Recently, Vattenfall, the largest thermal energy suppliers in Europe, celebrated the opening of a commercial algae-breeding facility at their premises in Senftenberg (Brandenburg), Germany. The facility, supplied by the Austrian company ecoduna, will use CO2 from the nearby power station, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Vattenfall has been running tests on the reduction of CO2 through [...]
Biofuels in the Airline Industry
Just a few years ago, it seemed to be absurd to replace kerosene based aviation fuels with biofuels derived from renewable resources. The cost of producing alternative fuels that meet the high requirements in this industry was the economically restricting factor. What happened? The 2008 spike in oil prices boosted new interest. Today, biofuels offer [...]
Biofuel Investments of Major Oil Companies Part 2
Are major oil companies already preparing for the post-fossil-fuel-age? Within recent years, big oil corporations are increasingly involved into research and development of different petroleum alternatives and now, they seem to focus on commercial viable biofuels. The petroleum industry is aware of rising crude oil prices, a rising demand of energy and an increasing environmental pollution. To contribute to these circumstances, a variety of joint ventures with smaller biofuel or biotechnology firms have started to exploit the potential of renewable fuels.
Biofuel Investments of Big Oil Companies Part 1
Is Big Oil going green? Have you ever thought about the involvement of major oil companies in R&D or distribution of biofuels? Yeah… just like me! But I was disabused of the notion that most oil companies are predators who exploit earth’s resources, pollute the environment, rake in money and if they do something that [...]
Do Algae biofuels need 10 more years of R&D to compete?
According to the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of California at Berkeley the algae biofuels industry is still in its infancy. The Institute published a survey of the state of industrial algae fuel production. Current commercial biomass production from algae is mostly restricted to nutritional products. The authors state: “Despite the scores, if not [...]
The Automotive Industry’s Path to Sustainability
Honestly, when thinking about car makers clean technologies and sustainability aren’t the first thoughts that come into someone’s mind. But times are changing! Besides some efforts in the development of hybrid or full electric cars, currently numerous car producers switch to the implementation of bioplastics into their vehicles and additionally explore the chances of different [...]
The Algae Biofuel Revolution
Currently, algae receive great attention due to their potential to become an alternative to fossil fuels. There is much talk about this new source of biomass for the generation of renewable energy and maybe some other commodity chemicals too. Algae can yield a high amount of biomass per unit of light and area, do not [...]
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