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“Green Gasoline” Biofuel Breakthrough

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Apr 272008

If this is true, it would surely stop rising food and fuel prices. But sadly, it will get buried by environmentalists and our corrupt political system.

This Ethanol fiasco has shown us one thing; we should eat our vegetables, and not burn them for fuel. Now is the time to open ANWR and the other drilling opportunities being held hostage by environmentalists and special interest lobby monies. We should build new refineries and end this moronic crap before corrupt Politicians put an end to the greatest country God has ever created.

Researchers Create “Green Gasoline” Ethanol Killer From Biomass

Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of “green gasoline,” a liquid identical to standard gasoline in energy contant yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees. The discovery could transform the renewable fuel economy by eliminating the need to grow corn for ethanol and rescue America from importing expensive and dwindling foreign oil supplies.

Reporting in the cover article of the April 7, 2008 issue of Chemistry & Sustainability, Energy & Materials (ChemSusChem), chemical engineer and National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awardee George Huber of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass) and his graduate students Torren Carlson and Tushar Vispute announced the first direct conversion of plant cellulose into gasoline components.

In the same issue, James Dumesic and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison announce an integrated process for creating chemical components of jet fuel using a green gasoline approach. While Dumesic’s group had previously demonstrated the production of jet-fuel components using separate steps, their current work shows that the steps can be integrated and run sequentially, without complex separation and purification processes between reactors.

“It is likely that the future consumer will not even know that they are putting biofuels into their car,” said Huber. “Biofuels in the future will most likely be similar in chemical composition to gasoline and diesel fuel used today. The challenge for chemical engineers is to efficiently produce liquid fuels from biomass while fitting into the existing infrastructure today.”

For their new approach, the UMass researchers rapidly heated cellulose in the presence of solid catalysts, materials that speed up reactions without sacrificing themselves in the process. They then rapidly cooled the products to create a liquid that contains many of the compounds found in gasoline.

The entire process was completed in under two minutes using relatively moderate amounts of heat. The compounds that formed in that single step, like naphthalene and toluene, make up one fourth of the suite of chemicals found in gasoline. The liquid can be further treated to form the remaining fuel components or can be used “as is” for a high octane gasoline blend.

“Green gasoline is an attractive alternative to bioethanol since it can be used in existing engines and does not incur the 30 percent gas mileage penalty of ethanol-based flex fuel,” said John Regalbuto, who directs the Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program at NSF and supported this research.

“In theory it requires much less energy to make than ethanol, giving it a smaller carbon footprint and making it cheaper to produce,” Regalbuto said. “Making it from cellulose sources such as switchgrass or poplar trees grown as energy crops, or forest or agricultural residues such as wood chips or corn stover, solves the lifecycle greenhouse gas problem that has recently surfaced with corn ethanol and soy biodiesel.”

Beyond academic laboratories, both small businesses and Fortune 500 petroleum refiners are pursuing green gasoline. Companies are designing ways to hybridize their existing refineries to enable petroleum products including fuels, textiles, and plastics to be made from either crude oil or biomass and the military community has shown strong interest in making jet fuel and diesel from the same sources.

“Huber’s new process for the direct conversion of cellulose to gasoline aromatics is at the leading edge of the new “Green Gasoline” alternate energy paradigm that NSF, along with other federal agencies, is helping to promote,” states Regalbuto.

Not only is the method a compact way to treat a great deal of biomass in a short time, Regalbuto emphasized that the process, in principle, does not require any external energy. “In fact, from the extra heat that will be released, you can generate electricity in addition to the biofuel,” he said. “There will not be just a small carbon footprint for the process; by recovering heat and generating electricity, there won’t be any footprint.”

The latest pathways to produce green gasoline, green diesel and green jet fuel are found in a report sponsored by NSF, the Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society entitled “Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries” released April 1 (http://www.ecs.umass.edu/biofuels/). In the report, Huber and a host of leaders from academia, industry and government present a plan for making green gasoline a practical solution for the impending fuel crisis.

“We are currently working on understanding the chemistry of this process and designing new catalysts and reactors for this single step technique. This fundamental chemical understanding will allow us to design more efficient processes that will accelerate the commercialization of green gasoline,” Huber said.

The Real Cost Of Corn Ethanol

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Apr 182008

I came across an interesting article written by Ronald R. Cooke more than a year ago. It is very prophetic and relevant to what is happening now in our country with the cost of food, fuel and the rate of inflation.

I believe that we are at a pivotal point in the country and the decision to use Corn Ethanol as an alternative fuel was wrong and is creating a problem worse than the original one. If we had not gone down the Corn Ethanol road, and expanded oil discovery and drilling in our own country, the cost of gas and food would be lower and the dollar would be much stronger. We would not be in this decaying economic mess that we are in now.

Instead as it stands now:

The dollar continues to decline.

The price of gas and food keeps going up.

Congressional committees continue to hoodwink the American people by putting “Big Oil” executives on display in the hot seat when it suits them politically or financially.

There are no new refineries being built.

There is no drilling in Anwar or off our coasts.

Will America wake up before a corrupt Congress destroys this once Great Nation?

WHAT IS THE REAL COST OF CORN ETHANOL?

Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States, accounting for more than 90 percent of total feed grain production. Around 80 million acres of land are planted to corn, with the majority of the crop grown in the Heartland region. Although most of the crop is used to feed livestock, corn is also processed into food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, and fuel ethanol. The United States is a major player in the world corn market. Approximately 20 percent of its corn crop is currently exported to other countries.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced American farmers are expected to get 55 percent more for a bushel of corn in the 2006/2007 growing season than they received in the 2005/2006 growing season. Average annual prices are expected to increase from $2.00 per bushel to about $3.10 per bushel.

Thanks to Federal mandates and subsidies, corn used for the production of corn ethanol is expected to increase from ~ 700 M Bushels in 2000/2001, to 3.2 B bushels in 2007/2008 – an increase of 357 percent. On December 11, 2006, the USDA estimated 2006-2007 U.S. ending stocks would be 935 million bushels, down from 1.97 billion bushels in 2005-2006. That decreases the ending stocks by more than 50 percent and puts the ending stocks to use ratio at 8%, – the lowest in 11 years. It should be obvious to all, we are going to need a lot more acreage and big yield improvements if corn production is going to keep up to demand. Prices could exceed $4.50 per Bu by the end of 2008. That’s a price increase of 125% over 2005/2006 season prices.

Score one for the agribusiness lobby.

Consumers Will Pay

Higher Food Prices

If corn prices increase by ~ 55 percent, year over year, then will the corn used for hog, cattle, chicken, turkey and fish feed go up 55 %? Doesn’t that increase the price of meat, poultry, fish, milk and eggs? If corn is used in corn meal, corn flakes, corn oil, and hundreds of other food items goes up 55%, doesn’t that increase the price of all these foods? Maybe. Since 2000, the price of beef is up 31%, eggs up 50%, corn sweeteners up 33%, wet corn milling up 39%, and corn flakes are up 10%. Chicken prices haven’t changed very much. Yet. Food producers are predicting higher prices.

The word on the street is that corn futures prices have risen because of the soaring demand for corn to produce corn ethanol. Iowa’s corn ethanol production is projected to exceed 3.6 billion gallons a year. At that rate, corn ethanol production would consume nearly 1.3 billion bushels of corn, or two thirds of the corn Iowa farmers harvested in 2006. Corn for July 2007 delivery, quoted on January 3, 2007, was $3.82 per bushel. That’s a ~ 60 percent increase over the average price for a bushel of corn from 1988 through 2006. But the net increase in the price of food is less than 60%. When processed into corn ethanol, a 56 pound bushel of corn can yield about 16 pounds of distillers grain, gluten meal, and corn oil, thus replacing some of the corn products lost to corn ethanol production. The inflationary impact of higher corn prices is also mitigated by the percentage of corn used in each item of food. The greater the percentage of corn used in the ingredients, the higher the final price paid by a consumer. Final consumer prices will also be driven by the impact of export demand, the efficiency of cultivation (including the use of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides), the increasing use of lower yield marginal land for corn production, corn belt weather, consumer demand, and the greed (or fear) of Futures Market speculators.

Corn prices don’t move in a vacuum. As the price of corn increases, there is a corresponding upward pressure on the price paid for other grains, such as rice and wheat. Poor growing conditions in Europe, the United States, the Ukraine, and Australia; along with low stocks of stored wheat; and an increase in production of biofuels; have combined to push international wheat prices up to levels not seen in 10 years. We can expect the price of bread, pasta, and cereals to increase in 2007.

If corn prices follow the upward trend in demand,
will the price of food double by the end of 2008?

Probably not. But food prices are headed UP. Families will be forced to spend a greater percentage of their budgets on groceries. Low income families face the specter of possible nutritional deficiency.

New Five Dollar Bill Unveiled

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Apr 102008

The government will soon be releasing the new $5 bill, adding something different to the traditional mix. Given how fast the value of our currency has been dropping and the price of gas climbing the Treasury has come up with a creative way to handle both.

Corn Prices Jump to Record $6 a Bushel, Driving Up Costs for Food

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Apr 042008

If you are wondering why the price of food is going up, here is your answer. Using corn for fuel has to be one of the stupidest ideas ever conceived. This great country of ours has an abundant supply of oil that if tapped into would lower the cost of everything and boost our economy to levels never imagined.

These corrupt politicians have to go. They don’t care what happens to our country or its people. Their only concern is lining their pockets with special interest money.

Corn Hits $6 a Bushel on Tight Supplies

Corn prices jumped to a record $6 a bushel Thursday, driven up by an expected supply shortfall that will only add to Americans’ growing grocery bill and further squeeze struggling ethanol producers.

Corn prices have shot up nearly 30 percent this year amid dwindling stockpiles and surging demand for the grain used to feed livestock and make alternative fuels including ethanol. Prices are poised to go even higher after the U.S. government this week predicted that American farmers — the world’s biggest corn producers — will plant sharply less of the crop in 2008 compared to last year.

“It’s a demand-driven market and we may not be planting enough acres to supply demand, so that adds to the bullishness of corn,” said Elaine Kub, a grains analyst with DTN in Omaha, Neb.

Corn for the most actively traded May contract rose 4.25 cents to settle at $6 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after earlier rising to $6.025 a bushel — a new all-time high.

Worldwide demand for corn to feed livestock and to make biofuel is putting enormous pressure on global supply. And with the U.S. expected to plant less corn, the supply shortage will only worsen. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projected that farmers will plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008, an 8 percent drop from last year.

Democrats Put Big Oil on Display Once Again

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Apr 022008

The Impact of Taxes on Gas Prices 2008 – State & Federal Gasoline Taxes

With gas prices in the headlines and the Presidential election around the corner, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and various other Democrats have decided once again that “Big Oil” is America’s single greatest enemy. Well if they were really serious about lowering the cost of gas they would start by cutting the amount of tax added to price of one gallon.

Taxes add a significant amount to the price of gas and vary widely by state. For the first quarter of 2008, the average state gasoline tax is 28.6 cents per gallon, plus 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per gallon. For diesel, the average state tax is 29.2 cents per gallon plus an additional 24.4 cents per gallon federal tax making the total 53.6 cents per gallon.

It scares the pants off me that so many people have such a fragile grasp of even the most basics of economics that they buy into the hogwash politicians peddle to gain votes.

Democrats hit Big Oil

Capitol Hill Democrats yesterday chastised executives of five big oil companies for not doing enough to curb skyrocketing gasoline prices and investing too little in renewable energy, as pump prices hit a record high.

“Today, on April Fool’s Day, consumers all over America are hoping that the top executives from the five largest oil companies will tell us that these soaring gas prices are just part of an elaborate hoax,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a joke.”

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, Missouri Democrat, said Americans’ “anger level is rising” for having to pay more than $3 per gallon for gasoline.

“Your approval ratings are lower than ours [in Congress] — you are down low,” Mr. Cleaver told the oil executives.

Profits of the five largest oil companies — Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips — topped a record $123 billion last year, up from $30 billion in 2002.

The oilmen told the committee that their companies’ profits are in line with other industries, and warned that higher taxes or excessive government regulation would do nothing to lower gas prices.

“Imposing punitive taxes on American energy companies, which already pay record taxes, will discourage the sustained investments needed to continue safeguarding U.S. energy security,” said J. Stephen Simon, senior vice president for Exxon Mobil.

Motorists voiced disgust with prices at the pump, which hit a record of $3.29 a gallon and could eclipse $4 a gallon when the peak summer driving season starts.

“The gas dealers are making their money,” Maryland motorist Walter Haselrig grumbled as he pumped gas at a Citgo station on New York Avenue in Northeast. “They’re making profits. High profits. Never before in the history of America has the industry made that kind of money.”

Michael Smith, an Anne Arundel County resident who drives 50 miles a day to and from his job in the District, blamed high gas prices on the war in Iraq.

“They’re going to keep going up because we’re over there fighting a war that’s not ours,” he said. “We had an agreement with them and we broke that agreement, so now we’re paying.”

Rising pump prices have put added pressure on a U.S. economy already beleaguered by an imploding housing market and recession fears, while oil-company profits surge.

The committee heard testimony from officials at Exxon Mobil, BP America, ConocoPhillips, Shell and Chevron oil companies in what is expected to be the first of several congressional hearings this year.

Many committee members urged the companies to invest more in biofuels, wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources in order to wean the country off its dependency on fossil fuels, specifically foreign oil.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrat, encouraged oil companies to replace oil with renewable alternatives as the industries’ main fuel source within the next 10 to 15 years. And Mr. Markey suggested that oil companies should invest 10 percent of their profits in alternative fuels.

But the oil companies said that despite millions of dollars invested for the development of renewable energy, oil will remain the world’s dominant energy source for decades.

“We are in a fossil-fuel environment for some time,” Chevron Vice Chairman Peter J. Robertson said.

Mr. Simon said that even by 2030, oil and gas still will handle about 54 percent of the world’s energy demand.

Several committee members criticized Mr. Simon and Exxon Mobil for investing billions in researching new oil sources but little on “clean” energy fuels that would help reduce greenhouse emissions.

“If you don’t put research dollars into [clean energy sources], is it going to come from the oil fairy?” said Rep. Jay Inslee, Washington Democrat. “We’ve got to put some real money into this.”

But Mr. Simon said oil “is in our equation” and that his company is “focusing on how to make that oil much more efficient.”

Republicans on the committee also acknowledge the public frustration over the rising oil prices, but many tempered their criticism of the oil companies.

“My hope today is that the committee will have a reasoned discussion with you today and that we will benefit from your experience and your expertise,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, told executives. “I also hope that we’re not going to sit here and try to place blame for what may be causing this.”

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin, the committee’s ranking Republican, reminded the panel that oil companies “create a lot of good jobs, and their expanded investment in market-driven research and technology only serves to create more jobs.”

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, mocked the hearing by distributing a fake news release yesterday that featured fabricated testimony from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thanking House Democrats for passing a recent measure that reportedly would benefit Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant, Citgo.

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