Comments for CENNATEK

Comment on 100 companies now growing the US biogas industry by Cristian

Cristian — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:17:52 +0000

some speculation is that maenthe produced in bio-digester is carbon emit free. Other gases however are stored in different tanks to be used in their own way. How about the fertilizer? These can be used freely on farms with minimal impact in soil-microbes ration because as i have read in agri journal fertilizers from bio-digester are cleaner and less toxic than synthetic ones (high nitrogen content). Sludge is also accounted for because there is non produced in biogas plants.

Comment on BC Hydro to add four new biomass facilities by Trago

Trago — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:07:53 +0000

Depends on where it is you are moving. Windmills cost less than solar PV and gentraee plenty of power if you have wind. Same for water wheels. You can get free heat from solar if you build your house with a trombe wall. The same, or a solar chimney can provide cooling. Good design can minimize the need for either. Builders will argue a diminishing return on thicker walls with more insulation, you have to decide how much return you want. Double the construction price of your house, you can virtually eliminate cooling and heating. You have to decide if the ROI is worthy of the investment.Which implies an alternative source of power that is most overlooked: simple conservation. If your fridge is nearly 1/2 your electrical budget (a pretty good generalization), you can save a lot of energy by converting a deep freeze into a fridge. If most of the other half of your electric bill is hot water, install a 1GPM or 1.5GPM showerhead, turn your hot water heater down to 120F, wash your hands with cold water, buy a Marathon (or similar) water heater. Or build a solar water preheater (heating water from 90F to 120F costs a lot less than heating it from 40F).Perhaps heating and cooling are your electric hogs? Get some caulking and caulk every wall seam around your house, both at the ceiling and floor. Use solar screens outside your windows in the summer and inside in the winter (!). Long eaves can also prevent solar heating in the summer, yet allow solar heating in the winter. Good landscape design can also help in this regard.And then there is lighting and cooking and other smaller fry. Certainly look into CFLs. They’ll be required soon enough. Be sure that CFLs installed in the hanging orientation have adequate heat ventilation, as the heat they gentraee pooling in a fixture is the leading cause of early failure (it can easily cut their lifespan in half). Buy xmas LED light ropes and staple them around your house you’ll be surprised how much light they put out, and the light is nicely apportioned, instead of a single big glaring, blinding lamp. And they are WAY cheaper than edison-base LED bulbs. If you are designing your house, consider replacing portions of your windows with insulated translucent panels. These provide softer diffuse light when sunlit, instead of pools of harsh direct light which comes through clear glass, and can be way more efficient than double- and triple-pane windows. AND they reflect inside light at nighttime, making whatever lighting you use more effective.Okay, I went way beyond the scope of your question, sorry but, hope this helps!

Comment on A New Standard for Quality by Turgay

Turgay — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:39:41 +0000

Don’t worry, the demand for desiel will always be strong, even with stronger conservation measures. The supply, on the other hand, is less assured. Now I’m no economist, and I’m no expert in the oil markets, but I did take econ-101, so I know that fundamentally the price is set by supply and demand. I also know about the theory of peak oil which seems real. I believe that consolidation could cut costs, and potentially reduce prices. As long as you’re not talking about consolidation to the point of a monopoly, then I doubt consolidation will be a primary factor, it’s just one of many minor factors. The energy industry is changing year-to-year, but I doubt that it will change drastically overnight in a way that’s irrecoverable. Usually a diversity of products and investments brings stability, and less volatility in the market is probably good long-term for consumers, smaller businesses, and green energy.

Comment on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson: ‘Biofuels is about innovation’ by Raja

Raja — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:59:05 +0000

Biofuel may soon be produced qclkuiy, efficiently, and at a cost comparable to gasoline thanks to a discovery from researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.a0 The research team has identified several genesa0 that improve yeast’s ability to digest the natural sugar xylose.a0 This means that it will soon be possible to efficiently produce bio-ethanol from cellulosic biomass waste matter such as the stalks, leaves, and husks of plants, wood chips, sawdust, and dead trees as opposed to land-intensive crops like corn. The unlikely source of the genes: fungus living symbiotically with bark beetles.

Comment on USDA announces bioenergy project funding by Yossef

Yossef — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:34:17 +0000

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Comment on DOE doles out $12 million for drop-in biofuel development by Amhmad

Amhmad — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:27:45 +0000

Review by David Stebbins for Rating: Despite Federal tax credits (up to 30% of the total cost, unilcding installation) for solar water heating there’s a lack of information on the subject. For a handyman with good plumbing skills, or a homeowner wanting to learn about solar water heating, this is the best book available. After a history of solar water heating in the US, the book describes various systems that use the sun to heat and store water. Climate, freeze conditions, water quality and amount of sunlight available are some of the factors considered in choosing a system, and the book describes them all. Individual components are detailed in a logical, straightforward way. It’s obvious the authors have extensive practical knowledge. The writing style is informal and easy to read. Besides all the solar water heating information, this book also has a good section on radiant floor heating, detailing the use of PEX tubing to heat a concrete slab. The book uses a lot of drawings to demonstrate how things work. More actual photographs of systems and components would have been helpful. I also wish the authors would have included brand names and sources for equipment. The industry still suffers from the stigma of poorly designed systems of the 1970 s and 80 s. Some reassurances from the authors regarding which component manufacturers are good would have been nice. For the past five years, I’ve lived with a solar water heating system I bought as a package and installed myself. I’ve been happy with all the free hot water it’s provided. If this book had been available when planning my system I would have had a much better idea of what I was doing. Having all the components matched and sized with specific instructions gave me a lot of confidence during installation. In my opinion, for the neophyte, a component package is a good way to go. For anyone planning a residential sized solar water heating system, this is the best book available. It’s an excellent guide, whether you decide to choose the individual components yourself, buy a package, or hire a contractor to install a turnkey system. If you’re a contractor or someone wanting to get into the solar water heating business, Solar Hot Water Systems Lessons Learned 1977 to Today (Tom Lane) is very good, but the amount of technical detail implies you already have a good working knowledge of plumbing and roofing. [...] Good luck getting into hot water!

Comment on Green Fuels to begin production of FuelMatic biodiesel systems by Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Currently production cciaapty is 580MM gallons; an additional 1,400MM gallons are expected to be produced within the next 18 months, bringing the total supply around 2 billion gallons annually. Demand is very heavy due to government tax incentives and regulations, however at some point the market price of biodiesel has to decrease as consolidation in the supply market (like Exxon) will drive prices lower. Currently price of biodiesel is around $2.75/gallon. What is the impact of supply oversaturation in the biodiesel price?

Comment on Biomass leaders join forces by Majooh

Majooh — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:36:44 +0000

just out of curiosity, after reidang this article, what other invasive plants are out there with biomass potential? perhaps, if there are already plants out there taking over our marginal land, adn they are creatign plenty of biomass maybe we should be harvesting them and making ethanol out of them?

Comment on Betting on Biomass by Marcelo

Marcelo — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:50:49 +0000

This answer is not as spmlie as which one is best There are many factors that would largely be based on geographical Location. For instance it would not make much sense to install solar energy collection systems in areas that too far north because they simply do not get enough direct sunlight to be viable. Likewise placing a wind system in an area where sustained winds are rare would do no good. The other thing to consider is where are the consumers for the energy located in comparison to the locations of the energy system. Placing large wind farms in the Dakotas ( two of the states with the largest wind sources in the nation ) really doesn’t do the nation any good because you cannot transport the energy very far. The neighboring states is about all the further the benefit would reach. The same goes for placing large solar collection stations in Arizona or Nevada. You could power nearby cities but you really can only transfer the energy so far.That is based on large scale energy collection systems. If you are interested in something residential then it is a different story.Currently the best of the 3 options may surprise you it is GeoThermal. But not geothermal energy production merely usage. If you were to install a Ground-source heat-pump in your home you would save up to 70% on the energy you currently use. These systems are proven and have been around a long time. The price range is reasonable NOW unlike other options. Prices can range from $2500 + for install depending on the situation and if you need to tear-out an existing system. The land usage is underground so you just need space to have a crew come in and dig. The unit would pay for itself in savings within a few years. Total amount of energy that the system would save is much more than the amount it takes to put the system in place (thus giving it a smaller Carbon footprint). Even though this system does not produce energy it uses existing energy and greatly reduces the amount of energy that a residence requires.Photoelectric solar panels are very inefficient and very expensive to produce. The amount of energy that it takes to produce a solar panel is actually MORE than the amount of energy that the panel will be able to produce within it’s lifetime. ( given an average lifespan of the panel and current technology ) While the panel may save YOU money and energy, it costs the enviroment more energy than it can recoupe.A Wind system costs less in money and energy to produce than solar but still has some of the same draw backs. Both systems require battery banks and extra wiring systems before something could be used. Wind and sun are both non-consistent sources so days when the sun is weak or the wind is down you receive no benefit.All three systems are currently only supplimentary at best. We don’t have the technology to use any single source by itself completely. Solar and Wind both require better energy storage techniques to suppliment days of low production. Geothermal heat/cooling systems still require another source of energy. Solar systems need to become much more efficient before they are truly viable except for providing power in very remote locations.In terms of providing large scale benefits to the masses using industrial sized verions of these energy sources we need to find ways to transport energy over greater distances with better super-conductors or microwave technology or something new.currently I would list the three sources in order of energy benefit in this order.geothermal Wind Solar

Comment on LanzaTech lands federal support for ethanol-to-jet fuel by Ebbie

Ebbie — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:14:07 +0000

that it could also be that the alcohol has asekod up more than the allowable amount of water, and the engine is trying to run on water part of the time. They suggested letting it sit for at least a day, then siphoning off the bottom third or so of the tank, top up with premium, and try that, repeat as necessary.I’m going out to my boat tonight, so I’ll just stop at the marina and get a couple of jugs of boat gas to put in, but take enough jugs to DRAIN the tank into. Total replacement of the fuel. The yacht club can use some accelerant for their burn pile, it gets pretty soggy this time of year.Rivrdog