Archive for July, 2009

Last week, ExxonMobil announced that it will invest $300 million into in-house algae research and up to an additional $300 million in Synthetic Genomics, La Jolla, CA. The latter has been conducting algae-to-energy research for four years and has developed techniques for harvesting oils from algae. It also will be manipulating algal strains to increase lipid content.

“After considerable study, we have determined that the potential advantages and benefits of biofuel from algae could be significant. Among other advantages, readily available sunlight and carbon dioxide used to grow the photosynthetic algae could provide greenhouse gas mitigation benefits,” said Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. “Growing algae does not rely on fresh water and arable land otherwise used for food production. And lastly, algae have the potential to produce large volumes of oils that can be processed in existing refineries to manufacture fuels that are compatible with existing transportation technology and infrastructure.”

While ExxonMobil’s investment is in algae, corn and soybean producers and other types of crop producers can expect to see continued investment in the ethanol and biodiesel businesses by Big Oil in both research and commercial ventures.

As this blog has noted before, recent bankruptcies in the biofuels business have made it possible for oil companies to pick up assets at bargain prices.

It is difficult to predict how this will all turn out, but it is a good bet that the oil industry’s presence will likely transform the biofuels business.

Today, I received an e-mail from the Renewable Fuels Association announcing the publication of the newest in the ongoing series of “Changes in Gasoline” manuals. Published by the Renewable Fuels Foundation, the “Changes in Gasoline” manuals focus on the auto technician’s areas of interest and address current topics.

But, “Changes in Gasoline IV” (you can view it at http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resource/technicians/documents/2009CIG.pdf) is worth a look even if you’re not an auto technician. And, if you’re a grower whose corn is going into ethanol production, you may be really interested in what the manual has to say about fuel economy. The publication’s quick reference guide notes that the addition of ethanol will usually result in a fuel economy loss of just 2-3%, which has been confirmed by numerous tests. The manual discusses the fuel economy issue at more depth as well.

A lot of consumers have dismissed ethanol because their mechanics say it hurts vehicle performance. This manual points out that over the last couple of decades, there have been numerous compositional changes in gasoline other than just ethanol. “Many of those changes have not been brought to the attention of the technician. This results in a perception that the major difference in today’s gasoline is ethanol content when, in fact, many other changes have also taken place.”

“Changes in Gasoline IV” helps put some misconceptions to rest and can help ethanol supporters strengthen their case, especially if they are talking with a skeptical auto technician!