Gas 2.0 |
- All We Need to Make New Fuels is Fresh Air and Sunshine
- Sweden to get B15 Biodiesel this Spring
- The Cost of China’s High Speed Rail: Part II
| All We Need to Make New Fuels is Fresh Air and Sunshine Posted: 28 Feb 2011 03:17 PM PST
OK, it takes more than fresh air and sunshine to make usable, sustainable bio-fuels … but thanks to the work of Massachusetts-based Joule Unlimited, it doesn’t take much more! Joule has developed a genetically-modified organism (GMO, but it’s good GMO … not like, Monsanto GMO) that can be “directed” to secrete usable forms of ethanol and diesel wherever it finds CO2 and water, using energy from the sun as a catalyst. What’s more, Joule’s representatives are saying these renewable fuels can be created virtually “on demand” in both large and small scale quantities, and at extraction costs competitive with the cheapest fossil fuels. “We make some lofty claims, all of which we believe, all pf which we’ve validated, all of which we’ve shown to investors,” said Joule chief executive Bill Sims. “If we’re half right, this revolutionizes the world’s largest industry (oil).” Using a process that seems very similar to photosynthesis to produce fuels usable in today’s mass-produced vehicles is pretty exciting stuff – indeed, it’s the very basis we’ve built “Gas 2.0″ around – but, of course, there are detractors. Timothy Donohue, for example, is director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says that Joule must demonstrate its technology on a broad scale, saying that “perhaps it can work, but the four letter word that’s the biggest stumbling block is whether it will work,” Donohue said. “There are really good ideas that fail during scale up.” Sims is well aware of the nay-sayer’s views, dismissively stating that “there’s always skeptics for breakthrough technologies.” In spite of detractors, Joule is thriving – having nearly doubled the number of its employees (to 70), scored 30 million dollars in “second round” private funding, and adding John Podesta (former White House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton) to its board of directors. To underscore its successes, Joule recently released a peer-reviewed paper that backs its claims. More public proof of success or failure for Joule will come soon, as the company plans to break ground on a 10 acre “demonstration facility” later this year. If it’s successful, Sims believes the company can be selling its fuel commercially by 2013 … … which would be pretty cool. Source: Joule Unlimited, via the Associated Press, via Yahoo!
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| Sweden to get B15 Biodiesel this Spring Posted: 28 Feb 2011 01:09 PM PST
Diesel fuel is more popular in Europe than it is in America, and in many engines it is actually more efficient than petrol. The popularity of diesel has prompted Preem to offer a diesel fuel blend with 15% renewable diesel fuel called Evolution Fuel. The 15% renewable portion of the diesel is a byproduct of the kraft process by which wood is converted into pulp and paper. The byproduct, called tall oil, can be mixed in with diesel fuel to reduce the crude content by 15%. Preem will also offer a 5% biodiesel blend at 366 fueling stations across Sweden. Preem can process almost 25 million gallons of tall oil annually, meaning it can make a lot of its Evolution Fuel. The first shipments of Evolution Fuel are scheduled to arrive in April. So even while America puts the brakes on E15, Sweden is looking to move forward on B15. I’d like to get my hands on some of that. Source: Green Car Congress Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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| The Cost of China’s High Speed Rail: Part II Posted: 28 Feb 2011 09:47 AM PST
I've watched in amazement as China, which had no high speed rail infrastructure before 2000, has become the world's HSR leader in just ten years. It is reminiscent of America's massive interstate program during the 1960's, and at a glance it seems like a huge success. Ridership is on the rise and China has situated itself as a world leader in HSR at a time when many countries, the U.S. included, are taking a second look at such options. It’s a story I follow more closely then most, because me and my generation have the most to gain, or lose, from high speed rail in America. In the back of my head though, I have always wondered at what cost did this plan take shape. The Chinese government basically owns all the land within its borders, so there are no worries, from a legal perspective, about right-of-way. That certainly has helped speed along construction, though I don’t see anybody asking how many people were physically displaced by this high speed dream. Then there is the actual construction. I know Obama’s dream is expensive, but I don’t want construction companies to skip out on the building materials when thousands of tons of bullet train are screaming over the tracks at 200 mph. Yet a whistleblower within the Chinese transportation ministry has said that the concrete bases upon which the train tracks sit are so cheaply made that within a few years the current speeds of 217 mph will be unsafe and that speeds will be lowered by 10-15%. The champion of China’s high speed rail network, Liu Zhijun, was removed on charges of corruption earlier this month from his post in the rail ministry. Combined with the whistleblower’s accusations of poor construction habits, it calls into question what other problems plague the world’s largest network of high speed trains. Say what you want about the American interstate system; 50 years later and it holds up under heavier traffic conditions then ever before. That might not be the case for China’s HSR network. And that crappy construction didn’t come cheap, as China has borrowed over $300 billion so far, with another $200 billion allocated for the next ten years. America isn’t the only country with debt problems, and I’m not sure if that includes all the money China is losing on operating costs. Then there are the costs of the actual train tickets. I have no experience with China's high speed rail, only what I have read on the Internet. And from what I can gather, a select few lines have met projections, but many are running at half capacity or less. The costs of the train tickets are beyond the reach for many of China's middle and lower classes. Some 230 million migrant workers still prefer cheaper bus tickets over the glitzy rail system, even in a country with 10 day traffic jams. It is the wealthy who enjoy these bullet trains, not the "average Zhang.” I know I wouldn’t be too happy about a bullet train, whose tickets I can’t afford, blasting through my land on shoddily constructed concrete pads. And all it could take is one bad accident caused by crappy construction to shut down the whole damn network. Who knows how far this problems have spread? That doesn’t mean I don't support high speed rail in America. I really, really do. But I'd rather have it done right, than done rushed. Obama’s plan had money going to every corner of the country, but luckily for him, Republican governors like Rick Scott of Florida sent the money back to Washington. So instead, Obama needs to focus on two or three areas (hint hint Northeast) and ensure that those lines can be built up to snuff and turn an operating profit without too much government support. We need to learn from China's mistakes, which so far amount to displacing the population, shoddy construction, and too-high ticket costs. If I were the President, I'd be pointing at China and saying "They've got the right idea; now lets do it better.” Source: The Infrastructurist | The Economist Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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