Comments on: Which biofuel is best?

By: Zoila Quevedo

Zoila Quevedo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:17:47 +0000

Great job.

By: Vitamin Manufacturers

Vitamin Manufacturers — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:59:58 +0000

My brother and I attended a paid seminar, way back in the 1980’s (long before it was the buzz word of the day), given by a gentleman who made his own ethanol from sugar beets. His pretense was that sugar beets are much easier to grow can convert than corn or sugar cane and they could be grown in many types of soil that may not be conducive to growing cane or corn. Any comments on why sugar beets do not seem to get any mention in today’s proponents?

By: copycat recipes

copycat recipes — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:37:25 +0000

I found this blog by accident looking for recipes blogs but AMEN! Couldn’t be a more important subject right now with fuel prices the way they are!

By: coolermaster

coolermaster — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:26:42 +0000

The price of energy, in particular fossil fuel, is historically high and seems set to increase. Fuel bills - whether for the home or for the car - take up an ever-increasing proportion of people’s budgets. Fuel saver

By: Dmitry

Dmitry — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:07:11 +0000

Biofuel - one of the best that the people can do right now for the ecology! Its very important problem and we must solve it immidietly… For the next generations… but in our country this idea isnt popular for now… hope that soon this situation change!

By: Ecoanne

Ecoanne — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:48:45 +0000

Hi Dan!

I just found you and you have posted on one of my pet subjects. Somewhere someone’s got
it wrong. A big fuss is made about the merits of re-cycling cooking oil. BUT governments are worried about the health effects of obesity!
Whilst networking recently I was introduced to someone who was supposed to be aligned
with my ethos. Wrong! She and her husband are growing miscanthus and turning it into biofuel. Oh, says I, you must be farming on marginal land. (I presumed that little else useful could grow there) . Oh no, says she we we’re not making enough in arable so we changed to this, with the subsides it is much more profitable. Fortunately the organiser stood up to speak before I could explode.

Why not visit my blog and leave a comment. I think we are on the same wavelength.

Bye for now

Ecoanne

Save energy today. Tomorrow my be too late.

By: Glen Wood

Glen Wood — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:40:21 +0000

I totally agree that using human consumable farm products is not a good idea. We should look to products such as switch grass as much more useful imputs. We also need to look for ways to reduce our consumtion of petroleum products. By using synthetic oils with their longer change intervals we could reduce our consumption. We should also consider vehicles that get better fuel milage to help reduce our level of consumption.

By: Bob Mueller

Bob Mueller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:52:12 +0000

Dan, Are you ready for more information about reducing emissions? Please contact me.

By: Dan Kulpinski

Dan Kulpinski — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:41:58 +0000

Yes, alternative fuels can help reduce our reliance on petroleum from all sources, including the Middle East. Conservation can also help some. Renewable energy sources can also chip in. We’ll have to see exactly how much these measures can reduce our consumption of petroleum (and coal).

As for Benjamin’s concerns, the BBC story about the switchgrass study has some answers for you. The energy inputs in the study do includ “nitrogen fertiliser, herbicides, diesel and seed production.” The study estimated its results by assuming that a biorefinery would be used to process the grass and make ethanol; this refinery would run, in part, on “biomass residue” from the plants themselves, not totally on fossil fuels the way our corn-to-ethanol plants currently work.

Also, “Although the process to produce ethanol from switchgrass was more complex than using food crops such as wheat or corn, the so-called “second generation” biofuel could produce much higher energy yields per tonne because it utilised the whole plant rather than just the seeds.”

The researchers concluded that ethanol made from switchgrass would create 88 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than corn ethanol.

Switchgrass does seem promising, although there are some assumptions in the study that don’t exist yet — the biorefinery being the big one.

This type of research, done by both the federal government and a university, is one way that innovation happens. I think we’ll need all types of innovation to solve our energy and climate problems.

By: Benjamin Napier

Benjamin Napier — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:06:58 +0000

Keep in mind that high-yield production of any crop requires the addition of nitrogen in the form of ammonia to the soil. Most of our ammonia fertilizers now are products of the petroleum industry. In addition, there will be a lot of fuel expended planting, tending and harvesting the agri-product. Add to that the energy used to dry and process the material.

I think it would be prudent to let the market and unfettered innovation “solve” the energy crisis. If we depend on government to “help” us, we will be broke, cold and hungry.