Earthrace: biodiesel power craft to circumnavigate Earth

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earth_bound_misfit

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I wasn't sure which forum to post this in. This craft is on a mission and it is a Launch, so I guess this forum is a good as spot as any <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> (Mods, feel free to move it to a new home if necessary).<br /><br />This is a very cool looking, environmentally friendly boat,which is designed to punch thru waves instead of going over them.<br />I wish the crew a great trip!<br /><br />[Snip]Earthrace is a bid to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat, and using only renewable fuels. The program includes an 18-month tour calling at 60 of the worlds great cities, promoting fuels like biodiesel, and raising awareness about sustainable use of resources.<br /><br />Circumnavigating the globe represents the pinnacle of powerboat challenges, and at 24,000 nautical miles, is also the world's longest race. The current record of 75 days was set by British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998.<br /><br />The Earthrace aims to smash this record by completing the voyage in less than 65 days, and will mark the first time in history that an official UIM Powerboat record will be attempted using renewable fuel.<br /><br />The Earthrace will be the highest-profile powerboat in the world, as well as one of the greenest. It is a showcase of environmentally firendly technologies such as low-emmission engines, non-toxic antfoul and efficient hull design. It is also one of the coolest looking boats ever imagined.[/snip]<br /><br />Read up on their website here <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Wanna see this site looking like the old SDC uplink?</p><p>Go here to see how: <strong>SDC Eye saver </strong>  </p> </div>
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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I'm wishing them the best. One of the reasons I've been too busy to post much is because of the work I'm doing in my own Biodiesel activities. I think it's the best way to power our transportation industry. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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nibb31

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Biodiesel is cool but there is not enough land on Earth to produce enough Biodiesel to replace even 10% of our oil.
 
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tomnackid

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Biodiesel can be made from plants that can grow in areas unsuitable for food crops. There are many species of algae that are up to 50% oil and can be grown in salt water.<br /><br />This is from an paper by the University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Research Group:<br /><br />"To put that in perspective, consider that the Sonora desert in the southwestern US comprises 120,000 square miles. Enough biodiesel to replace all petroleum transportation fuels could be grown in 15,000 square miles, or roughly 12.5 percent of the area of the Sonora desert (note for clarification - I am not advocating putting 15,000 square miles of algae ponds in the Sonora desert. This hypothetical example is used strictly for the purpose of showing the scale of land required). That 15,000 square miles works out to roughly 9.5 million acres - far less than the 450 million acres currently used for crop farming in the US, and the over 500 million acres used as grazing land for farm animals. "<br /><br />So finding enough land to grow biodiesel feedstock is far from being a show-stopper. However this only looks at biodiesel replacing gasoline and petroleum diesel, not oil used for electricity production and home heating. Also you need to ad recycling to the picture. Most vegetable oil that is no longer fit for human consumption is just fine as biodiesel feedstock.
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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<font color="yellow">However this only looks at biodiesel replacing gasoline and petroleum diesel, not oil used for electricity production and home heating. Also you need to ad recycling to the picture. </font><br /><br />Actually when we use coal as our fixed location fuel source, like for an electrical powerplant, up to 85% of the CO2 released by the combustion of that coal has been transformed back into biodiesel hydrocarbons just by bubbling it up through algae ponds(bioreactors). We can be clean and green, and free of imported oil in a very short period of time. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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josh_simonson

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I grow plants in my aquarium and I pump CO2 into it as fertilizer for the plants. They bubble oxygen like crazy and put out tremendous growth. Still, it takes nearly a year to empty a 5lb co2 cylender with a 55g tank and 200W of light.
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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Growth rates of 50 grams per day per sq. meter are typical of some forms of high lipid content algae. That comes out to about 50 gallons of diesel fuel per acre per week....and that's from a simple open pond. There are bioreactors that increase that by a large amount. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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john_316

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What is the enviromental impact on these Algae ponds guys?<br /><br />I mean if I have an algae pond like that near my house is it safe to live near it? Is it even safe to touch the algae in the pond or bioreactor? <br /><br />Just my personal questions on this....<br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />
 
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egom

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Should be fine to live near those ponds...<br /><br />Or to touch the algae...<br /><br />EgoM
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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These algae ponds are perfectly safe. The only environmental concern would be the introduction of "non-native" species of algae into an eco system. Thats why the NRAL study looked at several thousand species, to find the ones that are both "native" and high lipid producers. For me in Florida there are several specoes of "Brown" algae that will be native, robust, and should be highly productive. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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tomnackid

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The U. of New Hampshire studied mentioned that a salt water pond, especially in areas of intense sunlight, would be prone to evaporation and salt build up. There are ways around this problem. For example in coastal areas canals or pipelines to open ocean could circulate sea water to prevent evaporation and mineral build up. It ads some complexity, but still not a show stopper.
 
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nacnud

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Could you cover the pool some how and collect the fresh water being evaporated?
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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<font color="yellow">Could you cover the pool some how and collect the fresh water being evaporated?</font><br /><br />Yes, but it adds to the cost. It's easier just to flush the saltwater with additional saltwater. The main reason salt water was being evaluated in the NRAL project is because we have a lot of "useless" land because the groundwater in salty. This is why New Mexico was the test site......nothing else will grow there, and we might as well use it for something productive. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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nacnud

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I was thinking that a lot of land and sun would be needed, for low land costs deserts are good, fresh water could be valuable in such areas, but I suspect you're right on the cost front.
 
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earth_bound_misfit

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This is all very interesting! Just when I thought Bio- Diesel was about cars driving around smelling like a Chinese takeaway.<br /><br />Probably this thread belongs in either the Technology or Environment. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Wanna see this site looking like the old SDC uplink?</p><p>Go here to see how: <strong>SDC Eye saver </strong>  </p> </div>
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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Nac-<br />The problem with the New Mexico site had to do with two things(the study only talks about one, but I suspect another) First is the temperature of New Mexico. It gets really cold at night, and the growth rate drops off to about 10-20 grams per day per meter at the cold temps. The second, and I could be wrong, is the altitude. The site was almost 4,000 ft high. The air was too thin to keep the water pressurized enough to hold a lot of CO2. The more pressure on water, the more gas it can hold. That's just my guess, and I could be flat on my butt wrong. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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Israel has had on ongoing fuel-algae program, too. The Japanese are using bioreactors in theirs with powerfull grow lights. <br /><br />*EDIT*<br />That NRAL report goes into a few details on each of them. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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john_316

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Oh so we aren't the only ones researching this?<br /><br />So how long would it to take to build one of these so called farms and have it up and running to produce the algae and fuel from the it?<br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br />
 
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rocketwatcher2001

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Probably 10 years.....that's just a guess. Ideally, you'll have a coal fired powerplant, surrounded by about a half-mile algae pond. The one I want to build for myself is going to be surounded by a Lister type engine powering a 10-15kw generator head. That should meet my power needs while I live off the grid. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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