Comments on: Cellulosic Biofuel: “No Eureka Moments” – Greenwire

By: Guthrum

Guthrum — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:28:43 +0000

I will buy a “green” car (electric, hydrogen, solar, whatever) if the government (Federal or state) promises to not place any taxes on its operation such as the exorbitant gas tax that we pay now. No mileage fees, battery recycling fees on electric vehicles, no hydrogen tax, no solar panel fees. And since a green car has no pollution, there will be no phony emissions inspection which only lines the pockets of politicians. If the government would do this, you would see the development and sales of green cars go out the roof. To help repay the “trust” fund for highway maintenance, the President would have to park Air Force 1 and take a “green” bus or commercial jet on his trips. This would get the working citizens out of the greedy hands of Arabian oil and Chavez, the big oil companies, and the government. The government needs to quit trying to run the car companies (The Obama appointed GM president wants to raise gas taxes). Let the car people do what they do best and you will see real “green” car development

By: polistra

polistra — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:30:00 +0000

There’s an easier way to get energy out of cellulose. Raise it to a high enough temperature, and it will spontaneously oxidize, releasing far more energy than the initial input. I’m not sure if scientists have investigated this yet. Perhaps they could start with the somewhat speculative ideas reported here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire

After a hundred years of intensive development, perhaps they could turn this sci-fi blue-sky concept into a useful way of producing mechanical motion.

By: WSJ Hits Cellulosic Ethanol Hard | Women's Team CO2 Footprint Project

WSJ Hits Cellulosic Ethanol Hard | Women's Team CO2 Footprint Project — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:53:23 +0000

[...] up on Marlo’s post yesterday concerning the difficulties of bringing cellulosic ethanol to market, the Wall Street Journal wrote [...]

By: WSJ Hits Cellulosic Ethanol Hard

WSJ Hits Cellulosic Ethanol Hard — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:23:06 +0000

[...] Cellulosic Biofuel: “No Eureka Moments” – GreenwireObama Thwarts Debt-Ceiling Deal by Clinging to Wasteful Green-Jobs and Stimulus SpendingBad Idea Jeans: John Bryson as Commerce SecretaryFederal Court Ruling Evidences Runaway Regulatory Chain ReactionHouse Committee Opens New Front in Fuel Economy BattleCross-State Air Pollution Rule: Latest Salvo in President’s War on Coal [...]

By: Greg Veerman

Greg Veerman — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:14:32 +0000

Marlo,

I really appreciate this post and Mr. Voosen’s research — but I’m kind of blown away at what’s missing here. Your piece, along with the extracts from Greenwire, focus on technological approaches to breaking down cellulose, enzymes in particular. It’s a fascinating subject. I work with a handful of the pioneers in this space and have to tell you they’re way, way farther ahead in the performance of their biotechnology than you suggest. Check out this demonstration video (full disclosure: my shop produced it) and I think you’ll get the picture:

http://www.accellerase.com/videos/accellerase_duet_a_primer/

Enzymatic hydrolysis has been a huge barrier mainly because of the economics — historically it’s taken a lot of enzymes (at a cost-prohibitive level) to hydrolyze cellulose into simple sugars that can be fermented into alcohol. In the last two years those barriers have been obliterated and the industry is abuzz with new excitement over it. From an enzyme standpoint, contrary to your post and Mr. Voosen’s research, the technology is ready and continues to get better in term of efficiency, yield and cost — literally every 12 months or so.

Important factors beyond enzyme technology have slowed the production of cellulosic ethanol — economics and logistics of biomass production, collection and distribution and the biggest: how do you grow it, how to you collect and store it, and what will people pay for it? Those issues are tough but are being worked out. Plus it costs enormous sums of money to move an industry from the lab to full-scale commercial production. And we’re coming out of the biggest financial crisis since the Depression. Could that be the focus of a follow-up post?

Meanwhile, one full-scale cellulosic biorefinery has become a case study: Inbicon (www.inbicon.com) is using wheat straw to produce and distribute 100% cellulosic biofuel to 98 gas stations in Denmark.

Yes, the industry is behind schedule, but much of the science — especially the enzyme technology — is more than ready, and that to me is a “Eureka” worth getting excited about. Thanks and keep cooking!

By: India cranks up coal, as does Germany; non-hydro “renewables” are virtually worthless and actually quite damaging while cellulosic ethanol is a bust | JunkScience Sidebar

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 06:57:31 +0000

[...] Cellulosic Biofuel: “No Eureka Moments” – Greenwire by MARLO LEWIS on JULY 14, 2011 [...]