biofuel

Abandoned Mines: The New Algae-Harvesting Powerhouses?

BY Ariel SchwartzFri Nov 6, 2009 at 5:06 PM

Algae is one of the hottest new biofuel materials, with over a dozen companies attempting to make the slimy stuff a viable feedstock. Most of them rely on the natural simplicity of the organism--sun and water turn CO2 from algae ...READ»

CEREPLAST | Comment

Cereplast Turning Algae Into Green Plastic

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Oct 29, 2009 at 12:58 PM

Algae: is there anything it can't do? The slimy photosynthetic organism is already in the prototype stages as a biofuel, and now sustainable plastic manufacturer Cereplast has announced that it can turn algae into a sustainable ...READ»

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES | 3 comments

How Sustainable Is Southwest's "Green Plane"?

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Oct 22, 2009 at 2:40 PM

Southwest Airlines announced recently that it is launching a prototype "green plane," a Boeing 737 tweaked to include environmentally responsible materials and cut down on fuel use. It's a nice idea, but is it an honest effort or ...READ»

BIOFUEL | 21 comments

Moral Question of the Day: Should We Burn Bunnies for Biofuel?

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Oct 15, 2009 at 2:30 PM

Biofuel comes from some strange sources--watermelon, coffee grounds, and poop, to name a few. But when does the weirdness cross over into immorality? Perhaps when we start burning bunnies for biofuel. As unbelievable as it may ...READ»

ECO PODS | 2 comments

Eco Building Rebuilds Itself Using Robotic Arms and Eco Power

BY Kit EatonFri Oct 2, 2009 at 11:50 AM

We've seen every kind of architectural concept related to green design, but here's an exciting new one that may also be the oddest. It seems to borrow from a NASA design concept; it constantly re-builds itself and grows biofuel on its ...READ»

SWITCHGRASS | Comment

Can Switchgrass Replace Coal at Power Plants?

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Oct 1, 2009 at 2:35 PM

Solar and wind power have made impressive strides recently, but coal plants show no signs of disappearing. That could be a problem for power companies, especially once the EPA's proposed greenhouse gas regulations go into effect. ...READ»

LIVEFUELS | 2 comments

Go Fish: Startup Makes Algae-Based Fish Oil Into Biofuel

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Aug 13, 2009 at 9:38 AM

Fish plus algae equals oil says a new startup called LiveFuels, the latest algae-based biofuel gambit that's as controversial as it is intriguing.READ»

ALGAE FUEL | Comment

BP Joins Exxon in Algae Fuel Lovefest

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Aug 11, 2009 at 5:10 PM

The latest Big Oil endorsement of algae-derived fuels signals that the technology may be feasible--and a better alternative--sooner than anyone expected.READ»

BIOFUEL | 1 comment

Five Companies That Are Turning Algae Into Energy

BY Ariel SchwartzWed Jul 29, 2009 at 7:00 PM

We recently received a press release from a fledging company called Renewed World Energies claiming that it has created the first commercially viable algae-processing system. The company expects to have two acres of commercial algae ...READ»

SOLARFUEL | Comment

Does Joule Biotechnologies Hold the Key to Our Biofuel Future?

BY Ariel SchwartzMon Jul 27, 2009 at 2:48 PM

Joule grows engineered microbes using sunlight and CO2 in a "SolarConverter" system full of brackish water to produce what it calls "SolarFuel." The process is apparently so effective that it can produce ethanol and other hydrocarbon fuels for under $50 a barrel at a rate of 20,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year.READ»

CHICKEN SALAD | 1 comment

Chicken Feather Biofuel Something to Cluck About

BY Ariel SchwartzFri Jul 24, 2009 at 3:46 PM

Chicken feather meal--a mix of processed chicken feathers, blood and innards--is one of the nastiest byproducts of the poultry processing industry. The 11 billion pounds of feather meal that pile up in the United States each year are ...READ»

BIOFUEL | 2 comments

Mach Green Liftoff! Another Advance for Super Clean Flying Machines

BY Stephanie SchomerWed Jul 22, 2009 at 12:37 PM

The University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center successfully tested a new biofuel, and it may be the key to flying 100% clean flights.READ»

EXXONMOBIL | Comment

Exxon, a Longtime Biofuel Holdout, Makes a $600 Million Algae Fuel Investment

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Jul 14, 2009 at 5:27 AM

Exxon has long denied plans to move into the biofuel market, but the oil company announced a plan today to invest $600 million in the production of biofuel from algae. As part of the plan, Exxon will partner with Synethetic Genomics, ...READ»

COFFEE GROUNDS | Comment

Shirts With a Caffeine Buzz? Waste Coffee Grounds Make High-Tech Fabric

BY Kit EatonTue Jul 7, 2009 at 9:29 AM

Waste coffee grounds is icky stuff that's a pain to clean up...but it's also proven to be a great biofuel, and now a Taiwanese company has figured out how to turn it into a super-high tech eco-fabric. Is there no end to its ...READ»

ELEPHANT DUNG | Comment

World War Two-Era Fungus, Elephant Dung Combine to Make Biofuels

BY Ariel SchwartzMon Jun 22, 2009 at 4:39 PM

Hemp, soy, mustard, sunflower and palm oil can all be used to make biofuels, so why not elephant dung and World War Two-era fungus? Copenhagen-based Danisco A/S is using the fungus, which was discovered during WWII eating soldier's ...READ»

CONTINENTAL | Comment

Continental Biofuel Flight Saved Energy, Lowered Carbon Emissions

BY Ariel SchwartzWed Jun 17, 2009 at 7:53 PM

The results are back from Continental Airlines' biofuel test flight in January, and they look good. Continental's biofuel blend yielded a 1.1% increase in fuel efficiency over traditional jet fuels, and more impressively, cut carbon ...READ»

CELLULOSIC ETHANOL | Comment

Ottawa Shell Station First to Deliver Gasoline Blended with Cellulosic Ethanol

BY Ariel SchwartzWed Jun 10, 2009 at 1:18 PM

In what is being described as the first commercial delivery of cellulosic ethanol, a Shell service station in Ottawa, Ontario is selling gasoline containing a 10% blend of biofuel made from wheat straw. The biofuel and gasoline ...READ»

SOLARIX | Comment

Solarix Sustainer: A Biodiesel Conversion System for the Survivalist

BY Ariel SchwartzWed Jun 3, 2009 at 1:53 PM

European biodiesel company Solarix has created what may be a sustainable powerhouse for rural areas: the Sustainer, a "power box" in a 20-foot container frame that converts oil-bearing crops and seeds into edible oil ...READ»

BIOFUEL | 15 comments

Biofuels Take Flight

BY Melanie WarnerMon Jun 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM

Continental Airlines' biofuel-powered test flight sets the industry's course toward brighter skies.READ»

NASA | 8 comments

NASA Coaxes Biofuel From Bags of Sewage

BY Ariel SchwartzTue May 12, 2009 at 4:53 PM

There are lots of creative ways to produce biofuel from algae, but NASA's takes the cake. The space agency is growing biofuel in plastic bags of sewage floating in the sea. The Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae (OMEGA) ...READ»

MASCOMA | Comment

Mascoma Close to Achieving the 'Golden Dream' of Cellulosic Ethanol Production

BY Ariel SchwartzThu May 7, 2009 at 3:36 PM

It seems like major biofuel breakthroughs are coming down the pipeline every day, but cellulosic ethanol start-up Mascoma's announcement today that it has achieved a breakthrough in consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is the biggest ...READ»

GENIFUEL | Comment

Genifuel Develops Process to Turn Algae Into Natural Gas, Not Biofuel

BY Ariel SchwartzWed May 6, 2009 at 3:42 PM

A number of companies--Sapphire Energy, Solazyme, and Bionavitas to name a few--are working on methods to convert algae into biofuel. But Genifuel wants to turn the pond scum into something different: natural gas. The company, ...READ»

ALGAE | 1 comment

Light Immersion Technology Could Speed Up Algae Growth, Lower Biofuel Costs

BY Ariel SchwartzThu Feb 26, 2009 at 1:08 PM

Algae-based biofuels could rule the future--if we can lower production costs. A Seattle-based startup called Bionavitas thinks the solution to producing cost-efficient algae is Light Immersion Technology, which uses pencil-shaped ...READ»

BIOFUEL | 1 comment

German Biogas Plant Restores Dignity to Corn

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Feb 3, 2009 at 3:34 PM

Corn is a dirty word when it comes to biofuel, and for good reason. We barely have enough food to go around, so it seems like a huge waste to use the stuff for electricity and heat. But a new biogas plant built by the ...READ»

BEER | 3 comments

Sierra Nevada Brewing to Make Car Fuel from Beer Dregs

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Feb 3, 2009 at 1:13 PM

Soon enough, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will make more than just tasty beer--it will also manufacture high-grade ethanol fuel from leftover beer yeast. The company announced today that it is partnering with E-Fuel--the inventor of the world's first home ethanol machine--to test portable ethanol refineries at its Chico, California brewery.READ»

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