Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Sustainability Mapping for TBK Biodiesel
The subject topic has been accepted for presentation at the prestigious Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET 2011)!
The presentation will discuss TBK Biodiesel's plans for partnering with external organizations for scaling-up production of an improved biodiesel (one whose production process eliminates the glycerol-glut, is significantly more efficient, and is also synergistic to cellulosic ethanol production)!
Look forward to more good news as progress with TBK Biodiesel continues!
The presentation will discuss TBK Biodiesel's plans for partnering with external organizations for scaling-up production of an improved biodiesel (one whose production process eliminates the glycerol-glut, is significantly more efficient, and is also synergistic to cellulosic ethanol production)!
Look forward to more good news as progress with TBK Biodiesel continues!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
MicroBiOil: From Crude Glycerin to Biodiesel - Biodiesel Magazine
This article by Malena Valdivieso of Biodiesel Magazine implicitly indicates that TBK-Biodiesel as a viable solution for getting rid of the growing glycerol glut!
MicroBiOil: From Crude Glycerin to Biodiesel - Biodiesel Magazine
MicroBiOil: From Crude Glycerin to Biodiesel - Biodiesel Magazine
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Ethyl Acetate THEN MAKE TBK-BIODIESEL!
Jim Lane, the editor of Biofuels Digest unwittingly, or not, gives TBK a leg up with this article!
http://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/when-life-gives-you-lemons%E2%80%A6make-ethyl-acetate
http://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/when-life-gives-you-lemons%E2%80%A6make-ethyl-acetate
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ethanol debate heats up according to ICIS Green Chemicals
Here is an article that sums up a lot of confusion about biofuels and the ongoing political debate focusing on corn ethanol production. Conventional ethanol production with corn (corn ethanol) is obsolete when compared to improved cellulosic ethanol production; see Davy Process Technology. Conventional ethanol production is arguably obsolete in some respects when compared to conventional gas production, especially with regard to ethanol's higher emissions and higher energy requirements. Ethanol production is an investment. Ethanol has wide political support and economic potential.
I would bet that IF a sizable biofuel market could be developed around corn ethanol, then that same market could also be weened off corn ethanol and supplied by an increasingly efficient (greener) supply of ethanol (enabled by something like the Davy process). An increasingly green supply-chain would then naturally occur in time, IF provisions are made for transitioning between progressively efficient technologies. These future transitions between technologies are not unlike one's that have occurred in our recent past.
Problems with biofuels can be eliminated incrementally with innovation.
Biofuels research and development efforts are advancing production efficiencies at a high rate. What is Moore's Law for biofuels?
Green chemical byproducts like ethyl acetate are more widely available because of technologies like the Davy process. So, it is also becoming increasingly feasible to commercialize biofuels like TBK-Biodiesel. In other words technical solutions are available for a transition to producing improved biofuels. Therefore we should not base future projections of biofuels on obsolete biofuels technologies (like corn ethanol). We should base future projections on new biofuel technologies that hold the greatest potential, that are available today, and that are not yet commercialized.
Fortunately, or not, our ability to solve future energy problems is a human problem, not a technological problem. The technologies are already here. But, don't tell anyone lest they find out they're actually part of the problem!
There are technological solutions for many of biofuel's most commonly cited problems.
Here are a few postulates for your consideration while you conduct your own research:
Innovation for biofuels is a necessity for human posterity, not necessarily a necessity for the legacies of incumbent oil firms. There is merit in commercialization of biofuels. Biofuels are one way of developing a greener more sustainable economy that is not dependent on fossil fuels.
We must replace fossil fuels because they will become increasingly expensive as supplies decrease.
When fossil fuels are relied on exclusively there are costs that cannot be recovered at the fuel pump. Consider carbon emissions, air quality, the Gulf Oil Spill and the sociopolitical environment in the Middle East - the costs of the U.S.-Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan.
Ethanol, although not the best possible biofuel alternative, has a proven market and a proven supply-chain. Wider adoption of corn ethanol in the US has led to wider adoption of biofuels in general.
Today's incumbent car manufacturers and oil companies are working to adopt new biofuels (improved blends of biodiesel and ethanol).
The US Navy is spending millions of dollars on biofuels research. That is because biofuels are a national security issue. It is in our best interest to invest heavily into biofuels. You may even consider it patriotic!
-ICIS article providing more information about what inspired this article:
Ethanol debate heats up - ICIS Green Chemicals
I would bet that IF a sizable biofuel market could be developed around corn ethanol, then that same market could also be weened off corn ethanol and supplied by an increasingly efficient (greener) supply of ethanol (enabled by something like the Davy process). An increasingly green supply-chain would then naturally occur in time, IF provisions are made for transitioning between progressively efficient technologies. These future transitions between technologies are not unlike one's that have occurred in our recent past.
Problems with biofuels can be eliminated incrementally with innovation.
Biofuels research and development efforts are advancing production efficiencies at a high rate. What is Moore's Law for biofuels?
Green chemical byproducts like ethyl acetate are more widely available because of technologies like the Davy process. So, it is also becoming increasingly feasible to commercialize biofuels like TBK-Biodiesel. In other words technical solutions are available for a transition to producing improved biofuels. Therefore we should not base future projections of biofuels on obsolete biofuels technologies (like corn ethanol). We should base future projections on new biofuel technologies that hold the greatest potential, that are available today, and that are not yet commercialized.
Fortunately, or not, our ability to solve future energy problems is a human problem, not a technological problem. The technologies are already here. But, don't tell anyone lest they find out they're actually part of the problem!
There are technological solutions for many of biofuel's most commonly cited problems.
Here are a few postulates for your consideration while you conduct your own research:
Innovation for biofuels is a necessity for human posterity, not necessarily a necessity for the legacies of incumbent oil firms. There is merit in commercialization of biofuels. Biofuels are one way of developing a greener more sustainable economy that is not dependent on fossil fuels.
We must replace fossil fuels because they will become increasingly expensive as supplies decrease.
When fossil fuels are relied on exclusively there are costs that cannot be recovered at the fuel pump. Consider carbon emissions, air quality, the Gulf Oil Spill and the sociopolitical environment in the Middle East - the costs of the U.S.-Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan.
Ethanol, although not the best possible biofuel alternative, has a proven market and a proven supply-chain. Wider adoption of corn ethanol in the US has led to wider adoption of biofuels in general.
Today's incumbent car manufacturers and oil companies are working to adopt new biofuels (improved blends of biodiesel and ethanol).
The US Navy is spending millions of dollars on biofuels research. That is because biofuels are a national security issue. It is in our best interest to invest heavily into biofuels. You may even consider it patriotic!
-ICIS article providing more information about what inspired this article:
Ethanol debate heats up - ICIS Green Chemicals
Friday, July 9, 2010
Missouri tapping coal mines for ‘slime power’ - Biodiesel Magazine
Carbon sequestration in coal mines and production of oil from algae! One more opportunity for TBK Biodiesel!
Missouri tapping coal mines for ‘slime power’ - Biodiesel Magazine
Missouri tapping coal mines for ‘slime power’ - Biodiesel Magazine
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
ICIS Green Chemicals Article points to another potential partner of TBK; Amyris in CA
This article speaks of a new JV formed by Amyris and Total to produce green chemicals ICIS Green Chemicals. Here is Total's website.
Here are a couple of quotes from the press release by Doris De Guzman (ICIS):
“Biotechnology offers new perspectives on the conversion of biomass into molecules for biofuels and green chemistry," emphasized Philippe Boisseau, President, Total Gas & Power. “Amyris is one of the most promising start-ups in the emerging white biotechnology field. Its technology platform is a powerful accelerator for the development of industrial production routes for several of our markets. This partnership is a milestone for Total, as we aim to become an important player in this domain."
“Our partnership with Total represents a significant shift forward for Amyris,” said John Melo, Chief Executive Officer of Amyris. “Through our existing relationships and accomplishments, we have built Amyris to be an integrated renewable products company combining technology, production and commercialization. Now, with Total, we have a powerful ally to help us bring that vision to scale and expand our horizons to new products and new technologies.”
Here are a couple of quotes from the press release by Doris De Guzman (ICIS):
“Biotechnology offers new perspectives on the conversion of biomass into molecules for biofuels and green chemistry," emphasized Philippe Boisseau, President, Total Gas & Power. “Amyris is one of the most promising start-ups in the emerging white biotechnology field. Its technology platform is a powerful accelerator for the development of industrial production routes for several of our markets. This partnership is a milestone for Total, as we aim to become an important player in this domain."
“Our partnership with Total represents a significant shift forward for Amyris,” said John Melo, Chief Executive Officer of Amyris. “Through our existing relationships and accomplishments, we have built Amyris to be an integrated renewable products company combining technology, production and commercialization. Now, with Total, we have a powerful ally to help us bring that vision to scale and expand our horizons to new products and new technologies.”
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sustainability Mapping for TBK Biodiesel
I have just submitted a paper to The International Journal of Energy Sector Management (IJESM). The paper describes the generalized process we are using to commercialize TBK Biodiesel.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
It is interesting to see that the EIA projects global increases biomass/waste/tidal wave renewable energy over the coming decades.
Monday, May 3, 2010
BP-Gulf of Mexico Spill or Biofuels? TBK-like technologies are like hitting a homerun for the world's problems
Incumbent oil firms make large profits at the expense of our global environment, our global economy, as the full cost of oil production and consumption is not placed squarely on the oil industry, or the consumer. The full cost of oil production and consumption is placed on the environment at the expense of tax payers.
The interconnection between the global environment and our global economy is undeniable in Louisiana, particularly now in the face of yet another major man-made environmental catastrophe affecting the area. The recent BP-Gulf of Mexico oil spill that will cost an initial $15-3 Billion (USD) to clean up, at least according to preliminary estimates, is certain to put additional economic strain on the entire region of The Gulf of Mexico. This region is vital to the global economy as a fishery, as a tourist destination, and for international trade. The total damage to the region's fishing industry and tourism industry is difficult to quantify in both the long and short term. This oil spill is more than likely to exceed the 11 million gallon Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill. It is more than likely that the total cost to clean up The Gulf will exceed the total cost of the Exxon-Valdez cleanup, if it was only monetary costs we where concerned about.
One can surmise the total cost in dollars and cents of this most recent oil catastrophe. It is a small part of a larger problem, the choice to "do business as usual" with the American petroleum industry.
Events like these demonstrate precisely why technologies, like TBK Biodiesel, are so important for people to understand, so that they can see for themselves:
1. the value that sustainable biofuel technologies can bring to the market, and
2. the boost the global economy will receive as these technologies are integrated into world economies.
So what's the problem if the technology already exists to do away with antiquated petroleum fuels, and the negative side-effects of our global addiction to oil-based economies?
In my reality the problem is the petroleum industry's unwillingness to invest sufficiently into viable sustainable biofuel technologies, like TBK Biodiesel, for which there is undeniably growing market demand. We may also consider the costs of doing business as usual, a.k.a. the "do nothing option", that would shelve these technologies despite our immediate need for new jobs.
The "do nothing option" goes something like this: Americans continuing to be addicted to foreign oil lacking viable public transit options, incumbent oil firms corrupting American politicians through their powerful Washington lobby, incumbent oil firms spending millions on public relations campaigns misinforming and deluding public opinion, American oil firms colluding through collective planned obsolescence and price fixing, American oil firms continuing suppression of our economic vitality through the destruction of our global environment, and American oil firms suppressing American innovation. This isn't a conspiracy, its just reality folks.
The "do nothing option" is not a sustainable option and there are new technologies available that would do away with these catastrophic oil spills.
The interconnection between the global environment and our global economy is undeniable in Louisiana, particularly now in the face of yet another major man-made environmental catastrophe affecting the area. The recent BP-Gulf of Mexico oil spill that will cost an initial $15-3 Billion (USD) to clean up, at least according to preliminary estimates, is certain to put additional economic strain on the entire region of The Gulf of Mexico. This region is vital to the global economy as a fishery, as a tourist destination, and for international trade. The total damage to the region's fishing industry and tourism industry is difficult to quantify in both the long and short term. This oil spill is more than likely to exceed the 11 million gallon Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill. It is more than likely that the total cost to clean up The Gulf will exceed the total cost of the Exxon-Valdez cleanup, if it was only monetary costs we where concerned about.
One can surmise the total cost in dollars and cents of this most recent oil catastrophe. It is a small part of a larger problem, the choice to "do business as usual" with the American petroleum industry.
Events like these demonstrate precisely why technologies, like TBK Biodiesel, are so important for people to understand, so that they can see for themselves:
1. the value that sustainable biofuel technologies can bring to the market, and
2. the boost the global economy will receive as these technologies are integrated into world economies.
So what's the problem if the technology already exists to do away with antiquated petroleum fuels, and the negative side-effects of our global addiction to oil-based economies?
In my reality the problem is the petroleum industry's unwillingness to invest sufficiently into viable sustainable biofuel technologies, like TBK Biodiesel, for which there is undeniably growing market demand. We may also consider the costs of doing business as usual, a.k.a. the "do nothing option", that would shelve these technologies despite our immediate need for new jobs.
The "do nothing option" goes something like this: Americans continuing to be addicted to foreign oil lacking viable public transit options, incumbent oil firms corrupting American politicians through their powerful Washington lobby, incumbent oil firms spending millions on public relations campaigns misinforming and deluding public opinion, American oil firms colluding through collective planned obsolescence and price fixing, American oil firms continuing suppression of our economic vitality through the destruction of our global environment, and American oil firms suppressing American innovation. This isn't a conspiracy, its just reality folks.
The "do nothing option" is not a sustainable option and there are new technologies available that would do away with these catastrophic oil spills.
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