Currently the most prominent source of biofuel is corn but due to the high cost of materials associated with the production the alternative fuel has yet to take off. Luckily, researchers from the US Department of Agriculture have recently discovred that it is possible to use watermelon juice to produce ethanol/biofuel.

Over 360,000 tons of watermelons are wasted every year, says Discovery News, as farmers leave 20-40% of their crop due to them not being aesthetically pleasing. So, why not use these as a form of alternative energy?

I’m sure we will be hearing more about watermelon juice as biofuel in the near future.

Tags: Biofuel, Ethanol, us department of argriculture, watermelon juice

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With the call for alternative fuel still up in the air, the mass production for biofuels and biodiesels tries to adhere to the demand as US Biofuels Inc. sets to launch major green fuel production with recent gains from 12 greenhouses. Each greenhouse will be constructed and renovated for the purpose of growing algae in a closed system, using the photobioreactor (PBR) process for the production of Biofuel.

What is a PBR?

PBR is a bioreactor, which includes some kind of light source. Really any clear, translucent container could be called a PBR, but the term is more commonly used to define a closed system, as opposed to an open tank or pond. This system allows more species to be grown at a faster rate, extending the growing season, and if heated it can produce all year round.

US Biofuels looks forward to producing biofuel all year round from these greenhouses and hopes to complete the construction and renovations of the greenhouses by 2010. After which they anticipate to produce over 4 million gallons of biodiesel gas just from these 12 greenhouses alone.

US Biofuels is also currently researching new strains of algae to better manufacture more precise mixtures for products such as jet fuel and other special use products. Planning to open a chain of 145 resale locations throughout the nation, US Biofuels looks forward to producing alternative fuels and help America achieve a greener, cleaner environment.

(Source) Press

Tags: algae, alternative fuel, alternative fuels, Biofuel, biofuels, bioreactor, fuel production, green fuel, greenhouse, greenhouses, jet fuel

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Tagged as one of the most promising source of renewable oil these days, OriginOil Inc. was profiled by several high-profile media outlets this week following its announcement of a new, single-step algae oil extraction process.

During the segments, Eckelberry explained OriginOil’s inherently eco-friendly production process by elaborating that nothing goes unused in an algae production system – that is, the process not only purifies dirty water, digests carbon dioxide and produces a biofuel, but even the remaining biomass can be used as a fertilizer.

He also commented on OriginOil’s ability to solve a critical issue for scalable algae-to-oil production: “We’ve pioneered a single-step extraction technology that will get the oil out of the algae in one simple, elegant step. We are taking this solution to market while continuing to enhance our end-to-end system for the growing algae industry,” said Eckelberry.

You can watch the video on Algae Oil here.

(Source) Press

Tags: algae, Biofuel, biomass, carbon dioxide, critical issue, dirty water, extraction technology, fertilizer, high profile, media outlets, oil development, oil production, profile media, promising source, segments, single step

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Ready to go all electric on your car? What about all coffee? It looks like biofuel can be made out of any oily source which means coffee fuel might just be the thing that will power you car soon.

According to experts it takes 5-7kg of coffee grounds to make a liter of biofuel which will eventually result in a price of about $1 per gallon. Does that mean you’re going to get coffee to go and gas from your local coffee shop? And talk about the better smell!

via TheEconomist

Tags: Alternative Energy, Biofuel, coffee grounds, Gas

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There is a new type of biofuel coming to the market and it originated from Singapore. Diesel made from palm oil, vegetable oil and animal fat in Singapore may soon be powering cars in Europe and North America, Finland’s Neste Oil said Friday.

Neste Oil, which is building the world’s biggest biodiesel plant in the city-state at a cost of 1.2 billion Singapore dollars (776 million U.S.), said it was also looking to market the fuel in Japan and South Korea. It will produce Neste Oil’s patented NExBTL renewable diesel which the company said is the cleanest diesel fuel in the world. NExBTL can be used in all diesel engines and significantly reduces exhaust emissions compared with regular diesel, the company said.

Renewable diesel would have a 200-300 U.S. dollar premium per ton over regular diesel but Neste Oil said there was demand because of the benefits of using cleaner fuel. While crude oil prices have plunged from their peak at 147 dollars in July 2008 to current levels around 44 dollars, palm oil prices have also plummeted from 1,245 dollars per ton a year ago to about 526 dollars a ton.

Neste Oil is also building a renewable diesel plant with similar capacity in Rotterdam, the Netherlands which is expected to come on stream after the Singapore facility.

(Source) Tehran Times

Tags: bio fuel, Biofuel, crude oil prices, diesel engines, diesel fuel, european cars, exhaust emissions, neste oil, palm oil prices, singapore dollars, vegetable oil

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Who wouldn’t love to have a Bentley? How about a biofuel burning Bentley, touted as the fastest production model to date?

Well, Bentley has announced that they are set to unveil said biofuel model at the Geneva Motor Show in March. What you see above is all we have to go by now, but given the hype surrounding this model, it’s sure to make a killing.

Read (AutoBlogGreen)

Tags: Bentley, Biofuel

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While we keep talking about cars here we still have to pay close attention to other transportation means like trains and airplanes for example. And we have an airplane today, one that’s running on biofuel. Last year it was Virgin Atlantic that flew a 747 from London to Amsterdam using coconut and babassu nut biofuel. This year it’s Air New Zealand’s turn to do it. Together with Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell the company had a 747-400 modified to dun on half Jet A1 fuel and half jatropha oil.

The Indian plant produces nuts that contain anywhere from 30 to 40% of oil that can be used to power an engine. How can that be applied to cars? Could jatropha oil be an alternative to current fuel?

via cnet

Tags: Biofuel, Virgin Atlantic

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