Posted on 03/10/2008 5:42:02 AM PDT by Red Badger
Abstract:
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for producing alkyl esters from lipid feed stocks, such as plant oils and/or animal fats, and systems including the same. In an embodiment, the invention includes a process for producing alkyl esters including mixing a lipid feed stock with an alcohol to form a reaction mixture; and contacting the reaction mixture with a catalyst under supercritical conditions for the alcohol, the catalyst comprising an unmodified metal oxide selected from the group consisting of alumina, titania, zirconia, and hafnia, and removing residual free fatty acids from the reaction mixture. Other embodiments are included herein.
My take (warning: I'm not a chemist): Doesn't seem like an overly complex or hazardous process to implement. Reactor pressure is around 1000 psi, and temperature is a few hundred °C, niether of which are particularly high. The materials involved are not particularly hazardous. Sounds like a lot of other articles on catalytic fuel processing that I've scanned over the years.
The U.S. Geological Survey is going to attempt in the near term to recalculate the oil potential of the Williston Basin, which includes the Bakken Formation within it.
^ Saint Paul Pioneer Press, December 9th, 2007
Do students have to sign Invention and Secrecy Agreements? Yes, there are Shop Rights anywhere. However, Shop Rights convey ownership, not credit.
Someone conceals or fails to list a contributor at their peril. These things have a way of getting really ugly in the future. Suppose they make bilions with the technology? Here is a Press Release telling of the kid who got it rolling, a public record. Somewhere down the road the kid will come back with some Monster law firm like F&R.
If they invoke Shop Rights, and they give him a crisp Dollar Bill, as with most places, they can keep the rest, and he still gets some recognition.
I worked at a company that failed to list a contributor. The guy helped at an early phase of a program, and left due to a substance abuse problem. He ended up living in a shelter. He was simply forgotten.
Years later, a patent issued, and the patent was included in an IPO.
Guess What happened.
"If but for the neglected credit, he would not be a bum today". It cost us a LOT.
Consider that being recognized for making a contribution could be a great addition to the kid's resume, and before he even graduated. It would not cost them.
bookmark
"McBergan" would have been easier to pronounce. These guys need marketing help.
Yes, but isn’t Professor Gyberg an employee of Augsburg, and he is listed on the patent? This happens often in the academic world, where a professor takes the major credit for the work of a student, usually a graduate student. This is far worse than plagiarism, but is accepted in their culture. The only reason Brian is now getting credit, is that Augsburg sees a PR opportunity.
It sounds like he’s doing oil/alcohol esterification with methods normally used for carboxylic acid/alcohol esterification. I never thought one would work for the other. Interesting.
What you mean ALCOHOL ESTHER-IFICATION, you heathen!..............
Hehehehe, kind of poetic isn’t it?
“This happens often in the academic world”
That’s why I posted! It happened to me! I designed a grade school as an assignment in architectural school. My design was sent to an engineering firm for refinement, and was actually built a year later. I never received even one mention, nor thank you.
Why do you think all those lobbyists work for McCain.
The only thing Chavez and his terrorist buddies are accomplishing with their threats to the oil supply is the slitting of their own throats economically. There are many, many promising alternative energy technologies that are now getting attention they wouldn’t have gotten while petroleum was still cheap. The day is soon coming when we can smile at the OPEC nations and tell them where to stick their oil.
I saw a program on CNN called Scorched earth. anyway the reporter went into great detail about how ethonal is not the savior the greenies think. He talked about the whole operation being subsidized,the lower milage, the fact that it takes 20% more energy to create it and of course they use coal to create it. He didnt say that it also takes a good food source out the mouths of hungry people around the world. Oh yeah and if we used every bit of corn to make ethonal it would account for 7% of our energy needs. I cant believe cnn ran this.
This deserves it’s own thread but I can’t find the new thread button.
Highest Density Fuel Cell: Violet Fuel Cell Stick
SAN DIEGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Today, green high-tech venture VioletTM Fuel Cell SticksTM www.violetfuelcellsticks.com announces it has achieved an extremely high, 15KW/Liter cell density with their Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) StickTM
This would burn any fuel including biodiesel and would be about 50% more efficient than the best diesel engine.
That's OK. Al Gore has been buying CO2. He can supply it from his vendors. (Did I get this right about carbon credits or am I confused? Somebody help me.)
The diagram is the same as far as I can see as the diagram for the normal biodiesel conversion process. I suspect that the difference is in the catalyst. But they don’t tell you what the catalyst is.
Finally, perhaps there is a use for all the leaves that fall in my yard, aside from filling in the swamp...eh, wetland out back.
...you can do that in New England as well. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if it has anything to do with the ethanol scam, but I have never seen as much corn planted around Fort Devens as there was last summer. Even former unused fields are growing it now.
Thermal Depolymerization can turn all of that back into oil for use in cars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.