biomass Archives – The Green Optimistic

Ecotricity’s Biogas from Grass Plan Seems Plausible

Jose Aguilar — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 20:22:42 +0000

When considering biogas as a replacement for fossil-fuel-derived natural gas, or a source of fuel for power or heat, there are the arguments of suitability and efficiency. Some dispute vegetation cover conversion into biofuel deprives the biosphere of its C02 filtering capability, and some others think using biomass from land areas with potential for food […]

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8.8 Million Granted to Advanced Biofuel Production

Courtney Lepping — Sat, 28 May 2016 09:36:16 +0000

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is granting $8.8 million for the production of advanced biofuels. This translates into jobs at associated facilities in 39 states becoming sustained. Credit goes to the successful Advanced Biofuel Payment Program that was laid out in the 2008 Farm Bill. Advanced biofuels is another word for second generation […]

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The Value of Energy in Developing Countries

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 20:48:44 +0000

Here at Green Optimistic, we’ve talked about biomass stoves before. While the Mayon Turbo Stove doesn’t advance the design, it demonstrates how energy value plays a large part in attracting interest in renewables. In developing countries, importing fossils fuels can be a challenge. Since it is so expensive to cook without a fire, that in turn […]

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German Renewable Energy Provides 78% Power for Afternoon

Annika Tostengard — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 21:23:14 +0000

Germany broke their own record for renewable energy at the end of July, providing for 78% of their energy needs on the 25th and generating 40.65 GW with just solar and wind. They had previously managed to get 74% of their energy needs from renewables. Biomass and hydropower also helped, bringing the total energy generated […]

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Carbon Negative Energy System Invented at Berkeley

Mila Luleva — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:31:41 +0000

Carbon capture techniques in combination with energy from biomass, shows a strong potential in creating a carbon negative power system by year 2050. Researchers from University of California at Berkeley are currently exploring the possibility to combine energy production from biomass with carbon capture and sequestration techniques (BECCS). Their initial findings indicate that this is […]

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Burlington, Vermont – 100% Powered by Renewable Energy

Benji Jerew — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 13:19:14 +0000

If you ever get a chance, you should definitely take a ride through The Green Mountain State, Vermont, in the Northeast, one reason being that you can visit the Nation’s first city entirely powered by renewable energy, Burlington. Seeing as Vermont is situated only about an hour from where I used to live, it should […]

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RE Agency Foresees Bumper Crop of Bioenergy

Ari Luis — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 23:30:45 +0000

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) just released a report that shows that biomass has a heap of potential. The report titled, Global Bioenergy Supply and Demand Projections for the Year 2030, says that by tapping “sustainably sourced” biomass, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) can be limited such that temperatures of “two degrees Celcius above pre-industrial […]

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Biomass to Electricity – EPA Warned of Potential Issues

Danny Harper — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 06:50:45 +0000

The transformation of biomass to electricity was once considered a carbon neutral energy source. By allowing power plants to substitute natural fuel (biomass) in lieu of coal, they are able to avoid fossil-fuel carbon emissions. This has proven to be an egregiously misinformed strategy. With trees being half water by weight, they automatically come with less […]

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Güssing, Austria Uses Biomass to Become 100% Grid-Independent

Adele Hall — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 05:54:14 +0000

The small town of Güssing, Austria has become powered entirely by renewable energy. However, Güssing has had very humble beginnings. Situated in eastern Austria, the region was one of the poorest districts in the country. Relying heavily on agriculture, the town had no transportation infrastructure, unemployment was high, and people were commuting to Vienna for […]

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Genetic Engineering Increases Hydrogen Yield from Biomass, Virginia Tech

Benji Jerew — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:59:20 +0000

Hydrogen itself is a clean fuel and can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity or even burned in traditional internal combustion engines with zero harmful emissions, but producing hydrogen isn’t so clean. The goal of hydrogen power is to eliminate carbon dioxide from the equation, but this has proven difficult. The never ending […]

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Petroleum Use May Drop 80% by 2050

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:55:51 +0000

US greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum consumption for cars and small trucks may be reduced by 80% by the year 2050. A National Research Council report determined that the US can achieve this goal with continued pursuit of biofuels and hydrogen, strong government policies, and more efficient vehicles on the road. Specifically, alternative options to […]

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Carbon-Negative Strategy May Fight Climate Change

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:06:15 +0000

Stanford scientists have determined that using biomass may be the perfect way to achieve large-scale carbon-negative systems. Greenhouse gas emissions management is nearly impossible because we are so far behind in the fight. Experts have determined that a carbon-negative strategy may be ideal to combat it. The Stanford team aims to break the carbon cycle. […]

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How to Build an Electricity-Producing Peltier Gasifier

Mila Luleva — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:11:26 +0000

A gasifier works by decomposing organic matter in an oxygen-free environment at high temperatures and then burning the hydrogen that results from that decomposition. It is a smokeless, much cleaner way of providing electricity and/or heat without particle emissions and soot. The so-called “Fusion Jr.” Home Energy Reactor has an amazing potential to generate energy […]

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Biomass Turns Easier into Fuel Thanks to New Research

Mila Luleva — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:47:07 +0000

Biomass can now be converted into fuels efficiently, ensuring long-lasting availability of renewable materials. This is possible thanks to research conducted by a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists. The study published in the journal Catalysis Science & Technology gives new insights in the field of of biomass fuels synthesis. John Gordon, one of […]

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Marginal Lands Deemed Perfect for Sustainable Bioenergy Production

Leigh Hutchens — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:46:30 +0000

Last week, University of Maryland faculty members and a Ph.D. student from U of M’s Department of Geographical Sciences published research detailing the possibility of using marginal lands for biodiversity research and alternative fuel production. The study, titled “Sustainable bioenergy production from marginal lands in the US Midwest”in the January issue of Nature, describes how […]

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Some Like it Harsh: More Biofuel from Willow Trees When “Mistreated”

Leigh Hutchens — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:52:07 +0000

British researchers have observed that willow trees typically used for green energy actually produce more than five times more biofuel if they grow diagonally, as opposed to those that typically grow vertically towards the sky. The study, detailed in Biotechnology for Biofuels, addresses the discovery that some trees have a genetic trait that produces this […]

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Interventions to Reduce Biomass Pollution Lead to Significant Public Heath Gains

Leigh Hutchens — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:01:28 +0000

Researchers are discovering that male deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases originating from biomass smoke are on the rise. This information may have a drastic impact on subsequent interventions to reduce biomass pollution now that it is seen as an adverse health risk. Many studies about the effects of air pollution have been undertaken, but […]

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Biomass Deemed a Sustainable Raw Material for Personal Care Products

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:16:20 +0000

Plant-based essential oils are being tapped for important and high value ingredients for sunscreens, perfumes, and other personal care items. The term biomass refers to biological material or recently living organisms, and most often refers to plants or plant-derived materials. This new approach for tapping biomass as a sustainable raw material is called metathesis and […]

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New Biomass Conversion Technique Achieved with Electricity

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:19:09 +0000

In an effort to replace fossil fuels, a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Gwangiu Institute of Science and Technology has discovered a way to reverse the process of splitting fuel compounds to release electrons and protons which then generate electricity. Using an entirely different technique, the team obtained […]

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Iowa Engineers Aim to Produce Advanced Biofuels by Directed Mutation of Microbes

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 06:30:50 +0000

By pyrolyzing biomass such as cornstalks and sawdust and feeding the oil product to the microbes, a new generation of biofuels is being produced. However, the microbes are facing some difficulties which the researchers from Iowa State University are trying to solve by allowing the microbes to adapt to the oil feed via genetic mutation. […]

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Newly-Discovered Process Makes Gasoline From Wood Chips

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:10:28 +0000

Clay Wheeler, a researcher from the University of Maine has created what could be the alternative to using petroleum for making gasoline – a much greener alternative, in fact, but which also poses numerous other environmental concerns, because it involves trees – the Earth’s lungs. Prof. Wheeler and his two undergrads said about the technique […]

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Ford Researchers Experimenting Algae Biofuels For Future Cars

Mike Sandru — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:52:56 +0000

The Ford Motor Company is taking a new step forward in the process of researching new possibilities of producing biofuels. The company's scientists are currently studying algae as a feasible automotive biofuel, as part of a plan aimed at reducing the dependence on oil and pollution.

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Pyrolysis Oil Obtained from Agricultural and Forestry Waste

Mike Sandru — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:02:31 +0000

Researchers at the University of Twente have recently discovered one of the cheaply and efficiently method to convert biomass from agricultural and forestry waste into oil.

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EU Prepares Massive Investments in Renewable Energy

Mike Sandru — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:28:45 +0000

According to an analysis made by Reuters, the wind turbines will rapidly expand in Europe's coastal waters, bringing new opportunities and challenges for the industry.

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Biomass Plant to Generate 49KW of Green Electricity to 50,000 Homes

Mike Sandru — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:39:10 +0000

The project led by Bio Energy Investments will be constructed on the banks of River Tees in Teesside. It will generate enough energy to power up to 50,000 homes and will save 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually through the use of carbon neutral woodchip.

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Researchers Develop Method of Turning Sewage Sludge into Ethanol

Mike Sandru — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:18:06 +0000

According to the researchers this new method can reduce the amount of sludge processed by traditional treatment facilities and turn municipal solid waste into a green fuel.

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Complex Algae-Powered Energy System Made by a 15-Year Old

Cristi — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:21:36 +0000

This years scholarship prize of $20,000 of Invent Your World Challenge went to a 15 year old fellow from Texas called Javier FernÃƒÆ’¡ndez-Han, who proved us all that renewable energy is the way we should direct our creativity upon.

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Thermochemical System Combines Production of Ethanol and Thermal Energy

Cristi — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:24:53 +0000

Iowa State University started a new project of developing a thermochemical system that combines production of ethanol and thermal energy. With a low-emission burner and a new catalyst for ethanol production, the technologies use synthesis gas produced from discarded seed corn, switch-grass, wood chips and other biomass.

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More Efficient Biomass Heater from Japanese Scientists

Florin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:11:08 +0000

East Asian countries have an abundance of low efficiency, high carbon dioxide emitting heating sources. The Japanese scientists are working to develop new heating systems, with less harmful environmental impact.

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First Biogas Plant That Runs on Waste Biomass Feedstocks

Cristi — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:26:51 +0000

Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Dresden have recently developed a biogas plant that utilizes waste materials such as corn stalks and other agricultural waste.

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Korean Seaweed Biofuel not Using Usable Lands for Crops

Cristi — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:09:39 +0000

Today, most of the liquid biofuels are sugar or starch based and are obtained from crops of sugar beet, sugar cane, potatoes or corn. A problem in the future could be the lack of lands. These crops use good lands on which food can grow instead. An idea to decrease use of proper agricultural lands would be to use the unproductive lands to obtain biofuels.

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Ontario Region Switches Coal with Biomass

Florin — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:27:44 +0000

The company that produces the energy in Ontario, OPG - Ontario Power Generation started the process of finding providers for biomass fuel, by sending a "call for expression of interest" to those interested to change the coal to biogas for producing the electricity in the region.
The company is looking forward to create the list with...

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TGER: the Machine that Turns Trash into Electricity

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:53:42 +0000

TGER is the name of the trash-eating machine. It uses multiple technologies to fuel a standard 60-kilowatt electrical generator.

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Mazda Makes Eco-Friendly Plastics from Biomass

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:09:20 +0000

Mazda Motor Corporation and Hiroshima University are researching together to develop a brand new "green" plastic material from cellulosic biomass. They want to use it in vehicles by 2013.

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