By Lorenz Bauer Ph.D., Lee Enterprises Consulting “Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” Samuel Coleridge Managing the water in biomass processes like food production, fermentations, pyrolysis, and biodiesel production is critical to success. There is an increasing appreciation of the value of clean water. The […]
In New Mexico, A wide-ranging analysis of water vulnerability across the Pacific — including the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — has identified hundreds of locations where energy production depends upon scarce water supplies. The Sandia National Laboratories study, “Mapping Water Consumption for Energy Production Around the Pacific Rim,” was published in Environmental Research Letters. […]
In California, an analysis by Lux Research has concluded that “California isn’t running out of water. It’s running out of cheap water.” The drought damage is estimated as $2.2 billion, which is significant, but hardly the “end of growth” for California’s $2.2 trillion economy. The problem for businesses, however, is that cheap water jeopardizes their […]
In Zimbabwe, the National Water Authority has come to an agreement with a sister company of Green Fuel to provide water for the ethanol plant’s sugarcane production. The water had been cut off in March following issues regarding payment. The new contract is for five years.
In Nebraska, the Water Sustainability Task Force consisting of 34 members, including six state senators, wants to fund nearly $1 billion in water projects for the state in part by imposing an excise tax on ethanol. Other fundraising measures suggested are putting a sales tax on soda and by diverting some sales tax revenues to […]
In Minnesota, U.S. Water announced the issuance of its third United States patent – covering the use of pHytOUT® – in ethanol production. U.S. Water’s pHytOUT® technology was designed to control mineral deposit scaling, reducing back-end fouling and greatly reduce sulfuric acid use – among other benefits.
In Missouri, the National Corn Growers Associaitonhas added a video and an interactive educational module to its online learning tools concerning water quality management. The video, titled “Driving Change,” showcases NCGA members describing the practices they are implementing to enhance water quality on their farms and in their area. The 30-minute NCGA Water Issues Learning […]
As bio, solar and computing inaugurate a spectacular Age of Convergence — the long-term opportunities in energy may well lie at sea. One of the perplexities of our time: why solar systems are so photon-efficient and so troubled in energy storage; conversely, how biomass systems are so photon-inefficient yet have magnificently dense energy storage options […]
Today on Twitter. asulightworks: DOE Announces $12 Million in Investments to Support Drop-In #Biofuels: Mitchellalt: New biofuels feedstocks are water hogs | TG Daily EINBiofuelNews: U.S. Biofuel Industry Prepares for Life Without Subsidies sciam: Using Corn Ethanol to Develop Carbon Capture and Storage STOCKSWAGER: Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. Delays Start-Up of Canton, Illinois Ethanol […]
In Illinois, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say that the sustainability of water must be taken into effect when exploring large-scale production of biomass crops like miscanthus and switchgrass because of their much higher water use than corn. Because the grasses have more surface area and much denser growth than corn they lose […]
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