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News and Technology
DisclaimerCategory - Alternative Energy
July 14, 2008 - A blooming solution to gas crisis?
An Minnesota company turns algae into biodiesel fuel.
A solution to $4-a-gallon gas could be floating in your neighborhood pond.
Algae -- that green, oil-saturated substance that can double in size overnight and is ever-present in this land of 10,000 lakes -- is being touted in an Anoka lab as a potential answer to the fuel crisis.
The complete story found at: http://www.startribune.com
March 14, 2008 - GE Powers Japan's Largest Wood Gas Plant
Tokyo, JapanJapan's largest wood gas-to-energy plant, powered by two of GE Energy's Jenbacher gas engines, has successfully started operation in the Yamagata Prefecture, generating 2 megawatts (MW) of electricity for local power purposes.
The Yamagata’s Murayama site runs completely on gasified wood chips, without any backup fuel supply. The facility uses wood biomass from nearby forests that include trimmed cherry tree branches. By 2010, Japan is planning to increase renewable energy production to 3 percent of the country’s overall energy supply. Additionally, as part of its renewable energy strategy, Japan is planning to expand its use of biomass fuel up to 330 MW by 2010...
The complete story found at renewableenergyworld.com
MARCH 14, 2008 - GreenEnergyChoice.com Offers 5 Reasons to Switch to Renewable Energy Today
Texas Energy Companies Support Wind Power by Offering Affordable Wind Energy Plans
Houston, TX (PRWEB) March 14, 2008 - GreenEnergyChoice.com, a leading green energy site offering customers options to switch to renewable energy and purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), features 100 percent clean and sustainable wind power from leading Texas energy companies. Texans can easily switch their electricity service without interruption and immediately enjoy the environmental benefits of powering their homes with pure Texas wind.
Texas was the first state to add one gigawatt of wind power in a single year, with more than 1,618 megawatts (MW) installed in 2007, according to the State Energy Conservation Office. Texas currently has nearly 4,000 MW of wind power installed, and continues to research and develop innovative technology to harness one of many renewable energy sources.
GreenEnergyChoice offers the following 5 reasons to consider switching to a renewable wind energy plan:
- Wind energy produces no emissions and has very little impact on the surrounding environment.
- Texas wind power supply is growing rapidly, with the world's largest wind farm in Abilene harnessing enough of 100 percent pollution-free resource to power hundreds of Texas homes each day.
- West Texas is rich with wind-power potential, offering Texans a viable and ample supply of renewable resource for future wind-power research and production.
- Land usage fees generate millions in economic incentives for Texas schools and local agriculture.
- Wind energy rates are very competitive compared to non-renewable energy plans, helping Texas electricity customers save money on their monthly electricity bills while lessening their impact on the environment.
One of the easiest ways to make a difference in the environment is to purchase a renewable energy rate plan. GreenEnergyChoice customers can use the free online ordering system to research renewable energy plans--with the electricity that powers their homes being produced directly from resources such as wind, water, solar and more. Customers in areas that do not offer wind energy rate plans can still research other clean and affordable renewable energy options from several well-known and trusted energy companies or purchase RECs to offset a portion or all of the carbon emissions from their annual energy usage.
Category - Bio-Fuels
April 10, 2008 - Green Gasoline Could Power Future Cars and Jets
Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees.... ( Related links National Science Foundation , University of Massachusetts-Amherst )
MARCH 7, 2008 - Revolutionary biodiesel discovery starts at Augsburg College that could free the United States from its dependence on petroleum diesel fuel... ( Related links: evercatfuels.com , mcgyan.com )
MARCH 7, 2008 - New Small Scale Ethanol Plants Provide Highly Efficient Waste to Ethanol Production
New innovative technologies from Diversified Ethanol now provide solutions to two of the biggest challenges facing conventional Ethanol production: the extensive use of water and expensive, fuel intensive, crop-based feedstocks such as corn. Diversified Ethanol, a leading provider of clean tech solutions, has introduced small scale ethanol production plants that reduce water use by up to 85% and use existing liquid waste products as feedstock in the conversion process.
Burnsville, MN (PRWEB) March 6, 2008 -- A state of the art waste to ethanol process was recently introduced by Diversified Ethanol Corporation, a Burnsville, Minnesota clean tech innovator. Diversified Ethanol designs and builds small scale, modular ethanol plants that utilize existing waste as feedstocks which can be converted to ethanol or biodiesel. For example, using their proprietary technology, breweries, beverage recycling and food processing facilities can now convert their liquid waste into ethanol and a new revenue stream. Design work has been completed and construction to begin soon on a 5 million gallon per year plant for a major soda recycler in Southern California.
The company's award winning "Butterfield Closed Cycle System"™ utilizes several technologies, including ElectroHesion™, a proprietary water recycling system that reduces water use by up to 85%. ElectroHesion™ effectively separates the solids from the process water, insuring that the majority of the water can be infinitely recycled. The unique design of the ElectroHesion uses a single chamber, continuous flow through design, that can treat from 10 to 2500 gallons per minute and uses a fraction of the electrical energy required by other systems.
Diversified Ethanol's innovative technologies provide solutions to two of the biggest challenges facing conventional Ethanol production: the extensive use of water and the expensive, fuel intensive, crop-based feedstocks such as corn. The "Butterfield Closed Cycle System"™ solves both problems by recycling most of the water and converting existing and inexpensive waste to ethanol.
For example, according to a recent article in USA Today, city officials in Champaign and Urbana, ILL were concerned when a proposed ethanol plant nearby would require about 300 million gallons of water for processing the product and cooling equipment, drawing from the aquifer that supplies both cities.
Furthermore, recent studies quoted by Science Magazine and other sources are now reporting that conventional ethanol production actually contributes more greenhouse gases than gasoline when you factor in land use and the fuel intensive growing of crop based feedstock. Also adding to fuel cost is the necessity to truck that ethanol across country from the Midwest to the markets on the east and west coasts. However, most of these same studies conclude that ethanol from waste is still a viable alternative.
There is a growing interest in on-site waste to ethanol production technologies, that can convert waste products into ethanol. From citrus in Florida to wood chips in the Northwest to potato waste in Idaho, each part of the county has waste streams that can be converted to energy using cellulosic and other innovative forms of production. This trend toward using various waste products for ethanol eliminates the use of fossil fuel intensive crop based feedstocks. Furthermore, being localized, these systems also remove the need to ship the ethanol across country, further increasing the efficiency of these sources of alternative energy.
"This represents a major breakthrough in Ethanol production, significantly reducing water usage and addressing one of the primary community concerns regarding ethanol plants", says Bob Johnson, CEO of Diversified Ethanol. "And using existing waste products as feedstock and delivering Ethanol directly to local communities, eliminates the problems associated with the more fuel intensive crop based feedstocks, and more effectively reduces greenhouse gases."
Diversified Ethanol is a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenbelt Resources (Pink Sheets: GRCO). For more information, see: Diversified Ethanol
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks & uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the company's limited operating history & history of losses, the inability to successfully obtain further funding, the inability to raise capital on terms acceptable to the company, the inability to compete effectively in the marketplace, the inability to complete the proposed acquisition and such other risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking state ments to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
MARCH 6, 2008 - Study: Is 20% ethanol safe for cars? The director of fleet services at the University of Minnesota, was asked to study the affects of a mix of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline...
( Related links: desmoinesregister.com , usatoday.com )
Category - Nutrition
January 30, 2008 - Fiberstar Wins Second Patent Infringement Lawsuit Initiated by Z Trim This is the second time that Z Trim has lost in its failed attempts to assert that Fiberstar's Citri-Fi products infringe Z Trim's patented non-caloric technology... ( Related links: fiberstar.net , marketwatch.com )
October 30, 2007 - Fiberstar awarded most innovative food ingredient - Silver award One of the world's most coveted food ingredient awards... ( Related links: fiberstar.net , wcax.com )
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