South Bruce Peninsular - SBPetroleum - Comments

Green Gasoline ... from Farm Waste

garym — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:38:37 -0400

Yet another method, this one independently discovered by two labs and now side-stepping the need for an external supply of hydrogen, producing a 95% biomass energy retention result transformable to gasoline or jet-fuels:

As part of a suite of second generation biofuel alternatives, green gasoline approaches like aqueous phase reforming are generating interest across the academic and industrial communities because they yield a product that is compatible with existing infrastructure, closer than many other alternatives in their net energy yield, and most importantly, can be crafted from plants grown in marginal soils, like switchgrass, or from agricultural waste.

[ From Sugar to Gasoline ]

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

The Second Coming of Biofuels

garym — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:02:24 -0400

Concerned about bio-fueles eating into the world food supply and leaving an ugly sludge in its wake? Could be a new lease is about to be taken on Mayor Lovell's bio-bus, because bio-diesel is getting new traction in the energy biz with a process they call catalytic hydroprocessing, a process that not only suppliments petroleum, but stands a very good chance of replacing it entirely ... and on the same equipment:

high-performance green diesel and gas aren't like other biofuels; they're perfect substitutes for petroleum-derived fuels, except they're made from plant matter like forest detritus, also known as cellulosic waste, or from algae. Green fuels can also be refined on the exact same equipment that refines petroleum. By contrast, traditional ethanol requires new equipment and uses edible plants like corn and sugar that need rich farmland to grow.

Also unlike traditional ethanol, green fuels can be also be used in gas tanks in 100 percent concentrations; their cetane numbers, or combustion quality, are actually higher than those of petroleum fuel. That means they could also be used to power jet airplanes, another prime polluter. To boot, green fuels are also more stable and have a lower cloud point than other biofuels. Regular ethanol breaks down over time when it sits in your tank, and turns viscous and sludgy in cold weather.
[ The Second Coming of Biofuels ]

Best of all, for those of us up here in the Queen's Bush, you'll never guess the primary source for this new bio-diesel: trees.

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

This idea is Garbage

garym — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:12:11 -0400

Remember how I said our waste-water woes could well turn into a boon for our local depressed economy? Well here's an example of just that wonderfully illustrated by a British company that shared our other Great Rural Pain, vanishing dumpsite space, and what did they do about it? Bag tags! No. Truck it to a mine in Cree Country! No, wrong again.

Would you believe "Turned it into highly lucrative Black Gold, Texas Tea ..." Yup, that's exactly what they did, and what's more, they made darned sure they had a global patent on the process before they announced that it actually worked ...

The company claims that it can produce about 400 litres (90 gallons) of ethanol from one tonne of dry waste. The new process works by heating the waste to produce gases, then feeding the gases to bacteria, which produce ethanol that can be purified into a fuel.

Ineos plans to sell the environmental product in industrial quantities by the end of 2010. Peter Williams, the chief executive of Ineos Bio, said: "This should mean that, unlike with other biofuels, we won't have to make the choice between food and fuel."

[ Rubbish idea that could make driving cheaper ]

Thus spake the ghost of Obi Wan: "use the Brain, Luke ... use the BRAIN ..."

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

SBPetroleum

garym — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:25:58 -0400

Ok, maybe not Petroleum but how about SBP Bio-Diesel? This takes us right back to that slush-fund $30,000 seed money issue because here now we can table a totally new idea for all cash-strapped municipalities everywhere: let's get into the energy business by turning our yard and kitchen waste into profitable bio-diesel!

"The portable unit that sells for $10,000 resembles a gasoline station pump and nozzle ... Instead of tapping gasoline from an underground tank, the pump's back end plugs into home power and water supplies to make ethanol for as little as $1 a gallon (that's $0.26 at 3.8 liters/gal)."
[ Kick the oil habit and make your own ethanol ]

Three of these units, times the number of $0.50 litres that the average Sauble Beach summer weekend might consume minus the $0.26 cost per litre? We can wait for the (foreign) oil companies to do this for us, or we can finally find a solution to the municipal-level composting process!