Are We There Yet?

When I first started to think about this blog I thought about my previous experiences with biodiesel. It was a tedious task to measure and calculate and mix all of the necessary inputs prior to chemical reaction. The entire process took well over 14 hours but it worked, which is the most important and hardest thing to master. So I was naturally skeptical of a high production biofuel being available in the near future but as I researched and found more and more options I started to think that maybe it isn’t such an unreal possibility. I thought about how much has changed just in the production of biodiesel since I bought my processor four years ago. The entire idea around the reactor is obsolete and I need to redesign it. Four years is a short time but technology grows exponentially and therefore exponentially faster.

One thing I noticed that I found interesting was most of my sources did not agree. Biofuel.org.uk had information saying algae was the largest producer of oil but also said it had massive energy constraints and required far to many inputs, while both of the sciencedaily.com articles talked about algae as if it were only a matter of time before society saw algae biofuel at every pump. The argument discussed on the npr.org audio clip was completely against algae-biofuels claiming it was far to costly of a biomass to grow essentially stating a complete lack of efficiency in the production of the algae. With this kind of diversity in the answers it is hard to draw a conclusion on algae and probably is best to leave it open for discussion as the technology advances.

The final two sources from Tom Simpson and the USDA were, for the most part, on the same page. In my opinion, there isn’t enough information or experience recorded about pyrolysis to draw a conclusion. The idea behind the process sounds great but I would like to see a video of a pyrolysis chamber/reactor operating and a few more studies that show some values about what it can do and how clean it can do it. At the end I do not think a conclusion can be drawn other then to say fossil fuels will run out even if we slow down our consumption. Some kind of green energy must be found or we, as a society, need to slow our energy consumption to meet the worlds available resources. 

Pyrolysis

After contemplating my previous post and the information I discovered I felt like I should investigate other possible fuels. I went to the Poudre Public Library website and completed a search for “biofuel options” and came across an interesting article, “Biofuels: The Past, Present, and a New Vision for the Future” written by Tom Simpson. This article discusses biofuels, particularly biofuel made from grain and biomass like corn or switch grass respectively. He explains how corn is an impractical option because it requires a tremendous amount of nutrients and it is very harsh on the land it is grown on where as, switch grass and other perennial biomass crops can be grown with less inputs in more localized areas. This information I already understood but as I continued to read Simpson began to explain process call pyrolysis, which generates liquid biofuels by anaerobic combustion of biomass resulting in the fuel and char. Char is a fine particulate containing carbon and plant nutrients, which can be used to amend soil. I have researched biofuels quite extensively and have never heard of pyrolysis so, I was naturally curious. could this be the solution? I needed more information.
I went google and searched "pyrolysis" hoping it would deliver a quality site. I found a page on the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service website that explains the process. Essentially biomass is heated in an environment with no oxygen so it cannot combust, but the chemical compounds thermally decompose resulting in combustible gases that are then condensed into fuels. CO­2, CO, H2, light hydrocarbons, and bio char are the other products. Even though this process requires temperatures around 500 degrees it is sustainable by using some of the combustible gasses to continue running the processor.
When I compared these two sources I began to think of questions. What is the best biomass to use for this process? I do not remember either source mentioning if switch grass is better than wood pulp or any of the other large biomass producers we have on this planet. How much land is needed to grow the biomass and how much is needed for a production facility? Can this be done on a commercial level or is it better on a smaller scale? Tom Simpson's article was more pointed at persuading the reader away from corn ethanol while the USDA's site seemed to be more interested in explaining and possibly selling the idea of pyrolysis.
It seems to me like this is a very brilliant process that removes the necessary items from biomass but leaves the unnecessary products in the char which can be reused to improve growth of future biomass or other crops. I am curious how much CO-2 is created, but I realize that any biofuel creates some amount of CO-2. I wonder if this CO-2 can be collected and used to stimulate growth of other biomass producers like algae? Maybe combining these two biofuel producers and their processes can be mutually beneficial. Maybe the char can be used to feed the algae the large quantities of nutrients it requires?

Resources:
Simpson, Tom. "Biofuels: The Past, Present, And A New Vision For The Future." Bioscience 59.11 (2009): 926-927. GreenFILE. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

All About Algae

After my last post I found myself contemplating algae and its apparent valuable uses as listed on the previously posted link to the Solix website. This page explains the major highlights of algae and what it can be used for. Two major products that can be created from algae are oil (used to make biodiesel and bio-jet fuel), as well as animal feeds from the remaining biomass. It can also be used for bio-derived chemicals, antioxidants, proteins, pigments, and fertilizers.  I feel that currently algae is the most feasible option for producing a sustainable and green fuel but, I wonder how efficient of a producer it is? Can algae out produce terrestrial plants? Is it a sustainable option and is it really greener than fossil fuels? These are all questions I would like to answer so I continued to search the Internet and library sources for information.

I discovered two articles published on sciencedaily.com discussing algae and its’ production. The first, published in 2009, briefly describes a more efficient method for processing biodiesel. It also claims that algae is capable of producing 100 to 300 times the amount of oil per acre, when compared to soybeans, and the most promising replacement for transportation fuels. That is definitely what i was looking for but I am still curious about cost of production and if it is truly sustainable.The second article was published in 2012 and, titled Algae Biofuels: The Wave of the Future. It explained that algae production uses CO₂ where harvesting fossil fuels only creates more CO₂, an obvious bonus for algae. It also described the newly created genome on a species of marine algae that supposedly has the lipid yields required to produce algae-biofuel on an industrial level. The second article strengthens the argument and offers confidence to the reader. Why would anyone spend the money to genetically engineer algae unless it was going to change the world or make them rich?
Once i noticed the articles were only 3 years apart I started to question that validity of them. I immediately wondered how much energy is required to grow algae? Is it truly a cleaner fuel or sustainable? Has research answered these questions yet? I wanted to check another source so I went to npr.org and searched “algae biofuel”. I found an audio clip posted in 2012 and titled, "Algae As Car Fuel: Possible, But Not Sustainable?" The recorded discussion explained how it will be complicated to make algae sustainable when it is on a large scale because of the energy requirements for growing, harvesting, and processing the algae. The production of the algae also requires large tracts of land and equally large quantities of nutrients. One speaker also claimed that large-scale competitive production would take decades. 
The audio clip from npr.com completely contradicts the views of the two articles from sciencedaily.com  making me feel like my questions were answered but I am no closer to a conclusion. If it requires so much water I wonder if algae can be grown in sections of ocean thus, avoiding the need for land usage and water circulation(primary use of power in processing)? What could be the repercussions on the ocean and environment if this were possible? Would the world be trading pollution of air for pollution of the ocean? I supremely doubt algae's viability at this point but i looked up a video on youtube.com called "Algae to Biofuel" and posted it below. It shows how algae is produced and discusses some of the options for producing it. After watching the video I feel like it addresses some of the problems that are presented in the audio clip. I still wonder if there may be a better option or if algae will progress to be the solution?

Biofuel?

In my last blog I discussed my curiosity with biofuel and it’s possible ability to replace fossil fuels. I decided that I should discuss biofuels and give a background on the various types. So I completed a quick search and found the website biofuel.org.uk which clearly explains almost all biofuels, what they are made from, and gives a lot of incite as to how feasible they are for sustainable or green energy. After reviewing the website I realized that there is far too much information to try to summarize on this blog so, I linked what I feel is the most informative page for people who may not know a tremendous amount about biofuels. This page clearly describes the two genres of biofuel, which are simply first generation and second generation biofuels. The major difference separating them is first generation fuels are not green/sustainable because they are made from plants and materials that are directly used in food production. An overuse of these resources could be troublesome for the food supply and therefore have, for the most part, been ruled out as a sustainable fuel. I had never thought about this before. I own a small biodiesel processor and I have made biodiesel before but, all of the oil that I processed was waste vegetable oil which is a food based product that is becoming more and more valuable as the population grows. First generation fuels are definitely not a good choice for a long term solution.
Second generation fuels are made from non-food plants, but they are still very premature in their development and include Cellulosic Ethanol, Fischer-Tropsch fuels, Biohydrogen, Algae and others. The same web page also provides a table listing each fuel, what it is made from, its energy density and its green house gas production. Second generation fuels are certainly the best option but what is the best choice? I noticed on the table in the previously link that algae showed a possibility of being able to produce 10 to 100 times more oil per acre than any other crop.
I started searching the internet and found a company named Solix started growing algae in 2009 in southwestern Colorado and its headquarters are now located in Fort Collins. I looked through their website and found their "About Algae" page to be very well designed to explain  all of the benefits of algae but never really discusses how they grow it. This Seemed like good marketing tactics for prospective investors. I am left still wondering about algae production. The first page advertised algae's large oil yields but the Solix website did not assist my research attempt at try to prove it also, I still do not know how cost effective it is or what repercussions or pitfalls it may have. 

Biofuels a Direct Replacement for Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels have been the driving force of the world since the industrial revolution, powering almost every machine used by humans. The United States is the largest consumer of fossil fuels and is responsible for burning more than 350 million gallons of gasoline a day on average! This is an exorbitant amount of fuel and the repercussions of this magnitude of fuel consumption are still unconfirmed. Many theories, from global warming to acidic oceans, have been studied and despite all fingers pointing toward the culprit being fossil fuel, there is nothing that can immediately be done to stop or even slow the consumption. Our world runs on the black gold and we, as a society, cannot stop and wait for the solution to arrive.

            So, what is the solution? Could it be more fuel-efficient vehicles, or switching to electric power? Maybe it is hydrogen fuel cells or nuclear power. All of these ideas could be the solution, but it is doubtful. Fuel efficiency is very important and recently there have been more and more advertisements for cars working toward fuel mileage of 40 mpg or better. This is an obvious shift in the right direction and hopefully the technology will continue to advance pushing that number even higher, but unfortunately, it still doesn’t solve the issue that the oil reserves will one day run out and that pollution from fossil fuels is destroying our planet.  Other forms of fuel are being investigated, one possibility being electric hybrid cars have become an option in the recent past and may be a good idea, but how much fuel is burned to harvest the lithium ion used in the batteries of these cars? Also, how long do the batteries last and what happens to them when they fail? Are these consumers really lessoning their carbon footprint?

            What about biofuels? To what extent can biofuels become a sustainable replacement for fossil fuels? An enormous pro to using biofuels as a possible replacement for fossil fuel is the lack of change needed to the infrastructure of our mechanically built world. Every other possible option comes with a massive change to the way we harvest our energy for transportation and use. Biofuels is currently the only option that can directly replace the gasoline or diesel that the average consumer purchases at the pump. In fact, many municipal systems currently use biofuel to power their public transit busses. I feel that biofuels are the clear next step toward a cleaner sustainable source of transportation energy, but will it ever happen?  

I found this clip on youtube.com that explains the history of fossil fuels as well as the envisioned future. I found it quite interesting and agree with most of it. The speakers name is Richard Heinberg and the clip was posted by postcarboninstitute.