Domestic Fuel

Money intended to help rebuild economic activity in parts of the Gulf Coast hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be used to build a biodiesel plant in St. Rose, Louisiana.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that the State Bond Commission has unanimously approved $100 million in hurricane-recovery bonds to help finance the project:

The $100 million will come from financing by the Gulf Opportunity Zone program, which makes low-cost money available to developers to help spur economic development in the areas hit hard by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

REG spokeswoman Alicia Clancy said Thursday that the 60 million-gallon-per-year plant on the IMTT St. Rose site was about 50 percent complete.

REG officials say the project must have the sale of the bonds to investors to go forward. It’s expected to create an estimated 30 direct jobs, with an average annual salary of about $48,000 and another 500 construction-related jobs.

More homes across the country, especially along the East Coast, could soon be burning a combination of biodiesel and heating oil better known as Bioheat®.

This press release from the National Biodiesel Board says oilheat industry leaders from Maine to South Carolina met and set a plan for wider adoption of the green fuel:

At the national oilheat industry policy summit, oilheat leadership including National Oil Heat Research Alliance, the New England Fuel Institute, and Petroleum Marketers Association of America approved a statement formally embracing cleaner burning fuels, like Bioheat, as well as endorsing an ultra low sulfur standard and solar technology. The resolution calls for changes to heating oil, including that by July 2010, all heating oil will be mixed with a bio component to ensure that at least 2 percent of the fuel is renewable, with goals to increase levels over time.

“Bioheat is another way biodiesel is working to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, to seamlessly introduce cleaner fuel alternatives and to implement sustainable energy solutions,” said National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe. “We applaud the oilheat industry for formally recognizing the outstanding potential for Bioheat and biodiesel as an important part of our country’s energy future.”

Officials say that if Bioheat is mixed at a 5 percent blend, it would increase biodiesel demand by 450 million gallons a year.

The National Renewable Energy Laboaratory (NREL), a laboratory for the Department of Energy, is testing higher blends of ethenol to be used in vehicles. Researchers are trying to find out, because these new ethanol blends could play a significant role as America tries to wean itself off petroleum based fuels.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (PDF 821 KB) (EISA) is one force behind the quest for higher ethanol blends. The 2007 law requires that the U.S. use 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022. But, a leaner benchmark is just around the corner, with 15 billion gallons required by 2012.

“We’re pushed right now to find ways to get more ethanol into the fuel stream,” said Keith Knoll, senior project leader for NREL’s Fuels Performance Group.

Currently, ethanol is the most widely used and readily available renewable fuel. As a result, it is a likely candidate to make up a significant chunk of the 36 billion gallons required under EISA. Ethanol as a motor fuel is commonly found in E85, a fuel intended for use only in Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs). Ethanol also is widely used as a 10 percent blend in standard gasoline (E10) to reduce carbon monoxide emissions and smog. But, increasing ethanol from the current 10 percent blend to a proposed blend of E15 or even E20, brings up a whole host of questions and issues.

For instance, E20 is currently not allowed for use in conventional automobiles under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Act. This is where research from NREL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will play a pivotal role in understanding how blends like E15 and E20 affect vehicles currently in the market. The research is examining whether using higher ethanol blends will have an adverse impact on tailpipe emissions, exhaust temperatures, catalytic converters and engine performance and durability.

“They’ll panic at first and stop all gasoline delivery. They’ll ease restrictions when they figure out which supplies are still clean. Because you can’t order Americans to stop driving. It’s like telling them to stop eating. They think God gave them cars.”

They say that fiction is truth sprinkled with a few well placed lies. In this week’s book, “Black Monday,” by Bob Reiss, the truth has been contaminated with sludge. This fiction novel is based on the world’s near end when a foreign company doing business in the oil industry, sets off a catastrophe of monumental proportions. The crime – introducing a heat resistant bacteria, known as Delta-3, into the oil supply infecting the oil and rendering it unusable. Planes begin dropping from the sky, killing thousands. Cars stop dead in their tracks on the road. Heating oil rendered useless.

In a mix between Stephen King’s, “Cell” and William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” the world must learn how to live without oil. Fighting occurs, looting becomes commonplace, people begin starving, and ultimately people form “tribes” to survive. The main character, Gregory Gillette, fights to save the world and his family by discovering how the bacteria infected the oil supply and ultimately the antidote.
Read the rest of this post…

In a pro-active attempt for the Brazilian ethanol industry to distance itself from ties to deforestation, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently announced a legislative proposal called, “The Agro-ecological Zoning of Sugarcane,” that would in essence, “zone” where sugarcane could be grown and harvested throughout the country. The amount of sugarcane grown has increased significantly due to worldwide demand of ethanol.

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) responded positively to the proposal claiming that it, “will prove useful to enhance the sustainability of sugarcane expansion, by going beyond land use restrictions defined in some export markets.” Last week, UNICA released the estimated sugarcane harvest numbers, which are down due to heavy rains.

Although UNICA supports the idea in some aspects, they also note that various aspects need further analysis. One such area of concern involves the challenges in defining the concept of food security, due to the crop’s dual functions as to provide both food and energy. The proposal, as currently written, could lead to restrictions in growing sugarcane that would, according to UNICA, “have the reverse effect in terms of food security, by restricting the production of additional sugar.” Brazil supplies 60 percent of the world’s sugar needs after supplying its own.

UNICA notes that no forest lands need to be cleared to grow sugarcane as there are enough suitable lands for growing the crop particularily degraded pastures.

Mark your calendar for October 1st and 2nd for the third annual Alternative Energy Symposium held at the campus of Chicago State University.

The event is put on by the folks at American Science Technology‘s Center for Alternative Energy Technology (CAET):

Renewable and sustainable energy derived from natural resources could hold the key to the United States not only reducing its reliance on foreign oil, but also reducing its impact on the global environment. CAET is a joint initiative between Chicago-based American Science and Technology (AST) and Chicago State University (CSU), established in 2006, in the south-side of Chicago, to perform basic and applied research to evaluate, develop, and commercialize alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, as well as alternative energy technologies such as fuel-cells, and energy harvesting from solar, wind, and other natural resources.

The symposium will highlight the work so far by the CSU and AST scientists as well as other work by researchers at universities and laboratories from around the world.

It’s open to the public, and you can get more information and register here.

A car that is part Prius Hybrid, part algae-biodiesel burner, has completed a 3,750-mile trip from San Francisco to New York City… the first cross-country trip running on a blend of algae-based gasoline in an unmodified engine.

This press release from Sapphire Energy, the company that provided the green fuel, says the trip by the Alageus (Algae+Prius, get it?) took 10 days and could mark the start of a green age:

The Algaeus represents a tangible peek into the very near future. Sapphire Energy provided the fuel, containing a mixture of hydrocarbons refined directly from algae-based Green Crude and extracted through Sapphire’s proprietary process. The vehicle is based on a 2008 Toyota Prius that has been given an added battery pack, a plug and an advanced energy management system. The Algaeus got an average of 147 mpg city in PHEV (plug in electric hybrid) mode and 52mpg highway in hybrid mode on the cross country tour.

“America has the opportunity to usher in a new, prosperous Green Age, by moving from ‘black’ to ‘green’ crude, while bettering the environment and solidifying energy security,” describes Jason Pyle, Sapphire Energy CEO. “We have all that we need at home to produce fuels from algae at a commercial scale in just a few years. The Algaeus is an example of a better solution that is domestically produced and climate friendly.”

The trip was sponsored by the Veggie Van Organization, the group founded by movie producer and biodiesel advocate Josh Tickell that is dedicated to moving the country away from petroleum. The trip was also to celebrate the nationwide opening of Tickell’s film FUEL, which aims to inspire green energy solution thinking, such as the Algaeus.

Tickell split time behind the wheel with FUEL Producer, Rebecca Harrell.

“It flew up the mountain passes in Utah and Wyoming, was fast on the straight-aways, and zipped around cities with gusto,” said Tickell. The duo recorded no loss in engine power, speed or acceleration with the small engine easily producing up to 20 kW of power.

The Algaeus is now headed on a college educational tour with an interactive classroom retrofit “Green Energy Bus,” the Veggie Van Organization and the FUEL team.

Researchers at Salisbury University in Maryland are studying the potential for growing sweet sorghum for cellulosic ethanol in the state.

Since May, eight sweet sorghum varieties have been growing on a Wicomico County farm for evaluation as potential stock for ethanol production on the Delmarva peninsula. Dr. Samuel Geleta of Salisbury Univerisity’s Biological Sciences Department says about half of the varieties have already been harvested, with the rest to be finished by mid-October. Some of the plants grew to a height of 12 feet. He said sweet sorghum is attractive because it is drought resistant, fast-growing and has low nutrient and fertilization requirements. “Sweet sorghum can be grown on marginal land with less fertilizer and water as compared to corn,” Geleta said. “Since sweet sorghum juice contains simple sugar, producing ethanol from it simply requires extracting the juice and fermenting.”

Recently, Dr. Geleta (pictured on the right) showed his work to some of Maryland’s state legislators – (LtoR) Addie Eckardt, Jim Mathias and Rudy Cane. The study is being funded by the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board and spearheaded by the Delmarva Sweet Sorghum for Ethanol Group.

An AP wire story out last week highlights the use of hops in ethanol production to combat bacteria.

DomesticFuel did a feature on BetaTec, the company referenced in the article, about two years ago after their debut at the 2007 Fuel Ethanol Workshop. They market a product called IsoStabTM , which is derived from natural acids found in hops and is a natural way to effectively control gram-positive bacteria in fermentation. It is an alternative to antibiotics, which are commonly used in ethanol production to kill bacteria, but can be problematic when the by-product of dried distillers grains (DDGs) are fed to livestock.

Any good beer drinker knows that hops are primarily used to make beer and the vast majority of hops grown world wide are used by breweries. The top hops producing country is Germany, followed by the United States. Hops are used extensively in brewing today mainly because they balance the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavors and aromas, but also because they have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over less desirable microorganisms.

The increased interest in a natural alternative to antibiotics has created a surge of business for BetaTec from ethanol plants. BetaTec Hop Products is a global company specializing in the application of hops and hop-derived compounds for industrial use. Their product portfolio ranges from natural compounds that function as antimicrobials, to flavor and functional ingredients for the food, feed, agricultural, nutraceutical and water treatment industries.

A new video launched by the Renewable Fuels Association makes the point that other fuels have indirect effects, not only biofuels.

The video, which shows images of burning oil wells, oil spill damage, oil contamination of natural habitat, and the destruction brought on by oil exploration and tar sands excavation, is meant to draw attention to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rulemaking for the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) that would take into account indirect land use change effects for ethanol and biodiesel, but not for petroleum.

“If EPA insists on counting the angels on the head of a pin, it needs to do so on every pin and that includes the indirect impacts of petroleum production and use,” said Renewable Fuels Association Bob Dinneen. “All energy choices come with trade-offs. By focusing solely on the impacts of biofuels, EPA has created shell game only petroleum can win. EPA must revisit its proposed rule, make its methodologies and calculations transparent, and redraft a program that is fair and workable for all parties. EPA’s current version fails on all counts.”

RFA is urging its members and others with an interest in the biofuels industry to make comments to the EPA about the RFS2 before the September 25 deadline.

BP expects biofuels to displace 25 percent of fuel in the U.S. in the next two decades, the head of BP’s alternative energy unit said.

Katrina Landis, chief executive officer of BP’s Alternative Energy, said in a speech made at the Offshore Europe Conference, “Diesel use is growing in the U.S., following the trend set by Europe, and biodiesel is expected to provide around 8 percent of the fuel for diesel-powered engines by 2030.”

However, during the same period, biofuels are expected to take the place of about 25 percent of the U.S. fuel market, Landis said. U.S. production of biofuels is expected to grow more than fourfold to 2.3 million barrels per day in 2030 from less than 500,000 barrels a day in 2007, according to Landis. BP expects biofuels to account for 11 to 19 percent of the world’s transport- fuel market by 2030.

The company supplied about 10 percent of global biofuels last year. BP has been selling biofuels in the US for more than 25 years and, today, is one of the top sellers of ethanol-based fuels in the country. In 2006, the company sold more than 718 million gallons of ethanol blends – a 25 percent increase from the previous year.

Members of the Missouri Renewable Fuels Association (MoRFA), an organization comprised of the state’s six farmer-owned ethanol plants and the Missouri Corn Growers Association, have selected Ryland Utlaut of Alma, Mo., as the organization’s 2009-10 president.

Utlaut, president and general manager of Mid-Missouri Energy, a majority farmer-owned ethanol plant in Malta Bend, Mo., assumes the new leadership responsibilities Oct. 1. He succeeds Gene Millard, chairman of Golden Triangle Energy in Craig, Mo.

“As a founding board member for Mid-Missouri Energy, and now the plant’s general manager, Ryland has a deep understanding of the industry and a great vision for the future of the Missouri Renewable Fuels Association,” said Millard. “He will be an exceptional leader for the organization and a strong advocate for the state’s renewable fuels industry and Missouri farm families.”

MoRFA was established in 2006 for the purpose of building and maintaining a positive environment for Missouri’s ethanol plants through political action and consumer education.

A new report from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) finds that federal subsidies for fossil fuels are twice that of renewables.

According to a summary on the ELI report store website:

The largest U.S subsidies to fossil fuels are attributed to tax breaks that aid foreign oil production, according to research released by ELI. The study, which reviewed fossil fuel and energy subsidies for Fiscal Years 2002-2008, reveals that the lion’s share of energy subsidies supported energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels benefited from approximately $72 billion over the seven-year period, while subsidies for renewable fuels totaled only $29 billion.

The report found that about $16.8 billion in subsidies went to corn-based ethanol over the seven year time frame with most of that coming from the blenders tax credit.

ELI Senior Attorney John Pendergrass says the report indicates a lack of support for more environmentally friendly energy sources. “The combination of subsidies—or ‘perverse incentives’— to develop fossil fuel energy sources, and a lack of sufficient incentives to develop renewable energy and promote energy efficiency, distorts energy policy in ways that have helped cause, and continue to exacerbate, our climate change problem,” Pendergrass said in a press release. “With climate change and energy legislation pending on Capitol Hill, our research suggests that more attention needs to be given to the existing perverse incentives for ‘dirty’ fuels in the U.S. Tax Code.”

Download the report for free here.

The lowly alfalfa crop could play a role in the future of cellulosic ethanol.

Alfalfa is the nation’s most popular legume and actually our third most valuable crop, but it is often taken for granted and somewhat under valued. However, the many benefits of the crop could make it a potential frontrunner in the cellulosic ethanol race, especially if new varieties can be developed with reduced lignin content, which is the focus of a Pioneer Hi-Bred biotech research project.

Pioneer Director of Alfalfa Research Dave Miller says they believe cellulosic ethanol will need multiple feedstocks and alfalfa is a good fit for a number of reasons. “It’s great for crop rotation, its environmental benefits in terms of lack of soil erosion because it’s deep rooted and a perennial are well known, and it fixes nitrogen.”

In addition, Miller says preliminary work shows alfalfa is competitive with other feedstocks for its ability to convert to cellulosic ethanol and that a corn/alfalfa rotation creates a very favorable carbon footprint for ethanol production.

Producing varieties with less lignin would be helpful in making alfalfa even more competitive as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock. In addition, the reduced lignin alfalfa also has benefits with its more traditional use as livestock feed. “When animals are fed lower lignin forage, they perform better,” said Miller. “Both systems are digestions, one is an enzyme-acid digestion to go into a fermentation vat, the other is a digestion to make milk or meat.”

Listen to or download an interview with Dave Miller here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.0MB)

Clear your calendar for a #FuelChat coming up next week on September 23 at 2:00 pm Eastern time. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is hosting this second open on-line Twitter chat to answer questions and offer information about all things ethanol.

The first FuelChat was held in July during the evening hours but after some consultation and research, it was decided that a daytime chat might be better for those who want to engage in the conversation. Topics for the conversation are in development and suggestions should be sent to #FuelChat.

Participants can use the application TweetChat, using #FuelChat to see live comments and questions being posted and join in the chat. For those not currently using Twitter, the first step is would be to set up an account with Twitter. Those who have never taken part in a live on-line chat are welcome to just tune in to see how it works.

RFA staff members are active in the Twitterverse and welcome followers:

Official RFA @ethanolrfa
Bob Dinneen @ethanolbob
Christina Martin @ethanolt
Robert White @fuelinggood
Missy Ruff @renewablefuel
Bailey Rall @brall

#FuelChat: See you in the Twitterverse on September 23 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.