Eastern Kentucky Looks at Cellulose Biodiesel

John Davis

ekugeneralatomicsEastern Kentucky University has teamed up with energy research and defense manufacturing firm General Atomics to look at the potential to develop cellulose-based biodiesel.

This story from the Business Lexington says the partnership will create the EKU Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT):

EKU President Doug Whitlock said the project is important to Kentucky’s farmers looking for cash crops to replace tobacco as well as making Kentucky a leader in an emergent technology.

“Alternative fuels are going to be a real focus of the Obama administration and for Kentucky, this is a chance to be on the front, cutting edge of a technology that holds a good deal of promise as a source of alternative energy,” he said. “It’s also exciting for Kentucky farmers. Tobacco is still around but it’s not the king of agriculture that it once was so this is an opportunity for life after tobacco.”…

There are a number of different sources the research will look at, according to Dr. Bruce Pratt, chair of EKU’s Department of Agriculture. Those could include corn fodder, wheat stubble, switch grass, and wood products such as wood chips, saw dust and bark. “We’ll take a number different sources of biomass that are high in cellulose and digest that cellulose with an enzyme that will release the sugars in them. We’ll take those sugars and use them as a heat source for algae and grow it in vats,” said Pratt. “The algae will be fed the sugars and other nutrients they need to grow and multiply.”

Pratt added that these specialized strains of algae have a very high content of oil, some much as 60 percent of their body mass. The algae is harvested and the oil is extracted and can then be converted in biodiesel.

Officials hope the project could produce as much as 50 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

Biodiesel, Cellulosic, Indy Racing

Teaching… Using Biodiesel Buses

John Davis

cleanairclubbusA Chicago school bus company owner, who was the first in the country to switch 90 percent of his 2,000 bus fleet to biodiesel, is using a modified version of the green-fueled kid-hauler to spread the gospel of biodiesel.

John Benish is the parent of four young children and the owner of the largest privately-held school bus company in the country – Cook-Illinois. He converted one of his buses into a traveling museum to teach kids about alternative fuels and created a website for kids to encourage them to get directly involved in protecting their environment. He says his motivation is to help reduce the rising incidence of asthma among school-age kids:

Exhaust is a major contributor, especially in urban environments. Biodiesel burns cleaner, thereby reducing air pollution kids breathe near school buses. As a parent, he understands his responsibility includes keeping the environment clean for future generations and encouraging his kids to do their part, too.

In addition to switching the buses to biodiesel, and to further his cause, John created the Clean Air Club (www.cleanairclub.net) and “recycled” one of his school buses into a “museum on wheels” that travels around the Chicago area to elementary schools educating children about the environment and alternative energy. The Clean Air Club includes a website and quarterly newsletter that teaches kids fun facts about the environment and what they can do to help. The Clean Air Club bus contains museum-quality exhibits teaching kids about renewable fuels, air pollution and things kids can do at home to reduce air pollutants. John and his employees take the bus to schools all over the Chicago area and kids everywhere give it rave reviews.

More than 1,100 students so far have toured the bus, which is available free-of-charge to Chicago area schools, libraries and community events, and will continue traveling around the metropolitan area throughout 2009. Benish even created an alternative fuels “teacher” packet to assist the elementary school science teachers in incorporating the information into their science curriculum.

Benish has plans to create another Clean Air Club bus this summer for middle and high school kids.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel Board, Others Welcome New EPA Chief

John Davis

jacksonepaThere’s a new person in charge of the federal agency in charge of keeping the environment clean, and thus, a friend to the clean, renewable energy field.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved Pres. Barack Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson.

Jackson’s home-state newspaper, New Jersey’s Star-Ledger, reported praise for Jackson from Assembly Enivronment Committee chair John McKeon (D-Essex):

“Lisa’s passion for the environment and pragmatic approach equips her to effectively advance President Barack Obama’s plans for a viable energy economy powered by wind, solar and other renewable energies that would help preserve and protect the environment and generate millions of green jobs,” said McKeon.

nbb-logo4And the National Biodiesel Board seems pretty pleased with the pick:

“On behalf of the NBB, I would like to send my sincerest congratulations to Lisa Jackson upon her confirmation, and wish her the best of luck in her new role. The EPA faces substantial challenges, and the U.S. biodiesel industry looks forward to working constructively with Administrator Jackson to achieve the nation’s energy and environmental goals,” said Manning Feraci, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the NBB.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Government, News, Solar, Wind

Massachusetts Sees Future in Wind

John Davis

devalMassachusetts’ governor wants his state to significantly step up its wind energy efforts over the next decade.

This story from RenewableEnergyWorld.com says Gov. Deval Patrick wants the state to produce 2,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2020, representing 10 percent of today’s electric load and a 300-fold increase from the current 6.6 megawatts currently produced in Massachusetts:

“With the growing interest in wind turbines we see in communities across the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] and the abundant wind resource we have off our coast, wind power is going to be a centerpiece of the clean energy economy we are creating for Massachusetts,” said Patrick.

Massachusetts has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for one of just two Wind Technology Testing Centers in the country (Texas also was selected), poising the Commonwealth to become a national center for wind power research and development-and thereby offering the potential economic rewards of technology development, entrepreneurship and jobs, the governor’s office noted.

The announcement comes on the heels of the federal government’s approval this week of a massive wind energy project off the coast of Cape Cod (see my post from January 20, 2009).

Wind

NY Looks to Eliminate Alt Fuels Tax Credit, Reward Polluting Petroleum

John Davis

patersonNew York’s governor wants to get rid of a tax credit for alternative fuels and fuel cells, while keeping a much more expensive credit for a very dirty form of diesel.

Environmentalists are up in arms over Gov. David Paterson’s plan to cut the $5 million in credits, which he says are underutilized, at a time when companies are poised to launch technology to better take advantage of those incentives, according to this article from Crain’s Insider:

But cutting the credits, even if they are not working as planned, doesn’t square with the governor’s environmental message, says Carol Murphy, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy.

“It’s a major disconnect,” she says. “Maybe they were underutilized because the products weren’t there yet.”

Murphy points out that companies like Albany-based Plug Power, which employs 120 people throughout the state, are ready to unveil new fuel-cell lines. Ending the credits just as new products are coming to market might harm companies that could help revive the upstate economy.

David Gahl of Environmental Advocates of New York says the state would do better by eliminating a credit for bunker fuel. Gahl estimates the state loses more than $30 million each year in credits for the fuel, a form of diesel used mainly in cargo ships. The fuel, which is high in pollutants that cause acid rain and smog, can also be used in some power plants, including three in New York City.

Amazing, huh? Five million dollars is too expensive for the state to spend for clean air, but $30 million is OK for more pollution. Go figure!

Government, Miscellaneous

Confirmation: Biodiesel Not to Blame in Minnesota

John Davis

A new report confirms that biodiesel was not to blame for stalling school buses in Minnesota last week.

When the temperatures in the Minneapolis area dropped to -20 to -30 degrees F, some students got an extra day off from school when a handful of buses wouldn’t run. Naysayers immediately blamed biodiesel, but state officials suspected the green fuel was getting a bum rap (see my post from January 17). Now, a study shows the bio part of biodiesel had nothing to do with the problem.

This National Biodiesel Board release has details:

“The problems with school buses in Minnesota had nothing to do with biodiesel,” said Bill Walsh, Communications Director for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. “An independent investigation confirmed what we believed last week – when it gets to 20 degrees below zero in the Midwest, diesel engines have trouble operating unless they are properly maintained – whether or not they are using a biodiesel blend.”

The report completed Friday confirms that components of diesel – not biodiesel – caused school buses in Bloomington, MN to malfunction last week.

“Nothing is more important than getting kids to school safely, which is why we worked proactively to find out exactly what troubled the buses in Bloomington,” said Ed Hegland, National Biodiesel Board Chairman.

The report issued Friday by Meg Corp. and paid for by the distributor that supplied the fuel, Yokum Oil, analyzed filters from the buses that broke down. The buses were using B2, which is 98 percent petroleum diesel blended with 2 percent biodiesel. Minnesota has a statewide B2 mandate in effect. “We found that whatever was plugging the filters was not biodiesel, but a substance found in petroleum,” the report concludes.

Plenty of us from cold weather states recognized that any diesel would have trouble in that kind of weather. It’s good to know that science proves our instincts right.

Biodiesel

AFVI Offers Live Webinar Focusing on Transitioning to Alternative Fuels

afviA free webinar sponsored by the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVI) called Bottom of the Barrel: Maximizing Your Bottom Line
in the Transition to Alternative Fuels will take place Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The webinar will feature leading national experts in who are slated to present at the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Conference + Expo in Orlando, Florida in April including: Mike Marshall, JD Power & Associates; Leo Thomason, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute; and Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association. Each will tackle one of the above questions and participants will have a chance to ask questions of the subject experts.

The webinar will answer the following:

• What accounts for the dramatic growth in the vehicle conversion market?
• Is it possible for biofuels to be a key driver in displacing U.S. dependence on imported oil?
• How will vehicle options change for fleet decision makers in the coming years?

The webinar is free but space is limited to 250 participants. Information regarding registration can be found by clicking here.

Facilities, News

Michigan State Patents Cellulosic Ethanol Process

Cindy Zimmerman

Michigan State University (MSU) has patented a process to pretreat agricultural waste products that would dramatically reduce the cost of making biofuels from cellulose.

According to a university release, The AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreatment process, developed by MSU chemical engineering professor Bruce Dale, uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient than when conventional enzymes alone are used. Cellulose in plants must be broken down into fermentable sugars before they can be turned into biofuel.

Currently, pretreating cellulose with acid is a common way to break the material down into fermentable sugars. But after acid pretreatment, the resulting material must be washed and detoxified. That removes nutrients, leading to the mistaken idea that crop waste lacks the necessary nutrients, Dale said. Cellulosic material pretreated with the AFEX process doesn’t have to be washed or detoxified, allowing ethanol to be created from cellulose without added nutrients or other steps.

The next step for the patented process could be a pilot plant to commercialize technology. “There are several companies – including the Mascoma Corp., which plans to open one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol plants here in Michigan – that may be interested in using this technology,” Dale said. “We are working to make the AFEX technology fit these companies’ needs.”

Dale is associate director of the MSU Office of Biobased Technologies and has a leadership role in the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The center is a partnership between Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, to conduct basic research aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy. The research is published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News, Research

Report Shows Efficiency of Ethanol Production

Cindy Zimmerman

A new report concludes that America’s ethanol industry is energy efficient and doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research has just released its report entitled “Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn Ethanol” which was published in Yale’s Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE).

According to the report, “Direct effect GHG emissions were estimated to be equivalent to a 48% to 59% reduction compared to gasoline, a twofold to threefold greater reduction than reported in previous studies.” The report also found that the eight corn-ethanol scenarios had net energy ratio (NER) values from 1.29 to 2.23, meaning ethanol returned 29 to 123 percent more energy than was required for its production.

The work is based in part on information compiled by the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and is considered critical to educating the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of California, and other entities looking at ethanol’s capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from liquid transportation fuels.

Environment, Ethanol, News

Biodiesel Board Congratulates Vilsack & Chu

John Davis

The nation’s primary group representing the biodiesel industry is welcoming two of the newest members of President Obama Cabinet.

The National Biodiesel Board has congratulated new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and new Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu, who both received unanimous confirmation from the U.S. Senate today:

vilsack“Secretary Vilsack has been a consistent proponent of biofuels, and the NBB applauds his speedy and overwhelming confirmation by the U.S. Senate. President Obama has clearly chosen a capable, experienced individual who truly understands the needs of U.S. farmers and the importance of biofuels, and the NBB looks forward to working constructively with chuSecretary Vilsack in his new position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” stated Joe Jobe, CEO of the NBB.

“I would like to sincerely congratulate Secretary Chu on his smooth and successful confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Secretary Chu is uniquely qualified to address the numerous challenges he will face in his new capacity, and the U.S. biodiesel industry stands ready to work with Secretary Chu and the Obama Administration to address the nation’s pressing energy needs,” stated [Jobe].

Biodiesel, Government