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Regalbuto: Sea change in direction of US Federal funding from cellulosic ethanol to renewable hydrocarbons

In a paper in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Professor John Regalbuto, Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, describes what he calls “a real sea change” in the direction of US federal funding for biomass conversion into biofuels.

The direction of federal funding for biomass conversion into biofuels has shifted dramatically in just the last few years. Four years ago, the national action plan essentially read “ethanol-only”, and was to meet the new renewable fuel standards solely with cellulosic ethanol. While ethanol is still part of the picture, the most recent emphasis is on “high energy density, infrastructure-compatible biofuels”—hydrocarbons.

In this paper, the transition from one focus to the other, a real sea change, is conveyed from the perspective of one who, with the support of the NSF and colleagues in other federal agencies, helped to bring it about.

—Regalbuto 2011

Regalbuto was Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program Director, National Science Foundation, Directorate for Engineering, from 2006–2009.

Resources

  • Regalbuto, J. R. (2011), The sea change in US biofuels’ funding: from cellulosic ethanol to green gasoline. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 5: n/a. doi: 10.1002/bbb.298

Comments

SJC

Good, synthetic gasoline, jet fuel and diesel made from biomass can be used directly with NO modifications. This may not make the oil companies happy, but I like it.

HarveyD

Corn and (eventually) cellulose ethanol production could only cover part (20% to 30% ?) of the current liquid fuel market due to land surface required to produce the feed stocks.

Liquid fuels made from coal, NG and/or SG could supply a higher percentage of the market in many countries (USA, China, Australia +++) with enough coal and NG for a limited time (100+ years) or at least until transportation vehicles are mostly electrified.

A steady high price around $100/e-barrel would be required to justify the high investments required without subsidies.

Crude oil reserves could last much longer (100+ years) .

wintermane2000

The oil companies are only into TRANSPORT of fuel so they dont give a rats arse how its made just that it needs to get to the gas station;/

SJC

Oil companies sold some refineries over the years because they were not as profitable. Now they sell those refineries high priced oil.

I look at synthetic gasoline made from natural gas, coal and or biomass like E20. It is NOT imported oil and that is the important part. Coal fired power plants converted to gasified combined cycle are cleaner, more efficient and can produce synthetic fuels like gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

There is plenty of coal in Montana's Powder River Basic in open pits that goes into thousands of coal cars headed to coal plants in Texas and other states every day. If those plants were converted to IGCC we would not only produce more electricity more cleanly, but we would produce enough fuels to run millions of cars.

Reel$$

With current gaz prices still rising the path to the EV Dealer will only grow wider. Drivers of the few EVs on the road today experience something few other car owners have:

Satisfaction at driving PAST the gas station, knowing they never have to stop in again.

SJC

I like EVs and I wish millions were sold every year, but realistically that probably will not be so. We can have wishful hoping or realistic assessments and rational planning according to likely outcomes. I vote for rational thinking.

kelly

Even now, if properly integrated, plugin hybrids could electrically do the typical up to 40 mile/>80% of travel day.

A constant velocity, small/cheap ICE engine could generate the few multi-hundred mile/Interstate days cheaply in part by skipping the present 6-8 gear transmission expenses.

As the IBM PC opened personal computing to better/cheaper personal computer brands, the GM Volt can do the same for personal vehicle transportation

SJC

That could be true, but they need to get PHEV and EREV far lower priced than $40,000. When you have all that hardware it is difficult.

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