Category Archives: Biofuel Production

Poplar Trees Possible Candidate for Biofuels

March 30, 2011   Karl   No comments

Trees that aid biofuel production

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center may have discovered some clues that could lead to poplar trees as the next candidate for biofuels. The research is being led by Charles Wyman of the Bourns College of Engineering’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology at the University of California Riverside who is joined by teams from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. They published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “Lignin content in natural Populus variants affects sugar release.”

 

Basically, the team is looking for traits in poplar trees that will lead to better sugar release. The lignin found in the plant’s cells have been a major challenge to overcome in biofuel production because it must be converted to sugar for production; yet, its strong sugar bonds interfere with access to the carbohydrates, and thus access to the sugar.

Wyman explained, “The real driver for bioenergy is how to get sugar as cheaply as possible from these recalcitrant materials. We’re looking for clues as to which traits in these poplar materials will lead to better sugar release.”

The BESC researchers were able to quickly analyze volumes of poplar core samples through the use of a high-throughput screening method. The goal was to better understand the chemical factors that drive sugar yields. The work resulted in finding a correlation between one plant trait, the syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio, which are the building blocks of lignin, and increased yields.

“The conventional wisdom is that high lignin contents are bad for sugar release,” said lead author Michael Studer. “We unexpectedly found that this statement is only valid for low S/G ratios, while at high S/G ratios lignin does not negatively influence yields. However, replacement of carbohydrates with lignin reduces the maximum possible sugar release. Another interesting result was that the samples with the highest sugar release belonged to the group with average S/G ratios and lignin contents. This finding points to a need for deeper understanding of cell wall structure before plants can be rationally engineered for efficient biofuels production.”

During the project, the research team was able able to pinpoint certain popular samples that produced remarkably high sugar yields without pretreatment – a typical prerequisite in biomass to biofuel production. This could help to reduce the costs of production. The team believes that their research may lead the way for poplar cultivars to be grown for commercial testing and propagation and ultimately for biofuel production.

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U.S. Soybean farmers windfall as biofuel demand increases

March 30, 2011   Karl   No comments

Soybean prices rocket

An updated, independent study funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) and soybean checkoff shows production of biodiesel continues to positively impact U.S. soybean farmers’ on-farm profitability as well as the bottom lines of poultry and livestock farmers.

According to the study, the biodiesel industry’s demand for U.S. soybean oil supported U.S. soybean prices by as much as 27 cents per bushel over the past five years, bringing U.S. soybean farmers an additional $2.7 billion in net returns.

The study also found good news for the U.S. soybean industry’s biggest customer, the U.S. animal agriculture sector, which uses nearly 98 percent of the domestic supply of U.S. soybean meal. The increased demand for soybean oil resulted in a larger supply of U.S. soybean meal, decreasing feed prices paid by U.S. poultry, livestock and fish farmers by between $16 and $48 per ton in marketing years 2005-2009.

“As a soybean farmer, I’m thrilled to see that biodiesel puts this much extra money back in our pockets,” says Jim Schriver, chair of USB’s Domestic Marketing program and a soybean farmer from Montpelier, Ind. “But the study also shows that biodiesel helps us support our best customers by making feed more affordable. Lower feed prices help U.S. animal farmers stay competitive.”

Soybean oil remains the dominant feedstock for biodiesel production, and the soybean checkoff funds a large portion of the research and promotion of biodiesel through the National Biodiesel Board. Much of this funding has been used on testing to prove biodiesel’s performance, economic and environmental benefits.

Biodiesel improves fuel lubricity by 66 percent compared with petroleum diesel and performs similarly to petroleum diesel in terms of torque, horsepower, haulage rates and fuel mileage. Additionally, biodiesel bolsters the U.S. economy, supporting more than 20,000 jobs and generating more than $800 million in tax revenue as recently as 2009. And biodiesel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75 percent, which helps fight global warming.

These environmental benefits helped biodiesel qualify as the United States’ first domestically produced advanced biofuel under the revised federal Renewable Fuel Standard. This requirement calls for the use of at least 800 million gallons of biodiesel this year and at least 1 billion gallons per year in 2012 and beyond.

The increased biodiesel production needed to meet this demand will be important. In 2006, the federal government required food containing trans fat to be labeled. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil creates trans fat, and the study shows biodiesel demand helped mask U.S. soybean oil demand losses after some food manufacturers switched to other oils to avoid trans-fat labeling. These declines in demand could continue over the next couple years.

Centrec Consulting Group, LLC, conducted the study with funding from USB’s Domestic Marketing program. A summary of the study can be found on the soybean checkoff website at www.unitedsoybean.org.

USB is made up of 69 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Checkoff funds are invested in the areas of animal utilization, human utilization, industrial utilization, industry relations, market access and supply. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit us at www.unitedsoybean.org

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Obama seeks to cut oil imports by one-third, increases biofuel development

March 30, 2011   Karl   No comments

Obama seeks to cut oil imports by one-third

President Obama says more domestic drilling, biofuel development and greater vehicle fuel efficiency can reduce petroleum imports. The plan is an apparent response to criticism over high gas prices by Republicans.

President Obama outlined a plan to reduce oil imports to the United States by one-third over the next 10 years by relying on further oil and gas drilling at home, development of biofuels and greater fuel efficiency in new cars and trucks.

With gas prices climbing because of unrest in the Middle East, the White House seemed to be responding to Republicans who have been complaining loudly for two months about the pain high fuel prices are bringing average Americans.

The GOP has focused on opening more domestic territory to oil and gas drilling, projects that would only begin delivering fossil fuels several years from now. In his speech before students at Georgetown University, Obama agreed that more domestic oil and gas production was a must, though he said that companies needed to develop the millions of acres they’ve already purchased in federal lease sales over the years before any new territories would be opened.

Obama sketched a picture of future imports that would rely more on producers — and allies — in the Western hemisphere, like Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Canada and Mexico are already major exporters to the United States. Brazil, which the president visited recently, is on the verge of developing major new oil and gas reserves.

Implicit in the speech was the U.S. desire to lessen its dependence on the autocracies of the Middle East, which account for a major share of global oil production and some of which are facing pressure from their citizens for more democratic reforms.

Successive administrations since President Nixon’s have issued similar calls for energy independence — or at least reduced dependence. But as Obama himself acknowledged, those plans have gone nowhere, and the U.S. imports a greater percentage of its daily oil consumption now than it did 40 years ago.

Moreover, the president faces a toxic political climate where the chances of bipartisan cooperation remain terribly remote. As a result, the administration may have to rely on executive orders to carry out some of its plans. In one realm, increased fuel efficiency, the federal government has worked with car companies and California to boost gas mileage in new cars after decades of congressional inaction on the issue.

Thanks and source LA Times

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Boeing moves to fast-track jet biofuel certification

March 27, 2011   Karl   No comments

Boeing to test China biofuel

Boeing moves to fast-track jet biofuel certification

As fossil fuel prices continue to soar, Boeing is looking to accelerate the aviation industry’s transition towards alternative biofuels, taking the reins of an effort to simplify certification standards for biofuels.

The aircraft giant yesterday announced it has teamed up with the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) to launch the Sustainable Biomass Consortium (Sustainable Biomass Consortium ), a group that will aim to make it cheaper for airlines and other users of biofuels to develop and adhere to effective standards.

The organisations will work together with environmental groups and governments to “help align regional and regulatory requirements”, Boeing said in a statement, adding that it would also aim to make it easier for biofuel sources to be independently verified as sustainable.

“With increasing environmental, regulatory and social pressures on aviation, having harmonised standards for sustainable biofuel development is crucial,” said Billy Glover, vice president of environmental and aviation policy at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Our industry needs these fuel sources and this consortium will help ensure we have a transparent way to collaborate among certification processes that guide us towards a more sustainable future.”

The move comes as a number of regional biofuel certification schemes are beginning to emerge.

For example, last June the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive issued guidelines on how biofuel certification should be implemented under that act. It called for guarantees that biofuels should not come from forests, wetlands and nature protection areas, while also demanding that biofuels offer significant greenhouse gas savings.

In addition, EPFL’s Energy Centre had already established the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, which focuses on creating global standards for biofuels production.

The unrest in the Middle East has contributed to an alarming rise in fuel prices, making it more important for already low-margin airlines to buy fuel from other sources. According to the International Air Transport Association, jet fuel prices are up 11 per cent this month compared to last month, and 47 per cent compared to a year ago.

The SBC will begin work next month, and will conduct projects over the next two years in China, Africa, the EU, Latin America, North America and Australasia, Boeing said.

The aircraft company is one of a number of firms in the aviation sector currently conducting biofuel trials, including airlines Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, Quantas and Lufthansa.

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Swedes eye budding biofuels industry

March 27, 2011   Karl   No comments
Biofuel production begins to have impact on Angolan econom

Swedes eye budding biofuels industry

The Swedish government and its private sector are hoping to secure a foothold in Botswana’s nascent biofuels industry that kicked off recently with plans for a five million-litre per annum processing plant.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on Tuesday, Sweden has identified several projects, including the budding biofuel industry, as areas for cooperation.

Specifically, the Swedes hope to be involved in jatropha research, the “wonder plant” whose cultivation and oil are expected to fuel the processing plant government plans to purchase this year. Botswana plans to switch the processing plant’s feedstock from animal fats to jatropha after 2016 and is presently cooperating with Japan in an intensive research project.

According to the MoU, the Scandinavian nation is also interested in biodiesel production from animal fat and biogas production from cow dung. Both are alternative energy sources and are at varying degrees of research and implementation in Botswana.

“The MoU is a good way of continuing and broadening the already existing cooperation between our energy industries,” Swedish Deputy Director of Trade and Investment (Africa), BrittMarie Hartvig, told BusinessWeek.

“It’s up to the parties who signed to develop these projects further, although there’s a lot of them that have to be identified.

“We are putting the MoU in the private sector’s hands and it is able to take it forward. We have planned also bilateral forums with Botswana to implement aspects of the MoU.” A perusal of the MoU shows a bias for renewable energy projects such as development of a 188-megawatt solar power system, solar thermal power stations and solar water heaters. The Swedes also hope to cooperate with Botswana in the development of strategies on energy efficiency for the transport sector, as well as on renewable energies and biomass – the renewable energy from biological material.

Speaking at a roundtable between local agencies and the 26-strong Swedish business delegation, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) CEO, Jacob Raleru, noted that the country had several initiatives already afoot regarding renewable energy.

He stressed that the country’s energy policy requires 25 percent of all electricity to be from solar power by 2030. “We are responsible for implementing government policy, which includes renewable energy,” Raleru told the Swedish business delegation.

“Through government, we are facilitating a feasibility study for a 200MW solar power station. After this, implementation will be put to the private sector and others.

“Our parent ministry has also just completed a study on Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs, while a one megawatt pilot solar project is in progress funded by the Japanese.

“If this is successful, we plan to extend it outside Gaborone. In addition, we have a subsidiary called BPC Lesedi, which is also offering home solar systems to rural consumers and others.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Phandu Skelemani, signed the MoU on behalf of Botswana while Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, signed on behalf of her country.

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Study reveals imported African biofuel may not be as green as expected

March 22, 2011   Karl   No comments

Dakatcha is an extensive tract of relatively intact coastal woodland, north of the Sabaki river. It is home to many endangered species of birds

African biofuels destined for Europe will result in up to six times the carbon emissions of fossil fuels, a new study has revealed.
The report, commissioned by the RSPB, ActionAid and Nature Kenya, focuses on the Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya which are set to be destroyed to make way for jatropha plantations.
Campaigners say the results of the study make a mockery of claims that biofuels are a green, renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuel currently makes up around 3.5 per cent of the petrol and diesel in UK fuel pumps. However, the UK Government wants to increase this to meet EU targets.
The Dakatcha Woodlands is one of the last remaining coastal forests in Kenya and is home to thousands of indigenous tribespeople who will be made homeless if the plans go ahead, as well as a range of threatened wildlife.

Dr Helen Byron, RSPB’s Kenya expert, said: “The Dakatcha Woodlands are a haven for wildlife and the threat they face is a direct result of European demand for biofuels. No government has done a proper assessment of biofuels imported from overseas to see if they will, in fact, reduce our carbon emissions – so we decided to do it for them.
“We were shocked to discover that the biofuel produced from the proposed plantations at Dakatcha will result in up to six times more carbon emissions than fossil fuels.”
Tim Rice, ActionAid’s biofuels expert, said: “Biofuels are far from the miracle climate cure they were thought to be. Like most other biofuels, jatropha could actually end up increasing carbon emissions.
“Crucially the Dakatcha case also shows how biofuel plantations can create huge social upheaval with whole communities losing their land, homes and jobs.”
Dr Byron continued: “The proposed plantation in Dakatcha is just one example of the disastrous but unseen impact of biofuels on the climate, nature and people – there are plenty more coming to light all the time.
“The UK Government recognises the problems that subsidising biofuels is causing across the world and last week announced that it intends to limit such subsidies. But ministers must go further, they must challenge the European targets for biofuels and instead adopt an ambitious programme to reduce emissions from cars through improving efficiency and a massive roll-out of electric vehicles.”
Taking into account the emissions produced throughout the production process, the study found that jatropha would emit between 2.5 and 6 times more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels.
Much of the biofuel produced in Dakatcha is destined for Europe because of new European Union targets. The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) requires 10 per cent of transport to be renewable by 2020 and most member states plan to meet this almost entirely through biofuels – which is likely to result in a doubling of biofuel use in Europe by 2020.
The Dakatcha Woodlands is home to over 20,000 people and is the ancestral land of the indigenous minority Watha and Giriama tribes. The plantation will not only evict the tribes from their land, but will destroy their livelihoods and sacred burial sites.
The area is also a global biodiversity hotspot and home to a number of globally threatened animal and bird species including the spectacular Fischer’s turaco, southern banded snake eagle, Sokoke scops owl, and the Sokoke pipit. The Clarke’s weaver bird is found in only two places on earth and is threatened with extinction if the plantation goes ahead.

 

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Google Ventures Leads Financing of Biofuels Start-Up

March 17, 2011   Karl   No comments

Google Ventures Leads Financing of Biofuels Start-Up

Google Ventures has led a $20 million financing round in CoolPlanetBiofuels, a Southern California start-up that is developing mobile refineries to turn wood chips, agriculture waste and other biomass into biofuels.

CoolPlanetBiofuels, an 18-month-old company, has also attracted the attention of ConocoPhillips, GE Capital and NRG Energy, which participated in the financing round along with North Bridge Venture Partners.

CoolPlanetBiofuels declined to disclose the total capital that it had raised, but it noted that Google Ventures was a major participant in the series B round announced Thursday.

“We take biomass such as corncobs, yard clippings wood chips and fractionate that biomass into discrete gas streams,” said Mike Cheiky, CoolPlanetBiofuels’ chief executive and a longtime technology executive. “Those individual gas streams aren’t really useful by themselves, so we run them through catalytic conversion columns that convert them to useful fuels.”

One limitation of using biomass as a feedstock for biofuels has been the expense of trucking low-value waste long distances to a refinery. So CoolPlanetBiofuels plans to take the refineries to the fuel source by packaging its machines in tractor-trailers.

“Biomass cannot be transported very far because in raw form it has a very low energy content,” Mr. Cheiky said.

He said a typical refinery would consist of a cluster of tractor-trailers that can process 10 million gallons of fuel a year.

“There’s a very large market opportunity here with a lot of headroom for innovation,” said Bill Maris, Google Ventures’ managing director. “These are early days and this space won’t end up with a single winner but any progress Mike and CoolPlanet can make will have a profoundly positive impact on consumers, the industry and the world.”

So far CoolPlanetBiofuels has built a small pilot plant that is producing biofuel for evaluation by oil companies, Mr. Cheiky said. He declined to identify the companies, citing a confidentiality agreement. The company expects to have its first one-million gallon mobile refinery operating within a year.

Mr. Cheiky said CoolPlanetBiofuels would initially make a 105-octane gasoline additive to help refiners meet California’s low-carbon fuel standard.

“We can produce an additive to reduce the carbon footprint and increase the octane of conventional gasoline,” he said.

Next up will be a biofuel that can run in conventional gasoline engines. Eventually, CoolPlanetBiofuels intends to produce a soil additive as a byproduct of the refinery process.

“We can sequester carbon as we make the fuel and make a soil enhancer for crops,” Mr. Cheiky said. “We will have a negative-carbon fuel.”

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BAFA: Germany consumed 780 million gallons of biodiesel in 2010

March 16, 2011   Karl   No comments
biodiesel pump

Ethiopia gets geared up for biodiesel

Germany’s Federal Office for Economy and Export Control (BAFA) released figures recently on the nation’s total biodiesel sales in 2010. BAFA reports that approximately 2.6 million metric tons (780.5 million gallons) of biodiesel was sold into the German fuel market last year. A majority of that, about 2.3 million tons, was sold for blending into the 32.1 million ton German diesel fuel market, which comes to slightly more than 7 percent.

The German oilseed council UFOP commented on the numbers, stating, “Biodiesel will remain an alternative fuel of great importance in the future … the consumption of diesel will continue to rise due to the constantly higher quantities of goods transported by road.”

The council then said, “Besides, so-called second-generation fuels replacing diesel will not be available for a foreseeable time, UFOP is convinced. So UFOP confirms the necessity that biodiesel should be conceded a future both as pure fuel and as admixture in motor fuel. There is no other way of meeting the climate targets in the transport sector.”

While Germany consumed more than 780 million gallons of biodiesel last year, the U.S. only produced 315 million gallons of biodiesel in 2010, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thanks and Source biodieselmagazine.com

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Biodiesel Production Poised for Outstanding Growth

March 16, 2011   Karl   No comments
Biofuel fuel pump

Biodiesel Production Poised for Outstanding Growth

The global biofuel industry has been witnessing sustainable growth and developments for the past few years in the backdrop of depleting fossil fuels and degradation of environmental conditions. Compared to ethanol, the global biodiesel industry is still at its infancy; however it is rapidly growing. According to our research report “Global Biofuel Market Analysis”, supportive government and upcoming biodiesel plants in Asia will boost the world biodiesel production at a CAGR of around 15.5% during 2010-2013.

Further, our study reveals that the biodiesel production is growing worldwide, with the European Union accounting for the largest share of the biodiesel production worldwide. However, the US is rapidly picking up speed in biodiesel production due to high requirement of environment-friendly transportation fuel. America (the US and Brazil) is the second largest biodiesel producing region in the world after the EU. Our research report provides a statistical view on both biodiesel and ethanol production along with the cost analysis of biofuel.

“Global Biofuel Market Analysis” provides an extensive research and rational analysis of the global biofuel industry and its different segments. It gives a deep insight into the regional trends prevailing across the globe. Analysis and statistics regarding the market size, growth, regional segmentation, and trends in technology developments have been thoroughly studied in the report to provide clients a comprehensive overview of the biofuel industry.

We have also studied growth prospects of the biofuel industry in the developing countries. The several countries covered in the report are – Australia, Thailand, Japan, India, China, Indonesia, the US, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Argentina, and Malaysia. Additionally, the report contains information about the government support, biofuel distribution issues, and cost analysis to help clients formulate appropriate strategies for the expansion of business in untapped markets. The report also provides brief information about the second generation biofuels, which will raise the production capacity per acre land, along with their social and environmental benefits.

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Biofuel From Algae Could Compete With Oil

March 16, 2011   Karl   No comments
algae-biofuel

Shell Exits the Algae biofuel game

Biofuels made from algae can be produced in a way that make this energy source cost-competitive with crude oil by increasing the amount of energy algae stores as fat, according to early research from VG Energy, an alternative energy and agricultural biotech company.

Algae typically store energy as carbohydrates or fat. But a report (pdf) by biofuels expert John Sheehan suggests that techniques developed by the company to target tumors in humans could change that process — and in the process could increase algae oil output during the production of biofuels.

The resulting biodiesel and algae-based jet fuels could be produced at a cost of $94 per barrel, well below the current crude oil price of above $100 a barrel, according to the report by Viral Genetics, of which VG Energy is a subsidiary. Sheehan, a researcher with the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, is an advisor to Viral Genetics.

It’s all based on a technique developed by Viral Genetics researcher Dr. Karen Newell-Rogers. According to a report from Energy Boom, Newell-Rogers has been developing molecular techniques “to disrupt tumor metabolism to prevent them from burning fat reserves, making them more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiation.” The same switch could force the algae to store energy as fat, which could then be extracted as algal oil.

Biofuel researchers have been seeking a technique to accomplish this switch, known as the “lipid trigger,” since the 1990s. Algae typically do not produce oil under normal conditions, but they do when they are stressed.

Algae are highly valued in biofuels research because of their high growth rate. “Whoever manages to break the trade-off between high growth of algae and high lipid content in the algae will be bringing a game changer to the table,” Sheehan told Energy Boom last December.

According to a VG Energy press release, the technique increased production of extractable lipid, or fat, by at least 300 percent when applied in the lab. The fat was stored outside the cell walls, making it easier to extract without first killing the algae. The technique also makes as much as 75 percent of the rest of the algae recyclable, further reducing costs.

In addition, this technique could also allow greater extraction of Omega-3 fats, also at much lower price than currently marketed processes.

Sheehan’s report details several ways that algal oil can be produced. VG Energy will study the techniques to try to put its new discovery into practice. The research is being supported by a $750,000 grant through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which was created by the Texas legislature in 2005.

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