Could Salicornia Be a New Wonder Feedstock?

Joanna Schroeder

On the Eve of the World Future Energy Summit, which began today in Abu Dhabi, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Honeywell UOP, Boeing and Ethiad Airways announced a project that would study how to combine fish farms and biofuel crops to lower CO2, reduce ocean waste and produce renewable jet fuel. The star feedstock? Salicornia.

Photo Credit: South Dakota State University

Photo Credit: South Dakota State University

Salicornia, also known as glasswort, pickleweed and marsh samphire, is a salt tolerant plant that is high in oil and protein. It is native to North America, Europe, South Africa and South Asia. An edible plant, it is can potentially produce animal feed as well as biodiesel on coastal land where conventional crops are not suitable.

This is not the first project to study Salicornia as a way to reduce ocean pollution and create biofuels. Back in the late 90s early 2000s a group called the Seawater Foundation (now Global Seawater, Inc.)  did a pilot project in Eritrea and are currently doing a pilot project in Mexico.

According to Greentech Media, here is how it would work. Farmers would create ponds and streams for raising shrimp and/or tilapia interspersed with Salicornia and mangrove which would absorb the waste from the fish reducing the amount of pollution that would travel through the waterways. The fish would be harvested for food and the Salicornia would be harvested to make biofuels as well as fish food and the straw of the plant would be burned in a biomass reactor to produce electricity, explained Scott Kennedy, associate professor at the Masdar Institute working with MIT.

“It is a much more commercial ready process” than some forms of algae cultivation, Kennedy said.

The next step in the process will see if Salicornia can be grown in large quantities and if so, what the environmental effects will be on the surrounding ecosystems. Ultimately, the discovery of these answers will help determine the viability of the feedstock for biofuels production.

Biodiesel, biofuels, biomass, Energy, feedstocks

Southeast Poised to be Leader in Energy Crops

Joanna Schroeder

The Southeast is poised to be the leader in energy crop production according to University of Florida Associate Professor and energy crops expert Dr. John Erickson. He has been focusing on research of perennial grasses, mostly C4 grasses in his work with the Agronomy department. These can include sugarcane, energycane, elephant grasses, miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass and sorghum.

sugarcaneIn terms of output, in the short-term, sugarcane and sweet sorghum look promising. Current studies put sweet sorghum on par with corn in higher latitudes where it is a little colder. In the longer-term, cellulosic feedstocks such as energycanes and elephant grasses are producing upward of 40 megagrams per hectare. These grasses are selected for their fiber content – they don’t have high juice or sucrose contents that sugarcanes do but the yield more biomass.

Perennial grasses offer several advantages, said Erickson, including not having to plant the crops every year so you don’t have renewable annual planting costs and they tend to be a little more efficient in water and nutrient use.

If a grower chooses to grow a perennial crop, that becomes the crop for that land area, explained Erickson. Therefore a grower JEricksonmust commit to a longer-term commitment when they grow perennial grasses. “Some of that will be dependent on how they incentivize, or even if, they incentivize carbon credits and whether or not agriculture has the potential to be involved in that. And so if that becomes a reality then perennial grasses will be viewed more favorably than something like sorghum. If they don’t, than sorghum may do just as well or better than some of these others because they can be worked into rotation with current existing crops.”

Erickson stressed that the results are still in their early stages and crops typically do better in the second year. It will be a year or so before the final results are published, but in general, he notes that perrienal grasses look like they have good potential as energy crops.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Listen to my in depth interview with John here.

Audio, biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol

Transmission Challenges Slow Wind Energy Success

Joanna Schroeder

HarvestingTheWindThe wind energy industry enjoyed some success during 2009 despite the economic down-turn and the difficulty of obtaining private investment dollars. There are currently 31 gigawatts of wind in production throughout the U.S. that has reduced carbon dioxide emissions and water use. New projects have increased economic development and tax revenue and 35,000 new green jobs were created according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Yet the continued growth of the wind energy industry is going to be seriously challenged by transmission limitations, said Susan Williams Sloan with AWEA during AG CONNECT Expo held in Orlando, Florida.

This is in part what has driven AWEA to support legislation that would develop federal policy on electric grid planning. However, what this policy doesn’t address is who is going to pay for the updated system. The obvious answer: us.

Steve Wegman, with the South Dakota Wind Energy Association not only stresses the importance of transmission challenges, but notes that our country will never see better policy without consumer participation. And without consumer participation, wind energy will be stopped in its tracks.

In the meantime, there is a growing movement to community wind projects. Lisa Daniels, with the Minnesota based non profit Windustry, explains that community wind is about keeping those energy dollars as local as possible. Daniels is especially excited about “renewable projects supplying power for renewable energy.” An example would be an ethanol plant using wind to power its facility.

While citing wind projects can be challenging, all the speakers noted that this shouldn’t be the case. “It shouldn’t take a superhero,” said Daniels. “We need supportive policies and standardized policies.”

Wegman concurred and left the audience to ponder an interesting definition of insanity from Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.” This, says Wegman, represents our country’s current energy policy.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Listen here to my full wind energy report.

Audio, Wind

XsunX Develops Wafer-thin Solar Cell

John Davis

XsunXA California maker of photovoltaic cells has developed a process that makes the solar energy catchers wafer thin, while also trimming the production costs significantly.

XsunX, Inc. has announced the development of a fully-functional CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium di Selenide) thin-film solar device. I caught up with XsunX Chief Operating Officer Joe Grimes, who told me that they have pioneered a hybrid solar cell technology that adapts manufacturing processes from the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) industry to produce these CIGS solar cells on 5-inch “pseudo squares.” He says the thin-film portion of the solar cell market is currently only about 15 percent, but with its thin profile makes the technology very attractive to the industry.

JoeGrimes“If you compared the width of a thin-cell to a traditional silicon cell, the silicon cell would be like a phone book thick, and thin-cell would be one page of that phone book.”

That saves weight and material and lends itself to automation in its production, cutting those costs by as much as 30 percent. Those savings helps solar energy become more competitive as an energy source.

He says they hope to have the technology ready to bring to market as early as this year.

The plan is to make XsunX’s solar cells available to solar module manufacturers through joint ventures with these manufacturers.

Grimes adds that they are an American company that is tapping the skills of the people already in the U.S. semi-conductor industry, creating domestic fuel and jobs.

You can hear my entire conversation with Joe here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/JoeGrimes1.mp3]

Audio, Solar

DF Cast: Bring a Friend to the Biodiesel Conference

John Davis

df-logoThe 2010 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo is just around the corner, going on February 7-10 just outside of Dallas at the Grapevine Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, and you’ll be able to bring a friend for free.

2010NBBlogoCEO of the National Biodiesel Board Joe Jobe says, with federal legislation and rules pending, this is an event anyone in the biodiesel business should not miss. In fact, the EPA is anticipated to release the much-awaited new Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS-2, just a few days before the start of the conference. And Jobe says that makes the conference the perfect venue to talk about the new rule.

joe-jobethumbnail“The (conference) content is really going to emphasize the upcoming the ruling from the EPA. Six EPA senior policy analysts and officials will be at the conference to explain it to the industry. We’re cautiously optimistic the rule will be favorable (to the biodiesel business) and could have volume-gallon requirements that could create as much as a billion-gallon market.”

Recognizing that the biodiesel industry has had a tough past year, Jobe says they’re offering a “buy-one, get-one free” registration … a first in the seventh year of the big event. He says the free guest for the conerence just needs to register for his or her own hotel room at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. More information is available at the conference Web site.

You can hear more of my conversation with Joe in this edition of the Domestic Fuel Cast: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/DFCast-1-15-10.mp3]

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Conference, Domestic Fuel Cast, NBB

DOE Awards Funds for Ethanol Infrastructure

doe2The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chu announced today nearly $80 million awarded for advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure.

“Advanced biofuels are crucial to building a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can bring new biofuels to the market and develop a cleaner and more sustainable transportation sector. This investment will help spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry, while creating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

According to the DOE press release, eight mid-high level blend infrastructure projects will be supported by $1.6 million. Awardees include: DMC Diversified Real Estate Holdings, Inc., Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Protec Fuel Management, Clean Energy Coalition, and Growth Energy. The groups will be adding the clean burning fuel to the following states collectively creating at least 35 new E85 dispensers and 16 blender pumps: Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. These locations are areas that hold a high concentration of flexible fuel vehicles.

For a listing and description of all supported projects, click here.

E85, Ethanol, News

Soybean Genome Shows Ways to Improve Biodiesel

John Davis

soybeanA team of scientists has cracked the code on the soybean genome, and that information could lead to better biodiesel yields from the oilseed.

This article from Physorg.com says the team consists of 18 institutions, including the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Purdue University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The DOE, National Science Foundation, USDA and United Soybean Board supported the research:

“The soybean genome’s billion-plus nucleotides afford us a better understanding of the plant’s capacity to turn sunlight, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water, into concentrated energy, protein, and nutrients for human and animal use,” said Anna Palmisano, DOE Associate Director of Science for Biological and Environmental Research. “This opens the door to crop improvements that are sorely needed for energy production, sustainable human and animal food production, and a healthy environmental balance in agriculture worldwide.”

With the soybean genetic code now determined, the research community has access to a key reference for more than 20,000 legume species and can explore the extraordinary evolutionary innovation of nitrogen-fixing symbiosis that is so critically important to successful agricultural crop rotation strategies.

Jeremy Schmutz, the study’s first author and a DOE JGI scientist at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Alabama, said that the soybean sequencing was the largest plant project done to date at the DOE Joint Genome Institute. “It also happens to be the largest plant that’s ever been sequenced by the whole genome shotgun strategy—where we break it apart and reassemble it like a huge puzzle,” he said. Of the more than 20 other plant genomes taken on by the DOE JGI, those already sequenced include the black cottonwood (poplar) tree and the grain sorghum, both targeted because of their promise as biomass feedstocks for biofuels production.

Soybean farmers will also be glad that the research could end the threat of soybean rust.

Biodiesel, Soybeans

WASDE: Soybean Exports Up; Biodiesel Unchanged

John Davis

usda-logo2It looks like there will be plenty of soybeans for food and fuel use, especially since the non-renewal of the biodiesel tax incentive seems to have put a lot of refineries’ operations on hold.

The latest World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate report from the USDA pushes up the 2009 U.S. soybean crop now to an estimated record 3.36 billion bushels, up 42 million bushels from the previous month. Biodiesel Magazine reports that soybean export projections were raised 35 million bushels to a record 1.38 billion led by strong sales and shipments to China and several other markets including Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, and Canada:

The projected U.S. soybean crush was raised 15 million bushels from the previous month’s report to 1.71 billion reflecting increased soybean meal exports. Soybean ending stocks were projected at 245 million bushels, down 10 million from last month. Despite increased crush, soybean oil production was reduced due to a lower extraction rate. With projected use unchanged, soybean oil stocks were projected at 2.15 billion pounds, down 155 million from last month. The estimate for methyl ester use was unchanged at 2.2 billion pounds for the current 2009/10 marketing year. That compares with 1.9 billion pounds in 2008/09 and 3.24 billion pounds the previous year.

The report goes on to say that U.S. soybean yields averaged an estimated 44 bushels an acre, also a record. Hopefully, this increased size of crop and higher yields will quiet some of the critics who say we can’t have food and fuel.

Biodiesel, Soybeans

Danforth Center Receives $44 Mil for Biofuels Research

John Davis

Danforth Center jpegThe St. Louis-area Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will receive $44 million in stimulus bucks to conduct advanced biofuels research.

This press release from the center says the money from the U.S. Department of Energy will go to helping the center to serve as the lead organization in a consortium:

The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is one of two cross-functional groups that will seek to breakdown critical barriers to the commercialization of algae-based and other advanced biofuels such as green aviation fuels, diesel, and gasoline that can be transported and sold using today’s existing fueling infrastructure. Ten to 15 jobs in St. Louis will be immediately created as a result of the project. Biofuels generate more jobs than any other sector of sustainable energy. As the industry grows, there is potential for hundreds of thousands of new jobs nationally.

The NAABB will develop a systems approach for sustainable commercialization of algal biofuel (such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) and bioproducts. NAABB will integrate resources from companies, universities, and national laboratories to overcome the critical barriers of cost, resource use and efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and commercial viability. The consortium will develop and demonstrate the science and technology necessary to significantly increase production of algal biomass and lipids, efficiently harvest and extract algae and algal products, and establish valuable certified co-products that scale with renewable fuel production. Co-products include animal feed, industrial feedstocks, and additional energy generation. Multiple test sites will cover diverse environmental regions to facilitate broad deployment.

The release goes on to say that the award will help cements St. Louis as a center for the development of renewable energy from algae.

algae, biofuels, Research

Book Review – The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Joanna Schroeder

TheBoyWhoHarnessedTheWindI have a new hero and his name is William Kamkwamba – “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.” William begins his story by writing, “A windmill means more than just power, it means freedom.” William was born in Malawi and like many in his country, his family struggled to survive in a country defined by drought and hunger. Unable to pay for school, William, gifted in the sciences, began spending his time in the library where he discovered how to bring electricity to his home with a windmill in the outdated American textbook, Using Energy.

What happened after he found that book is absolutely amazing – William spent months collecting the pieces that he would use to fashion a windmill out of junk. Fueled by ridicule and passion along with the support of his family and two best friends, William succeeded in creating a windmill that brought electricity to his home. Word spread and people began coming from miles and miles away to see “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.”

William understood what most take for granted – that electricity would help the family survive. It would replace the expensive kerosene that his family had to travel nearly seven kilometers to purchase. It would bring light to the darkness and it would allow them to pump water and irrigate the land, not only improving the bushel per acres of their crops, but allow them to plant and harvest two crops a year, helping to eliminate the months of hunger suffered year after year.

But the completion and success of his windmill didn’t fix his families problems right away. Read More

book reviews, Wind