and gas. Coal can bridge the gap, as long as the Luddites who are in power do not cut us all off at the throats in their religious zeal for the carbon hysteria orthodoxy and crusade.

Solar Gasification of Biomass and Coal and more

The largest problem with large scale use of solar energy is the intermittent nature of solar, with a capacity factor of only 0.2 to 0.25. When large scale baseload energy is needed, solar doesn't fit the bill. Biomass is one form of long-term solar storage. And what more economical way to release the solar energy from biomass, than -- SOLAR gasification?

One of the drawbacks of biomass gasification systems is that the energy to power these reactors is typically drawn from coal-fired power plants. To produce a truly carbon-neutral, or even better, a carbon-negative fuel, the electricity to turn waste biomass feedstocks into a syngas, which can be further processed into fuels, must come from a renewable energy source.

To that end, a team of scientists including engineers and horticulturists from the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., have embarked on a project to develop rapid solar-thermal reactor systems for the conversion of biomass to syngas. _BiomassMag

Coal is another form of stored solar energy which might be more cleanly released using solar gasification.

The steam-gasification of coal (peat, lignite, bituminous, and anthracite) into syngas is investigated using concentrated solar energy as the source of high-temperature process heat. The advantages of the solar-driven process are threefold: (1) the discharge of pollutants is avoided; (2) the gaseous products are not contaminated by combustion byproducts; and (3) the calorific value of the fuel is upgraded. _Source

Coal gasification of low quality coal is far superior to simple combustion, in terms of the sequestration of pollutants. Using solar energy to perform the gasification should be more economical, once the processes are worked out and scaled.

Australian researchers have devised an ammonia to hydrogen / nitrogen reversible process powered by solar, as a means of storing solar energy and releasing it on demand (see illustration at top).

The basic idea is that ammonia is pumped into the focus of a large solar collector where temperatures reach several hundreds of degrees. At these temperature the ammonia dissociates into hydrogen and nitrogen. _ANU Sciencewise

The article at the link above explains how the process works. Following the illustration at the top of the post will provide a thumbnail understanding of the reversible process of solar energy storage and use.

Another way that solar energy can be used to facilitate biomass energy is by using solar powered robotic machinery on the farms and in the forests, to collect, densify, and pre-process the biomass for transportation and further processing. Much of this robotic equipment will eventually be largely autonomous, operating during daylight hours to provide a nearly steady stream of biomass feedstock for conversion into useful energy.

53% of All US Renewables Came from Biomass

Biomass gets no respect, even from self-described engineers who should know better. And yet biomass is the workhorse of renewable energy, with the greatest near and intermediate-term promise for substantial replacement of fossil fuels.

Around the nation, biomass plants have a long, well established history. More than half -- 53 percent -- of all renewables nationwide in 2007 came from biomass, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Biomass advocates point out that this waste produces baseload power -- meaning it can fuel plants around the clock -- while solar power usually operates about 20 to 25 percent of the time.

In Burlington, Vt., the 50-megawatt McNeil power station has been operating successfully since 1984, using mostly left-over branches, leaves and stumps generated by people harvesting firewood or lumber.

Plant manager John Irving says McNeil breaks even at 5.5 cents per kilowatt/hour. (To compare, the typical Florida utility customer pays the utility 10 to 13 cents/kWh.)

...Meanwhile, Georgia Power proposes changing its 96-megawatt Mitchell Plant from burning coal to biomass. This would not only eliminate a source of the worst emitter of greenhouse gases but would also reduce fuel costs by 30 percent and operating-maintenance costs by 13 percent over the life of the plant, according to spokesman Jeff Wilson.

Most of the wood fuel would come from sources considered unusable by timber companies, Georgia Power says. The switch to biomass is estimated to create 50 to 75 new jobs.

In Florida, Biomass Gas & Electric has deals to build three plants, including a 42-megawatt generator in Tallahassee. BG&E spokesman Keith McDermott says the contract will pay BG&E 7.2 cents/kWh. ``Obviously we know we can make the economics work. We're in the business to make money.''

... _MiamiHerald

Biomass has particular advantages and disadvantages, like all forms of energy. It will take time to fit biomass into the best and most economical niches. Time will also be required to determine the best fit of all the various approaches to turning biomass into energy.

Thermochemical conversion of biomass to biofuels and electricity should happen soon and expand quickly to fill available niches. Algal fuels and synthetic microbe generated advanced fuels from lignocellulose will take longer to perfect and mature to production scales. But they will happen. The Earth is a biological planet. Between abundant sunlight, abundant nutrients including atmospheric CO2, and an incredibly stable climate other than glaciations, the potential for production of bioenergy on land, sea, and up into the sky (3D agriculture, aquaculture, and microculture) is virtually unlimited.

Bioenergy Progress in Europe and the US

In Europe, Air Liquide is progressing in its biomass-to-liquid fuel (BTL) process, building on its successful first stage biomass pyrolysis project and moving to the second stage.

The Bioliq process (PDF), being co-developed by Lurgi and FZK with support from Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), is a three-stage process. Biomass is pyrolized to a pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis oil is mixed with pyrolysis coke from the process to create a biocrude slurry for subsequent gasification to syngas and conversion to chemicals and/or fuels.

The partners envision the pyrolysis stage as being decentralized, in locations close to the source of biomass. The gasification and synthesis stages will be in large centralized locations, preferably existing refineries. _GCC

In the US, the US DOE is announcing up to $200 million in financing for advanced biomass to biofuels projects.

All projects must be located within the US, use feedstock from domestic biomass resources, and demonstrate greenhouse gas reductions on a lifecycle basis. Advanced biofuels produced from these projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50%, as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency. _GCC

The emphasis on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is a misplaced effort of the DOE to appear trendy and in tune with the carbon hysteria of the EU and the incoming administration of the narcissist-elect, Barak Obama. Long after the scientific basis of green house climate catastrophe has been undermined by real science and real world data, political sycophants will continue to use "climate change" as a selling point for new government programs.

As long as the resulting product is economically profitable above and beyond its "greenhouse" effects, that should be no problem, other than a monumental waste of time, energy, and taxpayer resources in chasing the "greenhouse demons".

China : 60 GW of Nuclear by 2020

China is aiming high for nuclear power. From a current 9 GW of nuclear, China aims to produce 60 GW by the year 2020 -- a mere 11 years away.

China this week started the construction of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in Guangdong province with an investment of 70 billion yuan.

The plant will have six 1,000-megawatt (MW) units with the first unit to begin operation in 2013.

Last month, the construction of a 100-billion-yuan nuclear power plant was kicked off in Fujian province.

The plant is designed to have six reactors each with a capacity of 1,000 MW and the first two reactors will become operational in 2013 and 2014.

The NDRC said in November that in order to boost domestic demand, construction of a series of large energy projects was due to start this year.

They include three nuclear power plants with a total of 101,000-MW reactors, including the plants in Fujian and Guangdong and another one in Zhejiang.

China's nuclear sector will continue to see accelerated development in the future, and is not affected by the ongoing financial crisis, Yu Jianfeng, vice-general manager of China National Nuclear Corp, said in November.

"With the development of such rapid pace, nuclear power capacity will exceed 60 GW with no doubt," said Fu Manchang, president of State Nuclear Power Automation System Co. _ChinaDaily

By pursuing all forms of energy despite economic slowdowns, China is taking the wiser course in preparing for a more prosperous future. It is better for China to invest in its own capacity to grow and produce, than to continue to invest its earnings in overseas economies such as the US, which have fallen under the control of neo-fascist promoters of government control and ownership of the economy.

Using the full spectrum of nuclear fuels that will be available, China's fission plants should be well powered for centuries. Within that time span, other more abundant and more sustainable methods of power production will certainly be developed.

The collapse of the Chinese empire into competing smaller nation-fragments appears inevitable in the long run. But in the short run, the CCP appears to have things well in hand. Of course, that's what Barney Frank and Maxine Waters said about Fannie Mae a few years ago.

Using Salt Water Irrigation to Grow Crops in Salty Soil: Expanding Cropland

Some species of Panicum grasses are quite tolerant to salt, and can be grown on salty soil to provide animal feed. Even more surprisingly, some strains of these species of Panicum can be irrigated with salt water, minimally fertilised, and grow healthy harvests!

The research team focused on a plant called Panicum turgidum that can grow in salty conditions. They measured its protein content and determined that it could be a suitable alternative to existing cattle feed.

Then they tested its growth potential when irrigated with the salty water found in the area. They showed that Panicum grew so fast it could be harvested almost monthly. Overall, with limited fertilizer, they produced 60,000 kilograms per hectare during the yearlong study. Nielsen is confident that further studies that determine the best ratios of fertilizer will boost that number over 100,000 kilograms.

The researchers also used nature to preserve a sustainable growing environment. Panicum is a "salt excluder," meaning it survives salty conditions by keeping salt out of its system, which most other plants can't do.

Although this allows Panicum to grow on salty water, the extra salt deposited by irrigation would render the soil too salty for even this hardy plant. So the researchers found that planting a companion crop that is a "salt accumulator" prevented the soil from getting too salty.

The other plant sucked up the extra salt, then was harvested and burned and the ashes turned into soap. After the yearlong study, the levels of salt in the soil were virtually unchanged. _SeedDaily

By growing large amounts of animal feed on salty soil not suitable for growing human foods, huge areas of arable cropland can be freed up for food and/or cash crops -- rather than devoting much of it to growing maize for animals.

Of course salt-tolerant plants can also be used as biomass for pyrolysis, gasification, torrefaction, etc.

The most fascinating breakthroughs will occur when the genes that allow salt tolerance, salt-rejection, and salt-concentration, can be selectively inserted (along with any necessary helper genes and epigenetic apparatus) into plants or microbes of one's choosing.

Obama's and Pelosi's Backward Coal Stance: Outsmarted by China

In a brilliant feat of legerdemain, China has demonstrated its own adroitness on the world energy scene. Anticipating the carbon-phobic stance of the incoming Obama / Pelosi reich, China has laid the foundation for supremacy in clean-coal IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) technology. Coal gasification is a critical component of any intelligent "bridge energy policy" meant to span the gap in time between the "cheap oil age", and the "abundant clean sustainable energy age".

Coal is an abundant energy resource worldwide, and using IGCC technology coal can be cleaner than most other current large-scale forms of energy production. But US carbon-hysteric politicians in the Obama / Pelosi reich are afraid of coal, and are unlikely to allow most large scale coal gasification projects to proceed. That carbon-phobic stance leaves the door wide open for any nation willing to develop this vital bridge energy technology.

The oil and gas giant BP reinforced China's position as a clean-coal technology leader last month, by establishing a $73 million research center in Shanghai with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to help commercialize technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and gasification. In another sign of the country's suddenly bold role in green technology, China's battery giant BYD launched the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle yesterday.

Underpinning China's potential leadership in carbon-neutral coal power is broad expertise with gasification. By 2010, China will have installed 29 gasification projects since 2004, compared with zero in the United States, according to the Gasification Technologies Council, a trade group based in Arlington, VA. Most of these Chinese projects turn coal into synthesis gas (or syngas)--a blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen--to feed catalysts that synthesize chemicals and fuels. IGCC technology uses the same syngas to drive turbines and generate electricity with far less pollution than conventional coal plants. For example, mercury and soot levels are close to those seen at natural gas-fired plants, while carbon dioxide comes out in a pure stream that should be easier to capture and sequester.

...The project plans to start up a 250-megawatt IGCC plant in Tianjin in 2010 using a novel gasifier designed by the Thermal Power Research Institute in Xi'an; the plant will also supply some syngas and heat to local chemical plants. GreenGen plans to catapult the output of the gasifier design, from a 36-tons-per-day pilot plant, directly to commercial scale of 2,000 tons per day.

And GreenGen is already preparing to scale up further: in April, GreenGen and Tianjin officials signed an agreement for two 400-megawatt IGCC units. Meanwhile, Chinese utility firm Huaneng, GreenGen's majority stakeholder, started up a CCS pilot project at its Beijing coal power plant this summer. _TechReview

With the experience and expertise of building and operating large scale IGCC projects under their belts, Chinese enterprises will be in the driver's seat, energy-wise. As Europe and the Anglosphere grow more carbon-phobic and energy-starved, China will be the only one experienced enough with IGCC and "clean coal" to bail out the foolish carbon hysterics.

Of course if the west pursues advanced generation nuclear fission, or gets lucky with scalable nuclear fusion, coal can be used for making chemicals and polymers instead of energy and fuel -- sometime in the next 30 or 40 years. In the meantime, several decades will need to be spanned with some form of plentiful energy source.

China is betting on a sure thing, the same "sure thing" at which the Obama / Pelosi reich turns its nose up. In fact, the O / P reich turns its nose up at a lot of things, including oil sands, oil shale, coal, nuclear, offshore oil, arctic oil, and almost any other form of energy you can think of.

Solar thermal and geothermal are two likely sources of energy with big futures, which are also sustainable. In 20 or 30 years, they could both be a hugely important part of the energy portfolio. Wind is too unreliable for anyone but airheads to rely on it. Photovoltaics are still waiting for large scale energy storage that is affordable. Even biomass -- the best renewable -- will take decades to scale up to its potential.

Any way you slice it, coal gasification (IGCC is the best form), is a very good bet. You can judge the good players and the poor players by how they react to that technology.

Previously published at Al Fin

Algae Fuels Research Picks Up Momentum

Three new research projects focusing on commercializing algae as a feedstock for biodiesel production were recently announced. _BiodieselMag

The link above will take you to the Biodiesel Magazine article that describes the efforts of the Midwest Research Institute, the Center for Integrated Algal Research, and the US DOE Ames Laboratory microalgae biofuels research. Outside the US, the UK's Algae Biofuels Challenge is being managed by the Carbon Trust, and independent company funded by the UK government. The Australian government is also financing research into algal biofuels.

Origin oil announced the automation of its patented Helix Bioreactor System for algal cultivation.

The design of the Helix BioReactor™ utilizes low-energy lights arranged in a helix pattern and a rotating vertical shaft design, which allows algae culture to replicate exponentially within a smaller installation footprint. Automation of this system is a key step towards continuous algae production, allowing greater control of the growth environment and efficient, low-cost industrial algae production.

...The automation will provide real-time control over all stages of monitoring, nutrient injection and CO2 delivery at the micron or Quantum Fracturing™ level. Nutrient and CO2 delivery are timed precisely to a proprietary algorithm to provide an optimum micron-mixed fluid in the bioreactor. Through programming of certain key metrics, such as pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and temperature, the system is capable of not only monitoring but also controlling flow and timing of events in the algae growth cycle, which is crucial to controlling batch health in continuous algae production. _EarthTimes

Sapphire Energy of San Diego, is an agal biofuels company that has raised $100 million, and has an agreement with Continental Airlines to supply large quantities of its biofuel for flight testing. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is one of the investors backing Sapphire.

Other research is oriented toward tweaking the genome of microalgae, in the effort to cause the single-celled organisms to produce more hydrocarbons and less sugar.

It is wise to develop efficient productive methods for algal biofuels now, so that when the price of oil inevitably rises, companies will be ready to ramp up production to compete with more expensive petro-fuels.

Canadian Bio-Oil from Pyrolysis, Since 1989

Pyrolysis can take biomass and turn it into liquid pyrolysis oil -- bio-oil -- , gas, and biochar. It happens at high temperature in the absence of oxygen. Pyrolysis has been around for a while, but as the cost of procuring petro-oil grows greater, pyrolysis and other bioenergy approaches will become more important. The advantage of pyrolysis over gasification, is that pyrolysis oil can be stored, piped, shipped, and otherwise used at leisure. Gasification products must be used promptly to prevent degradation.

During the production of bio-oil, solid biomass wood is blasted into a tornado of hot sand at the bottom of a conversion unit. In less than two seconds the wood is vaporized. It is then condensed and recovered as a liquid bio-oil.

Seventy-five percent of the solid wood biomass injected into the RTP system is transformed into high yields of espresso-like bio-oil. The liquid wood is not a tar. It is a pourable fluid, which Ensyn treats as its own version of crude oil, and is used as a resource to make other products, such as high value biochemicals, in the same way petroleum crude is used in a variety of applications.

The remaining 25 percent of the biomass is converted into non-condensable gas and charcoal. These byproducts are fed back into a reheater in order to keep the tornado of sand at the required processing temperature. More energy is in the gas and char than required to drive this process, so the reheater has a surplus of energy. Ensyn uses this surplus to dry the wet biomass that arrives at the facility and to supply other industrial heat requirements.

Since 1989, Ensyn’s RTP plants have been making liquid bio-oil from solid wood biomass through a patented fast pyrolysis thermal process. Liquid bio-oil can replace heating fuel, natural gas and coal in a vast array of boiler applications. The company produces renewable energy in the form of a liquid fuel as opposed to a gas or solid fuel, which enables what is known as “decoupling.” With decoupling, production can be separated by time and space from the actual use of the product. _Bioenergy

Pyrolysis will be an important method in the bioenergy industry. Providing sufficient feedstock for bioenergy production will be a challenge that will have to be faced over the next decade or two.

Speaking of bioenergy, the Johnny Walker distillery in Scotland is raising $100 million to add a biomass CHP plant to provide most of its own electricity and steam from the distillery's effluent. The project illustrates a growing trend toward producing useful energy from what was formerly considered bothersome garbage.

Important News on the Fusion Energy Front

Both Brian Wang and Brian Westenhaus are reporting that the Emc2 polywell fusion project (Bussard) has passed a crucial test on its way to proving itself as a workable path to fusion power. Just one more step on the way to clean, abundant, sustainable power. And in the case of polywell fusion, it is a modular approach that could be easily carried on ships, large planes, and spacecraft.

A little background for newcomers. Dr. Bussard, whose name you may recognize from as wide of a base as the Bussard Collector concept to harvest fuel in space that was incorporated into Star Trek scripts to Assistant Director of the Thermonuclear Reactor Division of the old U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. At some point Dr. Bussard got the idea to take the Farnsworth principles from vacuum tube technology and seek a method and design to form his own theory using velocity of atoms instead of heat and pressure to compel a nuclear fusion. With decades of experience at the very top of the U.S. atomic energy industry Dr. Bussard sensed that ideas such as the tokamak, a “gift” from the former Soviet Union and other ideas that sought to create center of a star like conditions to be impractical if ever possible.

Bussard’s idea evolved into a cube formed by electromagnets that when charged up make a ball of electromagnetism or a sphere shaped magnetic field. At the center of the cube is a point of intensity, which is negatively charged. When a fuel that has a positive charge is injected it descends to the center and may collide with another fuel atom. If the fuel misses, the negative charge slows and sends the positive charged fuel back again to the center. All this happens at incredible speeds. The descending is actually acceleration and will repeat until the fuel fuses. _NewEnergyandFuel

The latest experiment demonstrated the ability of the polywell design to contain the fuel against leaks long enough to sustain useful fusion to provide usable power.

If Polywell pans out, nuclear fusion could be done more cheaply and more safely than it could ever be done in a tokamak or a laser blaster. The process might be able to produce power without throwing off loads of radioactive byproducts. It might even use helium-3 mined from the moon. "We don't want to oversell this," Nebel said, "but this is pretty interesting stuff, and if it works, it's huge."

...Nebel and his colleagues have already drawn up a plan for the next step: an 18-month program to build and test a larger fusor prototype. "We're shopping that around inside the DOD [Department of Defense], and we'll see what happens," he said. _CosmicLog _ via BW and BW

Be sure to check out the videos on Polywell-Bussard Fusion from Brian Wang. Don't miss the cornucopia of links and information on Bussard Fusion available at Power and Control blog.

Despite economic pessimism over the global credit collapse and the depressive effect of the new US administration on private sector recovery prospects, science and technology R&D are progressing on many important fronts.

The key obstacle to human progress is the general stupidity of the human species. But even as ways are discovered to "tweak up" the cognitive power of humans, the threat of economic collapse and ideology-driven suppression of private enterprise and initiative threaten a new "dark ages". Several things must happen simultaneously for self-selected humans to step up to the next level. Clean, abundant, scalable power production is only one of those things.

Previously published at Al Fin blog

Food vs. Fuels a Bogus Issue: Cellulosic Biofuels Adequate for Global Needs by 2030

German researchers have published a study revealing that by 2030 cellulosic biofuels using pyrolysis and gasification can provide transportation fuels to meet global needs using land not suitable for growing food.

According to Prof. Jürgen O. Metzger from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, and Prof. Aloys Hüttermann from the Universität Göttingen, a global energy supply based on biomass grown to generate electricity and produce fuel is both a sustainable and economical scenario, contrary to some other current research. Their findings are published online this week in the journal Naturwissenschaften.

The solution, according to Metzger and Hüttermann, is to plant fast-growing trees on degraded areas, and harvest the biomass for energy usage. This afforestation would not compete with the need for arable land for food production. The authors argue that the investment required for afforestation and transformation of the biomass to electrical energy, heat, fuels and chemical feedstock is actually sustainable and not more, probably even less, than what would need to be invested in infrastructure for non-sustainable fossil energy.

For their global overall estimations for transportation fuels, the two used the conversion of the lignocellulosic biomass to biooil (“bioslurry”) via pyrolysis and its subsequent gasification to a syngas followed by Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (biomass-to-liquids, BTL). _GCC

These conclusions suggest that there is no "food vs fuels" issue, and that current technology can solve the global transportation fuels demand in the intermediate future.

Al Fin feels that this study did not go far enough, since huge areas Earth's surface can be used to grow ocean biomass and haplophytic organisms on salty soil. In addition, the potential for growing abundant algae in desert areas using saltwater will multiply potential biofuels much more.

Further development of plant genetics, chemical catalysts, other synthetic and separation technologies, etc. will be helpful--but not necessary for biofuels to play a huge role in the future energy menu.

Hawaii and Taiwan Ink 10 MW OTEC Deal

The state of Hawaii is partnering with the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan to build a 10 MW OTEC plant off the shores of Hawaii.

OTEC could provide renewable electricity generated from the difference in temperature between the ocean’s warm surface and its chilly depths.

The ocean temperatures and the subsea terrain make the waters surrounding both Taiwan and Hawai‘i superior locations for this technology. Lockheed Martin Corporation has developed and studied OTEC technology for over 30 years. Its plans for a 10-MW OTEC pilot plant in Hawai‘i are already underway. _Source

OTEC takes advantage of warm solar heated surface waters in combination with cold deep ocean waters, to provide the necessary heat differential to drive a heat engine. Besides generating electricity, OTEC can also create fresh water, and provide abundant air conditioning for the tropics. Aquaculture promotion from nutrient-rich deep seawater is another benefit.

Closed-cycle OTEC uses a refrigerant/heat exchange material to drive the power turbine. Alternatively, open-cycle OTEC uses vacuum "flash distillation" to create fresh-water "steam" to drive the turbine and to provide fresh water.

Both forms of OTEC provide power and air conditioning, although only the open-cycle form provides fresh water directly. Closed-cycle OTEC can provide fresh water via condensation on surfaces cooled by the deep cool seawater.

OTEC is a relatively small scale power source, but should suit large numbers of tropical island communities that have access to deep seawater.

Nuclear Fusion News

The long shot solution for human energy/power needs is nuclear fusion. The same type of power that lights the sun and the stars has the potential to light the nighttime cities of Earth and power its industry, for the indefinite future. Brian Wang presents a useful update on Focus Fusion -- a clever, small-scale fusion approach from Lawrenceville Plasma Physics.

Brian's report comes soon after a finding from MIT that high power radio waves have the potential to "focus" plasma in a fusion reactor, such as the ITER reactor.

M. Simon has an imbed video of the likely incoming US DOE Secretary, Steven Chu, discussing fusion -- including a brief mention of the Polywell Fusion approach.

Here is an interesting look at a hybrid "fission / fusion" reactor,which would help to deal with the problem of radioactive waste from the world's fission reactors.

Creating commercially useful power with fusion, in which small atoms are combined to produce energy, always seems to be decades away — and too costly. But physicists at the University of Texas at Austin have come up with a reactor design that would provide a second purpose for fusion: destroying long-lived nuclear waste arising from the splitting of atoms — or fission.

Both the Polywell Process and the Focus Fusion approach are considered dark horse candidates. But success in either camp would completely overturn our present conceptual views of world energy dynamics.

Low cost, lightweight, modular fusion power reactors would be ideal for remote and extreme environments on Earth, under the ocean, at the polar regions, and for outer space outposts on the lunar surface and beyond.

Pseudotrichonympha grassi & Clostridium phytofermentans Take Biofuels Center Stage

Two bacterial cellulose-chompers have made the news this week. Pseudotrichonympha grassi (P. grassi) is commonly found in termite gut, a symbiont that thrives on woody cellulose. Biofuels researchers are trying to make use of P. grassi and its termite gut associates in the rush to turn cellulose into useful fuels. Clostridium phytofermentans is even more intriguing.

Qteros says that its bacteria can convert many different types of feedstock, including starch, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse, and woody biomass, directly into ethanol. And while most organisms that can break down cellulose--including common yeast--can only digest six-carbon sugars, the Q can digest five-carbon sugars too, meaning that it can produce more ethanol from the same material, Frey says.
_Checkbiotech

The biofuels industry also received some good news from the US political front, where narcissist-elect Barak Obama has selected Nobel Laureate Steven Chu -- an advocate of biofuels -- for the position of US Energy Secretary. It is rare for cabinet secretaries to be as accomplished as Chu.

Steven Chu, Obama's pick for the head of the Department of Energy, is a steadfast supporter of next-generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, expected to be made from the tough woody bits of crops like grasses and fast growing trees as well as plant and timber waste.

A 2007 report co-chaired by Chu, and commissioned by the governments of China and Brazil, called for "intensive research" into production of cellulosic, which relies on technology like isolating microbes, or using large amounts of heat and steam, to break down the tough bits into fuel.

Chu, the head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Nobel physics laureate, also helped organize the Energy Biosciences Institute, a lab focusing on next-generation biofuels funded with $500 million from oil major BP Plc. _Reuters via_Checkbiotech.org

Chu is opposed to maize ethanol mandates, however. Chu's appointment may mean a much faster transition to cellulosic alcohols and synthetic hydrocarbons.

Giant Solar Thermal Steam Turbine from Siemens

Siemens is set to supply BrightSource Solar with a 123 MW solar thermal steam turbine by 2011, for the BrightSource California heliostat farm.

"Siemens is proud to be building the largest fully solar-powered steam turbine generator to date for BrightSource's Ivanpah solar power plant."

BrightSource's Ivanpah Solar Power Complex will be comprised of three separate solar plants and will produce a combined total of 400 MW of power. Upon completion, the Ivanpah Solar Power Complex will produce enough clean energy to power the homes of 140,000 PG and E customers and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 500,000 tons per year. BrightSource is scheduled to begin construction on the Ivanpah site in 2009.

BrightSource Energy's solar thermal energy plants are built on the company's proven Luz Power Tower (LPT) technology.

The system uses thousands of small mirrors called heliostats to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine inside a power block, which generates electricity. The electricity is then connected to the transmission grid for consumption. The steam is air-cooled and piped back into the system in a closed-loop, environmentally friendly process. _Source

The Power Tower technology allows for the direct heating of superheated steam, for efficient steam turbine power generation. Using the Kalina Cycle, a combined cycle power generation scheme would allow for even greater utilisation of this focused energy resource.

Biomass backup systems are likely to be used more frequently with solar thermal plants, to allow for 24 hour power generation -- with the overnight power generated on a scaled-down basis. Either biomass gasification, or the firing of "biocoal" torrified biomass (with or without coal co-firing), will allow biomass to serve as a backup power source. Unfortunately, even such high-efficiency and partially redundant renewable plants will require gas and coal backup sources to compensate for the fickle nature of nature.

E. Coli Gene-Tweaked to Make 5 - 8 Carbon Alcohols With Much Higher Energy Density Than Ethanol, Even Higher than Butanol

With alcohol fuels, the longer the carbon chain, the higher the energy density -- the more energy per gallon of fuel. Scientists at UCLA have tweaked a strain of E. Coli bacteria to ferment alcohols with carbon chains between 5 and 8 carbons in length. Butanol has only 4 carbons, and ethanol has but 2. Lowly methanol has only one carbon. Besides having more energy per gallon, the longer chain alcohols will be easily separated from water, negating the need for the expensive distillation step required by ethanol.

Liao and his colleagues use synthetic-biology tools to tinker with the amino acid metabolism of E. coli. All organisms produce a large number of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. The researchers reengineer this metabolic pathway so that toward the end, the precursor compounds that would normally get converted into amino acids instead turn into long-chain alcohols.

To do this, the researchers insert genes into the bacteria that make them produce unnaturally long amino acid precursor molecules that have more than six carbon atoms. They also engineer two genes--one from a type of yeast, one from a cheese-making bacterium--into the microbe. These modified genes produce two new proteins that can convert the precursors into five-to-eight-carbon alcohols.

Startups LS9 and Amyris Biotechnologies are already reengineering microbes to produce hydrocarbon fuels. Both plan to begin commercial production of their fuels by 2010. _TechnologyReview

Very clever gene engineering. It will no doubt take time to scale up the process for higher yields and industrial quantities.

All the same, gene engineered micro-organisms stand to have the same revolutionary effect on biofuels production, eventually, that they are already having on pharmaceutical production. With some of the newer, less energy intensive processes, the largest expense after the physical plant will likely be feedstock. The ability to use minimally processed biomass as feedstock should allow such microbe produced biofuels to begin competing with petrofuels within the decade.

Department of Energy Maps Soybean Genome

The US DOE Joint Genome Institute has completed mapping the soybean genome. Soybeans account for 70% of Earth's edible protein, and a significant amount of biodiesel production. Soy is a nitrogen-fixing legume that grows in many different climatic regions.

DOE JGI’s interest in sequencing the soybean centers on its use for biodiesel, a renewable, alternative fuel with the highest energy content of any alternative fuel. According to 2007 U.S. Census data, soybean is estimated to be responsible for more than 80 percent of biodiesel production.

...“The soybean genome sequence will be a valuable resource for the basic researcher and soybean breeder alike,” said Jim Collins, Assistant Director for the Biology Directorate at the NSF. _Checkbiotech

Plant breeders hope to be able to optimise soybeans to various types of soils and climates, as well as to modify its production for higher yields of desired products -- such as oils or proteins.

The genetic modification of food and energy crops is still at an early stage. The next stage would be taking specific gene sets or stacks from one plant and transferring them to another plant -- to achieve synergistic growth and yield characteristics from the combination.

Gene Stacks Instead of Smoke Stacks

Chicago based Chromatin -- an agricultural genetics company -- is raising funds to develop radical new energy crops through extreme genetic modification. Chromatin's genetic methods utilise a "mini-chromosome" technique that introduces multiple genes into a plant simultaneously. Such "gene stack" technology allows for a more radical transformation of the plant genome and characteristics.

Chromatin, which gets its name from the substance in the nucleus of a cell that condenses to form chromosomes during cell division, initially developed its “mini-chromosome” technology to enable quick improvement of crops and feedstocks for the agriculture industry. With this fresh round of funding, Chromatin said it plans to team up with companies in the biofuel industry to provide distribution channels for its genetic products, but has yet to name any potential partners for the move.

The company was founded in 2000 based on technology developed at the University of Chicago. Chromatin said its mini-chromosome technology makes it possible to introduce multiple genes, or gene stacks, simultaneously into any plant cell, with applications in crops such as corn and soybeans. The company plans to develop feedstocks with the gene stacks needed to boost yields and cut the costs of producing fermentable sugars for the burgeoning cellulosic ethanol industry.

Chromatin hasn’t said which properties it’s looking to enhance in biofuel feedstocks, but for its agricultural products the company said its technology could lead to crops with properties such as resistance to disease, greater salt and drought tolerance, and more nutritional value. The company also said its mini-chromosome process could cut the time it takes to to get those new crop traits to market by half and increase crop yields by 25 percent. _Bioenergy

Chromatin is working with Monsanto to achieve many of its biofuel crop goals.

It is easy to see that by increasing salt and drought tolerance, the amount of viable land available worldwide could easily be multiplied by an order of magnitude -- thus destroying the worth of the calculations of many biofuels naysayers.

Another genetic transformation that would have an extreme impact on the future of biofuels, is the ability to induce nitrogen fixation capability in plants -- doing away with the need to add nitrogenous fertilisers.

Biotech, Nanotech, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Robotics, Advanced Communications and Networking . . . The convergence of these technologies will transform life as we know it, and do away with many of the limitations human societies currently chafe under.

Unfortunately, humans themselves have not changed since the days of hunter gatherer tribal warfare for resources. A psychology based upon scarcity. It is not certain that human psychology is capable of changing, on the whole.

Black Liquor Waste Stream from Paper Plants Could Provide 2% of Global Fuel

Black liquor is a waste byproduct of the paper/pulp process. As environmental regulations grow stricter, the paper/pulp industry has been under pressure to find an economical use for the waste stream. Chemrec has developed a Black Liquor Gasification (BLG) process to turn the waste fluid into syngas, then into CHP or fuel.

Chemrec’s black liquor gasification (BLG) technology converts the black liquor waste stream from the paper pulping process into synthesis gas. The synthesis gas can then be processed into a variety of fuels—likely dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol (MeOH), although fuels such as Fischer-Tropsch diesel (FTD), Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG), or hydrogen are also possible.

The global potential of this is equivalent to more than 45 billion liters a year of gasoline, according to Chemrec—2% of global fuel demand. _GCC

Any carbon based organic matter can be converted into syngas using gasification, or into bio-oil and bio-char by using pyrolysis. The syngas and bio-oil can be chemically refined into fuel, or can be used to fire CHP generators directly. The bio-char can be used for soil enrichment, or for the many other uses to which charcoal is put.

Viaspace, General Atomics, Others Pursue Biofuel

Biofuels output and investment appears to be temporarily stalled due to a global economic downturn. But Viaspace estimates a near-term biofuels market of $25 billion yearly. The company aims to grab its share without delay.

VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC) today announced the Company is cultivating a new fast-growing hybrid grass to be used for production of cellulosic ethanol, methanol, biocrude and green gasoline. VIASPACE is taking a leadership position in the development of feedstock for sustainable biofuels, targeting the growing $25 billion global biofuels market. The Company is working to develop supply contracts with companies in China and also expand into other worldwide markets. VIASPACE expects to generate $20 million in revenue in the next two years selling this high-yield grass for alternative fuels as well as livestock feed.

In fact, the time to develop alternative fuels is while the price of petroleum is low. Then when the price rises, you will be in a position to take immediate advantage of marginal prices--while your competitors are still struggling to develop financing and develop production methods.

General Atomics, in San Diego, is forming a partnership with Eastern Kentucky University to develop a profitable algal biodiesel operation.

Eastern will use a $4 million appropriation in the U.S. Defense Department budget secured by Congressman Ben Chandler, D-Versailles, and up to $1.5 million more in state and local funding to create a Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT). It will utilize 250 acres in the Clark County Industrial Park to determine which non-food plants will produce the best bio-diesel fuel. The process will use algae in tanks rather than ponds to break down the cellulosic – non-food parts of plants and materials such as wood products, switch grass, or even tobacco stalks – materials.

The project is in two phases, according to EKU President Doug Whitlock. If the initial research phase at EKU is successful, General Atomics will construct a production facility in Clark County

Another industry looking into developing algal fuels is the aquaculture industry of Southeast Asia. A high proportion of seafood served in restaurants worldwide is produced via aquaculture. The profitable industry is looking for diversified investments, and algal biofuels seems like a good fit.

Microalgae comprise a vast group of photosynthetic, heterotrophic organisms which have an extraordinary potential for cultivation as energy crops, experts say.

They can be cultivated under difficult agro-climatic conditions and are able to produce a wide range of commercially interesting byproducts such as fats, oils, sugars and functional bioactive compounds.

Certain microalgae are effective in the production of hydrogen and oxygen through the process of biophotolysis while others naturally manufacture hydrocarbons which are suitable for direct use as high-energy liquid fuels. _Bioenergy