Domestic Fuel

At the International Biomass Conference and Expo last week, Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac attracted a lot of attention carrying around a sweet potato the size of a newborn baby.

Ryan-Bohac is president of CAREnergy, Carolina Advanced Renewable Energy, located in South Carolina and dedicated to the development of dedicated energy crops for the southeast, such as the eTuber™ sweet potato and sweet sorghum. “We are looking at feedstocks for ethanol and other fuels for the southeastern states because corn is not a crop that does well in the southeast. So, what we want is a very efficient crop for water, nitrogen, very high yielding,” she said, and the eTuber meets those qualifications. “These are very dry sweet potatoes, these are not in the food market, it would be a dedicated energy crop,” she explained. “We would like to build or takeover a corn ethanol plant to show that these feedstocks work, in combination with sweet sorghum, which does very well in the southeast. We want to get in the ethanol game and create clean, green jobs in one of the poorest areas of the United States.”

Ryan-Bohac says the tubers can grow to be over 20 pounds, which would translate into enough starch to produce 1500-1800 gallons of ethanol per acre. “The longer you grow them, the bigger they get. This crop never dies until the frost kills it.”

Listen to my interview with Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac here: Dr. Janice Ryan-Bohac, CAREnergy

The livestock feed generated as a by-product of ethanol production is enough to make 50 billion quarter-pound hamburgers each year, according to a new report from the Renewable Fuels Association.

According to the report, America’s ethanol producers supplied nearly 35 million metric tons (mmt) of livestock feed in the 2009/2010 marketing year, which is greater than the total amount of grain consumed by all of the beef cattle in the nation’s feedlots. For the current 2010/2011 marketing year, feed production from the ethanol industry is projected at 39 mmt.

According to RFA, that amount is equivalent to the 4th largest corn crop in the world, enough feed to produce 50 billion quarter-pound hamburgers – seven patties for each person on the planet – or enough to produce one chicken breast for every American every day for a year

Read the RFA report “Fueling a Nation; Feeding the World.”

The announcement by ICM last week on the commercial deployment of its biomass gasification system came just prior to the 4th International Biomass Conference and Expo in St. Louis last week, which gave the company much to talk about with attendees.

The technology has the capacity to covert 150 tons of biomass per day to a syngas that can then be used a a fuel for industrial power and heating applications and Dr. Bert Bennett, ICM Principal Scientist and Process Engineer, says they have been working on it for over three years. “We actually put it in development in 2007. We built the unit and put it into action in 2009 and have been operating for over two years,” he said. “We’re really pleased with how the unit’s performed and now we’ve officially begun to commercialize it.”

The system provides a new commercial platform to provide other energy sources for ethanol plants and other industries. “We’re interested in biomass, refuse-derived fuels, industrial processes – steam, heat, power, integrating our system into current plants and a broad base of power production,” said Bennett.

ICM tested more than 13 feedstocks and processed 7,000 tons of biomass over the past two years. “We put close to 4,000 tons of wood chips, that’s sort of the standard, a very easy fuel to do,” Bennett said. Other “hits” included refuse-derived fuels (RDF), tire chips, and corn stover. Some of the more challenging fuels they tested included manure, such as poultry litter.

In addition to producing syngas, ICM’s biomass gasification platform can co-produce biochar, a type of charcoal that can be used to lock carbon in the soil.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Bert Bennett here: Dr. Bert Bennett, ICM

Inedible corn oil is an emerging co-product for the ethanol industry. Today, about 1/3 of all ethanol plants in production are producing some type of inedible corn oil. However, many current technologies on the market don’t deliver high yields. This may change with the announcement from Ashland Hercules Water Technologies who has released a patent-pending corn oil extraction aid, PTV M-5309, that improves yield. The product is easily added to a plant’s current technology and requires no additional capital expenditure.

“The customers we’ve worked with in developing this value-added product have documented a number of benefits from using the PTV M-5309 corn oil extraction aid,” said McCord Pankonen, global biorefining marketing manager, Water Technologies. “The real beauty of the product is that refiners don’t have to change their process. Many of those who are using our corn oil extraction aid are producing up to three times more corn oil than they previously achieved.”

The technology works by improving the release of oil during mechanical extraction. The aid is added to the process after distillation, and at this point, it also reduces solids in the oil, resulting in a cleaner, higher-quality oil. Lastly, the aid helps keep the system cleaner and results in less downtime for cleaning and maintenance. Inedible corn oil has become an emerging feedstock for the biodiesel industry but many plants are not equipped to use the feedstock because it is harder to convert than other feedstocks and needs special treatment.

“The results we have been able to achieve for our customers during testing prompted us to accelerate our efforts to bring this to market,” said Eugenia Erlij, director of global marketing for Food and Beverage, Water Technologies. “By enabling ethanol producers to capture more corn oil without increasing capital expenditures, PTV M-5309 provides an added value that delivers bottom-line performance.”

Royal DSM used the 2011 BIO World Congress as a platform to announcement several new initiatives. Yesterday, DSM CEO Ferke Sijbesma received the George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology. In addition, the company was part of a funding round for Verdezyne. The latest news is that they have announced a partnership with French company Roquette Frères to build a commercial scale plant in Cassano Spinola, Italy for the production of bio-based succinic acid sourcing local biomass as their feedstocks. The bio-based chemical alternative can be used in a broad range of applications including packaging and footwear. The plant is expected to be online in the second half of 2012.

Succinic acid is a chemical building block used in the manufacture of polymers, resins, food and pharmaceuticals among other products. Bio-based succinic acid, a renewable and versatile chemical building block, is an alternative to petroleum-derived chemical building blocks such as adipic acid and 1.4-butanediol. DSM is able to produce the biochemical at a lower cost than the conventional fossil-fuel based chemical giving it an economic advantage in the marketplace.

Rob van Leen, Chief Innovation Officer of DSM, said, “The time is right to capitalize on the tremendous progress we have made together with Roquette in the last two years. Our proprietary yeast-based fermentation process not only allows cost effective production; it also eliminates salt waste and other by-products and thus improves the overall eco-footprint of end-products. This bio-based chemical building block is a substitute for various fossil feedstock derived monomers and proves that the bio-based economy is no longer a distant prospect.”

This announcement is the next in a series since the partnership began in 2008. In 2010 DSM and Roquette opened a demonstration plant in Lestrem (France), which has been running at full capacity. The two companies have also announced their intention to establish a joint venture, which will be carrying out business under the name Reverdia).

“We are very encouraged with the development efforts in several new applications and are receiving favorable feedback from customers who have sampled ton quantities from our demonstration plant in Lestrem. The new plant in Italy will allow customers in Europe, North America and Asia to make larger volume commitments to their customers,” added Jean-Bernard Leleu, Deputy CEO and RID Director of Roquette.

To view photos from the 2011 BIO World Congress visit my flickr photo album.

The Rancho California Water District (RCWD) is going solar. They have hired SunPower to design and construct two solar power systems that will total 1.7 megawatts (mW) at two of their facilities. It is anticipated that the solar systems will save RCWD nearly $8.5 million in energy costs over the next 25 years. Back in 2009, SunPower completed a 1.1 mW solar project for RCWD’s Santa Rosa Water Reclamation Facility in Murrieta, California.

“The system that SunPower completed for us in 2009 reliably delivers significant monthly savings on our electricity costs, which we pass on to our customers,” said Andrew Webster, RCWD’s chief engineer. “As a result, we chose to work with SunPower again when we expanded our commitment to solar power, and further maximize our savings and the environmental benefits for our community.”

The first system located at the Senga Doherty Pump Station in Murrieta, will be a 1.1 mW system comprised of SunPower’s T0 Tracker system. The trackers allow for solar panels to move with the sun increasing sunlight capture by up to 25 percent while reducing land requirements. The second system will be installed at RCWD’s headquarters in Temecula. This will be a 610 kilowatt solar parking canopy structure that will provide power to their building.

“With SunPower systems operating at more than 20 water agencies, representing approximately 19 megawatts in total, our experience and ability to deliver guaranteed performance sets us apart,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group. “We applaud RCWD’s leadership in taking advantage of the QECB program. Clean, reliable solar power makes good sense today for public agencies and our environment.”

Funding for the project will be through qualified energy conservation bonds that are issued by the state of California. RCWD will own the renewable energy credits associated with the systems. Construction is set for this summer and should be completed by the end of 2011.

The F150 pickup truck, the best selling truck in America, now comes in a hybrid version. Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has launched a new line of hybrid vehicles including a plug-in hybrid F150. The trucks were specifically designed for fleet operators.

The PHEV F150 will provide drivers with the same performance from a conventional truck, but with higher fuel economy and lower emissions. The PHEV F150 uses Quantum’s new “F-Drive” hybrid system which will have a 35 mile electric range before shifting to a hybrid mode where it can continue for a total range of over 400 miles. The Quantum “F-Drive” hybrid system is available in 2 and 4 wheel drive. To meet the requirements of fleet customers, the F-Drive has been integrated in the F150 vehicle such that there is no impingement into the cab or bed and it maintains full ground clearance.

Alan Niedzwiecki, CEO Quantum Technologies added, “We believe this vehicle fills an important niche for fleet customers desiring a largely electric pick-up truck with extended range capability.”

BP Alternative Energy Ventures and DSM Venturing B.V. have both invested in renewable fuel and chemical company Verdezyne. The two companies were part of a funding round that also included additional monies from existing investors OVP Venture Partners and Monitor Ventures. The announcement was made today during the BIO World Congress underway in Toronto.

“We are thrilled to have these two industry leaders validate Verdezyne’s technology and its business strategy by taking a stake in the company,” said E. William Radany, Verdezyne’s CEO and president. “This new funding, along with the support from existing investors, will enable the company to execute on its goal of creating and deploying first-in-class engineered yeast strains that efficiently produce biobased fuels and platform chemicals.”

According to Verdezyne, they have significantly advanced its robust yeast production platform for their ethanol and adipic acid processes. The additional financing will allow the company to continue to build its yeast metabolic engineering capabilities to produce a pipeline of renewable transportation fuels and platform chemicals.

DSM VP of Biobased Chemicals and Fuels, James Lademarco, added, “Over the past year, we have been impressed with Verdezyne’s progress in its yeast platform for both fuels and biobased chemicals. We see this investment as strategic given the complementary activities to our own portfolio within Biobased Products and Services.”

You can view photos of the 2011 BIO World Congress in my flickr photo album.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a paper on the potential of renewable energy and its impacts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are believed to contribute to global climate change. The report found that close to 80 percent of the world’s energy supply could be met by renewables by mid-century if supported by the right policies.

More than 120 researchers worked with IPPC on the report, “Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN),” and the findings also indicate that the rising penetration of renewable energies could lead to cumulative GHG savings of 220 to 560 gigatonnnes of carbon dioxide between 2010 and 2050.

“With consistent climate and energy policy support, renewable energy sources can contribute substantially to human well-being by sustainably supplying energy and stabilizing the climate,” said Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, Co-Chair of Working Group III at the report launch. “However, the substantial increase of renewables is technically and politically very challenging.”

According to a news release, the upper end of the scenarios assessed, representing a cut of around a third in GHGs from business-as-usual projections, could assist in keeping concentrations of greenhouse gases at 450 parts per million. If this were the case, it could help to hold the increase in global average temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius, a goal laid out in the Cancun Agreements (COP-16).

Youba Sokona, Co-Chair of the Working Group III, said: “The potential role of renewable energy technologies in meeting the needs of the poor and in powering the sustainable growth of developing and developed economies can trigger sharply polarized views. This IPCC report has brought some much needed clarity to this debate in order to inform governments on the options and decisions that will needed if the world is to collectively realize a low carbon, far more resource efficient and equitable development path.”

The six renewable energy technologies reviewed were bioenergy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and wind energy. The report, which is a summary of a longer, 900 plus page research document, will feed into the broader work of the IPPC as they prepare its Fifth Assessment Report that is scheduled to be released in September 2014.

The Blend Your Own (BYO) Ethanol Campaign is hosting a FREE webinar called “Navigating the USDA REAP Application Process.” The webinar will provide participants with updated and in-depth information on ethanol blending, mid-level ethanol blends, E85 and infrastructure incentives. The BYO Ethanol Campaign is a joint effort between the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).

In addition, the webinar will provide information on the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The program has allocated $70 million in funding for retailers interested in expanding or updating their renewable fuel infrastructure with blender pumps. The monies are delivered through a combination of grants and loan guarantees. The USDA has a goal of installing 10,000 blender pumps in the next 15 years throughout the country. Applications are due June 15, 2011.

The webinar is being held on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 3:00 pm EDT. Although this webinar is free, you are encouraged to register by visiting www.BYOethanol.com.

Royal DSM Ceo Feike Sijbesma has received the George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology during BIO World Congress. In its 4th year, Sijbesma is being honored as a visionary leader of the bio-economy, an industry that the World Economic Forum projects will contribute nearly $250 billion to the world economy by 2020. Under his leadership, DSM has made several instrumental contributions in the development of industrial biotechnology that includes biochemicals, biofuels, health and nutrition and supporting sustainable development.

Sijbesma believes that over the next 100 years, the world will be shifting away from the Fossil Age into the third Green Industrial Age, an age based on not taking from the land, from developing feed, fuel and fiber from the land in a sustainable manner.

“The so-called fossil-age will make a shift to the bio-based economy. In two or three centuries from now, people will look back on our civilization as a merely brief moment in history where we in a period of just about 250 years shifted our total economy to coal, oil and gas,” said Sijbesma during his acceptance speech. “To make the shift back to living with, and especially off, nature, we need to start this shift now. We are at a turning point towards a next green industrial revolution to secure our feed and fuel needs in the future.”

Listen to my interview with Feike Sijbesma here: The Next Green Industrial Revolution Begins with Biotech

Sijbesma believes biotechnology holds the key to our future and will provide solutions for energy and food.
Read the rest of this post…

The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing (BIO World Congress) kicked off this morning in Toronto, Canada with a bang. GreenField Ethanol, the largest producer of ethanol in Canada, announced the launch of G2 BioChem, a collaborative partnership that will validate and bring to commercialization GreenField’s innovative patented process technology. The partnership includes companies such as Novozymes and Andritz and the company has been given full support from a number of federal and Ontario programs including Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), Innovation Development Fund (IDF), Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) and Center for Research and Development in the Bio-economy (CRIBE).

“G2 BioChem’s technology is feedstock agnostic and optimizes next-generation ethanol yields using all available sugars,” began Barry Wortzman, President of G2 BioChem during the press conference. “Also, our process technology results in a low cost, per litre, which is essential to the viable commercialization of next generation ethanol.”

Listen to Barry Wortzman’s remarks during the press conference: Greenfield Ethanol Launches G2 BioChem

G2 BioChem’s research team has conducted thousands of trials and demonstrated success with various feedstocks including agricultural residues such as corn stover, corn cobs and bagasse as well as energy crops such as sorghum & miscanthus and woody biomass such as poplar.

“G2 BioChem’s advanced biofuels technology has the potential to fundamentally change the burgeoning renewable fuels and biochemical industries – while protecting our environment and boosting Ontario’s economy,” said Glen Murray, Minister, Ontario Research & Innovation. Ontario boosts the third largest biotech cluster in the world.

Listen to Glen Murray’s remarks during the press conference: Murray's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

The new collaboration was in part made possible from several industry partners including Novozymes. “As a collaborative partner, Novozymes’ goal is to enable and facilitate the realization of cellulosic ethanol production at commercial scale, as quickly as possible; and in our opinion, this technology is leading the way to accomplishing that objective,” said Cynthia Bryant, Global Business Development for Novozymes.

Listen to Cynthia Bryant’s remarks during the press conference: Bryant's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

Bertil Stromberg, VP, BioFuels for Andritz added, “Andritz is excited to be partnering on this initiative, and to contribute its expertise in process equipment technology for the commercial scale up of the process.”

Listen to Bertil Stromberg’s remarks during the press conference: Stromberg's Remarks during G2 BioChem Press Conference

Check back for audio from the announcement and click here to see photos from the 2011 BIO World Congress.

The next big thing in biofuels could be right in your own backyard.

For the second year, the Saint Louis Science Center is collaborating with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in a research project that “has the potential to discover algae species located within the St. Louis metro area which may be used in cutting-edge biofuels research.”

According to the center’s Life Science Gallery Lead Beth Prakash, “Backyard Biofuels” is a citizen science project. “We are looking for a species of algae that has a naturally high oil content,” she says. “So the more oil an algae species contains, the more productive it will be at producing biofuels.”

Last year, 169 algae collecting kits were returned to the Life Science Lab and from the samples they were able to isolate and test 105 individual algae strains, the results of which are posted on the Backyard Biofuels website. People can participate by picking up an algae collecting kit from the Life Science Lab at the Science Center and returning it in person, or mailing it in using special guidelines. The mail-in option is new this year and will help collect samples from a wider geographic area since the center receives visitors from all over the country.

Learn more about the program from Beth in this interview: Beth Prakash Interview

It’s Friday and that means its time to fill the gas tank. Just in time for weekend fun, it always seems like gas prices go up. Here in California, prices are hovering near the $4.40 per gallon mark. But this week, oil prices dropped 15 percent from a two-year high of $114.83 on Monday and today prices closed at $97.18. Economists are predicting gas prices at the pump will fall and we’ll see a summer national average of $3.50, although last month the EIA predicted they would be closer to $3.79. But don’t hold your breath – prices won’t drop this weekend.

I’ve held this interview with Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis because I was waiting for prices to rise even higher (which they have). When we had this discussion, we were attending the event where BioProcess Algae commissioned its Grower Harvester bioreactors, the second phase in their commercialization strategy. The site is co-located with a first generation corn ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa owned and operated by Green Plains Renewable Energy. This was the perfect backdrop to have the discussion about the role of biofuels in helping to lower prices at the pump.

Buis explained that for the past 40 years, our country has been addicted to foreign oil and the costs to our country have been astronomical. Every recession since World World II has been proceeded by high gas prices. As oil prices rise, it takes time for the increased price to be reflected at the pump. Yet we have a domestic solution available now – ethanol. “I don’t know how many times we have to have these wake-up calls, let’s move forward. We know we can do it. We’re sitting here at a plant today that’s living proof that we can create our own energy here in this country.”

Listen to my interview with Tom Buis here: Ethanol, Right Here, Right Now

Today, Buis said ethanol today is saving consumers at the low end 17 cents per gallon up to 50 cents per gallon on the high end. “If we shut off ethanol today, it would have a far greater impact than the turmoil in the Middle East or North Africa because we’re a bigger source,” said Buis. “Most people don’t understand that if the American ethanol industry were a country, we would be the second largest provider to the United States of transportation fuel. Second only to Canada. That would have a huge impact.”

One last fact. We spend $1 billion dollars a day to import foreign oil. This is more than $1,000 per year for every man, woman and child in this country. That means you.

Mull this over the next time you fill up.

Michelle Kautz has joined Dresser Wayne as the company’s new product manager, alternative energy. She will work with Scott Negley, the director of alternative energy and will be responsible for ensuring the commercial success of the company’s global ethanol and biodiesel products with a specific focus on capturing the business incentives for biofuels equipment. In her role, she will also work to identify and prioritize market opportunities and develop strategies based on emerging customer needs, competition and market trends.

Most recently, Kautz was with Protec Fuel Management where she served as the director of development. In addition, she has more than 10 years experience working in the ethanol industry in various roles with several ethanol advocacy groups including the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and Growth Energy.