Domestic Fuel

While we talk a lot about using more biodiesel and ethanol, there’s no more fitting place to use the green fuels than the farms where it all starts. A Minnesota farmer took his own advice to use more biofuels to heart, and this article from the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin explains most farmers should use higher blends because their equipment can handle it:

[Eyota, Minn. farmer Dan] Brandt, who is president of the Olmsted/South Wabasha County Corn and Soybean Growers, discussed his idea of encouraging more biodiesel use with directors and members of the group at their annual meeting. They liked it and encouraged him to proceed…

“Nobody’s asking for it (higher blends), and that’s what we have to change,” Brandt said.

The article goes on to quote Kaleb Little, communications and member specialist with the National Biodiesel Board, who says the majority of agricultural manufacturers design their engines to use at least B20, some even allow the use of higher blends. New Holland engines can run B100, Little said.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a new strain of yeast that could cut the costs of cellulosic ethanol production. This Agricultural Research Service (ARS) news release says the work is being done at the agency’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill.

ARS molecular biologist Zonglin Lewis Liu and his colleagues determined that this yeast strain can break down and ferment the sugars in corn cobs left behind after the compound xylose—which is sometimes used for industrial activities—has been extracted. The new strain of yeast, Clavispora NRRL Y-50464 (Y-50464), can tolerate cob-derived compounds that interfere with yeast growth and fermentation rates.

The scientists added the enzymes cellulase and beta-glucosidase, which are often used to break down residues and extract sugars, and observed that Y-50464 reached its peak ethanol production rate of 25.7 grams per liter 5 days after the experiment began. But the yeast actually produced more ethanol, 26.6 grams per liter in 5 days, without the addition of beta-glucosidase.

Confirmation of beta-glucosidase in Y-50464 will eliminate the need to include the cost of that additional enzyme to the process.

It wasn’t that long ago that Europe was a champion of biofuels, in particular, biodiesel, as just a few years ago the continent adopted a policy of having 10 percent of transportation fuels come from renewable sources, including biofuels. This boosted biodiesel demand, coupled with favorable tax laws and the popularity of diesel vehicles. This piece in Public Service Europe says that when cheaper imported vegetable oils replaced European biofuels crops, there was pushback that was unfounded and really amounted to trade protections for Europeans, and now the continent is moving to a 5 percent usage level … basically where it stands today. But the article says it’s not too late for Europe to re-reconsider its biofuels policy:

Therefore, with this cap, the EU endangers – or reinterprets – its own 10 per cent target leaving the status quo, conventional oil, as the biggest winner. And it strikes a blow to equity and development. Shall we continue to import oil from rich countries so they can become richer rather than taking the opportunity to import biofuels from poor countries? Wild, rapid policy shifts like this have costs. They disrupt markets, stifle innovation and undermine the EU’s credibility.
Read the rest of this post…

Latest figures from the Energy Information Agency show that last week’s ethanol production hit 34.94 million gallons daily for an annual rate of 12.63 billion gallons. And the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) points out those numbers reflect about 10 percent of the overall daily gasoline demand:

Stocks of ethanol stood at 17.5 million barrels. That is a 1.6% decrease from last week.

Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 9.92%.

The report goes on to say that more than 12.6 million bushels of corn was used to produce ethanol and nearly 93,000 metric tons of livestock feed, with almost 83,000 tons of that as distillers grains. Plus, the processes produced 4.33 million pounds of corn oil daily, which could feed the biodiesel market.

ZimmComm New Media, LLC has expanded its AgNewsWire.com website to serve as a new agricultural media content service for reporters, companies, organizations and individuals seeking high quality photos and audio from industry events and concerning current issues.

“We generate so much content on our agricultural and renewable energy websites that we decided to create one place for all of it to make it easier for people in the industry to locate and utilize,” said ZimmComm New Media president Chuck Zimmerman. “Last year we covered nearly 70 different industry events, posted more than 1200 audio files and placed nearly 20,000 high resolution photos in Flickr albums. All of that content is available for anyone to download and use free of charge.”

AgNewsWire.com will now have links to all the audio, photos and video that ZimmComm compiles at events, for podcasts, news conferences and more. In addition, AgNewsWire will also continue to be an agricultural news release distribution service as it has been since it was introduced in 2006.

Read the rest of this post…

How can we tell the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is working? By how nervous it’s making the big oil companies. That was the message attendees at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference near Washington, D.C. heard.

“We are disrupting an existing marketplace,” says Brooke Coleman, Executive Director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. “We are not social media. We are not creating a new search engine. We are not doing something new… we just happen to be doing what other people are doing, better.”

Brooke says that has made some pretty powerful enemies of biofuels, who are spending a lot of money to destroy the biofuel brand … from corn ethanol to biodiesel to cellulosic biofuels. But he’s confident their attempt to change the Clean Air Act, and thus the RFS, will fail, ultimately because of the political allies biofuels have made.

“You’ve got Republicans and Democrats who see this thing [RFS] work, create jobs … just shy of 400,000 … and it’s just hard to change,” adding the political environment is not conducive to wholesale changes to either the Clean Air Act or the RFS.

Brooke says the diverse group that makes up the biofuels coalition is more together than ever, with efforts like Fuels America, a coalition to protect the RFS and the renewable fuels industry, and more collaboration than ever … without getting hung up on differences within the biofuels sector.

“We don’t agree on everything, [but] the trick is not to get so focused on the one or two things we don’t agree on … and focus on what we DO agree on.”

Listen to more of my interview with Brooke here: Brooke Coleman, AEC

A podcast we’ve talked about on our sister website, AgWired.com is the AgFanatics … AgriVisor Account Manager Cory Winstead and AgriVisor Risk Management Specialist Nick Klump, who talk ag issues on a regular basis. No surprise that ethanol and Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) made it onto their radar, as it is a topic pretty important in ag circles.

In this episode of the AgFanatics podcast, the guys try to bring a little more knowledge to the the discussion of about of ethanol production and blending. Recently, they talked to Tim Abel, GROWMARKS Refined Fuels Supply and Trading Manager to clear up some of the issues on the topic.

Check ‘em out!

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association welcomed this week’s launch of that country’s agriculture policy. The Growing Forward 2 (GF2) policy framework was unveiled this week, and CRFA sees it as good for Canada’s renewable fuels industry and the farmers who grow the feedstocks for biofuels:

Today, CRFA members are producing clean-burning renewable fuels across the country. This success is a testament to our Canadian farmers as well as government initiatives to promote economic growth and prosperity, like the federal Renewable Fuels Regulations, the NextGen for Biofuels Fund, and most recently, GF2.

“Farmers across the country are clear winners with increased production and promotion of domestic renewable fuels” said CRFA President W. Scott Thurlow. “Canada’s renewable fuels sector creates jobs and is helping grow the economy in rural Canada. Now, our members are taking the platform created by ethanol and biodiesel technology and using it to develop fuels, and value-added agricultural and chemical products, from a growing range of biomass. Programs like GF2 will help build-out this innovation so that the economic and business risk management benefits of domestic renewable fuels production will accrue for our farmers today and well into the future.”

GF2 is a five-year, $3 billion dollar investment by federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments for government agricultural programs and services.

Federal money to help offset the costs of putting in ethanol blender pumps is being made available. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced the USDA is now accepting applications for federal Rural Energy For America Program (REAP) funds to help gasoline retailers install blender pumps, the third year that blender pumps have been authorized as part of the REAP program and part of the USDA’s plan to have 10,000 blender pumps installed over the next five years.

“This program provided funding for hundreds of blender pumps the past two years, providing many consumers with the choice and flexibility they deserve to pick the ethanol blends that work for them based on their vehicle, their beliefs, and their budget,” said RFA Director of Market Development Robert White.

“We can continue to break the stranglehold oil has over our nation’s economy and energy future by giving consumers more options at the pump,” said ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty. “The USDA’s announcement together with the efforts of the [Blend Your Own (BYO)] ethanol campaign will go a long way toward making that happen.”

The RFA and ACE are offering free grant writing services to those interested in applying. Applications for the grant program are due on April 30, 2013.

Just a few seats left for the Nebraska Ethanol Board’s Ethanol 2013: Emerging Issues Forum! The April 18-19 event in Omaha, Nebraska at the Magnolia Hotel will include several key speakers, including Ron Lamberty with the American Coalition for Ethanol, Greg Krissek from ICM and Sandra Dunphy with Weaver, LLP. Weaver specializes in EPA compliance and fuels consulting for the petroleum industry and will talk about Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN) management and compliance strategies:

This annual forum has become the “must-attend” event of the year for ethanol industry leaders and advocates. The forum is designed to promote interaction between speakers and attendees- and to provide insight and leadership on emerging issues in the ethanol industry and every level.

The lineup of speakers will talk about innovative ethanol marketing and promotion programs, distillers grains marketing, a financial outlook for the ethanol industry and environmental issues.

Register here.

There’s been a lot of talk about the prices for Renewable Identification Numbers … better known as RINs … especially from Big Oil trying to blame RINs for the rise in gasoline prices.

But in this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast, Ron Lamberty, Senior Vice President with the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President for ACE, explain what RINs are and what they do … as well as dispelling some of the myths that have created what they call RIN-sanity.

You can listen to the Domestic Fuel Cast here: Domestic Fuel Cast - Countering RIN-sanity

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

View the ACE Biofuels Beltway March 2013 Photo Album.

More than 140 speakers will be talking during four track session at the upcoming 2013 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo, the ethanol industry’s largest and longest-running conference. Officials released the agenda for the June 10-13, 2013 event in St. Louis, Mo.

“Attendees of the 29th annual FEW will gain extremely important information about the ethanol industry,” said Tim Portz, Vice President of Content & Executive Editor at BBI International. “This year we had an overwhelming number of speaker abstracts. The large number of submissions, coupled with the feedback from last year’s attendees, that included producers representing 87 percent of all U.S. installed capacity, is helping to shape this conference’s agenda into the most current and relevant FEW we’ve ever produced.”

Track 1: Production
Track 2: Leadership & Financial Management
Track 3: Coproducts
Track 4: Cellulosic & Advanced Ethanol

Check out the entire agenda, and find more information at www.FuelEthanolWorkshop.com.

Trusting Big Oil with its claims about the dangers of ethanol is like trusting certain soft drink makers about claims against drinks that might be good for you.

“If Coke and Pepsi put out a study that said sugar-free Kool-Aid is bad for you, I’m sure people would question that,” says Senior Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Ron Lamberty, as he lamented the fact that most media aren’t questioning the American Petroleum Institute’s … aka Big Oil … claims against ethanol. “You spend all your time trying to correct something that wasn’t true in the first place. It’s been effective for them. That’s why they do it. The media [needs to do its job] and push back on these guys and ask them, ‘Why are they doing this?’”

Ron pointed out that API’s study that tried to show E15 would damage a vehicle is motivated by one thing: hanging on to your money spent on their non-renewable fuel.

“Nothing strikes more fear in [petroleum marketers'] hearts than seeing their customers across the street buying something from a competitor and that something is something they don’t sell.”

He encourages everyone to get the facts about ethanol at www.Ethanol.org and www.BYOEthanol.com.

Listen to more of Joanna’s interview with Ron at the recent Iowa Renewable Fuels Association conference here: Ron Lamberty

View the IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit Photo Album.

Ethanol producers need to squeeze every penny out of their operations. But one expert in the field of corn oil wonders why some refiners aren’t trying to capture the corn oil produced when they make ethanol.

“It seems to be a fundamental piece of ethanol plant profitability,” Joe Riley, General Manager with FEC Solutions told Joanna during the recent Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Renewable Fuels Summit. He should know. His family has been operating in the fats and oils business for 26 years and lives in the heart of farming and ethanol production, Iowa.

With a potential to extract between 1.5 and 1.7 million gallons of corn oil from a 50 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant, Joe questions why only about half of the refiners aren’t trying to capture that corn oil. “If you’re not extracting corn oil, you have to be asking yourself, “Why?” He said that worries of losing value in dried distillers grains (DDGs) have pretty much been answered, and with biodiesel operations expected to be using even more available oils, including corn, Joe pointed out that some refiners might be losing out on potential profit.

He does understand that some operators find it tricky to get the right market for their corn oil. That’s where FEC Solutions comes in. “Usually ethanol plants are really good at making and selling ethanol. We’re really good at selling oil… whether that’s in the feed industry, biodiesel industry, export markets, or specialty or oleo chemical markets.”

Find out more at their website, fecsolutions.com.

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Joe here: Joe Riley

View the IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit Photo Album.

Ethanol is good for taking harmful particles out of automobile emissions, but a group committed to cleaner air is worried that gasoline makers might just end up putting more particulates in the blendstock.

“The [ultra-fine particulates] profile of the ethanol is very, very consistent,” but Greg Krissek, Director of Government Affairs for ICM, part of the Urban Air Initiative, told Joanna during the recent Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Renewable Fuels Summit that as ethanol blends get higher, gasoline makers are increasing the amount of particulate-forming ingredients on their end.

But Greg is still optimistic that higher ethanol blends will be used in the future. “I think there are very positive discussions with automakers about how to use mid-level blends. What we don’t want to happen is the unintended consequence down the road of what happens to that gasoline blendstock.”

You can find out more on the Urban Air Initiative’s website.

Listen to Joanna’s interview with Greg here: Greg Krissek

View the IRFA Renewable Fuels Summit Photo Album.