Domestic Fuel

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. 
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According to a recent ORC International survey, 81 percent of Americans are concerned about “increased drought” and other extreme weather conditions. Conducted on behalf of the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the poll results showed that concerns about drought, of which the many states have been severely affected, go hand in hand with worries about water shortages.

Three out of four Americans think that, “with all the current concern about severe drought and the risk of water shortages, America needs to start focusing more on alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, that require less water.”

Other key findings include worry over shortages of safe drinking water due to drought and “the diversion of water for energy production” is the No. 1 overall concern in 10 drought-stricken states including, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri  Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas. Nationwide, 64 percent of respondents are “very concerned” about the prospect of  “possible shortages of safe drinking water” due to drought and diversion for energy production.

On average, 85 percent of Americans believe availability of ample clean water should be a top national priority for the country. In addition, 89 percent of respondents said that want an energy/water “road map” for the country. People believe that, “U.S. energy planning and decision making must be made with full knowledge and understanding about the availability of water regionally and locally, and the impact this water use from specific energy choices has on their economies, including agricultural production.”

“We now understand all too well the harsh realities of the current drought and its relationship to changes in the climate from global warming. America’s ‘all of the above’ non-solution for electricity generation is a dead-end path – one requiring vast amounts of water for coal-fired power plants, nuclear reactors and the fracking extraction of natural gas,” said Pam Solo, president, Civil Society Institute.
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For those looking to learn more about energy efficiency, a new educational site has launched: MyEnergyGateway.org. Hosted by the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) Foundation. The site was created to become a library of training programs, degrees and certifications that focus on energy efficiency, sustainability, green and alternative energy. In addition, visitors will also be able to research information about engineering, green building design and other disciplines.

While the site was created for students, returning military personnel and displaced workers, anyone interested in beginning or continuing his or her education in the space will find this site useful. Not only does it contain lists of education programs, but also compares tuition costs, room and board costs, student to faculty ratio, and scholarship and internship opportunities among other information.

Why this site?

In 2011, ASEP published a survey of its members and nearly 60 percent cited a lack of talented workers in the field and more than half were in the process of recruiting for open positions. The U.S. Department of Energy funded the costs of developing the site through a grant in an effort to promote the need and types of jobs in the energy sector.

“Companies and utilities involved in creating energy efficiency programs are facing a lack of talented and adequately traine candidates for jobs,” said Meg Matt, President & CEO of AESP. ”MyEnergyGateway.org serves as an educational pathway for students, returning military and those seeking a career change to better understand the numerous opportunities that currently exist in energy. The website encourages users to enter the industry and quickly identify the best options to pursue.”

OriginOil has announced that a breakthrough chemical-free process developed for algae harvesting may also aid in the clean up of dirty water that is a byproduct of oil well water flooding and hydraulic fracturing. According to the company, using a lab prototype of the technology, its researchers have successfully clarified samples of flowback water from a Texas oil well carrying frac flowback. In essence, the technology separates the organics from the water, which then float to the surface and from there can be easily removed.

Hydro fracturing is becoming more popular with petroleum companies and in states like North Dakota operations using this technology are gearing up. Large amounts of water are used to release the oil and gas, lodged deep in rock formations, oil that until this technology was developed, couldn’t be harvested. The market grew 63 percent, from $19 billion in 2010 to $31 billion in 2011 and is expected to rise another 19 percent in 2012 according to Platts.

“Our research team has learned that extracting petroleum and contaminants from water is very much like extracting algae,” said Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil CEO. “They are both very hard to remove without using chemicals and heavy machinery. Our innovative chemical-free, high flow and low-energy process holds promise for the billions of gallons of water used daily in the oil and gas industry worldwide.”

Oil production uses a lot of water and the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every barrel of oil produced globally, an average of three barrels of contaminated water is produced. In worse case scenarios, the water to oil ration can be as alarming as 50 to 1. As a result, the market for cleaning the water is growing, and Greentech Media reports it costs between $3 to $12 to dispose of each barrel of water. Therefore, the market for water cleaning technologies could be between $300 billion to $1 trillion per year.

Eckelberry added, “It seems that in addition to helping create the renewable energy market of the future, we may add value to a massive existing energy market. We will continue to investigate and report on this promising new application of our technology.”

Solar energy, specifically solar thermal water heating (SWH), is catching on in colder states like Wisconsin, Colorado and Oregon as well as countries like Canada and Germany.

“Many people assume that SWH is not an option for them because they do not live near a scorching desert or by a sun-drenched beach,” said Nigel Cotton, OEM Team Leader of the International Copper Association (ICA) and founder of Solarthermalworld.org, a web community for solar thermal professionals. “However, in a solar thermal system, the energy of the sun is used to heat water in a ‘holding tank.’ This warmed water is circulated to provide hot water throughout the system.While SWH may not be able to provide for all hot water needs in colder climates, it can provide significant savings.”

Colorado home owners are finding cost savings with SWH. According to the Colorado based Center for Resource Conservation, a solar thermal heating system for domestic hot water use can be a long-term cost saving addition for a home. They estimate that when replacing an electric system, SWH can save a household $625 annually. This kind of long-term investment in solar thermal also can pay off for business operations.

A laundromat in Toronto, Canada installed a SWH system that is saving money on energy costs. According to the Canadian Solar Industries Association, the solar thermal system is expected to pay back its investment in less than ten years if energy prices remain stable, but will achieve faster payback as energy prices rise.

“Solar thermal technology is able to capture the energy of the sun and transfer it into heat in many regions around the globe,” says Baerbel Epp, editor of the Solarthermalworld.org newsletter. “It is helpful for families and businesses to explore the different ways of using the free-of-charge energy from the sun no matter where they live.”

There are many aspects to optimizing ethanol plant processes, including water treatment, and that is why Quebec-based H2O Innovation has chosen to be part of the latest in the Process Optimization Seminar management series, coming up February 8-10 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Greg Madden says they call themselves a membrane systems integrator. “We engineer and build equipment for water treatment around membrane technology,” said Madden, which includes anything pre-treatment and post-treatment. Typical systems for ethanol plants include RO pretreatment equipment, followed by single-pass RO for boiler and cooling tower feed.

H2O Innovations presented at the Houston Process Optimization Seminar last year and will be sponsoring the cocktail reception at the upcoming event in Minnesota. “There’s definitely good networking opportunities (at the event),” he said, noting that in addition to the educational aspect of the seminar “they do a pretty good job of making it fun.”

Listen to an interview with Greg Madden about the upcoming seminar: Greg Madden of H2O Innovation

The Process Optimization Seminar management series is organized by Fermentis, Fremont Industries, Novozymes and Phibro Ethanol Performance Group.

Registration is limited to 50 participants and the event is now close to sold out, as all previous seminars have been, so anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register as soon as possible at www.processoptimizationseminar.com.

POET is now more than 75 percent of the way to achieving its water reduction goal of one billion gallons annually by 2015 at the company’s ethanol plants.

This year POET reduced water use by more than 770 million gallons compared to 2009 by using the company’s Total Water Recovery System at their 18th ethanol production facility, POET Biorefining in Chancellor, South Dakota.

“We’ve made reducing water use a priority at our plants, and it shows,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “I’m confident that we can reach our overall water use goal.”

Eighteen of POET’s 26 ethanol plants now have Total Water Recovery Systems under the company’s “Ingreenuity” initiative that was instituted in March 2010.

Today American farmers are producing twice as much corn on virtually the same amount of acres as a generation ago. This makes them the most productive and efficient of any farmers around the world. Similarly, productivity and efficiencies are being mirrored across domestic ethanol production.

The Renewable Fuels Association has begun a series on efficiency and as part of the dialogue, RFA Vice President Geoff Cooper takes on the critics who claim that both farming and ethanol production is simply too energy-intensive. Cooper says those critical of farmers and by extension ethanol producers, will tell you that the tremendous growth in corn production is due to increased fertilizer use.

Yet Cooper says these are not the facts. USDA data shows that 2010 application rates of three common macronutrient fertilizers (nitrogen, potassium and phosphate) were the same or below the application rates seen in the early 1980s. As such, nitrogen application per bushel of corn has decreased more than 30 percent since this time while potassium and phosphate usage per bushel is down nearly 40 percent.

Also reduced between 1987 – 2007 is water, energy and land usage required to produce a bushel of corn according to Keystone Alliance. For example, the energy requirement (as measured in British Thermal Units or BTUs) to produce one gallon of ethanol has dropped by 28 percent since 2001, to just shy of 26,000 BTUs. Cooper says that compares to 77,000 BTUs found in one gallon of ethanol. Electricity demand has fallen by 32 percent and water use has decreased by 47 percent.

“As the data clearly demonstrate, America’s ethanol producers are mirroring the efficiency gains of the American farmers upon whom they rely for feedstock,” said Cooper. “As existing processes evolve and new production technologies emerge, ethanol production in the U.S. will not only increase in volume, but also in efficiency. Without a doubt, today’s ethanol industry is high-tech and increasingly energy efficient.”

POET Biorefining – Caro has received the 2011 Green Agri-Business Designation from the Michigan Agri-Business Association. The ethanol plant received the award for its efforts to integrate environmental practices into its operations. The award focuses on efforts by companies to protect Michigan’s natural resources, conserve energy and reduce impact on water land and air.

“The Michigan Agri-Business Association wants to shine a light on the many agricultural businesses that are doing the right thing, and keeping Michigan’s natural resources strong and healthy,” MABA President Jim Byrum said. “Conservation, sustainability and energy efficiency are a way of life for these Michigan businesses, saving both money and resources. These businesses are good for both our industry and Michigan’s future, and we want to highlight their efforts.”

To reduce water use while improving water quality, POET Biorefining – Caro uses a total water recovery system to eliminate wastewater discharge and a waste heat recovery system that recycles both heat and water. It uses the Load Toad DDGS loader to get more product onto each rail car and conducts a recycling program.

David Gloer, GM of POET Biorefining – Caro added, “We produce renewable fuel, so reducing waste and energy use is a natural focus for POET Biorefining – Caro,” General Manager David Gloer said. “It’s a great honor to be recognized by the MABA for those efforts.”

The City of Tucson, Arizona has doubled its solar power capacity through a completed project in partnership with the Tucson Water Department, Trico Electric and SunPower Corp. The 1-megawatt, ground-mounted solar power system was designed and built by SunPower and located on former agricultural land located within Tuscon Water Department’s underground water storage and recovery facility. In addition to the solar panels located on the 10-acre site, a SunPower Tracker system was installed that allows the solar panels to follow the sun movement during the day increasing sunlight capture up to 25 percent.

“With these systems, Tucson is reinforcing its commitment to energy conservation, waste reduction and environmental protection. SunPower’s technology will ensure that the system delivers energy in a cost effective manner that benefits the community,” stated Interim Director of Tucson Water Andrew Quigley.

The project was financed through a power purchase agreement with SunPowe and Wells Fargo owns the system. Additional funding came from Trico Electric’s SunWatts renewable energy incentive program. The city is buying the electricity produced by the solar system and Trico Electric Cooperative will purchase the renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with the system.

“This system will reliably produce clean energy for years to come,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group. “Tucson is leading the way in Arizona by seizing this opportunity to help meet the state’s growing energy demand and renewable energy goals.”

The project site is part of the city’s Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (CAVSARP), a short and long-term water storage and recovery operation, utilizing water from the Central Arizona Project aqueduct and providing city residents with a renewable source of potable water.

According to POET, the largest producer of ethanol in the U.S., recovering waste heat can improve a plant’s bottom line. The company has been testing a new waste heat recovery system at POET Biorefining – Caro and the results have been good: significant natural gas and water savings. The plant produces 53 million gallons per year of ethanol.

The plant’s system recycles heat from the process, replacing about 10 percent of the facility’s natural gas needs. Water that is condensed in the system is re-used, which reduces overall water use by 5 percent. The technology reduces the amount of live steam running through the process and as a result, the waste heat recovery system also decreases by almost 50 percent the amount of time the plant is shut down for cleaning.

“The waste heat recovery system has been a phenomenal addition to the Caro facility,” General Manager David Gloer said. “We are using less natural gas and less water, which is great for the environment, and this new system reduces our operating cost, making us much more cost competitive. The employees have embraced the new system and have become very proficient in operating the new equipment in a very short time frame.”

Can biochar singlehandedly save the world from all of its carbon dioxide, global warming woes? Well, the jury is still out but there may be some potential. This I learned from reading the book, “The Biochar Solution: Climate Farming and Climate Change,” by Albert Bates. First, I should explain what biochar is. Biochar is charcoal, a cellulosic material that has been pyrolyzed (to pyrolyze something you burn it a low oxygen environment, such as a kiln, burning off everything but the carbon). The resulting charcoal is black and largely devoid of any nutritional value, yet it can be burned in a high oxygen environment without producing much smoke. These attributes make it a good option for burning in cooking stoves.

But Bates believes the real value of biochar lies in that it has a unique ability to condition soil. Bates explains that if it is turned in a nutrient pile and then tilled into the ground, it immediately becomes colonized by soil microbes. These microbes attract fungi, which connect to the roots of the plants, carrying nutrients to the place they are most needed. Biochar is also a water solution – it provides a reservoir and conduit for soil moisture, soaking up water from oversaturated areas and moving it to dyer areas (it can also be used to purify water). Bates says that one gram of charcoal has the surface area of one small house, or 1,000 to 2,500 square meters, because of all its micropores. In terms of soil health, after several years, biochar helps soil return to its natural state and eliminates the need for inputs such as nitrogen or phosphorous – another major environmental benefit.

There is also a connection between biochar and biofuels. When converting biomass to biofuels, not all of the biomass is consumed. At this point, the remaining biomass can be burned and turned into biochar and then the biochar can be tilled into the biomass fields to aid in soil sustainability. In this example, biochar becomes both a biofuels and agriculture solution.

There are several views of biochar one being those who truly believe that biochar alone can reduce CO2 emissions faster and more completely than any other solution.
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In a new study released by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (NPPL), algal fuels could replace 17 percent of the United States’ imported oil by 2020. The paper was published in the journal of Water Resources Research but warned that biofuels production, including algal fuels, can require a lot of water so the study cautioned that being smart about where the algae is grown can reduce the water needed. Researchers concluded that water use could be drastically reduced if the algae is grown in the sunniest and most humid climates including the Gulf Coast, the Southeastern Seaboard and the Great Lakes.

“Algae has been a hot topic of biofuel discussions recently, but no one has taken such a detailed look at how much America could make – and how much water and land it would require — until now,” said Mark Wigmosta, lead author and a PNNL hydrologist. “This research provides the groundwork and initial estimates needed to better inform renewable energy decisions.”

The research team’s goal was to provide the first in-depth assessment of algal biofuels potential based on the amount of available land and water. The study also factored in how much water would need to be replaced due to evaporation over 30 years. The research analyzed previously published data to determine how much algae could be grown in outdoor, fresh water ponds when using current technologies. The study did not factor in algae grown in salt water and covered ponds.

When taking into account various factors, the research team determined that 21 billion gallons of algal oil, the amount equal to the advanced biofuels category of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), could be produced by algae by 2022.

The researchers found that 21 billion gallons of algal oil, equal to the 2022 advanced biofuels goal set out by the Energy Independence and Security Act, can be produced from American-grown algae. This amount equates to 17 percent of the oil that the U.S. imported in 2008 for transportation fuels. To achieve this amount, the researchers estimate that the amount of land needed to produce this number would be approximately the size of the state of South Carolina. They also found that it would take 350 gallons of water per gallon of oil — or a quarter of what the country currently uses for irrigated agriculture — to produce 21 billion gallons of algal biofuel.

The study also concluded that up to 48 percent of the current transportation oil imports could be replaced with algae, but this higher production level would require significantly more water and land. Therefore the authors focused their research on the U.S. regions that would use less water to grow algae.
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The Chairman of Nestle, who just so happens to sit on the board of ExxonMobil, Peter Brabeck-Latmathe, lambasted global leaders for their support of “immoral” biofuel policies that are starving millions around the world earlier this week. In particular, he attacked the Obama administration for promoting corn-based ethanol and reserved no kind words for U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who he claimed is making “absolutely flabbergasting” claims for America’s ability to produce food, feed and fiber.

This beat-down occurred during his speech at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York and was published by The Independent. During his presentation he said, “Today, 35 per cent of US corn goes into biofuel. From an environmental point of view this is a nonsense, but more so when we are running out of food in the rest of the world.”

Brabeck-Latmathe continued, “It is absolutely immoral to push hundreds of millions of people into hunger and into extreme poverty because of such a policy, so I think – I insist – no food for fuel.”

The fuel versus food debate has been raging for several years. For each report that debunks the theory, another is published that places primary blame on rising food costs at the feet of America’s corn and ethanol industries. Yet, scores of economists have publicly acknowledged while there are dozens of factors that affect food prices, the current spike is being driven by speculators, a global increase in demand for protein and the unrest in the Middle East to name a few reasons.

National Corn Growers President Bart Schott responded to Brabeck-Letmathe’s comments. “It is scandalous, ludicrous and highly irresponsible for the chairman of a global conglomerate that tripled its profits last year to talk about higher corn prices forcing millions into starvation. Perhaps if Nestle is so concerned about food prices, its board will consider putting more of their $35.7 billion in 2010 profits back into poor communities. Just their profits alone represent more than half the entire farm value of the 2010 U.S. corn crop.”
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Often times, it appears that people pit first generation biofuel technologies against second generation biofuel technologies. This leads me to ask the question, Why can’t we all get along? Well, now we can with the convergence of conventional ethanol technologies and emerging algal biomass technologies being developed by BioProcess Algae.

BioProcess Algae is based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and the company is designing, manufacturing and operating systems that enable controlled, economical cultivation of algal biomass using attached growth technology. According to CEO Tim Burns, the technology was developed through its water company, BioProcess H2O when they looked at the attached growth platform and how using their fixed films could be used as an effective way to grow algae. So in 2008 they formed BioProcess Algae, which is the sum of four companies: BioProcess H2O, Clarcor, Green Plains Renewable Energy, and NTR.

Fast forward to 2011. Burns said the company has developed a three-prong business strategy to commercialize the technology. In partnership with Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE), they selected Shenandoah, Iowa to be the site where they prove out their technology at commercial scale. In a very simple terms, BioProcess Algae is using the plant’s CO2 emissions (aka flue gas) as a nutrient source to grow the algae. The plants also share waste water and waste heat.

Burns explained that the first phase began in October 2009 when they first integrated their Grower Harvester bioreactors directly to the plant’s CO2 exhaust gases. During this initial phase, they developed a set of metrics that included productivity and uptime targets. They exceeded all of their targets. Next, Phase 2 began. They have completed a 4,000 square foot facility that houses all the infrastructure needed to support their bioreactors including full process control and dewatering.

So what exactly does this sharing of resources mean for both technologies in terms of efficiency and production costs?
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