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[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
GAO Preliminary Observations on Links Between Water, Biofuels and Electricity; Calls for More Research
July 13, 2009
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week provided preliminary observations as testimony to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Science and Technology on the water-energy nexus related to biofuels and water and thermoelectric power plants and water.
The subcommittee had requested GAO undertake three studies related to (1) biofuels and water, (2) thermoelectric power plants and water, and (3) oil shale and water.
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JBEI Researchers Develop Dynamic Visualization Technique to Assess Performance of Ionic Liquid Pretreatments of Biomass
July 11, 2009
| Fluorescence images of a stem of switchgrass treated with EmimAc ionic liquid showing the section (a) before treatment (b) 20 minutes after treatment (c) 50 minutes after treatment and (d) two hours after treatment when the organized plant cell wall structure has been completely broken down. Source: JBEI. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a US Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a technique, based on the natural auto-fluorescence of plant cell walls, that enables researchers for the first time to visualize dynamically solubilization during an ionic liquid pretreatment of a biomass sample (pristine switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, in the study).
Cellulosic biomass must be pretreated prior to adding enzymes for saccharification of cellulose or hemicelluloses to release sugars for processing into fuel as yields are too low otherwise to be economically competitive. The use of ionic liquids—salts that are liquids rather than crystals at room temperature—to dissolve lignocellulose and later help hydrolyze the resulting liquor into sugars for processing into biofuels, shows promise as a pre-treatment method (e.g., earlier post).
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Rentech Takes 25% Stake in Biomass Gasification Company
June 24, 2009
Rentech, the developer of a Fischer-Tropsch process for the conversion of syngas derived from biomass and fossil resources into synthetic fuels, specialty waxes and chemicals, has acquired a 25% stake in ClearFuels Technology Inc. through a strategic investment.
ClearFuels, established in 1998, has exclusive rights to a proprietary High Efficiency Hydrothermal Reformer (HEHTR) and process for biomass to syngas conversion (BTG). The ClearFuels technology can convert multiple cellulosic biomass feedstocks such as sugarcane bagasse and virgin wood waste into clean synthesis gas (syngas) suitable for integration with synthetic gas-to-liquids technologies.
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Virent Receives Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for BioForming Process to Produce Biohydrocarbon Fuels
June 22, 2009
| Overview of Virent’s BioForming process. Click to enlarge. |
Virent Energy Systems is receiving one of five 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (Small Business Award) for its BioForming process—a water-based, catalytic method to make gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel from the sugar, starch, or cellulose of plants that requires little external energy other than the plant biomass. (Earlier post.)
Virent’s catalytic BioForming process combines proprietary aqueous-phase reforming (APR) technology with conventional catalytic processing technologies used in petroleum refining—such as catalytic hydrotreating and catalytic condensation processes, including ZSM-5 acid condensation, base catalyzed condensation, acid catalyzed dehydration, and alkylation—to generate the same range of hydrocarbon molecules now refined from petroleum.
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New One-Pot Catalytic Pathway to Convert Cellulose to Glucose and HMF, an Intermediate for Fuels and Chemicals
June 09, 2009
| Hydrolysis product yield from cellulose using single and paired CuCl2 /CrCl2 catalysts. Zhang et. al. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a catalytic pathway for the rapid conversion of cellulose to sugars and further to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)—a versatile intermediate for chemicals and fuels.
In 2007, the PNNL team had reported developing a catalytic system to efficiently convert glucose to HMF. (Earlier post.) However, for such a process to be commercially sustainable in large quantities, cellulosic biomass must be able to be used as the feedstock. The bottleneck has been the decrystallization of cellulose followed by hydrolytic cleavage. The new work addresses that issue.
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Study Finds Water Footprint for Bioenergy Larger Than Other Forms of Energy; Bioelectricity the Smallest, Biodiesel the Largest
June 06, 2009
| Total weighted global average water footprints (blue and green) for major ethanol and biodiesel crops in m3 water per GJ fuel. The yellow marker (also left axis) indicates the total weighted global average WF for bioelectricity from the same crops. The red marker (right axis) indicates liters of water required to produce one liter of fuel. Data: Gerbens-Leenes et al. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the University of Twente, Netherlands have calculated the water footprints (WFs) of bioenergy from 12 crops that currently contribute the most to global agricultural production: barley, cassava, maize, potato, rapeseed, rice, rye, sorghum, soybean, sugar beet, sugar cane, and wheat. In addition, their study includes jatropha, an energy crop.
In general they found that bioelectricity is more water-efficient than first-generation biofuels (due largely to the ability to use the entire biomass to produce energy, rather than just the starch or oil fraction of the yield for liquid fuel production). They also found that the WF of bioethanol on a m3 of water per GJ of fuel basis appears to be smaller than that of biodiesel. Their results appeared 2 June in an open access paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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New One-Pot Catalytic Process For Hydrogenation of Bio-Oil to Produce Alkanes
May 12, 2009
| Plot of phenol conversion, cyclohexanol selectivity, and cyclohexanone selectivity for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of phenol as a function of reaction time. Zhao et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
A team of German and Chinese scientists led by Johannes A. Lercher at the Technical University of Munich has developed a new catalytic process for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of components of bio-oil directly into alkanes and methanol. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the process is based on a “one-pot reaction” catalyzed by a precious metal on a carbon support combined with an inorganic acid.
Bio-oil (or pyrolysis oil) is produced by fast pyrolysis or liquefaction of biomass. Although a promising second-generation renewable energy carrier, its high oxygen content, instability and lower energy content make direct use as an advanced liquid fuel not feasible. Consequently, there are a number of research initiatives underway exploring pathways for the efficient upgrading of bio-oil to a fungible hydrocarbon fuel. The US Department of Energy is also funding research in stabilizing bio-oils to support such upgrading. (Earlier post.)
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Study Finds Bioelectricity Better Option Than Liquid Biofuels for Transportation Output and GHG Emissions
May 08, 2009
| Kilometers per crop hectare for switchgrass feedstock with a small SUV. Campbell et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
A new life cycle assessment comparing the performance of bioelectricity and ethanol from a variety of pathways with respect to transportation kilometers and GHG offsets achieved per unit area of biofuels cropland concludes that bioelectricity used to charge a battery electric vehicle outperforms ethanol for a combustion engine across a range of feedstocks, conversion technologies, and vehicle classes.
The study by University of California, Merced, Assistant Professor Elliott Campbell along with Christopher Field of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology and David Lobell of Stanford University, found that bioelectricity produces an average 81% more transportation kilometers and 108% more emissions offsets per unit area cropland than cellulosic ethanol. A paper on the work appeared in the 8 May issue of the journal Science.
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$26.4B DOE FY 2010 Budget Request Cuts Funding for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles; With Recovery Act Funding Boosts Support for PHEVs, Biomass and Biorefineries
May 07, 2009
| The budget picture for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. FY 2010 Budget requests are in green, the FY 2009 additional appropriation (Recovery Act funding) is in red. Electrification of transportation is receiving a major infusion of investment. Click to enlarge. |
President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 $26.4 billion budget request to Congress for the Department of Energy increases investments in a number of areas, including investments in basic science and plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles and biofuels. It also scales back in areas such as oil and gas company research and moves away from funding vehicular hydrogen fuel cells to technologies “with more immediate promise,” according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
The budget request represents a 21.8% decrease against the FY 2009 Appropriation of $33.7 billion for DOE. However, the FY 2010 budget complements the $38.7 billion the Department of Energy will invest as part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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President Obama Establishes Biofuels Interagency Working Group; Push on Biofuel Development/Commercialization and Flex-Fuel Vehicle Use
May 05, 2009
US President Barack Obama has established a Biofuels Interagency Working Group, to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to further the research, development and commercialization of biofuels.
The announcement came in conjunction with the EPA’s release of its notice of proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuel Standard (earlier post), and the Department of Energy’s announcement of $787.5 million in funding to be awarded to advanced biofuels research and commercialization projects (earlier post).
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DOE to Provide $786.5M from Recovery Act to Accelerate Biofuels Research and Commercialization
The US Department of Energy plans to provide $786.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate advanced biofuels research and development and to provide additional funding for commercial-scale biorefinery demonstration projects. The funding is a mix of new funding opportunities and additional funding for existing projects. It will be allocated across four main areas: integrated pilot- and demonstration-scale biorefineries; commercial-scale biorefinery projects; fundamental research; and ethanol research.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Biomass Program will leverage DOE’s national laboratories, universities, and the private sector to help improve biofuels reliability and overcome key technical challenges, with the goal of creating third-generation biofuels such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels.
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EPA Proposes New Regulations for Renewable Fuel Standard to Implement Requirements of EISA; GHG Reduction and Indirect Land Use Change Effects Included
| Example of results from EPA lifecycle analyses in the NPRM. Emissions for select fuel pathways for the two time horizon/discount rate approaches. (See below.) Click to enlarge. |
The US Environmental Protection Agency released its expected Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) detailing the implementation of changes to the existing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS1) as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The proposed rulemaking for RFS2 establishes new specific volume standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that must be used in transportation fuel each year. (Earlier post.)
The revised statutory requirements for RFS2 also include new definitions and criteria for both renewable fuels and the feedstocks used to produce them, including new greenhouse gas emission (GHG) thresholds for renewable fuels and the incorporation of indirect land use change effects.
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Researchers Propose Solar-Driven Biomass Gasification Pathway for Synthetic Fuel Production
May 01, 2009
| Schema of synfuel synthesis through solar-driven biomass gasification. Solar energy produces both heat for gasification and H2 via electrolysis. From Hertwich et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) are proposing a new process for producing synfuel from biomass using concentrating solar energy as its main energy source.
High temperature heat for biomass gasification is obtained from a molten-salt system in a solar concentrating tower. Hydrogen for reverse water gas shift reaction to avoid producing CO2 during the process is produced by electrolyzing water, driven by solar power.
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Researchers Discover Potential Weaknesses in Structure of Lignocellulose; Insight Could Lead to Cost-Effective Strategies for Biomass Conversion
April 23, 2009
| Click to enlarge. Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory. |
In separate papers published in Biophysical Journal and recently in an issue of the journal Biomacromolecules, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers identify potential weaknesses among sheets of cellulose molecules comprising lignocellulosic biomass, the inedible fibrous material derived from plant cell walls. The insight ultimately could lead to a cost-effective and energy-efficient strategy for turning biomass into alternative fuels.
Cellulose is biosynthesized in plant cells by the polymerization of glucose into long chains (green, dark blue in diagram at right). As the chains are produced, they are assembled into sheets (light blue) that stack on top of each other through van der Waals forces to form nanometer-thick crystalline microfibrils (blue rods) in the cell wall (gold). The microfibrils are encrusted in other polysaccharides and lignin. Cellulose stability is maintained by networks of hydrogen bonds (yellow dashes) within the sheets.
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Researchers Engineer Yeast to Produce Methyl Halides from Biomass; Precursors for Biohydrocarbon Fuels
April 22, 2009
| CH3I production from cellulosic feedstocks using a microbial co-culture. A. fermentans ferments cellulosic feedstocks to acetate and ethanol, which the modified S. cerevisiae uses to produce methyl halides. Adapted from Bayer et al. (2009). Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have engineered the industrial yeast S. cerevisiae to convert biomass to methyl halides with good yield. As end products, methyl halides (CH3X, X = Cl, Br or I) are used in a variety of applications. They can also be used as intermediates for the chemical synthesis of more complex carbon compounds such as fuel hydrocarbons.
Zeolite catalysts (e.g., ZSM-5 and SAPO-34) have been used to convert methyl halides to products including gasoline, olefins, aromatics, alcohols and ethers. A method to convert biomass to methyl halides thus enables the transformation of biomass into drop-in chemicals and liquid fuels—e.g., bio-gasoline—in a two-step process. A paper on the work was published online 20 April in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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Group of Scientists and Economists Urge Inclusion of Indirect Land Use Change Effects for Biofuels and All Transportation Fuels in California LCFS
April 21, 2009
More than 170 scientists and economists have sent a letter to California Air Resources Board (ARB) Chairman Mary Nichols urging the board to account for greenhouse gas emissions from indirect land use change for biofuels and all other transportation fuels under the state’s proposed low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). The signatories include nine members of the National Academies of Science and two Nobel laureates.
During its meeting on 23-24 April, the Board will consider the adoption of the LCFS, which requires a 10% reduction in the carbon intensity (measured in gCO2e/MJ) of transportation fuels in California by 2020.
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Diesel Brewing to Manufacture Cellulosic Biobutanol from Biomass and Manure With Thermochemical Process
Oregon-based Diesel Brewing has launched an initiative to manufacture cellulosic biobutanol from biomass and dairy farm manure. Biobutanol can be blended into conventional gasoline or diesel stocks without engine modifications. Compared to ethanol, it has higher energy content, is substantially less corrosive, and can be transported utilizing existing fuel pipelines and containers.
Butanol is certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an additive agent in gasoline up to 11%. Tests conducted at Argonne National Laboratory have shown that 20% butanol-diesel blends can be successfully used in engines calibrated for 100% diesel fuel. Results showed that butanol mixed with diesel can reduce emissions of criteria pollutants.
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Ceres and University of Georgia Researchers Focus on High-Yielding Switchgrass for Southeast US
April 13, 2009
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc., will work with University of Georgia researchers to develop new high-yielding switchgrass seed varieties and improved crop management techniques for the southeastern United States. Switchgrass, which can reach yields of 6 to 10 dry tons or more in the Southeast, is being widely considered as a raw material for next-generation biofuels and biopower.
The multi-year project will bring together plant breeders, agronomists and support scientists at Ceres and the University of Georgia to develop improved seed varieties.
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Analysis of Superfamily of Plant Genes Yielding Insights to Assist in Optimizing Plants for Biofuel Production
April 12, 2009
By studying a superfamily of genes in Populus and Arabidopsis, scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory are gaining insights that may assist in engineering plants to be more tractable for biofuel production. The study, published online 3 April in the journal Plant Molecular Biology, also lays a foundation for understanding these genes’ evolutionary and structural properties and for a broader exploration of their roles in plant life.
The team, led by Dr. Chang-Jun Liu, is studying the large specific protein superfamily BAHD, which comprises plant acyl-CoA dependent acyltransferases. Acyl groups attached to cell-wall fibers can act as barriers to hinder the conversion of plant biofibers to sugar. Acyl groups can also form cross-linked networks that make cell walls extra strong.
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SCOPE Biofuels Project Releases Assessment on Environmental Effects of Biofuel Technologies
April 03, 2009
The SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) International Biofuels Project, has published the full proceedings of its Rapid Assessment workshop on the environmental effects of biofuel technologies, 22-25 September 2008. SCOPE is part of the International Council for Science.
While noting that most recent studies based on lifecycle analysis show that even first generation biofuels can result in “a substantial reduction” in net greenhouse gas emissions (80% to greater than 100% for sugarcane ethanol, 30% to 50% for corn ethanol), papers in the study express concerns over what they contend are potentially undercalculated N2O greenhouse gas effects; the exacerbation of hypoxia from run-off; the need for inclusion of indirect land use effects in greenhouse gas assessments; water use and quality; and other environmental and social effects.
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Caltech Researchers Create Group of Synthetic, Thermostable Enzymes for Cellulosic Biofuel Production
March 24, 2009
| Portions of three natural fungal cellulase enzymes that have been recombined to produce a synthetic, thermostable cellulase are denoted by blue, green and red coloring. The recombined cellulase enzyme modeled here functions at higher temperatures than any of the three parents. Source: Caltech. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) led by Frances H. Arnold, the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry at Caltech, and gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have developed a new group of 15 highly stable fungal enzyme catalysts that efficiently break down cellulose into sugars at high temperatures for conversion into a variety of renewable fuels and chemicals.
Previously, fewer than 10 such fungal cellobiohydrolase II (CBH II) enzymes were known. In addition to their remarkable stabilities, Arnold’s enzymes degrade cellulose over a wide range of conditions. A paper on the work was published 23 March in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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DOE to Award Up to $15M for High-Tonnage Supply Systems for Biomass Feedstocks for Cellulosic Biofuels
March 19, 2009
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $15 million to stimulate the design and demonstration of a comprehensive system to handle the harvesting, collection, preprocessing, transport and storage of sufficient volumes of high-impact feedstocks required to achieve the rapid expansion of the commercial domestic cellulosic biofuels industry.
For the purposes of awards under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0000060), high-impact feedstocks must have the ultimate sustainable potential of providing at least 100 million dry metric tonnes per year.
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Iowa State Researchers Developing New Thermochemical System for Ethanol Production from Biomass
March 10, 2009
Researchers at Iowa State University are developing a new thermochemical system for the coproduction of ethanol and thermal energy, based on a new low-emissions burner and a new catalyst for ethanol production. Both technologies will use the synthesis gas—a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen—produced by the gasification of discarded seed corn, switchgrass, wood chips and other biomass.
The burner will be designed to efficiently and cleanly burn biomass-derived syngas; the catalyst will be designed to convert the syngas directly into ethanol. The project is supported by a two-year, $2.37 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund, a state program to advance energy innovation and independence. The grant award carries a $922,112 committed match.
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Researchers Develop Two-Step Chemical Process to Take Untreated Biomass to Furans for Fuels and Chemicals
February 12, 2009
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| Yields of bio-based chemicals from a variety of feedstocks, including untreated corn stover. Conditions are optimized for the conversion of carbohydrates into HMF (1 step) and DMF (2 steps). Credit: ACS. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a two-step, low-temperature, non-enzymic pathway from lignocellulosic biomass to furans, specifically 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), a promising alternative biofuel. DMF has an energy content (31.5 MJ/L) similar to that of gasoline (35 MJ/L) and 40% greater than that of ethanol (23 MJ/L). With a boiling point of 92-94 °C, DMF is also less volatile than ethanol (bp 78 °C) and is immiscible with water.
The key to the new process is the first step, in which a novel solvent system converts cellulose into the renewable platform chemical 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), from which a variety of valuable commodity chemicals and fuels can be made. A paper describing the process was published in the 11 Feb issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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Sandia Labs/GM Biofuels Systems Study Concludes Large-Scale Production of Advanced Biofuels is Achievable and Sustainable
February 10, 2009
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| Among the study’s findings is that the capex required for developing 60 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol is equivalent to or less than that required for new long-term petroleum production. Source: Sandia. Click to enlarge. |
A joint biofuels systems analysis project conducted over nine months last year by Sandia National Laboratories and GM’s R&D Center concluded that the large-scale production of advanced biofuels produced from plant and forestry waste and dedicated energy crops in volumes well beyond the level required by the Renewable Fuel Standard is achievable and sustainable by 2030.
The study, said Robert Carling, Director, Transportation Energy Center at Sandia, represents the first true value-chain approach to assessing the feasibility, implications, limitations, and enablers of large-scale production of biofuels in the United States.
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NETL Report Concludes CTL Plus Carbon Capture Results in Fuel with 5-12% Less Lifecycle GHG Than Petroleum Diesel; Modest Biomass Additions Lower GHG Further
February 07, 2009
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| Lifecycle GHG emissions of CTL/CBTL/BTL compared to 2005 petroleum diesel baseline. Background colors of the cells represent the crude oil price required for economic feasibility. Tarka et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
A new report from the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) concludes that coupling a Coal to Liquids (CTL) process with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) yields a fuel with 5-12% less lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to the average emissions profile of petroleum-derived diesel, based on the US national average in 2005. These synthetic fuels are economically competitive with petro-diesel when the crude oil price (COP) is at or above $86 per barrel (based on a 20% rate of return, in January 2008 dollars, with a carbon price of zero).
Adding biomass to the coal in the CTL process (Coal and Biomass to Liquids, CBTL) can reduce the GHG emissions further, according to the study. A mixture of 8% (by weight) biomass and 92% coal can produce fuels which have 20% lower life cycle GHG emissions than petroleum-derived diesel and which are economically competitive when crude prices are equal to or above $93/bbl.
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Biosyncrude Gasification Process Could Produce Motor Fuel at Cost of Around $3/gallon
January 31, 2009
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| Overview of the Bioliq process. Source: Henrich et al. Click to enlarge. |
The Bioliq biosyncrude gasification process (earlier post) used in a large plant with a capacity of > 1 Mt/a can produce biosynfuel for about €1.04 per kg or €0.8 per liter (US$3.08/gallon US), according to an analysis by researchers at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany, which is co-developing the process with Lurgi.
With ±30% estimate error, this is between €0.56 and €1.04 per liter (US$2.72-5.03/gallon US), they note in a paper published in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. A crude oil price of US$100/bbl results in an approximate cost of €0.56/L (US$2.72/gallon US) without tax for conventional motor fuel.
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USDA, DOE to Provide Up To $25M for Biomass Research and Development
January 30, 2009
The US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) will provide up to $25 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value bio-based products, subject to annual appropriations.
USDA and DOE are issuing a joint funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for several types of projects aimed at increasing the availability of alternative renewable fuels and bio-based products. The projects will aim to create a diverse group of economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass. Advanced biofuels produced from these types of sources are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50%.
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Scientists Publish Complete Genetic Blueprint of Sorghum
January 29, 2009
Scientists at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and several partner institutions have published the sequence and analysis of the complete genome of sorghum, a major food and fodder plant with high potential as a bioenergy crop. The genome data will aid scientists in optimizing sorghum and other crops not only for food and fodder use, but also for biofuels production. The comparative analysis of the sorghum genome appears in the 29 January edition of the journal Nature.
Prized for its drought resistance and high productivity, sorghum is currently the second most prevalent biofuels crop in the United States, behind corn. Grain sorghum produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn while utilizing one-third less water.
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UK Launches £27M Bioenergy Research Center
January 28, 2009
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| The Gribble, a marine wood borer with efficient gut enzymes for breaking down woody material, is the focus of one of the research hubs in the new Bioenergy Center. Source: BBSRC. Click to enlarge. |
The UK&rsauo;s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has launched the £27-million (US$38.5 million) BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre, marking the biggest yet single UK public investment in bioenergy research.
The BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre is focussed on six research hubs of academic and industrial partners, based at each of the Universities of Cambridge, Dundee and York and Rothamsted Research and two at the University of Nottingham. Another 7 universities and institutes are involved and 15 industrial partners across the hubs are contributing around £7 million of the funding.
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Researchers Identify Endophytic Bacteria That Increase Poplar Tree Growth; Implications for Increasing Biomass for the Production of Biofuel
January 26, 2009
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| Sample effects of two different endophytes (Enterobacter sp. 638, left; P. putida W619, right) on the rooting and shoot formation of poplar DN-34 after 10 weeks. Taghavi et al. (2009) supplemental material. Click to enlarge. |
Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and their Belgium colleagues at Hasselt University have identified a number of endophytic (living within a plant) microbes that can improve poplar tree growth on marginal land. Two strains in particular showed an increase in biomass production of up to 50%.
The findings, published in the 1 February issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel feedstock production that does not use food crops or agricultural land.
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USDA to Advance Development of Advanced Biofuels and Other Renewables; Provide Support for Struggling Corn-Ethanol Industry
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will advance R&D and pursue opportunities to support the development of advanced biofuels, wind power, and other renewable energy sources, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack was discussing his priorities as Secretary of Agriculture during a teleconference call with the media.
Vilsack said that the USDA needs to make sure that the existing biofuels industry has the necessary support to survive the current challenging market. For example, the USDA will research, develop and promote best practices to improve the efficiency of corn ethanol plants, Vilsack said. USDA also will promote policies to accelerate the development of next-generation biofuels.
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Avantium and Royal Cosun to Develop Process for Production of Furanics Biofuels and Bioplastics from Ag Waste
January 21, 2009
Avantium, a high-throughput R&D company with core expertise in catalysis and crystallization, and Royal Cosun, an international group that develops, produces and sells natural foodstuffs and ingredients, are collaborating to develop a specific process for the production of a new generation of bioplastics and biofuels from selected organic waste streams.
Avantium is developing these bioplastics and biofuels under the name Furanics. Furanics are heteroaromatic compounds derived from the chemical intermediate HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural, C6H6O3). (Earlier post.)
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Monsanto Moves Closer to Launch of First Drought-Tolerant Corn Product
January 07, 2009
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| Five years of field trials have shown yield improvements delivered by the drought-tolerant corn. Source: Monsanto. Click to enlarge. |
Monsanto Company’s first-generation drought-tolerant corn product has moved to the fourth and final phase of development before an anticipated market launch early in the next decade, according to Monsanto’s annual update of its Research and Development (R&D) pipeline. Monsanto has submitted the product to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for regulatory clearance.
Drought-tolerant corn is designed to provide farmers yield stability during periods when water supply is scarce by mitigating the effects of drought—or water stress—within a corn plant.
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US DOE Announces Funding Of Up To $200M for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Advanced Biorefinery Projects
December 22, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $200 million over six years (FY 2009 – FY 2014), subject to annual appropriations, to support the development of pilot and demonstration-scale biorefineries including the use of feedstocks such as algae and production of advanced biofuels such as bio-butanol, green gasoline and other innovative biofuels.
The FOA has two topic areas for biorefinery development: pilot-scale, minimum throughput of one dry tonne of feedstock per day with a minimum non-federal cost-share at 30%; and demonstration-scale minimum throughput of 50 dry tonnes of feedstock per day, with a minimum non-federal cost-share at 50%.
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Optimizing Algae for Biofuels Production by Genetically Truncating Their Chlorophyll Arrays
December 18, 2008
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| Photosynthetic O2-production with C. reinhardtii wild type and tla1 mutant as a function of Chl concentration. Note the greater rates of O2-production in the tla1 than in the wild type under conditions of high cell density (high Chl concentration). Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are developing an approach to improving the solar-to-biofuels energy conversion efficiency of algae in mass culture by genetically truncating the size of the light-harvesting chlorophyll arrays that serve to absorb sunlight in the photosynthetic apparatus. A paper on their work appears in a special energy issue of the open-access journal Optics Express.
Researchers have calculated, based on a quantum yield of 0.103 O2 per photon absorbed, that the productivity of microalgae under bright sunlight could be up to 75 g dry weight m-2 d-1. However, small-scale cultures of microalgae grown under full sunlight show maximal photosynthetic productivity of about 20-30 g dw m-2 d-1. The reason for this discrepancy, the Berkeley team of Mautusi Mitra and Anastasios Melis notes, is that green algae assemble large arrays of light absorbing chlorophyll (Chl) antenna molecules in their photosystems.
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JAL Biofuel Demo Flight First to Use Energy Crop Camelina
December 17, 2008
Japan Airlines (JAL) will be the first airline to conduct a demonstration flight using a sustainable biofuel refined from the energy crop camelina. The demo flight, which will test a blend of 50% biofuel and 50% traditional Jet-A jet (kerosene) fuel in one of the four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines of a JAL-owned Boeing 747-300 aircraft, is planned for 30 January 2009 out of Haneda Airport, Tokyo.
The biofuel component—a synthetic paraffinic kerosene produced by UOP (earlier post)—will be produced from a mixture of three second-generation biofuel feedstocks: camelina (84%), jatropha (less than 16%), and algae (less than 1%).
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Study Concludes Afforestation of Degraded Areas Could Provide Sufficient Biomass for Global Energy Supply; BTL for Transportation Fuels
December 16, 2008
A pair of German researchers has concluded that the global energy demand projected by the International Energy Agency in the Reference Scenario for the year 2030 could theoretically be provided sustainably and economically primarily from lignocellulosic biomass grown on areas which have been degraded by human activities in historical times.
According to Prof. Jürgen O. Metzger from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, and Prof. Aloys Hüttermann from the Universität Göttingen, a global energy supply based on biomass grown to generate electricity and produce fuel is both a sustainable and economical scenario, contrary to some other current research. Their findings are published online this week in the journal Naturwissenschaften.
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NREL and Petrobras to Collaborate on Advanced Biofuels Research
November 21, 2008
The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) have signed an agreement that could accelerate the development and international commercialization of advanced, second-generation biofuels. The announcement was made at the International Biofuels Conference in São Paulo, Brazil.
Petrobras and NREL have common interests in the development of next-generation biofuels technologies through biochemical and thermochemical routes from biomass. NREL conducts R&D related to techno-economic, environmental and sustainability evaluation of advanced biofuels in support of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and other partners.
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Oklahoma EPSCoR Receives $20.5M for Cellulosic Biofuels Research
November 17, 2008
The Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) has received $15 million in new funding over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) for cellulosic biofuels research. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will provide an annual $1.1 million match, for a total of 20.5 million.
The NSF award is to support a multi-institutional collaborative project that includes researchers from Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
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DOE Awards $1.75M for Hydrogen and Ethanol from Cellulosic Biomass Project
November 13, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded University of Rochester Professor David Wu a $1.75 million grant to investigate a way to turn waste biomass, such as grass clippings, cornstalks, and wood chips, into usable hydrogen or ethanol.
Wu has been studying Clostridium thermocellum—an anaerobic, thermophilic, cellulolytic, and ethanologenic bacterium. (Earlier post.) Coupled with its preference to grow at high temperature, the microorganism promises distinct advantages as a candidate for developing industrial hydrogen and ethanol production processes from cellulosic biomass.
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Jatropha-Derived Aviation Fuel in Testing at Rolls-Royce; Air NZ Test Flight Targeted for December
November 04, 2008
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| Properties of UOP’s jatropha-based JP-8 military jet fuel as presented earlier this year at AIChE. Click to enlarge. |
The jatropha-derived “green jet” fuel to power one of four engines on a test flight in an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 has arrived at the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby, UK, for testing prior to the flight.
Preliminary data shows the fuel meets all required specifications for use in commercial aviation and a technical team led by Rolls-Royce is now putting the fuel through further validation testing, according to Air New Zealand.
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Terrabon to Open New Demonstration Facility Next Week for Biomass to Renewable Gasoline Technology
October 31, 2008
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| Terrabon’s pathway to renewable hydrocarbon fuel produces ketones, which are then processed using conventional refinery technology. Click to enlarge. |
Terrabon LLC, the developer of a carboxylic acid fermentation platform licensed from Texas A&M University for the conversion of biomass to fuel intermediates that can then be upgraded into industrial chemicals and renewable gasoline, will open its new Advanced Biofuels Research Facility in Bryan, Texas next week.
The facility, which will test the scaled-up commercial feasibility of the Texas A&M MixAlco technology (earlier post), will have a loading capacity of 400 dry tons of biomass, equal to a loading rate of five dry tons per day. The Company will use sorghum as the primary feedstock with the objective of producing organic salts and converting them to ketones, which can be converted to renewable gasoline.
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UOP Receives $1.5M for Pyrolysis Oil Project from DOE
October 29, 2008
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| Stabilized pyrolysis oil serves as a biocrude more easily transported than biomass for further refining to end products. Click to enlarge. |
UOP LLC has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop economically viable technology to stabilize pyrolysis oil from second generation biomass feedstocks for use as a renewable fuel source. The UOP award is one of five made by the DOE in this area. (Earlier post.)
UOP is also investigating a pyrolysis pathway as a component for its work on renewable JP-8 aviation fuel, an element of which is funded by DARPA. (Earlier post.) Although there is no direct linkage from the new DOE funding to the DARPA project, the results of the new effort will provide knowledge that can be used to support the JP-8 and other renewable projects across UOP, according to a company spokesperson.
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Algae Biofuels Offer Enormous Promise, Face Tough Production and Cost Challenges to Scale
October 24, 2008
The 2008 Algae Biomass Summit (23-24 October), organized by the Algal Biomass Organization, drew more than 600 algae producers, scientists, engineers, investors and policy-makers from more than a dozen countries to Seattle to pitch, listen and network on emerging algae-based solutions to global energy, environmental, and economic issues.
Amid the tremendous enthusiasm was a recognition that the field, while extremely promising, also faces difficult technical and economic challenges if it is to scale to be a significant component of a global energy solution. Algae have the potential to help keep humanity from going over the cliff, said Dr. Mario Tredici, Professor of Microbiology, University of Florence, Italy, in his opening talk at the conference, “but there is a necessity to identify the limitations of the technology and establish its true potential.”
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UK Carbon Trust Launches Algae Biofuels Challenge; Commercialization Targeted for 2020
October 23, 2008
The UK Carbon Trust has launched the Algae Biofuels Challenge with the mission of commercializing the use of algae biofuel as an alternative to fossil-based oil by 2020. The Algae Biofuels Challenge is a multi-million pound UK R&D initiative that could see the Carbon Trust commit £3-6 million (US$4.8-9.7 million) of funding in the first phase of the challenge, depending upon the number and quality of applications received. The UK Department for Transport also recently announced it will be contributing to the funding of this initiative.
For the Challenge, The Carbon Trust is now seeking to recruit expertise from algae specialists in the UK to develop ‘green oil’. The challenge is to produce this second generation algae-based biofuel cost effectively at scale. If successful, algae could deliver 6 to 10 times more energy per hectare than conventional cropland biofuels, while reducing carbon emissions by up to 80% relative to fossil fuels, the Trust said.
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Study Finds That No-Till Can Increase N2O Emissions in Certain Soils, Offsetting CO2 Sink
October 22, 2008
Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Québec City) investigating the short-term impacts of a no-tillage practice in a heavy clay soil found that within the first five years of the practice, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions could offset the soil carbon dioxide sink. N2O is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential (GWP) of 280 on a 20-year time horizon, compared to the baseline CO2 GWP of 1. The N2O GWP increases to 310 on a 100-year time horizon, according to data from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
The practice of no-till has increased considerably during the past 20 years. The absence of tillage coupled with the accumulation of crop residues at the soil surface modifies several soil properties but also influences nitrogen dynamics. Soils under no-till usually host a more abundant and diverse biota and are less prone to erosion, water loss, and structural breakdown than tilled soils. Their organic matter content is also often increased. In addition, no-till is proposed as a measure to mitigate the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
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Wisconsin Awards $7.3 Million in Biofuels, Clean Energy Funding
October 21, 2008
The state of Wisconsin recently awarded $7.3 million in grants and loans from the Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund (WEIF) for research and development and commercialization or adoption of new energy technologies, including biofuel and renewable hydrocarbon production.
The Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund is part of Clean Energy Wisconsin, Governor Jim Doyle’s strategy for promoting renewable energy, creating new jobs, increasing energy security and efficiency, and improving the environment. The Governor’s plans include generating 25% of electricity and 25% of transportation fuels from renewable sources by the year 2025; and capturing 10% of the market share for renewable energy and bioproducts. Funded fuels and transportation projects include:
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Brazil’s Votorantim Takes Stake in Amyris; Support for Commercializing Diesel From Sugarcane by 2010
October 15, 2008
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| Amyris is engineering yeast to produce renewable hydrocarbon fuels. Click to enlarge. |
Brazil’s Votorantim Novos Negócios (New Business) has made a strategic equity investment in Amyris, a synthetic biology company focusing on renewable hydrocarbon fuels (earlier post). This investment supports the Amyris’ objective of commercializing renewable diesel fuel produced via fermentation of sugar from sugarcane by 2010, and brings to more than $100 million the total capital raised by Amyris during the past year.
Earlier this year, Amyris and Crystalsev, one of Brazil’s largest ethanol distributors and marketers, established a joint venture to commercialize advanced renewable fuels—including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel—made from sugarcane.
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GM Developing Global Advanced Biofuels Program
October 13, 2008
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| A portion of the current biofuels component of GM’s roadmap to improved energy diversity and reduced emissions. Click to enlarge. |
GM has been steadily building a global advanced biofuels program as one element of its efforts to reduce the use of petroleum and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
The company’s approach goes beyond simply trying to generate support for flex-fuel vehicles (“Live Green, Go Yellow”, earlier post) and fostering an E85 refueling infrastructure in the US. The more aggressive focus on advanced biofuels has resulted in its investment in two emergent lignocellulosic ethanol companies—Coskata (earlier post) and Mascoma (earlier post)—as well as the establishment of a collaborative bioenergy research center based at Tsinghua University in China as part of its larger Global Energy System Center work.
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USDA & DOE Release National Biofuels Action Plan; UN FAO Report Calls For Review of Biofuels Policies
October 07, 2008
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| NBAP top-level advanced biofuels commercialization timeline. Click to enlarge. |
The US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP), an interagency plan detailing the collaborative efforts of Federal agencies to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry.
Separately, in a new edition of its annual publication The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2008, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for an urgent review of biofuel policies and subsidies to preserve the goal of world food security, protect poor farmers, promote broad-based rural development and ensure environmental sustainability.
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New Process Combines Ionic Liquids and Solid Catalysts for Mild Pre-Treatment of Biomass
September 30, 2008
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| Main product and byproducts from the acid catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose. Click to enlarge. Credit: Angewandte Chemie. |
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (MPI für Kohlenforschung) at Mülheim, Germany, have combined ionic liquids and solid catalysts in a new mild pre-treatment process for cellulosic biomass.
With this process, cellulose undergoes selective depolymerization, yielding cellulose oligomers (cellooligomers) and subsequently sugars without any substantial formation of side products. Even wood, a lignocellulosic material, is hydrolyzed using this methodology.
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Lignol and Weyerhaeuser to Collaborate on Commercial Development of Cellulose-based Products and Biochemicals
Lignol Energy Corporation, a cellulosic ethanol and biochemical company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Weyerhaeuser Company to explore the development of commercial applications of biochemical outputs from Lignol’s proprietary biorefining technology.
The parties have also agreed to evaluate the development of a commercial-scale Lignol biorefinery plant at or near a Weyerhaeuser mill site. The MOU excludes applications for transportation fuel. The initial scope of the MOU involves the testing of certain biomass feedstocks within Lignol’s facilities, including the company’s integrated industrial-scale biorefinery pilot plant located in Burnaby, British Columbia.
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New Metal Carbide Catalyst for Cost-Effective Direct Conversion of Cellulose into Chemical Intermediate
September 22, 2008
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| Catalytic conversion of cellulose into polyols. Click to enlarge. Credit: Angewandte Chemie |
Researchers in the USA and China have developed a new inexpensive catalyst for the direct conversion of cellulose into ethylene glycol. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the catalyst is made of tungsten carbide and nickel on a carbon support.
The new process results in up to 29% yield over a tungsten carbide catalyst, and in up to 61% yield when the catalyst is promoted with a small amount of nickel. An attractive feature of this reaction is the low yields of other polyols with respect to ethylene glycol.
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Two Independent Research Efforts Develop Similar Processes for Conversion of Sugars into Bio-Hydrocarbon Fuels
September 19, 2008
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| Schematic representation of reactor sequence used in Dumesic process providing a platform for the production of liquid transportation fuels. The proposed chemistries involved in the conversion of sugars and polyols over Pt-Re catalysts are shown schematically in the lower portion of the figure. The asterisks represent catalytic sites. Click to enlarge. Credit: AAAS |
Following independent paths of investigation, two research teams have developed similar processes to convert sugar—potentially derived from agricultural waste and non-food plants—into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and a range of other valuable chemicals.
Chemical engineer Randy Cortright and his colleagues at Virent Energy Systems of Madison, Wisc., developed their BioForming process in early 2006. Virent this week announced the publication of a several patent applications and a white paper disclosing the technical details of its technology to produce renewable transportation fuels. That announcement was followed by the publication of a separate discovery by chemical engineer James Dumesic and his team at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dumesic (who was a co-founder of Virent with Cortright in 2002) and his UW Madison colleagues announced their findings in the 18 September 2008 online ScienceExpress, to be followed in print in the 18 October 2008 issue of Science.
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Researchers Explore New Class of Second-Generation Biofuels for Diesel Engines: Cyclic Oxygenates
September 12, 2008
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| Smoke opacity versus cetane number plotted for various 9 wt% fuel oxygen blends at three different EGR levels. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS |
Dutch researchers led by a team from Eindhoven University of Technology suggest that low-cetane C6 cyclic oxygenates—which could be derived from biomass—could perform well as cellulosic diesel blending fuels. A paper on their work was published online 10 September in the journal Energy & Fuels.
The heavy-duty diesel industry is facing a challenge in maintaining fuel economy while meeting more stringent emissions legislation (such as EPA 2010 and Euro 6), the team noted.
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Euro Parliament Maintains Target of 10% Renewables in Road Transport Fuel by 2020; 40% of That From Non-Food Biofuels, Electricity or H2
September 11, 2008
The European Parliament’s Industry Committee has approved a co-decision report that maintains a 10% renewables component in transportation fuels by 2020, but specifies that at least 40% of this overall share must be met by non-food second-generation biofuels, electricity or hydrogen.
The decision came in the context of growing pressure to reduce the biofuels obligation given concerns of rising food prices and sustainability.
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US DOE to Invest Up to $4.4M in Six Advanced Biomass-to-Biofuels Projects at US Universities
September 10, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected six advanced biofuels projects in which DOE plans to invest up to $4.4 million, subject to annual appropriations. These awards to US institutions of higher education will support research and development (R&D) into biomass conversion technologies for turning non-food feedstocks into advanced biofuels. Combined with the minimum university cost share of 20%, more than $5.7 million is slated for investment in these six projects.
Additional biofuels R&D projects recently announced include: industrial enzymes improvements; pilot-scale 10% biorefineries to test novel refining processes; biomass gasification improvements; “ethanologen” development; four commercial-scale biorefineries; and three new DOE Bioenergy Research Centers established by the DOE Office of Science.
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BioDME Projects Begins, Chemrec to Build BioDME Plant
September 09, 2008
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| Principal units of Chemrec’s oxygen-blown, pressurized black liquor gasification development plant 1 (DP1) in Piteå, Sweden. Click to enlarge. |
The European project BioDME has begun, with the first project meeting held today at Chemrec’s plant in Piteå, Sweden. The goal of BioDME is to demonstrate production of environmentally optimized synthetic biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass at industrial scale. The final output of this demonstration is dimethyl ether (DME) produced from black liquor via gasification and a final fuel synthesis step.
Project partners include Chemrec; Delphi Diesel Systems; Energy Technology Centre (ETC); Haldor Topsøe; PREEM Petroleum; Total; and the Volvo Group, which is the coordinator for the project.
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Arizona State Spins Out Technology for Algal Bio-Kerosene for Jet Fuel
September 03, 2008
Arizona State University (ASU) has entered into a research and commercialization collaboration with Heliae Development, LLC and Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) to develop, produce and sell bio-kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from algae.
This biofuel project will focus on the commercial production of kerosene from algae using patented technologies developed by Professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld at ASU’s Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology. The research efforts of Hu and Sommerfeld in algal-based biofuels and biomaterials have already moved from the laboratory to field pilot-scale demonstration and production.
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ADM, Deere, Monsanto to Collaborate on Corn Stover Research
August 26, 2008
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| Current availability of biomass from croplands, under current crop yields, tillage practices and average 40% recovery potential. About one-fifth of this 194 million dry/tons per year is currently used. Click to enlarge. Source: DOE, USDA (2005) |
Archer Daniels Midland Company, Deere &Company and Monsanto Company will collaborate on research to explore technologies and processes to turn crop residues into feed and bioenergy products.
The companies will work together to identify environmentally and economically sustainable methods for the harvest, storage and transport of corn stover—the stalks, leaves and cobs of corn plants. Corn stover can be used in feed for animals, as biomass to generate steam and electricity or as a cellulosic feedstock for biofuel production.
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Startup Licenses Texas A&M Technologies for Direct Production of Hydrocarbon Fuels from Biomass; First Product to be 95 Octane Biogasoline
August 19, 2008
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| Overview of the Byogy process. Click to enlarge. |
Start-up Byogy Renewables has licensed processes for the direct conversion of biomass to hydrocarbon fuels such as high-octane gasoline or jet fuel from the Texas A&M University System. Byogy is planning to have plants up and running within 18 months to two years.
Byogy’s initial plans are to produce only gasoline—a 95 octane fuel with an energy content of 130,000 Btu/gallon—according to Benjamin Brant, Byogy’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Conventional retail gasoline is about 125,000 Btu/gallon. Brant said that Byogy may involve strategic partners in the near future that will help support the production of jet fuels (JetA or JP8), diesel or further fractionation/distillation of its initial cuts to separate high value aromatic compounds as biochemical feedstocks.
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Changing World Technologies Files for IPO; Planned Expansion to 54M Gallons of Renewable Diesel Fuel Oil per Year
August 15, 2008
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| The basic Thermal Conversion Process. Click to enlarge. |
Changing World Technologies (CWT), developer of a non-combustion thermolytic deploymerization process for the conversion of organic waste into renewable diesel fuel oil and fertilizers (Thermal Conversion Process, TCP), has filed an S1 registration statement with the SEC for an IPO.
CWT currently operates a TCP production facility in Carthage, Missouri, that has the capacity to convert 78,000 tons of animal and food processing waste into approximately 4 - 9 million gallons of renewable diesel oil per year, depending on the feedstock mix used. The produced renewable diesel can be run as a straight, unblended low-sulfur fuel oil and has been EPA-approved as an additive in diesel fuel; full use as a transportation fuel will require upgrading.
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Researchers Develop New Method for the Direct Liquefaction of Biomass to Biopetroleum
August 08, 2008
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| Schematic diagram of the deoxy-liquefaction reactor. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS |
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a new method for the direct liquefaction of biomass to a bio-oil with an attractive heating value (HHV 46.9 MJ/kg) and consisting mainly of alkanes (C7-C19) and benzene and phenolic derivatives. The product has low oxygen content and an elemental analysis similar to that of petroleum. The product, which they term “biopetroleum”, can then be upgraded for use in transportation fuels or chemicals. A paper describing their work was published online 8 August as an ASAP article in the journal Energy & Fuels.
One of the challenges in using biomass efficiently to produce fuels is transporting enough of it economically to wherever it will be processed. As a result, direct liquefaction technologies such as pyrolysis are of increasing interest. The concept is that the biomass can be liquefied close to the source and then transported more efficiently in its more energy-dense liquid form for further processing.
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Researchers Develop New Process for Direct Conversion of Cellulose into Furanics
August 07, 2008
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a new method for the direct conversion of cellulose into furanics, which can become the basis for new biofuels. The simple, low-cost process delivers furanic compounds in yields not yet achieved, according to Mark Mascal and Edward B. Nikitin in an early view paper published online 1 August in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
Currently, biofuel producers primarily use starch, which is broken down to form sugars that are then fermented to give ethanol. Cellulose, however, is the most common form of photosynthetically fixed carbon. Exploiting that resource for fuels via a fermentation pathway—e.g., cellulosic ethanol—is difficult because the degradation of cellulose into its individual sugar components, which could then be fermented, is a slow and expensive process.
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New Enzymatic Hydrolysis Technology Boosts Cellulosic Ethanol Yield More than 50% from Fermentation
August 01, 2008
Researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) have developed a new enzymatic hydrolysis technology for cellulosic biomass such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass and yard waste that can deliver an increase in ethanol yield from fermentation of more than 50%.
The technology comprises a mild, acid-free pretreatment method; an enzymatic digestion process; and a suitable novel pretreatment reactor for the highly-efficient extraction of simple sugars from readily available cellulosic biomass. This is an effective, gentle (low pressures and temperatures) and fast (2 - 10 minutes) treatment resulting in greater enzymatic digestibility of grasses. The technology increases the post-digestion yield of simple sugars available for fermentation by as much as 10-fold compared with samples that did not undergo pretreatment.
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DOE and USDA to Award More than $10 Million for Bioenergy Plant Feedstock Research
July 31, 2008
The US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) plan to award 10 grants totaling more than $10 million to accelerate fundamental research in the development of cellulosic biofuels.
The grants will be awarded under a joint DOE-USDA program begun in 2006 which aims to accelerate fundamental research in biomass genomics to further the use of cellulosic plant material for bioenergy and biofuels. DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research will provide $8.8 million while USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service will provide $2 million. The funded projects are:
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Researchers Suggest Changes to Biofuels Incentives Rather Than Rollbacks or Moratoria
July 30, 2008
Over the last six months, the focus of the biofuel debate in Europe and the United States has shifted from emphasizing the potential contribution of biofuels to increase energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to concern about the impact on food prices, possible increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of forests and biodiversity.
A report from reserachers at Harvard Kennedy School concludes that despite growing pressure from biofuels critics, governments should avoid simplistic and precipitous changes in course such as rollback or moratoria on existing biofuels mandates or incentives. Instead, the report urges governments to initiate an orderly, “innovation-enhancing” transition towards incentives targeted on multi-dimensional goals for biofuels development.
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Researchers Develop Process for High-Yield Conversion of Lignin to Bio-Hydrocarbons and Methanol
July 18, 2008
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| Proposed routes for the conversion of lignin into alkanes and methanol. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers at Peking University (PKU) and the Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a two-step process for converting lignin—a key component of plant cell walls—to alkanes (hydrocarbons) and methanol that obtains about 42 wt% C8–C9 alkanes, 10 wt% C14–C18 alkanes, and 11 wt% methanol—close to the calculated maximum.
The researchers, led by Professor Yuan Kou at the PKU Green Chemistry Center, published a report on their work 9 July in the journal ChemSusChem.
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ASTM to Consider Adding 50% F-T Blend to Jet Fuel Specification: Work on Hydrotreated Fats and Oils Also Underway
July 16, 2008
ASTM International’s Subcommittee D02.J0.01 on Jet Fuel Specifications will consider a ballot to include Fischer-Tropsch-derived synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) for use in blending in jet fuels at levels up to 50% in the jet fuel specification ASTM D1655 when the supporting research report is available, estimated to be later this month.
While ASTM does not approve new aviation fuel formulations—that is the domain of the FAA and the aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—it does recognize aviation approvals by incorporating them into specifications. ASTM also is able to assemble diverse experts to advise approval authorities regarding issues relevant to new fuel formulations.
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Pratt & Whitney Launches Biofuels Research Program for Small- and Medium-Sized Aircraft Engines
July 13, 2008
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is leading a four-year aerospace industry-university research program to investigate the potential use of biofuels from non-food sources for small- and medium-size aviation engine applications. These could include jatropha- and algae-derived biofuels, as well as biobutanol, to power aircraft engines.
The objectives for the project include identifying and assessing appropriate biofuels, studying their effect on engine components such as combustors and fuel systems, developing appropriate technologies and design changes to accommodate them, and conducting tests comparing current jet fuels with first-generation ethanol, as well as second-generation biofuels.
