Domestic Fuel

The world ethanol market is projected to reach 27.7 billion gallons by the end of 2012 according to a new report, “Biofuels – A Global Strategic Business Report,” conducted by Global Industry Analysts. The growth, says the report, is due to skyrocketing crude prices, continued concerns over environmental pollution and the switch to biofuels. In addition, worldwide emission standards, biofuels subsidies and tax incentives have also had a positive impact on growth.

In the U.S., growth is being fostered by the goal of increasing domestic fuel production along with attention on the lowering of carbon emissions. Other aids to growth in the U.S., according to the report, is the increased purchases of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and the approval and sale of E15 for vehicles produce in 2011 or newer.

Today, the U.S. and Brazil (as well as South America) dominate production with 50 percent of world sugarcane produced going into the production of ethanol. Together, South America and the U.S. produced 66.5 percent of total volume sales in 2008 with 90 percent of ethanol demand in South America coming from Brazil. Ethanol consumption in Brazil is expected to reach 7.45 billion gallons by 2015. Sales of ethanol in Canada, one of the fastest growing markets worldwide, are expected to rise by approximately 208.25 million gallons between the period 2008 to 2012. The report predicts that markets to watch are India and China.

Globally, volume consumption of ethanol is estimated to grow by about 7,597 million gallons between the period 2008 to 2012. Asia-Pacific dominates the global food & beverage end-use market with a 64.2% share estimated in the year 2008. The solvent end-use market in the United States is projected to consume over 230 million gallons of ethanol by the year 2015. In Europe, Germany and France collectively account for 35.5% of the regional ethanol market as estimated in 2008.

All the major global ethanol players are featured in the report along with all the major biodiesel players around the world. The report provides a comprehensive review of market trends, driver, issues, and challenges in the biofuels global market. It also discusses climates in key regional markets. Also provided in the report is an enumeration of recent mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic industry activities.

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.”

Trying to get more ethanol out of every part of the corn is the goal for many alternative fuel producers. With demand for the actual grain of corn for food, scientists are looking at the rest of the plant to try to extract ethanol. This article from the American Chemical Society’s journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research says researchers have found that white rot fungus is showing promise in unlocking 50 percent more sugar from the stock and cobs, corn stover, that can be converted into ethanol:

Yebo Li and colleagues explain that corn ethanol supplies are facing a crunch because corn is critical for animal feed and food. They note that the need for new sources of ethanol has shifted attention to using stover, which is the most abundant agricultural residue in the U.S., estimated at 170-256 million tons per year. The challenge is to find a way to break down tough cellulose material in cobs, stalks and leaves – so that sugars inside can be fermented to ethanol. Previous studies indicated that the microbe Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, known as a white rot fungus, showed promise for breaking down the tough plant material prior to treatment with enzymes to release the sugars. To advance that knowledge, they evaluated how well the fungus broke down the different parts of corn stover and improved the sugar yield.

While the researchers are able to extract a significant amount of sugar for ethanol from the leaves as well, it’s less than the stalks and cobs. Since the leaves are good for the soil, they point out those leaves can be left in the field to recharge the soil.

Researchers are looking for ways to get more value out of the byproducts of ethanol production, and thus, making the production of the green fuel more efficient and cost effective. During the recent Corn Utilization Technology Conference, USDA’s Kurt Spokas presented his ideas of getting more value out of those ethanol byproducts. He’s been working with the Minnesota Corn Growers on a project that converts distillers grains into various bio byproducts that are of higher value than the grains themselves.

“With the microwave-assisted pyrolysis, [we] convert very wet biomass over to an actual higher value product in both a bio-oil materials that have the building blocks for other uses, as well as a biochar, which we hope to actually utilize for sustaining our agricultural production,” he said. In the second year of this project, Spokas said it is going very well and is hoping to have field plots to see what larger scale impacts could be.

Spokas wants farmers to see all the different ways corn can be used… and what the future holds. “We thought we had a good picture of all the various products that were possible, but now we’re beginning to see that was only the beginning or the tip of the iceberg.”

Listen to an interview with Kurt here: Interview with Kurt Spokas

Researchers at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) recently announced the successful production of ethanol from the cellulosic portion of the corn kernel.

“This research is demonstrated proof of the viability of ‘generation 2.0 ethanol,’” NCERC Director John Caupert said. “By utilizing existing technologies readily available in the commercial marketplace, the Center was able to produce a biofuel that builds upon the strengths of conventional corn ethanol and the promise of cellulosic ethanol, thus making bolt-on cellulosic ethanol a reality.”

Caupert added that the potential for cellulosic ethanol has significant immediate and long-term impacts on the biofuels industry generally and the ethanol industry specifically. “Any of the 211 existing ethanol plants in the United States could be retrofitted with existing bolt-on technologies to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn without the need to build new facilities,” Caupert said. “This translates into opportunities for jobs and economic development, particularly in rural areas.”

On average, 8 to 9.5% of the corn kernel is fiber, of which about 5% is in the pericarp. NCERC Assistant Director of Biological Research Sabrina Trupia will be presenting more information about the new development at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop June 4-7 in Minneapolis.

The NCERC at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville is a nationally-recognized research center established through federal and state initiatives, with support from the Illinois and National Corn Growers associations, and dedicated to the development and commercialization of biofuels, specialty chemicals, and other renewable compounds.

Since it is an even-numbered year, that means the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) will be held this year.

The 2012 CUTC agenda features cutting-edge technologies and new uses that are positioned change the corn industry. Among the session topics is Advance Biofuels, which will highlight some of the most recent research on advanced biofuels. Speakers will cover thermochemical and biochemical and biomimetic routes to the pretreatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosics (such as corn fiber hulls, corn stover, etc.) to produce sugar and phenolic monomers that can be further upgraded to synthetic fuels, bioethanol, and/or chemicals.

Technical sessions will also focus on the future of Biorefineries, which will be critical in replacing products that have traditionally been produced using fossil fuels. Recent technical and engineering advances in the production of renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals will be discussed as well as the development of next generation biofuels such as Biobutanol.

“We are proud of CUTC’s position as the premier corn technology conference in the United States and of the many learning opportunities that we will offer,” said NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team Chair DeVonna Zeug. “But the conference offers much more including incredibly important networking opportunities. By exchanging ideas with people who have common interests, we create the hybrid of new technology and new ideas.”

Registration is now open for CUTC, which will be held this year at the Westin Indianapolis in downtown Indianapolis, Ind., June 4-6.

The United States has taken the lead in ethanol exports over Brazil according to the new study, “U.S. & Brazil Ethanol Outlook to 2022,” published by Hart Energy. The report predicts that the U.S. will retain this position into 2022 and beyond. Another major finding is that Hart Energy does not believe the U.S. ethanol industry can meet two major policy goals: Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The reason is that these production goals do not meet the realities of commercialization and availability. However, the report maintains that changes in policy are imperative for production goals to be met over the next several years.

“Much of the focus has been on the ‘blend wall,’ biodiesel, and cellulosic biofuels targets of the RFS program in the public forum,” said Tammy Klein, assistant vice president of Hart Energy. “But what’s so striking to us is that Brazilian ethanol is needed to meet targets under those programs — and our forecast shows it will not be available at critical points in the study period.”

Klein added that Brazilian ethanol will also be in high demand in other parts of the world, especially Europe. Ethanol is a key part of the strategy for increasing octane and meeting renewable fuel targets worldwide.  Yet the report forecasts wide fluctuations in Brazilian ethanol exports and estimates that the county won’t meet its peak levels of 2008 until 2019.

The study examines public policies, market developments, economics as well as addresses numerous factors affecting the ethanol industry, including a forecast for crude oil, gasoline, ethanol feedstocks and ethanol production, supply, demand, and Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). The Outlook contends renewable fuel mandates in the U.S. will also create opportunities for increased production of corn-based ethanol and biodiesel.

Maelle Soares Pinto, director of Hart Energy’s Global Biofuels Center concluded, “The good news is the U.S. ethanol industry has been able to move forward despite the ‘blend wall’ and open new export markets around the world. The constraints we are seeing with Brazilian ethanol could open up opportunities for the U.S. ethanol industry, and this will be a key subject of study for us this year.”

Hart Energy will host a webinar on the study findings on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. More information on these findings and methodology is available by visiting the Global Biofuels Center.

Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its Tracking Clean Energy Progress report and in response, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) said that it confirms government institutions are not doing enough to further the development of clean energy.

The report states that biofuels for transport are not on track to meet their share of CO2 reduction required to meet the agency’s goal of an average of 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by 202o. To achieve this goal, biofuel production will need to double and advanced biofuel production would need to quadruple over current capacity.

According to IEA, a key action is for governments to develop stronger policies to support the development of the advanced biofuels industry. Based on the climate 2 degree Celsius scenario posed by the agency, biofuel use will increase to nearly 240 billion litres in 2020, which if produced sustainably, will lead to an approximate 0.1 GT reduction of CO2 emissions.

“The GRFA applauds the IEA for putting the world on notice that it is falling behind with biofuels production,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the organization. “With the threat of climate change growing, it is imperative that we reduce our CO2 emissions with alternatives to crude oil such as biofuels.”

Baker continued by stating that the report reaffirms GRFA’s call to develop biofuels policies that will reduce reliance on crude oil, and supports the need for biofuels as part of a clean energy future.

According to a new report from GlobalData, government incentives and fuel demand are helping to boost biofuels markets. “Biofuels (Biodiesel and Bioethanol) Market – Global Production, Regulations, Export-Import Analysis and Key Country Analysis to 2020,” found that countries in Europe, Asia and North America (U.S.) are heavily involved in biofuel production – both ethanol and biodiesel.

Ethanol production globally began in ernst in 2003 and has grown significantly with the help of government subsidies. Canada and China both have blending targets, as well as the U.S. who passed a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) to drive the use of biofuels. In 2003, production numbers were 33,514 million liters and grew to 105,608 million liters by 2011. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) was 15.4 percent during this time period and the report expects production to grow another 4.4 percent between 2011-2020.

Biodiesel production picked up speed on a global level in 2005, and has also seen various government subsidies and incentives spurring growth. Key biodiesel exporters in 2010 were Germany, China, the Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium and the U.S. In 2005, global production of biodiesel was 4,854 million liters, and grew to 23,579 million liters by 2011. Biodiesel boasted a CAGR rate of 30.1 percent and is expected to grow an additional 3.5 percent between 2011-2020 for an annual production level of 4,205 million liters.

The report says the the growth demonstrates the importance of government and environmental policy for the current growth of the industry. It also concludes that future production increases will be dependent on similar support from global governments.

A new poll from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) indicates overwhelming support by Americans for renewable fuels.

The poll, conducted by American Viewpoint, shows American voters are supportive of the key federal policy driving renewable fuel innovation in America today – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with a full 61% percent of adults polled saying they supported it.

“Poll after poll consistently demonstrates that Americans of all stripes believe we must be pursuing the production and use of renewable fuels to reduce our dependence on imported oil,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS is a critical component to the continued growth and innovation of this industry. The RFS ensures that ample supplies of renewable fuels like ethanol are available today and that new and promising renewable fuel technologies will have a market in the future. The RFS has proven effective in addressing America’s goals by helping reduce volumes of imported oil, create jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuel.”

Participants in the poll responded very favorably to the continued efforts to bring cellulosic ethanol production to commercial scale through the use of targeted tax policies. Sixty-five percent said they supported such incentives to help expand cellulosic ethanol production. By comparison, 69% said they opposed tax subsidies and other incentives for petroleum companies. Finally, respondents expressed strong support for greater choice when pulling up to the pump. Seventy-five percent of those polled said they would support requiring automakers to build cars to run on fuel sources other than oil. The RFA has been a strong and early champion of the Open Fuel Standard (OFS) that would accomplish this exact goal.

The poll results come on the eve of the RFA’s inaugural Washington Legislative Forum being held tomorrow, April 18th, at the Newseum in Washington , DC where Attendees will hear from congressional and administration officials about legislative priorities outlined in the poll and the chances for any legislative action regarding these priorities in 2012. Following the meeting, RFA members will take to Capitol Hill to meet with dozens of lawmakers on issues important to America’s renewable fuel industry.

The wind energy industry contributed $32 billion Euros to the European Union’s (EU) gross domestic product (GDP) between 2007 and 2010. In addition, the industry grew more than twice that of the EU’s GDP overall. The information is part of the ‘Green Growth‘ report that was released today during the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) International Conference.

The report also determined that the number of people employed in the wind energy industry increased by 30 percent from 2007 to 2010 with approximately 240,000 people employed in the field. It is estimated that there will be nearly 520,000 jobs in the sector by 2020.

The industry was a net exporter of 5.7 billion Euros worth of goods and services in 2010 while the energy created avoided 5.71 billion euros of fuel costs in the same year. In addition, the industry invested approximately 5 percent of its spending back into research and development (R&D), while on average, wind turbine manufacturers invested close to 10 percent of their revenue back to R&D.

“Wind energy is a recession-busting industry,” said Arthouros Zervos, President of EWEA. “It is countering the recession – providing increasing economic activity, more jobs and exports every year to an EU struggling with an economic crisis intensified by ever increasing amounts of fuel being imported at rising costs to European citizens.”

To ensure the continued growth of the industry, Green Growth states that several things must happen including stable national renewable energy frameworks; a post 2020 energy policy with a binding renewables target for 2030; a joined up European power grid and single energy market; a more ambitious 30 percent greenhouse gas reduction target for 2020; and sufficient and dedicated EU funding for wind energy research.

The solar photovoltaic (PV) systems market is growing with the help of government incentives that encourage investment. This news came as a result of a new report by GBI Research, “Semiconductors in Solar PV Power Systems to 2015 – Government Incentives and Feed-in Tariffs to Create Growth Potential for Semiconductor Manufacturers.” The report concludes that investments in renewable energy will continue to be a major driving force of technological advances in the global semiconductor market. Semiconductors are used in solar PV systems.

The growth of the industry was helped along by programs such as feed-in tariffs (FIT). The majority of countries leading in solar PV adoption are in Europe including Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, France, and the UK. While there is no federal FIT program in the U.S., some states have experimented with them including California, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Washington.

Both China and Japan have announced their support in being the leaders in creating more efficient solar PV technologies and this has also helped boost the semiconductor market. Sales in solar PV systems were nearly $27.8 billion in 2011 are expected to grow to $32 billion by the end of 2015. Ultimately, the increase in semiconductor revenue has been invested back into development and improved the technology’s efficiency, which has improved the efficiency of solar PV systems.

The report said that next technological advancements will be focused on reducing energy losses and cost-per-watt in an effort to extend the grid to more remote places.

There have been a few companies that are exploring growing bioenergy crops on land owned by airports. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in the game. The division of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is looking at the potential for alternative energy production at airports in a published article, “Airports Offer Unrealized Potential for Alternative Energy Production.” The article, published in Environmental Management, states that airports may want to consider converting land to alternative fuels where it is economically and environmentally beneficial.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, an avid supporter of alternative energy said of the findings, “Some available grasslands at airports have the potential to spur the type of innovation we need to build American-made, homegrown biofuels and biobased products that will help break our dependence on foreign oil and move our nation toward a clean energy economy.”

Vilsack also said converting grasslands at airports to alternative energy, whether it be biofuel, wind or solar production, not only provides more environmentally sound energy sources for the county, but “may also increase revenue for airports and reduce the local abundance of potentially hazardous wildlife to aircraft.”

Many of us remember the plane that went down in the Hudson due to birds hitting the plane (i.e. getting into the engines), sparking a conversation about environmental responsibility versus air safety. Researchers at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) note that many airport properties are already managed to reduce wildlife abundance and habitat quality as part of efforts to avoid wildlife collisions with aircraft.

Yet not all energy crops will prove to be equal on managing wildlife. NWA says that once biofuel crops are identified for airport use demonstrating low wildlife-strike risks compared to existing airport landcovers, converting grasslands could become a revenue generator.

Federally obligated airports have restrictions on how land may be used but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will work with airports interested in pursuing alternative energy.

A genome map for miscanthus could point the way to a source for better biofuels production.

According to Science Daily, researchers at the University of Georgia have mapped the genomes of two originator cells of Miscanthus x giganteus, a large perennial grass with promise as a source of ethanol and bioenergy.

Changsoo Kim, a postdoctoral research associate in the UGA Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, identified a set of approximately 600 bits of Miscanthus DNA that can serve as diagnostic tools. The next step is to determine which pieces of DNA are diagnostic of genes that can make the plant an even better biofuel crop.

Miscanthus is a natural candidate for biomass farming. Its sugarcane-like stalks grow to more than 12 feet in height in soil of marginal quality; it requires very little fertilizer; it grows well in moist temperate climates across the United States, Europe and Asia; and in the eastern U.S. it can produce more biomass on less acreage than other candidate biofuel crops.

Read more from Science Daily.

A breakthrough by chemists at the University of California-Berkeley could have a profound impact on the growing market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

In an article appearing this week in the journal Science, UC Berkeley chemists show how to construct a catalyst composed only of edges and demonstrate that it can catalyze the production of hydrogen from water as readily as the edges and defects in regular catalysts.

At the moment, creating these catalysts in the lab is not cheaper than using traditional catalysts, but efforts by Chang and others to simplify the process and create materials with billions of active sites on a ridged wafer much like a Ruffles potato chip could allow cheaper, commercially viable fuel cell catalysts.

Read more from Berkeley news service.