KiOR has left the development stage and entered scaled-up production of its biofuel based on non-food biomass, prepared at its commercial, advanced biofuel facility in Columbus, Miss.
(Source: Ken Childress)
Biofuels have been a really popular government sink hole lately with $1+ per gallon subsidy. It has caused food shortages worldwide and the farms around my home are filled with this worthless corn and soybean. The GMO aspect destroys our bee population and polutes our gardens with the blowover.
But garbage fuel I like! Keep thinking of ways to utilize our fantastic garbage resource!
I agree, reusing garbage may be the best way to go for alternative fuels. More and more biofuels are being developed that don't interfere with food sources, as DN has covered lately: those links are given at the end of this article.
I was shocked when I saw direct biofuel/regular fuel blends used in commuter jets and military aircraft with no modification of the engines. Even more shocking was the 100% substitutions.
It's comforting to know that when gasoline, and other consumer fuels, run out or become too expensive, there is a direct replacement.
However, is this type of product really causing global food shortages?
Biofuels derived from food crops have contributed to, not caused single-handedly, food shortages in some parts of the globe, although the bigger problem has been not shortages but prices shooting up. That's the reality. The reality is also that many countries and regions, for example Europe, are moving away from the use of food crops for biofuels, and focusing on wastes of various kinds instead (municipal garbage or food crop wastes), or growing non-food crops that don't compete. Regarding fuels, there's no reason to modify an engine: this isn't already used cooking oil going into your converted VW bug (which on its own is a perfectly good idea--we've got them around here). Previously, they were blended with various proportions of petro-based fuel, for reasons of performance only. But the 100% non-blended stuff is quite new--not available widely yet.
I am really happy to see biofuel being generated from waste products rather than from primary sources.
Ann, did you get a sense if this business is profitable by itself or if government subsidies are still needed to keep this business in the black?
Greg, I agree about the benefits of using waste to generate biofuel. Can you tell us more about what you mean? For example, which government subsidies do you have in mind?
Ann, I may have mistakenly assumed that this company was receiving government funding and grants to keep its operations profitable during the initial phase of operations. However, from your post, it sounds to me that maybe this type of process can be profitable without government assistance, (correct?). Perhaps the only extra assistance they are receiving would be in the form of special 'green' tax credits? If so, this would be a nice step forward.
Greg I can't say whether KiOR is receiving tax credits, or any other form of funding assistance. But even if they were, I'm not sure I see what the point is. As we've discussed in comments to several different posts about alternative energy, it's not reasonable to expect a new energy source, without the same huge, established, existing infrastructure as the current energy source, to be competitive with it price-wise. It will take time, and outside funding assistance will help speed that process.
I really like the idea of generation of bio fuel from the animal or human waste. It's one of the greatest help to the nature. Such activities helps to stop exhausting the natural resources.
alexrover, thanks for your comments. There are, in fact, efforts to produce biofuel from animal wastes, either their feces or their fat. I'm working on some reports about those sources.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
2 
