September 2008 Archives

According to the Energy Information Administration, the total amount of motor gasoline consumed in the U.S. is equivalent to 9.286 million barrels of crude oil per day. At about 19.2 gallons of gasoline per barrel (42 gallons total), this works out to almost 69 billion gallons per year. If we added a $1.00 per gallon renewable energy 'tax', there would then be a budget of about $69 billion to fund research and development. For comparison, the current DOE Office of Science budget is $4.036 billion. One could call it a carbon tax, if you like. This may be simplistic but the government already collects taxes in this way; and it need not be only for gasoline.

Am I missing something?

The American Physical Society (APS) released a new report on 16 September that presents a fresh look at energy efficiency. From the APS:

Energy Future: Think Efficiency differs from other energy efficiency reports in its emphasis on scientific and technological options and analysis. Developed by a panel of leading experts in energy policy with backgrounds in physics, engineering, economics, and policy, Energy Future: Think Efficiency examines what works, what can work soon, and what is feasible for the future. Based on emerging technologies, this report targets which research and development gives America the best return for its dollars.

Ethanol is a proven alternative energy source for oil in the transportation sector. Ethanol can be derived from cellulosic biomass material, including wheat and rice straw, switchgrass, paper pulp, agricultural waste products like corn cobs and corn stover, citrus, algae, and more. Currently, the cellulosic biofuel industry is in its infancy - the economic opportunities are tremendous but the scientific principles are nascent. Clearly the high cost of converting biomass to sugars is impeding the growth of this industry. Like a number of scientific discoveries in genetic engineering that helped propel the biotech industry in the 80s, some scientific breakthrough is much needed for the biofuel industry to take roots.

In a recent research article published in PNAS, a group of researchers demonstrated the use of an engineered strain of bacteria to help produce ethanol in high yields. Thermophilic bacterial strains, currently used in aiding the fermentation process of sugars in biomass, produce organic acids (such as acetic acid and lactic acid) in addition to ethanol. Using knockout gene technology, the current research group was able to engineer a stable bacterial strain (named ALK2) that can be used for 100% ethanol production. The derived bacterial phenotype was also stable for more than 150 generations in culture.

So is ALK2 the magic bullet for the use of biomass in ethanol production at an industrial scale?. The authors are cautious. They note that future experiments are needed to close the gap between the maximum concentration of ethanol produced and the maximum concentration tolerated using this strain but they seem optimistic.

Nestled into the rolling hills of Berkshire is the gorgeous Beaumont House. This was the scene of the recent ALPSP annual conference. A failed attempt to find food brought me standing in front of the elevator door. As the elevator door opened, I was woefully contemplating the1469 kg of CO2 emissions that I caused in traveling to this conference, knowledge gleaned from my Dopplr.com account. I was thus happy to see the EcoDisc logo on the inside of the elevator cabin. Certainly, this must mean something good.

Unfamiliar with this symbol, I made the false assumption that the lighting within the cabin was of an energy-efficient kind. This had been bolstered by the fact that the lights were dim before I entered and they happened to be shaped like discs. When I reached my room -- which had its own energy saving feature with respect to lighting -- I decided to investigate the EcoDisk further.

This elevator, like so many others, was built by the Finnish corporation Kone. This lead me to the following description:

KONE elevators are known for their energy efficiency and environmentally friendly operation. For example, the hoisting machine KONE EcoDisc® consumes 70% less energy than a hydraulic drive and 50% less than a geared traction elevator drive. KONE also offers ways to reduce standby energy consumption, for example with LED lights and illumination control.

I may have been lazy for not taking the stairs but I felt good about the energy-efficient way that I had to transport myself to the appropriate hotel floor.