100 MPG BioBike Racing Across Australia

John Davis

BioBike logoThe BioBike – a 100-mile-per-gallon, biodiesel-powered motorcycle – is racing 3,000 km (1,800 miles) across Australia.

The BioBike, designed by a group of seven Mechanical Engineering students from the University of Adelaide in South Australia, is in the race from Darwin to Adelaide in the Greenfleet Technology Class for environmentally-friendly engines. This story on the gizmag.com web site says the designers hope to get the fuel economy above 100 mpg while making it for the same cost as a conventionally-fueled dirtbike:

biobike.JPGDiesel cars are well-established in the market and renowned for their ability to deliver excellent fuel economy in comparison with their petrol brethren. But why haven’t we seen more diesel motorcycles? Well, diesel engines run extra-high compression pistons, and their sparkless ignition produces much stronger power pulses – which gives them excellent torque, but means that the engine casings need to be thicker and heavier to deal with the increased stresses.

In the leisure motorcycling world, where power-to-weight ratios are everything and horsepower rules over torque, diesel simply doesn’t make sense on the sales floor.

But, as BioBike project leader Heidi McNamara points out, in areas where motorcycles are used as essential transport rather than high-speed toys, these machines start to look far more practical – particularly on farms and in military applications where diesel is used to run pretty much every other vehicle and engine.

The engine and transmission were fitted to a modified Husaberg Enduro frame, so the chassis uses all the top rated gear from White Power and Brembo in all the right places. It’s heavier than the donor bike, at around 130kg, but still very lightweight for a road-going bike.

The students hope to race the bike in the Dakar Rally one day, but in the meantime, farmers and markets in Asia are interested in getting a version for their interests.

Biodiesel

Ethanol Becomes Bigger Priority for Novozymes Inc.

John Davis

Novozymes Inc.An article from The Sacramento Business Journal has spotlighted a company that’s shifting some gears and making more room for research in ethanol production. Celia Lamb reports that Novozymes Inc., part of Davis biotechnology company – a company that focuses on industrial enzyme research – is investing in additional space and personnel to boost it’s resources for ethanol exploration. Here’s a portion of that article:

Davis biotechnology company Novozymes Inc. plans to add about 35 scientists and a 20,000-square-foot laboratory building by the end of 2009.

It’s part of a bigger U.S. expansion for parent company Novozymes A/S, based in Denmark. The parent company, which has $1.5 billion in annual revenue and 4,500 employees nationwide, is riding a wave of technological advancements and increasing demand in the industrial enzyme business.

In the past few years, it has expanded its research focus to include developing enzymes to break down plant cellulose and make ethanol fuel. The company is increasing the number of scientists working on that technology, company president Ejner Bech Jensen said.

Agribusiness, Ethanol, Facilities, News, Research

Indy Recognizes It’s Role in Ethanol Awareness

John Davis

I am IndyAwareness for ethanol is rippling throughout the American consumer market. Industry leaders across the board attest to that. And it’s the IndyCar Series that is identified as one of the big catalysts that caused those waves of awareness to ripple and spread. Dave Lewandowski wrote an article on IndyCar.com, identifying the Series’ use of ethanol as one of motorsports major technological milestones.

Ray Harroun’s introduction of the rear view mirror in winning the 1911 Indianapolis 500 was the first in a long list of motorsports technological advances related to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League that have translated to passenger vehicles worldwide.

In 2007, the IndyCar Series chalked up another by becoming the standard bearer for the “Greening of Racing” when 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol flowed through its Honda Indy V-8 engines. In a sense, IndyCar Series cars are the true cars of tomorrow.

Worldwide media attention has focused on the first motorsports series to utilize an environmentally friendly, renewable and American-made fuel source throughout the diverse 17-race schedule. That it performed flawlessly in one of the most demanding environments in racing is equally significant for consumers.

The article goes on to explain how much the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has played a role in making ethanol the official fuel of the IndyCar Series, calling EPIC “the driving force behind the switch to a cleaner, greener renewable fuel in the IndyCar Series.”

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing, News, Promotion, Racing

Sugarcane for the Midwest

Cindy Zimmerman

Tropical maize could prove to be a very attractive dedicated energy crop with some very desirable characteristics, according to research being done at the University of Illinois.

When University of Illinois crop scientist Fred Below began growing tropical maize, the form of corn grown in the tropics, he was looking for novel genes for the utilization of nitrogen fertilizer and was hoping to discover information that could be useful to American corn producers.

Earless CornNow, however, it appears that maize itself may prove to be the ultimate U.S. biofuels crop. Early research results show that tropical maize, when grown in the Midwest, requires few crop inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer, chiefly because it does not produce any ears. It also is easier for farmers to integrate into their current operations than some other dedicated energy crops because it can be easily rotated with corn or soybeans, and can be planted, cultivated and harvested with the same equipment U.S. farmers already have. Finally, tropical maize stalks are believed to require less processing than corn grain, corn stover, switchgrass, Miscanthus giganteus and the scores of other plants now being studied for biofuel production.

What it does produce, straight from the field with no processing, is 25 percent or more sugar in the forms of sucrose, fructose and glucose.

Below says that tropical maize could become the “sugarcane of the Midwest” because, like sugarcane, it produces lots of sugar without a high requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, and this sugar can be fermented to alcohol without the middle steps required by high-starch and cellulosic crops.

Pictured with some of the tropical maize produced on the research farm in Illinois are Below (right) and doctoral candidate Mike Vincent.

corn, Ethanol, News, Research

VeraSun Wants Double Duty for Corn

John Davis

verasun.jpgEthanol producer VeraSun is considering sinking $30 million into a process that would allow the company to also get biodiesel out of its ethanol production.

This story in the Des Moines Register says VeraSun might make changes to a north Iowa plant to extract corn oil from dried distillers grain — an ethanol byproduct — and make that oil into biodiesel:

“We can get two fuels out of one kernel of corn — ethanol and biodiesel,” said Keith Bruinsma, VeraSun’s vice president of corporate development. The project received state incentives Thursday.

Bruinsma said VeraSun’s process also makes its dried distillers grains more attractive to swine and poultry producers, now limited in its use of the byproduct.

Officials say the feed is better suited to cattle, which can better digest it.

“The corn oil is essentially a limiting factor in feeding distillers grain to swine and poultry,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. “By removing the oil, the resulting distillers product is higher in protein and can be fed in a higher percentage” to chickens and pigs.

This could end up being a win-win-win situation as the it helps ethanol and biodiesel producers be more profitable by getting more out of their feedstocks while helping livestock producers by providing more feed.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, News

Imperium to Provide Biodiesel for Hawaiian Electric

John Davis

imperium-logo.gifSeattle-based Imperium Renewables has inked an exclusive deal with Hawaiian Electric Company, which provides 95 percent of electricity for residents of the islands, to provide biodiesel for some of the utility’s generators.

This post from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has more details:

The contract, which runs through 2011, calls for Imperium to supply between five million and 12 million gallons of biodiesel per year for an 110 megawatt generating station that is set to open in 2009. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it does call for Imperium to give preference to locally-grown feedstocks for the fuel.

Imperium is working with local groups to determine the best feedstock on the islands. Until that is determined, Imperium has pledged to import feedstocks that meet new standards established by Hawaiian Electric and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Hawaii Agricultural Research Center reports local feedstocks in Hawaii could produce more than 150 million gallons of biofuel… equal to more than half of the diesel fuel used in the state. Imperium has opened a 100 million gallon biodiesel plant in Washington state and is working on permits for a similar one on Oahu.

Biodiesel

Morgan Stanley Finds Alternatives Attractive

Cindy Zimmerman

Morgan StanleyDespite falling ethanol prices and some plant cutbacks, Morgan Stanley thinks ethanol makers, as well as solar energy companies, have a lot of long-term potential.

According to an AP report, analyst David Edwards initiated coverage of the clean energy industry with an “Attractive” view.

“The global risks posed by climate change are driving spending and investment in clean energy solutions, which (unlike the oil shock that spawned the first wave of alternative energy solutions in the 1970s) is durable and accelerating,” he wrote in note to investors.

He sees the “annual clean energy revenue opportunity” reaching $500 billion in 2020 and $1 trillion in 2030.

Ethanol, News, Solar

Ethanol Moves Up the Ranks in American Le Mans Series

John Davis

e-podcastEthanol is gaining more ground in the motor sports arena and more leagues are getting on board with ethanol-enriched fuel. The American Le Mans Series is now the second racing league to officially commit to a fuel based largely from ethanol. The ALMS has committed to upgrading its official fuel of the series from an E10 fuel blend to an E85 blend for 2008.

This edition features comments from interviews conducted just days before the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta.

The “Fill up, Feel Good” podcast is available to download by subscription (see our sidebar link) or you can listen to it by clicking here (5:30 MP3 File): [audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/epic-podcast-10-19-07.mp3]

The Fill Up, Feel Good theme music is “Tribute to Joe Satriani” by Alan Renkl, thanks to the Podsafe Music Network.

“Fill up, Feel Good” is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Car Makers, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Fill Up Feel Good, News, Racing

Technology Key to Food and Fuel

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2007 Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium held in Des Moines this week focused on “Biofuels and Biofoods: The Global Implications of Emerging Technologies.” At the event, more than 700 leading policymakers, industry executives, and agricultural and food science experts from over 65 countries, gathered to explore the international impact that biorenewable energy will have in the coming decades.

SyngentaOne of the keynote speakers at the symposium was Syngenta Seeds U.S. president Jeff Cox, who says he believes the agriculture industry can adequately feed the world and support biofuel markets by developing new technologies and improving value chain collaboration.

“Some have quickly characterized a ‘food versus fuel’ debate for agriculture but I don’t see it that way. The agriculture productivity challenge is eminently solvable through technology and collaboration,” Cox said.

“Yield increases in corn since the Green Revolution have been mind-boggling. And yet, some experts say corn yields can double over the next 20 years to reach 300 bushels per acre.”

Cox cited advanced plant breeding with molecular markers as a reason new higher-yielding seed is coming to market faster than ever. “Biotechnology trains are now moving to second generation and stacked products that unleash genetic potential of the seed.”

Cox said improved water use is a timely example of how rapid implementation of technology is helping agriculture meet the challenge of producing more while using less. “In the U.S. and Latin America, we are extensively testing technology to improve the corn plant’s use of water, and yield results are consistently positive.” He noted that Syngenta recently introduced a “tropical” sugar beet in India that could efficiently produce sugar for food and biofuel use with one-fifth the water requirements of sugar cane that is currently grown in the equatorial region.

Agribusiness, Ethanol, News, Research

The Future of Environmentalism

John Davis

A student from the University of California-Berkeley is one of six North Americans to win the 2007 Brower Youth Award, recognizing her efforts to boost environmental sustainability at the school.

Rachel BargeA Cal press release says 21-year-old Rachel Barge, a junior majoring in conservation and resource studies, has spearheaded the school’s Green Initiative Fund, financing clean energy and transportation to include biodiesel:

As director of sustainability on campus for the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), Barge founded the Sustainability Team, a 60-member group whose projects have included converting the campus’s transportation fleet to biodiesel and establishing UC Berkeley’s first student-run cooperative organic produce stand.

The Brower Youth Award is bestowed annually on young environmentalists selected by the San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute, which was founded in 1982 by veteran environmentalist David Brower. The organization provides support for conservation and preservation projects and recognizes leaders in this area.

“Rachel is smart, impassioned and, above all, energetic,” said David Phillips, executive director of Earth Island Institute. “She isn’t waiting for environmental solutions to come down from those in power. She is taking action now to conserve, protect and restore the earth.”

Barge and her fellow Brower winners will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday night at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, where they will each pick up a $3,000 cash prize for their efforts, as well as participating in skill-building and mentoring workshops.

Biodiesel