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News and Trends[Top]
Virgin Atlantic Airways Initiates Greening of the Aviation Industry Through Collaborative Testing of Alternative Biofuels on Jet Aircraft Sir Richard Branson, of Virgin Atlantic Airways, has announced its plans to pioneer in the use of alternative biofuels to power its airplanes. The joint biofuel demonstration/testing will be in collaboration with Boeing Company and General Electric (GE). Initially, the tests will be done on a (passenger-free) Boeing 747-400 aircraft, using a fuel blend of 60% conventional aviation fuel and 40% alternative biofuel. If the test is successful, further trials are planned for a 50% conventional-50% biofuel blend. One important requirement for aviation fuel is that it should not freeze at cold temperatures normally encountered at high altitudes. The fuel should have good “cold-flow properties”. Ethanol-based biofuels are said to freeze at 15,000 feet, and therefore may not be suitable. As an alternative to bioethanol, the use of next-generation biofuels, based on “biobutanol” and also synthetic biofuels (from thermochemical processing of biomass) have been mentioned. Africa has also been identified as one possible area where biofuel crops can be planted to meet biojetfuel demand, and at the same time, alleviate poverty in the continent.. [Top]
“Biofuel Wiki” Offers User-Friendly Knowledge Base on “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Bioenergy, ….” “Biofuels” and “Bioenergy” are catchfire buzzwords that have generated global interest, spawning exponentially increasing information on new concepts and new developments/innovations for alternative fuels. A wide array of biofuel products and technologies are cropping up fast, and sometimes information overload can overwhelm the power of informed choice. Technical terms like “Fischer-tropsch”, “biobutanol”, “pyrolysis”, “thermal depolymerization”, etc, can be quite dizzying. For those who wish to catch up with the latest concepts in bioenergy (in a non-intimidating, encyclopedic way), “Biofuel Wiki” is an online knowledge portal which can provide user-friendly information about almost anything related to bioenergy. The knowledge portal also has comprehensive sections on bioenergy news, events, technical information resources, a comprehensive biofuels glossary and featured blogs, among others. The site is said to be hosted by the National Wildlife Federation, and supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Biomass Coordinating Council of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the Worldwatch Institute. [Top]
Atmospheric Modelling Study Examines Scenarios with Increased Use of E85 Bioethanol Blends Ethanol blends as a transport fuel alternative, has been heralded as a “green fuel” which emits lower greenhouse gases compared to conventional fossil fuels. A new study based on a sophisticated air pollution/weather forecasting model shows that while ethanol blends may decrease some pollutants (like benzene and butadiene), it may also increase others (like acetaldehyde and formaldehyde). This study by Stanford University Associate Professor, Mark Jacobson, shows that increased use of E85 (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) may lead to a 9% increase in ozone related-deaths in greater Los Angeles and an 4% increase U.S. national average of the same deaths by 2020. The study (recently featured in the journal, Environmental Science and Technology) concludes that “E85 is unlikely to improve air quality over future gasoline vehicles” and that “unburned ethanol emissions from E85 may result in a global-scale source of (the pollutant) acetaldehyde larger than that of direct emissions”. Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production[Top]
Study Claims that Biodiesel from Rapeseed Oil Has a “Weak Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Balance” A new study by SRI Consulting shows that rapeseed grown on dedicated farmland and processed into biodiesel would emit “nearly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions (as carbon dioxide equivalents) per kilometer driven, as does conventional diesel”. It has therefore, a “weak GHG balance”. (The “GHG balance” (net environmental emissions factor), together with “carbon balance” (net energy yield factor) are important indices for evaluating effectiveness of biofuels in mitigating climate change). The study also claims that if the rapeseed plantation was converted into a tree plantation, petroleum diesel would emit only a third of the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions as biodiesel”. Implications of this finding on the EU Biofuels Directive were also mentioned. Biopact comments that the European biodiesel industry would dispute its findings, considering the following: (1) results of studies from independent academic institutions which report strong GHG balance for rapeseed biodiesel, (2) the study did not account for greenhouse gas emissions that can be avoided due to the use of biodiesel byproducts as animal feed or fuel, (3) recent scientific studies which indicate that “there is no consensus yet” as to the degree of how different types of forest trees grown in mid-latitudes can contribute atmospheric carbon dioxide removal. Biofuels Processing[Top]
Streamlined “Consolidated Bioprocessing” of Cellulosic Biomass Yields Bioethanol and Environment-Friendly Glue The processing of cellulosic plant biomass into ethanol is usually done as a 2-step process involving (1) saccharification (breakdown of cellulose fibrils into simple, soluble sugars, often by enzymes) and (1) fermentation of simple sugars into ethanol by yeast. An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist (Paul Weimer) has found a microorganism which can cut the 2-stage cellulose ethanol production strategy into a single, streamlined process. The potential cost-saving strategy (termed “consolidated bioprocessing”) uses a bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum. This “2 in 1” microorganism possesses the all the enzymes necessary for both saccharification and fermentation in a single reaction system. As an added bonus, the microorganism also produces a value-added, environment friendly but strong “bioadhesive” which could (1) offset the cost of cellulosic ethanol production and (2) “replace up to 70% of the petroleum-based phenol-formaldehyde that is used to manufacture plywood and other pressed-wood products.” Biofuels Policy and Economics[Top]
Rating System Proposed for Evaluating Environmental Performance of Different Biofuel Products/ Technologies It seems that different biofuels have different degrees of being “green” and being “environment friendly”. At present, environmentally conscious consumers are limited in their power of choice for greener biofuels because of this lack of information. A team of scientists from the University of California at Berkely has proposed the development of a rating system that would measure the positive and environmental impacts of a particular biofuel or a biofuel technology. Aside from serving as a consumer guide to environment-friendly biofuels, the labeling system is also seen as a way to stimulate competition among alternative fuel producers to develop greener biofuels, and to drive out the less-greener ones. They have released a report which hopes to stimulate discussions on how countries can best formulate the biofuel “green” rating system. They also recommended some steps that may be useful in creating and implementing this “Green Fuel Index”. [Top]
Review Paper Appraises Economics and Environmental Impacts of Bioethanol Production Technologies from Lignocellulosics This paper review provides a review of ethanol production technologies from lignocellulosic biomass, starting with biomass pretreatment, to the enzymatic saccharification (breakdown of cellulose to glucose) and alcohol fermentation. It also makes an assessment of economic and environmental viabilities of these technologies. The technical and economic hurdles which must be overcome to realize commercial production of ethanol from lignocellulosics is presented. |
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