Virent Energy Systems wins Presidential Green Chemistry award for efficient biofuel process
Virent Energy Systems, a biofuel company based in Madison, Wisconsin, has received a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge award for its low-energy water-based process for producing fuels. Using its proprietary BioForming process that uses nearly zero outside energy other than what's generated by the fermentation process, Virent's can generate the same range of hydrocarbon molecules now refined from petroleum. That means the same process can create gasoline, diesel or jet fuel from nearly any cellulosic biomass, including those not typically used for food. Further, the BioForming process can be quickly modified to produce fuel without altering the feedstock.
Due to the low power requirements for the production of Virent's biofuels, the firm boasts a 20- to 30-percent cost advantage over today's ethanol. Soon, the company plans to compete directly with petroleum-based fuels on the open market with a 10,000-gallon-per-year pilot plant. If Virent's analysis is correct, the company's fuel will be competitive as long as fossil fuels hover around $60 per barrel.
[Source: US EPA via Green Car Advisor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bvz 6:39PM (6/23/2009)
Well...
Assuming:
a) this works as advertised
b) it isn't impossibly water intensive
c) can actually use waste biological material
d) can scale to millions and millions of gallons per year
e) can actually scale up in a reasonable time frame
then it is very very cool because it just slips smoothly into our existing infrastructure. Nobody at the end has to even know anything has changed but we can start to make a dent in global climate change.
A lot of if's though...
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Hans 2:57AM (6/24/2009)
Not to forget:
f) can be scaled up at economically viable costs...
I always wonder: what does the word "proprietary" have to do with all this. There's some causes where this kind of slow-down is more than just annoying. Take the royalties of the patent, but for all of mankind's sake, stop being secretive and protective over a bright idea.
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Mojo Mars 8:06AM (6/26/2009)
This is awesome ... But since this biofuel is identical to gasoline, it is not as clean as ethanol :(
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