Bioenergy Engineering 2009

Going back to school: Other fields of bioengineering

admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

There are many specialized fields in bioengineering you can become an expert in. The global expansion of our populations has changed the way we use our resources. The solutions to these problems will come from our future scientists and engineers. We will need the imagnination and vision of these educated people.

Bioengineering and cellular studies have a big impact on the future of alternative energy sources as well as reinforcing the health of our environment. Many governments require an enviromental impact study done before a business can even begin to proceed to operate. Biomedical engineering, cellular engineering, and enviromental health services are just a few of the positions you could obtain with a degree in this field.

Going after a bioengineering degree in today’s world can open up a lot of doors into these and other avenues of study that you may not have been aware of. Our world is moving forward and we need knowledgeable, dependable engineers to help us make safe, educated, and profitable choices to keep growing.

Bioenergy around the world

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Bioenergy is any sort of naturally grown material that has stored energy from sunlight. This could be wood, hay, grass or any of a dozen other different types of plants that have a huge, untapped energy potential. And depending on where you are in the world there are different methods of making use of this energy.

Perhaps the most obvious method of getting bioenergy is by burning the plant material. However, that’s not very efficient and other means have been developed to get at it. Digestors, machines which hold organic material and capture the energy it puts off as it decays, have been used to great effect by ranchers in the United States for instance, who have a large amount of cow dung that they can use to power their establishments. Of course there are always other options, and different regions of the world have had to look for opportunities wherever they can find them in their own native flora and fauna. One major trend though is to cut down on the amount of waste by taking organic product that would otherwise be left to decompose in the sun or in a dump and trying to capture its inner energy.Canâ€™t get enough? Thereâ€™s more: BBF (Bioenergy Business Forum) Viet Nam 2013

Improving bioenergy’s commercial viability

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Bioenergy has not take over the energy market for the simple fact that it is not commercially viable. Making bioenergy commercially viable will take a couple of steps, some political and some scientific. By overriding these barriers it’s possible that the majority of energy produced could be from a renewable biological source.
The first barrier to bioenergy is the political aspect. There is much more energy efficient alternatives to corn for producing ethanol or biodiesel fuel. However, since the government is so heavily influenced by the corn producers, which produce much more corn than the market could need, inefficiency rains supreme.The full explanation can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/07/14/14greenwire-miscanthus-switchgrass-show-promise-as-corn-re-35815.html If a more productive plant such as switchgrass or hemp was allowed to be grown than biofuel could easily sustain a large portion of the fuel market.
The second barrier to bioenergy is our current technology. If we could for example break down cellulose, the most abundant source of locked energy on our planet, then all of our energy needs could be satisfied. Scientific advances take time and more importantly research capital. The research capital will simply not be fully there until we run close to running low on our oil reserves.
Improving bioenergg’s commercial viability is going to take a lot of change.

Bioenergy publications across the country

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Bioenergy publications across the country are educating us on the many ways to save the environment and and to save us money. Research, testing and manufacturing are being done in most states and countries. Recycling our waste to produce a product that can be used instead of wasted has been our goal for years.

Population growth requires more building and building produces a high level of waste for our environment. Companies, organizations, towns, and countries are now studying this and have developed several procedures.
Waste to energy operations is the needed process and has been developed by several systems. Recycling the municipal solid waste into an alternative energy is being done very successfully by many of the landfills.

Reducing emissions is one of the most understood bioenergy procedures. Biomass converted in a eco-friendly process now produces eco-friendly power for our automobiles. Energy efficient electricy is being used to help power the cars.

The rural areas have been researching new ways to use the waste of the farms. Renewable environmentally friendly energy is now in use to help heat farm and animal buildings and power farm equipment. The energy consumption of recycling waste into biomass is very cost efficient.

Bioenergy publications across the country have reported successes in producing environmentally friendly energy and cost savings of recycling our solid waste.

Important figures in the bioenergy world

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The bioenergy industry is growing in importance as key members of Congress and the White House administration grasp the need to wean the nation from foreign oil dependence. As a result a new generation of biofuel industry executives are gaining prominence in the field. Among the industry’s key players are Sean O’Hanlon, Executive Director, American Biofuels Council, who has been an important figure in advancing the grass-roots support for biofuels among the American public.
Bliss Baker, of the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, has been integral in addressing the growing concerns about the impact of renewable fuels on food supplies and commodity costs, debunking many of the myths surrounding the food versus fuel debate in the process. Baker has successfully shown that the rising price of crude oil plays a far greater role in food price inflation than the use of grains as ethanol feedstock, an argument that will become more critical as biofuel production continues to expand.
Often missed among key figures in the biofuel industry, university researchers continue to play a key role in the advancement of the industry. David Tilman, PhD, is a professor at the University of Minnesota and an important researcher in the growing field of cellulosic ethanol production. His research is helping to advance the science of the field, making eventual large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol a near-term reality.

Bioenergy: Renewable Energy from Biological Sources

admin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Bioenergy is a renewable energy that is from biological sources and is to be used for things such as heating, electricity and even vehicle fuel. Bioenergy is derived from plant materials from agricultural crops and is known as Biofuel in North America.

Bioenergy is becoming popularity as oil prices climb and global warming continues to deliver carbon dioxide emissions. Although gasoline and diesel are considered ancient biofuels, they are better known as fossil fuels because they are made from things that have been dead and buried for millions of years. Biofuels today are made from plants that are growing today and there fore much more safe and renewable.

The biological material used in Bioenergy is called biomass. Wood is the largest bio mass used today and has been used since people started using fire to cook on and keep warm. Biomass can be used for fuel, power productions and products that would other wise use fossil fuels.

Switchgrass is a type of grass that has been researched and found to renewable bioenergy crop since about the 1980′s. Switchgrass is an excellent choice for bioenergy sources because it is strong as it can stand through drought and flooding. It also requires little care and fertilization which makes it even better for the environment.

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Texas AgriLife Research gets a helping hand

www.bioenergyengineering2009.com — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:58:58 +0000

The Texas A&M University System has hosted its own agricultural research facility since 1887. Today, the station is known as Texas AgriLife Research, and it has been a part of some of the biggest breakthroughs in agricultural and life science through the years, from developing crops for Texas to innovative cloning experiments. Thanks to a generous 1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agrilife Research is now set to throw its hat into the bioenergy arena.The specific project involves working with energy sorghum, a specialized type of sorghum plant which produces high-quality ethanol. Researchers will be picking and choosing from a variety of sorghum traits to produce 300 different strains, and then analyze the results to see which produces the highest yield with the least number of problems. Geneticist Dr. John Mullet is the lead researcher on the project. In the past, researchers were able to gather 20 tons per acre of the crop, but various issues kept it from being optimal.Sweet sorghum is already successful in Texas and other Great Plains states because of its preference for drier, warmer growing conditions. In these states, it is used for cattle grazing. Before World War II, sweet sorghum syrup was a popular sweetener, but decreasing labor has dropped its production to less than 1 million gallons per year across America.

“Biofuels Digest,” Florida’s premier biofuel online newsletter

www.bioenergyengineering2009.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 06:46:38 +0000

Biofuels Digest is perhaps the greatest testament to the power of biofuels to change the world. While they still occupy only a small amount of the energy source makeup in America, they have inspired Floridian Jim Lane to create a daily digest newsletter which has over 75,000 readers and an Asian branch. Even more impressive, it’s become an authority in the industry, with rankings like “The 30 Most Transformative Technologies) and the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” attracting major attention.BD is in the process of coming up with a new ranking, the “Top 100 People in Bioenergy,” as decided by reader votes. The ballots are open to registered subscribers for the next week, after which the Digest‘s editorial board will contribute their own votes to the ballot.Another interesting feature is the ongoing article “The Biorefinery Project of the Future.” The 4^th of 10 parts was published on September 27, 2010, a hypothetical project that outlines the direction a future bioenergy project could take.In addition to news and rankings, the site provides upcoming event information, job listings, profiles of innovative companies like POET and Solazyme, and stock market info on key biofuels companies. You can subscribe to the daily digest newsletter by entering your e-mail at the bottom of any post. Also, check out the BD‘s sister publications, Geothermal Digest, Biomass Digest, Biotech Digest, and the new Sustainable City. While the project is making headlines and establishing itself as a major source of information, it remains a labor of love. If Lane and his team can reach enough people, the future of biofuels looks bright indeed.

Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative mounts a Summit

www.bioenergyengineering2009.com — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:42:25 +0000

On October 14, the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative will host “Fueling Wisconsin’s Future: 2010 Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit.” The best news? If you’re a student, you can register to attend for free (and get a free breakfast, lunch, and evening reception out of it). Other attendees will pay 25 before October 1 and 35 from October 2 to October 14.The day-long event should serve as a great primer on current trends in the bioenergy industry, and will also make a great introduction for those new to the science. Doug Cameron of Alberti Advisors (a financing and advisory firm that assists new agricultural companies) will be speaking at 8:30 a.m. The rest of the day consists of workshops and presentations illustrating different aspects of bioenergy, concluding with a keynote address by Greg Hartgraves of POET. POET produces over 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol per year while educating the market about new technologies.