The state of Oklahoma is getting into the switchgrass business for cellulosic ethanol production. The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center has secured land for more than 1,000 acres – the “world’s largest stand of switchgrass” – of production-scale demonstration fields. Planting will take place within the next 45 days. The land is located near Guymon in the state’s panhandle. This switchgrass field …
Flex Fuel Energy Victory
Aerospace engineer and author Robert Zubrin has been getting some media attention lately for his book, “Energy Victory,” in which he outlines a simple plan for “winning the war on terror by breaking free of oil.” Most recently, he was featured on a segment of the Business News Network, a popular nationwide TV show in Canada. Zubrin believes the American …
Ethanol Pipeline Across Florida Nears Opening
A pipeline that has carried gasoline the 104 miles from the Port of Tampa to the Orlando since the mid-1960s could soon be carrying ethanol across the Sunshine State. This story posted on the St. Petersburg (FL) Times web site says the 16-inch pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan is going through some upgrades in preparation of becoming the nation’s first …
Ethanol-Powered Crop Dusters
A Brazilian aircraft maker is selling more ethanol-powered crop dusters these days. Embraer is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, including commercial and corporate jets as well as defense systems. The company has a subsidiary called Neiva that specializes in smaller planes, like the Ipanema, a low-wing agricultural monoplane – or crop duster. According to Wired, Neiva …
CleanTech Researches Waste to Ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol is gaining ground… and CleanTech Biofuels is the next in line to research how to turn waste into fuel. CleanTech Biofuels is pleased to announce that it has engaged Hazen Research, Inc to construct and operate the pre-commercial stages of our Municipal Solid Waste to Ethanol project at Hazen’s eight acre research facility in Golden, Colorado. In late …
Alltech Plans “Greenest Generation” Biofuels
The latest company to get into the cellulosic biofuels race is Alltech of Lexington, Kentucky. The company was awarded a grant last week by the US Department of Energy to begin work on a $70 million plant in Springfield, Ky. The head of that project is Dr. Mark Lyons, son of Alltech president Dr. Pearse Lyons. This young man has …
Cows Helping Make Ethanol
A study by researchers at Michigan State University says that an enzyme from a microbe that lives in cows’ stomachs could help get more ethanol out of corn. This story from Science Daily says scientists have figured out how to grow corn with the enzyme already in the grain… keeping lots of cows’ guts out of the picture: The enzyme …
Click & Clack Search for Ideal Hybrid
I don’t recommend a lot of TV shows on this blog (you’re too busy reading Domestic Fuel, right?), but I did catch an episode of Nova on PBS tonight that I thought would be of interest here. In honor of Earth Day today, the show, “Car of the Future,” looked at the various alternative energy vehicles out there. Leading the …
Ethanol for Earth Day
If every car in America would use a ten percent blend of ethanol for one week, the amount of greenhouse gases produced in the U.S. would be reduced by nearly 1.3 billion pounds. That is according to calculations done by life sciences researcher Nathan Danielson, president of BioCognito. “What we did was take some fairly complex modeling that was done …
Ethanol Saves Missouri Motorists Money
A study released Monday shows that Missouri drivers are saving money at the pump thanks to ethanol. According to research results announced at a press conference in the State Capitol, drivers in Missouri are expected to save an average of 9.8 cents per gallon this year due to the 10 percent ethanol standard that went into effect Jan. 1, 2008. …