Swift Enterprises

Wow, it has been a while since I felt comfortable writing in this blog. With exams to get through and work to keep up with, it has been a busy few weeks but, I'm back and hopefully can continue to write about things of interest. During my absence, there has been more than enough debate and all too often blatant criticism of biofuels and ethanol in particular. Rather than dwell on these arguments that, I fear, rely too often on raw emotion then on any kind of intellectual debate, I think it is time to look forward for a story to move beyond this impass.
With crude oil prices ridiculously high, I have heard more than one oil analyst state that it is not speculation that is driving the market, but rather the market is working correctly to force new innovations in the United States. While I doubt this is fully the case and I question the morality of crippling people's lives just to move us beyond fossil fuels more quickly, I know for a fact that $125 per barrel oil is having an effect on research. Everyone is looking for a solution that moves beyond corn as a primary feedstock and a solution that will produce higher energy (so called 'next generation') fuels that act more like gasoline.
Swift Enterprises, in conjunction with engineers at Purdue University, has announced that they have developed a method to generate the high octane (100 octane rated) diesel fuel that propeller planes use. They go on to assert that their method can use any biomass feedstock so they are not limited to corn and they say their method costs as little as $1 per gallon to make. While this is a great announcement and couldn't come sooner for an airline industry that is going into debt daily because of high fuel prices, there may be some problems. The first is that the method doesn't produce jet fuel used in commercial airlines. The second is that synthetic processes to make such things as car gasoline are already known. The problem with these processes is that they use chemical catalysts (which are materials that cause a chemical reaction to occur). These catalysts are often "poisoned" by contaminants in the biomass material, such as other metals or other organic materials. Because of this, even though the process is possible, it is not available on a large scale because it is simply too difficult to replace the expensive catalysts every time.
Although Swift isn't releasing much information yet for patent concerns, it looks like they've taken a bold first step. Hopefully they can continue to develop their method to gain more efficiency and reliability. If so, I guarantee we hear more about this company in the future.

For more information on Swift Enterprises:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/05/swift-enterpris.html#more

Farm Bill and Ethanol Subsidies

Just a quick note to update on the Farm Bill. The Des Moines Register is reporting that there has been substantial progress in the Federal Farm Bill because of compromises coming from both sides of the issues. The latest word is that the ethanol subsidies in the form of the blenders tax credit will be reduced from 51cents per gallon to 45 cent. The money saved will be diverted into a fund to encourage cellulosic ethanol production.
Although I don't think that it would be healthy to the United States to damage the extensive investment in the ethanol industry by totally throwing out the blenders credit, this is a very good step if it becomes law in the farm bill. The blenders tax credit mainly benefits the blenders who are rarely ethanol producers. It works well because it encourages blenders to use ethanol over gasoline, but reducing it by 6 cents per gallon probably won't diminish ethanol blending. Also, the government is taking the right steps in adjusting towards the future of ethanol, which is cellulosic.
Finally, I think it will be interesting to watch the outcome if this reduction in the blenders credit becomes law. The Bush administration has hinted at their willingness in recent months to lower the import tariff on ethanol designed to prevent overseas ethanol producers such as Brazil from enjoying the taxpayer funded subsidies such as the blenders credit. However, if the blenders credit is reduced, these tariffs could be reduced from the 53 cents per gallon currently seen to say, 48 cents per gallon. This would make Brazillian ethanol more attractive towards importing without seriously harming the domestic production and would possible take the pressure off the corn crop in the short term.

For more details or updates, check out the Des Moines Register at:
www.desmoinesregister.com

Gasifier Pilot Plant

GM's partner in turning lignocellulosic feedstocks into ethanol, Coskata, has announced the location of their pilot plant to test the feasibility of their process. The 40,000 gallon per year plant will be located 30 miles Southeast of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and will showcase their gasification process to convert wood, agricultural waste, and industrial waste products into ethanol. The plant plans on producing ethanol by early 2009 and company reps have hinted that the process could cost as little as $1 per gallon of ethanol. This of course excludes any additional costs that might arise in terms of debt interest payments on building or materials. The good thing is that this plant will bypass any cereal grains and so will probably not be restricted by high feedstock prices, at least in the near term.
Some interesting stats on Coskata's production process as outlined in studies by Argonne National Laboratories. First is that the process will reduce GHG emissions by 84% compared to gasoline (corn-based ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 16%). Also, the ethanol can be produced in an efficient manner so that 7.7 energy units exist per energy unit of input (corn ethanol has a ratio of 1.6). And finally, the process uses less than a gallon of water to produce a gallon of ethanol as compared to corn ethanol where the process requires 3 gallons of water for every gallon of ethanol produced.
Although the main 50 million gallon per year ethanol plant is not scheduled for production until 2011, this is a major step in bring cellulosic ethanol into the mainstream and the numbers are encouraging that the process works.

Ethanol AND Hybrid Technologies

I've said this is previous posts but I will say it again. The only way that the United States and the rest of the world is going to come to a reasonable answer relating to the complex topics of environmental impact, foreign oil dependency, and others relating to transportation fuels is to combine several meaningful solutions. By doing a quick search of the major automakers in America, it becomes horrifyingly clear that there is absolutely no interest by these companies in helping the public solve any of these problems. To illustrate my point, think of all the flex-fuel vehicles on the road today. Save the Chevy Malibu I would have to say that every single one is an SUV. And the hybrid-dominated companies don't have clean hands either. I can say that there is not a single company that has the foresight and innovation to build a hybrid car and install components capable of running 85% ethanol. Think of how easy it would be for Toyota to equip their prius, for only $100 to $200 dollars, with ethanol capable components. They would be able to corner the entire market, particularly here in the Midwest. So why won't they do it? I honestly don't have an answer. Combining the two most promising emissions/cost reducing mechanisms that are available seems like the right way to go.
Thankfully, a company out of Stolkholm Sweden named Scania, has already made 14 hybrid-electric city buses. I know that this isn't the answer that I was looking for in personal car production but it is a good step. These buses are already running and the data indicates the the combination of the two technologies has reduced GHG emissions in the buses by 90%!! And the buses are able to extend their fuel economy by 25%. Incredible. Hopefully Scania's lead will help push automakers here in the US to start thinking about the big picture and not just about ethanol versus hybrid versus hydrogen versus fuel cell -- that kind of thinking will get us nowhere.

If any of you are interested in this combination of technologies, I encourage you to write a quick e-mail to your car-maker. I did and the more they hear from us the less they will be able to ignore the fact that we want a combination of solutions capable of solving all of the issues.

For more info. on the hybrid-electric bus:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/04/scania-double-d.html#more

Ethanol Going Greener

In anticipation of Earth Day tomorrow, I think it is time to reflect on one of the key benefits that ethanol offers -- its earth-friendliness. This fuel is renewable and, although its water/energy usages have been questioned, it still reduces some GHG emissions over gasoline (even if it is only a small amount). And so during the debate about food prices and yes/no debates on ethanol usage, I think there is one thing that a lot of people have missed.

Argonne National Labs completed a study and found that even though the meteoric jump to cellulosic ethanol production has not occurred, CORN-based ethanol has actually gotten greener since 2001. They found that ethanol plants have gotten more efficient in how much ethanol they can derive from corn -- 2.81 gallons per bushel of corn used is now the average, a 6.4% increase from 2001. Also, the total energy used in an ethanol plant to convert this corn into ethanol including fossil energy and electricity declined by 21.8%!! Think about that. That's phenomenal that after only 5 years (the survey compares 2006 data with 2001 data), the industry was able to reduce its total energy needs by 1/5th! This means that the energy balances would have to be recalculated in order to reflect this new data.

The report goes on to say that electricity grid use is down 15%, and that many plants have switched from coal to natural gas as a source of power, which reduces the GHG emissions even further. The survey found that a lot of these benefits were available because of better Dried Distillers Grains (DDGS) handling as most plants ship wet grains to farmers for feed instead of using a lot of energy in drying the DDGS. (Which is also the step in the ethanol process when most of the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are released making ethanol's NOx (nitric oxide) reduction benefit questionable). NOx is a major contributor to urban smog.

Finally, the report found that water consumption decreased 26.6% in ethanol plants during this five year period. This is a 1/4 decrease in water usage!! And in just five years! Think about what innovations are just around the bend after the Department of Energy poured billions of dollars into biofuels research.

The point is, we don't have to wait for ethanol to get greener... it already is. Sure there are still some areas that need to be improved. But overall this domestic fuel is keeping money in America, providing a dependable and renewable resource, and is cutting the amount of pollution and waste that has become so prevalent in this country.

Just today the DOE (Department of Energy) announced additional funding for cellulosic ethanol startup companies whose locations you can see below. The age of cellulosic ethanol is closer than we may think.

For the original Argonne National Labs' study:

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/objects/documents/1652/2007_analysis_of_the_efficiency_of_the_us_ethanol_industry.pdf

Novozymes in Ames, Iowa

A prominent maker of enzymes designed to jump start the breakdown of plant materials into usable components for ethanol production is setting up shop in Ames, Iowa. The Danish biotech company Novozymes says that is plans to employ 4 people in the beginning in the Iowa State University Research Park and will open its doors to the facility April 22. The company says that the 4 employees will work in a lab and office/customer service setting and that the continued strong growth in the ethanol industry coupled with the potential for large technological advances from any potential partnerships with nearby Iowa State University is what brought the company to Ames. Worldwide, the company employs 4,500 people according the The Des Moines Register, and hopefully the company will benefit Ames and the ethanol industry with continued employment.

For the Des Moines Register article:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/BUSINESS/80418032

April Showers

Rain continued today over much of the plains states and into Iowa. The importance of this is that prolonged rain that saturates the ground will move the planting season further back. This is turn will probably shift more acres away from corn and into soybeans, which have a more manageable growing season. This may exacerbate the situation created by what the USDA predicts to be a more normal distribution of corn/soybean plantings across the Midwest and could continue to drive up corn prices in the short term. This in turn could challenge ethanol plant profitability for the summer and continue to apply pressure to the industry, resulting in a gradual slowdown in increased production. With a brief break this weekend followed by the possibility of more heavy rain next week, the planting season continues to be pushed back as we creep closer to May.