Archive for the 'Renewable Energy Resource: biomass' Category
What’s driving an Olympic rower to flex his muscles in biofuel production?
July 17th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Young talent. 0 Comments
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Adam Kreek: olympic rower, Stanford graduate, former oilfield worker. After next year’s Olympics, he is determined to make his mark in the biofuel industry. Adam plans to start his own biodiesel production plants together with his wife, back in his home country of Canada. Adam is one of the many young enterpreneurs in clean and renewable energy production. He is determined to make a difference and convinced that he can. Adam talks with Tim, one of the students in my class, about his dreams and ambitions.
Biofuel feedstock: How efficiently can plants capture solar energy?
May 23rd, 2007 in Home and Renewable Energy Resource: biomass. 0 Comments
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Plants are not as efficient as you might think in capturing solar energy. Current photovoltaic panels can capture more energy per square meter — quite a bit more in fact — than biomass crops that are being suggested as feedstock for ethanol. This is not a reason to dismiss biomass crops, but with the ever growing competition for land, it should certainly be taken into account when evaluating renewable energy options.
Alfred Spormann, a professor in micro-biology at Stanford, explains the conversion process and discusses potential for improvement using genetic engineering.
Check out the future: student Adam Kreek designs biodiesel plan
May 1st, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Young talent. 0 Comments
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It’s exciting to see young engineers excited about designing new green energy technologies. Meet one of them: Adam Kreek. Adam designed and built a (small scale!) biodiesel plant in the basement of my university building, which takes waste oils and fats from industry and households as stockfeed. Such systems can make a difference in local communities.
Ethanol: Irrational Exuberance?
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and What should we do?. 0 Comments
There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now around ethanol as a potential solution to our oil addiction. Not everyone shares that enthusiasm, though. Margot Gerritsen speaks with UC Berkeley Professor Tad Patzek for a different perspective. Patzek is certain that corn ethanol and/or cellulosic ethanol (produced by specialized biomass crops) is not the silver bullet that so many people - from NGOs to government agencies - believe it to be. He says that, contrary to popular belief, it won’t secure energy security, it won’t lead to significantly lower carbon emissions, and it will negatively affect our water and food security, all the while harming our environment.
Photo Credit: Seth Anderson via Creative Commons
Mark Jacobson: The Truth About Ethanol
April 6th, 2007 in Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Controlling carbon emissions. 0 Comments
Mark Jacobson is a leading expert in wind energy and the atmosphere. He hears some of the claims being made on behalf of E85 — that it’s supposed to be cleaner, that it will reduce ozone-forming pollution and the release of harmful compounds like benzene, toluene and xylene. Mark’s research shows that these statements are misleading, and he strongly disagrees: Burning E85 will not lead to reductions in harmful emissions, he says.
Related Stories: MarkJacobson
What’s driving an Olympic rower to flex his muscles in biofuel production?
July 17th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Young talent. 0 Comments
Download MP4
Adam Kreek: olympic rower, Stanford graduate, former oilfield worker. After next year’s Olympics, he is determined to make his mark in the biofuel industry. Adam plans to start his own biodiesel production plants together with his wife, back in his home country of Canada. Adam is one of the many young enterpreneurs in clean and renewable energy production. He is determined to make a difference and convinced that he can. Adam talks with Tim, one of the students in my class, about his dreams and ambitions.
Biofuel feedstock: How efficiently can plants capture solar energy?
May 23rd, 2007 in Home and Renewable Energy Resource: biomass. 0 Comments
Download MP4
Plants are not as efficient as you might think in capturing solar energy. Current photovoltaic panels can capture more energy per square meter — quite a bit more in fact — than biomass crops that are being suggested as feedstock for ethanol. This is not a reason to dismiss biomass crops, but with the ever growing competition for land, it should certainly be taken into account when evaluating renewable energy options.
Alfred Spormann, a professor in micro-biology at Stanford, explains the conversion process and discusses potential for improvement using genetic engineering.
Check out the future: student Adam Kreek designs biodiesel plan
May 1st, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Young talent. 0 Comments
download mp4
It’s exciting to see young engineers excited about designing new green energy technologies. Meet one of them: Adam Kreek. Adam designed and built a (small scale!) biodiesel plant in the basement of my university building, which takes waste oils and fats from industry and households as stockfeed. Such systems can make a difference in local communities.
Ethanol: Irrational Exuberance?
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and What should we do?. 0 Comments
There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now around ethanol as a potential solution to our oil addiction. Not everyone shares that enthusiasm, though. Margot Gerritsen speaks with UC Berkeley Professor Tad Patzek for a different perspective. Patzek is certain that corn ethanol and/or cellulosic ethanol (produced by specialized biomass crops) is not the silver bullet that so many people - from NGOs to government agencies - believe it to be. He says that, contrary to popular belief, it won’t secure energy security, it won’t lead to significantly lower carbon emissions, and it will negatively affect our water and food security, all the while harming our environment.
Photo Credit: Seth Anderson via Creative Commons
Mark Jacobson: The Truth About Ethanol
April 6th, 2007 in Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and Controlling carbon emissions. 0 Comments
Mark Jacobson is a leading expert in wind energy and the atmosphere. He hears some of the claims being made on behalf of E85 — that it’s supposed to be cleaner, that it will reduce ozone-forming pollution and the release of harmful compounds like benzene, toluene and xylene. Mark’s research shows that these statements are misleading, and he strongly disagrees: Burning E85 will not lead to reductions in harmful emissions, he says.
Related Stories: MarkJacobson