Sunday, June 28, 2009

Global pollution ,climate change steer fears and for sustainable approach and for lower emissions.

The world is thousands miles away from clean, natural air and water. Population boom,production for food, machines and land use accumulates air, land, water pollution to newers heights.
Scientist around the world are already afraid of what will be like after 10 years from now in terms of pollution leading to such as climate change and its newer dynamics.
Desperate measure are needed to fight global climatic change, fauna and flora change and newer organism sprouting whether be it disease ,vectors plants,etc...

Many people especially in the developing countries are still misunderstanding and misapplying the concept of climate change,even though they have not contributed as worse emission as the developed countries but the consequent will be equally distributed.

While many more are applying the threat for their own interest and gain, many people are mislead and consequences will be paid at dear price.

In the recent days a group of professional scientists and academicians have written a letter to Preseident Barrack Obama; Below is the extract as it appears http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010041.html

An Open Letter to the President
If you think it's frustrating to be a climate activist watching Washington, imagine what it's like for the scientists who are running the numbers while witnessing bureaucratic action consistently fall short of what they know needs to be done. A group of 20 prominent scientists and academics sent a letter to Obama and the U.S. Congress on Monday, and although the language is utterly respectful, the urgent message comes across loud and clear: The U.S. must act decisively, aggressively and immediately to curb emissions, and Obama must lead the effort personally.

Specifically, the letter says that passing Waxman-Markey (which the US House of Representatives is debating today) will be an excellent step in the right direction, but certainly no reason for politicians to pause an enjoy a pause for pats on the back. Instead, the legislation "at its best will be only a first step.”

The letter also draws a timely comparison to Obama's hefty push for nationwide health care reform:

As we write, we see the unfolding Presidential effort to lead the nation in the area of universal health insurance. We urge the President to initiate an effort at least comparable in the area of climatic change. We recognize the difference in popularity of these two causes, but it is the essence of Presidential leadership to show the way even where adequate public awareness of the risks ahead may be lacking. Speaking in Germany recently, President Obama referred to climatic change as "a potentially cataclysmic disaster." We agree and believe that message must be communicated and elaborated to the American people in time to assure strong, effective Congressional action in both houses of Congress this year.

The time for national action on climatic change is now. There has already been too much delay. The stakes are far too high to compromise the integrity of, and our responsibility for, prompt national action.

Their words underscore the precarious nature of the situation we face. We're at a point where the scientists most familiar with the data of global warming still believe that there is hope -- if we act now -- yet even in the light of this knowledge, we depend on volatile factors like "popularity" and political weight. We are grateful for the efforts of these leading thinkers, and hope that their words do not fall on deaf ear.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Algae again to lead for biofuel.

Algae at Petro AlgaeBiofuels Digest is projecting that algal biofuels capacity will reach 1 billion gallons by 2014, based on analysis of price and capacity projections for 2009-14 from leading companies in the field.

Algae producers are targeting to reach a $1.30 wholesale cost and 1.62 billion gallons in capacity by 2014.

Costs are based on the lowest cost provider - not an average for all providers. Sources are Biofuels Digest reports and interviews on PetroAlgae, Algenol, Solazyme, Aurora Biofuels, Sapphire Energy, PetroSun and Solix, and a study prepared on algae feasibility for the Louisiana Economic Development. Production forecasts are based on interpretation of guidance from each company on forward production as well as public statements.

"The $9-$30 cost ranges cited in the latest research reflect today's prices," said Biofuels Digest editor Jim Lane. "That's already competitive in some nutraceutical and food markets - for example, a pound of olive oil retails for around $17 at my store, or about $120 per gallon. But like the computer market - costs are expected to come down quickly."

In Arizona, algae biofuels pioneer PetroSun announced that it had signed with the town of Gilbert to commence an algae-to-biofuels wastewater pilot program at the Neely Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The pilot will evaluate the feasibility of the utilization of wastewater as a source of nutrients and water for the cultivation of algae and its subsequent processing into biofuels feedstock.

From MyNews.com: "Butanol could gradually replace gasoline as well as diesel due to its high energy content, miscibility, better combustion characteristics, low volatility and other positive qualities...it was demonstrated in June 2006 that n-butanol can be used either 100% in unmodified 4-cycle ignition engine or blended up to 30% with diesel in a compression engine or blended up to 20% with kerosene in a jet turbine engine."

Bob Dineen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association: "An enterprising reporter at USA Today has done more homework on the possible indirect effects of increased renewable electricity generation than scores of analysts at the über environmental agency known as the California Air Resources Board (CARB)."

In China, the State Energy Administration is making concrete plans for biodiesel promotion, according to a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is considering the adoption of a B5 biodiesel standard, commencing as soon as next year in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In Japan, Tsusho Corp., the trading arm of the Toyota group, has commenced a one-hectare jatropha trial in the Philippines and will prepare a feasibility study of a biodiesel refinery. NDC, the investment arm of the Trade and Industry Department, will partner with Toyota Tsusho to identify land and import equipment.

In Norway, Green Air Online is reporting that Stavanger Airport Sola will construct a wood biomass-based 4GWh power facility. The plant will utilize local wood resources and will also supply heat to the airport complex, saving 2,000 tonnes of carbon per year in the process.

Meanwhile,in Washington, the EPA today released a guide to help states, cities and organizations save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting clean energy practices in their facilities, operations and vehicle fleets. According to the EPA, a 2001 executive order in New York state saved $54.4 million in energy costs from energy efficiency improvements between fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2003-2004.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Biosolar from plant source, biogas potential for PNG rural.

Biofuels development trends continue to increase worldwide, algae is still increasing interest for biofuels linearly with climate change awareness. Alternative sources are sourced and its already dynamic market for producers worldwide.

One of the alternative is the biosolar. This is emerging technology that is replacing petroleum based cell components with bio-plastics made from renewable plant sources. According to Biosolar Inc based in Carlifornia, it was noted as saying due to the increasing use of solar cells and increasing demand of the photovoltic cells has made the way to investigate environmentally friendly material from plants. The aim is to reduce reliance on petroleum product while at the same time carbon dioxide locked away in earth crust is not released into the air causing global warming.BioSolar is leading the way in addressing both the cost and ecology problems, and the company is the first anywhere to introduce a new dimension of cost reduction by replacing petroleum-based plastic solar cell components with durable bio-based materials.Already, BioSolar’s first product offering has authenticated the company’s mission. The revolutionary BioBacksheet is a 100% bio-based material that forms
the bottom layer of most crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells – a layer traditionally comprised of petroleum-based plastics. Not only do BioSolar’s BioBacksheets decrease dependency on petroleum, but they also are expected to cost substantially less than petroleum-based traditional backsheets. This savings will reduce the final cost per watt of solar electricity by allowing cell manufacturers to lower the cost of their finished product.
Beyond BioBacksheets, the BioSolar’s development vision encompasses a complete line of bio-based products, which will include BioSolar Thin Film Substrate, BioSolar Superstrate, and BioSolar Plastics to be used for injection molding in various solar panel housing and packaging components.
With the market for solar power already in explosive growth mode, BioSolar is singularly positioned to lead the development of truly sustainable and cost-effective solar technology.
In short, when it comes to solar energy, BioSolar is changing the way “green” is done.

Planting more trees, maintaining greenery is the policy of the office of sustainable climate in POM,PNG. This office has alot of real responsibilities if the office is not profit oriented. one of the potential promotion is rural biogas production and processing for ruarl use. Trees cannot be continued to cut down neither shrubs which is not healthy for climate change.
Rural family biogas is widely harness and used in China, infact mre than 80% use biogas for all energy requirement and many found it sustainable , feasible and economically very important.

My current research in biogas indicated very interesting results and high yields in which i also formulated biofertilizer. For instance, if a local PNG rural farmer wishes to look after 1000 chickens would account for 60 kg of chicken feces is enough to produce 3 gallons of fuel in ten days and 35 kg of fertilizer. That should give the farmer 5-7 days free energy and give him/her 10 fold greens and vegetables for market or consumption. Directly the farmer can sell his /her chicken meat at lower price giving rural dwellers balance high protein meals at lower price. The good news is that government will not tax the biogas.

Below is a story on biogas and its widening popularity as it appears(http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/features/?95320/Biogas-saving-nature-naturally-in-Nepal)

“One day I woke up and told my husband that I wasn’t going to risk my life by collecting wood from the forest any more and that we were going to get a biogas stove, even if we had to take a loan,” recalls Jari Maya Tamang, 41, as she stands proudly next to the first biogas system in her village in Badreni, Nepal.

Since Jari Maya took out a micro-credit loan to install the energy-efficient stove, others have quickly followed. Today, 80 per cent of the 82 households in the village — about a four-hour drive south-west from the capital, Kathmandu — have similar systems in their homes.

Sitting on the edge of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park — home to some of the largest surviving populations of Bengal tigers and greater one-horned rhinos — Badreni has earned the distinction of being the first biogas village in Nepal’s Terai Arc Landscape.

Located in the shadow of the Himalayas, the Terai Arc covers 5 million hectares from Nepal’s Bagmati River in the east to India's Yamuna River in the west.

A role model for alternative energy
As part of WWF Nepal's Terai Arc Landscape Programme, some 7,500 biogas plants are to be installed in villages like Badreni over the next three years.

“With more than 9.3 million head of cattle and over 6.7 million people, there is a future for biogas in the Terai Arc, but this technology is still out of reach for the majority of people who cannot afford it without micro-finance schemes that WWF funds through grassroots forest users groups,” says Basu Dhungana, Chairman of the Mirgakunj Buffer Zone User Committee in Chitwan.

“Badreni is our model. The people understand there is a direct link between our actions and impacts on the environment.”

With a dense population, high biodiversity and fragile ecosystems, deforestation is a major issue facing the Terai Arc. Unsustainable fuelwood extraction affects both community and government-managed forests.

Sixty-one per cent of all households in the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal currently rely on fuelwood for cooking, and 49 per cent source their wood from nearby government-managed forests. A family uses an average of between 1.3–2.5kg wood everyday. Evidence suggests that this is not sustainable.

Reliable and efficient
More and more people are turning to biogas in Nepal, especially as the technology is relatively simple, reliable, accessible and risk free.

“The advantages of a toilet-attached biogas plant are numerous,” says Jari Maya. “The village’s reliance on forest fuelwood has decreased dramatically, and health and sanitation conditions have improved.”

Cooking with firewood causes chronic respiratory diseases, especially as there are no chimneys in traditional rural houses in Nepal. Installing a biogas system in the house often improves the health of the familly, especially that of women and children, who spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Not only has research shown that an average-sized biogas plant can save 4.5 metric tonnes of firewood annually, but woman like Jari Maya don’t have to go as often to the forest to collect wood where they are vulnerable to wildlife attacks.

Biogas and climate change
Biogas also has a direct positive impact on climate change, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. According to WWF, a single biogas plant reduces carbon emissions by 4.7 tonnes per year.

Alternate energy promotion is an important priority for WWF’s work in Nepal’s Terai Arc Landscape. In 2006, WWF Nepal partnered with the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and Biogas Sector Partnership–Nepal, signing a tripartite working arrangement to install the 7,500 biogas plants.

“We are actively promoting biogas installation through microfinance schemes in 13 sites in the Terai Arc, particularly for the poorer, more marginalized communities,” said WWF Nepal Country Representative Anil Manandhar.

“There is a great potential for biogas villages like Badreni to be replicated throughout Nepal.”

While in German;
• Lünen to use cow and horse manure for sustainable power• Biogas network could provide 30-40% of town's needsA German town will become the first in the world to be powered by animal waste when it launches a biogas network this year.Lünen, north of Dortmund, will use cow and horse manure as well as other organic material from local farms to provide cheap and sustainable electricity for its 90,000 residents.Biogas is already used around the world – it will power buses in Oslo from September – but Lünen claims to be the only town to build a dedicated biogas network.Material such as animal slurry and spoiled crops from local farms will be fed into heated tanks, where natural fermentation will break it down into methane and carbon dioxide – the same basic ingredients as natural gas. This biogas can then be burned to generate electricity and heat in a combined heat and power plant (CHP) before the heat is distributed across the town through a new biogas pipeline, which is being built underground.The plant can produce 6.8MW, enough to power and heat 26,000 houses. According to Peter Kindt, director of Alfagy Ltd, which distributes CHP plants, the Lünen network could provide 30-40% of the town's heat and electricity needs.The benefits of biogas are clear, say its developers. "This sustainable technology allows local production of local power, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and fuel imports," said Kindt.The CHP plants are camouflaged as decorative installations featuring wood and plants.Kindt admits that because of the smell, anyone near the CHP plant in Lünen will know it's there. But he insists that residents will not find their living rooms scented with slurry every time they turn the heating on

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Recent developments in Biofuels worldover,Biofuel increasing linearly with time.

EIA: World energy demand, biofuels use will grow:

Worldwide demand for energy is expected to nearly double by 2030 and will be driven largely by developing countries, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency recently released its annual International Energy Outlook, which stated that while short-term energy demand is dampened due to economic recession, long-term consumption is expected to return to levels anticipated prior to the recession


The partnership between BP and DuPont to accelerate its next generation clean renewable fuels has successfully tested biobutanol over 1.5 million miles in an ordinary car.

In an exclusive interview for the June issue of Biofuels International magazine BP's Philip New says typical blends of around 16% were used without the need for modifications.

Like ethanol, biobutanol can be produced from feedstocks such as corn, wheat and sugarcane, but has the advantages of greater energy density, more miles per gallon and can be transported in existing pipelines.

Finland-based Neste Oil laid the foundation stone for Europe’s largest renewable diesel plant last week, coinciding with the second annual Biofuels International expo & conference in the Netherlands.

The provincial government in Saskatchewan, Canada, has signed an agreement with biotechnology company Iogen to develop the province’s first cellulosic ethanol plant.It will be commercial-scale expansion of its wheat straw ethanol demonstration plant in Ontario. The Canadian government has also recently announced it would provide a federal repayable contribution of up to $1.6 million for a $6 million waste-to-energy project in Ontario. The funds will be distributed through the Agri-Opportunities Program, a $134 million initiative launched in January 2007 and designed to increase market opportunities for the Canadian agriculture industry. The program provides a maximum repayable contribution of $10 million per project and per recipient regardless of the number of projects over the life of the program, which ends in March 2011

The city of Lünen, Germany, has begun building a new biogas distribution network, which will be powered by agricultural waste, including cow dung and horse manure.

It is thought that approximately 90,000 residents will benefit from the development, and will make the town the first in the world to build and manage a biogas network.

Local farms will deliver animal waste, corn, wheat and grass as the feedstock is converted into biogas in anaerobic digesters.
The gas will be distributed over the city through a new biogas pipeline network being built underground.
The plant is expected to produce 6.8 MW, which will be enough energy to supply 26,000 houses with heat and electricity.

Peter Kindt, the chairman of local heat and power provider Alfagy said: ‘What makes this project exiting is the combination of Cogeneration with renewable energy in an urban environment.’
The network is expected to deliver heat and electricity to customers by December 2009.

Swedish company Chemrec has entered into an agreement with The Stella Group to support the company’s efforts to raise awareness of Chemrec’s integrated biorefineries at pulp and paper mills.

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to extend the temporary tariffs imposed on imports of US biodiesel for up to five years. Biomass, wind and hydro are the most important technologies to generate jobs under the EU's Renewable Energy Directive, according to a study recently conducted on behalf of the European Commission's Directorate-General Energy and Transport. In general, the study assessed the economic effects of supporting the RES, looking at jobs in the RES sector as well as its impact on all sectors of the economy. The report found that more than 60 percent of total RES sector employment generation is due to biomass technologies

The US’ 2,000th E85 fuelling station opened in the community of Davie, Florida, at the U-Gas retail station on 28 May. Meanwhile, algae and microcrop pioneer and market leader PetroAlgae announced that it was expanding its international sales force, adding nine representatives in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The company has grown to an employee base of 115, up 28 percent from the 90 staff that company has on the payrolls in December.
Meanwhile algae production unit Italy, the European Algae Biomass Association officially launched yesterday with a decidedly pessimistic outlook for commercial-scale algae bioenergy production.

New EABA Executive Director Raffaello Garofalo said that it will take 10 to 15 years for algae to reach industrial-scale production, and that, at present, making biodiesel from algae costs 10 to 30 times the cost of making biodiesel from traditional feedstocks.

Garofalo told Reuters that the new association has 54 members and that he saw a price of $500-$550 emerging for the algal fuel market, in the long-term, after other fractions of algae biomass were sold for animal feed or to the nutraceutical markets. Garofalo referred to pilot projects in Portugal and Italy but cautioned against expectations of quick breakthroughs in the path towards algae commercialization


In the US, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is requesting more transparency over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
Scientists in Wales, UK, are looking into a research project aiming to turn grass into a green transport fuel.


Biomass plant specialist Helius Energy has announced that it has seen profits for the last six months to 31 March 2009, and has projected expansion plans to add a third multi-million-pound plant to its portfolio.

Industrial enzymes maker Novozymes has reported that Brazil could produce up to 8 billion litres of biofuel from sugarcane residues (bagasse) by 2020, representing additional export revenue for Brazil of up to US$4 billion (€4.6 billion).While Petrobras confirmed that it will invest US$2.8 billion in biofuel production including ethanol from sugar cane: a total of US$174.4 billion for the period 2009-2013.," writes Al Costa in a Biofuels Digest special report from the 2009 Ethanol Summit in Sao Paulo.

US-based Baystate Biofuels' terminal in North Andover, Massachusetts, is to come online next year and begin delivering a green energy, petroleum alternative to the region.

The EU has launched a biogas project as a solution to the mounting agricultural waste on farms in the continent.

Food giant Cargill has started production at its new glycerine refinery in Frankfurt, Germany.

Virgin Galactic, a subsidiary of the Virgin Group, is constructing space ships that are designed to run in part on alternative fuels.

A report by the European Environment Agency has found that European Union (EU) emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) declined for the third consecutive year in 2007.


The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) have published recommendations on analytical test methods for the testing of corn distillers dried grains (DDG) and corn DDG with solubles (DDGS) in the Journal of AOAC International.


Two Philippines-based firms have signed separate deals with two South Korean companies for biofuel production ventures worth $600 million (€422 million) in total.

Six new ethanol projects in Columbia this year will add 1.37 million litres a day of new production.


In Ghana, Gold Star Farms said that it has obtained jatropha-growing commitments from farmers holding 5 million acres, and will commence biodiesel production this year at its plant in Nkawkaw in the eastern region of the country. Last year, Gold Star formed a joint venture with US FuelTech deploy small biodiesel producing units in Chile that will use locally-grown jatropha as feedstock.


Australia-based agriculture technology company Glenvar has developed a direct baling system which it said could be beneficial to the biomass and cellulosic ethanol industries

In Ethiopia, Ardent Energy Group announced today an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MOARD) of Ethiopia to transfer 15,000 hectares, approximately 37,000 acres, to AEG for the purpose of cultivating jatropha and castor. The resultant crop will be refined into usable biodiesel fuel

In the Philippines, South Korean biodiesel producer Eco Solutions and Eco Global Bio-Oils announced that they will invest $175 million in a 9.6 Mgy biodiesel plant in South Cotabato that will utilize jatropha grown by Eco Solutions from an 11,000 hectare plantation that will be expanded to 100,000 hectares.

In New Zealand, Air New Zealand announced that the engines running B50 blended biofuels in a December flight test saved 1.2 percent on fuel use as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60-75 percent, or 4.5 tons. The airline said that it could save 1.43 tonnes of fuel on a 12-hour flight using a 50/50 blend of jatropha and conventional Jet A1 fuel.