Algae Based Biofuel Production: The New Wave Of Green Energy

The "green" trend has been around since the 1970s, when an OPEC boycott, gas rationing, and spiking prices called into question our reliance on oil. The creation of suburbs and expansion of cities led to increased numbers of large, gas-guzzling cars on the road, and air pollution was growing more prevalent, begging the question, "How can we find inexpensive, clean, renewable energy?"

Enter the Biofuel Revolution. Biofuel is any fuel produced from biomass, or organic material. The challenge is to produce biofuel from biomass that can be renewed, so that it won't tap out as a fuel source the way oil reserves will. With recent gas price hikes and the number of SUVs and inefficient fuel-burning vehicles on the road today, the issue of biofuel production is once again at the forefront. Some recent biofuels, such as ethanol, have met with limited success: Yes, ethanol waste is mostly water and ethanol is cheap. But the amount of land and energy that goes into planting, maintaining, and harvesting corn for ethanol, on top of ethanol production, make it much less environmentally-friendly than previously thought. Plus, there are ethical considerations about growing fields of food crops just for biofuel production.

Energy investors today are putting efforts into a new solution: algae based biofuel production. Algae use sunlight, ocean and wastewater to grow, and produce oil that is then harvested. The amount of oil that can be produced for biofuel from 15,000 square miles of algae farms is estimated by the US Department of Energy to be enough to replace all petroleum-based fuel in the country. That statistic is astounding: algae based biofuel production would use less than one-seventh of the land dedicated in the US to corn production, and would produce up to 100 times more energy per square mile. Algae are also biodegradable, and unlike petroleum, are relatively harmless if spilled. Best of all, algae don't require high-quality soil, so farms producing algae could use land unsuitable for food crops.

With the discovery of clean algae based biofuel production, what is holding back the market? The answer is the same as with many biofuels of the past: High prices. Capital investments to set up a farm are costly. In time, these investments will be recouped and prices will drop, however. And with oil prices rising steadily, green biofuel may be competitively priced sooner than we thought. Good news for green energy.

From clean energy to green technology, Alexander Sutton is involved with a number of green endeavors and wishes to spread awareness about environmentally friendly issues. For more information, please visit Algae Based Biofuel Production.

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Biodiesel Fuel Provides Vital Alternative Energy Source

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Biodiesel Fuel Provides Vital Alternative Energy Source

World pollution is a growing concern all around our planet which is why more and more companies are switching over to biodiesel fuel to run their fleets, machines and devices. This fuel is derived from plant based materials and is considerably smarter then using the typical gasoline from the past. Aircrafts, farming equipment, factory operations and even civilian vehicles are using this fuel to cut down the damage that our earth is being exposed to. Generally this option is twenty five percent cheaper then the cost of standard gasoline and is an environmentally friendly choice.

Soybeans are one of the most common and widely used plants to manufacture biodiesel fuel. This fuel is made by combining the oils from the soybeans chemically, with alcohol. Other sources include flax, mustard and sunflower seeds, hemp, coconuts, etc. Since the fuel is made from such natural produce, it's only fitting that it is one of today's most plant conscious options. Animal fats and algae are also common sources for manufacturing materials. Some areas of the world require a minimum amount of this fuel to be mixed in with gasoline in efforts to become more "green", and this amount is growing every year.

Biodiesel fuel is a great way for large companies to help in the efforts to save the planet by becoming a "green" or environmentally friendly company. Using this fuel in their delivery truck fleets, company vehicles and machinery not only makes them a better company in every one's eyes, but it can also potentially save them a few pretty pennies. Beyond the environmental aspect of using this fuel, it also decreases our world's dependence on oil which has more benefits then we could explain in one day. Having the resources to produce this fuel is important in the manufacturing, and what better resource to have then one growing in your own field?

Lastly, biodiesel fuel can be produced from recycled waste which is a remarkable feat in itself. This simply means companies; restaurants and businesses can potentially use the discarded waste for material in which to make this fuel. In turn they can use this fuel to run their machines, heat their buildings and gas up their vehicles and trucks. One well known burger chain restaurant uses their old cooking oils and converts it into fresh, clean fuel in which powers their company. If every business in the world did this, we could save the world in no time!

From clean energy to green technology, Alexander Sutton is involved with a number of green endeavors and wishes to spread awareness about environmentally friendly issues. For more information, please visit Biodiesel Fuel.

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Einstein's Telescope - The Hunt For Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe - Book Review

A few years ago scientist thought they were well on the way to understanding the universe. New tools allowed them to look further and to see more than ever before. One thing that they needed to do is to get some idea of the amount of mass that the universe contained. This should be easy. The matter that we have here on earth is the same kind of matter that shines in the stars. Picking a representative area of the cosmos and getting an inventory of what is visible should give us the answer. Imagine their shock when they found that the normal matter that we all know is only 5% of what the universe contains. A type of matter called dark matter is 23% and the rest is dark energy at 72%. How can we find out about dark matter? We can't see it. As it behaves just like normal matter with respect to gravity, we can find out how much there is by how it influences the normal matter that we can see. It is the motion and speed of the things we can see that tell us it must be there. Dark energy is even harder to pin down. The explanation of why scientist believe it's there is a bit more convoluted, so I'll leave that one up to the author.

One thing that helps us find out about dark matter is Einstein's telescope. We have much better telescopes and other instruments today than we ever had but Einstein's telescope is not one that we can build. Einstein's theory told him that when light from an far object in space passed near an object closer to us like our sun the light would bend so that the apparent position would be shifted from the actual position as observed from the earth. It took an eclipse of the sun with a very bright object slightly behind it and a few years but conditions were finally right and Einstein's prediction was proven. It is the bending of light through a lens that makes a telescopes work. So light bent by a mass in space makes it act like a telescope. This means that, we can use massive objects in space to see images of the objects behind them. The image is somewhat distorted and sometimes multiple images of the same object are created but we can often see objects that we could never see with our normal telescopes. It's best when the massive object is about half way between us and the distance object. Some of the most interesting results come from when the massive object is a cluster of galaxies. But the other important thing is what we learn about the lens. The angle that it bends the light tells us it's mass and every thing that isn't visible normal matter is dark matter. There are other little tricks to getting it right, so again, I'll leave that to the author.

This book takes you on a journey from the universe of Einstein to the universe as it is understood today and beyond to the edge of what is unknown and maybe unknowable. Evalyn Gates is the perfect person to take us on this journey. She is the assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics and also a senior research associate at the University of Chicago. She is the former astronomy director of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum. She makes a complex subject accessible to the average reader. She doesn't assume that you have the prior knowledge and background to understand the subject matter. She uses the first three chapters to make sure you have the background to understand the rest of the book. If you want to get the latest knowledge for understanding what is known about our universe, this book, with it's accessible explanations and many helpful illustrations is the one to get. The author tells you to start with the beautiful color pictures of actual telescope images located in the middle of the book, just for their beauty. Then go back to them as they illustrate the topics in the book.

All my life I've been a seeker after knowledge. I've worked in science, music, the financial field and spent many years as a member of a public speaking organization. I am an avid reader of non fiction books on many different topics. I have a knowledge web site. It's purpose is to share knowledge. Right now it has an extensive music section, some pages on how money works, and a book review section. I like to keep up with scientific knowledge and try to read all the latest books.

http://tonyknows.com/bkrvwsscnc

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Moschetti

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Article Submitted On: August 15, 2009

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