Do you know who is the largest ethanol producer in the world? America? Some country in Europe? South Africa? It actually depends on the geographical area that you are speaking about. Let's check out who they are...
Largest ethanol producer in the world
Brazil is currently the world's leader in ethanol production. Because of government subsidies, large sugarcane crops, and high sales taxes on gasoline, Brazil has built a profitable national ethanol industry. Sugarcane is grown in the country as the climate presents perfect conditions for its cultivation and production. It converts very easily to ethanol, and provides Brazil with huge supplies of ethanol.
Largest producer of ethanol in the U.S.
The largest producer of ethanol in the U.S. is a company that many of us have probably never heard of. The company is Archer Daniels Midland. ADM is a company that is an agricultural giant in the United States, and has decades of experience. They have a vast network of railcars, trucks, storage facilities, and barges that are capable of delivering high-grade ethanol.
Hmmm... there are actually more to discuss and more to share about the Ethanol Producers. It's tough to share all those technical, economical and other related information about ethanol producers in a short blog post like this. To have a clearer and precise information sharing on ethanol business, I would like to recommend Ethanol Producer magazine.
The magazine is known throughout the ethanol industry for its authoritative plant construction lists, compelling profiles and engaging features on production, research, science, technology, equipment, environmental and safety compliance, marketing, policy and industry events. Most importantly it is free... Yep..no cost at all. However, I'm sorry to say only those in US, Canada and Mexico is eligible to request for it.
Energy obtained from Biological Organisms Bioenergy springs from biological sources like wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. In a narrow way it's a synonym to biofuel; the fuel obtained from biological sources. In its wider sense it includes biomass which is the biological material used as a biofuel. This is a typical myth among masses, as bioenergy is the energy removed from the biomass, as the biomass is the fuel and the bioenergy is the energy contained in the fuel. Burning wood for heat is an excellent example of Bioenergy.
In more involved terms, bioenergy can be created by utilizing genetically changed bacteria to create cellulose ethanol. Though oil and coal are made of organic matter, they aren't thought to be bioenergy as they weren't living lately. Bioenergy utilized in real-world circumstances Liquid Bioenergy; Bioethanol and Biodiesel, may be used to replace existing petrol and diesel, with small changes to the engine.
Some major car producers already support this technology and it's getting more widespread. Sugar cane, beet and maize are generally utilized to supply fuel. Biodiesel comes from eatable plant oils. Waste cooking oil can create biodiesel. Biogas is produced from methane and CO2, and is produced from biomass, for example fertilizer, sludge, sewage, feedstock, and other biodegradable waste.Bioenergy is been thought of as a potential appropriate alternative for fossil fuels in some applications, although the technology available is not actually acceptable yet.
Bioenergy is good for using in locations where there aren't much access to fuel import.
Plants can be grown in particular be utilised an as fuel, and can be grown exactly where they're required, which seriously decreases the monetary and environmental costs and the safety risks linked with transporting and storing fuel. Advantages and downsides of bioenergy though by burning or conversion of biomass the pollution of atmosphere aren't totally reduce.
Nonetheless it have some major benefits.In many regions, biomass is more unvarying than solar or wind power. This is as, the wind and solar energy are done by made technology, while the energy in plants is caught and stored. An additional advantage is that bioenergy is produced by organic waste material which helps to save the environmental and commercial costs of their disposal.
Maybe the most significant benefit of bioenergy is it is a doubtless replenish-able natural resource that would help supply energy wants indefinitely. But there are some disadvantages to using bioenergy. Biomass has tiny energy content for bulk use than carbon-based fuels. Therefore the expenses of labor, transport, and storage are relatively higher. Maybe the major difficulty with bioenergy is with recycling. Folk won't demand bioenergy till there's a big cost saving in doing hence but there may not be much savings till there's a much bigger requirement for bioenergy, or the non-renewable sources become seriously costlier.
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While awareness of biodiesel and running diesel engines on vegetable oil is growing, you still have to get the oil from somewhere. The conventional choice is to buy vegetable oil, or take used vegetable oil from a restaurant. However, there is another possibility: Produce your own oil, with algae.
Algae
Algae are a form of "simple," photosynthetic, and aquatic organisms. The most complex forms of algae are commonly called "seaweed," though algae range in size and complexity from unicellular forms to this more advanced form. They are called "simple" because they lack many complex features found in land plants. The most useful feature of algae for our purposes is that algae produce significant quantities of natural oils. In fact, there are estimates that the yield from algae can be 200 times greater than that from a comparable area of other sources of conventional vegetable oils.
Algal Oils
Oil from algae is quite similar to oils produced by conventional oil crops and oilseeds. Chemists generally do not speak of oil, which is a common word for a vaguely defined group of chemicals. Biological "oils," or lipids, are chemicals called triglycerides, composed of a central glycerol unit with three fatty acids attached. Chemically, biological lipids are similar to petroleum to the extent that both groups of chemicals are based on carbon and hydrogen.
The main problem with using biological lipids as fuels is the fact that lipids are much more viscous (or resistant to "flowing," in layman's terms) than the refined petrochemicals which make up gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and other petroleum-based fuels. As a result, unrefined lipids will not be completely burned off in an engine, and leftover product which did not burn can accumulate in the engine.
Biodiesel from Algae Oil
The process of making biodiesel from oil is all about lowering the viscosity of oil by removing the glycerol; the process of converting algal oils is the same as that with any conventional vegetable oils. Chemists refer to this process as "transesterification," which in the case of biodiesel means splitting the triglycerides, separating the glycerol, which will settle, and converting the fatty acids into a solution of methyl esters, called biodiesel. This is done by mixing the biological oil with sodium methoxide.
Cultivating Algae
Algae can be cultivated at home using a device known as a "photobioreactor," or a bioreactor which includes a source of light. A basic reactor can be made from clear plastic tubes or plastic bottles or a plastic container of some sort. Algae need water, carbon dioxide, and light to grow; the reactor will contain water into which has been placed a culture of algae. Depending on the type of reactor chosen, algae can be cultivated continuously or in batches. The light source can be an LED, a phosphorescent bulb, or natural sunlight.
Getting Oil from the Algae
The making of biodiesel involves a number of separation processes, even more so in the case of biodiesel from algae: separating the algae from the solution, separating the oil from the algae, and separating the glycerol from the biodiesel after the reaction is complete. All of these separation processes can be done simply with a centrifuge.
Conclusions
While even biodiesel isn't quite a free lunch, getting biodiesel from algae can bring you one step closer. The product you get from algae-produced biodiesel is equivalent to that you get from other oils and the conversion of algal oil is the same as the conversion of any other oil; the algae are simply a renewable source of oil. Algae are quite safe, being commonly used in commercial products including food.
This article was written by Pamella Neely from bestlogcabinkits.com.
Image credited to: http://www.cincitdi.com/node?page=5
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Ten years ago I began my Chemical Engineering masters degree. The title of my master thesis was “Optmization of oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to C2+ products”. That time, I was so interested with the topic energy. That’s why I opted that research field because I want to help and contribute to seek for ways to obtain petroleum energy from other sources since the petroleum reserve is diminishing!!! OCM is actually part of the technology to convert natural gas to C2 products (ethane, ethylene, acetylene) and further on oligomerize to gasoline with the help of zeolite ZSM-5 catalyst. That time, in my literature review, it was stated that the petroleum research is going to end in 15 years time. I noted that a decade ago which means 10 years ago. If that information is correct, we shall be enjoying petroleum until 2015!!!
Is that right?
After I completed my masters degree, I work with an oil and gas servicing company. I’m not the only engineer there. Two petroleum engineers were employed after me. It is interesting to have intellectual friends like them to discuss about the energy dilemma of petroleum.
One of them ask, “Do you think petroleum will last around 2015?”
“I’m not sure…”, I answered briefly and slowly. “Hopefully not”, I added a two seconds after that.
Being a petroleum engineering student, my colleague began his story…
“Petroleum is abundantly available down there inside the earth. The supply can last up to 100 years. The problem now is our current technology is not capable to retrieve the black gold. Hence, we need to keep on researching and developing new techniques and technology to retrieve the crude oil.”
What my petroleum engineer friend said make me realized that petroleum is still safely locked and stored down there. The problem hindering us from getting it is the technology. I’m glad I knew that and until now I still subscribe petroleum, hydrocarbon and offshore related magazines to keep myself updated with current technologies concerning petroleum upstream.
Yesterday, I came across this website called Bedrock Energy Development. It is pretty interesting because it introduces a new way of extracting petroleum…
The tag line say it all… “Laser Oil Well Drilling: a look into the future of the search for petroleum”
Laser will be employed to explore oils. Honestly, I never imagine laser application for the oil and gas industry specifically in exploration. However, this new tech has given the world some gleam of hope and that’s very pretty impressive. Despite the desperate commercialization of green biomass and biodiesel fuel, the demand required by the world could not be met by these renewable technology yet. More and more research are yet to be done to ensure commercial viability of the green technology. Without doubt, the world still need fossil petroleum for energy at least for the next 50 years.
It was stated that lasers have the ability to melt rock in a way that will create a casing in a wellbore, eliminating the expense of setting steel well casing. A laser system could also poses a variety of sensors and imaging systems that could communicate with the surface via fiber optic cable. A new study will obtain precise measurements of the energy required to transmit light from surface lasers with enough power to bore through rocks as deep as 20,000 feet or more beneath the surface. This has certainly ease the traditional and complicated process of drilling to position the wellbore that will be then connected to platform for further processing.
Besides that, another aspect of the new study will be to determine if lasers can be used in the presence of drilling fluids. In most wells drilling “mud” is injected into the borehole to wash out rock cuttings and keep water and other fluids from seeping into the wellbore. The technical challenge will be to determine whether too much laser energy is expended to clear away the fluid where the drilling is occurring.
Well, despite of all this, the laser approach may be the answer to our mysterious technology to dig out the petroleum from stubborn earth crust. Let’s hope for the laser technology application success so we can still enjoy petrol and its’ derivative products at an affordable price.
Basic rule of thumb: less petroleum, house hold price including petrol will rise, and people will suffer…
Think about it.
Check out the video below to see the concept behind laser oil well drilling...
Biomass is any organic material that is made by plants and animals. This includes all parts of plants, animal flesh and excretions such as manure. Biomass in rich in energy that can be used for fuel which is called biofuel.
Fossil fuels are also a biomass since it's believed that they come from ancient plants and animals. But usually when people speak of biomass they are talking about material produced from sources that are alive now or were recently.
Biofuel is often talked about as though it was a new technology that we can use in the future to help solve our energy supply problems. But humans have been using biofuel since the beginning of humanity. The food we eat is a form of biofuel that we wouldn't exist without. Humans have also used plant materials such as wood wax and whale oil as a fuel to burn for heat and light for thousands of years.
Newer technologies have allowed us to use biomass for making other biofuels. Biomass can be burned to power electric generators or made into methane, alcohol or bio diesel for powering our cars. These processes are energy intensive meaning a lot of energy is lost in converting biomass into the other forms of fuel or energy. Because of this these biofuels have not been cost effective or practical.
With all the technology going into biofuel research the one form of biofuel that we have been using since ancient times still remains the most efficient and practical. Burning biomass such as wood for direct heating is still the most efficient.
Instead of focusing on trying to use biomass to fuel our cars and generate electricity we may be better off using it to heat our homes and buildings. Firewood may not be practical for most people but pellets made from wood and other biomass may be. Burning pellets is cost effective, clean and may be the most efficient way to utilize the energy in biomass.
For those who want to use biomass as a renewable energy source heating with wood or other biomass pellets are practical and economical and the technology and distribution systems are already available.
You can also check out this short video to learn how energy can be derived from biomass. It presents the using of energy from biomass to generate electricity at the Nanticoke Generating Station. Very interesting... :)
As the World starts to regret using so much carbon-based fossil fuels, they have been inventing alternative fuels and the one getting the most attention is Bio-fuel.
This apparently 'great answer' to reducing our dependence on oil is taking the states by storm in particular, with gas stations offering various types of gas with differing amounts of bio-fuels in them - great for reducing your carbon footprint, right?
Well, maybe it's not a simple as a quick fix - and maybe it's not all just about carbon!
How are Bio-fuels made? Various crops have been found to convert very well into ethanol and other similar compounds - and it is these volatile liquids which can then be used to generate energy (combined with existing fuels) to drive vehicles.
Fields of Corn/Maize, Sorghum, Sugar Cane, Soy and Palm Oil are all being grown across the Globe to generate these new bio-fuels for the developed countries that demand them. However, as you can imagine - if large areas of land are being farmed for fuel - then other factors become an issue.
1) Deforestation: Large areas of land are being cleared of forests and human settlements to grow these 'in demand' crops for the developed nations.
In Argentina, it has been calculated that more than 2.3 million hectares have been cleared since 2005 alone for Soy, and there are plans afoot for a 1.8 million hectare Palm Oil plantation (the Worlds largest) to be created in the heart of a Borneo Rainforest - obviously the trees, wildlife and indigenous peoples will have to be cleared, moved or destroyed. Palm Oil has become the largest cause of deforestation in South-East Asia due to increasing demand for both the cosmetics industry and now bio-fuels.
2) Supply Of Grains: The US is the worlds greatest exporter of corn - of so it was before it started producing it's own bio-fuels from it. As a result, it is not sending the corn out to other nations and they are finding themselves short of supply. As with everything in the world - shortage of supply means an increase in prices, so those countries that are still dependent on the corn are paying a lot more for it.
And it is not just corn - all grain prices have gone up as the demand on the land has pushed out other crops such as wheat and along with other environmental factors the consumers are suffering. Between 2004 and 2006 corn prices went up an estimated 54%, wheat 34%, soybean oil by an amazing 71% and sugar rose by an unbelievable 75%.
And it all got worse in 2007. The World Bank reported price increases of food by up to 83% between then and 2008. More than 40 countries have had food riots - and weekly grocery shopping is certainly eating away at my wages!
3) Fuel Or Food: If vast areas of arable land are being turned over to growing crops for fuel - then where are we growing the food for humans to eat?
The massive demand for grains for fuel are pricing poor people of the world out of the food market. Talks are currently underway with farmers from India to sell their crops of sorghum and sugarcane to be used for ethanol production rather than for the food industry - and it's a better price! The US and other 'rich' countries have got more money to throw at such ventures, making it an impossible catch 22 for the farmers.
Either they get more for their crops - and as a business this makes sense, but then in effect can reduce reasonably-priced food available to themselves and their fellow countrymen. Or they can take less money for their work in the hope that whoever they sell their crops to doesn't do what they didn't and reap the rewards!
4) Carbon FootPrint: The clearing of forests and the excessive amounts of land turned over for farming cannot possibly be reducing the effect of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
I have no doubt that the farming machinery used the Palm Oil and Soy land owners is not run on bio-fuels itself and are probably churning out more carbon that we are saving with our 5% bio-fuel diesel mix. The machinery used to clear the forests in the first place are another great source of carbon emissions too.
Then there is the impact of clearing the trees in the first place. Surely everyone knows that to counter-balance your own carbon emissions (such as flying) you should be planting trees. Trees absorb carbon, so if you are cutting them down it can only have a negative effect. And if you are cutting them down to sustain our lazy habit of driving everywhere then this can only double the negative effect.
Are Bio-fuels Sustainable? Current evidence would be to suggest that 'No' they are not sustainable at all.
They compete with the human food supply, they destroy irreplaceable habitats across the globe to make way for huge monoculture farms. These farms divert organic matter away from the necessary ecosystems and basically take food from the poor to make fuel for the rich on the other side of the world.
As we all know - cleared rain-forest are not able to sustain farming for any length of time, and eventually become only good for cattle farming (another contentious argument for methane emissions). The cycle is known too well - the result = more forests destroyed for more farms.
What Is The Alternative? Is there a sustainable people-friendly, environmentally-friendly method of producing a fuel for our current transport needs?
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In the race to find a sustainable source of alternative energy, many heads are turning towards biomass electricity. There are many questions being asked, from exactly how the electricity is made and what it is to whether it is truly a green alternative. While far fewer consumers know about biomass and the potential held within that would be preferred, the word seems to be spreading quickly, adding to the hope that there will be a more significant demand for this unique method of energy production.
Biomass is living and recently dead biological matter, and can include yard clippings, tree branches, and wood chips. Biomass is typically obtained from harvesting and processing agricultural and forestry crops. In a process called co-generation, the biomass is burned, creating steam that turns turbines in order to create electricity. The steam is then used for secondary processes, from factory use to things such as drying out vegetables, making the entire process remarkably energy efficient.
The United States currently utilizes biomass for approximately 0.5 percent of its electricity generation. This small percentage of biomass use saves approximately eleven million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year compared to fossil fuel combustion. Converting biomass to energy also changes methane or CH4 to carbon dioxide or CO2. Because methane emissions are far more harmful to the greenhouse gases surrounding the atmosphere, this process is considered a highly valuable tool in the fight against global warming. Biomass electricity production reduces greenhouse gases at least five times more effectively than other methods of producing electricity, both renewable and nuclear.
One fact that surprises many consumers is that biomass was once the primary source of heat across the globe. When thinking of what comprises biomass, many people do not realize that firewood is considered a source. When considering the amount of homes that still implement fireplaces and the cost effectiveness and efficiency that comes with these heat sources, the need for a source of biomass power on a larger scale becomes more obvious.
One place some cities are finally beginning to see as an excellent source of biomass is municipal waste areas. As landfills are exceeding their capacity, we are left with lots of trash and nowhere to store it. A great percentage of our waste is able to be used to produce energy, and many cities are starting to see that converting this waste to energy has multiple benefits in that it creates renewable and environmentally friendly energy while also reducing landfill bound waste.
While most sources of energy must start at the top before they will be usable to consumers, there are a variety of options for using biomass to power your home. New homes can be built to burn wood or other biomass to produce energy. Homes are still connected to a city grid in case there is a need for more power, and when excess power is created it produces a credit as the electric meter runs backwards. As the cost of energy rises significantly, more and more homeowners are implementing such systems in their homes, with the global hope that businesses and industries will soon be forced to follow suit.
Renewable Energy Today is devoted to providing individuals with up-to-date information and resources on renewable energy and sustainability. Through articles, videos and other content, you can learn how to implement renewable energy in your home as well as what the government is doing to help the environment.
If you are interested to read and understand more on this issue, you can apply the following magazines which are free.
Renewable Energy Worldprovides authoritative articles, case studies and essential news on global developments in the renewables sector. Every issue includes features on wind power, solar thermal, photovoltaics and biomass. Regular coverage is also devoted to geothermal, energy storage, small hydro, and hybrid systems.
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Biodiesel and biofuel...believe or not they are huge business. It is one type of renewable energy that has gain interest from fellow researchers, technologist, engineers, scientists, politicians, investors etc few years ago. Since then, many people began planting the likes of palm oil, rape seed, soya been etc to produce biodiesel. However, recently, there had been issues on food supply shortage and thus this has contributed to the increase price of the crops.
How can we use palm oil, rape seed and soya been to produce biodiesel when we know that the food supply for the world is insufficient? We need those crops for food, to feed human, not for energy!
Hence, the world has turned to a species of tree called jatropa. Why jatropa? Simply because it is non-edible. It cannot be consumed by humans. In addition to that, it has high content of oil. Now, a lot of countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and others are encouraging their farmers to grow jatropa for biodiesel. Infact, in Malaysia, Bionas was established to facilitate everything associated to jatropa from planting them to processing them in a refinery.
To have a better comprehension on the subjects, please check out the following videos.
Video synopsis: Brazil is the world's leading country in BioFuels! Over 30 years ago in order to find a renewable and greener source of fuel, the Brazilian Government started the "Ethanol Boom" and has been successful ever since; for today, 8 out of 10 cars manufactured in Brazil have the so called "Flex Power" engines. These engines can run both in Alcohol Ethanol as well as with gasoline in any blend
This video shows Conatus team go to Taubate, Sao Paulo state, Brazil to check on the regional jathropa plantation project. Called Pinhao-Manso in Portuguese, Jathropa could be what sugar cane is for ethanol to biodiesel.
So, you have seen the videos and you should notice how great jatropa will become. It will be a huge business. There will be massive research and development to optimize the entire process. Farmers and those who have association with jatropa can expect good fortune in future. What about those who are not associated with jatropa? Can they earn a piece of the fortune? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Your Dream Offshore Job - Offshore Oil Industry Resume Distribution Service And Employer Services
blog post like this. To have a clearer and precise information sharing on ethanol business, I would like to recommend Ethanol Producer magazine.
blog post like this. To have a clearer and precise information sharing on ethanol business, I would like to recommend Ethanol Producer magazine.
