Collaboration between the Royal Dutch Shell and the World Leader in Cellulosic ethanol- Iogen are together planning to use post-harvested wheat stalks as their biomass. They are planning to use specialized enzymes for breaking down the cellulose in farm-raised fibers and converting it to sugars fermented into beer that is then distilled into ethanol.
Cellulosic ethanol has identical molecules to conventional ethanol made from corn or sugarcane. The difference is that cellulosic ethanol is derived from the non-food plant portion – in this case agricultural residue. Fuel derived from waste products, as cellulosic ethanol is, is a better long-term solution than using food crops for fuel.
They strongly believe that the Cellulosic ethanol will perform as well as any other bio-derived ethanol product as the research in this field has brought into light, the fact that cellulosic biomass is the most abundant raw material in the planet.
One of the major bottlenecks solved faced is the transportation issue; Iogen and Shell are putting in their full efforts to size their production-facility and efforts are underway to minimize the transportation costs.
Ethanol is usually shipped via truck or rail rather than piped through typical petroleum-based channels because of concerns over water and particulate contamination.
Ethanol is alcohol-based and thus corrosive, components can be damaged and engine fires sparked by leaking hoses, rings and gaskets if a consumer pumps more than a 10 percent blend of ethanol into a system not suitably engineered for the fuel. Extinguishing an ethanol blaze requires firefighting foam differing from that used on petroleum conflagrations; repairers concerned about shop fires have been urged to ensure that their local departments have the correct foam onboard the response apparatus.
As discussed earlier, Cellulosic ethanol’s non-grain content could fuel a wider field of acceptance than conventional ethanol because it lessens the likelihood of food riots such as those that broke out last year in Africa, Mexico and Haiti over surging corn prices.
Cellulosic ethanol has a kernel-free makeup and it is poised to overcome the maze of issues surrounding maize and global crop allotments. It addition to wheat straw, cellulosic ethanol can be created from discarded corn stalks, barley straw, wood chips and sawdust, switchgrass, algae and other municipal solid wastes.
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Showing posts with label Biomass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biomass. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Cellulosic Ethanol - A General Review...
Cellulosic ethanol is an alternative fuel made from a wide variety of non-food plant materials such as agricultural wastes such as corn stover and cereal straws, industrial plant waste like saw dust and paper pulp, and energy crops grown specifically for fuel production like switchgrass.
By using a variety of regional feedstock for refining cellulosic ethanol, the fuel can be produced in nearly every region of the country. Though it requires a more complex refining process, cellulosic ethanol contains more net energy and results in lower greenhouse emissions than traditional corn-based ethanol.
Cellulosic biofuels are fuels which are produced from wood, grasses, and other non-edible parts of plants. The biofuel is produced mainly from lignocelluloses. This product is found mainly in corn stover, switchgrass, and even wood chips which are the byproduct of farming and lawn maintenance.
There are many advantages to using this kind of fuel, but it requires a much greater amount of processing than standard fossil fuel production, which has limited its use in the United States. However, this hasn’t stopped scientists and researchers alike from looking into the best cellulosic biofuel producers.
Switchgrass and miscanthus are the two main biomass materials which are being observed in studies today, mainly due to their high productivity per acre grown. While these two plants are at the forefront of bio-technology, cellulose is found in every natural green plant, bush, or tree. Because of this, many scientists believe with the right technology, in the future we will be able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil entirely through the burning of cellulosic biofuels. Apparently, research is underway to find out more about the prospects of other feedstock which can be used as a cellulosic biomass.
The main problem with relying on cellulosic biofuels is the procedure in which they are produced. They must be fermented before they are combusted to produce ethanol gas, and this process requires acres and acres of space in order to function properly. If products are recycled properly, this waste could be turned into a fuel which could power tomorrow’s cars and power plants.
Provided below is the list of companies who have had secured funds for cellulosic ethanol research.
• Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, LLC of Chesterfield, Missouri, up to $76 million.
• ALICO, Inc. of LaBelle, Florida, up to $33 million.
• Blue Fire Ethanol, Inc. of Irvine, California, up to $40 million.
• Broin Companies of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, up to $80 million
.
• Iogen Biorefinery Partners, LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, up to $80 million.
Range Fuels (formerly Kergy Inc.) of Broomfield, Colorado, up to $76 million.
Why Cellulosic Ethanol? - Link to my previous post
a. Cellulosic ethanol production prevents the danger that food cropping
b. Supply of raw material is also more abundant than corn-based ethanol production.
c. Use of fertilizers and watering essential for corn for ethanol production is also not required to such an extent for cellulosic ethanol.
d. The best thing I love about CE is that the fact that traditional ethanol cellulosic ethanol uses only lignin, which has energy content equal to coal, it doesn’t use fossil fuels during manufacture Lignin is a bi-product of the conversion process from bio-mass to ethanol, and does not need to be procured extra. Thus, no expensive fossil fuel is required for the cellulosic manufacturing process,
e. Most importantly, the amount of harmful CO2 produced while using the lignin is totally compensated by the absorption from the original plants in photosynthesis.
f. The usage of the perennial switch grass for cellulosic ethanol also bodes well for the environment and efficiency. This grass has a deep root system which helps prevents soil erosion and contributes toward soil fertility.
See more
By using a variety of regional feedstock for refining cellulosic ethanol, the fuel can be produced in nearly every region of the country. Though it requires a more complex refining process, cellulosic ethanol contains more net energy and results in lower greenhouse emissions than traditional corn-based ethanol.
Cellulosic biofuels are fuels which are produced from wood, grasses, and other non-edible parts of plants. The biofuel is produced mainly from lignocelluloses. This product is found mainly in corn stover, switchgrass, and even wood chips which are the byproduct of farming and lawn maintenance.
There are many advantages to using this kind of fuel, but it requires a much greater amount of processing than standard fossil fuel production, which has limited its use in the United States. However, this hasn’t stopped scientists and researchers alike from looking into the best cellulosic biofuel producers.
Switchgrass and miscanthus are the two main biomass materials which are being observed in studies today, mainly due to their high productivity per acre grown. While these two plants are at the forefront of bio-technology, cellulose is found in every natural green plant, bush, or tree. Because of this, many scientists believe with the right technology, in the future we will be able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil entirely through the burning of cellulosic biofuels. Apparently, research is underway to find out more about the prospects of other feedstock which can be used as a cellulosic biomass.
The main problem with relying on cellulosic biofuels is the procedure in which they are produced. They must be fermented before they are combusted to produce ethanol gas, and this process requires acres and acres of space in order to function properly. If products are recycled properly, this waste could be turned into a fuel which could power tomorrow’s cars and power plants.
Provided below is the list of companies who have had secured funds for cellulosic ethanol research.
• Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, LLC of Chesterfield, Missouri, up to $76 million.
• ALICO, Inc. of LaBelle, Florida, up to $33 million.
• Blue Fire Ethanol, Inc. of Irvine, California, up to $40 million.
• Broin Companies of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, up to $80 million
.
• Iogen Biorefinery Partners, LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, up to $80 million.
Range Fuels (formerly Kergy Inc.) of Broomfield, Colorado, up to $76 million.
Why Cellulosic Ethanol? - Link to my previous post
a. Cellulosic ethanol production prevents the danger that food cropping
b. Supply of raw material is also more abundant than corn-based ethanol production.
c. Use of fertilizers and watering essential for corn for ethanol production is also not required to such an extent for cellulosic ethanol.
d. The best thing I love about CE is that the fact that traditional ethanol cellulosic ethanol uses only lignin, which has energy content equal to coal, it doesn’t use fossil fuels during manufacture Lignin is a bi-product of the conversion process from bio-mass to ethanol, and does not need to be procured extra. Thus, no expensive fossil fuel is required for the cellulosic manufacturing process,
e. Most importantly, the amount of harmful CO2 produced while using the lignin is totally compensated by the absorption from the original plants in photosynthesis.
f. The usage of the perennial switch grass for cellulosic ethanol also bodes well for the environment and efficiency. This grass has a deep root system which helps prevents soil erosion and contributes toward soil fertility.
See more
Cellulosic Ethanol Industry Recognizes Another Potential Feedstock..
There are loads and loads of feedstock containing cellulose as a biomass to derive ethanol fuel. Recent studies show that alfalfa can be used as a cellulosic biomass. Alfaalfa, commonly known as the Lucerne grass is by far the most popular legume and research studies have revealed that it can serve as one of the best feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production.
I actually listened to Dave Miller, a biotech researcher interview about the potential os cellulosic ethanol and here is an outline of what he said: He feels that this crop has great potential than other cellulosic biomass due to the fact that it is environmentally very friendly. Moreover, it is a very good crop for crop-rotation and most importantly, it fixes nitrogen and prevents soil erosion as well.
However, efforts are on the way to “redesign” the crop to reduce the lignin content. The problem the cellulosic ethanol industry is facing is the high-lignin which poses the problem of pre-processing. That s the reason why Dave Miller and his team are planning to genetically modify the alfalfa and redesign the crop it for easy biomass digestion.
Preliminary efforts by Dave Millers group revealed that alfalfa has greater potential as a cellulosic biomass feedstock, when compared to other cellulosic biomass. In addition, Miller says preliminary work shows alfalfa is competitive with other feedstock for its ability to convert to cellulosic ethanol and that a corn/alfalfa rotation creates a very favorable carbon footprint for ethanol production.
Why alfalfa?
1. Great potential as a cellulosic biomass.
2. Can be used as a rotation crop.
3. Prevents soil erosion
4. It being a legume fixes nitrogen to the soil.
5. Preliminary tests show that alfalfa is better than many other cellulosic biomasses.
For the large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol, many feedstocks which are cellulosic in nature can be considered as a feedstock and identification of crops such as alfalfa is indeed a major breakthrough in the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry.
Check out the Full Article
I actually listened to Dave Miller, a biotech researcher interview about the potential os cellulosic ethanol and here is an outline of what he said: He feels that this crop has great potential than other cellulosic biomass due to the fact that it is environmentally very friendly. Moreover, it is a very good crop for crop-rotation and most importantly, it fixes nitrogen and prevents soil erosion as well.
However, efforts are on the way to “redesign” the crop to reduce the lignin content. The problem the cellulosic ethanol industry is facing is the high-lignin which poses the problem of pre-processing. That s the reason why Dave Miller and his team are planning to genetically modify the alfalfa and redesign the crop it for easy biomass digestion.
Preliminary efforts by Dave Millers group revealed that alfalfa has greater potential as a cellulosic biomass feedstock, when compared to other cellulosic biomass. In addition, Miller says preliminary work shows alfalfa is competitive with other feedstock for its ability to convert to cellulosic ethanol and that a corn/alfalfa rotation creates a very favorable carbon footprint for ethanol production.
Why alfalfa?
1. Great potential as a cellulosic biomass.
2. Can be used as a rotation crop.
3. Prevents soil erosion
4. It being a legume fixes nitrogen to the soil.
5. Preliminary tests show that alfalfa is better than many other cellulosic biomasses.
For the large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol, many feedstocks which are cellulosic in nature can be considered as a feedstock and identification of crops such as alfalfa is indeed a major breakthrough in the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry.
Check out the Full Article
Friday, September 25, 2009
Why is Cellulosic Ethanol Best as a Biofuel ?
Furious research has been going on in the efforts to commercialize Cellulosic ethanol and make it more cheaper.
As discussed earlier, cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a wide variety of cellulosic substances such as agricultural plant wastes like corn stover, cereal straws, and sugarcane bagasse. or cellulosic feedstock or plant wastes from industrial processes like sawdust, paper pulp as well as switchgrass.
Wastes like sawdust and paper pulp are especially useful, because they are already processed to a degree and eliminate a step from the cellulosic ethanol production process, saving cost.
Why do I think Cellulosic Ethanol is the best ?
a. Cellulosic ethanol production prevents the danger that food cropping will turn into more lucrative fuel-cropping.
b. Supply of raw material is also more abundant than corn-based ethanol production.
c. Use of fertilizers and watering essential for corn for ethanol production is also not required to such an extent for cellulosic ethanol.
d. The best thing I love about CE is that the fact that traditional ethanol cellulosic ethanol uses only lignin, which has energy content equal to coal, it doesn’t use fossil fuels during manufacture Lignin is a bi-product of the conversion process from bio-mass to ethanol, and does not need to be procured extra. Thus, no expensive fossil fuel is required for the cellulosic manufacturing process,
e. Most importantly, the amount of harmful CO2 produced while using the lignin is totally compensated by the absorption from the original plants in photosynthesis.
f. The usage of the perennial switch grass for cellulosic ethanol also bodes well for the environment and efficiency. This grass has a deep root system which helps prevents soil erosion and contributes toward soil fertility.
Problems with Cellulosic Ethanol:
The only disadvantage of cellulosic ethanol lies in the difficulty with which it is presently extracted from the feedstock. The cellulosic feedstock in process consists mainly of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, and the idea is to extract fermentable sugars in order to synthesize into ethanol. But these sugars in cellulose and hemicellulose are bound in complex carbohydrates called polysaccharides, and separating these complex structures into simple sugars is not easy.
This leads to
a. Longer process time.
b. Low yield per unit of feedstock, making cellulosic ethanol somewhat less economical.
c. Common problems faced by both cellulosic ethanol and conventional ethanol is as follows:
Cellulosic ethanol and conventional ethanol have some challenges in common:
Development and availability of fuel-efficient cars using ethanol and an efficient infrastructure of raw material collection, processing and delivery. But in the long term given adequate research into developing efficiency and infrastructure, cellulosic ethanol appears to have the better potential for economy, environment-friendliness and waste management.
Therefore, what is required here is to increase the efficiency and quantity of production. Among all countries, Brazil has the most extensive domestic cellulosic ethanol industry based on sugarcane, and almost all its cars can run on ethanol.
Countries like Pakistan, India, China, Colombia, Australia, Thailand and Japan have also stepped into ethanol production to offset gasoline demands, though they still do not have significant production and delivery infrastructure.
See more
As discussed earlier, cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a wide variety of cellulosic substances such as agricultural plant wastes like corn stover, cereal straws, and sugarcane bagasse. or cellulosic feedstock or plant wastes from industrial processes like sawdust, paper pulp as well as switchgrass.
Wastes like sawdust and paper pulp are especially useful, because they are already processed to a degree and eliminate a step from the cellulosic ethanol production process, saving cost.
Why do I think Cellulosic Ethanol is the best ?
a. Cellulosic ethanol production prevents the danger that food cropping will turn into more lucrative fuel-cropping.
b. Supply of raw material is also more abundant than corn-based ethanol production.
c. Use of fertilizers and watering essential for corn for ethanol production is also not required to such an extent for cellulosic ethanol.
d. The best thing I love about CE is that the fact that traditional ethanol cellulosic ethanol uses only lignin, which has energy content equal to coal, it doesn’t use fossil fuels during manufacture Lignin is a bi-product of the conversion process from bio-mass to ethanol, and does not need to be procured extra. Thus, no expensive fossil fuel is required for the cellulosic manufacturing process,
e. Most importantly, the amount of harmful CO2 produced while using the lignin is totally compensated by the absorption from the original plants in photosynthesis.
f. The usage of the perennial switch grass for cellulosic ethanol also bodes well for the environment and efficiency. This grass has a deep root system which helps prevents soil erosion and contributes toward soil fertility.
Problems with Cellulosic Ethanol:
The only disadvantage of cellulosic ethanol lies in the difficulty with which it is presently extracted from the feedstock. The cellulosic feedstock in process consists mainly of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, and the idea is to extract fermentable sugars in order to synthesize into ethanol. But these sugars in cellulose and hemicellulose are bound in complex carbohydrates called polysaccharides, and separating these complex structures into simple sugars is not easy.
This leads to
a. Longer process time.
b. Low yield per unit of feedstock, making cellulosic ethanol somewhat less economical.
c. Common problems faced by both cellulosic ethanol and conventional ethanol is as follows:
Cellulosic ethanol and conventional ethanol have some challenges in common:
Development and availability of fuel-efficient cars using ethanol and an efficient infrastructure of raw material collection, processing and delivery. But in the long term given adequate research into developing efficiency and infrastructure, cellulosic ethanol appears to have the better potential for economy, environment-friendliness and waste management.
Therefore, what is required here is to increase the efficiency and quantity of production. Among all countries, Brazil has the most extensive domestic cellulosic ethanol industry based on sugarcane, and almost all its cars can run on ethanol.
Countries like Pakistan, India, China, Colombia, Australia, Thailand and Japan have also stepped into ethanol production to offset gasoline demands, though they still do not have significant production and delivery infrastructure.
See more
Why not Poplar Pulp to produce Ethanol?
As discussed in my earlier post, poplar pulp is an excellent source of cellulosic biomass. The poplar trees grow to a height of about 10 feet a year. When they grow they completely change a desert into a forest.
Earlier, this was used to produce paper, but energy entrepreneurs now believe that the poplar pulp can be used to produce ethanol and they are ready to begin investments to ascend the biofuel industry.
To date there are not many commercial-scale cellulose-to-ethanol plants operating in North America. Most of the plants are in a pilot or demonstration stage, and, like the ZeaChem project near Boardman mentioned below which are still under development.
Mentioned below are some efforts by some cellulosic biomass to ethanol companies.
1. ZeaChem, formed in 2002 near Boardman, is using a technology that harnesses the same bacteria used by termites as they feast on wood. They plan to invest about $34 million to build a biomass plant. This was planned even earlier, however, the regions farms and economies but the first three biofuel industries which was started few years back crashed.
They employ a technology wherein, the bacteria break down the cellulose into acetic acid and then eventually into ethanol and ethyl acetate. This ethyl acetate is used as a solvent in varnishes and lacquers.
ZeaChem researchers say that this process allows a more complete conversion of cellulose to ethanol, offering a fuel yield more than fivefold greater than an acre of corn and considerably more than other cellulosic technologies.
Zeachem has planned to develop two of its biomass plants
- One of the first investments in this region will be near Boardman, where construction is scheduled to begin later this year on a demonstration plant that will produce about 1.2 million gallons a year of ethanol from poplar.
- A second corn-ethanol plant near Boardman still operates. But the plant is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization as its parent company, Pacific Ethanol, struggles to pay off debts.
2. Imperium, a company which has its biomass plant in Scotland is idle. It was actually constructed to use Canadian Canola.
Efforts ar underway to bring in the involvement of federal government’s involvement as it will help a great deal in the expansion of the biofuels industry . Federal governments support is expected to make poplar ethanol conversion to ethanol a dream come true. A federal mandate requires the production of 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels by 2022. The law calls for some 15 billion gallons of that fuel to come from wood, wheat straw, corncobs or other cellulosic materials rather than foods such as corn or sugar cane.
However, producing cellulosic ethanol are still facing a lot of hurdles and is still a costly undertaking when compared to converting starch or sugar to ethanol.
See more
Earlier, this was used to produce paper, but energy entrepreneurs now believe that the poplar pulp can be used to produce ethanol and they are ready to begin investments to ascend the biofuel industry.
To date there are not many commercial-scale cellulose-to-ethanol plants operating in North America. Most of the plants are in a pilot or demonstration stage, and, like the ZeaChem project near Boardman mentioned below which are still under development.
Mentioned below are some efforts by some cellulosic biomass to ethanol companies.
1. ZeaChem, formed in 2002 near Boardman, is using a technology that harnesses the same bacteria used by termites as they feast on wood. They plan to invest about $34 million to build a biomass plant. This was planned even earlier, however, the regions farms and economies but the first three biofuel industries which was started few years back crashed.
They employ a technology wherein, the bacteria break down the cellulose into acetic acid and then eventually into ethanol and ethyl acetate. This ethyl acetate is used as a solvent in varnishes and lacquers.
ZeaChem researchers say that this process allows a more complete conversion of cellulose to ethanol, offering a fuel yield more than fivefold greater than an acre of corn and considerably more than other cellulosic technologies.
Zeachem has planned to develop two of its biomass plants
- One of the first investments in this region will be near Boardman, where construction is scheduled to begin later this year on a demonstration plant that will produce about 1.2 million gallons a year of ethanol from poplar.
- A second corn-ethanol plant near Boardman still operates. But the plant is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization as its parent company, Pacific Ethanol, struggles to pay off debts.
2. Imperium, a company which has its biomass plant in Scotland is idle. It was actually constructed to use Canadian Canola.
Efforts ar underway to bring in the involvement of federal government’s involvement as it will help a great deal in the expansion of the biofuels industry . Federal governments support is expected to make poplar ethanol conversion to ethanol a dream come true. A federal mandate requires the production of 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other biofuels by 2022. The law calls for some 15 billion gallons of that fuel to come from wood, wheat straw, corncobs or other cellulosic materials rather than foods such as corn or sugar cane.
However, producing cellulosic ethanol are still facing a lot of hurdles and is still a costly undertaking when compared to converting starch or sugar to ethanol.
See more
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Companies Investing in Cellulosic Ethanol
Here is a list of companies who have invested in Cellulosic Ethanol.
1. Iogen
Iogen requires a special mention as they are the world leaders in the field of cellulosic ethanol. Operates a demonstration scale facility to convert biomass to cellulose ethanol using enzymatic hydrolysis technology. Full scale commercial facilities are being planned.
2. Mascoma
Mascoma is developing bio and process technology for cost-effective conversion of cellulosic biomass.
3. TMO renewables
Yet another leader in the field of cellulosic ethanol is TMO renewables. They celebrated milestone in their UK facility a few days back.
For those interested - List of the top companies investing in Cellulosic Ethanol.
1. Iogen
Iogen requires a special mention as they are the world leaders in the field of cellulosic ethanol. Operates a demonstration scale facility to convert biomass to cellulose ethanol using enzymatic hydrolysis technology. Full scale commercial facilities are being planned.
2. Mascoma
Mascoma is developing bio and process technology for cost-effective conversion of cellulosic biomass.
3. TMO renewables
Yet another leader in the field of cellulosic ethanol is TMO renewables. They celebrated milestone in their UK facility a few days back.
For those interested - List of the top companies investing in Cellulosic Ethanol.
UK's First Cellulosic Biomass Plant Acclaims Success
This post highlights the efforts of TMO renewables, a developer of cellulosic biomass into ethanol fuel.
The UK's first cellulosic ethanol plant has successfully completed the first year of trial operation and is now commercially viable. TMO Renewables, a developer of biomass into fuel ethanol has succeeded in its efforts to produce biofuels from the cellulosic biomass in their facility. TMO’s plant is located at Dunsfold Park, near Guildford in Surrey. It has been running successfully for 24 hours a day, seven days a week to process a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks on an industrial scale.
This facility uses specific strains of bacteria obtained from agricultural wastes such as compost heaps to produce ethanol to be employed in fuel grade applications.
TMO renewables, like the Iogen, have developed their own pre-treatment process and fermentation technology wherein they produce cellulose enzymes on their own and work on producing cellulosic ethanol.
This company uses feedstocks like grasses, wheat straw, municipal waste to produce bioethanol . These raw materials are first converted into beer and further distilled to form fuel ethanol. It is proved that TMO’s process is ideal for retro-fit to existing corn ethanol plants, typically improving their yields by up to 15 percent, as well as being suited for new-build ethanol applications.
TMO have been funded by about £11 million, which they have planned to utilize completely to modify their process to commercialize cellulosic ethanol production. TMO strongly believes and works on Sustainability, and it expects ethanol fuel to be commercialized soon.
See more
The UK's first cellulosic ethanol plant has successfully completed the first year of trial operation and is now commercially viable. TMO Renewables, a developer of biomass into fuel ethanol has succeeded in its efforts to produce biofuels from the cellulosic biomass in their facility. TMO’s plant is located at Dunsfold Park, near Guildford in Surrey. It has been running successfully for 24 hours a day, seven days a week to process a wide range of cellulosic feedstocks on an industrial scale.
This facility uses specific strains of bacteria obtained from agricultural wastes such as compost heaps to produce ethanol to be employed in fuel grade applications.
TMO renewables, like the Iogen, have developed their own pre-treatment process and fermentation technology wherein they produce cellulose enzymes on their own and work on producing cellulosic ethanol.
This company uses feedstocks like grasses, wheat straw, municipal waste to produce bioethanol . These raw materials are first converted into beer and further distilled to form fuel ethanol. It is proved that TMO’s process is ideal for retro-fit to existing corn ethanol plants, typically improving their yields by up to 15 percent, as well as being suited for new-build ethanol applications.
TMO have been funded by about £11 million, which they have planned to utilize completely to modify their process to commercialize cellulosic ethanol production. TMO strongly believes and works on Sustainability, and it expects ethanol fuel to be commercialized soon.
See more
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Biomass transport- Alternatives identified :-)
A wonderful article on ways to maintian the transportation cost of biomass . I was actually telling myself off for not having seen this earlier. It is indeed a lovely article.
The research studies claim that two alternatives have been explored:
a.Transport by rail
b.Transport by pipeline.
Though some truck transport will be required to move biomass from field in either of these alternative scenarios,a large portion of the total distance from source to biorefinery would be carried by rail or pipeline.One problem that arises immediately when using a carrier liquid and wood chips is the uptake of the liquid by the chips. The water content of the chips rises by 13% when water is used, and incredibly, the chips absorb upwards of 50% of their weight in oil when a hydrocarbon carrier is employed.
Even though pipelines may be more cost-effective at large distances compared to trucking, the costs of moving biomass for such long distances is still quite expensive regardless of method (on average $15 per dry tonne by pipeline for a 100km distance to nearly $40/dry tonne for 500km .
see more
The research studies claim that two alternatives have been explored:
a.Transport by rail
b.Transport by pipeline.
Though some truck transport will be required to move biomass from field in either of these alternative scenarios,a large portion of the total distance from source to biorefinery would be carried by rail or pipeline.One problem that arises immediately when using a carrier liquid and wood chips is the uptake of the liquid by the chips. The water content of the chips rises by 13% when water is used, and incredibly, the chips absorb upwards of 50% of their weight in oil when a hydrocarbon carrier is employed.
Even though pipelines may be more cost-effective at large distances compared to trucking, the costs of moving biomass for such long distances is still quite expensive regardless of method (on average $15 per dry tonne by pipeline for a 100km distance to nearly $40/dry tonne for 500km .
see more
Use of Saline And Wastewater for Growing Arundo donax
Second generation biofuel crops (non food, cellulosic feedstock) or pulp/paper crops are needed that grow well on saline lands with wastewaters. Here is a paper that reports on the underutilised resources of saline water and land to grow the second generation biofuel crop Arundo donax (Adx). This crop together with other cellulose feedstocks could form the basis of a new biofuel or pulp/paper industry .Trial results are presented for Adx growing on saline soil and irrigated with saline winery wastewater for biomass production, nutrient removal, salt tolerance, weed risk and carbon sequestration.
Initial economic analysis of Adx enterprises indicated they were viable options for cost saving measures of wastewater remediation.
This work has shown the potential for Adx to treat saline wastewaters, Phosporous and Nitrogen rich wastewaters (e.g. sewage or winery wastewaters) and to produce high biomass yields. This biomass can be used for feedstock for combined heat and power factories (to run pumps and other equipment) or to produce ethanol.
see more
Initial economic analysis of Adx enterprises indicated they were viable options for cost saving measures of wastewater remediation.
This work has shown the potential for Adx to treat saline wastewaters, Phosporous and Nitrogen rich wastewaters (e.g. sewage or winery wastewaters) and to produce high biomass yields. This biomass can be used for feedstock for combined heat and power factories (to run pumps and other equipment) or to produce ethanol.
see more
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Camelina Seems to Be One of The Best Crop for Desert Land
Here is a promising attempt of a camelina grower. Mark Wiest, of Sams Valley, Oregon, United States, just completed harvesting about three acres of camelina on a piece of ground that has been otherwise unproductive. His first planting of camelina was last year when he and Dalton Straus planted 26 acres in the Sams Valley area. Wiest is contracting with BioMass Processors out of Rickreall. Once the camelina has been harvested and dried, it is sent north. There the harvested camelina is crushed and the camelina oil is extracted. This oil can be used in making fuel. Wiest is working with others from Beatty to Murphy to turn their bare land into productive land.
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