Domestic Fuel

Blue Flint Ethanol, a joint venture between Great River Energy and Headwaters Incorporated, celebrated its grand opening Tuesday for a 50 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery near Underwood, North Dakota.

Unique to the U.S. ethanol industry, Blue Flint Ethanol is located adjacent to Coal Creek Station, a coal-fired electric facility, and is using the excess steam from Coal Creek to run its ethanol production operations.

Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen congratulated the company on its grand opening for being ethanol industry visionaries. “Blue Flint Ethanol is a prime example of the kind of ingenuity and resourcefulness that defines the U.S. ethanol industry,” said Dinneen. “By utilizing the excess steam already generated by the electric facility, Blue Flint is replacing the traditional need for natural gas to power its ethanol biorefinery and further enhancing ethanol’s green footprint.”

A naturally occurring microbe could hold the key to converting cellulose into ethanol in a single step, without the need for costly enzymes.

SunEthanol of Amherst, Mass. is commercializing the discovery to produce ethanol from biomass in a simpler and more cost-effective manner.

According to the company website, “SunEthanol has the full genome sequence of this remarkable microbe and is working to push the boundaries of its unique properties and to develop the Q Microbe for full-scale cellulosic ethanol production.”

The Q microbe was discovered by (SunEthanol founder) Dr. Susan Leschine and Tom Warnick from UMass Amherst in soil found near the Quabbin Reservoir in Western MA. It is a naturally occurring anaerobic microbe and is not dangerous.

SunEthanol is working in partnership with some large ethanol industry partners. It is targeting a pilot plant to be in operation in 2009. SunEthanol will supply the cellulosic industry with “Q microbes”, technical know-how and the key components for a cellulosic ethanol bio-reactor platform.

One of those partners is VeraSun Energy, according to a news release.

“SunEthanol has unique technology that if proven to be commercially feasible will be a positive step forward for cellulosic ethanol.” said Bill Honnef, VeraSun Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “While we believe corn-based ethanol production will continue to play a key role in our industry long into the future, ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks will complement corn-based ethanol in meeting the growing global demand for renewable fuels. We continue to evaluate technologies that have the potential to efficiently convert cellulose to biofuels.”

They’re not exactly the most environmentally-friendly mechanisms out there, but recreational vehicles… RVs… are moving to greener fuels.

This article in the Bend (Oregon) Bulletin says while hybrid motors may not be coming up, biodiesel is certainly gaining popularity:

Ty Adams, a 28-year-old freelance journalist and green RV activist from Bozeman, Mont., has spent the past nine months on the road. He’s hit 24 states and put 18,000 miles on his multicolored Monaco, also known as the bioTrekker.

“Every RVer I’ve met is concerned about the future and the environment,” Adams said. “They are touring state parks and getting into nature and places that are enhanced by a pristine environment, so they are very aware.”

Adams says while only about five percent of RVers use biodiesel, 40 percent say they have heard of it. He also believes that manufacturers need to be convinced as well.

Check out Adams’ blog at biotrekker.blogspot.com/.

You probably think of the Deep South, such as Georgia and Alabama, when you think of peanuts, but a farmer and a researcher from Washington State Univesity are looking to grow goobers in the Pacific Northwest to make into biodiesel.

This article in the Seattle (WA) Post Intelligencer says Steve Price’s venture is picking up steam:

Price has been growing dry beans in the area about 30 miles north of Eastern Washington’s Tri-Cities since the 1980s. He planted about 25 acres of peanuts last year, just to see if he could grow them.

“When I started this I thought my background in dry edible beans would be a plus,” Price said. “But I found out I don’t know anything about peanuts.”

Price ran into some problems, such as not having peanut harvesting equipment. In addition, dry bean processing plants didn’t want to handle the peanuts because of the allergy problems. But despite that, he had some success growing the legumes, getting 5,000 pounds an acre… when the national average is only 3,300.

Price’s initiative impressed Tim Waters, a WSU extension educator based in Pasco. He and another professor for WSU’s crop and soil sciences program began working with Price and helping where they could.

“We can do this and study the potential to see if this is something that is feasible for growers so they don’t have to take the risk,” Waters said.

This year’s crop looks even better than last year. And, if you remember my July 31st post, researchers back in Georgia are developing a type of peanut ideal for biodiesel. Hopefully, they’ll share their information with the peanut-biodiesel far off to the north.

General Motors, Governor Chet Culver and Kum & Go, L.C. today celebrated plans for the addition of 19 new E85 ethanol fueling locations to be opened throughout the state by the end of 2008. The new fueling locations will be promoted by GM as part of a broader, ongoing national GM campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in the United States.

According to a news release, the announcement was celebrated at the Iowa State Fair during an event presided over by Iowa Governor Chet Culver, GM executives and Kum & Go.

“We know how much our customers care about the environment and we’re proud to offer them the choice for renewable fuels at the pump,” said Kyle Krause, president and CEO, Kum & Go. “Our new sites are helping make E85 ethanol more available to more of our customers throughout the state.”

Researchers at Louisiana State University are among those hard at work to find ways to “make ethanol fuel an efficient reality.”

According to an LSU release, James Spivey, McLaurin Shivers professor of chemical engineering at LSU, and Challa Kumar, group leader of nanofabrication at LSU’s Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices are working on the project withClemson University and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, with the help of $2.9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and its cost-sharing partner, Conoco-Phillips.

“We’re working with our project partners to produce ethanol from a coal-derived syngas, a mixture of primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The United States has tremendous reserves of coal, but converting it to affordable, clean fuels is a challenge – one that we are addressing in this DOE-funded project,” said Spivey. “Because ethanol is a liquid, it can be more easily distributed to the end user than gaseous hydrogen. It can be converted into a hydrogen-rich gas at the point of use, such as a fuel cell. The net result is clean energy produced from a domestic resource.”

The El Paso Times reports on the disparity of flex-fuel vehicles to the availability of ethanol to fill their tanks.

U.S. automakers have stepped up production of vehicles that can run on ethanol, and El Pasoans can easily find such vehicles at some local new car dealerships.

El Paso has more than 10,000 E85-compatible vehicles on the road, the coalition reported. Nationwide, an estimated 6 million E85-compatible vehicles are on the road, according to the coalition.

Read more here.

Photo of El Paso Chevrolet salesman Steve Boughton Sr. with a 2007 flex-fuel Impala by Vanessa Monsisvais of the El Paso Times.

“In times of change, the learner will inherit the earth, while the learned are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer

With those words of wisdom, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) has announced the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo will be held May 11-14, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 14th annual conference is expected to attract 2000 key experts and end users to accelerate the commercial adoption of alternative fuels, vehicles, and advanced transportation technologies. The program emphasis is on alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles and advanced transportation technologies, vehicle emissions, and policy.

More information and advanced registration is available on-line.

New York City-based Tri-State Biodiesel has put out a call for people to join its Bio-NYC campaign… an effort to encourage New Yorkers to buy more biodiesel, especially that sold by the company, made from used restaurant cooking oil.

This is from an e-mail that came into Domestic Fuel:

HERE¹S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

- Buy a diesel vehicle and fill it with biodiesel.

- The more requests they get, the more results we’ll see!

Of course, this is a company that has a vested interest in the large New York market buying its product. But if they can get that tough New York crowd on their side, then it’s got to be good for the industry as a whole.

Check out the web site at www.nycTriStateBiodiesel.com.

VeraSun Energy of Brookings, SD is test driving one of the new Ford Escape Hybrid FFVs for a two-year period to demonstrate the benefit of converging flexible fuel and hybrid technologies.

The Escape Hybrid FFV will produce up to 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions when running on E85 as compared to the standard Escape Hybrid running on gasoline. Ford is delivering 20 Escape Hybrid FFVs to strategic partners and fleet customers in six different states.

The Escape Hybrid FFV is a “full” hybrid, meaning it automatically switches between pure electric power, pure E85 power or a combined operation to maximize efficiency and performance. Full hybrids achieve their greatest improvement in fuel economy during stop-and-go driving when the electric motor operates alone up to 25 mph.

Meanwhile, VeraSun is gearing up for the grand opening of its Charles City, Iowa plant next week. They are expecting quite a crowd at the event, as presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama will provide the keynote address. The celebration takes place on Friday, August 17.

US BioEnergy Corporation is planning to utilize US Bio Process Technology™ at its Albert City, Hankinson, Dyersville and Janesville plants which is expected to increase the production capacity at each of these plants from 100 million gallons per year (MGY) to 120 MGY by the end of 2008.

According to a company release, US Bio Process Technology includes a combination of technology enhancements, engineering improvements, new training programs and other process improvements that have been developed over the past three years by US BioEnergy. Utilizing these process technology enhancements, US BioEnergy has consistently achieved production levels of 120% of nameplate capacity at 40 MGY plants it owns or has operated.

Meanwhile, US Bioenergy has also announced it will celebrate the grand opening of US Bio Ord on August 15 in Ord, Nebraska.

Guests at the event will include US BioEnergy CEO Gordon Ommen; Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman; Fagen, Inc. CEO Ron Fagen, Ord Mayor Randy O’Brien; Valley County Board chair Bob Sevenker; Nebraska Ethanol Board chair Todd Sneller; and chairman of the US Bio Ord local board Gaylord Boilesen.

Midwestern farmers are seeing a bit of a land boom.. as the rest of the country is facing a slumping real estate market. The difference? Farmland can grow corn, and corn can turn into ethanol.

This story in the New York Times says it’s good news for established farmers, but tough on new farmers looking to buy land:

Skyrocketing farmland prices, particularly in states like Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, giddy with the promise of corn-based ethanol, are stirring new optimism among established farmers. But for younger farmers, already rare in this graying profession, and for small farmers with dreams of expanding and grabbing a piece of the ethanol craze, the news is oddly grim. The higher prices feel out of reach.

A federal-government analysis of farm real estate values released Friday showed record average-per-acre values across the country. The analysis said property prices averaged $2,160 an acre at the start of 2007, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

The article goes on to say that some of the land boom is being credited to those folks from the cities fed up with the hassles and high taxes of urban living… as is the case just about every year. But this time, more of the buys are farmers trying to get more land to plant more corn and put up more grain bins to put this biggest harvest.

As more Americans seek relief from nearly $4-a-gallon gasoline in some areas by using alternative fuels, gas stations are changing their look to show the greener attitude.

This story in BusinessWeek says they’re designs that reflect the growing trend of hybrid and flex-fuel cars running on the more-and-more available ethanol and biodiesel:

In Eugene, Oregon, SeQuential Biofuels opened the state’s first commercial biofuel facility last year. The station dispenses ethanol as well as locally sourced biodiesel. Company cofounder Ian Hill worked with his mother, Susan Hill, AIA, an architect based in Lexington, Kentucky, to incorporate green features into the station’s design. A roof embedded with a 32.6-kilowatt photovoltaic array shelters the pump islands; its central panels have clear backings to transmit more daylight. The roof above an accompanying 2,000-square-foot convenience store also received a green treatment: It is planted 5 inches deep with 4,800 native Oregonian plants. Bioswales adjacent to the parking areas filter storm water.

Alan Eliot Goldberg, FAIA, a former design consultant to ExxonMobil, has developed a prototype station that embraces sustainable materials as well as solar power, which is used to create hydrogen fuel via electrolysis. Adapted from his Advanced Refueling Retail Center concept, it dispenses six different kinds of fuel. The 5,000-square-foot station will include a convenience store and an information center for hydrogen power. “If you’re introducing a new product, you should have a new concept,” Goldberg says of its design. Developed by the ARRC/H2 Alliance, the first station is planned for Syracuse, New York.

Oil-giant BP has even gotten into the act with its Helios House demonstration project, a 10,530-square-foot site in Los Angeles that produces solar energy, captures rainwater for irrigation, and even has a drought-tolerant green roof to reduce the amount of heat it produces in the city. It’s good enough that this station has actually received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System of Gold.

Production has started at Iowa’s 13th biodiesel plant… this one, a Western Dubuque Biodiesel, LLC, plant near Farley.

It will produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel a year, bringing Iowa’s annual biodiesel production up to 258 million gallons… according to this article posted on Grainnet.com:

Western Dubuque Biodiesel, LLC, will produce fuel from soybeans or other vegetable oils at the new plant, which will be beneficial to area soybean farmers, says Ray Gaesser, (Iowa Soybean Association) president and a soybean farmer near Corning, Iowa.

Iowa is the largest soybean-producing state in the nation and grows about 500 million bushels per year.

The plant was built by Ralston, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group.

While at the ACE Convention I got to meet fellow biofuels blogger Nathan Schock. Nathan is the public relations director for POET and you’ll find him at Rhapsody in Green.

Nathan is in the middle of this group of people who were visiting the POET booth at the ACE trade show.

You can see some of Nathan’s pictures from the convention on his POETPics photo album.