Bioenergy: Refueling the Future

______________________

"Group seeks forest restoration to cleanse planet"

Ancient giant redwood trees are cloned in hope to make super carbon capturing forests.

The Fourth Generation: The Latest in Biofuel Technology

There are two parts to the new generation of biofuels. One part revolves around biomass crops that act like carbon-capturing machines. The second part revolves around the revolutionary "solar to fuel" concept.

Carbon Capturing Biomass

[7.1]

How does it work?

Crops that are genetically engineered to take in high amounts of carbon are grown and harvested as biomass.
The crops are then converted into fuel using second generation techniques.
The fuel is pre-combusted and the carbon is captured.
Then the carbon is geosequestered, meaning that the carbon is stored in depleted oil or gas fields or in unmineable coal seams. It will remain buried and locked up for hundreds to thousands of years.

The result: carbon-negative fuel. Average biofuel is carbon-neutral, meaning that they do not add any more carbon into the environment. This method, however, pulls carbon out of the carbon cycle. [7.1]

Solar to Fuel Method

Click for a bigger picture. [7.2]

Although this is still a concept, it has great potential. Joule Unlimited's concept: diesel made from nothing but microorganisms (cyanobacteria), sun, water, and CO2.

How in the world does that work?

Cyanobacteria are place in a flat panel filled with water. The panels are set up facing the sun similar to the way solar panels do. The cyanobacteria would then take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and give off a product that could be processed into fuel. [7.2]

"Joule claims, that its cyanobacterium can produce 15,000 gallons of diesel full per acre annually, over four times more than the most efficient algal process for making fuel. And they say they can do it at $30 a barrel." [7.3]

By using this method, the middle man is cut out (biomass farmers) and this would result in a cheaper, more efficient biofuel. [7.3]