Weeds seem to pop up everywhere we do not want them. After all, that is by definition what makes a weed a weed.
However, scientists and farmers are looking closer at one plant, formerly considered a mere botanical pest, and are discovering a world of beneficial possibilities.
In short, this plant has the potential to yield unprecedented amounts of biofuel. The plant is pennycress.
Pennycress is a winter annual, a member of the mustard family, which grows commonly throughout much of the United States. It is most easily recognized by the penny-shaped seedpods for which it is named, and it is within these pods that its energy-producing potential lies, said Peter Johnsen of Biofuels Manufacturers of Illinois (BMI).
Pennycress seeds contain approximately 36 percent oil, twice the proportion of oil found in a soybean, yet with similar properties. This oil can be easily extracted and used to produce biodiesel at 95 gallons per acre of plant, which is again nearly twice the amount as soy, Johnsen said.
Amtrak used a $274,000 federal grant to start a year-long biofuel experiment this month using beef by-products to power the Heartland Flyer, a route that travels from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas in an attempt to reduce emissions and find alternative fuels. So far, however, the experiment doesn’t look like a sustainable alternative.
First, beef byproducts are more expensive than diesel (the biofuel only supplies 20 percent of the fuel for the engine). Secondly, beef products aren’t very green - the carbon footprint to raise cattle is huge. And thirdly, livestock like cattle are actually blamed for producing carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases that cause global warming more quickly than using cars. There’s also debate that a rise in beef biodiesel will cause more deforestation in South America. In essence, Amtrak couldn’t have picked a less environmentally-friendly fuel.
Tax incentives play a key role in the development and production of renewable energy, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is urging Congress to pass two bills that would extend renewable fuel tax credits for five years.
In a statement presented for the record to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week on energy tax incentives, AFBF said long-term tax incentives are needed to boost renewable energy technologies and support development of the market infrastructure necessary to make these technologies more competitive.
AFBF supports legislation that would extend the biodiesel tax incentive for five years and change the biodiesel tax incentive from a blenders excise tax credit to a production excise tax credit. The general farm organization also backs the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act that extends the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and the Small Ethanol Producers Tax Credit for five years through 2015. That bill also extends the Cellulosic Ethanol Production Tax Credit for three years, through 2015 and the secondary tariff on ethanol that offsets the benefit received by imported ethanol.
Photo from: http://www.prlog.org/10526158-commercial-biodiesel-plant-fully-automated-containerised-biodiesel-plant.jpg
Waste collection company Bahamas Waste has begun constructing its $750,000 (€563,000) biofuels facility that could see the production of biodiesel from as early as June this year. Over 50 rubbish trucks will switch from using fossil fuels and run on biodiesel once the production facility comes online. With the manufacturers license and permits in order, Bahamas Waste is now concentrating on developing the raw material. Around 500,000 gallons a year of used cooking oil will be utilised for the production of biodiesel, the majority of which will come from the industrial sector such as hotels and restaurants, but domestic oil will also be used. This figure excludes waste oil from cruise ships sailing around the Bahamas. According to the managing director of Bahamas Waste Fransisco De Cardenas, the biodiesel production facility will consist of a small generator to run the processing equipment, a raw material tank, a methanol tank, a diesel and a tank blending the finished product with regular diesel. However Bahamas Waste’s entire fleet will not be compatible with 100% biodiesel so some blending with conventional diesel will take place. De Cardenas stated: ‘If we can get a waste product and re-use it to produce renewable energy, and we do it at a reasonable cost, it's a no brainer.’
All over the world, people are waking up to the wisdom of recycling waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, it is truly a no brainer as this article points out, and in this case, keeps tons of waste oil out of the sewers and landfill areas.