Green Tech Gazette » Biofuels

Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle and Omnivore Chew Up Competition

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:31:57 +0000

Exotic car maker, Lotus has decided to go green with a couple new biofuel concepts. Both the Concept Ice Vehicle (CIV) and Omnivore concept run on biofuels based upon alcohol.

The Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle (pictured) was specifically designed for the Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition. The Lotus CIV will help researchers move from point A to B quickly and avoid crevasses in the ice along the way using specially designed radar. The vehicle will also call awareness to global warming issues and the importance of going green.

The Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle has a propeller on back and three skis to help it navigate the difficult Antarctic terrain. The biofuel engine is mounted directly behind the cockpit and attached to the tri-blade propeller.

Lotus has also announced a partnership with Jaguar to design a next generation single cylinder biofuel engine called the Omnivore. The two stroke engine will be developed for running bioalcohol as its main fuel source.

Direct fuel injection plus novel engine architecture will help the Omnivore produce the highest possible fuel efficiencies according to Lotus. Vehicle modeling software will be uses to analyze the reduction in CO2 emissions.

Biofuels Produced from E. Coli Bacteria

admin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:16:01 +0000

Now, before you grab your stomach and start to wretch a little bit at the thought of E. Coli bacteria being used to produce biofuels, listen just a bit to the rest of the story. Researchers at UCLA have discovered that they can use E. Coli bacteria (Escherichia coli) with glucose to produce higher chain alcohols for biofuels.

These higher chain alcohols such as isobutanol have distinct advantages over ethanol. Ethanol has lower energy density than gasoline so must be mixed with gasoline in order to bring up the octane level of the fuel. Ethanol also tends to be corrosive as it absorbs water from its surroundings.

Higher branch chain alcohols, however, do not readily absorb water and retain energy densities close to that of gasoline with similar octane numbers, so there will be no need to mix the two. UCLA has licensed the E. Coli biofuel technology to Gevo Incorporated of Pasadena, California who will develop a commercial version of this biofuel.

Since high gasoline prices are already giving many consumers a bellyache, turning to E. Coli for relief may seem counterintuitive, but it just may be what the doctor ordered.

Termite Guts to Generate Biofuels

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:22:55 +0000

Termites, the most flatulent animals on the planet, hold promise for growing the biofuels industry. The termites’ digestive microbes and enzymes hold great promise according to the U. S. Department of Energy for breaking down wood and waste biomass to generate cellulosic biofuels.

Termites can mow down a massive amount of wood in a very short time and process it through their digestive tracks. Researchers are looking to synthesize the enzymes and accelerate the process to create fuels such as ethanol.

The process is becoming more clear as scientists are putting together the genome puzzle and creating a metabolic profile for the termite digestion process. In the rainforests of Costa Rica, researchers followed a gut feeling and found termites of the genus Nasutitermes that were particularly adept and chomping down trees quickly and effectively.

The upside of this kind of research is that corn (and its market fluctuations) will not be needed as the source for this process. Wood chips, switch grass and other waste plants can be used instead. Like all cutting-edge science, however, scaling up the process to mass produce biofuels will be a hurdle, but one that scientists are confident that they can overcome.

So, the next time you see termites chomping down your house, pause to think that these little creatures may one day help to fuel your car as well.