Category Archives: Biofuel for Transport

Savings available through biofuel vehicle ownership

November 02, 2011   Karl   No comments
ford_focus_bio_ethanol_green_car

Savings available through biofuel vehicle ownership

We are all more than aware that fuel prices are starting to become untenable. A recently survey conducted by MoneySupermarket.com revealed that nearly one million motorists are now prepared to give up driving altogether due to rising fuel prices.

The problems with electric

Major car manufacturers such as Nissan have been quick to develop vehicles which do not rely on fossil fuels. It currently costs the average motorist about £1,870 per year in fuel costs alone to run a normal fossil fuel vehicle such as a Ford Focus. In comparison, it is believed that it would only cost £350 per year to charge up Nissan’s new all electric Leaf model using mains electricity in order to complete the same distance.

However, one of the major problems with such vehicles is the high initial purchase costs which are beyond the reach of the average motorists. The Nissan Leaf costs over £12,000 more to buy from new than a Ford Focus; an additional expenditure which would take almost 8 years to recoup in fuel costs alone before overall savings began to be experienced.

In addition to this they are also very impractical; with Nissan new electric Leaf model only capable of completing 100 miles between charges; with recharges taking multiple hours to complete. This problem is compounded by the lack of recharging stations which are currently in place throughout the country.

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Interjet completes the first Mexian biofuel commercial flight

July 27, 2011   Karl   No comments

Interjet Biofuel flight completed successfully

Mexican airline Interjet have successfully completed a commercial flight partially fuelled by biofue. The flight between Mexico City and Tuxtla Gutierrez on 21 July is the first biofuel powered flight in Latin America.

Using a blend of 27% jatropha biofuel, the Airbus A320 consumed a total of 12,716 litres (3,360USgal) of fuel for its maiden voyage. The biofuel crop was produced using jatropha ugrown in the Chiapas region of Mexico.

Mexico aima to produce 700m litres of biofuel by the year, representing 15% of domestic demand.

 

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Virgin Group are collaboration of biofuels

June 06, 2011   Karl   No comments

Virgin Group are collaboration of biofuels

Airlines in the Virgin Group are collaborating to see if they could develop and share aviation biofuels at their common port of Los Angeles International airport.

The airlines – V Australia, Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic – have significant stage length operations at Los Angeles that would permit them to maximise bio-derived jet fuel deployment at a single, shared location.

“We’re working with the other Virgin airlines – Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic – to look at what we can do in LA,” said David White, the sustainability and climate change manager for Virgin Australia, which includes long-haul affiliate V Australia.

“That’s one synergy which we’re concentrating on because we’re all flying into LA. We’re checking out ‘What can we do there?’”

Collaboration with other airlines or biofuel consortia are also options for Virgin Group, he said.

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German motorists avoid filling with bioethanol

May 24, 2011   Karl   No comments

German motorists avoiding biofuels

The Germans have a famous passion for automobiles, but it has run smack into European Union directives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. So rather than ask German drivers to give up those highly tuned Mercedes or BMWs, the government is offering them “E10″ — gas mixed with 10 percent ethanol, produced from corn and wheat.

But there are two problems: German car lovers are refusing to buy it and environmentalists say it’s no greener than regular gas.

At a gas station in Berlin, Franziska Muller fills up her Volkswagen Polo on her way home from work. Its shiny, waxed finish mirrors her immaculately put-together business attire. And even though it’s cheaper, the 32-year-old says there’s no way she is going to risk putting the new 10 percent ethanol gas into her car.

“You bet I’m worried about my car — most of all about the motor,” Muller says. “Nobody can guarantee that it won’t get damaged. Of course, it means I pay a bit more for gas, but for now there’s no way I’m touching the stuff.”

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Biofuel Polar Performance Vehicle going for record time to south pole

April 18, 2011   Karl   No comments

Biofuel truck heading for the south pole

The giant information firm Thomas Reuters is sponsoring a team to break the record for fastest time to the South Pole by land. That’s right, a race to the South Pole. On land. In the winter.

The truck that the three man team will be racing is called the Polar Performance Vehicle, and, as Jalopnki pointed out, is apparently based on the same Polar Performance Vehicle platform that the show Top Gear employed to drive to the North Pole. The renewable vehicle is run off an unspecified, but stated low-CO2 biofuel that powers a 320 bhp, 4 liter V6 engine.

The truck is also equipped a solar cell system and a wind-powered generator, so should some components fail, communications power will still be possible. With 44″ wheels, 32 gears, protection bars, a crush-proof passenger cab, and a real-time GPS satellite tracking system, the Polar Performance Vehicle is preparing to take on some harsh

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Volvo’s C30 Electric Generates Heat With Bio-Ethanol

April 05, 2011   Karl   No comments

Volvo C30 EV

Volvo is preparing to launch its C30 Electric vehicle but it has a unique twist. This car uses bio-ethanol to generate heat in the winter to keep passengers toasty warm. It is unusual in that the heater doesn’t draw power from the battery and thus doesn’t affect the driving range of the electric car (EV). The announcement came in conjunction with Volvo’s successful tests to drive the C30 Electric in extreme cold temperatures up to -20 degrees Celsius. In the past, some electric vehicles have struggled in winter conditions with the stress of cold temperatures significantly lowering the driving range of the EV.

Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars’ Special Vehicles said of the more than 200 tests they have performed on the EV, “We must ensure that the C30 Electric performs as intended when driving, parking and charging in a variety of conditions, from normal to very cold or hot. Northern Sweden is the perfect place to do sub-zero temperature testing.”

Speaking of climates, the C30 Electric has three climate systems. One system cools or warms the battery pack as necessary, and another climate system uses water to cool the electric motor and power electronics. The final climate system supplies passengers with heating or cooling and this system runs on bio-ethanol. The car’s ethanol tank holds up to 14.5 litres of bio-ethanol. It is also possible to operate the heater and air conditioning using electricity from the batteries. In electric mode an immersion heater warms up the coolant in the climate unit.

“The driver can program and control the climate unit to suit the trip. Ethanol is the default mode that is used when the battery capacity is needed for driving extend mobility to its maximum. However, on shorter distances electricity can be used to power the climate system,” concluded Stegland.

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Boeing moves to fast-track jet biofuel certification

March 27, 2011   Karl   No comments

Boeing to test China biofuel

Boeing moves to fast-track jet biofuel certification

As fossil fuel prices continue to soar, Boeing is looking to accelerate the aviation industry’s transition towards alternative biofuels, taking the reins of an effort to simplify certification standards for biofuels.

The aircraft giant yesterday announced it has teamed up with the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) to launch the Sustainable Biomass Consortium (Sustainable Biomass Consortium ), a group that will aim to make it cheaper for airlines and other users of biofuels to develop and adhere to effective standards.

The organisations will work together with environmental groups and governments to “help align regional and regulatory requirements”, Boeing said in a statement, adding that it would also aim to make it easier for biofuel sources to be independently verified as sustainable.

“With increasing environmental, regulatory and social pressures on aviation, having harmonised standards for sustainable biofuel development is crucial,” said Billy Glover, vice president of environmental and aviation policy at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Our industry needs these fuel sources and this consortium will help ensure we have a transparent way to collaborate among certification processes that guide us towards a more sustainable future.”

The move comes as a number of regional biofuel certification schemes are beginning to emerge.

For example, last June the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive issued guidelines on how biofuel certification should be implemented under that act. It called for guarantees that biofuels should not come from forests, wetlands and nature protection areas, while also demanding that biofuels offer significant greenhouse gas savings.

In addition, EPFL’s Energy Centre had already established the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, which focuses on creating global standards for biofuels production.

The unrest in the Middle East has contributed to an alarming rise in fuel prices, making it more important for already low-margin airlines to buy fuel from other sources. According to the International Air Transport Association, jet fuel prices are up 11 per cent this month compared to last month, and 47 per cent compared to a year ago.

The SBC will begin work next month, and will conduct projects over the next two years in China, Africa, the EU, Latin America, North America and Australasia, Boeing said.

The aircraft company is one of a number of firms in the aviation sector currently conducting biofuel trials, including airlines Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, Quantas and Lufthansa.

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BAFA: Germany consumed 780 million gallons of biodiesel in 2010

March 16, 2011   Karl   No comments
biodiesel pump

Ethiopia gets geared up for biodiesel

Germany’s Federal Office for Economy and Export Control (BAFA) released figures recently on the nation’s total biodiesel sales in 2010. BAFA reports that approximately 2.6 million metric tons (780.5 million gallons) of biodiesel was sold into the German fuel market last year. A majority of that, about 2.3 million tons, was sold for blending into the 32.1 million ton German diesel fuel market, which comes to slightly more than 7 percent.

The German oilseed council UFOP commented on the numbers, stating, “Biodiesel will remain an alternative fuel of great importance in the future … the consumption of diesel will continue to rise due to the constantly higher quantities of goods transported by road.”

The council then said, “Besides, so-called second-generation fuels replacing diesel will not be available for a foreseeable time, UFOP is convinced. So UFOP confirms the necessity that biodiesel should be conceded a future both as pure fuel and as admixture in motor fuel. There is no other way of meeting the climate targets in the transport sector.”

While Germany consumed more than 780 million gallons of biodiesel last year, the U.S. only produced 315 million gallons of biodiesel in 2010, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thanks and Source biodieselmagazine.com

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Ethiopia to Increase Ethanol Content in Petrol to 10% E10

March 13, 2011   Karl   1 Comment
bioethanol fuel pump

Ethiopia to Increase Ethanol Content in Petrol to 10%

In response to skyrocketing oil price at the global market, the Ethiopian government on Friday unveiled that it will increases the volume of Ethanol content in gasoline to 10% as of March 15.

Since 2009, the country has been provided a 5% ethanol and 95% benzene blended (technically known as E5) for the market in which a Sudanese owned oil company, Nile Petrol, was a sole agent that was carrying out the blending process and distributing for all local oil station.

But now the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) declared that Oil Libya is awarded the task of blending the 10% ethanol-Benzene blend.

According to the Ministry of Water and Energy, the country has a plan to top up an ethanol blended oil to the local market to reach E25 (a 25% ethanol content blended in Benzene and biodiesel).

The State Minister of MoWE, Wondimu Tekle, said that the consumption of oil that is imported to the country is increasing with the booming of economy in the country.

According to him, Ethiopia spends more than 8.6 billion Birr every year to import fuel oil with hard currency.

“We want to increase the ethanol content from E5 to E10 to help lower the foreign exchange we spend on oil. This is also important measurement to stabilize the market by reducing the burden of the entire consumers,” he said.

“Since we import oil with huge amount of hard currency, the only solution we have is to develop alternative energy sources like bio-fuel,” he added.

He pointed that due to the introduction of this project, mostly in Addis Ababa and its surrounding areas, the country was able to blend over 13 million liters of ethanol blended oil (E5) and as a result saved over USD10 million in two years.

According to a document obtained from MoWE, from 2009 to the end of 2010, about 2.9 million liters of ethanol has been so far blended with over 245 million liter of Benzene.

In his briefing, the state minister confirmed that, while designing this massive plan of developing bio-fuels projects, the government had hoped that private investors would contribute a lot; however, most of them failed to so.

He also explained that his office has identified those investors and sent their name to the Ethiopian Investment Agency and other pertinent government organizations to take action against these companies who didn’t live up with their commitment. But the state Minister declined to mention the names of those companies.

Ethiopia has three state owned sugar factories which have been operational for long time, including Fincha, Metahara and Wonji.

However, the country produces ethanol from byproduct of sugar factory solely from Fincha which has been so far producing Eight million liters every year since 2009. Similarly, Metahara Sugar Factory is currently set to start producing Ethanol that amounts to 10 million liters per year as of this month.

The fourth factory which is under construction is the Tendaho Sugar Factory which was also said to be the biggest and most promising factory expected to produce huge amount of ethanol upon its completion.

According to the state minister, upon the completion of all sugar factories including the private factories, the country will be able to produce over 180 liters of ethanol after five years.

Of course, Ethiopia has been producing ethanol only for benzene consuming automobiles. But the state minister indicated that still another project is on the pipeline to produce biodiesel for diesel consuming motors.

According to MoWE, the bio-fuel is set to be produced from jatropha, caster seeds and palm trees in which the planting of these trees is being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development in Amhara, Tigray and Southern regions.

 

Nadew Tadele, Director of Bio-fuel Development Coordination Directorate within MoWE told Ezega.com thatthe Organization of the Amhara Rehabilitation and Development Association (OARDA) is the first local company that will build biodiesel processing factory in Bati Woreda of Amhara Regional state.

The organization is also seeking the technological assistance from the MoWE. However, Nadew did not indicate the investment amount the organization has proposed.

OARDA has so far planted over 165 million seedlings of Jatropha in 50 woredas in degraded areas as part of preparation for the would be built biodiesel processing factory, according to Nadew.

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Biofuel As Aircraft Fuel Actively Being Considered In Germany

March 03, 2011   Karl   No comments

Biofuel As Aircraft Fuel Actively Being Considered In Germany

Airlines in Malaysia, which have been pioneering the development of biofuel, might be interested to know that German experts are “actively considering” the use of biofuel in aircraft.

Indeed, the subject of biofuel, for use in aircraft, has gained momentum.

This emerged at a crowded Cargo Climate Care Conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday organised by Lufthansa-Cargo, the world’s biggest cargo carrier, with the participation of internationally renowned experts on the subject.

Karl-Heinze Koepfle, Chairman of LH-Cargo said “environmental care” had always been “top priority” for the carrier.

“LH-Cargo did not back away from its responsibility to environment protection, even as we had the worst recession in post-war history, and did research and deploy lighter aircraft,” he added.

Joachim Buse, Vice President of Aviation Fuel at Deutsche Lufthansa, said the airline was conscious of the fact that biofuel, extracted from agricultural crops, could lead to food shortage and increased prices.

He referred to a plant cultivated in Mexico which could possibly be used as a source of fuel as it was neither consumed by humans or animals.

It’s use will not create any food shortage or affect consumption by humans.

“We do not want to become a competitor for the food sector,” said Buse, ading that the consumption of the plant would not create any food shortage.

Malaysia was involved in research projects to create fuel processed from palm fruit.

Buse also revealed that Lufthansa had applied to the German authorities to fly aircraft with biofuel.

“This would be the first time an aircraft would fly on the basis of biofuel.

“We will operate an A-123 aircraft on a six-month trial basis and thereafter review the situation.

“Six scientific institutes will be involved in closely monitoring the A123 flights with biofuel,” Buse said.

He also said the process of issuing a permit was in the “final stage”.

There is mounting public pressure on the airline to conserve the planet’s resources besides saving costs to develop alternative fuels.

Lufthansa-Cargo, which has been in the forefront of its energy-conservation drive, has also been encouraging young researchers and students at universities to work on alternative energy.

The carrier has also been encouraging young researchers and students to pursue their research on alternative forms of energy by offering them special awards for their contribution in environmental conservation.

At the Frankfurt conference, for instance, Lufthansa-Cargo gave out a “Young Reserchers” Award 2011 to a group of three engineering students from the Munich University for Applied Sciences.

Another award was given to an Austrian mechanical engineer for his work in the field of fatigue proof light-weight design, at the Montan University in Leoben, Austria.

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