Biobutanol – The Future of Biofuel
Biobutanol is gaining a lot of attention lately as an alternative fuel source that can be used in gasoline engines directly. It’s a specialized form of butanol created from fermenting biomass that’s similar to conventional corn-based ethanol. It however scores above ethanol by being as equally efficient as gasoline instead of offering a 70% fuel efficiency that comes with regular corn-based ethanol. This means you’ll need less biobutanol to cover the same amount of distance. It also means that although corn-based ethanol emits less CO2 it does have a tendency to raise food prices and is less efficient fuel economy wise than both diesel and gasoline making it a poor candidate as a substitute for oil.
Biobutanol offers more power than ethanol but isn’t being commercially produced on a large scale due to higher costs. While the procedure for producing biobutanol is essentially the same as ethanol, the difference in its key ingredient, an enzyme needed for the fermentation process. Finding the right enzyme for an affordable price that allows any type of plant matter to be converted to biobutanol remains a challenge.
Once researchers have figured that out, biobutanol could emerge to be the next biggest alternative clean fuel. It has many advantages over ethanol aside of offering more fuel efficiency.
Firstly since ethanol production and biobutanol production are virtually identical, the same facilities can be used to produce biobutanol commercially.
Secondly biobutanol does not absorb water like ethanol so it wouldn’t suffer issues like corrosion or water contamination during transportation. It can be easily distributed through the present infrastructure used to deliver gas meaning that existing facilities can be used without having to go to extra expense to create new ones. This makes the process of introducing biobutanol into the global market a relatively seamless one.
Obtaining the right enzyme at an affordable price can make the commercial production of biobutanol economically feasible some day. However the issues of using food as fuel still remain. While ethanol sounds like a viable clean source of fuel, the use of corn to make it has pushed up corn prices, which in turn hikes up the price of all corn associated food products.
Even if biobutanol doesn’t have the efficiency and transportation issues associated with ethanol it still relies on food crops as its base material. What’s required is a cheap enzyme that would enable fuel producers to produce biobutanol from grass or wood chips instead; which would present a breakthrough in the race to create a workable replacement to fossil fuels.
Current enquiry into sustainable fuels has promoted a renewed interest in biobutanol as a viable alternative. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a grant to ButylFuel, LLC to develop processes to make biobutanol production commercially and economically viable.
Supporters of biobutanol believe that it’s possible to drive existing vehicles with 100% biobutanol with little or no vehicle modifications. There have been limited tests on this claim. According to ButylFuel a vehicle was driven on 100% biobutanol cross country.
The company plans to market biobutanol as a solvent to begin with and as an environment friendly fuel later in the future.
Car Maintenance The Earth Wise Way
Getting the most out of your car means your engine needs to be working at maximum efficiency while burning minimum fuel. Here are some tips that will enable you to extend the life of your car while saving money and the environment by simply maintaining your car the eco-wise way:
Regular Care And Maintenance Of Your Car
It’s important that you regularly measure your tire pressure. This has a two-fold benefit:
1. When the tire pressure is at the optimum level you actually use 15% less gas.
2. You increase the life of your tires by 15%.
Change your oil every 3,000 to 4,500 miles if you make short runs under 6 miles at a time, if you frequent city traffic with many stops and starts, if your car tows a trailer or heavy load regularly, or if you drive in salty, sandy or dusty conditions.
If your oil isn’t changed often enough this can result in advanced engine wear and tear with the loss of fuel economy and overall performance which means accelerated oil consumption and with it, increased carbon emissions. Doing this on a regular basis will not only extend the life of your engine but keep your car in optimum working condition while helping it burn less fuel.
Check and replace windscreen wipers when the rubber in them has worn out, if you don’t, not only will they be ineffective, but they may also scratch the windscreen causing you to replace them earlier and pay more money in the long term.
Water Conservation
Most people aren’t aware that how they clean their car can be almost as important to the environment as how you maintain it. It only takes 1 quart of oil in our waterways to contaminate 1 million quarts of water so it pays to know what we’re putting into our storm water drains.
Before you wash your car, especially as it gets toward those summer months, are there any water restrictions currently in place? Car washing is likely to be out if your area is experiencing drought conditions and will likely to be the first activity to be restricted.
Hosing your car while on your driveway should be avoided because not only does it waste water but it introduces dirt, grease, detergents, oil and gas residue into storm water drains eventually ending up in our river systems which gradually make their way into our oceans, the very oceans that we depend upon for our survival.
Instead, place your car on a grassy area to minimize the amount of water run-off.
Using biodegradable vegetable oil based soaps to wash your car are a good option as they readily breakdown if any runoff escapes down storm water drains. If you opt to use car shampoos always wash your car on your lawn as these types of shampoos usually contain phosphates similar to those found in fertilizers. The reason why this is a disadvantage is because it artificially introduces nutrients to photosynthetic algae where there otherwise would not have been, enabling them to overgrow clogging natural waterways and killing marine life by overwhelming entire ecosystems. You can opt to use phosphate free alternatives in place of the regular kind.
It’s ironic that manufacturers include this component to their cleaning products knowing that it will eventually end up in our waterways, tighter regulation needs to be put in place while a ban on phosphates in all cleaning products become a reality. The positive outlook is that at the state level change is gradually taking place. Through greater awareness policy-makers are working to ban the use of phosphates in cleaning products with the state of Virginia joining the cause to phase out the use of phosphate based cleaning products by 2010.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002744.html
Using a sponge and bucket or a watering can takes a little more time than using a hose but can save a lot more water, in fact using a hose to wash your car uses four to five times more water than a humble bucket and sponge alone. This is because when using a hose you?re unaware of the volume of water you use, however a set amount of water as you would when using a bucket not only saves on your water bill but you save our greatest precious resource in the process.
Don?t let water go to waste. Using “grey” water to wash your car can get maximum usage out of the same water. Grey water is typically water that has been recycled from the other processes such as water from your laundry for example. Collect the water in a bucket as it drains off during a rinse cycle to wash your car with. This ensures you get double the use from the same batch of water.
Washing your car in the shade ensures slower evaporation, helping conserve water and avoids telltale streaks on the paint finish.
Eliminate the use of expensive chemical finishing treatments. Armed with a simple chamois with some good old vigorous polishing is the best way to achieve a streak free finish.
Getting the most out of your car through eco conscious methods will not only ensure you save money but will extend the life of your car too.
