Biomass

 In addition to providing services for environmental organizations, The Soulstice Group (TSG) is

 actively involved in ways to create cleaner energy.  Through our laboratory partnerships, we are

 working with an organic waste material for cleaner energy production for utility companies. 

 Coal

 Almost 94% of the coal used in the United States is used for generating electricity.  Except for a

 small amount of exports, the rest of the coal is used as a basic energy source in many industries

 including steel, cement, and paper. 

 Coal is a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create. The energy in

 coal comes from the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, when the

 Earth was partly covered with swampy forests.

 For many years, coal has served its purpose.  However, the production of coal can have adverse

 affects on our environment, such as emitting Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Dioxide,

 mercury and particulates.  These elements have been linked to acid rain, respiratory illness,

 neurological and developmental damage in humans and other animals, and smog.*

*(Source:  U.S. Energy Information Administration)

 Cleaner Alternatives to Coal

 The Soulstice Group is seeking new ways to generate energy from other earth elements that.  The

 effectiveness of coal is measured in how much energy (as defined by British Thermal Units or

 "BTU") is in one kilogram of the energy producing source, i.e., coal or other sources of energy. 

 It's similar to asking, "how many calories, or units of energy, are in an apple versus the number of

 calories in a donut". There are more calories in a donut than an apple, however, more calories in a

 donut come from fat versus the calories in an apple. 

 TSG Biomass Production

 TSG is currently in the research phase of bringing these cleaner alternatives to market. The

 alternative that we are working with is referred to as biomass. Biomass, a renewable energy

 source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste,

 (hydrogen) gas, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity

 or produce heat. (Source:  Wikipedia)

 The Biomass that we are researching is a by-product of the agricultural industry called oilseed

 cake.  Oilseed cake is produced from a variety of oil producing seeds such as almond, flax and

 avocados. One kg of coal will produce more energy than 1kg of oilseed cake (Coal:

 8000-10000 BTU - Oilseed Cake: 6,000 to 8,000 BTU), but coal has a more adverse affect on

 our environment than oilseed cake. 

 Utility Company Partnerships Sought

 We currently are seeking the help of utility companies that currently use coal for energy production

 to test our oilseed cake in their research and lab facilities.  Ours has been tested to ensure that

 the amount of sulphur (which produces acid rain) is far less than coal.  However, we realize that

 more research is needed before we begin to make our oilseed cake available for energy

 production and are calling on utility companies to assist with our efforts of producing cleaner

 energy. 

 The Soulstice Group is certified by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as a WMBE.