Domestic Fuel

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina beginning with the 2012 crop year.

According to a release from USDA, “Camelina is an oilseed crop with the potential to create new renewable energy markets in the United States, generate rural jobs here at home, and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil. The new pilot program will be available in selected counties in Montana and North Dakota for the 2012 crop year, with a sales closing date of February 1, 2012.”

Camelina, an oilseed, is a rotation crop for wheat that can be established on marginally productive land. It is an annual, short season plant. Biofuel from camelina is an ideal jet fuel substitute. USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have long-term studies underway to examine ways to use camelina as a bioenergy crop for producing jet fuel for the military and the aviation industry. In addition, earlier this year USDA announced two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas devoted to developing camelina as biofuel in several states, including Montana. USDA is also part of several partnerships to develop oilseeds and native and perennial grasses as a biofuels.

Find out details of the program from USDA.

A larger trade show at a new venue will highlight the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA).  The Summit will be Tues., Jan. 24, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required and online registration is now open.

Four star General Paul J. Kern (U.S. Army Ret.) will headline the Summit, addressing the dangers of foreign oil dependence to U.S. military operations. General Kern served in numerous positions during his prestigious 37-year career. He led the 24th Infantry Division’s attack into Iraq in 1991, served two tours of duty in Vietnam and is the recipient of three Purple Hearts. General Kern currently serves as the Chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board.

The Summit also will feature information on the national outlook for biodiesel, the newest ethanol blend – E15, and the balance between ethanol and livestock production.

Find more details and additional links and information, visit the summit website.

Farmers interested in producing and trading energy crops for feedstock could be helped by a new IT management platform.

Ontario-based New Energy Farms, a developer of the energy crop Miscanthus in North America, has teamed up with Muddy Boots Software to provide this new service to the energy crop market.

According to the companies, the platform will enable direct trading of energy crops or arable biomass from farmer to end user and allow users to work with large numbers of farmers directly through an aggregation system. Other benefits include accurate energy balance and audit reporting for the whole year or even each load, energy crop yield predictions and allowing a secure route to market for plant breeders to commercialize and license new cultivars.

Vancouver-based Linnaeus Plant Sciences has been awarded $1.2 million in support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to further advance production of green alternatives to petroleum oils.

SDTC support will help Linnaeus advance production of camelina and safflower-based oils as renewable feedstock that can substitute for petroleum in a variety of high-value, non-fuel applications including polymers, lubricants, surfactants and other valuable industrial materials.

Linnaeus Plant Sciences has developed an integrated process to produce a variety of value-added, renewable, industrial feedstocks from camelina and safflower, for use in various industrial applications.

The U.S. Navy has successfully flown a T-45 training aircraft using biofuels at the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Patuxent River, Maryland. The flight was completed by the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 flying on biofuel mixture of petroleum-based JP-5 jet fuel and plant-based camelina. The T-45 “Goshawk” is a tandem-seat aircraft used by the Navy and Marine Corps to train pilots on carrier and tactical mission operations.

“This successful test flight brings us a step closer to meeting the Navy’s energy security goals,” said Vice Adm. David Architzel, commander, Naval Air Systems Command. “My congratulations to the Navy fuels team here at NAVAIR for playing an instrumental role in proving the viability of biofuels to power naval aircraft.”

The T-45 is the fifth Navy aircraft to successfully test the biofuel blend. Previous Previous aircraft tested include the F/18 E/F, MH-60S, F/A-18 D, and most recently, the MV-22. The move to biofuels is being driven by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’ goal is to cut the Navy’s oil usage in half by 2025.

“This test of the T-45 with a 50/50 blend of biofuel represents another significant milestone in the long list of detailed flight test and demonstrations of the F-18 Super Hornet, the MH-60S, and the V-22,” said Rear Adm. Phil Cullom, Director of the Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division. “Our commitment to the aggressive test schedule for drop-in replacement fuels for JP-5 and F-76 keep us on pace for the 2012 demonstration and 2016 deployment of the Great Green Fleet.”

Additional biofuel test flights are scheduled for later this year.

According to new research from Lux Research, investments in the alternative fuels sector have reached a four-year low of $930 million for alternative fuel start-ups in 2010. However, 2010 was also a record-breaking year for investments to companies with flexible technologies that can use a variety of feedstocks to produce a variety of products at $698 million. Lux says that if this trend continues, then start-ups with less flexible technologies will be forced out of the industry.

“Hedging Bets with Flexibility in Alternative Fuels,” has shown that since 2004 more than $6.4 billion in investments have been made in the alternative energy industry but in recent years, investors are giving more to less. The winners follow one simple principle: flexibility in feedstock or end product. Lux Research analyzed 333 investments in 170 unique start‐ups since 2004, breaking down investments by technology, fuel, geography, and investment stage.

“The recent successful IPOs of Amyris, Solazyme, and Gevo all reflect the larger industry trend of investing in more flexible end‐product technologies,” said Andrew Soare, a Lux Analyst and lead author of the report. “A handful of fuels‐focused start‐ups continue to draw investors, including waste‐to‐fuels companies Enerkem and LanzaTech, and cellulosic ethanol companies Qteros and Mascoma. But flexibility is part of their DNA as well, in that they derive fuels from multiple feedstocks.”

Several key conclusions include:

• Synthetic biology’s inherent flexibility is a wise investment, but not the only one. Synthetic biology has attracted the most funding since 2004: $1.84 billion or 28.4% of the total. But investors shouldn’t ignore other flexible technologies.

• Investments will favor fewer companies in later stage funding. Most alternative fuel technologies today are past the point of initial seed funding, and are seeking capital to scale up manufacturing. Those closest to scale will continue to raise large Series C and Series D rounds, while less advanced companies will struggle to land moderate earlier rounds, resulting in more failed start‐ups over the next few years.

• Expect new corporate investors to enter the space. Expect forward‐looking corporations to bring additional industries into the fray, such as pulp and paper, food and beverage, and non‐obvious downstream brand owners such as UPS.

Once upon a time, an oil company used the slogan “Put a Tiger in Your Tank.” Someday, it could be “Put a Gator in Your Tank.”

Scientists have identified a new and unlikely raw material for biodiesel in alligator fat, according to a research published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Researchers at the University of Louisiana showed in laboratory experiments that oil extracted from alligator fat can easily be converted into biodiesel. They say the oil is actually more suitable for biodiesel production than oil produced from some other animal fats. The gator biodiesel is similar in composition to biodiesel from soybeans, and meets nearly all of the official standards for high quality biodiesel.

Alligator fat is a byproduct from the alligator meat processing industry, which each year disposes of about 15 million pounds of alligator fat in landfills. The alligators are harvested from the wild and from alligator farms for their skin and meat. Louisiana and Florida account for the highest populations of alligators in the United States.

Read more about the research here.

India’s second largest petroleum company, Bharat Renewable Energy (BREL), has partnered with SG Biofuels (SGB) to develop sell jatropha hybrids modified for the production of biodiesel in India. The first phase of the program will focus on crop development aimed at creating oil-rich jatropha hybrids suited to growing conditions throughout India. The next phase will consist of deploying more than 86,000 acres of jatropha using SGB’s JMax hybrid seeds.

“With the genetic diversity of their Jatropha hybrid material combined with ability to produce large volumes of hybrid seed, SG Biofuels is an ideal partner to work with to successfully develop, validate and scale Jatropha as the primary source for biodiesel in India,” said Mr. M.V. Radhakrishnan, chief executive officer of BREL.

Through molecular breeding and biotechnology, SGB is optimizing jatropha hybrid varieties at its JMax crop development centers. The centers feature hybrid material from SGB’s germplasm library totally more than 12,000 genotypes. The company will work with BREL to select, test and scale up the hybrids most suited to various growing regions across India. The ultimate goal is to grow jatropha suited for biodiesel production to help meet the country’s National Policy on Biofuels targets of blending 20% of fuels with ethanol and biodiesel.

“We look forward to working with BREL to develop a thriving Jatropha industry capable of meeting the country’s significant demand for biodiesel,” added Kirk Haney, president and chief executive officer of SGB. “Our partnership is a great example how collaborations across the entire value chain – from crop science and agronomics to downstream refining and logistics – are the key to the successful scaling of Jatropha.”

Ten new government-funded research projects were announced today to help accelerate bioenergy feedstock production.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a waste-to-energy bioprocessing facility under construction in Florida today to announce that the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy crops. The grants are part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to develop domestic renewable energy and advanced biofuels, providing a more secure future for America’s energy needs and creating new opportunities for the American farming industry.

“USDA is helping our nation develop the next generation of biofuels to grow jobs and generate energy from new, homegrown sources,” said Vilsack. “Combining DOE’s leadership in genome-scale technologies with USDA’s experience in crop improvement will accelerate the efficient production of biofuels.”

The 10 projects are located in California, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia.

Vilsack made the announcement at the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy facility in Vero Beach, Fla., which was granted a conditional USDA loan guarantee earlier this year to help build and operate a biorefinery capable of producing 8 million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol and 6 megawatts of electricity.

Today’s USDA and DOE joint announcement will also benefit Florida by providing grant funding to the University of Florida in Gainesville to improve energy production from cane biomass. The project will produce a range of foundational genetic resources and genetic makers for energy cane breeders to efficiently develop energy cane cultivars with increased biomass production and reduced input requirement.

New energy department research is aiming to increase the use of plant oils as renewable resource by optimize the production of oil in the seeds.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a computational model for analyzing the metabolic processes in rapeseed plants — particularly those related to the production of oils in their seeds. Their goal is to find ways to optimize the production of plant oils that have widespread potential as renewable resources for fuel and industrial chemicals.

“To make efficient use of all that plants have to offer in terms of alternative energy, replacing petrochemicals in industrial processes, and even nutrition, it’s essential that we understand their metabolic processes and the factors that influence their composition,” said Brookhaven biologist Jorg Schwender, pictured here on the left with research associate Jordan Hay on the right.

The scientists focused on the plant seeds, where oils are formed and accumulated during development. “This oil represents the most energy-dense form of biologically stored sunlight, and its production is controlled, in part, by the metabolic processes within developing seeds,” Schwender said.

The model they have developed is helping them to determine the effects of variables such as light and nutrients on oil production in plant seeds, and which genes and reactions are necessary for oil formation, and which make oil production most effective.

Read more here.

Louisiana is one step closer to being the first state in the U.S. to boast a sugar-to-ethanol plant. The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Board of Trustees has approved bonds worth up to $70 million to help build the plant in Lacassine. The plant is a project of Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) and is 80 percent owned by Andino Energy and 20 percent owned by Lake Charles-area sugarcane farmers. The refinery will be built by a manufacturer based in India where the plant would be pre-built and shipped to Lake Charles in late summer and be in place before the next year’s cane harvest begins this October.

“Because of increasing oil prices and concerns over the environment, interest in the alternative fuel industry is growing,” said Thomas A. Antoon, chairman of the LPFA Board, in a press statement. “This new sugar-to-ethanol plant will move our state into the forefront of the growing alternative fuel production industry and should have a favorable economic impact on southwestern Louisiana.”

The sugar-to-ethanol plant will be sited near the Lake Charles Cane-Lacassine Syrup Mill that has been in operation since 2006. The ethanol plant will use syrup produced at this plant along with can molasses sourced from other sugar mills in the state to produce the fuel. LGF anticipates the ethanol will be sold to the city of Houston as well as the state, that both have ethanol mandates in place.

The bond approval is considered a preliminary approval for additional bonds and LGF says these bonds lend credibility to the company’s effort to court private investors. To date, Andino Energy along with a cooperative of Lake Charles farmers have spent nearly $40 million to buy land and secure contracts for sugarcane and sweet sorghum farmers. According to Alex Santacoloma, co-owner of Andino Energy, this is the reason the bonds are needed to help build the ethanol plant.

The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is looking for the best biofuels crops to grow in the northeast Illinois Indian Creek Watershed.

During a recent field tour of the watershed sponsored by the Conservation Technology Information Center, Argonne agronomist Cristina Negri said they are looking at alternative crops that can efficiently use nitrogen to grow on marginal land in the area. According to Negri, the purpose of the Biomass Production and Nitrogen Recovery project is to “find a way to bring biofuels into the big conservation equation.”

Negri participated in the CTIC tour to learn more about the production practices being used by farmers in the watershed and also gave a presentation on the Argonne project: Cristina Negri Presentation

CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos

The U.S. corn ethanol industry is not the only form of ethanol production often under fire. Brazil’s sugarcane industry is also accused of not producing the crop, nor the fuel, in a sustainable manner. As a result, the EU Renewable Energy Directive was created to address concerns including labor and environmental issues. In response, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has become an accredited body for the Bonsucro standard for sustainable sugarcane. The standard is supported by leading worldwide companies including Coca Cola, Kraft Foods, and Baccardi.

The Bonsucro certification standard addresses labor and environmental concerns that are often associated with sugarcane production and companies that ask for certified products can be ensured they are more sustainably produced. In addition, the standard includes criteria related to legal compliance, biodiversity and ecosystem impacts, human rights, production and processing, and continuous improvement.

Other companies driving change include the oil industry who is ramping up renewable energy production through the purchase and production of sugarcane ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency has designated sugarcane ethanol as an advanced biofuel that lowers greenhouse gas reductions by more than 50 percent as compared to gasoline. How a feedstock is produced factors into a fuel’s carbon intensity score (the carbon reduction of the fuel as compared to 100 percent gasoline) and policy such as California’s low carbon fuels standard is driving agricultural production changes.

“Our Bonsucro accreditation fits perfectly with our history as a leading certifier of products with significant environmental and social benefits,” said Dr. Robert J. Hrubes, Senior Vice President of SCS.

Researchers at Aberystwyth University are looking at seaweed, more specifically kelp (Laminaria digitata), as a potential feedstock for biofuels. Lead Researcher, Dr. Jessica Adams, says that seaweed may be a viable feedstock, especially if harvested in the summer as suitability of its chemical composition varies by season. The research found that July is the best time to harvest kelp as its carbohydrate levels are at their highest ensuring optimal sugar release for biofuel production. Metal content is also at its lowest.

“The storage carbohydrate and soluble sugars get converted into ethanol in the fermentation process, so we need as much as possible,” said Adams. “Metals can inhibit the yeast too so we also want these to be as low as possible.”

Welsh coast researchers collected monthly samples of kelp and then used chemical analysis to assess the seasonal variability. The results of the study were presented during the Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Glasgow on July 4th.

The research team noted that kelp can be converted to biofuel in various ways including fermentation or anaerobic digestion that produces ethanol or through methane or pyrolysis that produces bio-oil. The chemical composition of the seaweed is important in both of these processes. Researchers believe that marine ecosystems are an untapped resource and are capable of producing more biomass per square metre than fast growing terrestrial plants such as sugarcane.

“Seaweed biofuel could be very important in future energy production,” said Adams. “What biofuels provide that other renewables such as wind power cannot is a storable energy source that we can use when the wind drops.”

The next focus of the research will be to work to improve the viability of the process by identifying and extracting high value substances, such as pigments and phenols, before the rest of the seaweed is used to produce biofuel.

Giant miscanthus will soon be grown for biomass energy in Missouri and three other states.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) today announced the establishment of two Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas in Missouri that will produce the dedicated energy crop miscanthus to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels, and bio-based products.

“We are hopeful that as a result of this announcement we can assist the creation of up to 8250 acres in those two project areas of land that can be used to grow miscanthus,” said Vilsack. Yields for biomass from giant miscanthus are expected to range between 10 and 12 tons of dry matter per acre and can be as high as 15 tons per acre.

“This energy crop is a crop that will grow on land that is not necessarily the best farmland for anything else,” added Senator Blunt.

Despite the fact that future funding for BCAP is in danger, the $20 million for these projects has already been approved by Congress, and Blunt says this kind of spending benefits the economy. “If you’ve got a program like this where you can take a relatively small amount of money and create a private sector job that helps us solve our energy problem, I’m going to continue to be supportive of those kinds of policies.”

In addition to Missouri, project areas will also be established in Ohio, Arkansas and Pennsylvania. USDA estimates that these project areas and conversion facilities would earn about $50 million per year and create nearly 4,000 jobs by 2014.

Listen to or download the Vilsack-Blunt press conference here: Miscanthus BCAP Projects

More details on the project areas can be found here.