Here are some bits of information you may have missed over the holiday period.
Late last year there was a story, one that you may have heard before, experimenting with plants engineered for bio fuel to power engines, instead of using conventional methods like petrol and diesel.
Alternative fuels are fuels that can reduce the amount of the dominant fuel required by blending with petrol- derived fuels. There are many applications on the farm where other blended fuels can be used in farm machinery.
In the past this column has dealt with sugar cane residue and how it’s being trialed as a power source.
Isis sugar mills are experimenting with something we all know about, Algae, that green slimy stuff that sometimes grow in still water areas and lakes and ponds. Maybe if enough is grown intentionally then it could be transformed into a food source and might also be also used to power your car.
Now before you say “yuck”, think about all the chemicals that now go into our food and facial products as well and as your own medications. And even toothpaste!
Unlike other bio fuel crops , algae doesn’t compete with other food stocks. One day you might be able to go to the fuel pump for your bio-diesel made from Algae.
Now BHP are trialing Hydro treated vegetable oil (HVO) to help power mining equipment at its Yandi iron ore operations in Western Australia. Alternative fuels are being used in trucks and other mining equipment over a three month trial period. Electric powered trucks are their main focus for the greener future of these mines.
Those evergreen plants that some people often get into strife with the law, ‘Hemp’ if grown as a bio fuel foodstock could play a part in our fuel of the future. Both bio fuel and ethanol can be made from grains and sugar cane, normally grown for consumption and can be blended with petrol for our transport needs.
Hemp seed when grown as a bio fuel feed stock is comprised of around 30%-35% oil by weight, giving about 780 litres per hectare, while hydrogen cell vehicles is another source of power currently used in some cars made today, competing with regular petrol, diesel and electric models.
In New Zealand, international experts are looking at ways of converting coal-fuelled power stations over to biomass. The trial is using ‘torrified’ biomass sourced from Canada. During torrefaction, wood residue is heated slowly without oxygen to between 200 – 300 degrees centigrade and made into pellets. This process creates a solid uniform product with lower moisture and 30% more energy and less than 10% of the emissions than coal.
British Airways have been investigating alternative fuels and trying to improve fuel efficiency since 1990, however this is a very slow process, but their parent company ‘IAG’ have committed to powering 10% of their flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
Many companies are seeking to do the right thing by our planet, however this is not always an easy task and may take many years to reach an acceptable level.
Till next week.
