New use for DME in biofuel production found in Japan

BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: In a potentially revolutionary use of dimethyl ether, the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) in Japan has developed a method using synthetic dimethyl ether to extract biofuel from algae. The Denki Shimbun is reporting that by using liquified DME in the oil extraction process, energy consumption can be reduced by more than 50% while extracting greater amounts of oil than conventional methods. CRIEPI will continue to verify the process and hopes for commercialization by 2013.

Vietnam slated for production of dimethyl ether

BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: As reported in the Viet Nam News, a consortium of international companies have formed a new energy company in Vietnam under the banner Sao Nam Petro. The conglomerate will focus on oil and gas exploration, pipelines and other projects. One of those other projects will be to build a plant producing dimethyl ether. Vietnam is a net importer of LPG and the production of dimethyl ether is seen as a way to reduce these imports using clean technology.

Dimethyl Ether Production is Out of This World

BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: At Blue Fuel Energy we are always anxious to promote Blue Fuel/DME production wherever it may be. And while we can't take credit for the discovery of this latest production location, we are happy to pass along the information. RedOrbit.com is reporting that the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory has recorded the production of Dimethyl Ether in the Orion Nebula. So while we strive to encourage production of Blue Fuel/DME around the world, the universe is naturally creating it in deep space.

Mitsubishi Chemical and JGC to build pilot plant for methanol/DME to propylene production

WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: Mitsubishi Chemical and JGC are forging ahead with plans to commercialize their proprietary technologies to use methanol and DME as feedstocks for the production of propylene. Click here to read more on this story.

Launch of the North American Affairs Committee (NAAC) of the International Dimethyl Ether Association (IDA)

WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: In December 2009 the drive to promote awareness and use of DME in North America went into high gear when the International DME Association (IDA) formed the North American Affairs Committee (NAAC), which promptly established internal working groups that were assigned specific tasks. To read more about the NAAC, please click here.

Stockpiling methanol and/or dimethyl ether for fuel and energy reserves

WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: According to a US Patent Application Publication (No: US2009/0320356 A1), Nobel Prize-winner George Olah and his Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute colleage, G.K. Surya Prakash, authors of “Beyond Oil and Gas: the Methanol Economy”, have applied for a patent for an invention relating to “a method of stockpiling a fuel source by storing methanol or dimethyl ether in appropriate storage facilities to provide an alternative fuel source that can be used to avoid shortages due to unavailability, limited availability or excessive costs of oil.” These facilities can be natural or man-made, such as an underground tank, an above-ground tank, or a salt dome.

A fundamental premise behind the invention is that the world is facing an oil crisis and that the US’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), established in the 1970s to maintain an emergency oil supply, is facing daunting challenges, including hurricanes, political unrest in oil producing countries, and overall oil shortages, as well as the fact that oil poses several safety issues, such as its extreme flammability. Another premise is that to mitigate climate change and pollution, renewable, alternative, clean-burning, low-carbon/carbon-neutral fuels need to be widely adopted. Professor Olah and his colleagues at Loker have also patented novel methods of production for methanol and/or dimethyl ether using the hydrogenative chemical recycling of carbon dioxide. To read more about the perspectives of professors Olah and Surya Prakash, click here.

Canadian company launches bio-DME project in British Columbia, Canada

WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: GV Energy of Calgary, Alberta has launched its project to use the vast forests of British Columbia to produce DME. A November 30 media release announced the signing of a MOU with the City of Terrace, British Columbia to acquire land for a bio-refinery plant, and a subsequent December 17 CBC News article generated interest in the project amongst renewable energy writers around the world. The fact that two companies are now planning to use different feedstocks to produce DME in the same jurisdiction in North America bodes well for adoption of this emerging alternative fuel on the continent.