Category Archives: biomass

“Semi-dwarf” Trees May Enable a Green Revolution

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Researchers at Oregon State University recently published results of a study looking at the advantages of growth traits of “semi-dwarf” trees. Through genetic modification, advantageous growth traits could be developed to grow trees better suited for bioenergy or more efficient water use in a drier, future climate.

According to the research team, this approach is contrary to the conventional wisdom of tree breeding which operates under the philosophy that larger and taller is better. Yet similar to how the green revolution in agriculture helped crops such as wheat and rice produce more food on smaller, sturdier plants, this same strategy could be successfully applied to forestry.

“Research now makes it clear that genetic modification of height growth is achievable,” said Steven Strauss, an OSU professor of forest genetics. “We understand the genes and hormones that control growth not only in crop plants, but also in trees. They are largely the same.”

In a study published in Plant Physiology, researchers inserted a several genes into poplar trees, a species often used for genetic experiments, and valuable for wood, environmental and energy purposes. The report details 29 genetic traits that were affected, including growth rate, biomass production, branching, water-use efficiency, and root structure. All of the changes were from modified gibberellins, plant hormones that influence several aspects of growth and development.

The researchers found that the range and variation in genetic modification can be accurately observed and selected for, based on hormone and gene expression levels, to allow production of trees of almost any height. Other genes could be modified to produce trees with a larger root mass that could make them more drought resistant, increase water efficiency, increase elimination of soil toxins, and better sequester carbon. This could be useful for greenhouse gas mitigation, bioremediation or erosion control.

Although researchers can already point to beneficial results of genetic modification of poplar trees, and eventually other trees, it may be difficult to actually use the research for the greater good.

“The main limitation is the onerous regulatory structure for genetically-modified plants in the United States,” Strauss said. “Even short, safe and beneficial trees are unlikely to be able to bear the high costs and red tape inherent to obtaining regulatory approval.”

Small Solution for Big Biomass Problem

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Many people have high hopes for biomass as a bioenergy crop. For example, several companies are looking to convert corn stover and corn cobs to cellulosic ethanol. But there are several challenges currently being researched including transportation, storage and moisture content. High moisture feedstocks can muck up the hammer mill system. However, many advanced biofuel producers do not want completely dry feedstocks.

The solution will lie in a technology that works well to produce uniform small particles from we feedstocks. Forest Concepts engineers have been working on this and believe they have the technological solution. Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Crumbler M24 shears high moisture feedstocks to uniform particles as small as 1.6 mm (1/16 inches). The company says the technology has been used successfully on wood chips, corn stover, switchgrass, bamboo, sage and other biomass-based feedstocks with moisture ranging from 10 to 80 percent.

The Crumbler M24 is now commercially available and has a 24 inch cutting width, and can process more than two green tons of wood chips or other plant materials per hour. According to Forest Concepts, the machine is powered by a 20 hp electric motor and operated by a built in computerized programmable logic controller (plc). The plc enables full integration with other process controls at a biomass processing facility or biorefinery. Other models with capacities up to 20 green tons per hour are currently under development.

New Study on Water-wise Biofuel Crops

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A new study has shown that putting the water-use-efficient and turbo-charged photosynthesis from plants such as agave into woody biomass plants can hedge against high temperatures and low moisture. It can also enable growers to plant dedicated energy crops on marginal land.

A team of researchers including John Cushman, a biochemistry professor at the University of Nevada, Reno; Xiaohan Yang at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); James Hartwell at the University of Liverpool, UK; and Anne Borland at Newcastle University, UK and ORNL are exploring the genetic mechanisms of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and drought tolerance in desert-adapted plants as a way to improve drought resistance for biofuel crops.

The study is part of a five-year, multi-institutional $14.3 million U.D. Department of Energy (DOE) grant, “Engineering CAM Photosynthetic Machinery into Bioenergy Crops for Biofuels Production in Marginal Environments.” The funds are through the DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Genomic Science: Biosystems Design to Enable Next-Generation Biofuels.

The team will develop novel technologies to redesign bioenergy crops to grow on economically marginal agricultural lands and produce yields of biomass that can readily be converted to biofuels. The development of water-use efficient, fast-growing trees such as poplar for such sites will also help reduce competition with food crops for usable farmland according to the research team.

“With climate change predictions for a 7 degree Fahrenheit (3.8 degree C) increase in temperature and a decrease in reliable precipitation patterns by 2080 for much of America’s breadbasket, and with a greater need for sources of biofuels for transportation, these biodesign approaches to enhancing biomass production become very important,” Cushman, director of the project, said.

The ultimate goal of the project is to significantly improve an energy crop’s drought resistance by enabling the crop to adapt to hotter, drier climates.  Continue reading →

“Forever Young” Switchgrass for Cellulosic Ethanol

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Scientists at the USDA might have found a way to keep switchgrass forever young and better for cellulosic ethanol. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Sarah Hake, working with University of California-Berkeley plant geneticist George Chuck, found that taking a gene from corn called corngrass and inserting it into switchgrass keeps the grass always in a juvenile form that doesn’t flower, doesn’t produce seeds, and doesn’t have a dormant growth phase. And that means the sugars in the plant starch are more readily available for conversion into cellulosic ethanol.

The scientists observed that the leaves in the transgenic switchgrass are not nearly as stiff as leaves in switchgrass cultivars that haven’t been modified. In addition, they determined that leaf lignin is slightly different in the transgenic switchgrass than leaf lignin in other plants. This could lead to new findings on how to break down the sturdy lignin and release sugars for fermentation, a development that will be essential to the commercial production of cellulosic ethanol.

The researchers are now introducing DNA segments called genetic promoters that would “turn on” the expression of the corngrass gene just in aboveground switchgrass shoots. This could help increase root mass development that otherwise would be inhibited by the gene. Hake and Chuck also suggest that developing nonflowering switchgrass varieties would eliminate the possibility of cross-pollination between transgenic switchgrass cultivars and other switchgrass cultivars.

The work was published in 2011 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

MU Grant Studies Biomass Growth on Marginal Lands

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University of Missouri (MU) researchers have received a $5.4 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue its studies on how non-food biofuel crops grow in marginal land along floodplains. This is an area where crops cannot typically thrive.  he project is part of a $125 million international project to study how use marginal lands to to grow biofuel crops for advanced biofuels.

“In the 10 states along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, 100 million acres of marginalized agricultural land is unused or underutilized often due to frequent flooding,” said Shibu Jose, H.E. Garrett Endowed Professor in the School of Natural Resources and director of the MU Center for Agroforestry. “If farmers can plant just 10 percent of marginal floodplain land with crops designated for use in biofuels, we can produce 6 to 8 billion gallons of liquid fuel annually. Planting this land with crops designated for biofuels would have little to no effect on the food supply.”

Several trials are being planned including one that will test 15 types of biomass sorghum and 15 types of switchgrass. Both crops need less water than traditional crops and less care including less fertilizer. Other advantages of these crops is that the root system reduces erosion and water pollution by filtering water as it runs into streams and rivers. Ultimately, the team will identify which varieties grow best under flood and drought conditions and which crops grow best in various soil types.

Many energy producers are looking at biomass as a biofuel and electricity source. Biomass can be converted into pellets and then the pellets can be burned for electricity or produced into biofuels.  Jose envisions a network of farmers producing biomass and shipping it to local pellet-producers, who will ship the pellets to refineries.

“We need to build a network of pellet producers because transportation costs need to be low enough that farmers can still profit off of growing crops for biofuel,” said Jose.“With the smaller condensed pellets, we can transport a great amount of energy at a low cost.”

New Investments to Drive Biofuels Innovations

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USDAThe U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy Wednesday announced a $41 million investment in 13 projects designed to drive more efficient biofuels production and feedstock improvements.

“If we want to develop affordable alternatives for oil and gasoline that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need investments like these projects to spur innovation in bioenergy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “By producing energy more efficiently and sustainably, we can create rural jobs, boost rural economies and help U.S. farmers, ranchers and foresters prosper.”

Five projects will be funded through the joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) to develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass and increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products. Those projects include $4.25 million for the Quad County Corn Cooperative in Galva, Iowa to retrofit an existing corn starch ethanol plant to add value to its byproducts, which will be marketed to the non-ruminant feed markets and to the biodiesel industry.

Agricultural Research Service’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois will receive $7 million for a project to optimize rapeseed/canola, mustard and camelina oilseed crops for oil quality and yield using recombinant inbred lines. The oils will be hydrotreated to produce diesel and jet fuel.

A $6 million project at the University of Hawaii will optimize the production of grasses in Hawaii, including napier grass, energycane, sugarcane and sweet sorghum. Harvest and preprocessing will be optimized to be compatible with the biochemical conversion to jet fuel and diesel.

More information on the projects funded can be found here from USDA.

Renewable Energy in House Farm Bill

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The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has passed its version of the Farm Bill… better known as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act or FARRM Act… but the measure doesn’t seem to give much love to renewable energy… and by love, we mean FUNDING!

Because of the lack of funding, most proposed amendments were withdrawn. One that did pass that required no specific funding was Arkansas Republican Rep. Rick Crawford’s measure for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) introduced the measure in the committee on Crawford’s behalf that would protect funding already invested. “The worst thing we could do to a project that has benefited and been a part of the BCAP program is pull the funding from it before it has had a chance to establish itself,” she told the committee. Noem added that if existing projects have their funding pulled before coming to fruition, it would send the wrong message to the farming community about biomass fuels. Despite some misgivings about the overall program from Ranking Member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), the amendment passed and is headed to the House floor with about 40 other amendments.

Listen to the debate on the BCAP amendment here: BCAP amendment debate in House Ag Committee Continue reading →

Latest Soil Research Supports Biomass Harvesting

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Good news is emerging from the most recent soil data of the Project LIBERTY biomass harvesting research in northwest Iowa. Harvesting crop residue can be a responsible part of good farm management.

Project LIBERTY is a commercial-scale, cellulosic ethanol plant that is scheduled to begin operations in Emmetsburg, Iowa in late 2013. The plant will use corncobs, leaves, husk, and some stalk and is expected to produce 20 million gallons of ethanol growing to approximately 25 million gallons per year. It is the first project of the POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels Joint Venture.

For the last four years, Project LIBERTY has commissioned soil sustainability work from researchers with Iowa State University and the USDA. They have studied six different harvest methods in an effort to provide area farmers with data to help them make decisions about biomass harvesting.

“Basically, at the removal level that POET-DSM recommends, there is no reduction in yield, and removal rates are well within the sustainability limits,” said Dr. Stuart Birrell with Iowa State University.

Birrell and Dr. Douglas Karlen of USDA-ARS led the research.

The most recent data is consistent with previous years. Birrell said nutrient replacement is minimal, with no evidence of a need to replace nitrogen. Based on the research, POET-DSM recommends to farmers the addition of 10-15 pounds of potash when soil tests indicate it is needed. The effects of biomass harvesting on soil carbon have also proven to be minimal according to measurements of soil organic carbon, Birrell said, more an effect of yield and tillage intensity than biomass removal.

POET-DSM contracts for about 1 ton of biomass per acre with participating farmers. That’s less than 25 percent of the available above-ground biomass. They are contracting for 85,000 tons this year, and once operational, Project LIBERTY will require about 285,000 tons per year.

Car Drives on Primus’ New Biomass & Natural Gas Fuel

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To show off their new $7 million demonstration plant in Hillsborough, New Jersey, the folks at Primus Green Energy’s took out for a spin a car fueled with the company’s 93-octane gasoline made from natural gas and biomass.

Primus offcials were joined by several federal, state and local officials, including former N.J. Gov. James J. Florio:

The speakers’ remarks centered on Primus’ landmark achievement, which marks a milestone in the transition from a fuel economy based on petroleum to one based on domestically produced alternative fuels. This theme was sounded by Gov. Florio when he reminded the audience in his keynote address that they will some day be able to look back and “take pride at being here at the beginning.”

The construction of our new demonstration plant is a tremendous achievement that showcases our ability to scale our technology,” said Robert J. Johnsen, Primus’ chief executive officer. “We have gone from the concept stage to the demonstration stage in only five years and now, with the demo plant, we can further refine our technology with the goal of commercializing our technology next year.”

Primus Green Energy has been funded since its inception by a single investor, IC Green Energy, which is the alternative energy investment arm of Israel Corp., Israel’s largest publicly traded corporation.

IC Green Energy’s president and CEO, Dr. Yom-Tov Samia reminded government officials of the importance of committing funds for research and development to an industry that is vital to the energy security of the United States and Israel.

The new plant is expected to be completed late this year.

USDA Funds Rural Energy Projects

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA has selected for funding 450 projects focused on helping agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy consumption and costs; use renewable energy technologies in their operation; and/or conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy projects. Funding is made available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) under the 2008 Farm Bill.

Vilsack says the REAP program has helped fund over 6,000 projects over the last three years. “Over 4300 energy efficiency projects, over 1000 solar energy projects, 325 wind projects, 52 anaerobic digesters, 24 biofuel and biodiesel projects, 162 geothermal projects and 22 hybrid projects,” said the secretary.

The REAP funding announced today includes projects that incorporate solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydropower, as well as biodiesel and ethanol. There are a couple of projects that will fund blender pumps that might help get sales of 15% ethanol moving now that EPA has given final approval to allow that fuel in the marketplace. Blender pump grants were awarded in Georgia and Missouri.

Farm Bill Amendments Target Energy Programs

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Several of the more than 200 amendments proposed for the 2012 Farm Bill in the Senate would negatively impact Farm Bill energy programs.

Among the growing list are two from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) that would eliminate all energy title mandatory funding and prohibit loan guarantees. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) is seeking to kill the Biorefinery Assistance Program and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wants to terminate BCAP. Amendments offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) would prohibit federal spending on blender pumps. And two amendments by Sen. DeMint and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) would repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC) sent a letter this week to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging them to defend re-authorization and significant mandatory funding for Farm Bill Energy Title programs as passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“America’s agriculture, biotechnology and renewable energy industries are world leaders in the development and commercialization of biofuels, bioproducts, biopower, biogas, energy crops, renewable electricity and energy efficiency. These important and growing industries have already made significant contributions to our economic, environmental and national security and are poised to have an even more profound impact in the coming years – provided we commit ourselves to supporting and nurturing them with sound, consistent, forward-looking policies in the years ahead,” the letter states.

Work on the Farm Bill in the Senate ground to a halt this week after considering only two of the 240 amendments offered as of Wednesday.

New Energy Farms Announces Development of CEEDS

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New Energy Farms (NEF) has developed a revolutionary new method of propagating energy grasses that will reduce farmer establishment costs by 50 percent or more.

Cost effective scaling of perennial energy grasses such as Miscanthus, Arundo donax and energy cane has previously inhibited expansion. NEF has developed a new planting product for vegetative energy crops called CEEDS. These are small capsules that are established using automatic min till or no-till planters, like seed. The process applies to a number of energy grasses and is currently being evaluated by companies in the U.S. and Canada. The existing range of NEF energy crops will be available in the CEEDS format commencing from 2013 to 2014 depending on the cultivar and region.

“The focus was to make establishing vegetative energy crops as easy as other arable crops, to do this we started to look how to reverse engineer a seed, and the result was CEEDS,” says Dean Tiessen, president of New Energy Farms.

“CEEDS represents a step forward in energy crop establishment; that has been many years in the development, but solves all the issues that have previously made scaling energy crops difficult,” adds Dr. Paul Carver, CEO New Energy Farms.

The CEEDS planting system works alongside the NEF energy crop plantation management system, Biomass Direct to provide a farm to end user service for our customers.

The main advantages of CEEDS are
• New cultivars can be bulked up to market volumes 3 times faster.
• Establishment cost for crops like Miscanthus can be reduced by over 50 percent.
• Min / No till, fully automatic precision planting (no planting staff required).
• Substantially lower cost of planting, less ground cultivation.
• Reduction by up to 80% in transport logistics for planting material.
• Greater vigor after planting, more shoots produced.
• This system delivers the maximum yield from a cultivar.
• Makes planting energy grasses as simple as drilling conventional arable crops.

Sweet Sorghum Produces Renewable Diesel

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Ceres’ sweet sorghum hybrids have been successfully processed into renewable diesel by Amyris.  The pilot-scale project was part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Amyris presented a summary of results during the 34th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The project evaluated both sugars and biomass from sweet sorghum hybrids grown in Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Tennessee.  Once harvested, the sorghum juice was extracted from its stems and concentrated into sugar syrup.  Next, the syrup was processed by Amyris at its California pilot facility using its yeast fermentation system that converts sugars into Biofene.  From there, the Biofene can be processed into renewable fuels and chemicals.

“We believe that sweet sorghum could be an important and complementary source of fermentable sugars as the U.S. expands the production of renewable biofuels and biochemicals through the use of non-food crops outside of prime cropland,” said Spencer Swayze, Ceres director of business development.

Spencer believes that with free sugars in sweet sorghum readily accessible larger quantities of low-cost sugars could become available.  Ceres says that sweet sorghum has a number of advantages:  it’s fast growing, requires less fertilizer than sugarcane, can be grown in drier climates and produces large amounts of fermentable sugars and biomass.

Todd Pray, Amyris director of product management said, “The results from these evaluations confirmed that the Amyris No Compromise renewable diesel production process performs well across different sugar sources. Ceres’ sweet sorghum hybrids produced sugars that yielded comparable levels of farnesene as sugarcane and other sugar sources Amyris has utilized.”

Energy “Partisan Divide” Is A Myth

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According to a new survey, those who believe clean energy support is divided among party lines are wrong.  Instead the survey found that the majority of Republicans, Independents and Democrats believe that the U.S. should transition away from dirty energy sources to clean energy sources.  The survey was conducted by OCR International on behalf of the Civil Society Institute (CSI).

One finding: 76 percent of Americans, including 58 percent Republicans, 88 percent Democrats and 83 percent Independents, said the U.S. should embrace sustainable energy through “a reduction in our reliance on nuclear power, natural gas and coal, and instead, launch a national initiative to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency.”

A few other interesting findings:

  • People don’t believe investment for clean energy should be put on hold during the economic crisis.
  • People believe the energy industry’s extensive and well funded public relations campaign, lobbying and campaign contributions are a major barrier to moving beyond business as usual when it comes to America’s energy policy.
  • People believe the time is now for a new, grassroots-driven politics to realize a renewable energy future.
  • People believe water use should be a factor in development of different types of clean energy.
  • People believe sources such as wind and solar should be developed before sources such as nuclear energy.

Another nugget I pulled out for our audience: “A majority of Americans (81%) think the other energy producing options should be explored first before biomass energy production is explored.” Only 14 percent are in favor of proceeding with biomass energy production before other options are explored.

A conclusion derived from the survey said Pam Solo, founder and president of Civil Society Institute, is that people are ready for leadership and they want a clean energy path that will protect public health including air and water. “Our survey is a call to action: Americans across the political spectrum think that it is time for decisive action toward a renewable energy future that will protect health and provide reliable and cost effective energy.”

“Americans believe the partisan gridlock can only be challenged by a grassroots-driven process that challenges the undue political influence of the fossil fuel and nuclear power interests,” added Solo.

Energy Coalition Disappointed in Farm Bill Draft

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A coalition of trade groups and organizations representing renewable energy, energy efficiency, farm and environmental interests is disappointed in a 2012 Farm Bill draft out of the Senate Agriculture Committee that they say provides “no real funding for energy programs.”

“The Committee draft bill moves the process forward, thankfully, and we support getting a bill done this year,” said Ag Energy Coalition Co-director Lloyd Ritter in a statement. “However, the core energy title programs that are necessary to move the country toward greater energy security, increase jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and improve environmental quality require mandatory funding. REAP, BCAP, Biorefinery Assistance and BioPreferred, among others, have produced results across the country, especially in rural America where jobs are dwindling.”

Coalition member Brent Erickson of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) noted that the Farm Bill’s energy programs have helped revitalize rural America, allow new agricultural markets emerge, and reduce the need for direct payments to farmers. “These programs have unlocked private capital for construction of biorefineries, put more than 150,000 acres of underutilized farmland into production of next-generation energy crops, and ignited an explosion of biomanufacturing innovation, demonstration and early commercialization,” said Erickson. “In the short time that these programs have operated, they’ve achieved a high rate of return in supporting the start up of renewable chemical, advanced biofuel and biomanufacturing companies, as a timeline of the programs demonstrates.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to begin markup on the Farm Bill this week and the House Ag Committee will also be working on the legislation.