tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post7807708910714873579..comments2024-03-29T06:38:18.116+00:00Comments on Energy Balance: Isobutanol - a Breakthrough in Biofuel production?Professor Chris Rhodeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-43827716669996960172016-05-27T15:00:06.372+01:002016-05-27T15:00:06.372+01:00The Higher Heating Value of Diesel is 36.9 MJ/L; a...The Higher Heating Value of Diesel is 36.9 MJ/L; and HHV of IB = 28.8 MJ/L. There are slightly different numbers around, but these seem reasonable.<br /><br />So a 15% IB/Diesel blend = .15 x 28.8 + .85 x 36.9 = 35.7 MJ/L.<br /><br />20% IB/Diesel = .2 x 28.8 + .8 x 36.9 = 35.3 MJ/L.<br /><br />25% IB/Diesel = .25 x 28.8 + .75 x 36.9 = 34.9 MJ/L.<br /><br />So, not a huge difference between them.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris<br />Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-40735482931913877232016-05-27T14:36:07.021+01:002016-05-27T14:36:07.021+01:00What is the calorific value of 15%,20%,&25% is...What is the calorific value of 15%,20%,&25% isobutanol and diesel blends... Can u plz tellAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773037105449217859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-59510986058982018582016-05-27T14:35:29.012+01:002016-05-27T14:35:29.012+01:00What is the calorific value of 15%,20%,&25% is...What is the calorific value of 15%,20%,&25% isobutanol and diesel blends... Can u plz tellAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773037105449217859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-33043676599527668762011-03-31T09:50:23.073+01:002011-03-31T09:50:23.073+01:00I don;t think they are but with new technology cou...I don;t think they are but with new technology could provide "sugars" for fuel. The situation in Europe in regard to farmers being [aid to produce or not produce is infamous, leading to e.g. potato-mountains and wine-lakes!<br /><br />I think that we will need all sources of fuel, particular that produced on the local level but a depletion of say 5%/year in conventional crude oil would be very hard to substitute by biofuels.<br /><br />ChrisProfessor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-54874651200281398512011-03-30T14:08:50.325+01:002011-03-30T14:08:50.325+01:00How about the clippings from roadside mowing, wind...How about the clippings from roadside mowing, wind damaged trees and land that lays fallow to stabilize food prices, are they taken into concideration in the formulas? How much does the Department of Agriculture pay farmers not to plant land? It seems that part of tjis crisis is avoidable, just the ineffinicity of our government..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-9274350741379044542011-02-15T14:36:34.513+00:002011-02-15T14:36:34.513+00:00My last comment, on reading it back, isn't as ...My last comment, on reading it back, isn't as clear as it might be! What I mean is 500 million km^2 as total earth area and so 30% of that gives 150 million km^2. The rest being covered by water.<br /><br />We then have even if there is 30 odd million km^2 of land that can be used to grow crops on, the issue of growing crops to feed cars or people. We can't do both.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ChrisProfessor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-53930874740559453872011-02-15T14:33:03.928+00:002011-02-15T14:33:03.928+00:00Hi Nick,
I'm not talking about the total area...Hi Nick,<br /><br />I'm not talking about the total area of land, which is about 30% of the grand total of 500 million km^2, but the area of quality crop (arable) land which is about 10% of that or 15 million km^2.<br /><br />Now I accept that more land might be used to grow stuff on, and so I accept that 31 million km^2 figure. That noted however, the problems we are alluding to remain.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />ChrisProfessor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-6050905409619476692011-02-13T23:23:01.510+00:002011-02-13T23:23:01.510+00:00Hi Chris,
It seems I stumbled upon this post a li...Hi Chris,<br /><br />It seems I stumbled upon this post a little after-the-fact. I love these sorts of numerical approximations. They give a good sense of whether things are even worth looking further into. So I do this a lot, myself.<br /><br />I wanted to point out that the land area of the earth is actually 149 million km^2, not 14.9 million (wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth). This is a consequential difference. What was going to require 73.0% of land now requires "only" 7.32%. That percentage grows to about 34% when you look only at arable land (31 million km^2, .../wiki/arable_land). That is still unacceptably high, for all the reasons you go on to state. But a *portion* of that might not be. <br /><br />Cheers,<br />NickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-1914597489557327682011-01-24T14:34:50.872+00:002011-01-24T14:34:50.872+00:00Hi Tim,
since this involves a "GM bug",...Hi Tim,<br /><br />since this involves a "GM bug", then yes it would be fourth generation as in Craig Venter's schemes.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />Chris RhodesProfessor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-65859323231652020332011-01-24T14:18:45.182+00:002011-01-24T14:18:45.182+00:00Hi,
Great Blog! Would this be Fourth Generation B...Hi,<br /><br />Great Blog! Would this be Fourth Generation Bio Fuel then?<br /><br />There is not enough first generation fuel being used.<br /><br />This short video explains how anyone anywhere can refine their own biofuel<br /><br /><a href="http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-bio-fuel-out-from-waste.html" rel="nofollow">http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-bio-fuel-out-from-waste.html</a><br /><br />I have really been inspired to do more by your site! The Science and the Data is First Class...<br /><br />Thank You!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />Tim<br /><a href="http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com</a>Kentbiofuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652619271436147929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-35092442186397556512011-01-02T10:19:04.171+00:002011-01-02T10:19:04.171+00:00Agreed, using land to grow "fuel crops" ...Agreed, using land to grow "fuel crops" makes no sense beyond the small scale. Fuel and food production must fall into conflict otherwise. You propose a GM-means to produce algae, using photobioreactors, maximising the solar flux by having them facing south. <br /><br />I think you have a valid strategy here.<br /><br />Very true too what you say about lowering the energy of hydrocarbon fuels by mixing them with biofuels, and indeed the exact energy costs of ethanol production remain a highly vexed issue.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris RhodesProfessor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-67727962853881835862011-01-02T10:07:45.226+00:002011-01-02T10:07:45.226+00:00Hydroponically grown, genetically engineered algae...Hydroponically grown, genetically engineered algae, cultured in tubes stacked in tall towers with good southern exposure, located in places where the land isn't usable for regular agriculture. That's the way to go for churning out large quantities of isobutanol or any other designer alternative to gasoline with anywhere near the same energy density. Fermenting food, grains and corn, into ethanol to mix with gasoline and lower the efficiency of gasoline engines, plus all the energy the ethanol requires to produce above the amount gasoline requires to refine from crude oil - that simply makes no sense at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-23598718027836013622010-09-24T08:40:58.323+01:002010-09-24T08:40:58.323+01:00Hi David,
there is certainly interest in harvesti...Hi David,<br /><br />there is certainly interest in harvesting seaweed (macroalgae) and microalgae for conversion to fuels, including ethanol. In principle, seaweed could be garnered from the oceans and microalgae grown in tanks which avoids the competition with using crop-land for either food or fuel crops.<br /><br />All such strategies will take huge amounts of engineering to bring them to fruition however, and it is debatable how much time/conventional energy there is for the task.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris,Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-49073192103729338062010-09-24T01:22:04.679+01:002010-09-24T01:22:04.679+01:00WHO says that a source for ethanol - or even isobu...WHO says that a source for ethanol - or even isobutanol - has to be found on dry land? Nearly 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans. SURELY there is a species of plant - somewhere in the ocean - that could be easily converted to one of the appropriate alcohols, and used to fuel our engines.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-47492023990949632192009-12-29T22:51:38.536+00:002009-12-29T22:51:38.536+00:00Apparently there is a way to produce
isobutanol th...Apparently there is a way to produce<br />isobutanol that does not require any agricultural input "sugar" and could be one of several technologies that will help us to grow our fuel and save all those precious carbon atoms for a better use than simply burning them. <br />http://www.pddnet.com/news-ucla-researchers-produce-liquid-fuel-isobutanol-121109/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-79082182455472787402009-12-12T12:46:13.267+00:002009-12-12T12:46:13.267+00:00It is important to differentiate the the several t...It is important to differentiate the the several technologies that are associated with biofuel production, here. This arguement applies to all agricultural based biofuels. It also demonstrates the inefficiency of crop diversion at all. I would assert that this same demonstration can be made for all current biofuels which are dependent on use of arable land. It is simply non-sustainable. <br />If one really looks at the potential solutions available, only an aquacultural solution is viable as a replacement for fossil fuels. Once you realize that the origin of fossil fuels was aquatic, the solution to the problem becomes much clearer. Simply because we have not developed aquacultural methods in the west does not mean that the rest of the world is so technologically backward. There are numerous aquaculture based solutions in the pipeline all over the world. The oceans can be made productive, so too can non-arable land using seawater. Usage of waste streams from society has only begun to be tapped: CO2, along with NOx sequestered washed from stack smoke in H2O from the ocean or even sewage must be considered as a feedstock. The first shift has to be in the way of thinking about the problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-57660329614437793262009-09-08T07:17:41.410+01:002009-09-08T07:17:41.410+01:00Hi Paul,
I quite agree, there is the problem of g...Hi Paul,<br /><br />I quite agree, there is the problem of growing food crops vs. fuel crops, i.e. we can't feed engines and people and it makes a lot of sense to turn our waste into fuels.<br /><br />There are methane producing digesters of course but in principle waste could be turned into liquid fuels too.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris.Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-38293697854732476532009-09-07T19:04:48.886+01:002009-09-07T19:04:48.886+01:00Thinking that we have to grow extra crops is a bit...Thinking that we have to grow extra crops is a bit funny to me. the amount of waste product that comes off all farms is enormous. The ships that get to port and prices are to low get offloaded to dumps to keep prices high. Lets just take the waste and make fuel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-12674704619940605162009-06-08T12:01:25.462+01:002009-06-08T12:01:25.462+01:00Hi Costas,
thanks for this interesting informatio...Hi Costas,<br /><br />thanks for this interesting information. My feeling is that small communities are the way to go, in the sense of needing less transportation in the first place and also providing much of what they do then need locally. That would indeed - in my opinion - include, biodiesel, algae and other forms of biomass fuel.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris.Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-81420372846888212592009-06-08T11:38:38.928+01:002009-06-08T11:38:38.928+01:00Hello all,
the last comment about local communiti...Hello all,<br /><br />the last comment about local communities creating own bio-fuels is 'hitting the nail on the head'.<br /><br />It is also my belief that bio-fuels can very quickly make a big difference in agricultural communities.<br /><br />I am convinced that bio-fuel projects are social engineering projects as well.<br /><br />We are working on a 100% organic process in creating B100 bio-diesel that can be used in diesel engines without the need to modify the fuel system.<br /><br />Foodstuff from any kind of veg oil /PPO (recyclable / algae / rapeseed), anything available to the local community can be used.<br /><br />In the island I am at the moment (Kefalonia in Greece) 580 tonnes of oils are collected annually for recycling.<br /><br />This will go long way for creating fuel for the oil-fired central heating systems for the houses, diesel for the agricultural engines and the fishing / tourist boats... and the rest of energy needs can be taken care by utilising wind and solar power...(when the politician allow it)...there are 12 Wind Turbines up on the top of the mountain working for 3-4 years now and they still not allowed to be connected on the local electricity grid!!! <br /><br />Bio-diesel won't solve the global CO2 problem if we create it in massive plants (central production) because we increase the 'wheat to wheel' CO2 used transporting PPO from the fields / recycling centres to a central place and transporting fuel wherever.<br /><br />Local communities can create and use the fuel locally in smaller plants, enhancing the autonomy of the local communities and decreasing their dependency to the fuel producing countries.<br /><br />As the Roman used to say 'bit by bit my citizens Rome will be built'...in the same way millions of small independent plants will be creating the fuel locally (in a 100% organic manner) will create a collective difference and creating wealthier local economies..<br /><br />Your comments?<br /><br />Take care and have a fantastic day<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Small plants will also be replicable under licence and no chemicals will be required in the process (or ethanol from fossil fuel) or need to be disposed of chemicals after the process is complete.Costas Lambropouloshttp://www.eu-biofuels.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-41378409122135562162009-05-15T07:53:00.000+01:002009-05-15T07:53:00.000+01:00The issue of energy-return over energy invested is...The issue of energy-return over energy invested is controversial, and in principle I agree that any source of fuel (beyond oil) is a good thing.<br /><br />However, replacing that 30 billion barrels of oil per year that the world gets through can't be done using fuel-crops, because there isn't enough arable land worldwide.<br /><br />We need to grow food too, and the issue is do we feed cars or humans. There are figures that suggest growing algae and converting that into fuel by hydrothermal liquefaction might be the better bet.<br /><br />My own feeling is that we will relocalise into smaller communities that need far less in the way of transport, and that fuel cold be produced on the small scale to supply each community - I wrote before about a "village pond" idea where each community produces its own algae and thus fuel.<br /><br />Each community could also produce its own biochar, adding up collectively to around one billion tonnes per year, out of the apparently 8.5 billion tonnes of carbon emitted into the atmosphere by our burning of fossil fuels.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Chris.Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-87520994663763706102009-05-15T00:56:00.000+01:002009-05-15T00:56:00.000+01:00I keep hearing comments from critics that bio-fuel...I keep hearing comments from critics that bio-fuel production consumes more energy than it produces, however they seem to forget that bio-fuels are to a large part concentrated solar energy in chemical form, and that any production of bio-fuels that reduces fossil fuel consumption reduces net carbon emissions. How can any alternative to fossil fuels be a bad thing even if efficiency is significantly reduced.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-9452516799040594532008-11-09T07:57:00.000+00:002008-11-09T07:57:00.000+00:00That's very interesting. I should like to learn mo...That's very interesting. I should like to learn more about the technology?<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BR/>Chris Rhodes.Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-12414014521878555592008-11-08T17:35:00.000+00:002008-11-08T17:35:00.000+00:00Using hydrous ethanol allows higher compression wi...Using hydrous ethanol allows higher compression without pre detonation. The water keeps the combustion temp down to almost eliminate NOX and Particulates. The water also absorbs the heat energy and gives increase thermal efficiencies. We are not using traditional spark for ignition. We feel new engines can be produced around the issue of corrosion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19508699.post-49436019724788063202008-11-08T09:08:00.000+00:002008-11-08T09:08:00.000+00:00This is an interesting thought indeed and it raise...This is an interesting thought indeed and it raises a few questions.<BR/><BR/>If you dilute the ethanol 50:50 with water then the energy content of the fuel is halved to around 15 GJ/tonne.<BR/><BR/>i.e. about one third that of hydrocarbon fuels.<BR/><BR/>Agreed, in a diesel engine more miles are obtained per gallon (tank to wheel) than is the case in spark ignition engines which use petrol.<BR/><BR/>But why not just use pure ethanol? The other point is that such a water-rich mixture would prove highly corrosive to engine parts at high temperature which is a drawback to ethanol generally since it absorbs water very readily.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BR/>Chris.Professor Chris Rhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12060542089215379056noreply@blogger.com