Rather than grow and harvest biomass, such as wood chips or algae, and then process that into fuel, Joule has engineered microorganisms to secrete fuel and chemicals, including ethanol and diesel.
The plan emphasizes practical steps applying existing technology to produce and make widely available, and useable, alternatives to traditional transportation fuels including: ethanol (in particular, from sources other than corn), methanol and electricity.
The government is also funding more pumps that can distribute various blends of ethanol, including E85 (85% ethanol).
To bring soybeans and other crops, including corn and such, for ethanol are great options for national security, but we also need fuel economy.
High-profile companies failed, including Bill Gates-backed Pacific Ethanol.
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Such fuels include natural gas, methanol (which can be produced from anything with carbon in it, including natural gas and coal) and ethanol (which can be generated from sources other than corn, particularly as cellulosic technologies come on stream).
Now, regarding how much ethanol we can produce, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted a well known study of how much ethanol the U.S. could make (including cellulosic sources).
Then there's a 54-cent tariff (not including a 2.5% ad valorem levy) to keep cheaper Brazilian ethanol out of the country.
Not only does it have eye candy amenities like a glass elevator and porcelain floors, but it also has a long list of green features including a solar heat pool, vent-less fireplaces fueled by bio-ethanol, and thermal glass double-glazed U.V. windows.
Many new initiatives in the bill fund research and programs for farm-based biofuels, including everything from making methane out of cow manure to planting switchgrass and especially, growing corn to make ethanol, which has been promoted as a means toward energy independence.
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