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BEAKER FUEL
Robert Langreth, Forbes, November 24, 2008
Designer biofuels looked great at $140 oil. How about $65? Dartmouth college
engineering professor Lee R. Lynd hit upon an unlikely source of transportation
fuel three decades ago: bacteria from compost heaps. But when he tried
to convince venture capitalists in the early 1990s to form a company based on
the idea, he got nowhere. These days, Lynd works from his basement
lab and with 70 researchers down the road at the biofuels company he founded,
Mascoma, with millions of dollars in funding from GM and Marathon Oil as well
as government grants. The aim: to produce ethanol from wood chips in 2009
using genetically engineered bacteria.
> Read more: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/1124/058.html
BIOFUELS INDUSTRY TAKES A SEARCHING LOOK AT USING PIPELINES
Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2008, p. 56
How best will the growing volumes of ethanol being produced to
comply with federal laws be safely transported from producing plants
in regions where there are few fuel transportation assets to consumers? This
question was posed to a panel of expert biofuels observers. One
big political hurdle identified is that the market for biofuels — unlike
that for fossil fuels — is buffeted by uncertainty because
it is being stimulated from the top rather than by actions taken
in response to demand from the bottom, or consumer part of the
supply chain. The article highlights where the current status
of biofuel (ethanol) is in the U.S. and infrastructure issues.
> Read more: http://www.oildompublishing.com/PGJ/pgjarchive/Nov08/biofuels.pdf
BIOMASS REFINING: NEW LIFE FOR THE PULP & PAPER
INDUSTRY?
E. Granson, PROCESSWest, October 2008, p. 32
The Canadian pulp and paper industry has been having some difficult
times for the past several years. However, business, industry,
and government agencies are optimistic about its future in the
area of biomass refining. Fundamentally, biorefining is not
new; but, there have been a number of technological advances that
could lead to cost savings and new product revenue streams.
> Read more: http://www.processnetwork-digital.com/pw/200810/
COMMERICALIZING CELLULOSIC ETHANOL
Diane Greer, BioCycle, November 2008
Cellulosic biofuels, produced from nonfood feedstock, are expected
to play a critical role in reducing dependence on imported oil. Although
several technologies to produce cellulosic ethanol, proven in small-scale
facilities, are moving toward commercial production, challenges
remain in scaling the technologies, reducing production costs and
financing large-volume plants. Of the six companies receiving
grants from the U.S. DOE, three expect to complete commercial-scale
facilities between 2009 and 2011. Iogen, a Canadian company, and
one other bowed out of the program. This article goes into
greater detail regarding the facilities being built and the technologies
employed.
> Read more: http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/001764.html#more
CORNGRASS
M. Wood, Agricultural Research, Nov/Dec 2008, p. 18
Corngrass—a somewhat grassier-looking version of your typical
towering cornstalk—may hold a key to fast, cheap, eco-friendly
ways to squeeze more cellulosic ethanol from corn and other bioenergy
crops, according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service. This
unusual plant is the same species—Zea mays—as the corn
grown on acres of farmland. A healthy, naturally occurring
mutant of those familiar plants, corngrass has several traits that
might be suitable for moving into other plants to make them superior
biofuel crops.
> Read more: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/nov08/corngrass1108.pdf
GAS ANALYZER TECHNOLOGY BOOSTS POTENTIAL FOR CONVERTING
BIOGAS TO ELECTRIC POWER
Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2008, p. 90
The main component of “natural gas,” methane is found
in abundance in many places other than subterranean gas wells.
Landfills, oil pipelines, pasturelands, forests and waste treatment
plants all contain methane or the biomass from which methane can
be formed. Last spring BioEnergy Solutions,
Bakersfield, CA, launched California’s first biogas-to-pipeline
injection project in Fresno County, central California. The project
is using renewable natural gas derived from animal waste at a PG&E
site. “With nearly 2 million dairy cows in California,
there is great potential for the state’s agriculture and
power sectors to work together to address the challenges of climate
change,” says PG&E vice president.
> Read more: http://www.oildompublishing.com/PGJ/pgjarchive/Nov08/technotes.pdf
HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE: ALGAE OIL
M. Rothstein, ESQ, December 2008, p. 178
Algae is plentiful and, like corn and soybeans, can be processed
into oil and gas to power our factories, cars, and airplanes. But
unlike ethanol, oil made from algae won't compete with the food
supply. And because algae can grow off a power plant's carbon
emissions and greenhouse gases, it can help solve, rather than
exacerbate, another problem. According to some estimates, by dedicating
just 2 percent of its land mass to algae production, America could
meet all of its energy needs.
> Read more: http://www.zinio.com/express3?issue=329325120&o=int&prev=si&pg=seo&p=178
INDUSTRY SET TO EXPLODE
H. Hager, Canadian BIOMASS, December 2008, p. 15
As the costs of fossil fuels escalate and climate change policies
come into force, the use of woody biomass for energy is becoming
an increasingly attractive option. This was highlighted at
the CanBio conference in Halifax. Biomass in Canada
is currently produced mainly as a byproduct of the lumber industry
or from the harvest of nonmerchantable timber. However, slumping
lumber markets and sawmill closures have reduced the supply of
sawmill residuals available. Thus, it may be necessary at times
for the forest industry and policy makers to consider the harvest
of forests for energy as a final product in itself. The article
addresses sustainable biomass harvests, flexible burning, and market
opportunities.
> Read more: http://www.itmems.com/items/7101e750-9308-4a26-9738-a898337965bf27046BIOMASS.pdf
A MODEL TO MEASURE SOIL HEALTH IN THE ERA OF BIOENERGY
Soil Society of America, News Release, November 17, 2008
Sustainable management practices for crop residues are critical
for maintaining soil productivity, but being able to measure a
loss in the quality of soil can be difficult. USDA-Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) scientists detail a method of measuring
soil quality using a new model. “The development of
soil management practices that maintain adequate SOM for nutrient
cycling, soil structure stability, and sufficient biomass to prevent
erosion is essential for decisions on land use for food, fiber,
feed, and bioenergy,” says Hero Gollany, an ARS soil scientist.
> Read more: https://www.soils.org/press/releases/2008/1117/222/
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January 19-21, 2009
WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 2009
Abu Dhabi
>Details: http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/
February 4, 2009
2009
NATIONAL BIODIESEL CONFERENCE & EXPO
San Francisco, USA
>Details: http://www.biodieselconference.org/2009/
 March 10-12, 2009
CANADIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY WORKSHOP
Regina, SK
Details: http://www.crew2009.com
March
10, 2009
EUROPEAN UNION/ONTARIO BIOGAS NETWORKING FORUM:
DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS IN THE AGRICULTURE
AND FOOD PROCESSING SECTORS
London, ON
>Details:http://www.gtmconference.ca/site/index.php/program/networking-forum
March 10-13, 2009
1ST ANNUAL CANADIAN FARM AND FOOD BIOGAS CONFERENCE AND
EXHIBITION
London, ON
>Details: http://www.gtmconference.ca/site/
March
10-13, 2009
GROWING THE MARGINS: ENERGY, BIOPRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS FROM FARM AND FOOD SECTORS
CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
3rd Annual Growing the Margins Conference and Exhibition
London, ON
>Details: http://www.gtmconference.ca/site/
May 12-15 2009
BIOENERGY STUDY TOUR: STATE-OF-ART FOREST SUPPLY CHAINS
AND BIOENERGY PROJECTS
Joensuu region, Finland
> Details: http://www.canbio.ca/documents/MissionsfromCanada.pdf
August 31 - September 4, 2009
CANADIAN MISSION TO 4TH INTERNATIONAL BIOENERGY 2009 CONFERENCE
Jyväskylä, Finland
> Details: http://www.canbio.ca/documents/MissionsfromCanada.pdf
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