"""The firm is also working on a new demonstration facility capable of producing 2m gallons of auto fuel and 1m gallons of jet fuel each year."""
I don't know why all the bio-fuel plants feel the need to publicize their capacity in gallons, when every other liquid petroleum facility measures their capacity in barrels. I suppose it's because they get numbers that are a factor of 42 more impressive. Chevron's El Segundo Refinery can process 279,000 barrels per day, which is 11.7m gallons. Per day.
@Alexander 3:
Oil power plants are so rare that you might as well not worry about finding alternate fuel sources for them. Oil is far more expensive than coal, and if someone is looking to make a cleaner-burning power plant, they normally go with natural gas.
Actually those modern, small diesel engines that are showing up lately have efficiencies in the mid 30% range, and 40% is the top end efficiency for a new coal or single-stage natural gas plant. Most power plants are not new, and would be uneconomical to upgrade, which means that the average fossil fuel power plant (In the states) is normally quoted in the 30-35% range.
The electric motors used in a hybrid, on the other hand, can convert electrical to mechanical energy and back at nearly 100% efficiency, while battery energy losses tend to vary. When batteries charge or discharge rapidly, their internal resistance causes them to waste energy as heat. Everyone tends to keep their battery technology details secret or vague, but as best as I've been able to figure, modern batteries probably only contribute a loss on the order of 5%.
It sounds like they want to grow this stuff in the desert - I wonder how much it costs to supply all the water they'll need out there. Presumably the pools are covered with greenhouse glass, which presumably also needs to be cleaned as the desert sand/dust/wind take their toll.
Register
Hmm...
"""The firm is also working on a new demonstration facility capable of producing 2m gallons of auto fuel and 1m gallons of jet fuel each year."""
I don't know why all the bio-fuel plants feel the need to publicize their capacity in gallons, when every other liquid petroleum facility measures their capacity in barrels. I suppose it's because they get numbers that are a factor of 42 more impressive. Chevron's El Segundo Refinery can process 279,000 barrels per day, which is 11.7m gallons. Per day.
@Alexander 3:
Oil power plants are so rare that you might as well not worry about finding alternate fuel sources for them. Oil is far more expensive than coal, and if someone is looking to make a cleaner-burning power plant, they normally go with natural gas.
See: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/diagram5.html
@ElReg!comments!Pierre:
Actually those modern, small diesel engines that are showing up lately have efficiencies in the mid 30% range, and 40% is the top end efficiency for a new coal or single-stage natural gas plant. Most power plants are not new, and would be uneconomical to upgrade, which means that the average fossil fuel power plant (In the states) is normally quoted in the 30-35% range.
The electric motors used in a hybrid, on the other hand, can convert electrical to mechanical energy and back at nearly 100% efficiency, while battery energy losses tend to vary. When batteries charge or discharge rapidly, their internal resistance causes them to waste energy as heat. Everyone tends to keep their battery technology details secret or vague, but as best as I've been able to figure, modern batteries probably only contribute a loss on the order of 5%.
It sounds like they want to grow this stuff in the desert - I wonder how much it costs to supply all the water they'll need out there. Presumably the pools are covered with greenhouse glass, which presumably also needs to be cleaned as the desert sand/dust/wind take their toll.