More good news on the alternative fuels front. I was listening to GM’s Bob Lutz talking to a reporter yesterday and he spoke very highly of the process of making ethanol from most any carbon rich waste. Most of us probably associate ethanol production with corn, you know, moonshine, and more recently, some companies have begun to make ethanol from many other cellulose sources like wood chips and switchgrass. The corn process is tried and true but not the most efficient method and it tends to make grocery prices go up as farmers concentrate on growing corn instead of other things and while the wood and grass sources help, it still may not produce fuel in the quantities needed for running our vehicles.
When I heard him talking about ethanol from carbon rich materials like tires, I was a little puzzled because I had always thought of those things as a source for biodiesel and thought maybe he misspoke in the interview, but no, he was talking about a whole new process I had not heard of and it sounds promising, because, if you paid attention in biology, you’ll know life on earth is carbon based, it’s that thing referred to by alternative fuel types as “biomass.”
Coskata is the company behind this process which takes 3 steps:
1. Incoming material converted to synthesis gas (gasification)
2. Fermentation of synthesis gas into ethanol (bio-fermentation)
3. Separation and recovery of ethanol (separations)
During gasification, carbon-based input materials are converted into syngas using well-established gasification technologies. After the chemical bonds are broken using gasification, Coskata’s proprietary microorganisms convert the resulting syngas into ethanol by consuming the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) in the gas stream. Once the gas-to-liquid conversion process has occurred, the resulting ethanol is recovered from the solution using “pervaporation technology.”
Coskata’s proprietary microorganisms eliminate the need for costly enzymatic pretreatments, and the bio-fermentation occurs at low pressures and temperatures, reducing operational costs. In addition, the Coskata process has the potential to yield over 100 gallons of ethanol per ton of dry carbonaceous input material, reducing both operational and capital costs. Coskata’s exclusively licensed separation technology dramatically improves the separations and recovery component of ethanol production, reducing the required energy by as much as 50%.
They’re working on a plant in Warrenville, Illinois where they will convert old tires into ethanol but tires are just the beginning, Coskata says there’s a billion tons of biomass available in the U.S. each year for conversion, each of those tons can yield 100 gallons of ethanol, … at less than $1 dollar per gallon!
This sounds very promising but as with all of these new technologies, we’ll have to wait and see if they can do what they say. I’m hoping this one is a winner.
Link: Coskata
Related: Gas from CO2
Shaine says
Sounds great. When will the “big oil companies” crush this idea into the ground?
I look forward to the day when I put my garbage in the Mr.Fusion on the back of my car and drive/fly my ’55 Dodge or ’83 Wing to work… I’m serious, even if I don’t sound like it.
hoyt says
Thanks Paul.
Yesterday, I was thinking about the upcoming $4.00 + gas this summer. It will get to a point where a weekend day ride starts to impact the budget, even with the higher mpg from motorcycles.
Necessity drives innovation
B.Case says
“crush this idea” ?? This is not an idea, it’s already happening. I believe there’s a plant going up in Alabama soon, too. Interesting thing is, the big car companies have been offering flex-fuel vehicles since the late ’80’s. If you’re driving a GM, chances are you have one and might not even know it. Check your manual. Conversions will be far too expensive. It only costs the maker a few dollars more to produce flex-fuel engine with proper hoses and ignition straight from the factory.
Now, if only there was a flex-fuel OEM bike. Can’t think of any off hand. Surely in the last few years some company has made one. Or were you going somewhere else with this kneeslider?
ROHORN says
I’m paying in the US now less than I paid for a gallon of gas in Great Britain…..25 years ago. They are paying a LOT more than $4.00/gallon now! The machines I see in Performance Bike magazine don’t seem to be optimized for petrol conservation. Which is why i’m going to vomit in the first US magazine that makes gas mileage an issue.
I once heard it said that if someone invanted an engine that ran on milk, that the oil companies wouldn’t suppress it but instead would own the most cows. On the other hand, some idiots still actually believe that there really was a 100mpg carb that was suppressed by Big Oil(tm).
Sean says
Cool.
christopher says
this is awesome. another bonus is that running E85 actually increases the performance of the vehicle. it’s got a much higher octane rating than any gasoline you can get at the pump. could the magical 200HP superbike be just a fill-up away? sure, the MPG won’t be as good, but at $1 a gallon, there should still be a big savings. now if only someone within a 50 mile radius would sell me Ethanol. . .
Chris says
I’m still wondering why thermal depolymerization hasn’t taken off, since it seems to work on almost any feedstock that contains carbon chains longer than a few atoms. For those of you who slept through high school chemistry, that includes all plastics, rubber, and any plant materials. About the only things you can’t feed it are metal (can’t turn metal into oil, sorry, though it can deal with small amounts of metal in the feedstock, like with tires) and radioactive waste (since the output would be radioactive as well). Biohazard waste is no problem since the process sterilizes everything.
cl
GenWaylaid says
ANY carbon feedstock, eh? Anyone else imagining a 1970s-style sci-fi horror film in which robotic monster SUVs run down and eat people for fuel? “Mad Max: Beyond Hungerdome.”
kneeslider says
Or, of course, the other sci-fi film “Clean Green” where the hero cries out, “Ethanol is People!”
ROHORN says
Hey mang, I am not ethanol, (hic)…….
Hoyt,
I don’t, in any way, mean to imply that $4.00 gas (or higher) is a good thing! Gone are the days of putting in a 500 mile day (including lunch stop) for under $20.00. But a day on a motorcycle is still the cheapest form of motorsport out there.
As intriguing as I find EVs (in theory more than practice), developments like this are why I think EVs won’t take over the world.
Has anyone read the book “The Methanol Economy”?
motoxyogi says
Not sure if this is applicable to this thread but bike magazine http://www.bikemagazine.co.uk/ recently started a project to convert a Daytona 675 to run on cider(not literally of course). So should be interesting to see if a. they can get it running and b. if there are any performance gains