Cellulosic ethanol commercialization

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Cellulosic ethanol commercialization can contribute to a successful renewable fuels future. Companies such as Iogen, Broin, and Abengoa are all building refineries that can process biomass and turn it into ethanol, while companies such as Diversa, Novozymes, and Dyadic are producing enzymes which could enable a cellulosic ethanol future. The shift from food crop feedstocks to waste residues and native grasses offers significant opportunities for a range of players, from farmers to biotechnology firms, and from project developers to investors.[1]

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[edit] Criticism

Critics such as Cornell University professor of ecology and agriculture David Pimentel and University of California at Berkeley engineer Tad Patzek question the liklihood of environmental, energy, or economic benefits from cellulosic ethanol technology. [1] [2] [3]

[edit] Cellulosic ethanol production

Main article: Cellulosic ethanol

Cellulosic ethanol is a new approach which can be produced from a diverse array of feedstocks. Instead of just taking the grain from wheat and grinding that down to get starch and gluten, then taking the starch, cellulosic ethanol production involves the use of the whole crop. This new approach will double yields and also have a smaller carbon footprint because the amount of energy-intensive fertilisers and fungicides will remain the same, for a higher output of usable material.[2][3] Many regions can be a producer of this fuel. Production of cellulosic ethanol is therefore viewed as a resource that can improve national energy security in countries without significant fossil fuel reserves, the environment and greenhouse gas mitigation, and rural economic development.[3]

A biorefinery built to produce 1.4 million gallons of ethanol a year from cellulosic biomass has opened in Jennings, LA. Built by Verenium, based in Cambridge, MA, the plant makes ethanol from agricultural waste left over from processing sugarcane. [4]

There are also other projects.[5]

[edit] Cellulosic ethanol production and commercialization by country

[edit] Canada

In Canada, Iogen Corp. is a leading developer of cellulosic ethanol process technology. Iogen has developed a proprietary process and operates a demonstration-scale plant in Ontario. The facility has been designed and engineered to process 40 tons of wheat straw per day into ethanol using enzymes made in an adjacent enzyme manufacturing facility. In 2004, Iogen began delivering its first shipments of cellulosic ethanol into the marketplace. In the near term, the company intends to commercialize its cellulose ethanol process by licensing its technology broadly through turnkey plant construction partnerships. The company is currently evaluating sites in the United States and Canada for its first commercial-scale plant.[6]

[edit] China

Cellulosic ethanol production currently exists at "pilot" and "commercial demonstration" scale, including a plant in China engineered by SunOpta Inc. and owned and operated by China Resources Alcohol Corporation that is currently producing cellulosic ethanol from corn stover (stalks and leaves) on a continuous, 24-hour per day basis.[7]

[edit] Spain

Abengoa continues to invest heavily in the necessary technology for bringing cellulosic ethanol to market. Utilizing process and pre-treatment technology from SunOpta Inc., Abengoa is building a 5 million gallon cellulosic ethanol facility in Spain and have recently entered into a strategic research and development agreement with Dyadic International, Inc. (AMEX: DIL), to create new and better enzyme mixtures which may be used to improve both the efficiencies and cost structure of producing cellulosic ethanol.[7]

[edit] United Kingdom

A $400 million investment programme to cover the construction of a world scale ethanol plant and a high technology demonstration plant to advance development work on the next generation of biofuels has been announced by BP, Associated British Foods (ABF) and DuPont. The bioethanol plant will be built on BP's existing chemicals site at Saltend, Hull. Due to be commissioned in late 2009, it will have an annual production capacity of some 420 million litres from wheat feedstock.[8]

[edit] United States

Main article: Cellulosic ethanol in the United States
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Please improve this article if you can. (June 2008)

President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address delivered January 31, 2006, proposed to expand the use of cellulosic ethanol. In his State of the Union Address on January 23, 2007, President Bush announced a proposed mandate for 35 billion gallons of ethanol by 2017. It is widely accepted that the maximum production of ethanol from corn starch is 15 billion gallons per year, implying a mandated production of some 20 billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol by 2017. Bush's plan includes $2 billion dollars funding for cellulosic ethanol plants, with an additional $1.6 billion announced by the United States Department of Agriculture on January 27, 2007.[7]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting the development of ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks as an alternative to conventional petroleum transportation fuels. Programs sponsored by DOE range from research to develop better cellulose hydrolysis enzymes and ethanol-fermenting organisms, to engineering studies of potential processes, to co-funding initial ethanol from cellulosic biomass demonstration and production facilities. This research is conducted by various national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), as well as by universities and private industry. Engineering and construction companies and operating companies are generally conducting the engineering work.[9]

In May 2008, Congress passed a new farm bill that will accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 provides for grants covering up to 30% of the cost of developing and building demonstration-scale biorefineries for producing "advanced biofuels," which essentially includes all fuels that are not produced from corn kernel starch. It also allows for loan guarantees of up to $250 million for building commercial-scale biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels.[10]

Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plants in the U.S.[11]
(Operational or under construction)
Company Location Feedstock Capacity
(million
gallons
per year)
Abengoa Bioenergy Hugoton, KS Wheat straw 30
Alico La Belle, FL Multiple sources N/A
BlueFire Ethanol Irvine, CA Multiple sources 17
Gulf Coast Energy Mossy Head, FL Wood waste 70
Mascoma Lansing, MI Wood 40
POET Biorefinery Emmetsburg, IA Corn cobs 25
Range Fuels Treutlen County, GA Wood waste 20
SunOpta Little Falls, MN Wood chips 10
Xethanol Auburndale, FL Citrus peels 8

[edit] Environmental issues

Cellulosic ethanol and grain-based ethanol are, in fact, the same product, but many scientists believe cellulosic ethanol production has distinct environmental advantages over grain-based ethanol production. On a life-cycle basis, ethanol produced from agricultural residues or dedicated cellulosic crops has significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and a higher sustainability rating than ethanol produced from grain.[12]

According to US Department of Energy studies conducted by the Argonne Laboratories of the University of Chicago, cellulosic ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 85% over reformulated gasoline. By contrast, starch ethanol (e.g., from corn), which usually uses natural gas to provide energy for the process, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 18% to 29% over gasoline.[13]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pernick, Ron and Wilder, Clint (2007). The Clean Tech Revolution p. 96.
  2. ^ Biofuels look to the next generation
  3. ^ a b Cellulosic Ethanol: Not Just Any Liquid Fuel
  4. ^ http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20828/?nlid=1099
  5. ^ Countdown to Commercialization
  6. ^ Countdown to Commercialization
  7. ^ a b c Cellulosic ethanol
  8. ^ $400m investment in UK biofuels unveiled
  9. ^ Feasibility Study for Co-Locating and Integrating Ethanol Production Plants from Corn Starch and Lignocellulosic Feedstocks: A Joint Study Sponsored by U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of EnergyJanuary 2005, p. 1.
  10. ^ [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h2419enr.txt.pdf Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008]
  11. ^ Building Cellulose
  12. ^ Countdown to Commercialization
  13. ^ Cellulosic ethanol

[edit] External links

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Cellulosic ethanol commercialization • Energy content of biofuel • EROEI • Food vs fuel • Sustainable biofuel