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Research and Technology Updates
Bioenergy May be a Remedy for Ailing Wood Products Industry With the current economic crisis and housing market collapse, concerns have risen from the timber industry about the decrease in demand for wood fiber and lumber. According to the International Woodfiber Report (IWR) released on October 23, the demand for North American virgin woodfiber could decline by more than 20 million green tons by 2009. So far this year, the IWR estimates that pulp and paper mill closures represent the loss of 7.7 million tons/year of pulpwood demand in North America, and curtailments in oriented strand board (OSB) mills could lead to the decline of nearly 9.5 million green tons for this year. According to Chris Lyddan, executive editor of the IWR, "With the housing market virtually dead in the water, and pulp and paper markets teetering under the weight of the general financial crisis, pulpwood demand could see unprecedented declines in most US and Canadian markets." In addition to the wood fiber market, the lumber industry is also having difficulties due to the recent economic downturn. With the steep decline in the housing market, there are large numbers of homes in foreclosure, on the market, or left vacant. This has resulted in fewer homes being under construction leading to a decline in demand lumber used for building components such as housing frames and cabinets. Even if housing construction rebounds in the next year, it is expected that building plans will be scaled back. "We are going to be building smaller houses”, said George Barrett, editor of Hardwood Review magazine. “We are going to see a lot more 2,000 square-foot homes rather than 5,000 square foot.” According to the Western Wood Production Association, lumber demand is expected to decline by 15 percent this year and another 3 percent next year. The amount of lumber used for housing construction is expected to total 11.8 billion board feet which is less than half the amount of 23.3 billion board feet used two years ago. Combining decreased production with lumber prices declining to near 30-year lows, many sawmills and lumber companies have been hurt with some forced to shut down. Private landowners that manage timberland who are dependent on the lumber industry have also been affected. In total, the lumber industry has seen a 13 percent loss in employment in the last three years for the more than 100,000 workers. There is also concern that a downturn in the timber industry leading to wood mill closures could lead to declining forest health in some regions. According to Steve Ellis, forest supervisor for Whitman National Forest in Oregon, it will be difficult to keep forests healthy without wood mills present to thin out overgrown forests. He warns that without wood mills present, forests may go unmanaged for an extended period of time leading to overgrowth. This could result in beetle infestations leaving large amounts of dead trees which are more susceptible to spawning destructive wildfires. Although wildfires are a natural occurrence, with more people living alongside forested areas there must be costly fire suppression treatments and firefighting activities if there is not proper forest management. One industry with the potential to grow despite the decline in the economy and the housing market is the bioenergy market. The Wood Biomass Market Report released on October 16 states that even though existing mills are willing to pay more to preserve their wood supplier, biomass projects are expected to contribute new demand for woody biomass. According to William Perrett, editor of the Wood Biomass Market report, "Recent and upcoming project starts in the energy, pellet, and biofuels sectors will add an estimated 37 million tons per year to existing wood fiber demand in North America, and that number could easily jump to 50 million tons in short order." In British Columbia in Canada, the wood pellet industry is expected to grow which according to Pat Bell, Minister of Forestry, will help the struggling forest industry. The growth is expected to come not just from domestic demand, but also from overseas where coal fired plants are switching to wood pellets. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada has announced that it will subsidize up to 25 percent of the cost of wood pellet stoves and furnaces. This has been done partly to provide new business opportunities to sawmills which will be able to utilize their wood waste. Wood pellets utilized in this province currently must be imported from elsewhere, but the first pellet facility is expected to open shortly. This program is part of a $14 million Forest Industry Diversification Initiative announced in May 2008. With increasing amounts of attention given to the urgency of climate change and constant concerns over the volatility of traditional fossil fuel energy markets, bioenergy production has the potential for providing an essential market for the forest products industry despite the current economic situation.
Sources: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/RISIs-International-Woodfiber-Report-Predicts/story.aspx?guid=%7BE4934685-2AB7-4E22-9F59-C8F5D9E763C0%7D
H.R. 7050 – Energy Conservation Corps Act of 2008
S. 3577 – Prevent Excessive Speculation Act
H.R. 7060 – Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008
H.R. 7097 – Biogas Production Incentive Act of 2008
H.R. 7010
H.R. 7239
S. 3669 – Harmonizing America’s Energy, Economy, Environment, and National Security Act of 2008
S. 3679
S. 3682 – Small Business Energy Innovation Act of 2008
H.R. 7249 – Renewable Power for Agriculture Incentive Program Act of 2008
H.R. 7250 – Arctic Climate Preservation Act
H.R. 7268
USDA Notice of Funds Availability and Proposed Rulemaking for Biorefinery Assistance Program On November 20, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer announced a notice of funds availability (NOFA) and a proposed rulemaking for the Biorefinery Assistance Program. Created in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246), the Biorefinery Assistance Program (Sec. 9003) provides loan guarantees for the development and construction of commercial-scale biorefineries and grants for demonstration-scale biorefineries. Under this announcement, funds will be made available for loan-guarantees only. The Farm Bill provides mandatory funding of $75 million in FY09 and $245 million in FY10 for loan guarantees for commercial-scale biorefineries. Available funds cover the development and construction of new commercial-scale biorefineries or the retrofitting of existing facilities to produce advanced biofuels. The maximum loan (principal plus interest) eligible for loan guarantees is $250 million. Loan guarantees can cover up to 80 percent of loans less than $80 million; 70 percent of loans between $80 and $125 million; and 60 percent of loans greater than $125 million. More information about eligibility and application procedures can be found in the Federal Register notice (see below). Applications for loan guarantees in the first half of FY09 are due by December 31, 2008. Applications for the second half of FY09 are due between March 1, 2009 and April 30, 2009. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is also seeking comments on proposed rules for the Biorefinery Assistance Program. Comments are being solicited on long-term interpretation of legislative language, as well as implementation of the program. Comments on the proposed rulemaking are due by January 20, 2009. Details on submitting comments, as well as specific areas in which USDA is seeking input, can be found in the Federal Register notice (see below).
Sources: USDA Press Release
USDA and DOE Release National Biofuels Action Plan On October 7, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced the release of the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP) to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry. The NBAP was developed by the Biomass Research and Development Board created by USDA and DOE to accomplish the goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard. This action plan outlines interagency actions and federal funding for research in areas such as sustainability, feedstock technology, distribution infrastructure, blending, and environmental health and safety. Working groups have been given deadlines to deliver results in the development of sustainability criteria, research and development forecasts for cellulosic biofuels, and infrastructure issues. In addition to the National Biofuels Action Plan, a preliminary report was released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on intermediate blends of ethanol and gasoline. This preliminary report shows that the regulated emissions from using E15 or E20 ethanol blends were within normal test variation with no significant change. These results were deemed as encouraging; however, additional studies are needed with a wide range of vehicles and engines. Also on October 7, five advanced biofuels projects of up to $7 million were announced for the development of new conversion methods to convert cellulosic feedstocks into pyrolysis oils.
Sources: http://www.doe.gov/news/6635.htm
DOE Announces Funding to Two Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefineries Ethanol producer Poet has announced that it will receive $76.3 million from the Department of Energy to construct its commercial scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Emmetsburg, IA. This installment is part of an $80 million grant Poet was awarded in 2007 and will be used for the final design, construction, and start-up of the facility. Poet had previously received the first $3.7 for preliminary design, engineering, and feedstock collection. When completed, this facility will produce 125 million gallons of ethanol per year, including 25 million gallons from corn fiber and cobs. In addition to this funding announcment, DOE also announced that it has transferred a $26 million grant to Mascoma Corporation for a demonstration scale facility to be constructed in Michigan. This grant was originally awarded to Mascoma to construct a facility in Vonore, TN, but that project was discontinued. The Michigan facility is expected to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Sources: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53789
California Changes Law to Combat Grease Theft, Spur Biodiesel California Governor Arnold Scwarzenegger signed a bill September 26 that cut the fee required to license a truck to transport used cooking oil by more than 75%, from $400 to $75 a vehicle. The bill, Assembly Bill 1846, will take effect on January 1, 2009. The bill comes about as a response to large spikes in the amount of used cooking oil being stolen from behind restaurants. Used cooking oil is the most copious potential feedstock for what is known as DIY (Do It Yourself) biodiesels, which are made in a straightforward process for as little as $1/gallon. Rendering plants have reported losses as high as $15,000 per month, as they typically operate through contractual agreements to handle restaurants’ used oil. If the agreed-to oil has been stolen, the rendering plant is unable to recoup its operational losses, as they cannot go out and buy excess cooking oil elsewhere to use in their already activated plants. DIY fuels are already taxed at a rate of $.18/gallon, and require backyard refiners to register as “Providers of Fuel.” Authorities hope that the new fee changes will encourage thieves to cease their illegal activity and proceed as legitimate refiners. Critics of the measure point to the small but noticeable cut in state and municipal revenue and to the fact that cutting registration fees may not provide enough incentive for refiners, who have not been caught and can get their feedstock for free, to register.
Sources: http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/theft-of-grease-for-biodiesel-on-the-rise-ca-adjusts-laws/
Oregon – First Ever School Biomass Project to Be Dedicated On September 19, the first-ever biomass boiler system installed in a public school was dedicated and activated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Enterprise High School, Wallowa County, Oregon. The project’s design company, McKinstry, estimates that the project will save the district an estimated $76,000 per year on fuel, or 45,000 gallons, as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.016 million pounds. Costs for construction were cut by almost a third, as it was the first project to qualify for Oregon’s new Renewable Business Energy Tax credit. The boiler will use renewable woody biomass from forest management activities and local businesses to power the school. “It was a great renewable and energy efficiency project, the people of Enterprise are wonderful, the school district board and administration were engaged and involved, and it keeps the resources in the local economy. It is a win for all that are involved,” said Cam Hamilton, McKinstry’s Business Development Manager for the Portland area, referring to the boiler project. The project will have the effect of removing 67 cars from the road or planting 138 acres of trees.
Sources: http://www.timberbuysell.com/Community/DisplayNews.asp?id=3490
New York State to Offer $42.6 in Renewable Energy Grants The New York State Public Service Commission has announced that it will provide $42.6 million in grants to assist residential and commercial consumers to install renewable electricity systems as part of New York’s Renewable Portfolio Standard: $20.6 million will be allocated to install solar photovoltaic systems; $7.6 million will be used for anaerobic digester systems for biogas; and $18.8 million will be used for discretionary funding as well as the evaluation of these technologies. It is expected that more than 90,000 MWh of generation will be created, which would be a 70 increase above what would have previously been produced through 2009. Prior to this new funding, the RPS program provided $45 million for solar projects, fuel cells, anaerobic digestion systems and small wind turbines. Source: http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/10/15/solar_grants/
Florida Offering $15 Million in Energy Grants Florida Governor Charlie Crist is offering up to $15 million a year in state grants to public and private entities for renewable energy and energy efficiency proposals to improve the state’s overall energy portfolio. Each grant will be worth up to $2.5 million, and at least $8 million will be allocated towards biofuel projects. Entities including individuals, local governments, state agencies, colleges and universities, private companies, and not-for-profits are eligible to receive the award. Over the last two years, the program has awarded $27.5 million in grants for renewable and next-generation energy projects, though this is the first year that significant contributions towards energy efficiency and conservation projects will be included.
Sources: http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/101308/D93PPIOO1.shtml
Researchers Develop New Catalyst for Converting Biomass Researchers based in the United States and China have developed a catalyst to convert cellulosic biomass directly into ethylene glycol which is an important intermediate product used in the chemical industry. This new catalyst is made of tungsten carbide and nickel on a carbon support and is capable of converting 100% of cellulosic biomass into various polyalcohols, including 61% ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is commonly used in the plastics industry in polyester fibers and resin as well as antifreeze. According to researcher Jingguang G. Chen from the University of Delaware, the remaining portion of converted cellulosic biomass consists largely of simple sugars which can be processed further to produce hydrogen and various other chemicals. The biggest advantage of this new catalyst is that it is cheaper to produce than other similar catalysts which largely rely on precious metals.
Sources: http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2073
Researchers Develop Method to Allow Plants to Increase Growth in Aluminum Containing Soil Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered a mutation to a simple gene which can allow plants to grow in soils with high amounts of aluminum. Although aluminum is commonly found in soils, acidic soils form an aluminum ion which is toxic to plants by damaging their DNA. Acidic soils comprise up to half of the world’s croplands, and aluminum toxicity is a primary factor repressing crop growth in nearly 20 percent of the world’s arable lands, including a large portion of the eastern United States. "The problem is, we have all these crop plants--wheat and corn and barley and so on--that didn't evolve or get developed on aluminum-toxic soils," said Paul Larsen of the University of California Riverside. "They don't have natural resistance or tolerance to aluminum." This study has been published in the journal Current Biology. The study conducted by Larsen along with Megan Rounds has shown that a simple mutation to a single gene will allow plant growth to continue despite the presence of aluminum. Plants naturally cope with the effects of aluminum by ceasing cell growth, but this defense mechanism leads to stunted overall plant growth. Although it is unknown how much DNA damage may occur due to alumnium toxicity, genetically modified crops could promote short-term growth. To avoid DNA damage accumulating over several generations, seeds could be obtained from genetically modified plants grown in aluminum-free soil. However, according to plant biologist Manny Delhaize of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Plant Industry Center in Canberra, Australia, there are no obvious deleterious effects on growth, viability, [or] seed production," even after growing modified plants on aluminum rich soils for several generations.
Sources: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21454/page2/
Fueling the Farm: ARS Work on Wet Gasification Researchers at the ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water, and Plant Research Center in Florence, SC, are working on a method to refine useable biofuels from livestock manure using recycling techniques and thermochemical reactions. “Our goal is to develop new waste-treatment methods and strategies that small farms and concentrated animal-production facilities could use to meet their energy needs,” says Kerri Cantrell, an agricultural engineer and member of the team. One of the processes, wet gasification, has been found to kill pathogens, destroy odor-causing organic compounds, and produce energy rich gases and relatively clean water. By cooking wet manure slurry in temperatures in excess of 350 degrees, the enzymatic processes that normally have these effects can be shortened from several months to 15 minutes or less. In addition, the team is researching use of pyrolysis, whereby the manure is heated in an oxygen-deprived environment to produce char, or “green coal.” “Green coal can serve as an energy source for on-farm use, or it can be transported to coal power plants for feedstock,” says Kyoung RO, and environmental engineer on the team. “It can also be transformed into activated charcoal. This charcoal can be applied to soil to improve soil quality, and it also reduces greenhouse gases by permanently sequestering carbon.” The team is cooperating with groups at the DOE to work on methods of converting “syngas,” which is produced during gasification, to liquid fuel. However, the group stresses that all of these procedures must be dealt with on a cost/benefit basis, with the potential gains from using the fuel and recycling the organic matter balanced by environmental concerns and economic realities. Source: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct08/farm1008.htm
Gene Coding for Cellulose Enzymes to be Inserted Directly into Corn Plants Dr. Mariam Sticklen from Michigan State University has developed a method for inserting a gene from a bacterium into a corn plant to allow cellulosic materials such as leaves and stalks to be converted into biofuels. The gene in question is from a bacterium naturally found in a cow’s stomach which codes for an enzyme that allows the digestion of cellulosic material, such as grasses. Corn with this new gene produces the enzyme and stores it in cells. When the corn is crushed, the enzymes are released which will act to break down cellulosic material. Current conversion methods require the addition of expensive enzymes, but this method would allow the enzymes to be produced directly by the corn plant to potentially lower costs. This new technology has been licensed to Kansas-based company Edenspace Systems Corporation. "We're excited to start commercializing this technology," said Bruce Ferguson, president of Edenspace. "We've been collaborating with Dr. Sticklen on this research for the past four years. This is a very productive extension of that work." It is hoped that new corn varieties will be released for the purpose of biofuels production. Edenspace is also looking towards using this technology in other biofuels feedstocks such as sorghum, switchgrass, and sugarcane. Edenspace hopes to have a product on the market by 2011.
Sources: http://www.biofuelreview.com/content/view/1702/1/
Method Developed to Extract Electricity from Live Trees Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a method for extracting energy from trees without having to cut them down for combustion. It has been found that a small amount of electricity is generated by a tree due to the difference in pH between the tree and the ground. While this is a very small amount of electricity which would have no commercial applications, it may be utilized for other purposes. This small electrical charge could be used to power a network of sensors in forests to monitor climate conditions for fire prediction models as well as for studying climate change. Sensors may also be placed on the nation’s borders to detect national security threats such as radioactive materials. A network of sensors would work by transmitting signals from one sensor to another until the signal reaches an existing weather station which would transmit the data to a forestry command center. This idea is being developed by Voltree Power which expects to begin testing a wireless sensor network early next year on land provided by the U.S. Forest Service. Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080922095435.htm
New Report Released Detailing the Potential Effect of Biofuels and Land Use Changes On November 12, the Renewable Fuels Association released a report detailing the potential effect that increased biofuels production could have on indirect land use changes and the amount of available cropland. The report concludes that less than one percent of total world cropland will be needed to reach the requirement of 15 billion gallons of ethanol by 2015. In addition, gains in agricultural productivity, along with feed produced from ethanol production, are expected to reduce the need for new cropland in the United States. The report rebukes criticisms of biofuels production stating that such criticisms use “unsupported assumptions, imprecise economic models, and questionable logic.” The report goes on to say, “Unfortunately, the current state of land use change science is far from conclusive and no consensus exists on how best to analyze the potential indirect land use impacts of expanding biofuels production.” This report states that current models of land use change are limited and cannot predict the complex processes that lead to land use changes. The release of this report is largely in response to worries earlier this year about rising food costs due to biofuels production. However, with the current drop in oil prices, the cost of corn has dropped as well, but this has not translated into lower food prices. According to Ken Witt, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council chairman, "Corn is selling under the cost of production, yet the price at the grocery store remains the same." During this time profits of companies like Kellogg have increased 9.5% and profits of Kraft have doubled.
Sources: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/objects/documents//release20081112.html
Belarus Envoy Says Biofuels Sector is Key to Cleaning Up Chernobyl Mr Andrei Savinykh, Belarus’ duty permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, has told a conference in Brussels organized by Greenfield Project Management, LLC in late September that his country’s main priority is to decontaminate the lands saturated with radiation released when the Chernobyl power plant on the Belarus/Ukraine border exploded 26 years ago. They plan on doing this by constructing a large-scale biofuels sector in the region, which will use non-arable crop land (food gown on the land would be contaminated as well, and inedible) to grow large-scale fuel feedstocks. These feedstocks will absorb the nucleotides from the surrounding soil, removing the contaminant within 40-50 years instead of the centuries required for natural decomposition, while providing employment and an attractive FDI (foreign direct investment) environment. Stating that the government of Belarus was “totally committed” to the bio-clean project, Mr. Savinykh stressed that use of traditional crops would not achieve the goal of decontamination, as agricultural waste is often re-used as fertilizer, reintroducing the absorbed nucleotides into the soil. “The final stage, food, must be removed from the production chain, and we must substitute instead an agro-industrial product in the form of biofuels,” said Mr. Savinykh, who continued, “This land cannot be used to grow food crops, so we will not be competing with food crops or taking any food from even one person’s mouth. Instead, we will bring employment, incomes, and hope to these devastated regions, which have seen little improvement since the catastrophe in 1986.” Greenfield Project Management plans a multi-fuel refinery at Mozyr, Belarus, producing 550 million litres of ethanol annually, as well as biogas, biodiesel, and electricity, with each production process using waste from the previous processes. Following trial runs and safety testing, the refinery will exclusively use contaminated crops. Source: http://www.live-pr.com/en/belarus-envoy-says-biofuels-sector-is-r1048209388.htm
Ethanol Produces Tons of Livestock Feed A September 26 report by the Renewable Fuels Association (the largest trade association for the US ethanol industry) shows that the ethanol industry annually creates enough animal feed to completely satisfy Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska, the nation’s four largest feedlot states. Last year, America’s ethanol industry delivered some 23 million metric tons of livestock and poultry feed, mostly in the form of distillers grain, corn gluten feed, and gluten meal. The 23 million metric tons is more than three times the amount of wheat, sorghum, barley, and oats fed to American livestock last year. Only two-thirds of any given bushel of grain is distilled into ethanol, while the rest is left over and recycled to the feed market as a lucrative secondary product. “The focus of the public has been on the industry’s production of fuel ethanol as a renewable alternative to imported oil. But the production of a high quality livestock feed is equally important. Our industry is truly in the business of producing both feed and fuel,” said Bob Dineen, RFA President. Critics still point to the distortionary effect the ethanol industry has on world food prices and supply despite the large secondary market for production byproducts, such as animal feed.
Sources: http://domesticfuel.com/2008/09/26/ethanol-produces-tons-of-livestock-feed/
Xcel Energy to Construct Biomass Power Plant in Wisconsin Utility company Xcel Energy Inc. is planning to build a biomass-fired power plant in Ashland, Wisconsin, which according to Xcel will be the largest of its kind in the Midwest. This project is expected to cost between $55 and $70 million and is expected to be operation in late 2012. Currently, the Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland uses biomass as its primary fuel in two of the three boilers. This project will help convert the remaining coal-fired boiler to biomass. This facility is expected to reduce emission of nitrogen oxides by 50%, sulfur dioxides by more than 85% percent, and particulate matter by 90%. When completed, this facility will generate renewable electricity for 40,000 homes using biomass from waste wood sourced in the region. This project is part of a larger effort by Xcel to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.
Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSBNG34541020080930
Lignol Enters Agreement with Weyerhaeuser Canadian-based Lignol Energy Corporation has entered an agreement with Weyerhaeuser Company to explore the development of commercial production of biochemicals with Lignol’s biorefining technology. There is also an agreement to evaluate the development of a commercial-scale biorefinery near a Weyerhaeuser mill. Several different biomass feedstocks will be tested at different Lignol facilities to determine yields and qualities of several different outputs, including cellulose fibers for commercial use. Lignol also is currently planning the development of a demonstration scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Colorado. Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/30/c9609.html
Iogen Begins Shipment of Cellulosic Ethanol to Shell Iogen Corporation has recently begun to ship more than half of a 47,000 gallon cellulosic ethanol order to Shell. Iogen and Shell first began working together in 2002 when Shell began invest in second generation biofuels and, in July of 2008, Shell expanded its investment. Iogen has been producing cellulosic ethanol using wheat straw at its demonstration facility in Ottawa since 2004. Iogen has currently shipped 26,000 gallons and the remaining 21,000 gallons from the order is expected to be shipped by the end of the year. According to Lisa Meiser, marketing and communications specialist at Iogen, the fuel will be used by Shell in “upcoming fuel applications.” Further elaboration was unavailable; however Meiser did state that additional information would be released in the near future. Source: http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2084
U.S. Will Have Largest Biodiesel Market by 2012 According to a September 30 report released by business research company SRI Consulting, the United States is positioned to become the world’s largest biodiesel market by 2012, with 19 percent of world consumption. The industry grew 50 percent between 2002 and 2007 and is poised to grow another 30 percent by 2012, though SRI predicts decreasing growth rates through the next decade, due to factors such as the ongoing food/fuel debate, changing regulatory environments, rising food costs, and the current slowing world economy. SRI cites a changing market place, where “only five years ago Europe was a dominant player, with 83 percent of capacity. By 2007 the European share had declined to about 46 percent as North America and Asia grew to 23 percent and 19 percent respectively,” as the report states. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/09/29/daily41.html
Scientists Call for Policy to Guide Biofuels Industry towards Sustainability A group of 23 scientists have called for increased policy guidelines for biofuels production to ensure that the industry is acting in an effective manner to address climate change and the nation’s energy independence. The paper, published in the October 3 issue of Science magazine, notes that by 2050, biofuels production could control as much farmland as food, and therefore requires science-based guidelines for production. The U.S. biofuels industry in particular has experienced a distinct growth of momentum in recent years, as evidenced by the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill (which provides incentives for producers of biofuels) and an expanded renewable fuels standard calling for the production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels per year by 2020. However, policy makers must take care to avoid unintended consequences that they may later regret, says the report. The group cites evidence both for and against biofuels, namely that it is effectively carbon neutral during its production cycle, though it may cause increases in environmental CO2 if forest is cleared for farmland to grow feedstock. "Sustainable biofuel production systems could play a highly positive role in mitigating climate change, enhancing environmental quality, and strengthening the global economy," the authors conclude, "but it will take sound, science-based policy and additional research effort to make this so."
Sources: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/03/content_10144359.htm
FAO Releases Report on Biofuels and Food Prices On October 7, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report on the impact of biofuels production on food prices. The report calls for a review of biofuels subsidies and production requirements due to fears of rising food costs. According to the report, current policies should be “urgently reviewed in order to preserve the goal of world food security, protect poor farmers, promote broad-based rural development and ensure environmental sustainability.” In relation to greenhouse gases, the report states that the impact varies depending on where and how biofuels are produced, with land use changes being the biggest factor. The report also recommends increased developmental assistance for developing nations, especially to give rural farmers access to fertilizers, irrigation, and improved seed varieties. In statements made by FAO executive director Jacques Diouf, he suggested that mandates and subsidies be stopped altogether and that benefits should be given to developing nations.
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/world/europe/08italy.html?
PetroSun Inc. Completes Agreement with Biomass Partners, LLC PetroSun Biofuels, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PetroSun Inc, announced October 6 that it has entered into an Agency Agreement with Biomass Partners LLC to obtain and develop land for aquaculture farm ponds for the development of its proprietary algae-to-biofuels technology. The groups will pursue lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and will offer Real Property Lease Agreements to interested landowners. The companies will offer a base rent plus royalties for the right to develop existing ponds or marginal acreage for development into biofuel feedstock sources.
National Push Needed for Better Utilization of Seafood Byproducts At the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology in Vancouver, BC, U.S.-based strategy consulting firm Strategro International laid out a potential strategy for using seafood byproducts to commercially produce a number of potential end-products, including biofuels, in the United States. Steve Dillingham, founder and Principal of Strategro, stated that current policies resulted in immense waste of potentially valuable resources, and that improved government policy and commercial participation could result not only in more efficient use of seafood byproducts, but immense value gained as well as greater environmental benefit. "If you look how much focus and research and development activity is taking place within the waste reclamation and biofuels/energy field as a result of the national prioritization and support by DOE funding, you could easily guess how impactful this sort of "put a man on the moon" effort could be if equally applied towards solving the seafood byproduct industry waste problem -- not to mention the ecological and environmental benefits we would gain,” said Dillingham, who continued, “We could use a national initiative designed to help solve the logistics, storage and technical challenges, so that these valuable materials could be further processed on a scale where it becomes economically attractive to do so." The Summit on Industrial Biotech brings together scientists, businesses, and policy makers to highlight and discuss recent advances in the field of biotechnology and energy.
Sources: http://www.strategro.com/content/view/48/16/
Carpenter Company to Introduce Soy-Based Furniture Foam Cushioning manufacturer Carpenter Company has announced that it will produce foam cushioning made from soybean and other vegetable oils. This new line of “Renew” brand of cushioning is based on soy-based polyols produced by Cargill and will be used in furniture as well as bedding. “We’re thrilled to team up with Carpenter to bring technologically superior biobased cushioning to the global market in a big way,” said Yusuf Wazirzada, Business Unit Leader of Cargill Biobased Polyurethanes. “This is a major milestone in a journey that started for us as a research project only four years ago and is quickly expanding to global manufacturing and distribution.” Cargill announced in 2007 that it had opened a $5.5 million polyols R&D facility and more recently announced that they would construct a $22 million production facility in Chicago. Source: http://www.biobasednews.com/node/18342
Michigan State to Open Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center Michigan State University has attained $3 million in grants to develop technologies to assist smaller farms in turning animal waste into useable energy. The new Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center will aim to develop and commercialize turn-key digester/microturbine modules for affordable waste-to-energy systems. Technology will also be developed to convert manure liquid to methane for heat and electricity as well as extracting fiber for soil enrichment or biofuels production. While anaerobic digestion is used at many large farms, its use is not as widespread in small and medium-sized farms. “The enhanced revenues and reduced pollution from the proposed system will significantly improve the quality of life and health of residents in rural communities and turn an environmental and economic liability into a public and private asset,” said project lead investigator Wei Liao, an assistant professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering. “It is our hope that success at this level will lead to extensive applications of similar technology throughout Michigan and the nation.” Source: http://news.msu.edu/story/5695/
Furfural: Future Feedstock for Fuels and Chemicals Furfural, a sister chemical to the common ethanol feedstock HMF, is beginning to gain attention from cellulosic ethanol producers after a successful test of a furfural-based fuel last October by Dutch company Avantium. Both HFM furfural are important renewable molecules that are key building block to a number of ‘end goods’ such as plastics, herbicides, industrial solvents, and several biofuel products. Furfural is produced by dehydrating five-carbon sugars, which commonly occur in woody biomass, cornstalks, and peanut husks. Furfural was well-known as long ago as the 1920s, when the cereal processing plants of the Quaker Oats Co. produced it. However, oil companies found a way to distill it from petroleum-based chemicals, and decades of low oil prices put the brakes on further research until recently. Today, about 90% of world furfuran production is found in China (74%), South Africa, and the Dominican Republic. However, interest has spiked recently with record oil prices in the United States. Furfural represents a potential extra stream of earnings for biorefineries, as it occurs naturally in both delignification and acid electrolysis, the two primary procedures for producing ethanol. “The primary thrust of the process is to produce ethanol but furfural is a key part of that because what makes our plant very profitable is that the furfural sells for $4.50 to $5 per gallon,” John Sams, Raven COO explains. Both the Canada-based Lignol Innovations and New Jersey-based Raven Biofuels International have begun to produce furfural at their existing refineries, and both are planning on expanding to new sites. Source: http://ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4872&q=&page=1
Ethanol Pipeline Test a Success, Says Kinder Morgan
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LLP says it has successfully tested the nation’s first transmarket ethanol pipeline in Florida, from Tampa to Orlando, a 106 mile trip. The company achieves this by batching neat ethanol in with gas; as long as the pressure in the pipe is constant, there is little mixing between the two goods. Many companies have talked about modifying existing pipe to transport ethanol, but technical problems have plagued efforts to upgrade. Ethanol is highly corrosive when mixed with air, damaging pipe and infrastructure, while it is also hydrophilic (attracts water), meaning that it mixes with water to produce a lower-octane gasoline. Kinder Morgan’s pressure-based pipe avoids many of these problems, resulting in a potentially commercially viable system. Following the $3.5 million spent on updating the Tampa-Orlando pipe, Kinder Morgan is debating updating on a much grander scale. In addition to further ethanol testing elsewhere in its vast pipeline network, the company has begun testing a biodiesel pipeline, specifically between Mississippi and South Carolina. These projects are expected to be joined by a Portland-Eugene, OR pipe and others once Oregon passes its biodiesel initiative this fall and other states begin to follow suit. Senator Dick Lugar welcomed the development, saying “The truth is that ethanol from corn, specialty energy crops, and other forms of agricultural and municipal waste has the potential to make a dramatic
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/10/13/daily42.html
Biomass Removal Case Studies Compiled and Studied The Forest Guild in collaboration with the University of Minnesota have collected and analyzed 45 forest biomass removal case studies and made them available to the public online. The report details seven main themes which emerged throughout the course of this study: objectives, collaboration, ecology, fire, economics, implementation, and regional differences. Fire was named as the main driver for many biomass projects with the goal of reducing fuel loads. The economics of biomass removal were found to be challenging, however some projects were able to produce a profit. The key for a successful biomass project was found to be successful collaboration between public and private interests to resolve regional differences between various projects. Other factors leading to successful projects include existing markets with favorable prices and efficient contractors and mechanized biomass removal.
Sources: http://biomass.forestguild.org/
Scientists, Senators Warn EPA against Premature Rulemaking on Indirect Emissions from Land Use Change On October 23, biofuel industry members, researchers, and university professors sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson regarding an imminent rulemaking that will establish methods for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from ‘indirect land use changes’ (ILUC) in the implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Indirect emissions are market-driven emissions that result from deforestation and tilling of virgin soil to compensate for farmland diverted to the production of biofuels. How to measure and attribute these emissions has been an extremely controversial issue. The letter to Johnson affirms that there are no accepted methods for determining indirect or market-driven land use changes, and that an attempt to do so would be premature. The group states that although standard lifecycle analysis (LCA) approaches for determining direct emissions are relatively straightforward, indirect emissions are much more difficult to evaluate because of the tremendous number of variables involved - physical, political and economic variables. These complex and dynamic factors make the creation of a viable model to measure indirect land use change effects extremely difficult at this time. The letter concluded, “In short, what the legislation requires is currently impossible.” The letter encourages the EPA to delay rulemaking until a more realistic suite of models can be developed. Regardless, however, it is not expected that any rulemaking will be complete by January as was originally planned. A more realistic possibility would be mid-2009. A similar letter was also sent to the California Air Resources Board, which is considering similar policies governing indirect land use changes for inclusion in the California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). In addition, a second letter to the EPA was drafted by six U.S. Senators. In this letter, Senators Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) stated, “the premature publication of specific greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions calculations based on incomplete ILU [indirect land use] assumptions could undermine the ultimate success of RFS-2 and be detrimental to U.S. biofuels producers and farmers, as it will undermine investor confidence and further deprive the industry of the investment capital it will need to meet the renewable targets established in RFS-2.” The letter concludes by clarifying that only ‘significant’ indirect effects should be considered in implementing the RFS, and encouraging the EPA not to include indirect emissions when calculating greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels production, “..specific numbers pertaining to ghg emissions for various biofuels feedstocks – in particular numbers derived from inexact ILU assumptions – should not be included in the proposed rule. Instead, EPA should publish the methodology it has employed thus far in making ILU assumptions, and use the rulemaking process to refine and improve the lifecycle analysis that will ultimately be used to implement the RFS-2 program.”
Sources: http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4953
Fuels of the Future 2008 (Dec. 1-2) Berlin, Germany http://www.bioenergie.de/fuels-of-the-future/start_e.htm 2008 Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit (Dec. 1-3) Gatineau-Ottawa, Canada http://www.crfs2008.com/ International Algae Congress (Dec. 3-4) Amsterdam, Netherlands http://www.algaecongress.com/ Biogas 101 for Electricity and Heat (Dec. 8-9) Orlando, FL https://www.euci.com/conferences/1208-biogas-101/agenda.php Bioenergy Australia (Dec. 8-9) Melbourne, Australia http://www.bioenergyaustralia.org/ Midwest Ag Energy Network Summit (Dec. 15-16) Rosemont, IL http://www.midwestagenergy.net/summit-Third-intro.html National Biodiesel Conference & Expo (Feb. 1-4) San Francisco, CA http://www.biodieselconference.org/2009/ RFA National Ethanol Conference (Feb. 23-25) San Antonio, TX http://www.ethanolrfa.org/industry/conference/ RETECH 2009: Renewable Energy Technology (Feb. 25-27) Las Vegas, NV http://www.retech2009.com/
Writers: Jesse Caputo, Justin Mattingly, and James Hacker
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