Bacteria to oil , one step closer .

watertown daily times ^ | OCTOBER 16, 2008 | Sarah Rivette

[buckrodgers]

FORT DRUM — Energy independence is one step closer for the military, Fort Drum and, according to some, the north country.

[vbmoneyspender]

The trailer will be home to a fully operational laboratory and 10 digesters that will use different waste products to test for a wide variety of results. The unit will produce about 500 gallons of fuel and up to 4,000 pounds of potting soil per month. Each test facility is estimated to cost about $1 million, which is being paid for by Bell Bio-Energy Inc. Later on, a portable facility would cost only about $100,000 because it would not need all the testing equipment, computers and sensors that the test unit needs.

A $100,000 to get $1,000 dollars of gas a month?

[MrEdd]

That’s only a nine year amortization I suppose.

The Big pay off is in the potential shortening of supply lines. If you consider the strategic implications there - they are staggering. I would imagine the military will want enough of these to power deployed units in their totality.

[WellyP]

This notice is seceral months old. when I talked to Dr. White a couple of weeks ago (16 Dec.) he said they would be firing up the first plant in Goergia by the end of Dec. and the one going up to Ft. Drum by the end of Jan. 2009. I haven’t talked to him since Christmas but I have not heard that it is not running so, I can only assume that means that the plant at Ft. Drum is up and running and should have it’s first batch by the ned of the month. As for costs, this is only a test plant costs will come down.

[WellyP]

Sorry...OOPS, I didn’t hit spell check....but you get the idea!

[Enchante]

Yeah but don’t forget about that potting soil!!

Actually, a decade’s amortization of investment may be a very reasonable investment considering the local/base independence from shipping fuel by truck or pipeline etc.

[vbmoneyspender]

Aren’t you assuming the $1,000 of fuel is pure profit - I wonder what the operational costs are (e.g. labor costs, maintenance costs, transportation costs to get the waste to the lab, etc)?

[Hacklehead]

“For every one pound of hydrocarbon we produce, we take one pound of carbon from the air,” said J.C. Bell, the founder of Bell Bio-Energy Inc. “

Not this huckster again. He actually posted here a few times and when questioned on some of his claims, fled the field.

[Enchante]

Good point — I have no idea what the operational costs will be but of course they have to be factored in. I was being flippant in my comments anyway, since I assume with these kinds of projects that there is a lot of hype and that the reality often does not measure up to the promises.....