Hello Kirk >Hello all > >Just joined the group a day or so ago. >Am semi retired former aerospacer. Have been interested in alternative >energy for over 25 years. >Ham, KC7THL, and read a bit. Live in North America, central Montana to be >more precise. > >The post below regarding potable water is worse than you know.
You're quite right. It's hard to describe how serious it is. I just skimmed the surface because it's a bit OT. I didn't mention Europe, for instance, where most of the rivers are in a state of crisis. There are two issues here, water availability, and water quality, very much a double crisis, with very few countries exempted. Might help a bit if Mr Gates had had to pay $24 million instead of just $24,000 for squandering all that precious water, the stuff's way too cheap (like fuel). >70% of >drinking water in US is undrinkable in my estimation. Chemicals, hormones, >drugs and fertilizer to name a few. Many taps produce a head on the glass >due to soap residue. I have looked at solar stills and have come to the >conclusion only cement, glass, butyl and neoprene, and painted steel are >reasonably permanent construction. Efficiency is low and in the North >freezing stops operation. > >I thought a flat plate powered multistage might perform better. Imagine a >series of nnnnn shaped containers. They are in an insulated box. Source >water goes in left leg of n. insulation in between the 2 legs. Good themal >contact to next n and ech one in turn. Allowing a delta T of 15-20 degrees >per n the same BTU transports 3 times as much if 3 n deep. >Heat one end of stack and cool the other. Needs some thought re cleaning. > >*<The next comment is re fuels.>* > >I am told the acid hydrolysis is a reaction where you recover your chemicals >except for a bit of makeup. >Opens up a lot more options for fuel. If anyone has hands on with this sort >of thing I would like to hear their comments and critique of the website. > >http://www.arkenol.com/index.html#top > >Specifically I want to know about the Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis >methodology they describe at http://www.arkenol.com/tech01.html > >websites/businesses that are trying to create >non-petroleum besed fuels would be a good database to construct. Yes, big hassle to do though, and to maintain. But there are some plans afoot for useful db's, and this is a good suggestion, thanks. >All the best >Kirk Arkenol won't tell you much, none of them will. These references should help - especially the first, "Wood-Ethanol Report". From: Ethanol resources on the Web: Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link.html Ethanol from cellulose "Wood-Ethanol Report: Technology Review", Environment Canada 1999 -- good overview of the problem and the current solutions on offer. http://www.pyr.ec.gc.ca/ep/wet/section16.html Fuel From Sawdust -- by Mike Brown (from Acres, USA, 19 June 1983): Conversion of cellulose, such as sawdust, cornstalks, newspaper and other substances, to alcohol -- "a fairly uncomplicated and straightforward process". Go to the Biofuels Library. http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html Arkenol Inc. is a pioneer in processing cellulose biomas into ethanol: agricultural wastes, straw, leaves, grass clippings, sawdust or old newspapers. The company uses proprietary concentrated acid hydrolysis technology and is in the final development stages for a 48 million litre per year biorefinery in Sacramento, California processing rice straw. http://www.arkenol.com The Iogen Corporation of Canada is "the leader in developing and manufacturing ethanol-from-cellulose". The Iogen process is an enzymatic hydrolysis process for converting lignocellulosics to ethanol -- uses steam explosion pretreatment pioneered by the company and Iogen's proprietary enzymes. http://www.iogen.ca/fuels.htm BC International Corporation uses a genetically modified organism to produce ethanol from biomass wastes such as agricultural residues, municipal waste, and forest thinnings. Two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis process for the preparation of the sugar streams and two separate fermentations although both use the same organism. http://www.bcintlcorp.com/ "Ethanol Production in Hawaii", a "pre-feasibility" study who a focus on ethanol from cellulose. Includes comparison of the different processes: simultaneous saccharification and fermentation; concentrated acid hydrolysis, neutralization and fermentation; ammonia disruption, hydrolysis and fermentation; steam disruption, hydrolysis and fermentation; acid disruption and transgenic microorganism fermentation; concentrated acid hydrolysis, acid recycle and fermentation; and acidified acetone extraction, hydrolysis and fermentation. http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/ethanol/ethano94.html Good list of references: http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/ethanol/refs.html Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ >-----Original Message----- >From: Keith Addison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 11:11 AM >To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com >Subject: Re: [biofuel] Water vs Energy Importance > > >Hi Derek > > >Keith, > > > >Not to belittle your concern about water, its importance, and the >likelihood > >of wars being fought over it, but I still tend to feel that energy in one > >form or another is of utmost importance. > <snip> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! 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