EoW November 2010

The International Magazine for the Wire and Cable Industries

“Now is the time to get serious about algae” Browsing through an issue of Professional Engineering magazine this quote from DrJeanBotti,chieftechnicalo cerofAirbus manufacturer EADS, caught my attention. As green fuel sources go, it’s hard to think of anything that could be greener than algae but, puns aside, it’s apparently one of the most promising sources of biofuel to replace kerosene in aircraft. Unlike other biofuel crops (such as maize or sugarcane) the cultivation of algae doesn’t competewith foodcrops; it canbegrownon thepoorest of land. Other biofuel crops also make high demands on irrigation water; the amount of water needed for processing biomass is dwarfed by the amount needed to grow the crops (a litre of sugarcane ethanol demands a staggering 3,500 litres of India’s irrigation water) whereas algae makes good use of non-potable or even saltwater. However, Dr Botti’s enthusiasm for algae isn’t con ned to its cultivation. His research indicates that algae biofuel has a higher energy content than conventional JET-A1 fuel, reducing consumption while maintainingperformance, andtheresulting exhaust gases contain considerably smaller amounts of hydrocarbons than those produced by crude oil derived kerosene. Nitrogenoxideandsulphur oxideemissions are reduced too; in the case of nitrogen oxide, by up to 40%. The technology exists to develop and produce biofuel from algae (it’s already been used for a test ight), but more development is needed to produce the necessary economic and industrial scale of both algae and fuel. The point is that Dr Botti is calling on its traditional rival, Boeing, to join forces with EADS in order to accelerate investment and research into algae biofuel. I’m keeping my ngers crossed that Boeingwill beprepared to take up the challenge, though I’d prefer to see a joint-government-funded research project, in the spirit of CERN.

* US$33 purchase only Front cover: Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG See page 108 for further details E DITOR : ....................................... Gill Watson F EATURES E DITOR (USA) : .........Dorothy Fabian E DITORIAL ASSISTANT : .................Christian Bradley D ESIGN /P RODUCTION : ................Julie Tomlin P RODUCTION : ..............................Lisa Benjamin S ALES & M ARKETING : ................Giuliana Benedetto ( I NTERNATIONAL ) Italy Hendrike Morriss Germany, Austria, Switzerland Linda Li 中文 Jeroo Vandrevala India A DVERTISEMENT C OORDINATOR : ............................Liz Hughes A CCOUNTS M ANAGER : ................Richard Babbedge S UBSCRIPTIONS : ..........................Liz Hughes P UBLISHER : ..................................Caroline Sullens F OUNDER : ....................................John C Hogg

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