[ROCKMAN]

Sounds like with exception to circumstances as in Uzbekistan we won't see many new gasification projects as long as we have low NG prices. But that will last only so long, of course.

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '[')url=http://phys.org/news/2014-04-scientists-ethanol-corn.html]Scientists discover a novel way to make ethanol without corn or other plants[/url]
PhysOrg Apr 09, 2014$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')tanford University scientists have found a new, highly efficient way to produce liquid ethanol from carbon monoxide gas. This promising discovery could provide an eco-friendly alternative to conventional ethanol production from corn and other crops, say the scientists. Their results are published in the April 9 advanced online edition of the journal Nature.
...
"The oxide-derived copper produced ethanol and acetate with 57 percent faradaic efficiency," Kanan said. "That means 57 percent of the electric current went into producing these two compounds from carbon monoxide.
...
For the process to be carbon neutral, scientists will have to find a new way to make carbon monoxide from renewable energy instead of fossil fuel, the primary source today.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '&')quot;The oxide-derived copper produced ethanol and acetate with 57 percent faradaic efficiency," Kanan said. "That means 57 percent of the electric current went into producing these two compounds from carbon monoxide.

[Graeme]

SC, Thanks for your post. Great to see any input you have here. Saw this:

Electrochemical Ethanol: No Plants Were Harmed In The Making Of This Fuel

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ather than going the microbial route, the Stanford team came up with an electrochemical pathway to covert carbon monoxide to liquid ethanol.

As described by study co-author Matthew Kanan, the process is based on a new copper catalyst.

The difference between the new catalyst and a conventional copper catalyst is structural. In a conventional copper electrode, nanoparticles “just sit on top of each other.” The new electrode is made from copper oxide, which forms a continuous network of nanocrystals as it is processed into metallic copper.

The gas-to-ethanol conversion takes place in an electrochemical cell, which typically would be used to reduce water to hydrogen. The challenge for the team was to find a cathode that would skip that step in favor of reducing CO to ethanol.

That’s where the new copper catalyst came in. Copper is one of the the few materials known to reduce CO, but conventional copper catalysts are too inefficient.

When the team tried the new copper catalyst, the difference was significant. Kanan runs it down for you (break added):

The oxide-derived copper produced ethanol and acetate with 57 percent faradaic efficiency. That means 57 percent of the electric current went into producing these two compounds from carbon monoxide.

We’re excited because this represents a more than 10-fold increase in efficiency over conventional copper catalysts.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', 'S')aw this:

Electrochemical Ethanol: No Plants Were Harmed In The Making Of This Fuel
cleantechnica