Just Scratching the Surface of Biodiesel’s Potential

John Davis

centerevergreenGrowing biodiesel oilseed feedstocks along the nation’s highways… capturing the power of the sun by growing algae for biodiesel production… finding multiple uses for the by-products of biodiesel refining… the U.S. is just scratching the surface of the potential biodiesel holds for this country. Those are just some of the findings of a new report.

Entitled “High Yield Pathways for Production,” from the St. Louis, Mo.-based Center for Evergreen Energy , it represents the center’s mission of linking global research, business and policy issues to sustainable energy solutions. This press release has details:

The report released today summarizes findings about biodiesel, which is already the only commercially available advanced biofuel and the most diverse fuel on the planet. The findings are the result of the first symposium hosted by the Center for Evergreen Energy that convened alternative fuels research, industry and policy representatives on Nov. 21, 2008 at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.

“The Center for Evergreen Energy looks forward to aiding the biodiesel industry in strategies to meet the demand for renewable energy,” said Jay DeLong, Board Member of the Center for Evergreen Energy. The national center links global research, business and policy issues to improve products, processes, environmental acceptance and public adoption of sustainable energy solutions. “We plan on sharing this report with government agencies and the scientific community to give some direction to what research is needed to expand feestocks for biodiesel production.”

The algae working group, a promising source of biodiesel began their discussion with the important premise that a permanent energy solution depends on plants to capture some of the 20,000 terawatts of sunlight that fall on the earth.

You can read the full report for yourself at the center’s Web page: www.centergreen.org.

Biodiesel

Senate Hearing Focuses on Higher Blend Issue

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the key messages of a Senate committee hearing on the Renewable Fuels Standard this week was that more research needs to be conducted before mid-level blends of more than 10 percent are approved.

Senate Environment CommitteeMargo Oge, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of transportation and air quality, submitted written testimony to the committee that said the agency is working with the Department of Energy (DOE) “to evaluate the impacts of the use of higher blends on the in-use fleet of highway vehicles and non-road equipment, and hope to complete the testing over the course of the next year.”

According to the testimony, EPA may consider a “conditional or partial” waiver of up to 15 percent ethanol in gasoline, which would restrict its use to only certain types of vehicles. “If a conditional waiver were granted, it may necessitate changes in the fueling infrastructure to accommodate different blend levels,” said Oge. “New pump labeling requirements or other measures may be needed to ensure consumers use the appropriate fuel for their vehicles and equipment.”

EPA does intend to seek comment on both the ethanol blend waiver request and the proposal to implement RFS2, “as expeditiously as possible.”

The hearing this week featured a panel of witnesses speaking from both sides of the issue, including representatives from the petroleum industry, the American Lung Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council who all called for more testing to be done before higher blends are approved for use. Opening statements from all witnesses, as well as video from the hearing itself is available on-line at the committee’s website.

After the hearing, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen told USDA radio news, “I’m not smart enough to know if 20 percent is the right number, or 15 percent, but I darn well know that more than 10 percent can be used in vehicles all across the country today and it will help to stimulate more demand, more renewable fuel use and that’s exactly what we need today,” especially if the country is expected to meet the RFS.

blends, Ethanol, Government

ICM Tapped to Manage AgStar Ethanol Plants

Joanna Schroeder

headerlogo1ICM has been tapped by AgStar Financial Services to oversee plant operations and maintenance for the six plants it acquired as part of the VeraSun Energy bankruptcy. AgStar is not allowed to operate the plants due to federal regulations. The Company plans on selling the plants, located in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Michigan to other buyers over the next 2 months. AgStar had originally financed seven VeraSun plants but one was purchased by Valero Energy.

Paul DeBriyn, President and CEO of AgStar, which is headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota, was quoted in The Wichita Eagle as icm_logo4saying, “Our objective in retaining ICM is to maintain a positive environment ensuring all the plants are kept in top condition.”

Company sources says there is buyer interest in the ethanol facilities.

Agribusiness, Ethanol

Verenium Announces Organizational Changes

Joanna Schroeder

pic_global_header_logo3Changes are afoot at the Verenium Corporation due to its commercial joint venture with BP. The two companies are consolidating their research and development departments which includes the demonstration-scale biofuels facility located in Jennings, Louisiana. Gregory Powers, Ph.D., Executive Vice President R&D, will be the new head of this consolidated team.

Verenium is working to develop and bring to market cellulosic ethanol. The company also develops specialty enzymes for the biofuels industry. Its partnership with BP, which was announced in February of this year, was formed to bring advanced biofuels to the consumer market. These advanced biofuels will be developed and tested at their 1.4 million-gallon-per-year demonstration-scale facility.

John R. Malloy, former Executive Vice President of Biofuels, has left Verenium to pursue other opportunities, but according to company sources, he will continue to serve as a company consultant.

Ethanol

Ethanol Production Still Up

Cindy Zimmerman

Ethanol production was still up in January compared to the previous year, and down only slightly from the previous month.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), American ethanol facilities produced 630,000 barrels per day (b/d) in January, up 120,000 b/d from January 2008, but down 50,000 from December of 2008.

RFAEthanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association, also saw a year over year increase of 123,000 b/d from January 2008. Ethanol demand also outpaced production once again in January. Total production of ethanol in January was almost 821 million gallons, while use was 837.6 million gallons.

For the first time, the EIA also included import data. For January, ethanol imports totaled 15.6 million gallons, while exports were zero.

Ethanol, RFA

Colorado Celebrates Earth Day

aglandEarth Day 2009 is April 22, but Agland Cenex fueling stations in Greeley, Colorado will celebrate the day a bit early with their community on April 17. The sites at 1607 2nd Ave. and at 2449 35th Avenue will sell E85 for 85 cents per gallon from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

co-cornThe first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 with about 20 million people across America. Now Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe. Through the combined efforts of the U.S. government, grassroots organizations, and environmentally caring citizens, what started as a day of national environmental recognition has evolved into a world-wide campaign to protect our global environment.

The Greeley, Colorado Earth Day event is sponsored by Agland, Weld County Garage and Northern Colorado Clean Cities. The E85 stations in Greeley are two of 81 in the state.

corn, E85, Environment, Ethanol, News

E20 Study Finds No Performance Problems

Cindy Zimmerman

A new study has found no performance problems with doubling the amount of ethanol allowed in motor fuel.

MN Ag DeptAccording to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, research conducted by the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research at Minnesota State University found that increasing the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline from 10 percent to 20 percent “causes no significant change in performance of automotive fuel systems.”

The study looked at eight models of fuel pumps, running three identical versions of each model for 4,000 hours using one of three different fuels, gasoline, E10 and E20. Gasoline and E10 were used in the study as a reference to identify what effects two accepted fuels would have on the pumps and sending units. The 24 pumps were selected to represent a variety of manufacturers, model years, common vehicles and designs. In addition, the study examined the effect of E20 on nine different makes and models of sending units.

The study found that the pumps showed significantly less wear when tested with E20 than with gasoline. The study concluded that overall, E20 did not have any greater negative effects than gasoline or E10 on the fuel pumps tested. It also showed there were no substantial differences in the performance of the sending units tested in the three different fuels.

Read the study here.

blends, Ethanol, Research

DF Cast: Farm Foundation’s Global Conversation

John Davis

df-logo1The latest edition of Domestic Fuel Cast listens in on some of the conversation at this week’s Farm Foundation “Transition to a Bioeconomy: Global Trade and Policy Issues” conference.

ff-transitiontobioThis is the fourth in a series of conferences looking at the transition to a bioeconomy the Farm Foundation has sponsored. This week’s event brought people from around the world to Washington, DC, where they were able to combine their divergent viewpoints to come up with workable solutions that everyone can live with. Unlike some other conferences where everyone already agrees before they meet, these Farm Foundation meetings put together people with vastly different perspectives. The conversations are lively, they’re maybe a bit pointed, but they work… and they are something we need to have more of in this country: frank, honest discussions where everyone doesn’t have to agree.

Folks like Purdue’s Wally Tyner or the European Commission’s Laurent Javaudin come with ideas that each might believe is best but walk away with more ideas than what they would have had with just yes-men around them. We picked up on part of the conversation regarding how the U.S. and Europe have different approaches to renewable energy mandates: the U.S. choosing to set a number of gallons of biodiesel and ethanol produced, while Europe wants to base its renewable energy goals on a percentage of all energy produced… regardless of the source. And while the Americans and Europeans had plenty to talk about with the recent tariffs being slapped on U.S. biodiesel coming to Europe, our friends like Joel Velasco with the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association reminds us that there are some pretty steep protectionist tariffs America has put on the import of his country’s ethanol. Finally, David Zilberman with the University of California-Berkeley reminds us to keep our eyes on the prize: becoming free from the yoke of OPEC oil.

It’s a unique conversation, and you can hear some of it on this week’s Domestic Fuel Cast here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/DFCast-4-03-09.mp3]

You can also subscribe to the DomesticFuel Cast here.

Audio, Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Domestic Fuel Cast, E85, EPIC, Ethanol, Farm Foundation, Indy Racing, News

E85 Challenge Deadline April 3

Cindy Zimmerman

RFA e85College students work best under pressure – so here’s your deadline to enter and win a MacBook Air laptop in the E85 Challenge – 11:59 pm EST April 3rd.

All you have to do is answer the question, “What does renewable mean to you?” Put your answer in the form of a video or photo, and submit it to the E85 Flex Fuel Challenge team.

Once submissions are closed – again, at noon eastern on April 3 – the next step is an on-line voting period with prizes for the voters! So, even if you miss the deadline for submissions, be sure to go and vote for your favorites for a chance to win one of eight weekly drawings for a Passport hard drive.

The contest is sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association to get college students engaged in the debate surrounding issues that impact their future: the economy, energy and the environment. Contest details are available here.

E85, RFA

CEO Robert Friedland Wins Service Award

Joanna Schroeder

rob-friedland4Robert Friedland, President and CEO of Proton Energy Systems, will  be honored today with a coveted service award from the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) during its annual national conference being held in Columbia, SC. The 2009 Award for Meritorious Service is presented annually to three individuals who exhibit exceptional leadership and contributions that further the development of the hydrogen industry. Proton Energy Systems designs and manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical systems to convert water to hydrogen.

In a company press statement released early today, NHA President Jeffrey A. Serfass was quoted as saying, “Mr. Friedland’s remarkable record of achievement over the years cannot come at a more critical moment, as energy security and green energy are major issues confronting our nation. I cannot think of a more worthy recipient for this award.”

Friedland, co-founded Proton Energy in 1996, is also being commended for his role and mentorship in providing smaller emerging hydrogen technology companies with examples of solid financial and marketing business models.

“I am honored to accept this National Hydrogen Association award on behalf of Proton Energy Systems,” said Friedland.  “Proton’s mission has always been to develop hydrogen technology in creative and practical ways that can benefit our customers and advance green energy possibilities and potential throughout the globe.”

Miscellaneous