Biofuels, the Next Generation

Biofuels, the Next Generation 
By CARMELO RUIZ-MARRERO 

The promotion of biofuels is a central component of president Obama's energy policy. But biofuel crops, which are mostly corn, sugar cane, oil palm and soy, are in big trouble because of the overwhelming and continuously growing evidence of the environmental harm that they cause. And besides, all large-scale industrial agriculture requires large amounts of fossil fuel, so biofuels are hardly a cure for petroleum addiction.

The Obama administration and an increasing number of biofuel supporters acknowledge these problems but they wager that these will be solved by a new generation of biofuels made from cellulose.

And what's so great about cellulose? For one, it is everywhere. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on earth and a key structural component of the cell walls of green plants and many forms of algae. About one third of all plant matter in the world is cellulose. 

In spite of the best efforts of scientists, the cellulose molecule stubbornly resists all cost-effective attempts at transforming it into fuel. So they are now looking to nature for answers: fungi and certain bacteria found in the guts of termites and ruminant mammals (such as cows) that produce enzymes that can digest cellulose. 

The ability to turn cellulose into fuel would make it possible to use any vegetable matter, living or dead, to this end- corn stalks, suburban lawn clippings, dead wood, you name it. According to their enthusiastic supporters, the main advantage of cellulose-based fuels is that they will not compete with food crops. You can get a Nobel prize for less than this.

And that's where biotechnology comes in. The biotech industry proudly claims to be a major player in both the energy business and global warming prevention strategies by virtue of its cutting edge research and development into, among other things, cellulose biofuels.

The president's cabinet is equal to the task. When he was Iowa governor, current agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack was named Governor of the Year 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization for his passionate defense of the biotech industry and its products. And energy secretary Steven Chu was the main architect of a controversial $500 million dollar deal between the BP corporation and the University of California's Berkeley campus. This money, a sum that has no precedent in the history of academia, will be used to develop novel biofuels through biotechnology.

But some scientists and environmentalists warn that the cellulose boom will in no way solve the problems of the current generation of biofuels, and in fact will create new ones.

Last January a coalition of diverse groups, that included Food First and the Institute for Social Ecology, issued an open letter that denounced biofuels as a false solution to global warming and specifically contested the assertion that cellulose-based fuel production will not compete with food production. 

The open letter's basic arguments are not new at all. Back in 2007 a group of eleven non-governmental organizations, from countries such as Argentina, Indonesia and Denmark, produced a report titled “Agrofuels: Towards a Reality Check”. The document was particularly emphatic in warning that using so-called agriculture “waste” to meet global energy needs is not a smart idea at all.

What the numerous objections to the biofuels revolution- whether the current generation or yet-to-exist biotech fuels- come down to is that the feedstock for this energy source must come from somewhere. Looking at the promo literature for new generation biotech biofuels one gets the impression that these are made out of thin air. But the fact is that all those fuels come from organisms, hence the prefix “bio”. And all those organisms, whether they be farm crops or engineered microbes, ultimately need to be nourished with physical inputs like nutrients and water, which are not cheaply available. They are renewable but not infinite.

So how much raw material would the cellulose boom require? The U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture set out to find the answer and in 2005 issued a joint report which concluded that the use of wood, grasses, and "plant waste" for the production of cellulosic ethanol would require 1.3 billion tons of dry biomass a year. Obtaining this amount would be possible only by removing most of the country's agricultural residues, planting an area three times the size of Missouri with perennial cellulose-rich crops like switchgrass, and putting all U.S. farmland under "no-till" agriculture, say the report's authors. 

In these times of economic and ecological collapse it is hard not to get carried away by the lure of technological quick fixes, like biofuels. I beg to differ from most renewable energy advocates: this is not a matter of “bad” non-renewable energy sources vs. “good” renewable ones. The ultimate root problem behind environmental catastrophe and the energy crisis is the voracious and ever-increasing energy demand, which unfortunately many environmentalists and eco-entrepreneurs have come to accept as a given. 

Rather than jumping headlong into a dubious biofuels revolution, our best bet for survival will be the realization that increased energy consumption and higher standards of living are not synonymous.

Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, a self-described renaissance hack and impractical humanist, is a Puerto Rican journalist, environmental educator and author. He is as Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program, a Fellow of the Oakland Institute, and directs the Puerto Rico Project on Biosafety (http://bioseguridad.blogspot.com/). Whenever he is not writing or working at a call center, he distributes farm produce for something that resembles a CSA. Ruiz-Marrero, a compulsive blogger, blogs away at: http://carmeloruiz.blogspot.com/

New tech. could make ethanol from almost every waste by 2010

Researchers from the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and Byogy Renewables say that a new technology could turn everyday waste into petrol as early as 2010. The process makes converting biomass to high-octane petrol possible, and might be the only integrated system that converts biomass directly to petrol. Most other emerging processes convert the biomass into alcohol and then blend it with petrol. The system is relatively inexpensive and focuses on using biomass waste streams and non-food energy crops rather than food products such as corn. TEES says that the cost of such a conversion would probably be between $1.70 and $2.00 (€1.17 -1.38) per gallon excluding all subsidies and tax credits, with the cost depending on the type and cost of feedstock as well as the size of the biorefinery.'This technology is important because it addresses many issues: eliminating waste, producing economical fuel quickly and being friendly to our environment,' Kenneth Hall, associate director of TEES, comments. 'This technology is ready to be commercialized now and does not require any new scientific or technological breakthroughs to become a reality.'Byogy has licensed the process and hopes to have a plant using the technology up and running within 18 months to two years.

ref:http://www.makebiofuel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55

US taking the lead in global biofuel production

The US biofuel industry is rapidly growing and leading the global biofuel industry due to government support, coming up of new projects and plants, and rising domestic demand.

US Biofuel Market Analysis, a new research report from RNCOS, anticipates the US biofuel industry, particularly ethanol production, to lead the world biofuel production during 2008-2017.

As per the report, the US has emerged as the world's largest biofuel industry, with its ethanol production soaring to 4.9 billion gallons in 2006, an increased of around 1 billion gallons from the production level in 2005, and contributed 36% of the total global ethanol production. While the growth in ethanol production was substantially high in 2006 from 2005, the industry still continues to enhance its production capacity.

Seeing this remarkable performance of the US biofuel industry, a senior research analyst at RNCOS comments that it will not be wrong to say that the global ethanol industry is centred around the US.

Moreover, the US is expected to lead the global ethanol production in future. The main reasons behind this projection, says the analyst, are the long-term government intervention (Renewable Fuels Standard policy) and setting up of more ethanol plants. Besides, continuous rise in domestic ethanol demand will encourage domestic producers to keep adding to the production volume in coming years.

The RNCOS research says that this radical rise in ethanol production in the US has virtually affected every aspect of field crops sector - from domestic demand and exports to prices, acreage allocation among crops, and even the livestock sector. Under such commodity market effects, government payments, farm income and food prices have changed significantly.

Taiwan has enforced a 1% biodiesel mandate for all motor vehicle

Waste cooking oil will be collected from households and restaurants to produce the biodiesel required to fuel the vehicles. The higher cost of biodiesel will also be absorbed by state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp., Taiwan (CPC) and the private sector's Formosa Petrochemical Corp.

The mandate is expected to cut Taiwan's diesel consumption by 38.5 million litres a year, equivalent to about 1 million barrels of imported crude oil.

The Taiwanese government decided to roll out an island-wide biodiesel programme after a successful biodiesel trial in several parts of the island. More than 500 buses have been running on 2-5% biodiesel fuel blend in Kaohsiung City and Chiayi County in southern Taiwan since January 2007.

 

 

 

CropEnergies expands bioethanol capacity

CropEnergies expands bioethanol capacity

The original capacity of the Zeitz location has been increased by a further 100,000 m³ to 360,000 m³

Germany-based bioethanol producer CropEnergies has completed the expansion of capacity at its bioethanol plant in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt.

After a construction period for the extension of 13 months, the original capacity of the Zeitz location of 260,000 m³ of bioethanol a year has been increased by a further 100,000 m³ to 360,000 m³. The increase was carried out in two stages.

The existing plant, which processes cereals and sugar syrups into bioethanol, was expanded by an additional 40,000 m³ of bioethanol a year. The newly-built plant with capacity of 60,000 m³ a year exclusively processes sugar syrups originating from the neighbouring sugar factory. With this expansion, the Zeitz factory is Europe's largest bioethanol plant.

At the Zeitz plant, a total of over €50 million has been invested in the expansion of the bioethanol production.

At the end of the year, a further plant with a capacity of up to 300,000 m³ of bioethanol a year will go on stream in Wanze, Belgium. At the end of financial year 2008/09, CropEnergies will then have a capacity of over 700,000 m³ of bioethanol available a year.

Ontario invests in biofuel

Ontario invests in biofuel  

The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has awarded $7.5 million (€4.77 million) for two biofuels projects.

Both projects intend to develop biofuels made agricultural byproducts, such as corn husks and manure, instead of from crops.

Approximately $5 million of the total funding is going to a research centre at the University of Western Ontario's experimental field station.

The second project will take place at a London, Ontario-area farm and focuses on generating green energy from manure and waste water.

Ontario produces close to 50 million tonnes of biomass a year, which has the potential to produce enough energy to power 7 million homes.

Since 2003, the Ontario government has invested more than $600 million in research devoted to green technologies and initiatives.

Italian biodiesel production to increase 28% in 2008

Italian biodiesel production to increase 28% in 2008

The Italian Biodiesel Association has stated that five new biodiesel plants are ready to come online and will increase national biodiesel capacity from 1.9 million tonnes and to 2.7 million tonnes.

The 12 existing plants produced only 469,707 tonnes due to high feedstock costs last year, down from more than 590,000 tonnes in 2006. The association is projecting that total production will reach 600,000 tonnes in 2008 and 800,000 tonnes in 2009.

Italian research has detailed the potential to use tobacco oil as a biodiesel feedstock. Researchers say that tobacco is a higher-yield crop than comparable biodiesel feedstocks.

The Chinese and Italian governments have initiated a feasibility study for jatropha biodiesel at Sichuan University. The project received $650,000 (€409,000) in support from Italy. The project is the third signed by Italy and China, promising cooperation in biofuels research since mid-April.

In April, Oxem Group began construction on a 60 million gallon a year canola-based biodiesel plant near Pavia, in Lombardy. Oxem will invest $100 million in the project that will use feedstock from France, Germany, Romania and Hungary. Last year, only 45,000 hectares of Italian crops produced feedstock for biodiesel.

In February, Mossi & Ghisolf announced that it will construct a 66 million gallon a year ethanol plant in Piedmont, and convert it to cellulosic feedstocks in the long run. Mossi & Ghisolf say the $148 million plant would be operational in 2009, and converted to cellulosic ethanol in a second, $177 million upgrade.