Green Technology

Wondering if you can make a flex fuel or EV work for you?  Check out this US DOE app that tells you what alternative fuel sources are close to a given ZIP Code.

Near me – ZIP Code 19087 there are a few Compressed Natural Gas, Liquid Petroleum Gas, Ethanol, and Biodiesel stations.

Enter your ZIP Code by clicking the upside down triangle just to the right of the ENERGY.GOV logo (see screen shot above).

Clicking on the colored dots brings up a map (MAPQUEST) with enough info to find the fuel stop.

Note the large number of EV “Stations” near NYC.

Via:  US DOE  LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

United has a green sustainability program called eco-skies.  Among the highlights of the program are ...

... over 300 planes with winglets that reduce emissions by up to 5% ... 3600+ service vehicles that are either electric or alternative fueled ... recycling over 3 millions lbs plastic and aluminum from flight service over a 5  year period ... 

"First U.S. biofuel and synthetic fuel demonstration flights and signed letters of intent to advance cost-efficient and environmentally responsible alternative jet fuels derived from biomass feedstock ..."

Via:  United  LINK

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Enerkem turns waste to biofuels and chemicals ..." converts residual materials, such as non-recyclable municipal solid waste, into clean transportation fuels, advanced chemicals and green electricity." 

Enerkem's technology eliminates waste products and turn otherwise unusable materials into useful products.

Enerkem has 2 facilities in Canada and is developing one on Mississippi with funds from the US DOE.

CLICK to see a schematic of the process.

Via:  Enerkem  LINK

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There can be a lot of "energy" hidden in waste materials and land-filling is not a good solution ... it takes up limited landfill space and can be expensive ... waste minimization or W2E is often a better choice.

A turn-key W2E systems can be just the thing you need ...

IST Energy manufactures systems that can convert trash to energy (electricity and heat).  The integrated systems can turn  " ... paper, wood, plastic, agriculture waste, and food into electricity and heat."

" ... transformation ... within a self-contained, modular environment designed for ease of operation and maintenance."

Via:  IST Energy  LINK

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 Kristianstad Sweden uses no fossil fuels for heating.  Instead they uses biomass from farming leftovers.  80,000 homes heated by biomass and not fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas!  And this is an area of the world where it gets VERY COLD !

Since solar and wind would not be effective in Kristianstad they worked with biomass.  " ... remains from farming ... manure, potato peels, pig intestines, and even cookies, .... to create biogas  ... a certain type of  methane, ... heat of the entire city, and to provide electricity for the city as well."

The driving force for the move away from fossil fuels was to protect their environment and they did not want to import fossil fules from abroad.

Via:  Metrolic  LINK

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Dog waste is often picked up in plastic bags and dropped in the trash - to spend eternity in a landfill.  What a waste of waste ...

Here is a novel idea to turn dog waste into methane ...   "dog waste ... decomposes over time. The anaerobic conditions inside the digester create methane gas ... "  The methane gas lights a gas lamp.

If successful this could be deployed to larger dog parks across the country.

Funded by MIT and located in Cambridge, Mass the digester shows a creative use for waste .. a great "reuse" idea.

Via:  TerraPass Blog  LINK

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Electric vehicles and charging stations ... which comes first ?  Without a built out infrastructure people will not invest in electrics cars. 

Coulomb Technologies makes the " ... ChargePoint Network, the most advanced, easy to use, electric vehicle ... charging infrastructure ... "

" ... make electric vehicle use a practical reality ... controlled power at convenient locations wherever EVs park. ... easy to use, and support international power and connector standards. "

Via:  Coulomb Technologies  LINK

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When in Hawaii you can rent a car from Bio-Beetle -their mission statement is " ... be the "GREENEST", and "BEST", rental car company
on the planet."

In addition to biodiesel from 100% vegetable oil they use " ... earth friendly coolants, synthetic engine oil and non toxic cleaners ... 100% recycled or tree free paper ... organic cotton uniforms, and recycled items when obtainable. ..."

Via:  Eco-Beetle  LINK

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 Wallenius Lines, a Swedish owned car carrier vessel is testing a fuel cell for auxiliary power.  Fuel cells are clean power sources - in this case fueled by methanol (alcohol).  Wallenius Lines has a major commitment to being green (using non toxic paint to reduce barnacle drag, handling bilge water carefully, reducing impact overall, etc.) and this is the next step in the journey.

"Wärtsilä’s WFC20 fuel cell ... onboard the ’Undine’,  ... is the first of its kind in the world ... during the test period provide auxiliary power to the vessel while producing close to zero emissions...."

Methanol can be made from biomass so can be a renewable fuel ... in addition to providing clean power.  The trails started in May 2010 and extend until November 2010.

Via:  Wallenius Lines  LINK

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UPS " ... put 200 additional hybrid electric delivery trucks to work in Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Minneapolis and Louisville. ... had 50 of these vehicles in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix; ... another 20,000 low-emission and alternative fuel vehicles throughout its fleet ... In all, about 1,000 of the fleet is hybrid while the rest are low emission types."

" ... will cut its fuel consumption by 176,000 gallons annually, compared with putting an equivalent number of new diesel trucks on the road. .. reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions is about 1,786 metric tons, ..."

Via:  Smart Planet  LINK

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Amtrak is experimenting with a bio-diesel fueled train ... called the Heartland Flyer.  

" ...  nation’s first-ever test of a cleaner and renewable biodiesel fuel blend to power a daily interstate passenger train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth ... research project ... on the daily Heartland Flyer train operated by Amtrak ... biodiesel blend includes beef byproduct and is provided by a Texas-based vendor."

" ... the biodiesel blend known as B20 (20% pure biofuel and 80% diesel) reduced hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide each by 10 percent, reduced particulates by 15 percent and sulfates by 20 percent. ... measurements will be taken ... at the end of 12 months so any impact of the biodiesel on valves and gaskets can be measured...."

Via:  Amtrak LINK

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Bio fuel is being looked at for cars and commercial jets ... now the USAF is looking to see if J8 jet fuel can be supplemented or even replaced by bio-jet fuel.

"... Air Force consumes 2.4 billion gallons of jet fuel each year ... 40th Flight Test Squadron is on a mission to change that.  ... climbing into the cockpits of jets filled, in part, with alternative fuels."

" ... A-10C Thunderbolt II took off from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida powered by Hydrotreated Renewable Jet (HRJ) and JP-8 (Jet Propellant 8, the military standard and kerosene-based). ... mission is being considered a success: a fighter jet can fly on a synthetic fuel blend."

Via:  SmartPlanet  LINK

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Scientist have long suspected they could modify an existing microbe to produce biofuel from plant products.  They may now be one step closer with a strain of e. coli.

"Scientists with the Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) recently published a paper in the journal Nature explaining how they engineered the e. coli strain to spit out fatty esters (basically biodiesel) ... tweaked the e. coli so that it produces more fat than it normally would in a form it normally wouldn't, and they also made sure the bugs didn't eat their own fatty production. ..."

"Ideally ... would lead to a tiny, self-contained oil well: In comes plants, out comes fuels or chemicals. ..."

"... biofuels breakthroughs are published with some regularity. But no one has been able yet to turn these breakthroughs into industrial processes that can produce something useful on a large scale at reasonable cost. ..."

Via:  Forbes  LINK

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• Ford's new Transit Connect is the ideal taxi platform as it is both big enough to accommodate CNG or Propane fuel tanks and is available with CNG or Propane engine options that from Ford - maintaining the  manufacturers warranty.

" ... meeting with taxi operators ... found considerable interest for vehicles that run on alternative fuels ..."

“ ... they provide an overall lower emission of greenhouse gases compared to gasoline. Additionally, operating on CNG or LPG provides the operators lower fuel/operating costs ..."

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