{"id":2669,"date":"2011-02-01T10:47:16","date_gmt":"2011-02-01T17:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=2669"},"modified":"2011-02-01T11:09:32","modified_gmt":"2011-02-01T18:09:32","slug":"genomics-and-sunlight-equal-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/genomics-and-sunlight-equal-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Genomics and Sunlight Equal Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"
AvWeb.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/a>has turned a moderately skeptical eye on a new energy development that would sound too good to be true if it weren\u2019t for the prominent names involved.\u00a0 John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff, is on the Board of Directors \u2013 and even more convincing, George Church, sequencer of the human genome, is a founder of and science advisor to the firm,<\/span> Joul<\/a><\/span><\/span>e Unlimited<\/a>, Inc. <\/em><\/div>\n

Their web site has more registered trademarks than Burger King*, including Liquid Fuel from the Sun\u2122, Helioculture\u2122, SolarConverter\u2122, and direct-to-end-product\u2122.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Joule\u2019s technology promises Diesel or ethanol liquid fuels in huge amounts, using \u201cproprietary organisms\u201d to directly convert CO2 <\/sub>struck by sunlight into replacements for existing fossil fuels.\u00a0 According to Joule, \u201cOur technology has already been proven with the direct conversion of CO2<\/sub> to liquid hydrocarbons and ethanol, avoiding the economic and environmental burden of multi-step, petroleum- or biomass-dependent methods.\u201d\u00a0 Claiming \u201ccommercial-ready\u201d status, Joule says its interconnected components are \u201cscalable and customizable to any desired output levels based on land and CO2<\/sub> availability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joule Unlimited's depiction of their direct-to-end-product process<\/p><\/div>\n

Promoting an \u201cecologically smart method,\u201d \u201c<\/em>Joule’s production process avoids the depletion of precious natural resources, with no dependency on agricultural land, crops or fresh water. At the same time, an independently-conducted lifecycle analysis shows that, through our intake of waste CO2<\/sub>, we have the potential to reduce harmful carbon emissions on a large scale \u2013<\/strong> up to 90% in some instances.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Organisms used in the system are designed to work only in the closed system,\u00a0with their inadvertent release into the outside environment leading to their swift and harmless (to other living things) demise.<\/p>\n

George Church\u2019s <\/a>background as creator of the first direct genomic sequencing method, innovations in DNA reading, and other highly complex studies lends credibility to the organization and its rather incredible goals, including production of up to 15,000 gallons of Diesel fuel or 25,000 gallons of ethanol per year per acre.\u00a0 If production did achieve the 50X efficiencies of biofuel production and lead to $30 per barrel fuel, we might see a return to $1.50 per gallon gasoline.<\/p>\n

As always, exercise caution in evaluating such ventures.\u00a0 Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n

*The hamburger chain actually registered \u201cHave it your way,\u201d taking a long-time argument-ender out of the public domain.<\/em><\/p>\n