Another Green Energy Source: Biofuels

A great alternative Green Energy source is Liquid Bio-fuel. Lately, people are starting to take notice of Bio-fuels as an alternative Green Energy Source which has been around for a long time. A natural and renewable domestic fuel that is used for diesel engines in cars is Liquid bio-fuel and is made from mostly corn and soy oils.

The fact that it contains no petroleum, is nontoxic and is biodegradable is one of the great things about Bio-fuel. With no emissions, you help eliminate pollutants in the air each and every time you fill up with Bio-fuel. Bio-fuel meets the requirements of the California Air Resources Board, has passed every Health-Effects test of the Clean Air Act, and right now is the only fuel approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Using a chemical process that separates glycerin and methyl esters from fats or vegetable oil, Bio-diesel is made from alcohol like methanol. To create their own version of bio-fuel, some countries have experimented with corn and sugarcane, aside from methanol. A common product in the making of toothpaste and soap is Glycerin. Unfortunately, this process costs much more per gallon as compared to petroleum. Because it is so new, the process of converting it is quite expensive. So, here is an opportunity to do your part to preserve a cleaner environment, improve the air quality and reduce cancer causing agents, which is huge in returns given what you pay for it.

Collecting cooking oil and then processing it is another cheaper and more primitive way to make bio-diesel fuel. If you do decide to use this type of fuel, be careful as it may not be good for your engine. Studies have shown that bio-diesel fuel is just as good as petroleum fuel in terms of power to efficiency, hauling and climbing, if you are skeptical.

Bio-diesel can be used in a blend with petroleum or in its pure form. Often referred to as B20 in the market, the most common mix is 20/80. This makes the mix 80% petroleum and bio-diesel the remaining 20%. Fuel composed of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol is another version and is called E85. You really only have to make a few changes to your engine to begin using bio-diesel, which makes that the best part of converting to bio-diesel. It helps to clean the engine aside from making the car run. I don't think there is a worry about voiding your warranty should there be a problem. But, it's always best to check with the manufacturer. Another unfortunate is that there are only a few gas stations that carry B20 which is the most common bio-diesel. The Ford company had plans at the beginning of the century to make the cars, especially the Model T, run using ethanol. Peanut oil was discovered to also fuel these early cars. But huge oil deposits were found, diesel was cheap so these plans never materialized.

People began to realize in the 1970's, 80's and 90's that we must find other sources for alternative fuel such as bio-diesel, ethanol to reduce our demand for foreign oil.

There is still time to use other Green Energy Sources such as bio-fuels. So it is never too late!

James Corbin is continuing his series of articles on Green Living. His latest interest however is helping his wife with her new web site on cross stitch magazines. Come visit their latest website over at http://www.crossstitchmagazines.net/ which helps people find the best cross stitch magazines and information for that just right project.

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Biofuels Leaders: Three Big Dawgs in Biofuels

The biofuels industry has received a lot of attention for the up and coming small companies, many of whom are developing novel technologies to produce bio-based alternatives to gasoline. But now as the industry prepares for the scale-up and commercial introduction of fuels at meaningful scale, it is the large industrial companies that are starting to dominate. These Big Dawgs tend to be well financed. They also have the necessary ingredients to be credible commercializers of biofuels. Typically, these are well-known multi-national companies that have prior experience in either the production and delivery of petroleum-derived fuels or in the development of bio-based processes at very large scale.

Who are these Big Dawgs? Here are the top three on my list.

1. Dupont: Known primarily as a major international chemical company, DuPont has already been successful in the development and commercialization of bio-based processes at large scale. The company launched a new monomer called trimethyleneglycol, or 1,3-propanediol, which is produced by an engineered microorganism by fermentation of sugar. Since this is exactly the type of process that is necessary to produce biofuels, the step into the biofuels arena is a natural one for this industry behemoth.

DuPont has formed a partnership with the major enzyme producer Danisco. Named appropriately DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE), this company aims to be nothing less than the world's leading provider of technology for producing fuel-grade ethanol from cellulose. DDCE plans to license its patented technology to ethanol producers for deployment in the United States and elsewhere.

DuPont also has a joint venture with oil giant British Petroleum to produce butanol. The BP partnership is an interesting one since butanol is an advanced biofuel with better properties as a fuel than ethanol. IN the commercialization announcement, the product has a nice name: Butamax. By covering both the ethanol and advanced biofuel space, DuPont is positioning itself to earn revenues in both the short and intermediate time frames.

2. British Petroleum: Famous now for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has been preparing its future in biofuels for longer than most people know. In addition to the aforementioned joint venture with DuPont to produce butanol, BP recently bought out its venture with Verenium to enter the cellulosic ethanol market. The company is also funding about half a billion dollars in research over 10 years at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funded under the EBI, or Energy Biosciences Institute, the research is geared toward the development of technologies to replace fossil fuels. The company is also investing in technology to produce diesel from sugar and in operations in Brazil near the sugar plantations there.

3. Shell: This oil industry giant owns a majority interest in cellulosic ethanol producer Iogen and is underwriting a large project to develop enzymes for breaking down cellulose to produce biofuels with Codexis. Shell recently signed a major agreement with Brazilian sugar producer Cosan, which gives it access to an inexpensive source of sugar as a raw material. The Brazilian venture alone is worth an estimated $12 billion. In addition, Shell is funding research through a variety of smaller venues, both at universities and small companies. Without a doubt, Shell is signaling that it intends to be a long-term player in biofuels.

These are three Big Dawgs to watch as biofuels go commercial.

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Homemade Energy - Is Bio Fuel Bad?

Anybody who has followed the discussions about alternative energy sources with any regularity knows about the controversy that arose over the issue regarding biofuels. Biofuels are inefficient, drive up food prices and cost more both at the pump and through increased taxation for government subsidies of rural farmers such as John Deere and Caterpillar Corporations. (Together, the amount of money they receive in government agricultural subsidies alone would make most rural farmers green with envy and red with anger)

So does that mean that biofuel is really as bad as some people are saying? Well the fact is that corn is one of the largest government subsidized crops in the nation and as such, the government has more freedom to regulate it than they do any other crop and they can then pass on the money to political action committees and other special interest groups. However, when you take the politics out of power, you come up with something resembling pond scum. (No, we are not saying that politicians resemble pond scum, the pond scum is actually useful)

A company by the name of Algenol has found a way to tap into pond scum that is used to create some amazingly effective biofuels. Unlike corn, not many people are standing in line waiting to buy some of that sweet green algae so food prices remain unaffected with this method of producing biofuels. Additionally, the algae is easily farmed and grows at a fairly rapid rate, is fully renewable and (insert audible gasp here) actually makes an efficient and viable biofuel alternative.

The Algenol has lots of different benefits. Here is some of them.

1. Doesn't need to use live feedstock.
2. Doesn't need to collect the materials.
3. Doesn't require environment damaging fertilizers.
4. Uses the water of the sea meaning that we don't need to waste our drinking water.
5. Uses only a small amount of fossil fuels for the process.
6. No need to plow the land.
7. Desertic land and Sea side land can be used for the production.
8. Algenol has energy balance over 5.5:1 making it powerful than fossil fuels.

So what does all of that mean?

That means that all of the tests to date have shown this to be a viable method for creating biofuels that are clean, efficient and have no adverse affect on people who are having a hard enough time finding decent corn on the store shelves. In other words, no matter what your personal or political stance may be, there is absolutely no reason to protest this algae based bio fuel. All of the arguments both for and against bio fuels and alternative fuels in the past have been squashed by pond scum.

While it may be true that many bio fuels are not all that they are cracked up to be, that does not mean that some of them are not very likely to at least supplement, if not to replace the more traditional fossil fuels. One thing is for certain; when people can produce energy cheaper, more efficiently and in an environmentally friendly manner as well as getting it to the end consumer at a more reasonable rate, this will start getting people's attention. As long as we can keep the people out of the pond scum, we should be okay!

David Y Gonzalez is an expert in Diy Solar Panels and has been working with Green Diy Energy for more than 2 years. He has helped lots of people to save energy with homemade energy and people have been able to save money and the environment.

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Biofuel Can Help the Planet Now and in the Future

In recent years, we have been encouraged to take on more collective responsibility when it comes to the environment. Mankind has damaged the planet in so many ways over the centuries that it's become vitally important that we look to repair the damage we've already done.

It's become common practice to recycle as much of our household and industrial waste as possible, and every month more and more people are joining this quiet, and much-needed, revolution. Renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and wave, are serious alternatives to fossil fuels these days, too.

The rise in the use of biofuel is perhaps not as well-known, but thanks to some intensive research and development, it is set to play a major part in the fight against environmental damage. It's likely to be a significant source of energy in the coming years, and will become something we're all aware of in the very near future.

Basically, biofuels are obtained from renewable resources, which can include plant and animal by-products. They've become more popular - and necessary, for that matter - because of the rise in oil prices and the need to find an alternative to petrol and diesel. They fall into two main categories.

The first, bioethanol, is developed mainly from sugar and starch crops. It's an alcohol, and can be used to propel vehicles. However, it's currently utilised primarily as an additive to gasoline. It helps to lower dangerous emissions, and is set to become more widely used in the more developed countries.

Biodiesel is perhaps more familiar, and will be even more so in the coming years. It's manufactured from animal fats, recycled grease and vegetable oils. Although, like bioethanol, it can be used to power vehicles, at the moment it's added to diesel in order to make it kinder to the environment.

Both biofuels have been developed as a result of major investment, and will become a credible alternative to the more damaging fuel sources we currently use. They will one day play a major role in industry and in the home, as well as on the country's roads.

More and more countries are recognising the need for implementing the use of biofuels, and many have targets to aim for which, it is hoped, will lead to major reductions in the use of fossil fuels over the coming years.

In the European Union, for example, each member state is expecting that biofuel usage will be at least 5.75% of all traffic fuel used by the year 2010. In 2020, that figure is expected to increase to 10%.

The USA offers tax exemptions for companies that develop biofuel technology, and the country has seen a significant change in attitudes over the last decade. American ethanol fuels are obtained from corn, a major crop that has been harvested for many years.

In recent times, a significant number of governments have developed major environmental programmes, reflecting a growing awareness of the need to protect our planet. Developing usable biofuels is just one of the many initiatives that are helping to make our world a greener one.

More and more governments are making major investments in biofuel technology, which in the next few years will become an increasingly important energy source.

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