November 6, 2009 at 1:46 pm · Filed under Green Tech
Here is a a story I wrote for the Finnish company Wärtsilä recently: Emissions from ocean-going ships are now being investigated and discussed in public, and there is a demand for stricter regulations. While land industries and other transport forms have been widely regulated during the last decades in order to limit the emission, the ocean transports have been ignored. This might be due to the fact that shipping takes place on the high seas away from populations who can readily see impacts of emissions has been part of the reason the industry’s fuel standards lagging behind other industries. 
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November 5, 2009 at 3:19 pm · Filed under Green Tech, Bio Fuel
Alkylated gasoline is a newer type of gasoline on the Danish market, it is branded as “green gasoline”. It is not, but it has advantages to traditional gasoline. The new type of fuel is directed to smaller engines typically used in private gardens, but it also has a history of use in high performance sport engines.
The gasoline, which is technically called ‘alkylated gasoline’, are cleaner than traditional gasoline, Soder less and gives a more complete combustion. It is an advantage for those who use tools with internal combustion engines, such as garden tractors or chain saws. Alkylated gasoline is storage stable and does not change, although it has been stored in a cold tank all winter long. Conventional petrol contains reactive substances that can get gasoline to oxygenation, and thus reduced quality already after few weeks of storage.
“Everybody knows the situation where you have to start a chain saw or lawn mower in the spring and the motor has difficulty to jump in again. It is often caused by petrol. With alkylated gasoline the problem is partly solved. Alkylate gasoline is the cleanest fuel that can be produced at a petroleum refinery, “says Steenbuch, Product Manager at Bauhaus, who now sells the alkylated gasoline brand Aspen.
Aspen is among a few special refineries to produce alkylate. Gasoline has in recent years been taking off as consumers’ environmental awareness and greater emphasis on the interaction between the engines and fuel quality.
“It is quite natural for us to present alkylate gasoline for our environmentally conscious consumers. First and foremost, we have a green policy that applies to all our product lines. In addition, we have for many years had various types of oil on the shelves, primarily for our motorized garden tools, “says Steenbuch. Read the rest of this entry »
November 5, 2009 at 12:18 pm · Filed under Green Tech
Recently I visited a heating system in the Danish city of Svendborg. A new double gas boiler should in future keep city residents warm - and it happens to a plant which promises more than 100 percent efficiency.
“We have an efficiency of currently more than 100 percent. It sounds crazy, but it is actually possible, when we simultaneously make use the heat from the collected fluid, which is a byproduct of flaring, “said Ove Andersen, who is head of Svendborg plant. He points out that the extensive surveillance of the facility has made it easy to fine tune production, according to what is most effective. For example, it appears that the best answer is to have two boilers running at partial strength, rather than to have one boiler running at full strength. Such observations are used to get the maximum out of the facility both economically and environmentally.
The advanced mechanics and monitoring of the new plant has been developed and delivered by Weishaupt and Lemvigh-Müller. 
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