Biofuel

October 22, 2007 The 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge got underway yesterday with 40 teams from across the globe competing in the 3000 km race from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia. Among the competitors in the Greenfleet Technology Class - a category for internal combustion vehicles promoting an enhanced environmental profile - is the BioBike, a biodiesel-powered motorcycle, constructed by a group of students in Adelaide, Australia, that happily does 96kmh and returns a staggering fuel economy of only 2.2 litres per 100 kilometres. As the design is further refined, BioBike’s creators expect this to drop below the 2 litres per 100km mark (around 107 miles per gallon), and they believe it can be manufactured for around the same cost as a petrol-powered dirtbike.  Read More

October 19, 2007 An L-29 military aircraft powered solely by 100% biodiesel fuel has successfully completed a test flight in the skies above Reno, Nevada. Piloted by Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante, the aircraft reached 17,000 feet without showing any significant drop in performance compared to a jet aircraft running on conventional fuel.  Read More

October 8, 2007 In a move designed to accelerate the development of viable and sustainable clean fuels for commercial aviation, Boeing will team up with Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight planned for the second half of 2008.  Read More

August 28, 2007 The debate surrounding the benefits and perils of biofuels continues with by-products from the alcohol manufacturing process offered as the latest solution in the search for alternatives to fossil fuel. A proposal for a new research project to be completed at the University of Abertay Dundee in the UK has outlined a concept for cars to run on residues from beer and whisky production.  Read More

August 21, 2007 In an effort to prevent an impending energy crisis, industries are considering various alternative energy sources with which to continue generating power whilst reducing environmental impacts. Biofuels are one alternative being adopted within the transport sector, but some experts are warning that biofuels may do more harm than good.  Read More

August 2, 2007 If you ever doubt the creativity of modern science, just throw a serious challenge at it and watch the myriad responses you receive. Rising oil prices and historical data are signifying that Hubbert’s “peak oil” may be upon us, and the rush is on all over the world to find viable alternative energy sources to replace the dwindling crude that’s powered us into the technology age. But what if we could just ‘grow’ more oil? The deadly bacteria E. coli, might seem like an unlikely ally, but scientists in California are claiming they have successfully genetically manipulated the deadly bug and a host of other bacteria to produce pure hydrocarbon chains that can be processed into biofuels. In fact, they’re getting so good at it that they can coax the bacteria into producing a substance that’s exceptionally close to crude oil – minus the sulfur impurities that taint the oil we pump out of the ground - and ready to be put through a standard refinery to produce petrol, diesel, jet fuel or any other petroleum product. There’s also talk of other, far more pure and powerful fuels that need no further refinement before they go to the pump. Could the next great oil barons be bug farmers?  Read More

July 30, 2007 With rising oil prices threatening to put sports aviation out of reach of the average enthusiast, innovators are looking at how the sport might be preserved for the next generation. Sonex and Aeroconversions are two such innovators and in partnership the two companies unveiled their three-prong e-Flight strategy at the recent AirVenture OshKosh trade show. An ethanol conversion of Aeroconversions’ AeroVee powerplant and efficiency enhancements for the engine took a back seat to the prototype electric Waiex aircraft introduced to an appreciative crowd. With lithium and lithium-polymer-based battery technologies advancing by the day - gaining power, reliability, endurance and efficiency while constantly shedding size and weight - the partners believe the time is ripe to adapt the brushless electric engine for sports aviation use. The AeroConversions electric motor and battery boxes should end up roughly the size of the petrol engine currently installed in the Waiex with a 130mph top speed and 1 hour flight duration expected for the production model.  Read More

May 22, 2007 The clean fuel movement may have an unlikely ally in the task of bringing environmentally friendly motoring solutions to the market - Formula One racing. FIA president Max Mosley has announced a partnership with clean engine specialists Ricardo - and a plan that could see F1 cars running on clean biofuel and leading a "green revolution" by 2011. Under the plan, the current 2.4 litre V8 engines would be downsized to 2.2 litre turbocharged V6s running on biofuel. Maximum engine revs would be dropped from the current screaming 19,000rpm to 10,000rpm, making the cars far less noisy than they are currently. The estimated power output of the smaller engines would be around 770 horsepower, down about 100 compared to the present engines.  Read More