Florida may have found a new biofuel cash crop that is suitable to its climate:

Link (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,367541,00.html)

Interesting article about various world government's plans for Jatropha and it's place in the food vs. fuel debate:

Link (http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1472970/food_versus_fuel_in_the_philippines/)

This is a very inefficient way to make fuel from solar energy (<1%), but if the population is low enough to use arable land for fuel, I've heard of worse choices than this one.

Assuming 15% solar-electric efficiency and 60% efficiency electric to hydrogen, you could use ~1/10th of the same land area for solar electric (PV or solar thermal) and make hydrogen, then use the remaining 9/10ths for food production, recreation area, and/or wildlife. Of course, I still think we'd be better off just using the electricity directly in PHEV's/EV's using 1/30th of the land area (by eliminating the inefficiencies in production and use of hydrogen) and use the majority of the same land area (the other 29/30ths) for other purposes.

pdt,

I look at this as an interim solution, until we greatly increase our use of solar, wind, batteries/caps and hydrogen.

Right now, our fleet of semi-trucks are diesel, so no one would have to immediately replace their truck.

The land used for Jatropha isn't useable for food crops. Jatropha doesn't require pesiticides, is drought resistant and can grow without fertilizers, or very little fertilizer.

Air New Zealand Completes Test Flight with Jatropha Biofuel

Link (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=54414)

Time Magazine article on yields for Jatropha Curcas in Florida:

Link (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874835,00.html)

I'm definitely behind this R&D and also getting some huge operations going, just so we can at least get realistic cost and EROI numbers.

We really need a petroleum alternative for not only burning but for bio-products like bio-plastic, etc.

Algae is still on the hot list as well. The cost and EROI values are still in question but the fact that it can grow in the desert using power plant exhaust and salt water are very interesting.

Again, even if it costs extra to make these bio-oils it might have value far past what it contains by way of energy. It also has value in that it can run our legacy diesel equipment. That alone could make it very valuable.

I hope Obama keeps the heat on 2nd generation bio-fuels. I also hope there is oversight to make sure we know how much we are putting in for that precious, sustainable resource.

The article mentions a yield 8X that of foreign yields. That worries me, in that it sounds like they are using fertilizer on a plant that doesn't need it, just to bump the yield.

My hope was that they wouldn't use any fertilizer, so that we stop poisoning the rivers and coastal regions where the rivers dump into the sea. I understand that we would end up using more land, but at least we wouldn't be killing the sea.

The article mentions a yield 8X that of foreign yields. That worries me, in that it sounds like they are using fertilizer on a plant that doesn't need it, just to bump the yield.

My hope was that they wouldn't use any fertilizer, so that we stop poisoning the rivers and coastal regions where the rivers dump into the sea. I understand that we would end up using more land, but at least we wouldn't be killing the sea.






The real irony is that if fertilizer was used it was most likely made with petroleum. That is why I think we need to do a complete energy analysis of any and all options we are considering. I'm actually surprised this has not already been done. Maybe it has. If anyone has links to this data please share. :)