The partnership that has emerged between Dow and NREL is a good idea for the primary reason that chemical companies need to develop alternate feedstocks besides traditional petroleum ones. This partnership will demonstrate the feasibility of using alternate cellulosic biomass feedstocks, which should be able to reduce production costs. The benefits will be twofold. First, reduced production costs can be passed on to other businesses and consumers. Second, use of biomass feedstock will reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
Technology Review article about the partnership
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Biofuels Independent Study - final draft
I received my JD back in May, and as part of my last semester courseload I wrote an independent study on the patentability of biofuels, entitled "A Patent-based Approach to Development and Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels." This is the introductory paragraph- I will publish more in the future.
Biofuels, which are fuels made from biomass feedstock, are the key to solving two prominent issues confronting the United States today. These are how to achieve energy independence and how to reduce carbon emissions. As world crude oil reserves and discoveries of major new sources of cheap crude oil decrease, reduced dependence on traditional petroleum sources becomes a necessity and a reality. As the supply of cheaply obtained crude oil becomes scarce, the price of such oil increases. The price increase makes other, previously more expensive, sources of fuel more economical. This includes alternatives to petroleum like biofuels made from biomass such as corn or cellulose. However, there are barriers to the introduction and use of biofuels and their replacement of traditional petroleum fuels.
There are two major problems with corn based ethanol: one is that it is ecologically unsustainable. To produce enough corn based ethanol to meet the United States's needs for transportation fuel, the land devoted to growing corn in this country would have to be allocated entirely to energy production needs, leaving none of that land for food or animal feedstock corn production. Second, the viability of corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel depends on direct government subsidies, which are economically unsustainable. When government subsidies abate, there will be insufficient economic incentive to continue producing corn-based ethanol.
Cellulose-based biofuels employ the same underlying concept of using a renewable resource to generate power, but benefit from a superior match between technology and patent law protectability than corn-based ethanol. Therefore, a shift should occur from corn-based ethanol to cellulose-based biofuel production based on patent protection. Patent protection is better for cellulose-based biofuels than for corn-based ethanol. The incentives to do further research are more extensive because patent law protects the investments that researchers make, while the basic aspects of the science are protected to allow research to continue. The patent system is configured to provide the necessary incentives to develop a cellulose-based biofuel industry, without the need for direct government subsidies. Development of patent law during the twentieth century led to a patent system that is tailored to allowing commercialization of research, while encouraging further innovation by protecting basic research techniques from monopolization.
Biofuels, which are fuels made from biomass feedstock, are the key to solving two prominent issues confronting the United States today. These are how to achieve energy independence and how to reduce carbon emissions. As world crude oil reserves and discoveries of major new sources of cheap crude oil decrease, reduced dependence on traditional petroleum sources becomes a necessity and a reality. As the supply of cheaply obtained crude oil becomes scarce, the price of such oil increases. The price increase makes other, previously more expensive, sources of fuel more economical. This includes alternatives to petroleum like biofuels made from biomass such as corn or cellulose. However, there are barriers to the introduction and use of biofuels and their replacement of traditional petroleum fuels.
There are two major problems with corn based ethanol: one is that it is ecologically unsustainable. To produce enough corn based ethanol to meet the United States's needs for transportation fuel, the land devoted to growing corn in this country would have to be allocated entirely to energy production needs, leaving none of that land for food or animal feedstock corn production. Second, the viability of corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel depends on direct government subsidies, which are economically unsustainable. When government subsidies abate, there will be insufficient economic incentive to continue producing corn-based ethanol.
Cellulose-based biofuels employ the same underlying concept of using a renewable resource to generate power, but benefit from a superior match between technology and patent law protectability than corn-based ethanol. Therefore, a shift should occur from corn-based ethanol to cellulose-based biofuel production based on patent protection. Patent protection is better for cellulose-based biofuels than for corn-based ethanol. The incentives to do further research are more extensive because patent law protects the investments that researchers make, while the basic aspects of the science are protected to allow research to continue. The patent system is configured to provide the necessary incentives to develop a cellulose-based biofuel industry, without the need for direct government subsidies. Development of patent law during the twentieth century led to a patent system that is tailored to allowing commercialization of research, while encouraging further innovation by protecting basic research techniques from monopolization.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)