Tag Archives: ethanol

Ugo Bardi: Turn CO2 into ethanol

Posted on July 17, 2017 by

Ugo Bardi. October 22, 2016. The mother of all promises and how science failed to maintain it. Cassandra’s Legacy. The latest scientific claim that went viral on the web is about a catalyst able to turn CO2 directly into ethanol. … Continue reading →

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Why studies come up with different Energy Returned on Invest (EROI) results: can it be fixed?

Posted on March 21, 2017 by

[ There are many issues with biofuels beyond their trivial to negative energy return on investment (EROI). In Peak Soil I point out that current industrial farming techniques are destroying topsoil about 15 times faster than pre-fossil fuel economies — … Continue reading →

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Schlesinger predicts investments in 2006 will cause oil glut and denial of peak oil in future

Posted on May 4, 2016 by

Energy Security and Oil Dependence. Two Senate hearings from 2006. In these two 2006 hearings (excerpts below), there is a constant refrain of our dependence on oil,  yet now, many congressional hearings are about our energy independence.  Apparently congress has … Continue reading →

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Distribution – why it is so hard to add E15 or E85 at a gas station

Posted on August 2, 2015 by

[One of the huge hurdles to shifting from oil to “something else” is the chicken-or-egg problem of no one buying a new-fuel vehicle with few places to get it, so few vehicles are made, and service stations don’t add the … Continue reading →

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Peak soil: Why biofuels destroy ecosystems and civilizations

Posted on June 9, 2015 by

Alice Friedemann. 2007. Peak Soil.   Last updated: June 4, 2017 [ Formerly titled: Why Biofuels are Not Sustainable and a Threat to America’s National Security.  Shorter versions appear in the following books: Jacqueline Langwith, ed. 2008.  “Opposing Viewpoints: Renewable Energy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biofuels, Biomass, Energy, Peak Biofuels, Soil, Soil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GAO on why ethanol, and other non-drop in fuels, face pipeline & installation at service station challenges

Posted on April 9, 2015 by

[The challenges that ethanol faces in being put into new or modified pipelines and added to gas stations are issues faced by all alternative fuels (methanol, CNG, LNG, DME, diesohol, CTL, hydrogen, and so on) in a transition from gasoline … Continue reading →

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Large agribusiness gets corporate welfare via illegal ethanol subsidies

Posted on October 22, 2014 by

What more proof is needed that the Energy Returned on Energy Invested of ethanol is negative?  They’re losing money and getting corporate welfare to keep the scam going, meanwhile destroying prime topsoil, poisoning the land with pesticides, and eutrophying the … Continue reading →

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Almost half of Rail Freight is Energy, increasingly Crude Oil

Posted on October 8, 2014 by

Source: American Association of Railroads. 46% of all tonnage hauled by freight trains is Energy: In 2014, crude oil will likely be 650,000 carloads — 2% of all carloads, 2.2% of tonnage.  In addition 2.6% of rail tonnage was refined … Continue reading →

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Germany National Academy of Sciences report: Don’t use biofuels

Posted on August 10, 2012 by

July 26, 2012.  Bioenergy — Chances and Limits. German National Academy of Science (Leopoldina Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften). Page 30-56 English Version. A major motivations for using bio-energy is to reduce climate change from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by substituting … Continue reading →

Posted in Algae, Biofuels, Biomass, Biomass EROI, Wood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Fill ‘er up with kelp?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

[ One of the few materials that could even scale up enough to replace oil are plants.  But seaweed won’t be one of them reasons explained below. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future … Continue reading →

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