Cargill propels shipping forward with largest kite-powered vessel

Cargill has signed an agreement with SkySails GmbH & Co. KG (SkySails) to use wind power technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. SkySails, based in Hamburg, has developed innovative, patented technology that uses a kite which flies ahead of the vessel and generates enough propulsion to reduce consumption of bunker fuel by up to 35 percent in ideal sailing conditions.

Next December Cargill will install the 320m2 kite on a handysize vessel of between 25,000 and 30,000 deadweight tonnes, which the company has on long-term charter, making it the largest vessel propelled by a kite in the world. Cargill and SkySails aim to have the system fully operational in the first quarter of 2012. Cargill is currently helping SkySails develop and test the technology and has identified a ship-owner – supportive of environmental stewardship in the industry – with whom it will partner on the project.

The SkySails kite will be connected to the ship by rope and is computer-controlled by an automatic pod to maximise the wind benefits. The kite functions at a height of between 100 to 420 metres and flies in a figure of eight formation. The SkySails system is automated and requires only minimal action by the crew. An automatic control system steers the kite and adjusts its flight path. All information related to the system's operation is displayed on the monitor of the SkySails' workstation on the ship's bridge.

"For some time, we have been searching for a project that can help drive environmental best practice within the shipping industry and see this as a meaningful first step", said G.J. van den Akker, head of Cargill's ocean transportation business. "The shipping industry currently supports 90 percent of the world's international physical trade. In a world of finite resources, environmental stewardship makes good business sense. As one of the world's largest charterers of dry bulk freight, we take this commitment extremely seriously. In addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the SkySails technology aims to significantly reduce fuel consumption and costs. We are very impressed with the technology and see its installation on one of our chartered ships as the first part of an ongoing, long-term partnership."

"We are delighted that Cargill is the first company to embrace our technology on a vessel this large as part of its commitment to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry", said Stephan Wrage, managing director of SkySails. "We are excited that our technology will shortly be used on a handysize vessel for the first time and see great potential to incorporate it on larger ships in the future."

According to a United Nations (International Maritime Organisation) study, up to 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) could be saved every year by the broad application of the SkySails' technology on the world merchant fleet. This figure would equate to 11 percent of the CO2 emissions of Germany.

Cargill is a significant global transporter of agricultural, energy and industrial commodities. Although the company does not today own or operate ships, its ocean transportation business ships more than 185 million tonnes of commodities each year, in the process connecting supply from areas of surplus with demand in areas of deficit.

2010 Gasoline Consumption

Update : 2012 Gasoline Consumption

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the 2010 fuel consumption numbers recently. With these numbers we can see what the total amount of gasoline consumed for 2010 was. The number that the EIA reports for Finished Motor Gasoline includes all the ethanol blended into the gasoline supply. By subtracting out the ethanol we can see how ethanol is adding to the fuel supply and the extent to which the portion of gasoline derived from petroleum is being displaced.

Finished Motor Gasoline

2010 - 3,282,319,000 barrels x 42 = 137,857,398,000 gallons
2009 - 3,283,730,000 barrels x 42 = 137,916,660,000 gallons
2008 - 3,290,057,000 barrels x 42 = 138,182,394,000 gallons
2007 - 3,389,269,000 barrels x 42 = 142,349,298,000 gallons
2006 - 3,377,174,000 barrels x 42 = 141,841,308,000 gallons
2005 - 3,343,131,000 barrels x 42 = 140,411,502,000 gallons
2004 - 3,332,579,000 barrels x 42 = 139,968,318,000 gallons
2003 - 3,261,237,000 barrels x 42 = 136,971,954,000 gallons
2002 - 3,229,459,000 barrels x 42 = 135,637,278,000 gallons

After years of steady increases the amount of Finished Motor Gasoline consumed peaked in 2007.

The number that the EIA provides for Finished Motor Gasoline includes all the ethanol blended into the gasoline supply. So to get the number for just the amount of gasoline derived from petroleum that is consumed, the ethanol needs to be subtracted out.

Ethanol Used : Domestic Production + Imports - Exports

2010 - 12,915,084,000 gallons
2009 - 11,143,272,000 gallons
2008 - 9,838,374,000 gallons
2007 - 6,960,240,000 gallons
2006 - 5,615,484,000 gallons
2005 - 4,040,190,000 gallons
2004 - 3,551,142,000 gallons
2003 - 2,816,688,000 gallons
2002 - 2,153,004,000 gallons

In years past, ethanol exports were such a small number that they were never factored in. But in 2010 exports rose considerably, so the 2010 number includes subtracting out the exports.

Gasoline Used : Finished Motor Gasoline - Ethanol

2010 - 124,942,314,000 gallons
2009 - 126,773,388,000 gallons
2008 - 128,344,020,000 gallons
2007 - 135,389,058,000 gallons
2006 - 136,225,824,000 gallons
2005 - 136,371,312,000 gallons
2004 - 136,417,176,000 gallons
2003 - 134,155,266,000 gallons
2002 - 133,484,274,000 gallons

The amount of Finished Motor Gasoline consumed that is derived from petroleum peaked in 2004 and has been in steady decline ever since.

Updated : December 4, 2013

Source : Energy Information Administration

Update : 2012 Gasoline Consumption 

December 2010 Ethanol Production Increases

December ethanol production declined slightly to 918,000 barrels per day, down from 925,000 barrels per day in November. Total production for the month was slightly higher at 1,195,194,000 gallons, up from 1,165,290,000 gallons in November. The reason that daily production is lower while overall production is higher is due to December having 31 days and November having 30 days.

Source : Energy Information Administration

POET Cloverdale Ethanol Plant Schedules Grand Opening

POET will hold a Grand Opening on Tuesday, March 15 for its 27th ethanol plant, POET Biorefining -- Cloverdale, a 90 million gallon-per-year grain ethanol plant near Cloverdale, Ind. The plant's opening will put Indiana's total ethanol production above the state's goal of 1 billion gallons.

POET purchased POET Biorefining - Cloverdale in 2010 and is now completing approximately $30 million in upgrades including BPX, POET's patented fermentation process that uses enzymes instead of heat, reducing energy costs. The plant also has a water recovery system and new pollution control equipment. It will employ more than 40 local team members upon startup.

The event will feature public tours and a program with keynote speakers POET CEO Jeff Broin, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. Lunch will be provided. Media and the public are welcome to attend.

Schedule of events:
9:30 -- 10:45 a.m. Public tours
11:00 a.m. -- noon Speaking program
Noon -- 1:30 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. -- 2:30 p.m. Public tours

Source : POET Press Release

W2 Energy Begins Construction Of Biobutanol Reactor

W2 Energy, Inc. today announced that it has begun construction on a biobutanol reactor.

Currently, biobutanol is commercially produced from petroleum. W2 Energy can make biobutanol simply by modifying its SunFilter Algae Reactor to grow a mixture of 60% biobutanol, 30% acetone and 10% ethanol.

W2 Energy will grow these alcohols in a modified SunFilter which has been seeded with the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum rather than with algae. The Clostridium bacteria will grow on the syngas produced by the NT Plasmatron rather than the SunFilter's combination of air and carbon dioxide. W2 Energy will build the biobutanol reactor with glass tubes rather than the current SunFilter's acrylic tubes, because the Clostridium bacteria can damage acrylic.

In addition to its potential as a transportation fuel, biobutanol is a popular industrial product with a worldwide market of approximately 350 million gallons per year and a price approaching $4 per gallon, yielding an aggregate worldwide sales figure of more than $1 billion. Biobutanol is used in commercial products ranging from paint to cupcakes.

"Biobutanol may become one of the transportation fuels of the future, and it already has a robust worldwide market for a variety of industrial uses," says Mike McLaren, President and CEO of W2 Energy. "Making biobutanol with our existing technology is a recipe for success."