Domestic Fuel

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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Today is World Water Day and Green For All, an environmental non-profit organization, has partnered with SIGG USA, the maker of reusable aluminum water bottles, to kick off the “Keep It Fresh” public education campaign as part of the 2011 Campus Consciousness Tour. The campaign features hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa. The campaign kicked off today and ends on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

Today, approximately 1 percent of the Earth’s freshwater is easily accessible. In the United States alone, 36 states are already experiencing or expect to experience water challenges that include pollution and shortages. Globally, 70 percent of all water used goes to agriculture followed by water used to create energy. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, on at least one-third of the world’s cropland, water rather than land is the binding constraint – a real challenge as the world looks to feed 9 billion people by 2045-2050.

The goal of the Keep It Fresh campaign is to educate communities about today’s water challenges using interactive online tools as well as onsite activities. The campaign is designed to raise awareness about the crisis-level water shortages, create personal action around water conservation and advocated for improving local water situations.

“We are proud to partner with the Campus Consciousness Tour featuring Wiz Khalifa for the ‘Keep It Fresh’ campaign to raise awareness about our clean water crisis and the economic opportunity provided in protecting our fresh water supply,” stated Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green For All. “Access to clean water isn’t a future problem, it’s a current problem facing many of us, particularly, many of our nation’s low-income communities and communities of color. I am excited about this partnership’s potential to create change through action.”

The campaign chose Wiz Khalifa as a spokesperson because of his positive environmental stance on current issues facing America coupled with his unique ability to reach young adults throughout the country. As part of the promotions surrounding the campaign, people can register to win prizes including a free IPad2 and custom SIGG bottles on their Facebook fan page as well as the Keep It Fresh website.

Rob Dewar, President of SIGG North America concluded, “SIGG is proud to be partnering with Green For All in its mission to improve drinking water availability and awareness about the necessary steps needed to insure continued access to this basic necessity.”

The City of Hayward, California has completed the installation of a 1 megawatt (MW) solar energy system  for the city’s Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF). The system will generated an estimated 1.95 megawatt hours of energy each year offsetting approximately 24 percent of the need’s of WPCF. The facility treats nearly 12 million gallons of wastewater per day for the 220,000 people who live and work in the city of Hayward.

The system was designed and installed with the help of REC Solar. The solar system covers approximately eight acres within the WPCF, and utilizes ground-mounted, single-axis trackers along with 5,152 REC Group REC 225PE solar panels.

“I am very proud of what has been accomplished,” said Hayward Mayor Michael Sweeney. “Environmental sustainability is one of the top priorities for the City Council. This solar energy system will provide a significant amount of power to the highest energy-consuming facility owned by the City and contribute substantially to our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the community’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources.”

The city adopted a Climate Action Plan in July 2009 to help them become more sustainable. Installing the solar system at WPCF was one component of meeting their plan. The project was made possible with financial assistance from the California Solar Initiative (CSI) and the California Energy Commission.

“Forward-thinking municipalities like Hayward are key to encouraging the adoption of renewable energy technologies, as they recognize both the environmental and economic benefits of large-scale solar installations like that at the Water Pollution Control Facility,” said Kam Mofid, President of REC Solar, Inc. “It is particularly meaningful to provide clean energy to a facility dedicated to clean water and a cleaner environment. We are excited to contribute to the city of Hayward’s sustainability efforts and help the community reduce its carbon footprint.”

POET biorefineries have slashed water use through the utilization of the company’s Total Water Recovery technology. Across the board, the company’s plants have reduced water use by a total of 411 million gallons of water per year compared to 2009 levels. This savings means that on average, a POET ethanol plant uses 2.77 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced. The industry average is 3 gallons of water per 1 gallon of ethanol produced.

But this achievement is not near POET’s goal. With startup of systems at their biorefineries in Mitchell, S.D.; Ashton, Iowa; and Portland, Ind., the company is nearly halfway to its goal of saving 1 billion gallons of water annually by 2014, which would mean using 2.33 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced. POET’s water saving goal is one part of its company-wide sustainability initiative called “Ingreenuity.”

“I’m proud that in each of the 23 years we’ve been in business, we’ve been able to improve the environmental performance of ethanol production,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “Water is one of the most important resources on our planet. We will continue to find ways to maximize that resource and other resources in our ongoing work to be as efficient as we can be.”

Currently, 12 of POET’s 26 plants are running the system at full capacity, and another six are scheduled to come online this year. Total Water Recovery will also be running in their 27th plant, POET Biorefining – Cloverdale, which POET recently acquired and will start production later this month.

According to the company, in 2009, their plants used an average of three gallons of water per gallon of ethanol, which is an 80 percent decrease from when the company first produced ethanol in 1988. That average includes the alternative sources of water used at several POET plants. At POET Biorefining — Corning (Iowa) most of the water used for cooling comes from the Corning Waste Water Treatment Plant. One hundred percent of the water at POET Biorefining — Portland (Ind.) is recycled from a nearby quarry. POET Biorefining — Big Stone (S.D.) gets 80 percent of its water from the cooling ponds of an adjacent power plant and discharges it back to the power plant.

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought conditions without losing biomass. This discovery could prove significant because it could lead to plants that need less water to survive and thrive despite adverse climatic conditions.

Mike Mickelbart, an assistant professor of horticulture; Mike Hasegawa, a professor of horticulture; and Chal Yul Yoo, a horticulture graduate student, found that a genetic mutation in the research plant Arabidopsis thaliana reduces the number of stomata. Stomata are important because they are pores that take in carbon dioxide and release water. During drought conditions, a plant might close its stomata to conserve water. However, by doing this, the plant also reduces the amount of CO2 it can take in which limits photosynthesis and growth. But in the stomata of the mutated plants, instead of limiting CO2 intake, the gene creates a beneficial equilibrium.

“The plant can only fix so much carbon dioxide. The fewer stomata still allow for the same amount of carbon dioxide intake as a wild type while conserving water,” said Mickelbart, whose results were published in the early online version of the journal The Plant Cell. “This shows there is potential to reduce transpiration without a yield penalty.”

According to a news release, Mickelbart and Yoo used an infrared gas analyzer to determine the amount of CO2 taken in and water lost in the Arabidopsis mutant. CO2 is pumped into a chamber with the plant and the analyzer measures the amount left after a plant has started to take up the gas. A similar process measures water lost through transpiration, in which water is released from a plant’s leaves.

Analysis showed that the plant, which has a mutant form of the gene GTL1, did not reduce CO2 intake but did have a 20 percent reduction in transpiration. The plant had the same biomass as a wild type of Arabidopsis when its shoot dry weight was measured.

“The decrease in transpiration leads to increased drought tolerance in the mutant plants,” Yoo said. “They will hold more water in their leaves during drought stress.”

Of the 20 genes known to control stomata, SDD1, which is a gene responsible for regulating the number of stomata on leaves, was highly expressed in the mutant. Whereas in the mutant, with GTL1 not functioning, SDD1 is highly expressed, which results in the development of fewer stomata.

Mickelbart said the finding is important because it opens the possibility that there is a natural way to improve crop drought tolerance without decreasing biomass or yield. The next step in the research is to determine the role of GTL1 in a crop plant such as corn.

Environmental Watch List of 2011. The 10 environmental hot topics range from issues like oil spills and offshore drilling to breakthroughs in wind and solar energy and the military’s increased use of renewable energy. The full report evaluates 10 judicial, legislative and other actions that the top-ranked law school considers to significantly affects humans and the natural world.

“We can continue our short-sighted addiction to fossil fuels or we can adopt innovative, healthier, more sustainable practices,” said VLS Dean Jeff Shields. “The Environmental Watch List will help improve public understanding of how to use the law to take action on the critical issues of our time.”

The 2011 Watch List:
1. Congressional failure to enact climate change legislation – will states take over where federal failed in 2011?
2. The nation’s worst oil spill – Deepwater Horizon Disaster
3. First U.S. greenhouse gas rules – Will the EPA’s efforts to restrict global warming pollutants survive judicial and political challenges?
4. Climate change in the courts – Supreme Court case that would allow public nuisance lawsuits against major air polluters.
5. California’s climate law dodges a bullet – Voters kill Prop 23 in November elections
6. EPA clamps down on mountaintop removal coal mining – Looks at the EPA’s crackdown on the coal industry’s practice of tearing off mountain peaks
7. Wind and solar projects make breakthroughs – Including offshore wind and solar projects on public lands
8. Supreme Court reviews genetically modified crops – Looks at the Supreme Court’s first ruling on so-called Frankenfoods
9. EPA’s water transfer exemption remains in force – Conflict over transferring polluted water from one water body to another.
10. U.S. military going green – Looks at how the military is reducing its dependence on fossil fuels

You can learn more about each issue and delve into the debate on their dedicated Environmental Watch List 2011 website.