Another Journalist Fails Due Diligence 101

I have had a number of people ask me about the E-Fuel MicroFueler, so at one point I did a bit of investigating. It is essentially a small still, but apparently has a fermentation capability if the feedstock contains sugar. However, they stress that it works best with wastes that contain alcohols (which a still would simply clean up) and they say in their FAQ that “under most circumstances consumers will contract with their dealer to service the MicroFueler and maintain a regular delivery and supply of feedstock.” What that means to me is that they will send you spoiled beer or wine, and the person who failed Economics 101 and bought one of these can then use electricity to turn the feedstock into alcohol. They can then tell those Arabs that they don’t need their stinking oil.

The unit lists for 10 grand, but they claim the government will gladly pitch in half the cost. I can’t tell you how pleased I am at the thought that the government is making such good use of my tax dollars.

They are also setting themselves up for a lawsuit when someone puts too much ethanol in their vehicle and damages the engine. Their website highlights a study suggesting that the optimal blend for an auto may be E20 or E30.

But today, a journalist who has absolutely no business writing about something like this wrote a very misleading story on the unit. And the reason the story is so misleading is that the journalist was completely out of her element and couldn’t tell how badly she was being duped. Yet it ended up in the Business Section of the L.A. Times:

Making fuel at home: Waste wine primes the pump

The subtitle states: “The MicroFueler makes ethanol out of organic waste in minutes. It can be installed at individual homes, and companies are eager to supply owners with garbage.”

There is so much wrong in this story, but I am going to focus on some choice excerpts:

It sounds too good to be true:

She could have stopped right there and applied the first rule of Due Diligence 101. It is easy to fool people when they are outside of their area of expertise. If she is not qualified to ask the right questions, then if it sounds too good to be true she probably should have dropped the story or pulled in an expert for an opinion. But alas, she continued:

The problem with ethanol, [inventor and CEO Tom] Quinn said, was energy inefficiency — not only in the carbon cost of growing, harvesting and transporting the corn that was used to make it, but also in the distillation process that turned it into usable fuel.

Yet ironically this system works best with waste ethanol that was produced using corn, and will be cleaned up with a distillation process that will be less energy efficient than the ones in full-scale ethanol plants.

“In the U.S. alone, more than 100 billion gallons of organic fuel is thrown out,” said Quinn, who reached out to ethanol scientist Floyd Butterfield to see if they could collaborate on a system that could make ethanol in a manner that was cost effective and better for the environment.

I would like to see a source for that. I do not believe it. Our gasoline demand is around 140 billion gallons per year right now, and I am to believe that we throw away an amount equivalent to over 70% of what we actually use? And I guess that would be this Floyd Butterfield? At the link Floyd tells the tale of having converted a truck to run off of pure ethanol. Once when he was running out of ethanol and wasn’t going to be able to make it home, he stopped and put 3 gallons of water in and drove the rest of the way home. This is great news, because the MicroFueler produces ethanol with 5% water.

As they say on their technology page, “E-Fuel scientists have experimented with multiple blends of ethanol and water and have determined, contrary to conventional wisdom, small amounts of water improve the efficiency of burning ethanol.” It occurs to me that they should sell this research to the government and the ethanol industry, which is currently spending lots of money to get that last 5% of water out.

Here is where the ignorance of the journalist starts to show badly:

The idea was to use organic waste rather than corn to make a product known as cellulosic ethanol. Although Quinn’s MicroFueler is most effective with wastes that are high in alcohol, ethanol “can be made out of any waste — lawn clippings, dairy products, old chemicals, cardboard, paper, bruised and discarded apples from the grocery store. It can be fermented and turned into fuel in minutes,” Quinn said.

First of all, this unit does not make cellulosic ethanol. To suggest or imply that it does is simply false. In fact, here is what they have on their website:

To further simplify the E-Fuel100 ethanol production for consumers, the MicroFueler supports a variety of organic waste as fuel (among them are discarded liquids rich in sugar, waste sugar, liquids with residual alcohol, cellulosic materials** and even algae**).

At the bottom of the page, we see this: **Additional processing outside of the MicroFueler may be required. May be? So you are telling me that I might be able to throw cellulosic materials or algae into this thing and get ethanol from those feedstocks? Well, all I can say is prepare to be sued for fraud.

So far, only one MicroFueler is up and running. It was installed in late June at the Pacific Palisades home of Chris Ursitti, CEO of GreenHouse International Inc., the San Diego firm that is distributing the units and supplying feedstock to those who install MicroFuelers at their homes.

Once you get a few more units out there, you better line up some good lawyers. You are certainly going to be sued for false advertising.

GreenHouse has contracts with Karl Strauss Brewing Co., Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. and Sunny Delight Beverages Co. to convert 29,000 tons of their liquid waste using MicroFuelers.

Though Ursitti is the only one now using the system, the plan is for a tanker truck to pick up the companies’ waste and deliver it to home-based MicroFuelers, which convert it to ethanol on site. MicroFueler owners are charged $2 a gallon once they pump out the fuel.

So, let’s get this straight. A brewing company has a bunch of liquid waste that contains alcohol. They aren’t going to clean up this waste themselves and recover the alcohol. Instead, they are going to put it in a tanker truck and haul that waste to people’s houses and dump it in their MicroFuelers. The owner of the MicroFueler, having paid $10K to buy one of these things, is now going to pay for the electricity and then pay another $2 a gallon for the finished product. They are then going to put it into their vehicle, hopefully in proportions that don’t ruin their cars. Wow.

Again, the journalist makes a patently false statement:

Converting expired beer and other liquid wastes into cellulosic ethanol takes minutes and uses three kilowatt-hours of electricity to produce one gallon of fuel.

How about some voodoo economics?

Factoring in the $5,000 federal tax credit, an annual household fuel consumption of 2,080 gallons and a $2 charge a gallon, GreenHouse estimates the average consumer payback time is about two years.

First off, they have just about doubled the annual household fuel consumption. There are an estimated 112 million households in the U.S., and our total gasoline consumption is about 140 billion gallons. That is 1,250 gallons of gasoline per household. But because of the lower energy density, I will have to replace that gasoline with around 1,800 gallons of ethanol (actually about 1,900 since it contains 5% water).

I am going to spend $5,000 on the unit since they assure me that I will get a $5,000 tax credit (hey, they haven’t steered me wrong yet, have they?) and I am going to pay $2/gallon plus electricity. So over the course of 2 years the average household would pay $5,000 (plus another $5,000 from the taxpayer) plus $3,800 (1,900 gallons at $2/gal) plus another $1710 of electricity (again, taking their word that it is only 3 kWh of electricity per gallon, and using $0.15/kWh) for 3,800 gallons of ethanol to replace 2,500 gallons of gasoline.

Today’s average retail price of gasoline is $2.64. So in two years an average household would pay $6,600 for gasoline. The total price over two years via this ethanol route (and I am assuming free feedstock and value for your labor) is $15,510. But if they are correct and we taxpayers get to kick in $5,000 (and why wouldn’t we for such a revolutionary invention?) then the cost is only $10,510. So much for a two-year payback. As I said, this is for those who failed Economics 101, and is being helped by a journalist who failed Due Diligence 101.

I will say that things have certainly changed a lot since Quinn and Butterfield were featured in the New York Times a year ago. At that time the unit was going to be fed sugar (which they were going to import from Mexico because of the cost), was going to cost only $1/gal, and when the alcohol was burned it was only going to produce 1/8th as much carbon as you would get from burning gasoline. Quinn was also certain that it would strike fear in the heart of the oil industry. Now a year later the unit prefers to be fed alcohol so it can produce alcohol, will cost $2/gal, and will produce almost as much carbon as one would produce from burning gasoline.

What a racket.

71 thoughts on “Another Journalist Fails Due Diligence 101”

  1. Here is what you don't understand Robert, when Shaq invests in something, he is not just throwing his money away. I'm sure he has some very smart financial advisors who know a little more than you do about business. In fact, it won't be long before he is the Bill Gates of the ethanol industry.

  2. Sugar is also food. Using food to make fuel will guarantee repeated, unpredictable, nature induced fuel supply disruptions (not to mention raise the cost of food) as witnessed here, here, and here.

    This Times article is another example of why newspapers have become obsolete.

    Biodiversivist

  3. Come on Robert! There are hundreds of articles about the e-fuel thingy and all compllementary!

    Now you rain on the parade! All the green sites have been excited about the thing. The governor even praises it and the Terminator can't be wrong can he?

    Please say it ain't so!

    Every week there is a new object of veneration for the greens. Maglev turbines from China, mini hydro kinetic turbines to drop into the river or canal etc, etc.

    Honest new tech startups are difficult, probably reaching a 95% plus failure rate. The 'object of the week' must have a 100% rate failure rate though. Then when you make a bad comment about them some fool writes "Don't be negative".

  4. Yep, corn is selling from the farm for about $0.05/lb.

    That means there must be, at least, $0.03 Worth of Corn in that 2 liter bottle of Coke in your refrigerator, and, Lord-Help-Us-All, $0.04 worth of Corn in your box of Corn Flakes.

    Care to guess how much it cost in Oil to Transport that 2 liter coke?

  5. I'm sitting here eating a bowl of Rufus' Deelish Homemade Chili.

    The serving probably has a bit less than 4 oz. of hamburger meat. Let's see, 2.6 lbs ($0.13) of Corn per Lb of Meat, so I'm looking at about Three and a quarter Cents of corn in my Chili.

    That could be up as much as 1/2 a Penny from what it would have cost back in the days when the American Taxpayer was Supporting Corn Prices to the Tune of Eight, or Nine Billion Dollars/Yr.

    Damn that Ethanol.

    By the way, a nutritious meal of Rufus Chili has Vitamins (tomatoes,) Carbohydrates (beans,) Protein (Meat,) and plenty of calories for an Afternoon's Work. For Less than $1.00/Serving.

    Man, how are we ever going to keep from starving?

    Oh, I know. We'll just continue sending all of our money to Saudi Arabia. They'll take care of us when we're old, and hungry. Don't you think?

  6. By the way, a nutritious meal of Rufus Chili has Vitamins (tomatoes,) Carbohydrates (beans,) Protein (Meat,) and plenty of calories for an Afternoon's Work. For Less than $1.00/Serving.

    plus produces a large amount of natural gas

  7. As a reporter who does a lot of science coverage, I heartily concur. Howlers like this are inconvenient truths for those who worship MSM journalism as some kind of sacrament: http://bit.ly/706G0

    And let's not forget who bears the most responsibility for letting this unicorn-power tripe get published: the editors.

  8. It is sad to see the Los Angeles Times business page become a laughing stock. Is anyone editing there? The business editor, and the writer shoul dbe encouraged to seek work elsewhere….

  9. Someone needs to provide a link to Robert's debunking for the benefit of the Green Car Congress enthusiasts.

  10. "Although Quinn's MicroFueler is most effective with wastes that are high in alcohol, ethanol "can be made out of any waste — lawn clippings, dairy products, old chemicals, cardboard, paper, bruised and discarded apples from the grocery store. It can be fermented and turned into fuel in minutes," Quinn said.'

    This is just sad. Oh yes, after mowing the lawn, just throw the grass in to magic box (Felix the Cat's Magic Bag, anyone?), get some ethanol, and it's off the races!

  11. Besides all the snake oil, that "old chemicals" bit is disturbing. A potentially explosive situation. If not, then perhaps a sugar-to-alcohol-microbe-killing situation.

  12. The only quibble here is that it is not another journalist, it is all journalists. Investigative journalism is dead. It is pathetic.

    For example, one story I read was repeated in many US papers. Aside from the flaw energy information, the author of one article that was repeated clearly flunked US geography in junior high. It was typically anti-American too. It is sad when American journalists can not even recognize communist propaganda. If the first story in the China Daily News, then it is a sure bet it is not a local news story.

  13. "We'll just continue sending all of our money to Saudi Arabia."

    Rufus, the US is running trade deficits with all sorts of places — China, Japan, Germany, Ireland (yes, Ireland!). Saudi is just another one on the list — and far from the biggest.

    If the US did not import one drop of oil, it would still be running an unsustainable trade deficit. Just another gift from our really smart Political Class, who think they are cleaning up the environment & improving energy efficiency by outsourcing all the jobs.

    That is the kind of issue business reporters should be focusing on!

  14. Kinu – your trade deficit with Ireland is mostly a legal scam on the part of your American manufacturers. We (Ireland) have a 12.5% corporation tax rate, which is normally discounted even further for new entrants and any manufacturer bringing R&D jobs can expect to pay no corporation tax for quite a number of years. With a traditionally well-educated English speaking work force, it started with software manufacturing in the 80s, continued with hi-tech fabrication and assembly (although many of those jobs have gone east as the Irish workforce tries to price itself out of existence) and in the 2000's pharmaceuticals were the big thing. Even with strongly increasing labour costs, US manafacturer's profits in Ireland doubled between 1999 and 2002 making it the most profitable country in the world for them. The simple fact is that it's more efficient to incur costs in the US, make profits in Ireland and avoid repatriating those funds.

    (It's not completely one-sided — I worked for one of those 80's manufacturers, but joined an indigenous Irish startup at the end of the decade which now employs many Americans in the US).

  15. Of course Microfueler is pure BS, and thanks RR for the details, but it's too bad the Governator does not have anyone knowledgeable about energy science on his staff. Note that he praised MicroFueler extensively and took the time to make a personal appearance and craft an inspiring speech to help these jokers role out the 2nd gen of their completely worthless product! Governor Delivers Remarks at Press Conference for E-Fuel's Revolutionary Fuel System That is pretty scary for a state uses more energy than most countries. If the product is so good, clearly the Governor should have the state agencies all buy one to evaluate so hapless CA taxpayers won't make the same mistake. And again, note that this success for MicroFueler was the result of a $40k PR campaign they used to get into the Governor's office, and probably Shaq's office too.
    E-Fuel brings its MicroFueler straight to Calif. Capitol steps

  16. Robert,

    Maybe the question is how many people truly get their information from sources like the L.A. Times Business pages.

    Eventually, this quality of infomation should bring about their own demise. I believe it will. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

  17. That says 30% up to $30,000.00

    Don't I remember something about that being raised to 50%?

    I'm building a li'l old moonshine still for myself. I need to figure out what my Tax Credit will be. I know I'll be able to claim the 46% "blender's Credit" on the ethanol I use in my own car.

    Waste Booze might be an interesting concept for an individual just wanting to run his own car.

  18. Big oil is backing algae. I think they like it,because it's scalable and limitless. Is there another biofuel that can say the same?

    "But after years of careful research ExxonMobil concluded that algae, among all the alternatives, has the most potential in terms of scalability and fitting into the vast infrastructure of existing refineries and filling stations. (It can also produce far more fuel per acre than palm, sugar cane, or corn.) Other big oil companies have recently invested into algae ventures as well, including Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell."

    http://tinyurl.com/lg9new

  19. Speaking of moonshine, I'd have to assume that the MicroFueler must have some kind of automatic 'denaturizing' step to keep the IRS / ATF folks from wanting to tax it at beverage alcohol rates? If not, the unit is a pretty handy dandy still that might make you very popular with your martini-loving neighbors . . . .
    Maybe the LA Times reporter will take this spanking to do a good story on all of the routine BS that is dished out by vendors with miracle technologies for alternative fuels. Or maybe RR can come up with a basic list of Qs for any reporter when they are writing on claims made by alt fuels vendors or researchers.

  20. Let's see, the CEO's claim to fame is the Wii controller and some other IT stuff. One VP has a degree in geophysics, the other in IT. Their website has information on the control system and how important it is to interface (for $10 per month) with E-Fueler's computer network. Now I'm seeing the picture. No need to study biology or chemistry or engineering. Information Technology is all you need to solve those pesky energy problems.

    Before I would give these jokers $10,000 I'd want one of these units sent to an independent lab or university to see if it really works.

  21. Maybe we can all pitch in and send this company a copy of Robert Bryce's new book: Power Hungry: Why Green Energy Can't Fulfill Our Insatiable Need for Horsepower when it comes out in March.

  22. OT, but in a similar vein: The New Yorker has an article this week on Tesla and its founder Elon Musk.
    Musk is quoted dismissing the GM-Volt, to the effect that after the 40-mile range on the battery is exhausted, the car is "pulled around" by a very small 4-cylinder motor.
    Of course, the GM Volt only uses the on-board motor to charge the battery. The battery is charged, and remains powerful.
    Either Musk is incredibly ill-informed, or the New Yorker reporter, or both. I canno timagine that Musk is so ill-informed, so I assume he was misquoted in a fundamental way.

    One interesting tidbit in the New Yorker story: In a throwaway sentence, the story says lithium batteries are improving by about 8 percent a year.
    I tried to some web-research on this, and it seems to be a rough consensus, but never is a soure revealed.
    I wonder if this is true? If so, curtains for fossil fuels and biofuels.
    In another nine years, lithium batteries will be twice as good as now, and they will make compelling –overiding– commercial sense. Are we all barking up the wrong tree here?

    Of course, there is no assurance that lithium batteries will consistently improve the way, say, that crop yields or computer power have, for generations.
    But if lithium batteries do consistently improve at an 8 percent rate, it is soon game over for OPEC.

    Any battery smarties out there? Can lithium batteries be expected to improve at an 8 percent annual rate?

    RR? Time for a post on this topic on rate of improvement for lithium batteries?

  23. Green Car Congress seems to have removed article item from their listings – the link still works but otherwise I didn't find it.

  24. Any battery smarties out there? Can lithium batteries be expected to improve at an 8 percent annual rate?
    ——————————
    Sure. And more…..

    The NiMh batteries I use in my digital camera are outdated. New batteries are more efficient by about 50%.

    John

  25. John-
    Yes, I know small lithium batteries are getting better all the time. But, can we expect another 20 years of improvements, or are we hitting a wall?

    Any good papers or blogs out there?

    My initial research suggests we are just getting started…many R&D centers looking at large improvements in lithium batteries.

    Still, the pojtn holds–if w can expect 8 percent annually compounded improvement in lithium batteries, then it is only years until it is game over for the fossil fuel industry.

  26. "One VP has a degree in geophysics"

    I noticed that the degree was a BA. Why would one get a BA in a science?

  27. As luck would have it,half the world's lithium reserves lie in Bolivia. There aren't any mines in Bolivia yet,because the government is paranoid about yankee imperialist dogs exploiting the proletariat class. Dejavu.

    I like the zinc air battery. No resource issues there. It's not yet ready for prime time though.

  28. Looks like lithium EV are here already—see this post from greencarcongress….71 miles on a charge…

    Imagine sitting atop of resevoir of oil, king of a decedant oil state. If you can see a car, maybe in five years, almost surely in 10, that will crush your business.

    Series Production of Second-Generation smart Electric Drive to Begin in November

    "Series production of the second-generation electric drive smart fortwo will begin in mid-November 2009 at the smart factory in Hambach, France. The second-generation smart fortwo EV is fitted with a 14 kWh lithium-ion battery pack from Tesla Motors housed in a space-saving position between the axles.

    A 30 kW electric motor is fitted at the rear and offers 120 N·m of torque. The smart fortwo electric drive accelerates from 0 – 60 km/h in 6.5 seconds.

    Due to the power characteristic of the electric motor, the smart fortwo electric drive needs just one single fixed gear ratio. There is no need for any gear changing – an advantage in dense city traffic. To reverse, the engine's direction of rotation changes.

    The smart fortwo electric drive can be charged at any 220V normal household socket. A fully charged battery is sufficient for up to 115 kilometers (71 miles) of driving (NEDC). Studies have shown that cars drive an average of 30 – 40 kilometers per day in towns and cities. For this, the vehicle only needs to be charged for three hours. Plugging the car in overnight will fully recharge the battery.

  29. I agree that they will likely be sued for fraud, if they sell enough stills. But before that they will be sued for personal injury. Safe operation of an ethanol still producing near-azeotropic vapor requires some skill and knowledge. If untrained people set up and operate these stills in their basements and garages, it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt bad.

  30. I agree, Benny. When an old redneck like me would consider buying a battery-car it might be game-over for a lot of fossil/bio folks. And, the Volt Has piqued my interest.

  31. Rufus-
    The Volt is close, so close. Just costs too much for a middle-class econo-sedan. And it is boring to look at.
    However, if the lithium battery crowd is right, it will only be a few years before you can build a much better battery, and thus probably a smaller on-board motor to boot. I wonder if the on-board motor (generator) could be designed to run on pure ethanol). A turbine engine-generator.
    Here's a wild one—an Indy 500 race car, where they swap out batteries and go to fuel-generation in last 100 miles of race.
    An electric motor is supposed to accelerate like all get out.

  32. I like the zinc air battery. No resource issues there. It's not yet ready for prime time though.
    ——————————-
    Yup,

    Lots of options……..

    Metal-air fuels cell/batteries etc.

    John

  33. Sounds like Tesla has it's panties in a bunch.

    Someone like Musk should have figured this out on his own. This is one of those areas where IT actually CAN make a difference. Put a GPS navigation system in the Volt. When you get in tell the car where you are planning to go. The battery management system can check the state of the battery and figure out when to turn on the IC engine. If you aren't planning to drive much, maybe the engine never kicks on and you return home to your charger. If you are going on a long road trip, the IC engine might turn on shortly into your trip to extend the range. You just need a small engine to overcome friction and wind resistance once a car hits highway speeds. You really don't need a big engine if you have a battery.

  34. Benny, the Volt WILL run on 100% Ethanol. They put the 15% (summer blend,) to 30% (winter blend) of gasoline in the mixture for improved "Cold" Starts. Not a big thing in Los Angeles, but significant in Chicago, or Minneapolis.

  35. Anyone know what the cold-weather performance of the Volt will be? Could be a lot of disappointed folks if the range drops to ten miles in freezing weather.

  36. From the BBC:

    "Barack Obama has begun his summer holiday at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts… We have also been furnished with Mr Obama's reading list which seems to have been put together to impress us, rather than to entertain him – it includes a biography of John Adams, America's second president and a book about the promise of the green revolution".

    Let's hope it's the right book!

  37. From the BBC:

    "Barack Obama has begun his summer holiday at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts… We have also been furnished with Mr Obama's reading list which seems to have been put together to impress us, rather than to entertain him – it includes a biography of John Adams, America's second president and a book about the promise of the green revolution".

    Let's hope it's the right book!

  38. "The second-generation smart fortwo EV is fitted with a 14 kWh lithium-ion battery pack … A 30 kW electric motor is fitted at the rear …"

    That is a 40 hp engine. Goodbye to good acceleration.

    And a 30 kW engine should be able to exhaust a 14 kWh battery in about, oh, 30 minutes. Hello walking.

    It is great to see technology advance. But let's not get ahead of reality.

  39. Anyone know what the cold-weather performance of the Volt will be? Could be a lot of disappointed folks if the range drops to ten miles in freezing weather.

    ————————

    I think the Tesla has an "air-conditioned" battery compartment. Cpld weather not a problem.

    It's sort of like the oil pan heater gizmos you put in the oil pan of an internal combustion engine because they won't run worth a crap in cold weather either.

    John

  40. rufus wrote:the Volt WILL run on 100% Ethanol.

    But if you run a Volt on E100, will it void the warranty? I suppose we won't know for sure for another year.

  41. An electric motor is supposed to accelerate like all get out.

    ——–
    Electric Torque curve relatively flat from 0-14,000 rpm. No need in most cases for a gearbox. Instant torque.

    Electric cars are excellent drag racers for that reason.

    Guys started showing up with trunks full of car batteries and kicked a few "petrol" butts.

    So, the electric people were forced to form their own drag association, NEDRA National Electric Drag Racing Association.

    John

  42. The problem with journalism is that journalists go to journalism schools, and almost none know anything about science or engineering.

  43. We live in interesting times. The world may yet look back with nostalgic longing on those happy days when all we had to worry about was "Thug States" willingly exchanging their oil for our paper. And the electric car could have an unexpected problem.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6082464/World-faces-hi-tech-crunch-as-China-eyes-ban-on-rare-metal-exports.html

    "A draft report by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for a total ban on foreign shipments of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. Other metals such as neodymium, europium, cerium, and lanthanum will be restricted …

    … China mines over 95pc of the world’s rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to horde reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price.

    … The rare earth family are hard to find, and harder to extract. …

    … No replacement has been found for neodymium that enhances the power of magnets at high heat and is crucial for hard-disk drives, wind turbines, and the electric motors of hybrid cars. Each Toyota Prius uses 25 pounds of rare earth elements. Cerium and lanthanum are used in catalytic converters for diesel engines. Europium is used in lasers. …."

  44. "… China mines over 95pc of the world’s rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to horde reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price."

    And most of the world's lithium comes from a handful of South American countries: Chile, Argentine, and Brazil.

    The current move towards Li-ion batteries is going to hit a brick wall when everyone wants to put a Li-ion battery in their car, and the car makers find out the price of lithium has dramatically spiked.

  45. From: Resource Investor

    By Jack Lifton.

    Rare Earth Metals.

    "An excellent example of North America’s self-created supply-crisis is the situation today with the industrially critical rare-earth metals.

    In 1994 the United States was self sufficient in the 17 rare earth metals, scandium yttrium, and the 14 naturally occurring metals beginning with lanthanum, atomic number 57, and proceeding by one step at a time to lutetium, atomic number 71 (One of the series, promethium, atomic number 61, is naturally radioactive, short lived, and is no longer found on earth).

    What are they used for and what is the significance of these metals? You may not have heard of most, if any, of these rare earth metals, but the general public and many industries, (and to a large extent, our politicians), do not understand that, without these rare earth metals, we simply would not have the technology that we have today. And now, with an impending crisis, it may be very difficult for us to retain a leadership role in new technology. We are on a slippery slope and the slope is getting steeper at a rapidly accelerating rate.t have heard of most, if any at all, of these rare earth me, but the general pub

    In 1994, Mountain Pass mine, in southern California, produced 100% of U.S. demand for all of the rare earths, as well as 34% of the global demand for rare earths. The mine’s owner, MolyCorp—a unit of Occidental Petroleum—shut the operation down in 1994, because cost exceeded revenue. In the late 1990s Occidental Petroleum itself went on the auction block. Pressure from the U.S. government, designed to keep Occidental’s deep sea drilling technology, molybdenum production, and North American marketing organization out of the hands of the China National Oil Co., CNOOC, led Chevron to acquire all of the assets of Occidental. They included the shut-down Mountain Pass rare-earth mining and refining operations.

    Rare Earth Metals. An excellent example of North America’s self-created supply-crisis is the situation today with the industrially critical rare-earth metals.

    In 1994 the United States was self sufficient in the 17 rare earth metals, scandium yttrium, and the 14 naturally occurring metals beginning with lanthanum, atomic number 57, and proceeding by one step at a time to lutetium, atomic number 71 (One of the series, promethium, atomic number 61, is naturally radioactive, short lived, and is no longer found on earth).

    What are they used for and what is the significance of these metals? You may not have heard of most, if any, of these rare earth metals, but the general public and many industries, (and to a large extent, our politicians), do not understand that, without these rare earth metals, we simply would not have the technology that we have today. And now, with an impending crisis, it may be very difficult for us to retain a leadership role in new technology. We are on a slippery slope and the slope is getting steeper at a rapidly accelerating rate.

    In 1994, Mountain Pass mine, in southern California, produced 100% of U.S. demand for all of the rare earths, as well as 34% of the global demand for rare earths. The mine’s owner, MolyCorp—a unit of Occidental Petroleum—shut the operation down in 1994, because cost exceeded revenue. In the late 1990s Occidental Petroleum itself went on the auction block. Pressure from the U.S. government, designed to keep Occidental’s deep sea drilling technology, molybdenum production, and North American marketing organization out of the hands of the China National Oil Co., CNOOC, led Chevron to acquire all of the assets of Occidental. They included the shut-down Mountain Pass rare-earth mining and refining operations.Rare Earth Metals. An excellent example of North America’s self-created supply-crisis is the situation today with the industrially critical rare-earth metals….."

    http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2008/7/Pages/North-American-Minor-Metals-Predicament-Obscured.aspx

  46. That story suggests to me that when cheap rare earths from China no longer undercut the profitability of the mine, the mine will reopen and the predicament will go away.

  47. Oh brother. Yes, China mines 95% of the REE/REM, but it only has reserves of less than 30%! The US, for example, has 15% of Neodymium world reserves. None is currently mined here, but there are 2 companies that are going to start in 2010, IIRC been awhile since i read about it. Hello outsourcing for cheap labor & far less regulations!

    The rule of substitution can apply for many of these elements. Of course you risk loss of performance and increased costs.

  48. Hot Flat & Crowded – Malthusian claptrap.

    Of course Slate must also tell us how stupid GWB's reading list was. I would rather BHO read something he was likely to disagree with. What is the point of reading crap that reinforces your worldview?

  49. I looked up 'clueless journalist' is Wiki and there was a picture of Tom Friedman. Tom Friedman should stick to reporting on the Middle East because he does not understand energy and the environment.

  50. "An excellent example of North America’s self-created supply-crisis …"

    That about says it all. Increasingly, I am coming round to the view that the ONLY real problem is the self-destructive idiocy of our current Political Class. Human beings will suffer & die because of them.

    Yes, we live in a world full of challenges, from Peak Oil to African Poverty. But we have the technology and the resources to deal with all of those — if the Political Class would just get out the way.

    GM is an awful warning. Once the world's largest company, and now bankrupt. That outcome was not necessary; nor was it in the interests of Union bosses or managment, workers or investors; or the generations of future workers who will never get a job with GM. And yet it happened. Blind stupidity leads to bad results — for everybody.

  51. Week after week, they dump their waste into your 250-gallon MicroFueler tank, and you pull out electricity-distilled ethanol and water. What happens to the "old chemicals" and other stuff that doesn't get converted to ethanol? Does it sit in the bottom of your tank, slowly filling it up until after some years, no more beer waste will fit in? How much will it cost to dispose of this tank full of unconvertible waste?

  52. Even if you can't get neodymium for PM motors, you can still build induction motors.  High-silicon steel laminations and aluminum or copper squirrel cages are not affected by Chinese policy.

    I see problems for disk drives and the focus mechanisms of disc players first.  Maybe switched reluctance motors will be the technology of choice for the first, and piezoelectric actuators for the second.

  53. Even if you can't get neodymium for PM motors, you can still build induction motors.
    ————————

    Induction motors are still widely used in industry. Fully half of the electricity produced in the U.S. is used to power electric motors for industrial. business and home use.

    A number of good points have been made, namely that the U.S. has significant resources in rare earth metals,

    There are also altrnatives.

    And finally, that the Political Oligarchy that rules America is basically self-interested.

    As far as Journalism goes:

    Someone once said: "Just get a bachelors in Journalism and you will know everything."

    As a consequence we have to listen the endless parade of "talking heads" every Sunday morning who consider themselves to be the privileged elite, the so-called "Fifth Estate", the guardians of the "Free Press".

    They know even less than the Lawyer Class which they fawn over, and write about endlessly. They have about as much clout as feces does to sewer gas.

    Memorising the Periodic Table is not in their agenda. They are parasites.

    John

  54. I am holding my breath waiting for the Microfueler distributor who wants to respond here. I'm hoping for some first rate tap dancing.

    Off topic, but generally I don't like when people read a press release for some new technology (over at Greencarcongress) and then start claiming that our problems are solved.

    But 2 stories recently caught my eye. First this for conversion of stranded methane to methanol. Which I saw and thought hmmm, interesting work.

    Then I saw this which surprised me. I didn't know that methanol fuel cells were to the point where they can actually be purchased and used for real work.

    Methanol is an interesting fuel and chemical raw material, as explained in detail in this book by George Olah. certianly more interesting than a $10,000 still and pump that will supply you with ethanol for $2.00 per gallon. Especially when I just bought some E85 for $1.91 at the gas station down the street.

  55. New Element Discovered

    LOS ALAMOS (PU) — The recent fire at Los Alamos had one significant consequence. A secret scientific document was discovered in a bunker whose security systems were mostly destroyed by the fire. This document was leaked to the public last weekend. Actually it reveals nothing that we didn't already suspect. But it does show that the government has known all along that besides arsenic, lead, mercury, radon, strontium and plutonium, one more extremely deadly and pervasive element also exists. Investigators at a major research institution have discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling new discovery has been tentatively named Governmentium (Gv) but kept top secret for 50 years.

    This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of 0. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125 deputy neutrons, 75 supervisory neutrons, and 111 team leader neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

    These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since it has no electrons, Governmentium is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of approximately three years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the deputy neutrons, supervisory neutrons, and team leader neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium sample's mass will actually increase over time, since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably become neutrons, forming isodopes.

    This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypocritical quantity is referred to as the "Critical Morass." You will know it when you see it.

    When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element which radiates just as much energy since it has half as many peons, but twice as many morons.

    Governmentium: the heaviest element

  56. Robert,could you look into the claims of Microbiogen when you get a chance? They claim to have developed a yeast(through Darwinian selection) that ferments xylose,or cellulosic sugars. They say their biorefinery can produce more food than the corn itself would provide,and boost ethanol production at the same time.

    If this is possible,gasification doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell.

  57. OT, but interesting:

    Mitsubishi Heavy to Enter Lithium-ion Secondary (Rechargeable) Battery Business
    26 August 2009
    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has decided to build a commercial production verification plant in Nagasaki Prefecture and launch its operation by autumn 2010 in a move toward the company’s full-scale entry into the lithium-ion secondary (rechargeable) battery market.

    The new plant, to be built within the company’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, will have a production capacity of 66 MWh of batteries a year, which is equivalent to 400,000 medium-size cells. The batteries were developed in a 20-year-long joint research and development project with Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.

    My impression is that Mitsubishi is well-run. This is not some college researchers looking for grants. This is real lithium battery production.

    I just read that outfitting a gasoline station to dispense 600volts to battery cars takes but a few thousands dollars (unlike natural gas, whcih evidently costs $750k per station).

    It seems that 440 three-phase or even 600 volts will be used at gasoline stations to rapidly boost battery cars.

    I think we are seeing the end of the Oil Era right before our eyes, and we just can't believe it. We still have some people who think the standard is a v-8 and 20 cent gas (sadly, at times, I am in this camp).

    But a new generation is coming, and they will easily embrace battery cars, with their GPS, CD players, web connections and who knows what.

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