DailyDirt: Fixing A Hole Where The Rain Gets In...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Pollution from energy generation is an enormous problem that will probably require an expensive solution -- which, thankfully, billionaires like Bill Gates are willing to fund. However, we're already spending billions on energy R&D, but progress seems slow when the doomsday clock appears to be "catastrophically" close to midnight. The option of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere might give us some additional time, though, even if global-scale geoengineering sounds like it might have its own unintended side effects.

• Carbon dioxide sequestration at an industrial scale -- removing a ton of CO2 from the air per day -- is a step towards a carbon-neutral industry that might be economical. Carbon Engineering has a pilot plant that hasn't quite produced a carbon-neutral fuel for $1/liter, but it might someday (before we figure out how to generate power from fusion reactors?). [url]
• Carbon dioxide can be turned into carbon and molecular oxygen by zapping it with a UV laser. This probably isn't the most effective way to break down CO2, but it could also explain how non-biological oxygen appears on other planets. [url]
• Capturing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and fluorocarbons can be accomplished using certain porous materials that trap these gases. The problem remains: how can we reliably store vast amounts of greenhouse gases -- and do so economically? [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: bill gates, biofuel, carbon dioxide, carbon fixation, carbon sequestration, climate change, energy, fluorocarbons, geoengineering, ghg, pollution
Companies: carbon engineering

DailyDirt: Blooming Business For Algae

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Growing fuel from algae is a goal that plenty of scientists have been working on for years. Creating an economically viable process for doing this would be a real game-changer, but so far, there are still some major challenges (and the price of oil is looking remarkably low nowadays, too). Still, progress for growing biofuels from algae is inching along, and here are just a few examples.

• One of the problems for using algae to produce biofuels is that these organisms normally produce lipid oils when they are starved for nutrients -- but they don't grow well under those conditions. However, engineering some diatoms to produce lipids without hindering their growth has been achieved. [url]
• An algae pilot plant in Alabama is making diesel and jet fuel -- and treating waste water at the same time. Algae Systems puts waste water, algae and CO2 into large plastic bags and lets the algae grow for a few days offshore in the sun. This process currently produces 3,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year and treats 40,000 gallons of water per acre per year, so it still needs to scale up before everyone is driving/flying around using this biofuel. [url]
• An algae-powered building in Hamburg relies on heat from growing algae to make the building (somewhat) self sufficient. This BIQ building sucks carbon dioxide out of the air, creating biomass, and uses traditional solar panels to augment its power needs. The upfront building costs are significant, but if it can continue to operate with minimal ongoing energy costs, the investment will pan out in the future. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: algae, alternative energy, biodiesel, biofuel, biomass, energy, gmo, solar, sustainable, waste water
Companies: algae systems

DailyDirt: Storing Energy In Organic Molecules

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Petroleum products are a pretty convenient way to store energy. It's just unfortunate that burning the stuff releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Biofuels could be a solution, but relying on natural biological processes can be difficult to scale up -- especially if we expect biofuels to try to match up with the current energy demands. Researchers are working on ways to modify biology or circumvent it with chemical engineering to make some carbon neutral hydrocarbon fuels in large quantities. Here are a few possible examples.

• A copper catalyst system can produce ethanol (and acetate) from carbon monoxide at room temperature and pressure -- without any kind of fermentation. This copper-based system relies on an electrochemical cell and could be a environmentally-friendly way to produce a non-toxic, renewable fuel. [url]
• Scientists have played with Escherichia coli bacteria that can generate propane gas. The process needs a lot more work to become a practical way to produce propane as a fuel, but a bioreactor to make propane could be viable in a decade or so. (Maybe.) [url]
• Some species of bacteria have been found that can consume pure electricity for food. These naturally-occurring microorganisms usually live near hydrothermal vents on the seafloor, but if they can feed on electrons directly (instead of soluble bits of iron), then they might be able to store energy in biomolecules for us and turn electricity into convenient biofuels. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: bacteria, biofuel, biotech, carbon dioxide, electricity, energy, ethanol, extremophiles, fuel, hydrocarbons, petroleum, propane

DailyDirt: The Growing Pains Of Biofuels

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

So far, grabbing fossil fuels out of the ground has been an unbeatable way to get cheap energy. Since fossil fuels (presumably) come from decaying dinosaurs (and their contemporaries), it makes some sense that growing biofuels might be a way to generate a more renewable source of energy. Unfortunately, biofuel projects haven't quite demonstrated an obviously better way to replace fossil fuels. Here are just a few links to some biofuel info that could lead to more environmentally friendly fuels.

• Biofuel derived from corn waste might be no better (or worse) than gasoline for carbon dioxide emissions. A recent study estimates that burning corn waste biofuels releases CO2 faster than if the corn waste was left to rot in the fields. There are some questions about how accurate these estimates are, but it raises the question of how green some biofuels really are. [url]
• Breeding algae for biofuels isn't easy -- especially if you want to extract the a significant amount of algae oil from a large photobioreactor. However, if someone does figure out a cost effective way to grow biodiesel (or any important organic compounds) from algae, it'll be a real game changer. [url]
• Ideally, biofuels would take more CO2 out of the air than they emit. At least one startup, Cool Planet, thinks it can do this at a decent-sized scale -- making 10 million gallons of fuel in a year by the end of 2015. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: algae, biodiesel, biofuel, carbon sequestration, corn waste, energy, fossil fuels, hydrocarbons, renewable energy
Companies: cool planet

DailyDirt: Growing Biofuels For Sustainable Energy

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Biology has already figured out how to capture and use solar energy, so it makes some sense that we could try to re-purpose natural mechanisms to do our bidding and fulfill our energy needs. The trick is doing it on a scale that works economically. Plenty of scientists are working on ways to produce biofuels, but so far, the amount of biofuel used commercially is a rounding error compared to the volume of petroleum products that is burned. Still, here are just a few examples of biofuels that could be promising alternatives to burning dinosaur remains.

• Genetically modified versions of Escherichia coli (E. coli) have produced small amounts of gasoline in a lab -- which could potentially be scaled up to 'grow' a practical biofuel that doesn't require significant changes to our existing petroleum-powered economy. Bacteria have produced biodiesel before, but this is the first time a 'biogasoline' has been grown. [url]
• Cellulosic ethanol is either a boondoggle or the next big biofuel. The US converts about 40% of its corn crop into alcohol fuel, and some say it's time to end the subsidies that support this semi-established biofuel. [url]
• Plant waste could be fermented to produce a gasoline-like fuel, too. A pilot plant for scaling up this process is a couple years away still, but this is another way we could keep our gas-guzzling cars and use more environmentally friendly fuels at the pump. [url]
• Biofuels are usually promoted with the benefit of being carbon neutral, but the technology to turn biomass into energy can be carbon negative, too. Gasification heats up biomass like corn husk waste in a low oxygen environment to create combustible hydrogen and carbon-rich charcoal. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: biodiesel, biofuel, biogasoline, biomass, biotech, carbon negative, carbon neutral, cellulosic ethanol, energy, gmo, hydrogen, petroleum

DailyDirt: Making Use Of Food Waste

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

A terrible amount of our food supply goes to waste. It's not just unsold produce that rots in a grocery store. All along our food chain, we throw away edible material. Efforts to reclaim those loses are sometimes met with some disgust (eg. pink slime), but finding uses for food stuff that would otherwise end up in landfill should be a noble pursuit. Here are just a few projects that could eat up some of our uneaten leftovers.

• Black soldier flies could be used to eat all kinds of biowaste -- from brewer's grain (leftover from beer making) to slaughterhouse waste. These insects are more efficient than rendering plants, and then their protein-rich bodies can be fed to farm animals. [url]
• In the UK, there's a online marketplace for food that is beyond its advertised "sell by" date. The food is perfectly safe to eat, and this site was really popular during the Great Recession. [url]
• Some food waste is being processed into biofuel and other chemicals. Starbucks Hong Kong and The Climate Group are working together to find ways to re-use coffee grounds and waste baked goods. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: biofuel, biowaste, black soldier fly, expired food, food, leftovers, rendering plant, the climate group, waste
Companies: starbucks

DailyDirt: Better Biofuels To Save The Day

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Weaning ourselves off of a hydrocarbon-powered economy is not going to be easy. The infrastructure to distribute and use petroleum distillates is ubiquitous, so biofuels that can easily use the same equipment could be a convenient way to start replacing fossil fuels. Using more and more biofuels sounds like an easy solution, but the real trick is scaling up the processes in an economical way. Here are just a few biofuel projects that might be worth keeping an eye on.

• Companies making biofuels from plant waste -- avoiding corn as a feedstock -- are starting to ramp up production, with capacities to make millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol in a year. A few million gallons of alcohol isn't that much compared to the hundred of billions (with a b) of gallons of petroleum distillates that the US uses as fuel, but these biofuel technologies could become price competitive with corn-based ethanol in a few years. [url]
• Enzymes from the wood-eating gribble could help turn cellulosic waste into biofuels. Not to be confused with the furry creatures hated by Klingons, the gribble produces this robust catalyst that breaks down a variety of polysaccharides into simple sugars -- potentially creating a key step in a process that would make sustainable liquid biofuels. [url]
• A genetically modified strain of Pyrococcus furiosus might be useful for converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into chemicals and fuels. This microorganism usually lives near geothermal vents in ocean water, but an engineered colony of P furiosus could live in less extreme conditions and be fed a diet of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in order to skip the somewhat inefficient use of plant biomass to produce biofuels. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: biofuel, biomass, carbon dioxide, carbon fixation, cellulose, energy, enzymes, ethanol, fuel, gribble, oil, petroleum, pyrococcus furiosus, sugar

DailyDirt: Alternative Energy

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Developing more sources of renewable energy to help replace (or supplement) our fossil-fueled economy seems like a worthwhile pursuit. Since nature has been doing renewable energy cycles for quite a bit longer than people have, plants and microbes might inspire some interesting ways to create fuels from sunlight. But even if the research doesn't pan out for practical energy solutions, we'll likely learn something interesting about biological processes. Here are a few quick links on alternative energy projects.

• Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a way to produce hydrogen from sunlight using photosynthetic plant proteins (from spinach). There are other ways to get hydrogen from solar power, so getting this proof-of-concept system to be cheap is, as usual, the real trick. [url]
• Geomicrobiologists may have found subterranean microbes that can extract hydrogen from rocks. The mechanism isn't clear yet, and a critical control experiment for these microbes still needs to be performed. Still, it's neat to see microbes that can catalyze chemical reactions at extreme conditions. [url]
• Wave energy can be captured very efficiently using a cycloidal turbine in 1:1300 scale experiments. Will it scale up? That's the $400,000 question, in this case. [url]
• To discover more stuff on alternative energy, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

As always, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: biofuel, hydrogen, microbes, wave energy