Sneak-Peek at “Fuel from Thin Air”: Joule Biotechnologies and Its “Game-Changing Technology”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …In the Joule technology, biomass is not used as an intermediate. Via a solar converter unit, the microorganism obtains carbon and oxygen by fixing atmospheric CO2 or utilizing direct fed waste CO2, and obtains hydrogen from water at a rate of two gallons of water consumption per gallon of fuel produced – however, brackish, non-potable water is sufficient.
What is a solar converter – think closed photobioreactor without the biomass. Like a bioreactor, there are microorganisms, water and a nutrient package (think nitrogen, for one). In this case, however, the purpose of the PBR is not to produce biomass as an intermediate which can be converted to fuel, but rather to directly produce fuel.
…Sims confirmed that the company will initially target diesel with its as-yet publicly unidentified microorganism, although the company has the capability of producing renewable jet-A and JP-8 fuel in the future. “Gasoline is not in our development path,” Sims explained, although he confirmed that the company’s internal testing has yielded a dozen fuels and chemicals to date.
…By 2012, the company expects that it will be ready to start implementation of its first commercial-scale facility, with a size in the 500-5000 acre range. READ MORE
