Hi MM, Olivier >Methanol... "wood alcohol" ....is arguably something that can be >derived as a biofuel even if present-day manufacturing is often from >fossil fuels.
Certainly it can be a biofuel, and indeed still is, in part, that fraction that's not made from "natural" gas, anyway - though weho knows what the fossil-fuel inputs are for the process itself. In the old days it was made from wood and wood-wastes by destructive distillation, even on quite a small scale, AFAIK, and quite possibly it's still done that way in some places, I have heard tell of such things. Anyway, a lot of more recent work has been going into new enzymes and new processes, with promising results so far. Walt Patrick gave us a run-down on this in previous messages. http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/BIOFUEL/29796/ To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com From: Walt Patrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 20:56:04 -0800 Subject: Re: [biofuel] New catalysis/methanol http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/BIOFUEL/30149/ To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com From: Walt Patrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 09:03:57 -0800 Subject: [biofuel] working on the methanol part http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/BIOFUEL/31310/ To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com From: Walt Patrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 14:15:24 -0800 Subject: Re: [biofuel] Methanol "As you can imagine, we're pretty excited about these developments which we believe allow us to start down the road of building a micro-reactor for producing quantities of methanol sufficient to meet our automotive needs." >Thx for this article. I think/hope we are getting closer and closer >to trying such a device in public. I'm a little concerned about >Methanol's hazardous health effects if distributed so widely as an >everyday chemical for billions of people to use. It is already distributed widely for millions of people to use, if not billions. Methanol is the main or only ingredient in barbecue fuel or fondue fuel, sold in supermarkets and chain stores as "stove fuel" and used at the dinner table; it's also the main ingredient in the fuel kids use in their model aero engines. We should get this in perspective: using these chemicals to make biodiesel is perfectly safe if you're careful and sensible. "Sensible" also mean not over-reacting, as some people do: be careful with these chemicals -- with ALL chemicals -- but there's no need to be frightened of them. Best wishes Keith >The thing with DMFC is the high-power isn't there. So, I don't think >you see attempts at it too often in vehicular fuel cells, but you do >see it with these low-power-requirement devices. > >If you do see DMFC with vehicles, maybe it's with a higher-power >device, such as a battery or other technology, that can overcome the >lack of high power delivery (e.g.: low wattage)? > >On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 20:53:34 +0545, you wrote: > > >Not really a biofuel but I found it interesting. > > > >http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=4845 > > > >Exctract: > >Japan, Mar 5, 2003 - (JCN Newswire) - Toshiba Corporation today >announced the world's first prototype of a small form factor direct >methanol fuel cell (DMFC) for portable PCs, a clean energy >breakthrough with the potential to end reliance on rechargeable >batteries. The new fuel cell currently realizes average output of >12W and maximum output of 20W, and can achieve approximately five >hours of operation with a single cartridge of fuel. It provides >instant power supply, and achieves significant advances in operating >times with replaceable methanol cartridges. > > > >Toshiba will present the DMFC at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany from >March 12 to 19. > >etc .... > > > >Olivier ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
