The Chariton Valley Biomass Power Project, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy Biomass Power Program, has the goal of converting switchgrass grown on marginal farmland in southern Iowa into electric power. Two energy conversion options are under evaluation: co-firing switchgrass with coal in an existing utility boiler and gasification of switchgrass for use in a carbonate fuel cell. Thi...

Fossil fuels constitute a major energy resource for Canada. In 2002 alone, the production of oil, gas and coal contributed over $30 billion to the Canadian economy. Fossil fuel is presently the world’s most abundant, economical and reliable fuel for energy production. However, the industry now faces a major challenge because the production of fossil fuels including coal, crude oil and gas, and ...

Wind power is currently the fastest growing renewable energy application in the United States. Many regions, however, such as the state of Florida, do not have high enough average wind speeds for wind power to be economically feasible. Nevertheless, Florida's extensive coastline may present the opportunity for implementing offshore wind technology. Offshore winds are typically stronger due to t...

BACKGROUND Bio-jet fuels compatible with current aviation infrastructure are needed as an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Cradle to grave life cycle analysis is used to investigate the global warming potential and fossil fuel use of converting poplar biomass to drop-in bio-jet fuel via a novel bioconversion platfor...

An ion chromatographic method was developed for the determination of nine inorganic and organic acid anions at sub- to low-microg/l levels in power plant water samples. In this method, samples were injected using a large-volume direct injection technique, the analyte anions were separated on a hydroxide-selective anion-exchange column using high-purity hydroxide eluents generated by an on-line ...

BACKGROUND The availability of feedstock options is a key to meeting the volumetric requirement of 136.3 billion liters of renewable fuels per year beginning in 2022, as required in the US 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of sorghum-based ethanol need to be assessed for sorghum to play a role in meeting that requirement. RESULTS Multiple sor...

In recent years there has been a move in the majority of industrialized countries to invest in renewable resources for the production of energy. This move has come about as people worldwide are more aware of negative effects of fossil fuel sources of energy on the environment including the release of green house gases such as CO2. Utilization of renewable sources of energy, for instance harness...

Exploitation of fossil fuels such as lignite, brown coal, crude oil and natural gas comes from the oxidation of carbon stored over millions of years in the Earth’s crust; the combustible energy when released in the atmosphere emits carbon dioxide (CO2). Increased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere causes global warming, because it is a greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels are limited and concentrat...