Jun
13
How Much at What Pressure and Temperature?
June 13, 2008 | 1 Comment
The American Petroleum Institute had me out for a tour of the premier oil refinery in the U.S. Located out or up in Billings Montana, depending on where you are, this refinery is in a truly beautiful and picturesque location smack in the middle of a mid sized city. It’s an easy walk from the [...]
Apr
18
A Biomass to Biofuel Watershed Event
April 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
The German magazine Spiegel let slip a bit of information Tuesday. From Al Fin’s site and post titled “The Future of BioEnergy I: Biomass to Liquid” I started a little due diligence, as Spiegel has been “had” a few times over the years. It came as no surprise to read that the Spiegel [...]
Apr
3
A Biofuel Process That Works
April 3, 2008 | 3 Comments
Ever Cat Fuels Corporation has its pilot plant for biodiesel up and running at a 50,000-gallon annual rate. Later this year with a new facility completed the capacity will grow another 3 million gallons annually. Ever Cat is using a process named Mcgyan after the three scientists who devised the process. But [...]
Mar
28
Another Way to Bio Gasoline
March 28, 2008 | 1 Comment
Wednesday Royal Dutch Shell and Virent Energy Systems of Madison Wisconsin announced their collaboration to develop biogasoline. The deal is using the existing research and development work of Virent in catalysts that convert plant sugars into hydrogen and fuel gas, a combination of hydrogen, methane, propane and CO2. The research so far has [...]
Dec
26
Where are the Hybrid Trucks and SUVs?
December 26, 2007 | 3 Comments
To really do something about oil imports, gasoline and diesel consumption (and CO2 emissions) America will have to get a grip on the light truck issue. They make up the largest share and have the poorest fuel economy of the U.S. fleet. For some owners the light truck is a tool that pulls [...]
Dec
17
Is America Missing the Jatropha Opportunity?
December 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Is America missing a huge opportunity in agriculture development while it ignores the boom in jatropha in Asia, South America, India and Africa? Last June BP announced it was funding the development of D1 Oils which has 172,000 hectares in jatropha at the announcement date with the investment to be used for more seed stock [...]
Dec
13
It’s Official, Algae For Oil Gets the Big Investment Money
December 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Late yesterday CST, Royal Dutch Shell and HR Biopetroleum announced a joint venture called Cellana for production of oil-bearing algae. Construction of the pilot facility is commencing immediately in an area already populated by pharmaceutical and nutritional algae producers. The joint venture will initially mutually support and be supported by academic researchers from [...]
