Tag Archives: biofuel production

China Set to Increase Use of Biofuels, reduce CO2 emmissions

May 03, 2011   Karl   1 Comment
biofuel model china

A model of a biofuel plant at a new-energy exhibition in Beijing

China can become a leader in the production of second-generation (2G) biofuels, made from agricultural waste instead of foodstuffs, such as sugar, starch and vegetable oils said a senior executive from one of the industries’ leading companies.

That’s as the nation attempts to improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

“The United States is the biggest producer of first-generation (1G) biofuels. Regarding 2G production, no other country has shown leadership, so maybe China will move faster on this because it has been put on the political agenda,” said Michael Christiansen, president of Novozymes (China) Investment Co Ltd, referring to the nation’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

Christiansen made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China Daily on April 15 at Boao, a small town on the east coast of Hainan province, where he was attending the annual “Forum for Asia” conference.

The Denmark-based Novozymes is the largest provider of industrial enzymes and market leader in enzyme technology for biofuels.

Christiansen said Novozymes has a market share of about 50 percent in China in 1G biofuel production, but more opportunities will be created as the nation’s new Five-Year Plan places a heavy focus on 2G production, although detailed plans are not yet available.

Global biofuel consumption will increase from the current level of 55 million tons of oil equivalent – the amount of energy obtained by burning one standard barrel of oil – to 750 million tons in 2050. Meanwhile, over the same period, the proportion of biofuel used in the transportation-fuel market will rise from 2 percent to 26 percent, with 2G biofuels accounting for roughly 90 percent of all biofuels used, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

By developing 2G technology, China can reduce the import volume of crude oil, and reduce CO2 emissions by 90 percent from current levels, he said. “It fits perfectly with China’s next Five-Year Plan to reduce inefficiency.”

The nation has announced plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. It’s expected that energy consumption of non-fossil fuels could account for more than 11 percent of the country’s total energy consumption by 2015.

Christiansen suggested that between 2.4 and 2.8 percent of China’s total energy consumption could be produced from biomass (organic material) by that date. “That’s a big increase compared with the existing situation – five, seven or even 10 times more.”

Currently, Chinese annual biofuel production stands at 2 million tons, he estimated.

In addition, 2G biofuel production could benefit the economy with less effect on food supply and prices.

“1G biofuel has become very popular, but we worry that if it becomes too popular, too much food goes into the production of biofuels. Production of the fuel from agricultural waste will have a lower effect on food prices.”

Food security concerns have led the government to restrict grain-based ethanol production and to promote non-grain-based fuel ethanol production instead, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in June 2010.

In May 2010, Novozymes, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation, and China Petrochemical Corporation announced the construction of a 10,000 ton-capacity demonstration plant for commercial-scale production of advanced biofuels from corn stover – the leaves and stalks of maize plants – which will begin this year.

“By the end of 2011, we plan to take the next step moving from a pilot scale, which is 20 times bigger than what we have today. Then by 2013, we will move to a commercial size, which will be somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 tons,” said Christiansen.

In common with other companies in the industry, Novozymes is also eyeing China’s biochemical market, he said.

In April 2010, Novozymes and Dacheng Group, a leading corn processer located in Jilin province, made an agreement to make plastics from agricultural waste.

The companies have agreed to expand their cooperation in developing biochemicals derived from biomass and to promote production of plant-based glycol. Now the two are evaluating different production methods.

Christiansen predicted the company will maintain an annual growth rate of around 20 percent in the biofuel and biochemical business in China over the next five years.

“That’s a lot of fantastic benefits in this. We are in the starting phase of creating a new industry. The new ways of producing chemical and fuels will take time. In five years, we will see a more mature industry.”

According to the WEF report, the conversion of biomass into fuel, energy and chemicals has the potential to generate upwards of $230 billion for the global economy by 2020.

China’s use of biofuel ethanol will reach 12.7 billion liters by 2020, while automotive ethanol gasoline usage will be 100 percent, and annual consumption of biodiesel will reach 2.3 billion liters, according to the targets set by the National Development and Reform Commission.

 

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Biofuel Company Close To $1 Billion Fed Loan

February 23, 2011   Karl   No comments
Biofuel Company Close To $1 Billion Fed Loan

Biofuel Company Close To $1 Billion Fed Loan

A cellulosic biofuels project, valued at more than $1 billion and consisting of two refineries in Mississippi and another each in Texas and Georgia, appears to be on its way to reality, thanks to a federal government loan guarantee program.

The developer, KiOR, said it had received a term sheet from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program to help build the refineries, which will produce what the industry calls “drop in fuels” for gasoline and diesel. These are fuels that can be used as direct substitutes without having to change a gasoline or diesel engine. In a FAQ for the project, KiOR said it figured the plants could produce some 250 million gallons of the stuff annually from “wood supplies that are sustainably harvested and also used by each of the state’s pulp and paper industries.”

Those pulp and paper industries have been hit hard in recent years, leading to high unemployment in the region, so the biofuels plants are eagerly anticipated. KiOR envisions 14,000 jobs created during construction, then 4,000 permanent jobs when the plants are up and running. But there’s still work to be done before that comes to past.

“While the term sheet is an important step in the process, we recognize that more work lies ahead to finalize the loan guarantee and there is no assurance it will be issued until the loan is closed,” said Fred Cannon, president and CEO of KiOR.

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BP says biofuels growth will outpace oil in 2011-2030 period

January 24, 2011   Karl   No comments
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BP says biofuels growth will outpace oil in 2011-2030 period

In the UK, BP published for the first time a summary of its forward-looking analyses. In Energy Outlook 2030, BP projects that primary energy use will grow by nearly 40% over the next twenty years, with 93% of the growth coming from non-OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Non-OECD countries are seen to rapidly increase their share of overall energy demand from just over half currently to two-thirds. The report projects that, between 2010 to 2030, the contribution to energy growth of renewables (solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels) is seen to increase from 5% to 18%.

Global liquids demand is forecast to reach 102.4 million barrels per day (mmbpd) in 2030. The net growth of 16.5 mmbpd over the next 20 years comes exclusively from the emerging economies of the non-OECD. Biofuels production is expected to reach 6.7 mmbpd by 2030 from 1.8 mmbpd in 2010 and will contribute 125% of net non-OPEC supply growth over the next 20 years. Continued policy support, high oil prices, and continued technological innovations all contribute to the rapid expansion. The US and Brazil will continue to dominate biofuel production with 76% of total output in 2010 but falling to 68% in 2030 as output from Asia-Pacific begins to rise.

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EU Biofuels Goals May Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Lobby Groups Say

November 08, 2010   Karl
EU Flag

EU Biofuels Goals May Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Lobby Groups Say

Biofuels targets in the European Union could raise emissions of greenhouse gases because forests and wetlands will be destroyed to grow the crops necessary, nine environmental groups said in a study.

Energy targets for 23 of the EU’s 27 members suggest 9.5 percent of the bloc’s transportation energy will come from biofuels by 2020, said the groups, which include Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and ActionAid. The crops may need an area twice the size of Belgium, and clearing the necessary land could make the fuels 167 percent more polluting for the climate than sticking with gasoline and diesel, they said.

“Biofuels are not a climate-friendly solution to our energy needs,” Laura Sullivan, ActionAid’s European policy and campaigns manager, said in the statement. “The EU plans effectively give companies a blank cheque to continue grabbing land from the world’s poor by growing biofuels.”

The EU aims to get 10 percent of its energy for transportation from biofuels, hydrogen and renewable power by 2020. The target is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

EU energy spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said the targets require less land than the study suggests and that EU guidelines prevent the use of deforested land.

“The Renewable Directive says very clearly that it is not allowed to chop down forests to produce biofuels,” Holzner said in an e-mail. “The same goes for drained peatland, wetland or highly biodiverse areas.”

The study by the campaign groups estimated 69,000 square kilometers, or 6.9 million hectares, would be needed.

“The production of biofuels can indirectly cause additional deforestation and land conversion, including of fragile ecosystems,” the groups said. “When existing agricultural land is turned over to biofuel production, agriculture has to expand elsewhere.”

The 10 percent target would require 2 million to 5 million hectares of land, and there is enough unused terrain in the EU that was previously used for crop production to cover its needs, Holzner said.

She also said that biofuels had “little to do” with a spike in food prices from 2007 to 2009, rejecting the accusation from the groups that land-use changes resulting from biofuel cultivation had “devastating impacts on food security.”

The European Union on June 10 set up controls to ensure biofuels, which are made primarily from crops such as rapeseed, wheat, corn and sugar, don’t come from forests, wetlands and nature reserves.

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Hallen villagers unite in biofuel power station fight

October 26, 2010   Karl

Hallen villagers unite in biofuel power station fight

Nearly every resident of a village near Bristol has signed a petition to oppose the building of a biofuel power station in their community.

Campaigners in Hallen, just west of the city, say there is already too much industry in the area.

The proposed plant, which is subject to a planning appeal, would burn imported palm oil to generate 49MW of power.

A 265-signature petition has been handed to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who will decide on the scheme.

Bristol City Council turned down plans for the £50m plant in February and the application, from consortium W4B, will now be decided by Mr Pickles’ department.

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South Africa: Biofuel and its local spin-offs on the agenda again

October 20, 2010   Karl
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Biofuel and its local spin-offs on the agenda again

The debate about biofuel has largely been silent since the advent of the recession but as the economy slowly recovers the talk has begun again.

Last week the Democratic Alliance welcomed what it called a “significant policy shift” by the minister of agriculture on the use of maize as a source for biofuel.

The party has been arguing for the use of maize, largely a subsistence food, to be channelled into biofuel production.

“This is in light of Grain SA, the body representing most of South Africa’s maize, wheat and soya producers, recently warning that a substantial number of small farmers could face bankruptcy due to the 20 09-20 10 harvest season surplus, which has driven maize prices down,” said David Ross, the party’s shadow deputy minister of energy.

According to him, contrary to fears that food would be channelled into the making of fuel, using maize to make bioethanol would create a market for surplus crops and could create 105 000 direct jobs.

South Africa’s policy has made allowances for a 2% blend ratio in liquid fuels from biofuels. But this is just a fraction of what could be produced, according to Emile van Zyl of Stellenbosch University.

In a presentation given to a stakeholders’ forum at the Southern African Bioenergy Association last year, he noted that significant strides had been made in the field, with the emergence of new technology to convert woody plant biomass (called lignocellulosics) to biofuels.

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The Tanzanian government mulls law to regulate biofuel use

October 20, 2010   Karl
tanzania flag

Govt mulls law to regulate biofuel use

The Tanzanian government plans to hire the services if a consultant to help draw a law to regulate biofuel technology in the country.

Speaking to The Citizen over the mobile phone yesterday, the minister for Energy and Minerals, Mr William Ngeleja, said the government seeks to know how to deal with the new technology before introducing it to Tanzania.

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Biofuel is only partly to blame for high food prices

October 19, 2010   Karl
FPT_MoneyBag

Biofuels only partly to blame for high food prices

Rising biofuel demand is among multiple factors fueling food inflation around the globe, but markets today are more able to manage that impact than in 2007, when an aggressive U.S. government mandate sent prices soaring, an agriculture industry executive said on Tuesday.

U.S. corn prices this month revisited levels not seen since the months after the amended Renewable Fuels Standard was signed into law, rekindling the debate about whether food products should be used to make fuel.

But this month’s corn market rally to highs near $6 per bushel was driven more by the U.S. Agriculture Department’s lower corn production forecast amid an already tight supply/demand balance than by rising demand from makers of corn-based ethanol, said Tim Gallagher, executive vice president of grains and biofuels with Bunge North America.

Gallagher, speaking in a panel discussion at the Global Financial Leadership Conference in Naples, Florida, declined to comment on how ethanol demand would impact corn prices in the future.

“It’s had an impact. From 2007 to today, we’ve found a way to manage that impact,” Gallagher said of corn demand by ethanol makers, which use about a third of the U.S. crop.

“It depends on the magnitude (of the demand) and how quickly it comes into the market,” he said.

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Costa Rica Investments in Bio-fuels, and Sustainable Agro Development

October 19, 2010   Karl
flag-on-pole

Costa Rica Investments in Bio-fuel

Central America and especially Costa Rica has seen a large surge in Biofuel initiative. There new Biofuel cooperative projects, intercropping (with food and oil bearing plants) development, including a new investment wave called Multi Purpose Real Estate, UBA (United Biofuels of America.

Investing in bio-fuel is profitable in the short term and long term and helps reduce dependency on unstable foreign sources.

Here in Costa Rica the governmental bodies have full buy-in to renewable energy and sustainable agro developments.

Costa Rica is attempting to produce ethanol and biodiesel on a large enough scale to eventually reduce or even replace petroleum fuel. The state oil company, Recope, is constructing a large processing plant, the government is about to release a plan for the industry’s development, and the Institute for Agrarian Development, is engaged in research projects for certain products to convert to biofuels.

At present, ethanol is produced from sugar cane and to a lesser extent from yuca (cassava), a root crop. There is some production of bio-diesel from African Palm oil. Research is ongoing with respect to very promising oil seed crops for biodiesel, higuerilla and jatropha.

There is ample opportunity for investments in these crops to supply a local and international market. Petroleum prices are expected to remain at high levels. Biofuels reduce vehicle emissions when mixed with or replace gasoline or diesel. However, when biofuels are produced on a large scale there are also large scale environmental and social consequences, especially when the source of ethanol is corn or soybeans for biodiesel or when growing crops that displace food crops or convert forests to crop lands.

These adverse environmental and social consequences are mitigated when biofuel crops are grown on land that had been previously deforested and converted to cattle pasture. In Northern Costa Rica there are vast expanses of unproductive cattle pasture, much of it mechanizable and not requiring irrigation. This is a good opportunity to promote the conversion of cattle lands to socially useful and productive crops. This is already occurring with the proliferation of pineapple, root crop, and palmito plantings. However, it makes good sense to plant many more food crops there, such as rice, beans, and animal feed, while still leaving space for biofuel crop cultivation.

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Innovation award for ‘bubble-maker’ that boosts algae growth

October 18, 2010   Karl
Professor-Will-Zimmerman--006

Royal Society gives £250,000 prize to fluidic oscillator that transforms the cost and effectiveness of growing algae for biofuels

Royal Society gives £250,000 prize to fluidic oscillator that transforms the cost and effectiveness of growing algae for biofuels.

A bubble-maker that looks like the flux capacitor from the Back to the Future films last night won a £250,000 prize from the Royal Society for its ability to transform the cost and effectiveness of growing algae for biofuel, treating sewage and cooling computers.

The Y-shaped device delivers tiny but perfectly formed bubbles by mimicking the way children blow bubbles. Its inventor, Prof Will Zimmerman, a chemical engineer at the University of Sheffield, explained: “If you blow slowly and steadily, you blow a big bubble, but we use our fluidic oscillator to blow short puffs and make small bubbles.”

The device has been used in field trials to produce algae from the exhaust gas from chimneys at the steel maker Corus. Zimmerman said that as well as efficiently delivering carbon dioxide bubbles to feed the algae, the small bubbles crucially – unlike larger ones – carry away waste oxygen and allow 100% of the algae to survive.

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