| Startup Says It Can Make Ethanol for $1 a Gallon, and Without Corn
Still, several experts said Coskata shows enough promise to leave them cautiously optimistic. "The question will come down to 'Can they deliver?'" said Nathanael Greene, a senior energy-policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The approach is interesting and promising in the problems it addresses." Coskata uses existing gasification technology to convert almost any organic material into synthesis gas, which is a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Rather than fermenting that gas or using thermo-chemical catalysts to produce ethanol, Coskata pumps it into a reactor containing bacteria that consume the gas and excrete ethanol. Richard Tobey, Coskata's vice president of engineering, says the process yields 99.7 percent pure ethanol. Gasification and bacterial conversion are common methods of producing ethanol, but biofuel experts said Coskata is the first to combine them.
Warning over sale-and-rent-back vultures
These firms offer to free up money locked in their home and help those in arrears with their mortgage. But instead of providing a quick solution to a cash-flow problem, these schemes can end up with the homeowner on the streets. Unlike equity release schemes, these firms are unregulated. If your new landlord doesn't keep up mortgage payments, your former home could be repossessed. Short rental agreements also mean there are no guarantees you can remain in your home. Adam Sampson, of housing charity Shelter, says: 'Some firms will make any promises to convince you to go in for what is plainly a very bad deal. It's daylight robbery. 'These vultures are preying on the elderly in particular.' Many tenants faced eviction after Dewsbery and Welch, a partnership that traded as Retail and Domestic Properties and Repossessions Stopped, went into receivership in April owing £19million to mortgage lenders on 230 properties.
Kasyanov Likely to Be Barred from Presidential Ballot
Presidential hopeful Mikhail Kasyanov is likely to be kept off the ballot after officials said 80,000 signatures on his nominations papers were forged. With Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov also threatening not to run, Kremlin favorite Dmitry Medvedev looks set to enjoy a comfortable victory. .
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