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There has been a process for making Biodiesel
from Algae, but one of the problems with current methods is the
processing cost, but a New York researcher has developed an
innovative process which is at least 40% cheaper than other
methods now being used. Supply would not be a problem, for there
is a limitless amount of algae growing in the oceans, lakes and
rivers, throughout the world
The new method uses a solid catalyst instead
of a liquid one and the solid catalyst can be used over and over
whereas the liquid one has to be replaced, so there is no water
disposal cost and no wastewater produced to cause pollution. The
new method needs a much smaller factory and the process is
considerably faster because it allows continuously flowing
production of the biodiesel compared to the method using a
liquid catalyst. That process is slower because workers need to
take at least half an hour after producing each batch to purify
the biodiesel by neutralising the base catalyst by adding acid.
No such action is needed to treat the solid catalyst.
The researcher estimates that algae has an
“oil-per-acre” production rate 100 to 300 times that of
soybeans. The small plant the researcher has developed can
produce a million gallons of biodiesel per year but with larger
production plants it is predicted that it could lead to U.S
independence from petroleum as a fuel.
The solid catalyst continuous flow method can
also be adapted to mobile units so it would not be necessary to
construct large plants, and the military could use the method in
the field.
A Norwegian entrepreneur living in Kenya has
won a £50,000 contest for making the world’s greenest invention,
which he calls The Kyoto Box Oven. It costs just £3.50 to make
and can cook casseroles, boil water and bake bread. It is made
from two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with an acrylic
cover, which lets the sun’s power in and traps it. Black paint
on the inner box and silver foil on the outer help concentrate
the heat, while a layer of straw between the two provides
insulation. It is targeted at the three billion people who use
firewood to cook in developing countries.
The oven could halve the need for firewood,
saving an estimated two tonnes of carbon per family per year,
and could save some of the millions of children who die each
year from food cooked with unclean drinking water. It will be
saving lives and saving trees, I doubt if there is any other
technology that can make so much impact for so little money.
 The
Blue-Ringed Octopus species are very venomous and dangerous to
humans and were once thought to be the only group to be
venomous. They remain the only group dangerous to humans, but
researchers have recently shown that all octopuses and
cuttlefish and even some squid have quietly been using venom for
predation, such as paralysing a clam to open it’s shell.
Venoms are toxic proteins with specialised
functions such as paralysing the nervous system, and researchers
hope that by understanding the structure and mode of action of
venom proteins they can benefit drug design for a range of
conditions such as pain management, allergies and cancer.
While many creatures have been examined as a
basis for drug development, cephalopods (octopuses, cuttlefish
and squid), remain an untapped source and their venom may
represent a unique class of compounds.
Bottlenose Dolphins were reported 5 times
during April. A pod of 6 or more were off Wherry Rocks on the
2nd and a pod of about a dozen were seen off Porthminster Beach
on the 18th, this would have been the larger pod plus Cookie’s
pod, and these two pods were seen again in the area of the Gear
Pole on the 19th.
Cookie and Sleekie were seen in the Hayle and
St. Ives area on the 6th and two unidentified dolphins, almost
certainly Cookie and Sleekie, were seen off Cribba Head on the
19th, Cape Cornwall on the 24th and Gyllyngvase Beach on the
26th.
Grey Seals were seen of Porth Ledden and Cape
Cornwall and single Basking Sharks were seen off Pentra Head on
the 6th, Killcobban Cove on the 14th and Portholland on the 19th
of April, and two were seen off Porthgwarra on the 29th.
Three pods of Common Dolphins were seen off
Porthgwarra on the 24th numbering about 20 to 25 animals.
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