One of the nation’s largest biodiesel plants is up and running today as Louis Dreyfus Commodities opened the doors of its 88-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant near Claypool, Indiana (pictured above). The opening gained the praise of the company owner, the state’s governor, and of course, the National Biodiesel Board: Governor Mitch Daniels and Robert Louis-Dreyfus, owner of Louis Dreyfus Commodities, addressed …
First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generator Goes in California
Fujitsu is the first high-tech company in California to put in its own hydrogen power plant. The company says it provides clean, efficient power for its Sunnyvale, CA data center and other operations. This article on the InfoWorld.com web site has more details: The fuel cell will generate 200 kilowatts of clean energy while surplus heat from the fuel cell …
Restaurant Grease Becoming “Hot” Item
Just when you thought thieves had run out of new things to steal, now the old grease from restaurants has become the latest pilferable item. Officials are blaming the home-made biodiesel craze for making criminals out of people who just might not have realized that’s it’s wrong to take that used cooking oil. Some probably good-intentioned folks have been taking …
Brewing Biodiesel at Room Temperature
Scientists in India are experimenting with a method that could make biodiesel production a whole lot more efficient. Instead of heating sunflower oil and methanol for several hours, researchers at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology are running the mixture over a bed of fungal spores. This article on the Wired Science web site says an enzyme produced by the …
Sugar Could Sweeten Ethanol Portion of Farm Bill
The U.S. House’s version of the Farm Bill includes a provision where the federal government buys surplus sugar and sells it to ethanol producers to be used with corn. The program is designed to be a buffer against a North American Free Trade Agreement provision that will let Mexico export an unlimited amount of sugar to the U.S. starting in …
Nothing “Funny” About This Biodiesel Car
In a blur of yellow… pushed by a yellow flame shot out of the back of a J60 Pratt and Whitney jet engine… this Corvette funny car might be one of the fastest things on Earth. Kevin Therres’s funny car that runs on canola oil-based biodiesel wowed the crowds this week at the Hot August Nite event at the Castrol …
Historic Scottish Steamer to Get New Life with Biodiesel
For more than 100 years, The Sir Walter Scott has sailed the waters of Loch Katrine in Scotland… one of the last coal-powered steamers in the country. A 2.2 million Pounds (4.35 million U.S. dollar) renovation is due for the old girl, and officials want to run her on biodiesel. This story in the Scotsman.com says the conversion will take …
Hydrogen Car Hits 161 MPH… Goes for 200
A hydrogen-powered Ford Fusion has taken part in the annual Speed Week at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats this week and hit an amazing 161 MPH! This article from the Journal and Courier (Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana) says the Ford Fusion 999, a hydrogen- and electric- powered car designed and built in cooperation between Ford and Ohio State University, …
Indiana State Fair Running on Biodiesel
A new tradition at the 150-year-old Indiana State Fair has started this year as biodiesel powers the fair’s midway. This story from Gary Truitt’s Hoosier Ag Today web site says they’re even making sure it’s biodiesel produced from Indiana soybeans: “The Indiana State Fair is a showcase of the state’s agriculture industry, so it’s fitting that Hoosier-grown soybeans are helping …
Biodiesel from Cellulose
While refiners have been making ethanol from cellulosic material for a while, a Japanese-government affiliated research institute is working on turning grass clippings and wood chips into biodiesel. This story on CattleNetwork.com has more details: The Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth is aiming for commercial production in three years. RITE was established in 1990 by the government …