EU-DIGEST

Alternative Energy - Unleashing The Power In Your Beer

Wolfgang Bengel, the technical director at German biomass company BMP Biomass Project, saw a business opportunity in solving the breweries’ grain waste headache. He reasoned that the leftover grain could be used to create steam and biogas, which would provide energy for the breweries, cheapening their energy costs as well as their costs of transporting grain to farms. Bengel has successfully treated the residue from rice and sugar cane in boilers with atmospheric fluidized bed combustion systems, to produce energy in China and Thailand, and Bengel thought a similar process could be developed for the breweries’ spent wet grain. Water would first have to be removed from the wet spent grain, the grain would have to be dried and then burned to produce energy. “Beer making is energy intensive – you boil stuff, use hot water and steam and then use electric energy for cooling – so if you recover more than 50 percent of your own energy costs from the spent grain that’s a big saving,” says Bengel. BMP turned to a long-standing business partner, fellow German biogas plant specialist INNOVAS, which had worked with it in China, to help develop the method as a EUREKA project.Germany’s BISANZ, which works on engineering projects, was also enlisted, as was Slovakian partner Adato, which designs boilers.

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, beer, biomass, EU

European Biomethane Fuel Conference in Goteborg Sweden 7-9 September

Presentations will include best practice from Sweden, France, Switzerland, Italy and beyond, insights on the gas vehicle market, on the on-coming European Commission policies and vision, expertise in the production, upgrading and distribution of biomethane, and details of assistance available for those considering biomethane projects. The conference also offers the opportunity to participate in study visits to see projects first hand, and to discuss with those having hands-on experience. Above all, the event will represent an excellent opportunity to meet and network with a wide range of stakeholders involved in the production and use of biomethane, both informally and also through our expert panel sessions.

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, biomass, Economy, EU

Fish farming goes urban thanks to Israeli ingenuity - by Karin Kloosterman

There's nothing fishy about it. Israeli Prof. Yonathan Zohar has spent a lifetime researching fish production and has a solution that might stop the world's dramatic decline in fisheries. Hip "green" environmentalists and sushi lovers will like it too.

Using advanced concepts of microbiology, Zohar has entrained special microbes to live in symbiosis with the fish in order to digest their waste. Aerated by plastic plugs that house the microbes, the fish pools are bio-secure and contaminant free, according to Zohar. In addition, part of the solid waste that is created by uneaten food or microbial byproducts is converted into methane and used as biofuel, says Zohar. This is significant. Zohar was one of the original team to develop the technology of fish farming in floating cages at sea in Israel. These cages have become deeply controversial because the waste created by the farmed fish pollutes the surrounding seawater. In addition, the waters where the fish are raised are often heavily polluted with heavy metals such as mercury, leading to problems such as the recent toxic sushi scare in the US. "I am trying to develop the next generation technology, to address cages and nets in light of environmental concerns," he says. "It is clear we are over-harvesting the ocean and running out of fish. We've focused on an alternative land-based method that can be used in the urban environment."

Labels: Alternative Energy, Biofuels, biomass

Biomass fuel creates jobs; nuclear exports them

The Finns have researched, developed, and implemented methods for cost-effective utilization of biomass fuels. Their procurement is not that expensive. For example, the delivered cost for harvesting of renewable peat and forest wastes, their only indigenous fuel, is now below $14 Can per megawatt (one megawatt equals 1,000 kilowatts). Canada's natural gas costs range from $35 to $40 per megawatt. Can cost for generating electricity via the nuclear technology compare with this? Nuclear energy is definitely not without pollution. There may not be atmospheric pollution on a continuing basis similar to that in coal-fired power plants where effective flue-gas cleaning techniques have not been installed. With nuclear there already exists pollution and serious health problems associated with mining, notwithstanding what could happen with the plants themselves.With biomass fuelled power plants, we not only have more control, but more importantly, we can create continuing employment opportunities in the harvesting, processing and proper management of our natural resources.

Labels: Alternative Energy, Biofuels, biomass

The Future of Biofuels: A Global Perspective -biofuel production tripled between 2000 and 2007- by William Coyle

With near record oil prices, the future of biofuel—made from plant material—is of keen interest worldwide. Global biofuel production has tripled from 4.8 billion gallons in 2000 to about 16.0 billion in 2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply. About 90 percent of production is concentrated in the United States, Brazil, and the European Union (EU). Production could become more dispersed if development programs in other countries, such as Malaysia and China, are successful. The leading raw materials, or feedstocks, for producing biofuels are corn, sugar, and vegetable oils.

Labels: Alternative Energy, Biofuels, biomass

Click on this link for additional information

Rick Morren, president of Morren Mondial Associates, Inc., (MMA), an International Business Development Corporation with offices in Maine and Florida has been tirelessly promoting the use of alternative energy resources around the US, the Caribbean and Turkey. Most recently his focus has been on methods which collect methane gas and keep it out of the atmosphere, by using the gas to produce energy. Morren who is a Dutch citizen says, "Cow dung mixed with other organic materials,like logging trims, agricultural or fish industry leftovers can be turned into energy at a relative low cost. It is being done in many areas of Europe and there is no reason why it can not be done elsewhere. "An added benefit to producing this energy", he says,"is that it also stops the methane created by decaying waste from escaping into the atmosphere and warming the planet.

"A single farm with an average number of live-stock could supply electricity to about 15 to 20 homes throughout the year. On a large scale this might seem like a drop in the bucket", said Morren, "but on a small scale, it does make a difference."

MMA has several exclusive turn-key agreements with alternative energy technology companies in Europe including; Germany (this agreement in partnership with Euro Trust Investments, USA, Inc.); Austria (MMA agreement); Netherlands (MMA agreement) and Switzerland (MMA agreement). "All these companies", says Morren, "can provide MMA clients with the technology and expertise to implement bio-mass generating capabilities anywhere in the world. This technology cuts the cost on the use of energy, reduces green-house gas emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. Cow dung can smell sweet when it cuts your energy costs."
For additional information contact: mma@europehouse.com

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, biomass, Caribbean, Economy, Latin America, Russia; US, Turkey

Denhaan’s operation in Lawrencetown is giving a new meaning to green tomatoes. Luke Denhaan, operational manager, said a new biomass heating system installed two years ago at the Fitch Rd. greenhouse is not just paying for itself, but is paying dividends to the local economy, and the environment.

The operation employs between 25 and 50 people throughout the year, and produces nearly two million pounds of tomatoes that are sold throughout Atlantic Canada. With oil prices so unstable, it was no longer feasible to continue heating the operation using fossil fuels. Denhaan said that the new state of the art biomass system guarantees the facility’s future. "It came down to shut the doors, or invest in green energy," he said. "With the old system we were using about 65,000 to 100,000 litres of propane, it’s dropped to about 4,000."

Denhaan said before they made the move to the wood burning system, they compared several alternative energy heating systems, and looked at what was working well in Holland greenhouses. The $750,000 biomass system, shipped from Ontario, promised a cheaper and more readily available fuel alternative. "It burns about 3000 cord a year," he said. "We buy waste wood from local people, and then run the logs through a chipper." They investigated the possibility of using geothermal energy, but found that the high cost of installing the system prohibitive. Some greenhouses in Holland rely on this type of energy, which uses deep pipes to draw energy form the earth. He added that eventually they might shift to this type of energy in the future.

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, biomass, Canada, The Netherlands