Canada could provide a crucial ingredient needed to stop the earth from cooking.
The creator of a net zero bio-fuel warned we must replace the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil the world will otherwise burn annually for decades. Sam MacGregor stressed a green fuel must be incorporated into the solution before climate change becomes irreversible, and he's seeking partners to help to produce his green fuel.
MacGregor said the world needs to replace the substantial amount of fossil fuels used in a broad range of industries, from plastics to paints to transportation. His liquid bio-fuel, called Ecolene, captures carbon dioxide from waste like manure before the gases continue their natural cycle back into the atmosphere. It also could store excess power, as it carries hydrogen in a stable liquid.
MacGregor pointed out Ecolene is unique because of the patented bonding of the renewable elements of water and biomass. He explained hydrogen and oxygen are separated from water using green power to synthesize his bio-methanol.
"The Ecolene itself is made out of the elements of water, hydrogen, and oxygen, and the elements of biomass, primarily renewable carbon," noted MacGregor. "It's a hydrocarbon and it's really the only way that we can find a solution to climate change, because you need net zero emission fuel if you're going to burn it. And so that has to come from nature, it can't come from fossil fuels."
MacGregor added carbon credits could go to businesses that replace methanol currently made with natural gas. The Kincardine resident added that Canada's nuclear hub, Bruce County, is the ideal place to begin the process.
"Bruce County is ideal because it's agricultural based, and it's got the largest nuclear component in the world," he explained. "And you can't store the kind of electricity that is surplus. And so this is a place to bring agriculture all together with surplus electricity, especially surplus green electricity coming from wind and nuclear and it's all sitting up there in Bruce County."
With the proposed Bruce Generating Station C adding another 4.4 gigawatts of power, MacGregor said the need to store excess electricity will be even more crucial.
"Ecolene becomes not only a storage for surplus electricity and a place for waste carbon, it becomes a carrier of hydrogen in a gas, so that's why we see it as the transitional fuel in a liquid medium," he stated. "That is easily done in a transitional way because it's a hydrocarbon. But it needs to be demonstrated how you can take off peak electricity to make hydrogen and oxygen and then take biomass waste, and convert that to biogas and then bring them together to give you a sustainable liquid alternative to fossil fuels."
A study by McMaster University confirmed the process, but MacGregor said his small start up company, Ultra Clean Ecolene Inc., needs partners to move the project to the next step.
"The proof of concept is pretty easy because the whole system is based on water electrolysis, which is proven," explained MacGregor. "Fermentation of biomass is proven and it's really just the linkage of the waste products. That has to be done. It's been done on paper, and it's been proven by theory, but it's never been demonstrated in fact."
"The world's trying to get to hydrogen but it has to do it transitionally, and methanol is a carrier of hydrogen," he said. "And that's the way to get there, using surplus electricity off the peak and biomass waste."
Eventually, Ecolene could power combustion engines from local pumps. Hydrogen on its own as a gas is highly explosive, and liquid hydrogen produced via compression is not viable on a large scale, MacGregor said. He added that by synthesizing methanol using the elements of water and syngas, it is much less volatile and can be pumped as a more passive liquid rather than compressed as a gas. He added electric vehicles are only part of the solution, as he doubts the world can provide the green power, grid updates and charging infrastructure fast enough. MacGregor pointed out the world burns 15,000 tonnes of coal every minute to generate electricity.
MacGregor said now is the time to bring bio fuel into the mix. He welcomed recent funding for hydrogren studies, including a study by Kinectrics, FuelCell Energy and Bruce Power to explore the potential to produce hydrogen using electricity generated by nucleal power. It's estimated an Ecolene demonstration plant could cost about $5 million, while $80 million would bring a commercially viable system.
MacGregor said it's critical that all climate solutions are incorporated into the battle to keep the planet from warming too much. The United Nations indicated that fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. A United Nations report shows governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what is needed to limit global warming.
According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC), Humankind has some 10 years to stabilize global warming to avoid unprecedented catastrophes around the World. The International Energy Agency reported in The Oil 2023 medium-term market report that, based on current government policies and market trends, global oil demand will rise by 6 per cent between 2022 and 2028 to reach 105.7 million barrels per day.
For more information visit www.ecolene.ca