Blatant Reality

A couple days ago, I mentioned that EADS was going to unveil a new algae-biofuel technology at the ILA 2010 Berlin Airshow. Today it was announced that this new technology would be an aircraft that can run on algae fuels.

The best part is, the aircraft will fly on 100% algae fuel at the airshow, the largest percentage any aircraft has used to fly that I have heard of.

European aerospace giant EADS is poised to unveil a “hybrid” helicopter that runs on algae fuel, a world first, its technical director said on Friday.

The firm will present the machine at the Berlin air show (ILA) that runs from June 9 to 13, Jean Botti told the Die Welt daily.

“At the ILA, we are going to fly for the first time a craft with biofuel that has been made 100 percent from algae. That is a world premiere,” Botti said.

“We need a paradigm shift in the aviation industry. We soon need an alternative to kerosine,” he said, adding: “If 10 percent of our fleet is flying with biofuel in 2040, I would be extremely happy.”

I am very curious to see who provided the algae biofuel that will fuel the aircraft and what the production costs were. If EADS, or whoever supplied EADS, has developed an algae biofuel production method that produces aviation fuel on par with traditional petroleum based fuels, the world may be closer to seeing commercialized algae fuels than most people think. However, I feel that probably isn’t the case.

Nevertheless, if the flight is successful, this could lead to a renewed push in algae biofuel development, especially in the airline industry.

UPDATE (6/10/10): It seems my earlier statement that it would be a helicopter that would run on 100% algae-based fuels were wrong. It is actually an aircraft and the post now reflects that.

This past week, a new helium-filled airship was test flown in Alabama’s Garret Coliseum, one of the few places large enough to contain the behemoth. They plan to power this airship with algae-based fuels.

‘Our airships are radically different designs that move beyond the performance limitations of traditional blimps or zepplins by combing advanced technology with simple construction and the ability to fuel with algae, protecting our environment.’

Algae is the latest biofuel exciting scientists. It draws carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when it grows and when the derived fuel is burned this same CO2 is released, making the fuel theoretically zero-carbon. Algae farms can also be created using brackish and waste water.

While one concept airship that will be powered by algae discussed a couple weeks ago is still years away from development, this one seems at least seems ready to fly within the year. However, the article never addresses how the company, E-Green Technologies, plans on producing commercially viable algae fuel. That feat, I fear, is going to be a lot harder than developing a helium-filled blimp.

After the recent BP oil rig disaster, many are looking for alternatives that don’t involve all the hazards that are associated with the petroleum industry. However, the question remains whether or not these alternatives, like algae, can scale up to commercial size to make a significant dent in petroleum use. The answer is a mixed one; yes, they can be scaled up but it is going to take some time before they make a significant impact.

“We’ve had a lot of industries tell us: Don’t show tell us you have the perfect molecule. Don’t tell us you can produce it for $1.05 a gallon. Show us you can do it at scale,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solazyme, a San Francisco area company that has developed a system that uses algae to convert cellulosic materials such as wood and crop waste into “in spec” jet fuel.

“Each technology faces specific challenges to commercialization – and we have a long way to go to get to fuel scale.”

(…)

Solazyme’s technology takes wood and crop waste that has been processed to extract its sugars, which are then fed to algae microbes. The microbes produce oil nearly identical to jet fuel, which Wolfson called a “drop-in” fuel because it can be used by cars and trucks that won’t have to be modified.

While the technology can produce large volumes of fuel, Solazyme does not yet have a pilot plant. And even at full scale, a microbial fuel factory would not produce the amount of fuel in a year what a commercial petroleum refinery would produce in a day.

(…)

The technologies are there. What’s needed is a consistent government policy that allows investors to put money in the best ideas and to stick with them as they scale up. Make no mistake: Oil will be with us for a long time. Without investment and policies that will bring biofuels production up to scale, the migration from oil will take that much longer.

The author points to Brazil switching to ethanol from sugarcane as an example of how a country can switch from petroleum. However, I would caution comparing the US to Brazil since our transportation consumption is much larger than theirs. If I remember correctly, in recent years, Brazil has had to rely more and more on petroleum since their population and the number of people with cars has been growing (I could be wrong).

Overall, the author is right. The technologies to lessen our dependence on oil are there, but its just going to take some time before they can be commercialized. As he hinted at, the government can help this process by finding a policy and sticking with it. Uncertainty in the marketplace can kill investments pretty quick. Now this doesn’t mean that the government has to pick one alternative over the other or that it has to offer some kind of incentives; all this means that whatever path the government chooses, it stays on that path so that private investors can have an idea of what the future may hold.

No, not apples as in the fruit, but Apples as in the computer. Several undergraduate and graduate students created an algae bioreactor out of old computer parts and ended up winning second place at the International Electronic Waste Competition. The goal of this competition was to find new ways in which old electronics can be reused other than traditional recycling methods. Here is what this group came up with:

Which is why the team chose to use old electronics to build the device called an algae bioreactor. It encourages photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that happens in plants, which uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugar.

“By using e-waste, you are giving a second life to all these electronics,” Kenney said.

The algae-growing tank was made from the side panels of an Apple G4 CPU tower, with PVC pipes and acrylic panels for structural support. The team used an Apple iMac CRT to emit the light and heat the algae needs to grow. The entire structure had to be sealed and housed within an outer cowell made of high-density foam, which provides stability as well as insulation.

A modified Dell Latitude CPX laptop was programmed to monitor and control the iMac CRT so that it would turn on a specific light spectrum at different intervals of time and adjust the temperature within the tank.

“Algae’s best growth factors are within the red and blue spectrums of light at a ratio of four to one,” Kenney said. “We also knew that it needed to be 62 to 82 degrees.”

The tank also has a water pump, which aerates the algae and provides it with the maximum exposure to sunlight. A faucet allows the user to extract the algae.

Don’t know if this idea will actually catch on since it relies on the ability for people to take the algae to processing plants for it to be converted into oil. However, if their math is correct, and only 6.5% of Americans need to have one in their homes to replace petroleum with biodiesel, it is a pretty impressive idea that could at least supplement commercial algae production in the future.

Back in December it was announced that the US military will help fund some research in creating algae biofuels, particularly aviation fuel.  Now, seven months later, an AP article interviews some of the researchers who received the military’s funding.

In this fairly lengthy interview, the tone is optimistic but at the same time reserved. For example, upbeat statements like these:

Work at the lab is part of a Pentagon project aimed at fast-tracking research to eventually produce algae-based biofuel that costs less than $3 per gallon, can be produced at a rate of 50 million gallons per year and meets strict military standards.

 

“We believe it’s possible. We wouldn’t invest in it if we didn’t,” said Jan Walker, a spokeswoman for the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, the Defense Department’s main research arm.

Are often followed with statements like these:

Back at the Utah State lab — where algae are shaken, stirred and stressed in the name of science — Muhs tempers his excitement over the potential of the green slime with a dose of reality. Algae fuels could be a transition-type fuel in the coming years but aren’t the singular savior to weaning modern society from petroleum.

 

“It’s not a silver bullet,” he said.

However, it is reasonable for scientists to be cautious about being too optimistic. By adding a dose of caution, these scientists will hopefully soften the blow of any setbacks their research may experience. Without it, funding could potentially be pulled if they experienced any setbacks in their research.

It is always better to be a little pragmatic in your predictions and wow your investors with the outcomes than overly optimistic in the predictions and not quite research your goals.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you have probably guessed that I’m pretty big on the whole algae biofuel bit. Now, however, it seems that algae is being looked at to produce much more than just biofuels.

 The Seattle-based company has come up with a system for generating algal blooms in wastewater facilities and then feeding the algae to other microbes. These other microorganisms in turn metabolically convert the algae into high-value industrial chemicals like propyl butyrate, said CEO Kelly Ogilvie, speaking at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference taking place in Redwood City, Calif.

 

Why? That chemical sells for $801 a gallon, a heck of a lot more than $4 a gallon algae-based biodiesel, he noted. An algae biofuel company might get $500 worth of oils out of directly harvesting and processing algae. The indirect method proposed by Blue Marble can yield $4,000 worth of chemicals from a ton of algae. Harvesting a ton of the green goo costs about $190, he said.

 

And there are environmental benefits as well. Wastewater treatment isn’t cheap or easy. Municipalities spend huge amounts of money dumping chlorine into wastewater to clean it out. Wild algae can take out nitrogen and other compounds from the water as well as the chemical-based processes without the environmental degradation and fossil fuel consumption involved in producing and spreading industrial chemicals in the first place. Plus, unlike chemically treated wastewater, the process yields a feedstock (algae) that can be converted into a valuable product. Other plant matter can be fed into it.

You can read about some other algae wastewater ideas here and here.

Well this is fairly amazing. Today, Solazyme announced that is has successfully created aviation fuel from algae. The remarkable thing about this is that this algae fuel can be developed to be used in standard commercial and military jet engines without any modifications.
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In order to do this, the fuel had to pass the ASTM D1655 which tests the density, stability, flashpoint, and freezing point of the fuel. Solazyme’s fuel passed these tests along with a couple more.
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What this means is that the use of algae as a fuel source would allow aviation companies to keep their fleets intact and without any costly modifications. In the future, I suspect that they will develop algae biofuels that can used in a standard car engine as well.
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Read the story here

Internet Service Provider Comcast looks to place a cap on how much bandwidth subscribers can use a month. The magic number comes out to be 250 gigabytes a month. Take a look what that means in realistic terms:

According to Comcast, a customer would have to download 62,500 songs or 125 standard-definition movies a month to exceed the caps. But high-definition video and video gaming require a higher amount of bandwidth. S. Derek Turner, the research director for the nonpartisan media policy group Free Press, said broadband caps could create a disincentive to view online video.

 

“As media companies put content online, consumers can bypass the cable companies and get their content directly from the Internet,” Mr. Turner said. “A 250 gigabyte cap may seem very high — and it is for today’s Internet use. But it’s essentially the equivalent of four hours of HD television a day.”

 

Critics have charged that Internet providers are trying to protect their cable TV and telephone businesses by stifling Internet access. Comcast says Fancast, its online video Web site, will count against the 250 gigabyte limit, but its digital voice service will not.

Interesting to say the least.

A new catalyst has been developed that separates the Oxygen from a water molecule. The hope is that with this cheap catalysts, researchers will be able to develop a way for the sun to power the necessary reaction, thus creating a new, sustainable source of energy.

Daniel Nocera, a professor of chemistry at MIT, has developed a catalyst that can generate oxygen from a glass of water by splitting water molecules. The reaction frees hydrogen ions to make hydrogen gas. The catalyst, which is easy and cheap to make, could be used to generate vast amounts of hydrogen using sunlight to power the reactions. The hydrogen can then be burned or run through a fuel cell to generate electricity whenever it’s needed, including when the sun isn’t shining.

 

Solar power is ultimately limited by the fact that the solar cells only produce their peak output for a few hours each day. The proposed solution of using sunlight to split water, storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen, hasn’t been practical because the reaction required too much energy, and suitable catalysts were too expensive or used extremely rare materials. Nocera’s catalyst clears the way for cheap and abundant water-splitting technologies.

 

Nocera’s advance represents a key discovery in an effort by many chemical research groups to create artificial photosynthesis–mimicking how plants use sunlight to split water to make usable energy. “This discovery is simply groundbreaking,” says Karsten Meyer, a professor of chemistry at Friedrich Alexander University, in Germany. “Nocera has probably put a lot of researchers out of business.” For solar power, Meyer says, “this is probably the most important single discovery of the century.”

However, this still doesn’t solve all the problems with using hydrogen as a fuel. Another catalyst needs to be developed to create hydrogen ions that is cheaper than the current platinum ones used.

Nocera created the catalyst as part of a research program whose goal was to develop artificial photosynthesis that works more efficiently than photosynthesis and produces useful fuels, such as hydrogen. Nocera has solved one of the most challenging parts of artificial photosynthesis: generating oxygen from water. Two more steps remain. One is replacing the expensive platinum catalyst for making hydrogen from hydrogen ions with a catalyst based on a cheap and abundant metal, as Nocera has done with the oxygen catalyst.

 

Finding a cheaper catalyst for making hydrogen shouldn’t be too difficult, says John Turner, a principal investigator at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO. Indeed, Nocera says that he has promising new materials that might work, and other researchers also have likely candidates. The second remaining step in artificial photosynthesis is developing a material that absorbs sunlight, generating the electrons needed to power the water-splitting catalysts. That will allow Nocera’s catalyst to run directly on sunlight; right now, it runs on electricity taken from an outlet.

While this is definitely a promising step in the right direction, I wouldn’t hold my breath until they will discover the necessary catalyst.

I’ve never really been a big fan of solar power for at least wide spread use because of its inherent limitations (sunny Arizona might do quite well with solar power but rainy Washington probably wouldn’t work out so well). However, leave it to scientists (actually MIT engineers) to find a way to get me even interested into the future of solar power.

It seems that they have found a way to use ordinary windows coated with certain dyes to collect solar energy.

MIT engineers have turned plain glass into a virtual goldmine of solar energy with the help of a sophisticated, yet affordable, concentrator developed by them.

 

(…)

 

The technology, using dye-coated glass to collect and channel photons otherwise lost from a solar panel’s surface, could enable an office building to draw energy from its tinted windows as well as its roof.

 

The engineers coated glass panels with layers of two or more light-capturing dyes. The dyes absorbed incoming light and then re-emitted the energy into the glass, which served as a conduit to channel the light to solar cells along the panels’ edges.

 

The dyes can vary from bright colours to chemicals mostly transparent to visible light. Because the glass panel edges are so thin, far less semiconductor material is needed to collect light energy and convert it into power.

 

Because the materials are affordable, relatively easy to scale up beyond a lab setting, and easy to retrofit to existing panels, the researchers believe the technology could find its way to the marketplace within three years.

See, you might not believe me but I had thought about how cool it would be to actually have buildings that use their windows as solar energy collectors. I mean, for skyscrapers, this will give them tons more surface area to collect energy that just having traditional rooftop solar panels.

Now what really gets me excited about this particular technology is the whole “materials are affordable” part. As you probably know, scientists are constantly making some fairly cool stuff but then fail at making it even remotely economical to implement in the real world.

Once again I just want to state I am all for alternative energy sources as long as they are affordable and people are not coerced (by the government or otherwise) to use them. If the technology can survive and prosper on an open market, then by all means. I just hate all the subsidies that the government gives some of these schemes (tax breaks/incentives are a whole different thing).

I can’t wait to see just where this technology will go because it just might give the solar industry to boost it needs to really become one of the front runners in alternative energy.