This week I decided to bone up on some energy 101 so I read “Energy Myths & Realities” by Vaclav Smil, an energy scientist. He discusses eight myths and attempts to set the record straight by disseminating the true facts around the issues. He believes several of the myths have been mired in the past while others are perpetuated by …
Algae Waste Water, Ag Runoff Projects Underway in Europe
OriginOil, Inc. and its French partner Ennesys have confirmed they are working with various institutions to develop two separate large-scale algae projects. Global 500 Multinational Bouygues Construction has engaged Ennesys to study the integration of waste water algae production in two building projects in the Greater Paris region both at the scale of a million square feet (80,000 m2 and …
Air Force Tests Independence Bio-Products’ Algae Jet Fuel
The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base is testing jet fuel derived from algae produced by Dublin, Ohio based Independence Bio-Products (IBP). The algae was grown in open ponds in Ohio and harvested with the company’s patent pending harvest system. The tests are part of federally funded project to examine Algae to Fuel (ATF) processing technologies. …
Sapphire & Linde Announce Algae CO2 Deal
Sapphire Energy and The Linde Group have announced a multi-year partnership to co-develop a low-cost system to deliver carbon dioxide (CO2) to commercial-scale, open-pond, algae-to-fuel cultivation systems. Linde, who is a leading supplier of CO2 in the US, will work with Sapphire to reduce the costs incurred when delivering CO2 for commercial-scale open pond algae cultivation. In addition, Linde will …
St. Louis Science Center Seeking Backyard Biofuels
The next big thing in biofuels could be right in your own backyard. For the second year, the Saint Louis Science Center is collaborating with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in a research project that “has the potential to discover algae species located within the St. Louis metro area which may be used in cutting-edge biofuels research.” According to …
Oil Prices Drop, Gas Prices Rise
It’s Friday and that means its time to fill the gas tank. Just in time for weekend fun, it always seems like gas prices go up. Here in California, prices are hovering near the $4.40 per gallon mark. But this week, oil prices dropped 15 percent from a two-year high of $114.83 on Monday and today prices closed at $97.18. …
BIO World Congress Preview
The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, hosted by BIO, is set to begin on Sunday, May 8, 2011 in Toronto. A record crowd is expected and the exhibitor hall is sold out. I’ll be on site to bring you breaking news and information about the latest biotechnology trends as they relate to biofuels and biochemicals. To get a …
Biomass Industry Execs Discuss Future
All energy of the bio variety – biomass, biogas, biodiesel and biofuels – were represented at the 4th International Biomass Conference and Expo on Monday during a panel featuring executives of seven different industry organizations. Moderator Tom Bryan, Vice President of BBI International, asked the panel was what the top priorities for their organizations are this year. “Just getting parity …
Heliae – Measuring Algae by the Barrel
Sun and algae go together like peanut butter and jelly. Just ask Karl Seitz, Co-Founder of Heliae. I sat down with Seitz during the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in DC to learn a little more about his company and their technology. The first unique attribute of the company is their name. Heli is Greek for the sun and the ae …
Creating a Downstream Market for Algae Products
“When we embarked on this project three years ago, we thought by the time we reached commercial scale, like we have today, there would be plenty of demand for algae biomass to produce these products,” said Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) during the dedication of BioProcess Algae’s Grower Harvester bioreactors. This dedication signaled the last stage …