Biomass Initiative

DOE Selects Biomass Feedstock Logistics Projects to Receive up to $21 Million in Funding

by Kristen Johnson, DOE Biomass Program

and Jaime Redick, BCS, Incorporated

A thriving domestic biofuels industry will require not only biomass growers and processing facilities, but also the infrastructure to connect the two. On August 31, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of the Biomass Program (OBP) announced five industry- and university-led projects that will receive up to $21 million in funding to address this critical link. These feedstock logistics projects will help develop a supply system that can transport large quantities of feedstocks from growers to biorefineries for conversion to fuels, power, and bioproducts.

This is the first competitive solicitation that the OBP Feedstock Platform has been able to run in several years. It is the first time OBP has formally partnered with industrial equipment manufacturers with the purpose of developing feedstock-handling systems that will allow high-tonnage biomass feedstocks to be delivered to the biorefinery on a cost-competitive basis.

The projects will address challenges associated with all aspects of feedstock logistics infrastructureâ€"harvesting, collection, preprocessing, transport, and storage. For example, AGCO Corporation in Duluth, Georgia, will work on a comprehensive system that will supply feedstocks to several biorefineries located in Iowa, Kansas, and Texas. “This project will definitively demonstrate on an industrial scale the methods and costs of feedstock procurement, storage, transport, and preprocessing to complete DOE’s understanding of the production of low-cost and perpetually renewable Bio-energy and Bio-fuels for the American public,” explains Bob Matousek, manager of Crop Harvesting R&D Engineering for AGCO. AGCO will seek to demonstrate the viability of the densified, large square bale as a least-cost, near-term means for supplying high-tonnage biomass feedstocks to cellulosic biofuel processors.

Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, will work with leading producers of forest biomass for energy in Alabama to design and demonstrate a high-productivity system to harvest, process, and transport woody biomass from southern pine plantations. Specific project objectives include improving tree-length harvesting machines for energy plantations; configuring a high-productivity, lowest-cost harvesting and transportation system for biomass; and demonstrating (at full industrial scale) the performance of their harvesting, storage, preprocessing, and transportation system.

FDC Enterprises of Columbus, Ohio, will primarily target Abengoa Bioenergy’s cellulosic biorefinery, which is currently under development in Hugoton, Kansas. Its project plan is to complete the design, fabrication, and demonstration of three new types of innovative harvest- and biomass-handling machines, including a single-pass mowing and baling operation, a bale-picking truck, and a self-loading trailer.

Genera Energy, LLC of Knoxville, Tennessee, will supply low-moisture switchgrass with an efficient bulk-format system that maximizes automated conveyance and handling. The project aims to achieve an overall process where switchgrass is dry-chopped into bulk format on the farm, hauled to a nearby satellite location, stored in a protective facility, bulk-compacted into trailers, and efficiently hauled 50 miles for unloading at the handling unit of the biorefinery.

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry of Syracuse, New York, plans to build on existing collaborative efforts among project partners. They intend to develop, test, and deploy a single-pass cut-and-chip harvester combined with a handling, transportation, and storage system effective in a range of different short-rotation wood crop (SRWC) production systems throughout North America. The system aims to reduce the costs associated with harvesting and transportation, provide consistent quality material to meet end-user specifications, improve environmental attributes, and accelerate the deployment of SRWC.

These projects will benefit farmers and agricultural equipment companies interested in cost-effectively and efficiently harvesting and supplying biomass feedstocks for a commercial biobased industry. The end-users of those biomass resources will also benefit from greater fuel, power, or product yields. The regionally diverse selections and consortium approach (each project includes a major equipment manufacturer, and may also include universities, local biomass producers, and national laboratories) should ensure that positive economic impacts are felt throughout the local economies in locations in which projects were selected.

“I am optimistic that this research will reinvigorate agricultural economies by creating jobs in the emerging Bioenergy industry, and contribute to keeping America's energy future secure," explains Richard Hess, manager of biomass program technology at Idaho National Laboratory. Not only will these projects touch various communities, but they will also help overcome logistical hurdles that will pave the way for more farmers and equipment manufacturing companies to take part in a growing industry. They represent an important step forward in achieving a thriving domestic biofuels industry that will both create jobs and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

An AGCO swather harvests sorghum, an energy crop that can be converted into biofuel (photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory).

For more information, contact Sam Tagore, OBP Lead for Feedstock Logistics, (202) 586-9210, or sam.tagore@ee.doe.gov.

Agave Might Be “Missing Energy Crop” (10/19)

Agaveâ€"a plant of a large botanical genus grown mainly in Mexicoâ€"is the missing energy crop, according to researchers participating in the Agave Project, and could be revolutionary for the biofuels and bioproducts industries. The plant is used to produce liquors such as tequila, mescal, and sotol, along with cords and ropes mainly for handcrafts. But its potential has largely been untapped, according to researchers. One hectare (2.5 acres) of the plant annually produces more than 500 metric tons (551 tons) of biomass, yielding three times more sugars than sugarcane, four times more cellulose than the fastest-growing eucalyptus, and five times more dry biomass than the genetically modified poplar tree, according to researcher Arturo Velez Jimenez. “It’s a reliable, abundant, cheap, easy to handle, high-quality feedstock,” he said. “It’s the ideal feedstock for a biorefinery where electricity, biofuels, biomaterial, chemicals, and bioproducts are produced.” One hectare can produce 5,000 gallons of distilled ethanol and 5,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol, he said.

Link: http://www.biomassmagazine.com/

Ethanol Makers Look to Monks to Solve Bacteria Problem (9/20)

Ethanol companies are looking back to the monasteries of ancient Europe for one possible solution to a troublesome production issue. They have to control bacteria to make good ethanol. The most common weaponâ€"antibioticsâ€"works well enough, but it's becoming a public relations headache. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration said it was finding antibiotic residue in an ethanol byproduct. That byproduct is sold as feed for cattle and other livestock, which is a problem. For the ethanol industry, the findings raised the threat of both bad publicity and government regulation. That prompted the ethanol industry to hunt for other ways to control the bacteria that hurt ethanol production. Kerry Nixon manages an ethanol plant in central Minnesota and he said industry insiders he talks with believe many plants have already started using one of two main alternatives to antibiotics.

Link: http://m.kare11.com/

Sue Leschine Fuels Biomass-to-Ethanol Advancement (9/1)

Patience pays offâ€"at least in the case of Sue Leschine and the Q Microbe™. Leschine is the University of Massachusetts â€" Amherst microbiologist who, during her 20-plus years of research, discovered the microscopic-but-mighty organism. She’s also a founder and chief scientist of Qteros, the Marlborough-based company turning the prospect of biomass-to-biofuel into commercial reality. Unlike other known microbes, the Q Microbe can produce quantities of ethanol out of the biomass from any type of plant or treeâ€"in one step rather than the usual two steps. Such “cellulosic ethanol” promises to be a sustainable alternative to petroleum with greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than the current corn-based ethanol biofuel. This summer, at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Montreal, Leschine announced that Qteros’s process has achieved unprecedented ethanol outputs of 70 grams per liter (9 percent by volume) in a single-step process on industrial feedstocks such as corn stover. This surpasses the 50-grams-per-liter threshold for commercial viability.

Link: http://www.bostonherald.com/

Rejected Watermelons: The Newest Renewable Energy Source (8/27)

Watermelon juice can be a valuable source of biofuel. Researchers have shown that the juice of reject watermelons can be efficiently fermented into ethanol. Wayne Fish worked with a team of researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, Oklahoma, to evaluate the biofuel potential of juice from ”cull” watermelonsâ€"those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections and currently ploughed back into the field. He said, “About 20 percent of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen. We’ve shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production.”

Full report: “Watermelon juice: a promising feedstock supplement, diluent, and nitrogen supplement for ethanol biofuel production.”

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/

Scientists Force Fungus to Have Sex to Create Biofuel (8/11)

Austrian scientists are putting the “fun” in “fungus’ by forcing organisms that are usually asexual to have sex instead. The hope is that the fungus would then be easier to breed, allowing researchers to create organisms that are more efficient at degrading cellulose for the purpose of making biofuel. Originally discovered eating away at the canvas and garments of the U.S. Army in the Solomon Islands during World War II, scientists have long known that the soil fungus Trichoderma reesei was particularly good at converting celluloseâ€"a major component of plant biomassâ€"into glucose. But until now, it has been difficult for researchers to improve the fungus because it was believed to be asexual.

Link: http://cleantechnica.com/

Yeast Strain Could Help Fast-Track Biofuel Production (7/31)

Stephen Hughes, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) molecular biologist, has developed a yeast that makes ethanol from both five-carbon and six-carbon sugars without needing oxygen. This development could speed up industrial ethanol production because oxygen level control has been a difficult part of the process. Hughes' yeast strain doesn’t require oxygen to grow on xylose, a five-carbon plant sugar. The new yeast doesn’t directly convert large quantities of xylose into ethanol, according to an ARS press release. Instead, xylose provides energy the yeast needs to grow and reproduce without oxygen, making more of the yeast available for fermentation, and the rate of ethanol conversion increases.

Link: http://eponline.com/

Joule Adds CO₂ to Sunlight to Make Fuel (7/26)

Joule, a company based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has disclosed its technology and business plans for making ethanol and other liquid fuels from genetically manipulated microorganisms that have been fed only sunlight and carbon dioxide. In a break with biofuels companies, Joule says its HelioCulture system works without a biomass feedstock, such as algae or others plants. Instead, the company's engineered organisms grow through photosynthesis in a brackish water solution and directly excrete fuel or commercial chemicals. Joule's process is built around its SolarConverter, which collects sunlight and feeds carbon dioxide into the solution. These modules can be strung together to make a larger facility. The solution can be recycled once the fuel is separated.

Link: http://news.cnet.com/

Oklahoma State University Experts Discuss Potential of Sweet Sorghum Use in Ethanol Production (10/22)

With demand growing for ethanol produced from sources other than corn, researchers at Oklahoma State University said Wednesday (10/21) that state agriculture producers could someday grow sweet sorghum or switchgrass as cash crops. Division scientists and engineers from Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources spoke during a "biofuels field day" at the University's South Central Research Station in Chickasha about the potential of crops that could be grown by Oklahoma farmers for use in ethanol production. The interest in such crops stems in part from the nation's renewable fuel standard, which ensures demand for ethanol. In 2007, the Energy and Independence Security Act passed by Congress called for 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline this year, with that number rising to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Link: http://ethanol-news.newslib.com/

Kauai Advancing on Energy (10/16)

Pacific West Energy's proposed biomass-to-electricity plant on Kauai would help reduce Hawaii's reliance on foreign oil while keeping sugar cane cultivation alive on the Garden Isle, project observers say. Meanwhile, the company's planned 15-million-gallons-a-year sugar ethanol plant is on track to be the first in-state supplier of the gasoline additive. And that's not even factoring in Pacific West's intention to produce sugar for food and rum-making on Kauai, or a potential demonstration project for making ethanol directly from woody plants. "I think there's a tremendous amount of goodness in there for Kauai and the state," Ted Peck, energy administrator for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said of PacWest's ongoing work to bring its $135-million plan to fruition.

Link: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

Ethanol Revival: Murphy Purchases 110 Mgy Corn Ethanol Plant in North Dakota for $92 Million (10/5)

In North Dakota, more signs of an ethanol revival appeared with the purchase of the 110 Mgy ethanol plant in Hankinson by Murphy Oil. Murphy, which paid $92 million in the form of nonrecourse debt for the plant, said that it will invest $15 million in working capital to restart the plant, which debuted in July 2008 but went idle last October due to industry economic conditions. Murphy becomes the third oil companyâ€"after Valero and Sunocoâ€"to purchase idle ethanol plants. “Given the current ethanol mandates and our subsequent blending needs, having more of a presence in the supply chain better balances our business,” said David Wood, chief executive and president of the company.

Link: http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/blog2/2009/10/05/

Florida Becomes Biofuels Start-up Incubator (9/17)

Florida Governor Charlie Crist touted his state’s investment in biofuels and renewable energy development during his speech to attendees at the 2009 Farm to Fuel Summit, held July 29â€"31 in Orlando, Florida. According to Crist, Florida has awarded more than $43 million in grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects since 2006, of which more than $23 million has been awarded to bioenergy projects. An E10 mandate will go into effect in 2010 and second-generation biofuels will be a major part of an integrated solution for meeting Florida’s energy needs, according to Crist. The state is currently funding research related to the production of ethanol from feedstocks such as sorghum and citrus waste.

Link: http://ethanolproducer.com/

Oklahoma Researchers Look for Cash in the Switchgrass (9/9)

Watching grass grow is tedious, but researchers in the Oklahoma Panhandle say they'll stare at their switchgrassâ€"all 1,000 acres of it until they know whether they've found a commercially viable source of biofuel. The site is billed as the largest such project in the world as scientists try to determine if making ethanol from switchgrass is cost-effective. The goal is to determine whether small-scale experiments of using the tall, thin plant native to the Great Plains to make ethanol can be duplicated on a large scale and if so, whether farmers and others involved in its production could make a profit. […]The $2.2-million experiment, a project of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center that is being led by the Ardmore-based Noble Foundation, began last year with the planting of switchgrass on three fields near Guymon, a town 100 miles north of Amarillo, Texas. The grass will help feed a biorefinery planned in nearby southwest Kansas.

Link: http://www.tulsaworld.com/

Cape Company Taps Pond Scum Power (8/5)

Dealing with pond scum in Massachusetts’ Cape Cod region could prove to be a financial windfall. Plankton Power, a Wellfleet-based alternative-energy company, has joined forces with military, government, industry, and research organizations to establish an algae farm and biorefinery on five acres of the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The Cape Cod Algae Biorefinery is expected to cost $20 million and has the potential to create hundreds of jobs, while providing the Cape with an alternative to burning fossil fuels. This initiative is supported by the Regional Technology Development Corp. of Cape Cod, the Massachusetts National Guard, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Marine Biological Laboratory, and the Cape Cod Commission. "What a lot of people don't realize is the Cape is one of the best algae resources in the world," said Curtis Felix, CEO of Plankton Power.

Link: http://www.capecodonline.com/

Iowa Scientists Innovate with Biofuels (7/30)

Iowa is one of the nation's leaders in the production of renewable fuels, and researchers at the Renewable Energy Group’s new Research Center in Ames are working to grow the industry. Scientists in the lab are converting everyday products into fuel. Most people appreciate coffee beans when they're freshly brewed and served hot first thing in the morning, but those same coffee beans could one day fuel cars. It's one of the many everyday products that workers at the lab are converting into biodiesel […] Researchers said their challenge is to find a way to make the alternative feedstocks viable.

Link: http://www.kcci.com/news/

A Shift from Corn to the Cob (7/23)

The high-stakes race to make a better renewable fuel took a small step forward in late July in a secluded cornfield near the Texasâ€"Mexico border. In tiny Santa Rosa, Texas, a few miles northwest of Harlingen, the nation's largest ethanol producer was secretly testing farm equipment that only a few years ago might have seemed absurd. The machine collects corncobs, naked of kernels and typically left in the field after a harvest, for eventual conversion into ethanol. The testing by POET (the world’s largest ethanol-producer, based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is part of a larger project that could help usher in a new era for ethanol, which today in the United States is produced mostly from corn.

Link: http://www.soyatech.com/

Ghana Gets Jatropha Biodiesel (10/26)

Jatropha is fast-proving the gem of the biodiesel feedstocks, and now one African producer has manufactured its first batch of the renewable fuel. Biofuel Africa, based in Ghana, has produced 10 tons of biodiesel, about 50 barrels from its plantations in its home country. The production was realized from 650 hectares of the plant, from one-year-old seeds. The vegetable oil produced from jatropha can be used without any modifications to directly run vehicles and machines in Ghana because of the climate.

Link: http://www.biofuels-news.com/

Woody Biomass Power Plant Proposed for Wales (10/12)

Wales, U.K.-based Anglesey Aluminum Metals has submitted an application for approval of a 299-megawatt biomass power plant to be located near the company’s aluminum smelter and possibly power it. If approved, the plant would consume about 2.4 million tons of woody biomass, such as wood chips, pellets or agricultural residues, a year. Anglesey Aluminum hopes to commence basic construction in early 2011 with a three-year construction period. Currently, the company is going through the appropriate planning applications and engineering feasibilities. The energy could be used to power the company’s smelter or be sold to the grid. Anglesey relies now on power from the Wylfa nuclear power plant, which is scheduled to close in 2010.

Link: http://www.biofuels-news.com/

Monsanto Forecasts Africa to Increase Biotech Crop Planting (10/9)

Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest seed producer, expects African countries to increase planting of genetically modified crops to boost food security and economic development as the region is affected by climate change. Burkina Faso plans to double the area planted with the company’s insect-resistant cotton next year from 129,000 hectares (318,766 acres) this year, Natalie DiNicola, director at Monsanto’s public policy and sustainable yield division, said in an interview. Corn modified to tolerate drought may be introduced to the sub-Saharan region by 2017, she said.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/

German Bioethanol Consumption Jumps by 61% (9/17)

Germany has seen a huge increase in bioethanol consumption in the first half of 2009. According to German bioethanol association BDBE, bioethanol consumption leapt to 453,000 tonnes in the first half of 2009, up 61 percent on the year-earlier period. The increase in consumption was largely caused by the German government’s program of raising compulsory blending of biofuels with fossil fuels to protect the environment. Germany now permits a petrol grade with 5-percent bioethanol content called E5. Seventy-three percent of German bioethanol consumption is now concentrated on E5 petrol grades. About 63 percent of German production from January to August 2009 used grain as a feedstock, 33 percent used sugar-based products, and the rest used a range of feedstocks.

Link: http://checkbiotech.org/

Need to Reduce Reliance on Petrochemicals Stimulates Southeast Asian Bioethanol Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan (9/8)

The Southeast Asian bioethanol market is brimming with opportunities following the recent industry growth, rising number of entrants, and intense competition for best market positioning. The expansion of current producers, backed by the influx of new participants, has dramatically increased local production over the last three to seven years. The governments have also laid strong emphasis on biobased fuels to lower dependency on petrochemicals, assuring the Southeast Asian market of steady demand in future.

Link: http://www.frost.com/

Biodiesel: Next Big Thing in Malaysia (8/3)

"Malaysia Truly Asia" is probably the most recognized national slogan in the marketing world of tourism. But Malaysia is also known for something else that not only benefits its national agenda, but can also help with the environment: biodiesel. "Biodiesel has a very promising prospect for the future as an alternative energy source and it's renewable," Malaysian Ambassador Dato' Ramlan Bin Ibrahim told The Korea Herald. Malaysia currently accounts for 41 percent of world palm oil production and 47 percent of world exports. As one of the biggest producers and exporters of palm oil and palm oil products, Malaysia has an important role to play in fulfilling the growing global need for oils.

Link: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

E.U. Nations Slap Duties on U.S. Biodiesel: Diplomat (7/7)

European Union nations decided on July 7 to impose antidumping duties on U.S. biodiesel imports, which are suspected to be heavily subsidized, an E.U. diplomat said Tuesday. The proposal, by the European Commission, was adopted by the 27-country bloc's finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels, the diplomat said, on condition of anonymity. The duties, enforced as of July 12, range from €23 to €41 per 100 kilograms (160 pounds) and would last for up to five years. The stakes are high as biodiesel represents around 80 percent of Europe’s total production of biofuels, which have become an important pillar of the European Union’s efforts to fight global warming. U.S. biodiesel accounts for most of this fuel imported into the European Union

Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/