I have only half-jokingly commented before that the ideal microorganism for energy production would consume garbage and excrete gasoline, which would float to the top of a reactor to be skimmed off via a low-energy process. Technically, there isn’t any reason that this shouldn’t be feasible. It’s just a matter of understanding the metabolic pathways, [...]
Hydrocarbons,Hydrocarbons >
Any Biomass into Oil 
I have mentioned LS9 here on several occasions, because I think what they are trying to do is pretty cool. They are trying to engineer bacteria that can consume biomass and excrete hydrocarbons. I have said before that I think someone will crack this problem sooner or later.
Then today I just ran across this story:
Anything [...]
Refining 101: Winter Gasoline
Originally posted a year ago today (9/14/06), this one is due for a bump since RVP transition is once again upon us. This is going to make product inventory forecasts a bit tricky over the next month or two as high RVP gasoline is purged from the system.
—————————-
Now, for something that I think will [...]
Disruptive Technologies Are So Overrated
It’s the end of a very long day, but I couldn’t resist commenting on the recent story from Joule Biotechnologies:
Joule Biotechnologies Introduces Revolutionary Process for Producing Renewable Transportation Fuels
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Joule Biotechnologies, Inc., an innovative bioengineering startup developing game-changing alternative energy solutions, today unveiled its breakthrough Helioculture™ technology—a revolutionary process that harnesses sunlight to directly [...]
Vinod Khosla Scoops Me
Some people think I am anti-ethanol. That is an oversimplification, and a misrepresentation of my position. I have nothing against ethanol as a fuel. It isn’t as good a fuel as butanol, but then again we can’t make butanol as efficiently as we make ethanol.
My objection is that I think the way we make ethanol [...]
XTL: Promise and Peril
The following is a slightly modified version of an essay that I posted to The Oil Drum .
Introduction
I have stated on several occasions that I believe global warming is a greater immediate threat than Peak Oil. As long as the demand is there, energy companies will strive to supply fuel to the marketplace. To meet [...]
This Week in Petroleum 10-3-07
I almost never talk about distillates, which are hydrocarbons that are heavier than gasoline and are used to make diesel and heating oil. I don’t use heating oil or diesel, so I don’t think about this market too much, but I know that a lot of people do. And for those who do, it’s shaping [...]
Amyris is Looking Promising
As I have said before, an ideal biofuel would be one that phases out of water, and is therefore much less energy intensive to separate. One of the big energy sinks in ethanol production involves an energy intensive separation of ethanol from water. If ethanol was insoluble it would phase out of solution and could [...]
Welding and Cutting Quiz
Voltages less than 50 volts: a) can cause fatal shock under all condition, b) cannot cause fatal shock under any conditions, c) can cause fatal shock under some conditions.
Arc welding machines are typically greater than 50 volts. T__, F__
A person who has wet hands or feet is more susceptible to electrocution than a person who [...]
Types of Weldings
Table 1. Weld Characteristics/Parameter/Criteria for Three Types of Welding
CHARACTERISTIC
OR
PARAMETER
RECOMMEND OR STANDARD PRACTICES
GAS TUNGSTEN
ARC WELDING
(2219 Al)
VARIABLE POLARITY
PLASMA ARC WELDING
(2219 Al)
ELECTRON BEAM
WELDING
(INCONEL 718)
Preferred Position
Flat
Vertical
Flat
Shield Gas
Helium (99.999% Purity) [...]
