Oklahoma to Grow Switchgrass for Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

The state of Oklahoma is getting into the switchgrass business for cellulosic ethanol production.

SwitchgrassThe Oklahoma Bioenergy Center has secured land for more than 1,000 acres – the “world’s largest stand of switchgrass” – of production-scale demonstration fields. Planting will take place within the next 45 days.

The land is located near Guymon in the state’s panhandle. This switchgrass field will be the first of its size anywhere in the world focused on biomass production. Additional acreage of sorghum and switchgrass will be planted near Chickasha and Maysville in central Oklahoma.

AbengoaA cellulosic biorefinery currently being constructed by Abengoa Bioenergy in Hugoton, Kan., will be less than 35 miles from Guymon, and the switchgrass fields in the panhandle will provide material to this biorefinery. The Abengoa Bioenergy facility is expected to be operational in 2010.

“The value of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center to the cellulosic ethanol industry cannot be overstated,” said Gerson Santos-Leon, executive vice president, Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies. “The early and aggressive establishment of 1,000 acres of switchgrass will provide researchers, scientists, agricultural producers and industry — not only in Oklahoma but across the nation — with important information that will help establish the emerging cellulosic ethanol industry.”

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Flex Fuel Energy Victory

Cindy Zimmerman

Robert ZubrinAerospace engineer and author Robert Zubrin has been getting some media attention lately for his book, “Energy Victory,” in which he outlines a simple plan for “winning the war on terror by breaking free of oil.” Most recently, he was featured on a segment of the Business News Network, a popular nationwide TV show in Canada.

Zubrin believes the American public is getting tired of being beholden to foreign oil interests and he advocates Congress passed a law requiring that all new cars sold in the USA be flex-fueled.

E85, Ethanol, Flex Fuel Vehicles, News

US-Brazilian Companies Team Up for Sugar Cane Biodiesel

John Davis

amyris-crystalsev.gifWith the Brazilian massive sugar cane crops being turned into ethanol and Americans leading the way in biodiesel production, it was just a matter of time before these two biofuels giants put their heads together to combine the best of both worlds.

This Reuters story says U.S. company Amyris Biotechnologies and Brazil’s Crystalsev, a sugar and (naturally) ethanol producer to make and sell the world’s first commercially-available biodiesel made from sugar cane instead of oilseeds:

Amyris developed the so-called second-generation biofuels technology, using microorganisms to take juice extracted from crushing sugar cane and transform it into a biodiesel closely resembling the fossil fuel.

Brazil has been the world’s largest producer of ethanol from sugar cane for nearly three decades and the country has more than 30,000 filling stations that market the biofuel.

“We are making the first diesel from sugar cane in the world,” Amyris President John Melo told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference in Sao Paulo.

In sugar cane, Melo said, “Brazil has the most sustainable and economic raw material,” adding the new diesel will be competitive as long as crude oil remains above $60 a barrel.

The companies did not specify the investment at the initial plant but said costs to build a diesel plant next to a regular sugar and ethanol mill would be of around $20-$30 million.

The article goes on to say that the first sugar cane biodiesel plant is expected to be on line by 2010, cranking out 10 million gallons a year in its first year. In five years with the addition of more plants, the companies hope to be cranking out a combined total of one billion gallons of the green fuel.

Biodiesel, International

Ethanol Pipeline Across Florida Nears Opening

John Davis

central_florida.gifA pipeline that has carried gasoline the 104 miles from the Port of Tampa to the Orlando since the mid-1960s could soon be carrying ethanol across the Sunshine State.

This story posted on the St. Petersburg (FL) Times web site says the 16-inch pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan is going through some upgrades in preparation of becoming the nation’s first ethanol pipeline by the third quarter of this year:

The booming U.S. ethanol industry is watching the project closely. If successful, it could lead to a boom in ethanol pipeline projects nationwide, since shipping by pipeline is significantly cheaper than shipping by train, barge or truck.

“It’s a test for us, and everybody else, to see if we can make it work,” said Joe Hollier, spokesman for Kinder Morgan. “It will be a big advantage if we are able to move ethanol by pipeline, obviously.”

As you might remember from my February 20th, 2008 post, there’s also another ethanol pipeline in the works… a 1,700-mile venture from the Midwest to the East Coast. That project is still under study with the feasibility of such a pipeline to be determined, hopefully, by the middle of this year.

Ethanol, News

Brothers, 9 & 13, Create Biodiesel Symbol

John Davis

biodiesel_logo.jpgThe two sons of a man who runs the green initiatives portion of a New York metro area company that rents out chillers, air conditioners, generators, electric heaters, oil-fired heaters, comfort cooling, air compressors, propane and natural gas heat, and portable air handlers have come up with what they hope becomes an international symbol for biodiesel (pictured left).

Alex and Austin Gere’s father, Joe Gere, is behind On Site Energy Co.’s biodiesel-fueled portion of the rental company. According to this press release, Gere wanted to find a way to promote the green option his company was offering:

Gere had gone looking for a generic symbol to place on the company’s rental equipment that would show they used Biodiesel fuel. He was shocked to find out that there was no universal symbol and turned to his two sons and along with local Freehold artist Gil Almogi crafted what they are hoping will become the new symbol for Biodiesel. The registered mark consists of a fuel nozzle dispensing a biodiesel droplet in the form of a “Green” earth. Alex & Austin were quoted together saying, “We learn about the environment in school and the effects of pollution and how it affects the globe and not just one country. We wanted to show the planet how it should look – all green and blue.” On Site Energy Co has been the first company to adopt the new symbol and they (the Gere brothers) have commitments from several others as well, their goal is to see their design around the world and hopefully it will allow people to see we can as individuals make a difference no matter how slight it may seem.

And you thought it’s something if your kids just make their beds! Good job, boys! Look forward to seeing your symbol make its way around the world… starting at just one web site at a time.

Biodiesel

Ethanol-Powered Crop Dusters

Cindy Zimmerman

A Brazilian aircraft maker is selling more ethanol-powered crop dusters these days.

Ethanol Crop DusterEmbraer is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, including commercial and corporate jets as well as defense systems. The company has a subsidiary called Neiva that specializes in smaller planes, like the Ipanema, a low-wing agricultural monoplane – or crop duster.

According to Wired, Neiva recently delivered its 50th ethanol-powered Ipanema.

Since 1973, Neiva has sold over 1,000 of the crop dusters, most of them in the Latin American market. The company began selling ethanol versions of the plane in 2002, which makes sense, considering that Brazil is one of the top ethanol producers in the world.

Embraer also has been selling ethanol conversion kits for earlier versions of the plane. According to the company, in addition to reducing fuel costs, converting an Impanema to ethanol cuts maintenance and operating costs by 20%.

The Ipanema was the first aircraft in the world certified for ethanol operations. Embraer is now reportedly spending $250 million to investigate alternative jet fuels made from babassu, jathopa and algae.

Ethanol, News

CleanTech Researches Waste to Ethanol

John Davis

ctb1.jpgCellulosic ethanol is gaining ground… and CleanTech Biofuels is the next in line to research how to turn waste into fuel.

CleanTech Biofuels is pleased to announce that it has engaged Hazen Research, Inc to construct and operate the pre-commercial stages of our Municipal Solid Waste to Ethanol project at Hazen’s eight acre research facility in Golden, Colorado.

hazen2.gifIn late January of this year, CleanTech Biofuels purchased a reactor system from the Forest Products lab at the University of California at Berkeley and reassembled it at Hazen. This reactor system has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of our HFTA cellulose conversion technology on wood waste feedstocks at Berkeley. Currently we are utilizing this reactor system at Hazen in the first phase of our project to optimize reaction conditions for our Process Engineered Fuel derived for municipal solid waste as well as other cellulosic feedstocks including corn stover, wood waste, and switch grass.

Hazen Research has an experienced and competent staff supported by the laboratory and pilot plant facilities necessary to apply the most appropriate technology to evaluate any industrial, commercial, and environmental issues we may encounter as our project moves from development to commercialization. They maintain all permits, governmental (Federal, State and Local) permits, licenses, and other approvals necessary to complete this project.

Agribusiness, Cellulosic, Energy, Ethanol, Facilities, Research

NorthStar Fleet Goes Biodiesel

John Davis

n.gifNorthStar Moving says its trucks might be red on the outside, but they’re now green on the inside. The moving and storage company is operating its truck fleet on biodiesel fuel.

NorthStar Moving Corporation has announced that they have converted all of their trucks to biodiesel fuel. NorthStar Moving continues to find new ways to lighten its carbon footprint, now powering its vehicles with cleaner burning fuel made from natural renewable sources such as vegetable oils.

Diesel fuel emits harmful toxins into our air and is responsible for the majority of California’s known cancer risk from outdoor air pollutants, according to the California Air Resources Board. Diesel particulate matter also contributes to more than 2,000 premature deaths, asthma attacks, and other respiratory problems each year. These problems are exacerbated when large vehicles are left idling. NorthStar Moving hopes other moving companies will follow their lead and convert their fleets to biodiesel as well.

NorthStar Moving not only took the radical step of eradicating all diesel fuel from its fleet, but also installed battery-powered lift gates on all of its trucks so that the vehicles could be turned off while the lift gates are still in use. This alleviates any need to leave vehicles idling.

Biodiesel, Distribution, Environment, transportation

Alltech Plans “Greenest Generation” Biofuels

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest company to get into the cellulosic biofuels race is Alltech of Lexington, Kentucky. The company was awarded a grant last week by the US Department of Energy to begin work on a $70 million plant in Springfield, Ky.

Dr. Mark LyonsThe head of that project is Dr. Mark Lyons, son of Alltech president Dr. Pearse Lyons. This young man has inherited the business and scientific intelligence of his father and already has experience that will help him make this plant a reality in short order, having been in charge of international projects for the company, including the largest yeast plant in the world located in Brazil.

Mark Lyons says the $30 million DOE grant will make the project much easier to accomplish. “This gives us the possibility to think much bigger than we would have been forced to,” he said in an interview. “And that means that the time frame to get where we want to will be that much shorter.”

The facility Alltech is planning will be a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant. “I think the fact that Alltech is positioned so strongly in the animal feed and the animal health business and that we have this background and knowledge of the ethanol business, we’re really in a unique position,” said Lyons. “We have a very definite plan, we’re very confident, and essentially this is an idea that we actually had 30 years ago.”

This week Alltech has been hosting an international symposium, appropriately titled for an Earth Day theme “The Greenest Generation,” which has focused on a variety of issues important to agriculture, the environment and the world. Some 1700 participants from all over the world have been attending.

“We have to take this challenge,” Lyons said with regard to the theme. “We want more energy globally, more food, and we have to do that with less impact on the environment.”

You can listen to an interview with Mark Lyons from the Alltech Symposium here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/alltech/alltech-symposium-08-mark-lyons.mp3]

Cellulosic, Ethanol, News

Cows Helping Make Ethanol

John Davis

cowmicrobe.jpgA study by researchers at Michigan State University says that an enzyme from a microbe that lives in cows’ stomachs could help get more ethanol out of corn.

This story from Science Daily says scientists have figured out how to grow corn with the enzyme already in the grain… keeping lots of cows’ guts out of the picture:

The enzyme that allows a cow to digest grasses and other plant fibers can be used to turn other plant fibers into simple sugars. These simple sugars can be used to produce ethanol to power cars and trucks.

MSU scientists have discovered a way to grow corn plants that contain this enzyme. They have inserted a gene from a bacterium that lives in a cow’s stomach into a corn plant. Now, the sugars locked up in the plant’s leaves and stalk can be converted into usable sugar without expensive synthetic chemicals.

“The fact that we can take a gene that makes an enzyme in the stomach of a cow and put it into a plant cell means that we can convert what was junk before into biofuel,” said Mariam Sticklen, MSU professor of crop and soil science.

The new corn variety, called Spartan Corn III, is still in the testing stage. No word when it will be available for commercial production.

Ethanol, News