HPB – St. Joe #Biodiesel Has Grand Opening

Cindy Zimmerman

hpbHigh Plains Bioenergy (HPB) celebrated the grand opening of HPB – St. Joe Biodiesel this week in St. Joseph, Missouri. The plant, which was just purchased by the subsidiary of Seaboard Foods last month, will use vegetable oils as the primary feedstock to produce up to 28 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

The grand opening celebration marks High Plains Bioenergy’s second venture to produce biodiesel that is a renewable, clean-burning fuel produced from natural oils, such as vegetable oils, and can be used with petroleum-based diesel fuel in existing diesel engines with little or no modification. HPB is a subsidiary of Seaboard Foods.

“The addition of HPB – St. Joe Biodiesel further solidifies our dedication to finding alternative energy sources,” said Gary Louis, executive vice president of Seaboard Foods. “This plant will help us continue to maximize our marketing opportunities by offering a variety of product options to our current and future customer base by combining the St. Joseph plant’s production along with the production at the Guymon, Okla., biodiesel plant. The addition of HPB – St. Joe Biodiesel will offer customers a wider range of biodiesel products for different environmental conditions while expanding our distribution footprint.”

Total biodiesel production capacity will be approximately 60 million gallons annually. Limited production is underway in St. Joseph and product is currently available by truck and rail.

Biodiesel

NYC Bioheat® Bill Becomes Law

Cindy Zimmerman

ny-bioheat-signNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio yesterday signed a bill into law that will increase the use of biodiesel, in the form of Bioheat, and decrease the use of heating oil in the Big Apple. The bill was passed by the city council last month and will increase the amount of biodiesel in heating oil from the current 2 percent level to five percent by October 2017, ultimately increasing to 20 percent in 2034.

“Congratulations to New York City for this tremendous move to clean heating with sustainable biodiesel,” said Donnell Rehagen, Chief Operating Officer of the National Biodiesel Board. “We applaud Mayor de Blasio for signing this bill that will reduce emissions and improve air quality for all New Yorkers. More biodiesel in the City also supports green jobs, local businesses, and American energy independence.”

It is estimated that the increase from a two percent biodiesel blend to a five percent blend in New York City would reduce the emissions equivalent to taking 45,000 cars off the road with the increase to 20 percent the equivalent of removing more than a quarter of a million cars.

Biodiesel, Bioheat

What is most important to food sustainability?

Jamie Johansen

zp-nh1Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Will you be getting the new iPhone 7?”

The new models of the iPhone are out, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It’s seems many are waiting on the 8 or simply don’t want it. Of course, Chuck has his and we are waiting with anticipation for his review. As an avid Apple customer, I will eventually make the plunge, but I am holding out a bit. Should I be surprised there are so many Android peeps? Sometimes I am tempted to try one out.

Here are the poll results:

  • Yes, already have it – 12%
  • Yes, on order – 4%
  • Don’t want it – 24%
  • No, waiting for iPhone 8 – 16%
  • No, I’m Android – 40%
  • I don’t use smartphones – 4%

Our new ZimmPoll is live and asks the question, What is most important to food sustainability?

More and more food companies are recognizing the importance of sustainability in agriculture, but it seems some are not understanding how technology and food production work hand-in-hand. In fact, the most recent news on the issues comes from Dannon, who believes sustainability means non-GMO. Tell us what you think. What is most important to food sustainability…biotech, water management, precision ag, etc?

ZimmPoll

American Ethanol Sweepstakes Winners Take on Talladega

Joanna Schroeder

The American EthAmerican Ethanol Logoanol sweepstakes winners are taking on the infamous Talladega this week in sweet home Alabama. Fans won’t be seeing the likes of NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby (yes, I went there – Talladega Nights, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby) but they are going to see some amazing racing from drivers in speedsters fueled by E15, 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent race fuel).

To celebrate NASCAR speeding past the million mile mark racing on E15, American Ethanol launched two sweepstakes this past May. The winner of the “We’ve Got Power” fan sweepstakes is Joey Lomenzo of Long Valley, New Jersey. He is an avid NASCAR fan who shares his knowledge and support of American Ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels on social media.

The “Engine Insiders Talk Shop” engine industry professional sweepstakes winner is Allen Huggins who graduates this week from the NASCAR Universal Technical Institute in Mooresville, North Carolina as an engine technician. He says he can’t wait to see the classroom come alive on the track at Talladega.

American Ethanol, a partnership of the National Corn Growers Association and Growth Energy, invites everyone to enjoy the same clean fuel benefits of E15 in their vehicle as NASCAR puts in their race cars. To find a fuel retailer in your area who sells E15 and higher ethanol-blended fuels, visit GetEthanol.com. And while you are there, pick a Pink Out E15 retailer to support Breast Cancer Awareness month – your health and the health of your family will thank you.

American Ethanol, E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NASCAR, NCGA

GROWMARK Makes Energy Investments

Cindy Zimmerman

growmark-energyGROWMARK announced two major energy-related investments last month that provide benefits for the members of the Illinois-based agricultural cooperative.

First, GROWMARK acquired a propane terminal in Plattsburg, Missouri which is connected to the ONEOK pipeline, has 270,000 gallons of storage and the capability to load out two trucks at once. “It gives us another asset and access to propane,” said Kevin Carroll, vice president, energy and logistics. “Our customers expect us to have it when they need it so we’ve got back up supplies and a lot of alternative sources.” GROWMARK also owns a refined and renewable fuels terminal in Wathena, Kansas near St. Joseph, Missouri. “Marketing propane through the Plattsburg terminal also makes us a more complete supplier in the geography given the proximity to the Wathena refined fuel terminal,” Carroll adds.

growmark-upiGROWMARK also recently reached an agreement with Suncor to purchase 50 percent interest in UPI, Inc. in Ontario, Canada. The transaction, subject to conditions including regulatory approvals, brings GROWMARK’s ownership of UPI to 100 percent. “We’ve been in that joint venture for a little over 20 years,” Carroll explains, noting that it was a mutual agreement for the benefit of both parties. Suncor and GROWMARK have also entered into long-term supply agreements for GROWMARK’s petroleum needs in Ontario. “We wanted assurance from a refiner in the province that we’d have product and Suncor wanted assurance from a distributor or retailer that their product would be put out into the marketplace so it worked out well for both of us,” he said.

Learn more about GROWMARK’s energy outlook in this interview with Carroll. Interview with Kevin Carroll, GROWMARK Energy

Audio, GROWMARK, Propane

Review “The Ethanol Effect”

Cindy Zimmerman

ethanol-effect“The Ethanol Effect” is a new PBS documentary produced by Detroit Public Television that debuted earlier this month and is available on-line for anyone to see. We want to know what you think about it.

The documentary is hosted by energy and environment reporter David Biello and includes comments from a variety of ethanol industry representatives and supporters, including Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen, POET founder Jeff Broin, ICM founder Dave Vander Griend, American Ethanol NASCAR driver Austin Dillon, Protec CEO Todd Garner, and others. It also allows ethanol detractors to have their say. Roughly going through the one hour special, it seemed to me that it was pretty well balanced, and maybe even a little more favorable toward ethanol, but there were definitely some fact errors or omissions – such as saying that cellulosic ethanol is made from corn stover without noting that it can be made from a variety of biomass. It should also be noted that one of the underwriters for the documentary is Jerry Jung, a very vocal ethanol opponent in Michigan.

Already got some comments on the program in our previous post about it – go to theethanoleffect.org to watch the documentary and give us your review by commenting on this post.

Note – there is also a Growth Energy website called EthanolEffect.com that provides “just the facts about a biofuel that is in 97 percent of America’s motor fuel.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA

Super Yeast Yields Better #Ethanol Economics

Joanna Schroeder

A new innovative “super yeast” could very well improve the economics of ethanol production. A collaborative research team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) have engineered a yeast strain that nearly doubles the efficiency of plant sugar to biofuel conversion.

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center researcher Trey Sato monitors yeast cultures in the lab. Sato and UW-Madison colleagues have engineered yeast to feast on a previously unpalatable sugar, potentially improving the microorganism’s ability to convert sugars to useful biofuels. Photo Credit: James Runde/Wisconsin Energy Institute

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center researcher Trey Sato monitors yeast cultures in the lab. Sato and UW-Madison colleagues have engineered yeast to feast on a previously unpalatable sugar, potentially improving the microorganism’s ability to convert sugars to useful biofuels. Photo Credit: James Runde/Wisconsin Energy Institute

The team focused on the baker’s and brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a microbe highly adept at converting a plant’s glucose, or sugar, to biofuel. However, one challenge is that the yeast ignores the xylose found within the plant, a five-carbon sugar than can make up nearly half of all available plant sugars.

“For cellulosic biofuels to become economically feasible, microbes need to be able to convert all of a plant’s sugars, including xylose, into fuel,” explained Trey Sato, the GLBRC study’s lead researcher and a UW–Madison associate scientist.

In a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics, Sato and his GLBRC collaborators describe the isolation of specific genetic mutations that allow S. cerevisiae to convert xylose into ethanol. A finding, writes the researchers, that could transform xylose from a waste product into a source of fuel. To uncover these genetic mutations, the researchers had to untangle millions of years of evolution, teasing out what led S. cerevisiae to become so selective in the first place.

To begin, Sato and colleagues surrounding the yeast with xylose until it either reevaluated its distaste for xylose or died. It took 10 months and hundreds of generations of “directed evolution” for the team, including co-corresponding authors Robert Landick, a UW–Madison professor of biochemistry, and Audrey Gasch, a UW– Madison professor of genetics, to create a strain of S. cerevisiae that could ferment xylose.

Once the researchers had isolated the super yeast they named GLBRCY128, they then needed to learn exactly how the evolution had occurred as a mechanism for replication. Gasch compared Y128’s genome to the original strain, combing through the approximately 5,200 genes of each to find four gene mutations responsible for the adapted behavior. To verify their finding, the researchers manually deleted these mutations from the parent strain, producing the same result.Read More

advanced biofuels, Ethanol, Research

Students Visit Guardian Energy for #Ethanol Education

Joanna Schroeder

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association has organized its seventh student tour of a Minnesota ethanol plant. Seventh and eight grade students visited member plant Guardian Energy, a 130 million gallon-per-year ethanol biorefinery located in Janesville.

3dffb274-163d-4af2-8389-5198cc213e5aDuring the tour, students learned about various components of ethanol production including incoming grain grading, grain handling, grain storage, liquefaction, fermentation, distillation, distiller grain drying, corn oil separation, product storage and product shipment.

“We were pleased to welcome NRHEG High School today,” said Tracey Olson, chief operations officer at Guardian Energy. “It’s important for students to learn about the ethanol production process and its role in creating jobs in rural Minnesota and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

NRHEG High School Agricultural Educator, Dan Sorum, accompanied his students on the tour. “Anytime students can see first-hand, how a process that touches their daily lives works, it is a win for education and the industry.” Sorum added it was important for his students to learn how ethanol is produced. “So many ideas are out there about ethanol but like so many issues of our day, the best way to learn about them is actually see the processes and talk to the people doing the work.”

Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association said of the importance of student education about the industry, “This is the seventh tour we’ve organized this year. The ethanol industry is a very important economic driver in rural Minnesota. Tours like these highlight the career opportunities in the ethanol industry.”

biofuels, Education, Ethanol

Nano-Spike Catalysts Convert CO2 Into Ethanol

Joanna Schroeder

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide directly into ethanol. The team is researching an electrochemical process that uses tiny spike of carbon and copper to convert CO2 into ethanol. Their discovery involves nanofabrication and catalysis science.

ORNL’s Yang Song (seated), Dale Hensley (standing left) and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope.

ORNL’s Yang Song (seated), Dale Hensley (standing left) and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope.

“We discovered somewhat by accident that this material worked,” said ORNL’s Adam Rondinone, lead author of the team’s study published in ChemistrySelect. “We were trying to study the first step of a proposed reaction when we realized that the catalyst was doing the entire reaction on its own.”

The scientists used a catalyst made of carbon, copper and nitrogen and then applied voltage to trigger a chemical reaction that, in essence, reverses the combustion process. Utilizing a nanotechnology-based catalyst that has several reaction sites, the solution of CO2 that was dissolved in water turned into ethanol with a yield of 63 percent. In most instances, say the researchers, this reaction results in small amounts of multiple products.

“We’re taking carbon dioxide, a waste product of combustion, and we’re pushing that combustion reaction backwards with very high selectivity to a useful fuel,” explained Rondinone. “Ethanol was a surprise — it’s extremely difficult to go straight from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst.”

The catalyst’s novelty lies in its nanoscale structure, consisting of copper nanoparticles embedded in carbon spikes. This nano-texturing approach avoids the use of expensive or rare metals such as platinum that limit the economic viability of many catalysts.

“By using common materials, but arranging them with nanotechnology, we figured out how to limit the side reactions and end up with the one thing that we want,” Rondinone said.Read More

Carbon, Ethanol, Research

RFA Hosting Free Ethanol Seminars in Florida

Joanna Schroeder

rfalogo1The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is hosting free ethanol safety seminars this week in Ocala, Florida on October 17 and 18, 2016 at Florida State Fire College. Attendees will learn proper training techniques that emergency responders and hazmat personnel need to know to effectively respond to an ethanol-related emergency. Those who complete the course will receive Certificates of Completion.

Both seminars will be held each day from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm ET with lunch provided. This educational opportunity is being provided with help from an Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grant.

The seminars are free to attend and open to the public, but are limited to the first 100 registrants. To register, visit www.rfa.traincaster.com.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, RFA, safety