Category: Biomass
BioFuels Offer Great Promise, Vicious Complexity
| August 1, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
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I just had a fascinating call with Jim Lane, editor and publisher of Miami, FL-based BioFuelsDigest.com, a group that provides information products and a series of top-flight industry conferences to more than 14,000 organizations worldwide.
When I happened to mention that I run across plenty of crackpots and charlatans in my day-to-day dealings with cleantech entrepreneurs, it was instantly apparent that Jim’s had the same experience. And the more I learn about biofuels, the more I can understand how easily this may be the case. There is so much complexity; there are so many different combinations of feedstocks and technologies, it’s really impossible for anyone to keep track of all of them. One hopes for peer-reviewed analysis, but that’s not always possible; one can understand that certain of these businesses need to protect their IP very carefully.
This is further complicated by the fact that many biomass technologies work to some degree – just not at a commercially viable level. It’s not like somebody who claims to have built a car that runs on seawater.
Take waste-tire-to-biofuels, for instance. I happen to believe that the version of pyrolysis that my associates at Southeastern Biomass bring to the table will work as advertised. But I’m certainly skeptical; I think anyone needs to be. Pyrolysis has been around for a century, and dozens (hundreds?) of people have tried to make the waste-tire dream come true.
At the end of the day, some of these folks are showmen. And, while every business needs a convincing front-man, there is a line between enthusiastic promotion and fraud.
Just ask the U.S. District Judge who, last week, handed down a summary judgment against John Rivera, bombastic leader U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp, affirming charges levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which had alleged that Rivera used false press releases and other false public statements to drive up interest — and stock price — reaping huge profits in what turned out to be a virtually worthless company. Looks like Rivera’s headed for the slammer, which sounds about right to me.
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[The Vector] News from around the world: Brazil and Energy
| July 30, 2011 | Posted by Kathy-Heshelow under Biomass |
Brazil aims to triple its renewable energy use by 2020, according to the new national plan. Wind energy has a strong place in the plans, along with small hydropower. Brazil has already reached 1 GW from wind energy alone this year – and the goal is to be at 12 GW by 2020.
The country plans to generate 16% of its electricity from renewable Read More
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Can Algae Move the Needle in Biofuels?
| July 18, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
When I was lucky enough to meet the eminent Bulgarian scientist Dr. Boris Monahov at the Energy Storage conference last week, we spoke about the advanced battery solutions he and his team are developing. But Dr. Monahov is also a proponent of algal biofuels, and sent me the article linked here.
I remain skeptical. Algae, while it works fine in the laboratory, has presented one problem after another in the real world. And this article suggests that algae can replace 17% of US purchases of foreign oil. In my estimation, that’s good, but not good enough.
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Bill Gates on Renewable Energy
| July 8, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
2GreenEnergy Business Director George Alger sent me this interview in which Bill Gates speaks on renewable energy.
George: Yes, he makes some good points, and he’s a fan (as am I) of Donald Sadoway’s work at MIT.
But as you can see from the comments, not everyone agrees with a lot of what he says. I, for one, completely disagree with a great deal of this. 
His position that biomass holds huge promise while solar is “cute” and “for rich people” is pretty far out there on the fringe.
It’s as if he said that Dorothy Hamill was his favorite ice hockey team. But when you have a guy of that stature, he can say that 2 and 2 are 5, and it will garner huge amounts of attention.
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2GreenEnergy Video Report: Biomass to Energy — Processing Chicken Manure
| May 2, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
In this episode of the 2GreenEnergy Video Report, I discuss one of the dozens of different kinds of biomass to energy technologies — in this case, processing chicken manure.
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2GreenEnergy Video Report: Biomass to Energy with Construction and Demolition Waste
| April 23, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
Here, I discuss a unique renewable energy business concept in the biomass to energy arena, involving construction and demolition waste.
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Take a COOL Guess – the Fun Quiz on Clean Energy Today’s Topic: Biomass
| February 27, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
Question: The dozens of flavors of biomass technologies are all rooted in making use of the chemical energy stored in the bonds of complex, organic molecules, which, in some processes, is released to reform biofuels, normally in the form of alcohol. What are the most common forms of these alcohols?
Answer: Can be found at http://2greenenergy.com/cool-guess-answers/8732.
Relevance: A number of 2GreenEnergy clients employ gasification technologies, using various combinations of temperature controls, catalysts, and metered introduction of oxygen to break down the biomass as cleanly as possible. Our favorite? Thermal anaerobic gasification, as represented by our client Resource Recovery Corporation, whose unique and patented process does not form carcinogenic clag as a byproduct.
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[The Vector] Plan to Combine Biofuel and Carbon Capture Technologies
| February 18, 2011 | Posted by Aedan-Kernan under Biomass |
A Canadian research council has backed plans for a 50,000 liter algae-based biofuel plant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a C$5 million grant. The biofuel project aims to identify strains of algae that are already acclimatised to the local environment, making them easier to grow and less likely to cause ecological problems should they be accidentally released. Read More
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GreenTechMedia's Michael Kanellos — Celebrating Gevo's IPO
| February 12, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
When I was in San Francisco last week I dropped by to see GreenTechMedia’s Michael Kanellos, one of my favorite personalities in cleantech. Michael always seems to have a reason to smile, even when the rest of the world (me included) seems to hang its head and say “These Earthlings just don’t get it.”
That day, Michael’s cause for celebration was Gevo, the biotech darling of Khosla Ventures and the Virgin Green Fund. Gevo’s unique technology causes microbes to secrete a form of isobutanol, but the company currently garners most of its revenue from corn ethanol. Read More
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Take a COOL Guess – the Fun Quiz on Clean Energy (and Global Warming Remedy). Today’s Topic: Babassu Trees
| January 30, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Biomass |
Question: What is the babassu tree? What value does it offer?
Answer: Can be found at http://2greenenergy.com/cool-guess-answers/8732.
Relevance: One of our clients based in Portugal has a very carefully constructed business plan to grow babassu in Brazil, pelletize the fruit, and ship it around the world as an energy source.
