Biofixation
There has been a quiet buzz growing around the world, from New Zeland to Brazil to America – and also Isreal. Seambiotic is working on a process for growing algae using power-production by-product carbon dioxide in large farms for eventual harvesting into biofuel stock.
…In Israel, as in the US and the rest of the world, it is estimated that power plants produce about 40% of all greenhouse gases. By employing tactics designed by nature, however, Seambiotic believes it can lock up carbon dioxide emissions through a process called biofixation.
…Studies have shown that algae may be one of the world’s most promising biofuels. It is capable of producing 30 times more oil per acre than the current crops used for the production of biofuels; algae biofuel is non-toxic, contains no sulfur, and is highly biodegradable.
The company’s prototype algae farm in Ashkelon uses the tiny plants to suck up carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Seambiotic’s eight shallow algae pools, covering about a quarter-acre, are filled with the same seawater used to cool the power plant. A small percentage of gases are siphoned off from the power plant flue and are channeled directly into the algae ponds.
Air Force Secretary to DARPA: Free Us from the Oil Cartels
From DANGER ROOM -Â Â
Developing an alternative to today’s petroleum-based fuels would obviously translate to big cost savings for the military, but according to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, it would have a geo-political advantage as well. Speaking today at the DARPA conference here in Anaheim, Wynne told the audience to “think of the withdrawal of leverage it [alternative fuels] would bring from petty dictators or cartels.”Â
If anyone can do it, DARPA can.
As the largest consumer of oil in the federal government, the Air Force has an obvious interest in alternative fuels. Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil costs the Air Force another $600 million, according to Wynne. The Air Force is also thinking about worst-case scenarios. “In the event of another war, those costs could double again,” Wynne told the audience here. The question, he says, is “how to hedge your bet,” both against the rising cost of petroleum as well as a disruption in supply.
More on CAFE Contest
A brief interview with Brien Seeley, the President of CAFE, about the PAV Contest that’s underway this week.
Fly, and Save the World
Last weekend, The Cafe Foundation kicked off their own version of the X-Prize, challenging inventors and engineers to create a viable Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) that can be used to overcome the grid-locked traffic problem that plagues much of urban civilization and wasted 6.5 BILLION gallons of fuel last year…
The Cafe Foundation, a nonprofit group of flight test engineers, on Saturday will kick off its first NASA-sponsored contest of personal aircraft vehicles, or PAVs, which is being held at the Charles Schultz Sonoma County Airport in California. The goal of the challenge will be to test the fuel efficiency and speed of PAVs–high-tech two-seater planes–so they could one day serve as a more economical, environmentally friendly way for people to get around and circumvent auto gridlock, according to Brian Seeley, president of the Cafe Foundation.
NASA is involved, fronting the quarter-million in prize money.
Battery-Powered Motorcycles
The future of moto-cross is battery power.  Meet the Zero – a 120-lb battery powered thrill ride. This is not a toy – it’s ability to delivery power almost instantly means it’s first off the line, and can do 50-mph for 40-miles – then switch out the battery pack, and keep on racing. Thanks to the ZDrive engine.
The ZDrive engine delivers breathtaking acceleration, unmatched reliability, and extreme durability. A revolutionary, brushed permanent magnet electric motor that delivers over 20 horsepower, the ZDrive operates for long periods without overheating and requires virtually no maintenance.
The ZDrive uses one-tenth the steel and half the copper of competing DC motors, and delivers the best power-to-size ratio in the industry.
PopSci: More Pond Scum
 In the July issue of Popular Science, an article related to the previous post about Algae-based Bio-Diesel. Requiring only (an exact balance) of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water - the search is on for the most productive variety of algae.
Algae has some important advantages over other oil-producing crops, like canola and soybeans. It can be grown in almost any enclosed space, it multiplies like gangbusters, and it requires very few inputs to flourish—mainly just sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. “Because algae has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, it can absorb nutrients very quickly,†Sears says. “Its small size is what makes it mighty.â€
There are plans to use the pollutant carbon dioxide of various industrial process as the “food” for large algae farms, growing algae while “absorbing” the pollutant at the same time.
 The proof is in the numbers. About 140 billion gallons of biodiesel would be needed every year to replace all petroleum-based transportation fuel in the U.S. It would take nearly three billion acres of fertile land to produce that amount with soybeans, and more than one billion acres to produce it with canola. Unfortunately, there are only 434 million acres of cropland in the entire country, and we probably want to reserve some of that to grow food. But because of its ability to propagate almost virally in a small space, algae could do the job in just 95 million acres of land. What’s more, it doesn’t need fertile soil to thrive. It grows in ponds, bags or tanks that can be just as easily set up in the desert—or next to a carbon-dioxide-spewing power plant—as in the country’s breadbasket.
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