We need to remember that China is talking about $5 billion over the next ten years and this figure might very well go up or down in the meantime. It also must be remembered that even in China, most innovation comes from the private sector.

India has the low latitiude Thar desert (unlike the Takla Makan, or the Gobi that may be suitable for solar electric/algae oil-biomass production. Pump in Indian Ocean water and use the heat absorbed for a modified form of OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion) and freshwater source. They could also mine the salts, for minerals, that result from the process.

Yet more evidence that China is very interested in energy self-sufficiency. At these oil prices, and with the US so aggressive in securing access to Middle East oil, who can blame them?

The key technology here is the conversion of cellulose to simple sugars such as glucose. From there, you can obtain several alcohols via fermentation. Butanol has more attractive fuel properties than ethanol. If the process yield is adequate, it should be preferred.

Note that cows require five stomachs and rumination to digest cellulose at low temperature. Other herbivores, e.g. termites and leaf-cutter ants, use alternate approaches but none are as simple as starch digestion. Therefore, it is not surprising that so-called cellulosic alcohol processes are still in the pilot stage.

It makes sense that China is focussing initially on waste biomass from food crop agriculture. However, it may be smarter to turn that into vacuum-packed dried, compacted pellets and use it directly for home heating in rural areas, instead of wood or coal.

Cost-effective biofuel production avoids the expensive logistics of dry biomass as much as possible. Many algae store energy in the form of carbohydrates (starches), only some use lipids instead. Ergo, you can use algae farms to produce feedstock for either alcohols or biodiesel, quite possibly in conjunction with waste water treatment.

Either way, biomass productivity per acre should be an order of magnitude (~30x) greater than for energy crop plants. Algal biomass can be transported using liquids, separated and, if required, dried using waste heat from the power plant that is providing the CO2.

If open ponds with continuous circulation are used to farm the algae in a desert region, the pools need to be kept sufficiently warm at night or biomass productivity will suffer in the morning hours. This may require removable tarps or heat exchangers in addition to the injection of warm CO2, to avoid tipping the pH balance. Water evaporation rates may be an issue.

If open ponds with continuous circulation are used to farm the algae in a desert region, the pools need to be kept sufficiently warm at night or biomass productivity will suffer in the morning hours. This may require removable tarps or heat exchangers in addition to the injection of warm CO2, to avoid tipping the pH balance. Water evaporation rates may be an issue.
Beginning to think through the practical implications, Rafael? Good work.

My view: It won't be practical to keep the ponds warm, you are just going to have to bite the bullet and accept somewhat lower production for the first hour or two. The cost of covers cannot be justified, IMHO.

Removing CO2 will increase the pH, but not to the point where it will affect growth rates of the algae. The real concern is lack of CO2 during the last few daylight hours, which may reduce production.

Even in desert locations, evaporation rates are usually below 5 mm/day[0.2 inch/d]. That means that if you have a 10 hectare [25 acre]pond you need to add less than 500 m^3/day [130,000 gpd]. In poor communities sewage production rates are ~100 l/cap.d [26 gpd/cap]. So, you need only 5,000 people's sewage to keep your 10 ha pond in production...

A Very interest series of discussions.

Why is it that most of the Companies that are developing Cellulose sourced Ethanol plants aren't returning to the tried and tested Weak Acid Hydrolysis originally developed in the 19th Century. We here in the United Kingdom are about to finalise our investments and then commence the construction of three such plants using Cellulose Biomass originating from Waste sources using the patented Gravity Pressure Vessel developed in the USA.

The payback and returns on an investment in a plant to convert 300,000 tonnes per annum of Cellulosic Biomass to Ethanol [without including any allowances for Ethanol tax Credits] is targeted at 6 to 7 years. But we can also use the Cellulosic Biomass obtained from Municipal Solid Waste, and in doing so maintain the equivalent pay back period of 6 to 7 years. Here then is the crunch issue which has turned the Waste Industry around, we are prepared to reduce the already notional gate fees [for receiving the waste/s] to a Zero cost immediately the payback conditions have been met!

It is no surprise therefore that the Waste Industry is now viewing the old fashioned Energy from Waste (EfW) Programmes [burning - incineration] as being cast in to the dustbin of history..or as they reported to us..
'EfW is yesterday's technology' and 'unsuitable for today's needs.'
Our procedure removes all the untoward environmental issues associated with EfW plants as all of our processes are covered and enclosed and transported in water as a result there are no odours and smells, no toxic gas emissions [even the greenhouse gas Carbon Dioxide is collected from our plant] and there are no toxic ashes discarded from the plants. In effect all of the products we produce are capable of being beneficially reused. Now compare that to any Thermal Destruction Process for Waste: there is no comparison!

Cellulosic Ethanol [producing Ethanol from non food crops and from sources of Waste Biomass] is already here and in the UK, Ireland the European Union and elsewhere offers to many places a simple mechanism to obtain Ethanol from that which we discard every day of the year without being at the mercy of climate seasons diseases or the financial whims of the producer. And it is here Now.

We don't have to wait for new technologies as the procedures are simple. We use a mixture of waste water treatment technologies to prepare the raw materials followed by use of Gravity Pressure Vessel to effect the disassociation of the Celluloses to their components and repeat the waste water treatment procedures and include separation of by products before taking the saccharides forward for producing Ethanol. As a result for the Waste Industry we are able to deliver an environmentally and economically proposal in one plant as demanded of by the Waste Industry. This is the crux of the programme and in the ultimate sense the eventual paymasters the Public and Tax Payers.

P H
Genesyst UK and Ireland Limited

Effective drug rehab use various techniques that are relevant to the modern day drug rehabilitation therapies. Twelve step therapies, alcohol detoxification and various other methods such as camps and other techniques for treatment.

http://www.edrugrehabs.com/

Novozymes will now help develop and improve the necessary cellulase enzymes for the bioconversion process that is still in an experimental phase. During the three-year development phase Novozymes and CRAC will form a joint research team, which will work at the pilot factory in Zhaodong. At a later stage other partners may be brought in to add additional competences to the project.

Novozymes will now help develop and improve the necessary cellulase enzymes for the bioconversion process that is still in an experimental phase. During the three-year development phase Novozymes and CRAC will form a joint research team, which will work at the pilot factory in Zhaodong. At a later stage other partners may be brought in to add additional competences to the project.