Richard and all,
Various low-sulfur processes (there are many) for refining crude are
already being implemented by the major oil companies nowadays, due to
the new emphasis on clean diesel fuel which will be seen very shortly in
most states... and the surprisingly wide range of 2008 diesel engines --
which will be arriving in the showrooms soon.
... one of the best designs being the "Bluetec." Jeep is said to be
trying to get a Cherokee out this year in a few states in the USA with
the Bluetec. It is already available in Canada:
http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=24682842-fc30-41fc-b4ea-d630fca0b9a7
These advanced small (and large) diesels are great news for biodiesel
and algoil too! Surely the Diesel-hybrid will soon follow.
As for oilgae, or algoil, itself-- which is biodiesel which is harvested
from aquaculture, using fast growing cyanobacteria or other algae, there
are literally dozens of companies and universities into the fray.
Biodiesel is already surprisingly available - there are 500 stations
operating now - but most biodiesel will be canola-based (or soy) for at
least two years, depending on investment capital(and incentives) and
whether we have a stock market melt-down or not.
This site lists retail stations where biodiesel is available:
http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/
The premium one must pay for biodiesel over petrodiesel varies. It will
probably be 15-20% higher.
There are many players. MIT, ORNL and Ohio University have been on the
forefront of advanced Algoil bioreactor processes for retrofitting to
coal plants, which are "double green" - since by reducing greenhouse gas
emissions from coal combustion, they also convert that CO2 into biomass,
to burn as a replacement for a large part of the coal. Near carbon
neutrality.
A few of the companies will be in NorCal soon, along with many more
wannabe-greens- former polluters who have 'seen the light':
http://www.cleantech2007.org
Since flue gases from coal plants have an average temperatures of 140+
degrees F, there are various ways to handle this problem productively,
including a special heat-loving bacteria which was found at Yellowstone.
Dr. David Bayless, of the Ohio Coal Research Center and Keith Cooksey, a
microbiologist at Montana State University turned to nature for a
solution a couple of years ago- and have hybridized an iron-loving
cyanobacterium (blue-green algae) which Cooksey discovered thriving in a
hot spring at Yellowstone.
I believe that they are licensing this strain widely to utilities.
Several different strains of algae can be used, and many have high oil
content. As the temperature of the effluent drops in stages, different
strains become more efficient.
The algae can grow free on the surface of a pond if enough land is
available, or preferably on woven membranes resembling window screens,
which can be interspersed between the Oak-Ridge developed "glow plates"
which maximize sunlight availability by an order of magnitude over a
pond situation.
The algae absorb nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur, which contribute to
acid rain. The tonnage of biomass can double daily if conditions are
right, but is not as simple as it seems. Once the algae is harvested and
dried, it can be used immediately as a fuel substitute for coal... or as
hydrogen source (water gas shift reaction) or as food for humans or
livestock -- or even for other strains of bacteria, which yield more oil
than the hot spring one... Obviously, coal plants would just burn it, in
order to use less coal and to keep things simple.
This is going to be one of the "next big things" in the evolution of
transportation and energy use - towards sustainability. I predict that
corn-based Ethanol will be forgotten soon, in favor of the far superior
economics and efficiency characteristics of algoil.
BTW - if anyone out there in Volandia is a "green" investor- it would be
interesting to hear opinions on any "Green BDC" (Business Development
Corporation).
BDCs are essentially publicly-traded equity funds which provide capital
in a regulated environment for investment in a pool of long-term, small
and middle-market companies. Are they ethical or just pump-and-dump
artists riding a trend?
GreenShift Corporation is one such publicly traded BDC which has been
promoting itself widely amongst the eco-set. That may not be a good
sign. I personally do not own any BDC now, but am looking into it (in
case I should win the lottery ;-)
... but with my abysmal track record, you should avoid it totally if I
invest.
Jones
