What is the future of fuel? What's new? What's next? Since 2007, Gas 2 has covered a rapidly changing world coming to terms with its oil addiction.
The jury is still out on jatropha, which achieved biofuel superstar status a couple of years ago only to see its star tarnished by charges of land grabbing, deforestation, and even biopiracy, including the replacement of food cropland for jatropha cultivation. Lesson learned: whether it’s a food or nonfood crop, biofuel cultivation has to be balanced with regional and global nutrition.
Image: prashantby on flickr.com.
About Tina CaseyTina Casey is a freelance writer specializing in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. She is a regular contributor to Cleantechnica.com, TriplePundit.com, and IdeaLab.Talkingpointsmemo.com, and she is currently Deputy Director of Public Information for the County of Union, New Jersey.
Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. You can also follow her on twitter @TinaMCasey, and on Tumblr.
Her professional background includes three years as Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and two years as a researcher for the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs.
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What? No cattails?
alcoholcanbeagas.com
http://www.organicgreenandnatural.com/2009/08/26/from-swamp-to-gas-pump-cattails-take-on-new-role/
What? No cattails?
alcoholcanbeagas.com
http://www.organicgreenandnatural.com/2009/08/26/from-swamp-to-gas-pump-cattails-take-on-new-role/
What? No cattails?
alcoholcanbeagas.com
http://www.organicgreenandnatural.com/2009/08/26/from-swamp-to-gas-pump-cattails-take-on-new-role/
What? No cattails?
alcoholcanbeagas.com
http://www.organicgreenandnatural.com/2009/08/26/from-swamp-to-gas-pump-cattails-take-on-new-role/
Hi Mike in Brooklyn, seriously I was very sad to leave out cattails (had to make some cuts somewhere), but see my earlier post “Cattail Army Deployed to Fight Water Pollution,” http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/16/cattail-army-deployed-to-fight-water-pollution/
T.
PS say hi to South First Street for me.
Fuel from weeds is where its at – it’s really the only way to control them. Undemanding and painfully renewable, the weeds need clearing worldwide. Aquatic weeds, like the above-mentioned cattails(hooray) and water hyacinth, are the most productive, but almost every plant we have a problem with should be viewed as fuel to be harvested. I doubt that anyone should try poison ivy. There are so many places where the weeds need harvesting, and clearing them helps in so many ways. Charge!
Fuel from weeds is where its at – it’s really the only way to control them. Undemanding and painfully renewable, the weeds need clearing worldwide. Aquatic weeds, like the above-mentioned cattails(hooray) and water hyacinth, are the most productive, but almost every plant we have a problem with should be viewed as fuel to be harvested. I doubt that anyone should try poison ivy. There are so many places where the weeds need harvesting, and clearing them helps in so many ways. Charge!
if it’s the cattails I’m thinking about they are edible.
guess who will be munching when the food crisis hits
what needs to be used is sage globe, round up won’t kill’m.
if it’s the cattails I’m thinking about they are edible.
guess who will be munching when the food crisis hits
what needs to be used is sage globe, round up won’t kill’m.
if it’s the cattails I’m thinking about they are edible.
guess who will be munching when the food crisis hits
what needs to be used is sage globe, round up won’t kill’m.
Everytime I do the math comparing biofuels to electric cars I get more skeptical about the long term potential for large scale use of biofuels. Here’s my rough miles/acre for both.
If an acre annually produces 15 tons of vegetation with say 7,000 btu (~2kWh) per lb we get 210 million btu (~60MWh) a year. If a process to turn that into a liquid fuel is 50% eff we end up with 105 million btu or 30MWh stored in some 750 gals of biodiesl. A good 60mpg car would do about 45,000 miles per acre.
If the ave solar insolation for an ave U.S. site is 5kWh/day is converted with 25% eff solar thermal generator with a 10% land footprint, it would generate 5kWh * 365 * 4047 * 10% * 25% equals 184.6MWh/yr. If grid and battery losses total 50% ? we’d have about 90MWh for battery charges.
If a Nissan Leaf really can go 100miles on a 24kWh charge, then it would do 375,000 miles per acre.
Its gets 50-100% better if the solar thermal is located in the S.W.
Everytime I do the math comparing biofuels to electric cars I get more skeptical about the long term potential for large scale use of biofuels. Here’s my rough miles/acre for both.
If an acre annually produces 15 tons of vegetation with say 7,000 btu (~2kWh) per lb we get 210 million btu (~60MWh) a year. If a process to turn that into a liquid fuel is 50% eff we end up with 105 million btu or 30MWh stored in some 750 gals of biodiesl. A good 60mpg car would do about 45,000 miles per acre.
If the ave solar insolation for an ave U.S. site is 5kWh/day is converted with 25% eff solar thermal generator with a 10% land footprint, it would generate 5kWh * 365 * 4047 * 10% * 25% equals 184.6MWh/yr. If grid and battery losses total 50% ? we’d have about 90MWh for battery charges.
If a Nissan Leaf really can go 100miles on a 24kWh charge, then it would do 375,000 miles per acre.
Its gets 50-100% better if the solar thermal is located in the S.W.
Everytime I do the math comparing biofuels to electric cars I get more skeptical about the long term potential for large scale use of biofuels. Here’s my rough miles/acre for both.
If an acre annually produces 15 tons of vegetation with say 7,000 btu (~2kWh) per lb we get 210 million btu (~60MWh) a year. If a process to turn that into a liquid fuel is 50% eff we end up with 105 million btu or 30MWh stored in some 750 gals of biodiesl. A good 60mpg car would do about 45,000 miles per acre.
If the ave solar insolation for an ave U.S. site is 5kWh/day is converted with 25% eff solar thermal generator with a 10% land footprint, it would generate 5kWh * 365 * 4047 * 10% * 25% equals 184.6MWh/yr. If grid and battery losses total 50% ? we’d have about 90MWh for battery charges.
If a Nissan Leaf really can go 100miles on a 24kWh charge, then it would do 375,000 miles per acre.
Its gets 50-100% better if the solar thermal is located in the S.W.
Great article and I am sure there are many more “weeds” that could be included. My opinion – the most important things now are:
1. Can the existing corn-ethanol plants be converted cheaply and easily to process “weeds”? Since they are supported by the corn lobby and DOE this will be critical.
2. What would be involved in starting a weed-fuel plant? Small scale and large scale?
3. There are many similar ideas for using forces of nature to solve our “problems” – how do we get them all together?
Great article and I am sure there are many more “weeds” that could be included. My opinion – the most important things now are:
1. Can the existing corn-ethanol plants be converted cheaply and easily to process “weeds”? Since they are supported by the corn lobby and DOE this will be critical.
2. What would be involved in starting a weed-fuel plant? Small scale and large scale?
3. There are many similar ideas for using forces of nature to solve our “problems” – how do we get them all together?
Great article and I am sure there are many more “weeds” that could be included. My opinion – the most important things now are:
1. Can the existing corn-ethanol plants be converted cheaply and easily to process “weeds”? Since they are supported by the corn lobby and DOE this will be critical.
2. What would be involved in starting a weed-fuel plant? Small scale and large scale?
3. There are many similar ideas for using forces of nature to solve our “problems” – how do we get them all together?
Great article and I am sure there are many more “weeds” that could be included. My opinion – the most important things now are:
1. Can the existing corn-ethanol plants be converted cheaply and easily to process “weeds”? Since they are supported by the corn lobby and DOE this will be critical.
2. What would be involved in starting a weed-fuel plant? Small scale and large scale?
3. There are many similar ideas for using forces of nature to solve our “problems” – how do we get them all together?
What about hemp??? This seems like a huge oversight, and you could have used some stupid puns.
What about hemp??? This seems like a huge oversight, and you could have used some stupid puns.
What about hemp??? This seems like a huge oversight, and you could have used some stupid puns.
I wish THEY would harvest all of the Goat-Head weeds whos thorns are giving me flat tires on my bike, but I hope THEY don’t start growing the stuff!
I wish THEY would harvest all of the Goat-Head weeds whos thorns are giving me flat tires on my bike, but I hope THEY don’t start growing the stuff!