New Study Found Process Improving Economics Production of Ethanol

Iowa State engineer scales in place a process that could improve the economics production of ethanol.

Iowa State University, Hans van Leeuwen winning idea has spent his research team to improve production of ethanol from the laboratory to pilot plant.

Now he knows the idea, which produces a stream of new and clean water that can be reused for ethanol production, work more effectively in groups of up to 350 gallons on a laboratory bench.

"We learned that we can reliably produce good quality and good quantity," said van Leeuwen, Iowa State Vlasta Balloun Klima engineering professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering construction.

As van Leeuwen and a team of researchers from Iowa is producing a fungus, Rhizopus oligosporus, which makes high quality, high protein foods from the remains of ethanol production. The process of mushroom cultivation purified water from the production of ethanol so it can be recycled into fuel. And the process is called MycoMeal could one day produce an inexpensive food supplement for humans.

Source: University of Illinois Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER)

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Pertamina-PTPN Joint to Build Biodiesel Refinery Plant

PT. Pertamina and PTPN III, PTPN IV cooperate to build biodiesel refineries in the area of plantations by forming joint ventures.

The signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) was taken place on Thursday (4/8) at the office of the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and witnessed by SOEs Minister Mustafa Abubakar.

Pertamina stated that they will purchase biodisesel generated by their subsidiaries, after each party conduct a study regarding the implementation of, provisions and conditions of sales and purchases.

The commitment of Pertamina on the volume of biodiesel that will be purchased based on policies and government regulations in the development of biofuels (biodiesel and bioethanol).

While PTPN III, PTPN IV, and PTPN V committed to use of Pertamina's products, such as diesel, IFO, lubricants and other products.

Until this moment there have not mentioned yet the name of subsidiaries and shareholding composition of each company.

Minister Mustafa Abubakar said that this synergy is the spirit that must be developed in improving the performance of state-owned enterprises.

In addition to plant development cooperation, PTPN and Pertamina is also exploring cooperation greendiesel development, sale and purchase of CPO and its derivatives (derivatives) by utilizing Pertamina's technological tools.

Cooperation will also be developed at a later stage in the area of oil palm plantations.

On that occasion, also signed cooperation between SOEs Plantation and Perum Perhutani Perhutani, and between PT PLN, PTPN I-XIV, PT RNI and Perum Perhutani.

Plantation Enterprises will provide and sell biomass-based electricity to PT PLN, in accordance potential can be realized in the period 2010 to 2015 with a location approved by PT PLN.

For that consequences, PTPN I-XIV, PT RNI and Perum Perhutani will form a Special Purpose Company (SPC) for each plant.

Furthermore, detailed terms and conditions of implementation of power purchase will be arranged in Purchace Power Agreement (PPA) and will be made separately for each plant.

Jakarta, (ANTARA News), 4//8/10

Source: antaranews.com
Translated by: Harrys

Indonesian Oil Palm Industry have to be "Zero Waste"

Oil palm plant

Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture requested the palm oil processing industry to apply the pattern does not generate waste or "zero waste" from its production.

Director General of Plantation of Agriculture Ministry, Achmad Mangga Barani  said the palm oil industry to utilize the waste from the processing of either solid or liquid into a more useful products.

He said that all this waste was not taken and just dumped and hoped oil palm plant is really zero waste.

He added that one of the benefits of palm oil processing waste is utilized to biogas processing which is capable of generating electricity that can be used for industry or sold to the public.

According to him, to large scale oil palm industry, which has a capacity of more than 30 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) per hour, so far generally has utilized their wastes then no waste products that damage the environment.

As for medium-scale palm oil mill, has not been much work on sewage treatment because they still concentrate on producing crude palm oil or only palm oil.

Oil palm fruit

He thought that it would be nice if all such companies processed the waste, because it all  will be a "zero waste", all the components that processed  has no waste at all.

Meanwhile, according to PT Eka Bukit Creative Energy of Indonesia, as the largest oil palm industry country in the world's, the national CPO production reached 20 million tons per year from an area of 7.12 million ha.

Meanwhile, the number of  palm oil mills (POM) is more than 400 units with an installed capacity of 16 thousand of FFB per hour appeared to have potential to generate enormous waste that is 0.53 cubic meters of liquid waste / tonne of FFB processed and 0.25 tons EFB / ton FFB processed.

He said that wastes must be managed in accordance with regulations and laws in force which means this is a cost for the company.

Companies engaged in renewable energy, particularly in the field of biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, biomass and CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) was introduced biodigestor to address waste from palm oil processing which can produce electricity.

He explained that the processing of palm oil waste into biogas not only reduce the cost of waste disposal but could produce economic benefits.

He gave an example that for the POM with a capacity of 30 tonnes FFB per hour or 146 thousand tons / year,  then approximately 94,900 cubic meters of wastewater produced per year can produce 1.55 cubic meters of methane (CH4).

From that much production of CH4, it can produce electricity for 5.12 million kwh / year or 1 MW and if each kwh sold worth 0.08 U.S. dollars revenue. It will get 410 thousand U.S. dollars / year.

And for the rest of dry waste that is generated when processed into electricity with the boiler system will generate additional electricity for a total of 1.5 kw to 2.5 kw with a total income of 1.36 million U.S. dollars.

Source: antaranews.com

Translated by: harrys

Indonesia-Japan cooperation in the processing of oil palm waste for biofuels

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology or Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT) in cooperation with Japan to enhance a variety of research and create a "pilot plan" on the use of waste vegetable oil into fuel (biofuel).

Deputy Energy and Materials Information Technology BPPT Dr. Unggul Priyanto, Monday. in between "7th Asia Biomass Workshop: Biomass as Sustainable Energy" in Jakarta" said that so far only 20 percent of oil palm harvested in Indonesia could be produced to crude palm oil (CPO).

He added that the remaining 80 percent to be discarded as waste, such as empty fruit bunches, shell, fiber to liquid waste.

About 15 percent of the total waste can be processed with gasification technology to bioethanol and biodiesel for replacing gasoline and diesel fuel. While the rest that really waste can utilized for fertilizer.

As the world's largest palm oil producing countries, the potential for very large Indonesian palm oil waste. This waste is very unworthy if just thrown away like so far.

Besides biofuels can help reduce use of fossil fuels which diminishing reserves, nor did it spend more gas emission, then it is more environmentally friendly.

In addition, by utilizing the waste, biofuels need not compete with food as if bioethanol use of cassava, sugar cane and corn, or palm oil for biodiesel use, so it do not make food prices soaring.

Unggul said that BPPT  has already three years exploring cooperation on the research of this palm waste to Japan, where a number of Indonesian researchers have got a scholarship to undergo training in Japan.

Manager of International Cooperation of Japan National Energy Foundation, Toru Nagao said, within three years it has provided scholarships for some 70 researchers studying biomass for energy in Japan.

Apart from oil palm waste, the institute also conducts cooperative research waste rice husks to be used as biofuel in Vietnam, says Nagao.

"Workshop" in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology "(AIST), Japan is also presenting a number of speakers from other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

Second-generation biofuels technology, "lignocellulosic" technology, liquefaction of biomass, the impact of biofuels on the vehicle, the impact to the environment and the clean development mechanism (CDM) is also discussed in this workshop.

Source: antaranews.com

Retrieved from: id.news.yahoo.com
Translated by: harrys

Trends, Hurdles, and Potentials of Biofuel

Algae based biodiesel might be the futu

Trends, Hurdles, and Potentials of Biofuel - Recent development in the biofuel market. Few people interested in green technology have missed the large fuss regarding algae biodiesel production from microalgae considered by many the only alternative with potential of replacing the entire world consumption of fossil fuels by its own. It is still quite expensive but bioengineering and more efficient production swiftly reduces the gap. A researcher and friend of mine calculated that 76x76 km area of algae production would cover the entire fuel consumption needed for Sweden.

Early 2008 Solazyme, which uses algae fermentation to make oil from sugar crops, got Chevron as investor and recently they was contracted by the Us Navy for producing 1500 Gallons of Jet Fuel and another 150000 Gallons of biodiesel for the navy ships. Us is considering the dependence of foreign fuel deliveries as a national security and set the navy target to 50% biofuels in 2020.

The Energy company St1 recently made an interesting move in Sweden when buying up gas stations, now roughly 200 stations, providing self made bioethanol produced from rest products of the food production industry.

Algae based biodiesel might be the future

The biodiesel industry are also foreseeing a brighter future now when the amount of biodiesel now blended into normal diesel is now up at 5%. US ethanol blending limit is also considered to be raised from 10% to up to 15% in the near future that will boost the US Corn based bio ethanol and in Brazil they had to lower their ethanol-gas blend to 20% from 25% for some time because they could not produce enough of their sugar cane based bioethanol.

Early 2010 Solena Group that uses a 5000 degree plasma torch to produce synthetic biogas from algae biomass teamed up with Brittish airways to fuel aircrafts by 2014 and also Russia is moving forward by starting up a cellulose based biobuthanol plant. Read here

Last prognosis from Lux Research says that that the biofuel production will increase from todays 3% of total production by 7.8% yearly until 2015 and that the most rapid areas will be in Jet-Fuels, biodiesel and algae oil.

Biofuel hurdles

Biofuels have a big hurdle which is the infrastructure and compatibility in the machines that use them. Changing this is something that takes a long time, requires lots of politics and requires large daring investments in machines powered by fuels that not certainly will be the preferred ones. Once a standard has been established the competitive technology needs to be much better in order to break through. This might be ok with electric cars since you can charge them at home but for fuel cells for example it might be difficult unless we have our own hydrogen producing electrolyzers at home.

As many other, BP saw this hurdle earlier and their tactics together with DuPont is to make biobutanol and blend normal gasoline with up to 15% of it to be used in all the cars and fuel stations that already exist.

In Sweden we saw a big boost for biogas earlier and many car makers raced to launch their flexifuel gas-diesel and gas-gasoline hybrids to match the anticipated improvement of biogas infrastructure. This however halted somewhat and the preferred choice became ethanol leaving many frustrated new biogas car owners.

First generation biofuel

Sugar cane field in brazil for
bioethanol production

First generation is a composition of all the fuels produced by feedstock from the normal food chain. Fermentation of sugar rich biomass like sugar cane in Brasil to Corn in US to produce bioethanol or vegetable oil from sunflowers to produce biodiesel in Europe. The processes are standard and the crops are easy to grow but the downsides are many including increased food prices, deforestation and sometimes a questionable life cycle green house gas savings compared too fossil fuels.

This generation has a huge advantage though because it it is first. It is already established with rapidly increasing volumes and reduced cost and it is easy to set up production of in many countries that needs an extra economy boost. Despite the downsides I believe that the following generations will have a steep uphill run compared to this because of the mentioned advantages unless there are political incentives leveling the rules. Green business will never fly just because it is green because it has to give the consumer an advantage of lower price or enabling some other applications as any other product.

Below is a trend chart of the larger movements in the biodiesel and bioethanol industry. Its obvious that Brasil is quite aggressive in this area.

Global biofuel production distribution

Biogas is also part of first generation fuels and is normally defined as a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas production has a big benefit that it can use many types of waste and create a use for all our landfills. It can also be produced very locally and since the anaerobic process is very simple it can also be used in very small production sites like farms enabling local energy and fuel production which is very nice.

Biogas can also be created from algae biomass which sometimes is referred to green gas and has the additional advantage of the rapid growth of algae biomass that is typically 20-100 times faster than other land based crops. Seen from a greenhouse gas life cycle perspective biogas is first in class.

Biogas production video

Second generation biofuel

Poplar for lignocellulosic
biofuel production

Second generation biofuel is the common name for biofuel production using lignocellulosic crops like wood as an example where you split the biomass typically by enzymes into cellulose (42%), hemicellulose (21%) and lignin and assuming full conversion to sugar of the both cellulose variants to sugar it can be used to create 30% ethanol by common fermentation as in making beer. The rest product lignin is now used mostly burned up to provide heat but here there are many interesting areas being evolved like creating lignin based plastics.

The second generation has large advantages over Sugar & Starch crops based production since it it is much more Green house gas efficient (90% saving compared to fossil fuels) and used the leftovers in food production and not the food itself.

Lignocellolosic ethanol production video

Third generation biofuel

During the oil crisis in the 1970s there was huge fundings of research in the field of algae based biofuels sponsored by the Carter administration, however when Clinton entered the scene the oil price was lower and funding stopped. There was however a very large knowledge base built up that was the start of many of the companies that we see today, many with investment from the large oil companies.

Those algae based biofuels now goes under the term third generation biofuel. It has the benefits of producing biomass very fast, 20-100 times faster than land based crops and there is lots of space to grow them. The production either uses algae with high concentration of oil to be converted to biodiesel, or using the upside of the fastest growing algae variants to create large biomass for gas production.

Third generation algae based biofuel

The downsides are mostly connected to its immaturity. For example producing the oil based diesel is still 3 times higher than biodiesel based on palm oil but in time this will probably be solved. The cost of producing biodiesel from algae is currently 52.3 Euro per gigajoule of energy, compared with 36 Euro for rapeseed and only 15.8 Euro for Oil. Also algae for gas production has challenges with predators and harvesting difficulties, however this seem to be an easier challenge and may quickly be solved with increased production.

The algae growth can be done in the open sea, closed ponds or in dedicated bioreactors like very long transparent tubes.

Video showing an algae bioreactor:

Fourth generation?

Well there are many speculations what the fourth generation may be but one of the challenges of the current solutions is that all of them requires many steps to reach the final fuel and maybe this is what will be solved in the future, likely by more advanced genetics and bioengineering.

In September the Cambridge based startup Joule said that they had engineered a blue-green algae that could convert Carbon dioxides in glass bioreactors with only sunlight as source. Well if this is sci-fi or not is yet to be seen but the thought is pleasant. For anyone that has some time left you can read the patent here and here is an article from cnet that discusses this in more detail.

Retrieved from: The Green Technology

Bioethanol Stove Made from Waste of "SALAK" Fruits

Adhita Sri Prabakusuma, students at the University of Gadjah Mada, succeeded in making bioethanol-fueled stove made from waste fruits.

"Bioethanol as fuel oil and liquefied petroleum substitute made from waste fruits harvested defective or rotten," he said in Yogyakarta, on Monday.

He said so far, not worth selling fruits are discarded farmers or left to rot in the courtyard garden he barked.

"In Ledoknongko, District Turi, Sleman regency, which is producing 1-3 tons of "salak fruits" waste generated approximately one in one month," he said.

According to him, from 10 kilograms of fruits waste generated at least 1 liter of bioethanol, after earlier, the fermented waste fruits once a week by adding yeast and urea.

"Fermentation liquid is heated with a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius in the distillation tube. The result of this warming will produce bioethanol," he said.

Praba admit not many people who want to treat Hamlet Ledoknongko fruits waste into fuel. "It's not easy to socialize these innovations because the level of public education in the hamlet Ledoknongko different," he said.

He expects innovation to help the community in addressing the waste bark, supports an integrated agricultural program, and in implementing environmentally friendly energy.

Source: Yahoo News

Getting to cellulosic

There are three main hurdles in getting to demonstration stage with cellulosic ethanol: market conditions, lack of available capital, and a concern over “unproven” technology.

• - Demand for ethanol is restricted due to the E10 “blend wall.” U.S. regulations state that, regardless of how much ethanol is produced, it cannot be blended into standard petroleum at a rate higher than 10%. There is currently more than enough ethanol produced to blend at 10%; the addition of cellulosic ethanol, without an increase in the blend wall, would mean additional surplus. The U.S. EPA is expected rule on a waiver request to increase the blend rate to 15% by the end of this year.
• - By law, any car can run on a petroleum/ethanol blend of up to 10% without engine conversion. Flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) can run on any blend of ethanol up to 85%, but while these vehicles are widely adopted in Brazil, both the number of vehicles in the U.S. and the number of E85 pumps available is still small.
• - The past year was a tough one for ethanol producers, due to low oil prices, overcapacity of ethanol, and lack of available capital – caused in large part by the economic crisis. For many, investing in developing new technology takes a confidence they haven’t had this year.
• - Cellulosic technology is still considered new, and therefore carries a higher risk. While the technology to convert cellulosic biomass to ethanol exists today, the trick is in doing it in an economically viable way. There are a lot of unknowns that add to the risk, such as how to economically collect and transport the feedstock. These are questions that will be answered over time, as investors increasingly test out how to make cellulosic ethanol plants profitable.

Novozymes has come a long way in reducing enzyme costs, but there remain other process challenges, such as successfully scaling up the technology and demonstrating a fully integrated process, which must still be overcome. Two promising demonstration plants came online in 2009, including the Abengoa plant in Salamanca, Spain, and, opening today, Inbicon’s new cellulosic bioethanol plant in Denmark, one of the world’s largest.

We look forward to an exciting 2010, as we’re on track to deliver on our cellulosic promise: a product that reduces enzyme-use costs by 50% for many of our partners’ technologies and substrates.

World’s most advanced biofuels plant opens in Denmark.

World’s largest second generation bio-ethanol plant opens for production.

See it on NovozymesTV.

Source: Cynthia Bryant, Novozymes Global Marketing Manager, Biofuels

Cellulosic bioethanol – how to pick the optimal process layout?

Novozymes has weighed the advantages and challenges of how to move forward with the development of cellulosic biofuel technology, and is setting the direction for process technology developed in our R&D labs. In absence of any commercially viable processes, Novozymes has developed a sophisticated model that allows us to see the tradeoffs through process alterations. By changing model parameters, including enzyme dose, hydrolysis time, and total solids level, we are able to accurately simulate different scenarios, including operational and capital costs – an important tool when working with partners on process optimization.

We have simulated various process designs in our model, such as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), with promising conclusions. SSF is the industry standard for starch-based bioethanol, but shows suboptimal conditions for cellulosic feedstocks. In contrast, SHF allows greater ethanol yields in a shorter time, since enzymes and yeast are able to operate under optimal conditions. Novozymes has conducted sophisticated modeling to provide insight into the process of balancing these conditions with costs; Fast Fermentation is the first concept to be developed using this insight, where enzyme hydrolysis time is extended and fermentation time is compressed. This is a potential way to make SHF work and to share the cost forecast in cellulosic conversion processes.

Undoubtedly, the industry faces challenges in moving towards commercialization of cellulosic biofuel – but exciting developments continue to move us closer to commercial viability. Novozymes’ modeling competencies enable us to understand trade-offs in process design, which in turn drives our development work with our partners. We have found that the dedicated hydrolysis separate from fermentation allows better enzyme performance and a potentially better overall process design; our Fast Fermentation concept is a promising solution for C5 & C6 sugar fermentation that could help to enable the cellulosic ethanol industry.

This information is based on a presentation given by Cynthia Bryant, Novozymes Global Marketing Manager, Biofuels, at the Next Generation Biofuels Markets conference in Amsterdam in September 2009.

Source: Novozymes

Bioethanol, a UK first from British Sugar

As one of the UK’s leading agriprocessors with an interest in innovative new technology, British Sugar began production of Bioethanol in September 2007 making it the first company to manufacture Bioethanol in the UK. 

British Sugar is able to supply Bioethanol with full traceability including a full life cycle analysis. This is necessary to demonstrate that the whole process of production, including crop growing, fermentation and distribution, is carried out in such a way that genuine environmental benefits are delivered.

About Bioethanol

Bioethanol is made using yeast fermentation followed by distillation. It can be mixed with petrol at up to 5% inclusion and used in cars running on ordinary unleaded petrol.

Crops

In the UK, Bioethanol can be economically produced by the fermentation of sugar beet or wheat. In our Wissington refinery, we produce Bioethanol from sugar beet which is supplied under contract by existing growers.

Producing up to 55,000 tonnes (70 million litres) of Bioethanol every year, the refinery uses around 110,000 tonnes of sugar. This is equivalent to 650,000 tonnes of sugar beet. Beet supplied to British Sugar for Bioethanol manufacture is grown on existing farm land.

Production

Bioethanol is produced by the fermentation of sugars followed by distillation to produce a pure alcohol.

Fossil fuels are used in the production process but every effort is made to optimise fuel efficiency.  British Sugar has embraced a system called Combined Heat & Power (CHP), recognised as one of the most fuel-efficient processes available.  About 80% of the energy in the fuel is employed in the sugar manufacturing process. As a result of the close integration with the sugar factory we have been able to demonstrate GHG emissions savings of over 70% when compared to petrol.

Fuel

In the UK, Bioethanol can be added to standard unleaded petrol at levels up to 5% and used in any car on the road today. In the Energy Act 2004, the UK Government provided for the enactment of a Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO). This mechanism is very similar to the Renewables Obligation operating in the electricity sector. The obligation was introduced in April 2008 with an obligation of 2.5% biofuels in 2008-2009 and 3.75% in 2009-2010, reaching 5% for 2010-2011.

Cars

A blend of up to 5% Bioethanol can be used in any unleaded car on the road in the UK today. In the longer term, there is potential for ordinary cars to use higher blends. Some car manufacturers have already developed engines to operate on blends of up to 85% Bioethanol known as E85.

Retrieved from: British Sugar

Bioethanol Q&A

How much heat does a biofireplace loose?

While in traditional fireplaces 60% of heat is lost up the chimney, in biofireplaces 100% of heat energy from burning biofuel remains in the room - thus no heat is lost. Similar to a biofireplace, 100% of heat energy from biofuel burning in a glass fire remains in the room.

For a 2- 5 hour period how much bioethanol fuel would I use relative to a 300kw radiator?

Depending on the flame head setting (adjustment), 1 litre of biofuel is consumed in 2-5 hours and replaces a 3000W radiator.

Compared to my traditional heating, how long do biofireplaces and glass fires have to be burning to feel a significant increase in room temperature?

Biofireplaces provide a perfect supplement to traditional heating. Within just a few minutes of lighting you can feel a considerable increase in your room temperature. Like a biofireplace, a glass fire is an efficient source of heat, and although it certainly does not replace the heating system, it may serve as its supplementation in transitory periods such as spring and autumn. If a glass fire is placed in a small room (e.g. a bathroom), a few minutes is enough to make the room warmer.

Will burning a biofireplace or glass fire cause the air in the room to dry out?

Ordinary sources of heat such as radiators or electric heaters usually dry out the air. When burning biofireplaces and glass fires, steam is emitted which increases relative humidity.

Is it possible for me to use a biofireplace or glass fire for aromatherapy?

Special structure of the product makes it possible to insert dishes containing aromatherapy preparations. Having reached optimum temperature, steam particles combine with an active substance in the preparation and are subsequently inhaled. Owing to the process of free convection, heated and humidified air filled with the preparation is equally distributed throughout the entire room. The convection makes it possible to undergo aromatherapy during work, meetings with friends, or relaxation.

How safe is the fuel?

Having been thoroughly tested, the fuel received the approval of specialists from the Environmental Toxicology Department of the National Institute of Hygiene in regard to its safety for people and the environment, and with reservation of use in accordance with designation, label instructions and the operations manual.

Is bioethanol a renewable source of energy?

Bioethanol fuel is a biologically clean product of plant origin, which has undergone rectification three times. It constitutes a wholly renewable source of energy.

Is smoke emitted during burning?

Neither smell nor smoke is emitted during burning. As a result of burning, steam and CO2 remain in the air in proportions similar to those contained in the air exhaled by humans. No undesired side-effects such as smoke, ash or solid remains.

How do I find out about the burning conditions that are required?

Burning conditions have been specified in the fireplace safe operations manual.

Is room ventilation required where the biofireplace or glass fire is burning?

Burning in biofireplaces, as with all open fires, requires a regular provision of air (room ventilation system in a good working condition). However, unlike traditional fireplaces a chimney or external wall exit is not required. In apartment conditions with small cubic capacity a slightly opened window will do.

Retrieved from: Kedco

About Biodiesel (2)

PAGE 2 of 2 : PREVIOUS PAGE 

Energy security

One of the main drivers for adoption of biodiesel is energy security. This means that a nation’s dependence on oil is reduced, and substituted with use of locally available sources, such as coal, gas, or renewable sources. Thus a country can benefit from adoption of biofuels, without a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. While the total energy balance is debated, it is clear that the dependence on oil is reduced. One example is the energy used to manufacture fertilizers, which could come from a variety of sources other than petroleum. The US NREL says that energy security is the number one driving force behind the US biofuels programme.[66] and the White House "Energy Security for the 21st Century" makes clear that energy security is a major reason for promoting biodiesel.[67] The EU commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, speaking at a recent EU biofuels conference, stressed that properly managed biofuels have the potential to reinforce the EU’s security of supply through diversification of energy sources.[68]

Environmental effects

The surge of interest in biodiesels has highlighted a number of environmental effects associated with its use. These potentially include reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,[69] deforestation, pollution and the rate of biodegradation.

Food, Land and Water vs Fuel

In some poor countries the rising price of vegetable oil is causing problems.[70][71] Some propose that fuel only be made from non-edible vegetable oils like camelina, jatropha or seashore mallow[72] which can thrive on marginal agricultural land where many trees and crops will not grow, or would produce only low yields.

Others argue that the problem is more fundamental. Farmers may switch from producing food crops to producing biofuel crops to make more money, even if the new crops are not edible.[73][74] The law of supply and demand predicts that if fewer farmers are producing food the price of food will rise. It may take some time, as farmers can take some time to change which things they are growing, but increasing demand for first generation biofuels is likely to result in price increases for many kinds of food. Some have pointed out that there are poor farmers and poor countries who are making more money because of the higher price of vegetable oil.[75]

Biodiesel from sea algae would not necessarily displace terrestrial land currently used for food production and new algaculture jobs could be created.

Current research

There is ongoing research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil yield. Using the current yields, vast amounts of land and fresh water would be needed to produce enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage. It would require twice the land area of the US to be devoted to soybean production, or two-thirds to be devoted to rapeseed production, to meet current US heating and transportation needs.

Specially bred mustard varieties can produce reasonably high oil yields and are very useful in crop rotation with cereals, and have the added benefit that the meal leftover after the oil has been pressed out can act as an effective and biodegradable pesticide.[76]

The NFESC, with Santa Barbara-based Biodiesel Industries, Inc, is working to develop biodiesel technologies for the US navy and military, one of the largest diesel fuel users in the world. [77]

A group of Spanish developers working for a company called Ecofasa just announced a new biofuel made up from trash. It’s made from general urban waste which is treated by bacteria to produce fatty acids which can be used to make biodiesel. [78].

Algal biodiesel

From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory experimented with using algae as a biodiesel source in the "Aquatic Species Program".[66] A self-published article by Michael Briggs, at the UNH Biodiesel Group, offers estimates for the realistic replacement of all vehicular fuel with biodiesel by utilizing algae that have a natural oil content greater than 50%, which Briggs suggests can be grown on algae ponds at wastewater treatment plants.[50] This oil-rich algae can then be extracted from the system and processed into biodiesel, with the dried remainder further reprocessed to create ethanol.

The production of algae to harvest oil for biodiesel has not yet been undertaken on a commercial scale, but feasibility studies have been conducted to arrive at the above yield estimate. In addition to its projected high yield, algaculture — unlike crop-based biofuels — does not entail a decrease in food production, since it requires neither farmland nor fresh water. Many companies are pursuing algae bio-reactors for various purposes, including scaling up biodiesel production to commercial levels.[79][80]

Fungus

A group at the Russian academy of Sciences in Moscow published a paper in September 2008, stating that they had could isolate large amounts of lipids from single-celled fungi and turn them into biodiesel in an economically efficient manner. More research on this fungal species; C. japonica, and others, is likely to appear in the near future.[81]

The recent discovery of a variant of the fungus Gliocladium roseum points toward the production of so-called myco-diesel from cellulose. This organism was recently discovered in the rainforests of northern Patagonia and has the unique capability of converting cellulose into medium length hydrocarbons typically found in diesel fuel.[82]

Biodiesel from used coffee grounds

Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, have successfully produced biodiesel from oil derived from used coffee grounds. Their analysis of the used grounds showed a 10% to 15% oil content (by weight). Once the oil was extracted, it underwent conventional processing into biodiesel. It is estimated that finished biodiesel could be produced for about one US dollar per gallon. Further, it was reported that "the technique is not difficult" and that "there is so much coffee around that several hundred million gallons of biodiesel could potentially be made annually."[83]

See also

Biodiesel around the world

• Biodiesel production
• Bioenergy
• Biofuel
• Earthrace
• Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
• Gasoline gallon equivalent
• Greasestock
• National Biodiesel Board
• Sustainable biofuel
• Table of biofuel crop yields
• Tonne of oil equivalent
• Vegetable oil as fuel
• Vegetable oil economy
• Vegetable oil refining
• NExBTL

References

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2. "Biodiesel Basics". National Biodiesel Board. http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/biodiesel_basics/. Retrieved on 2009-01-30.
3. Knothe, G.. "Historical Perspectives on Vegetable Oil-Based Diesel Fuels" (PDF). INFORM, Vol. 12(11), p. 1103-1107(2001). http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/gen/20011101_gen-346.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
4. McCormick, R.L.. "2006 Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide Third Edition" (PDF). http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/npbf/pdfs/40555.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
5. "US EPA Biodiesel Factsheet". http://www.epa.gov/smartway/growandgo/documents/factsheetbiodiesel.htm.
6. "Twenty In Ten: Strengthening America’s Energy Security". Whitehouse.gov. http://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/energy.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.
7. Kemp, William. Biodiesel: Basics and Beyond. Canada: Aztext Press, 2006.
8.  http://nbb.grassroots.com/07Releases/Incentive/
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12. Soviet-era training jet flies on biodiesel
13. Bio-fuel flight demonstration
14. Virgin Atlantic to Run Bio-diesel Test Flight
15. Biofuel-powered jet to make test flight
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17. biodiesel.org report 246
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19. [1] Quote from Tecbio website
20. [2] O Globo newspaper interview in Portuguese
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22. [3] Minnesota regulations on biodiesel content
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25. Lubricity Benefits
26. Carbon and Energy Balances for a Range of Biofuels Options
27. National Biodiesel Board (2005-10). "Energy Content" (PDF).: 1. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
28. UNH Biodiesel Group
29. Generic biodiesel material safety data sheet (MSDS)
30. UFOP - Union zur Förderung von Oel. "Biodiesel FlowerPower: Facts * Arguments * Tips" (PDF). http://64.233.167.104/ custom?q=cache:OVkS1z7K_jYJ:www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/gen/20040101_gen-331.pdf+hygroscopic&hl=en&ct=clnk&Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
31. Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report July 2007
32. "Biofuels and Glycerol". theglycerolchallenge.org. http://www.theglycerolchallenge.org. Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
33. Chemweek’s Business Daily, Tuesday May 8, 2007
34. http://www.dow.com/propyleneglycol/news/20070315b.htm, accessed June 25, 2007
35. http://epoxy.dow.com/epoxy/news/2007/20070326b.htm, accessed June 25, 2007
36. Martinot (Lead Author), Eric (2008). "Renewables 2007. Global Status Report" (PDF). REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21stCentury. http://www.martinot.info/RE2007_Global_Status_Report.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
37. "US Biodiesel Demand" (PDF). Biodiesel: The official site of the National Biodiesel Board. NBB. http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/Production_Graph_Slide.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
38. "Statistics. the EU biodiesel industry". European Biodiesel Board. 2008-03-28. http://www.ebb-eu.org/stats.php#. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
39. "Biodiesel to drive up the price of cooking oil". Biopower London. 2006. http://www.biopowerlondon.co.uk/news2.htm. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
40. "Major Commodities". FEDIOL (EU Oil and Proteinmeal Industry). http://www.fediol.be/2/index.php. Retrieved on 2008-04-08.
41. ^ Leonard, Christopher (2007-01-03). "Not a Tiger, but Maybe a Chicken in Your Tank". Washington Post (Associated Press): p. D03. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010201057.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
42. Errol Kiong (12 May 2006). "NZ firm makes bio-diesel from sewage in world first". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10381404. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
43. Glenn, Edward P.; Brown, J. Jed; O’Leary, James W. (August 1998). "Irrigating Crops with Seawater" (PDF). Scientific American (USA: Scientific American, Inc.) (August 1998): 76–81. http://www.miracosta.edu/home/kmeldahl/writing/..%5Carticles/crops.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-17.
44. "Biodiesel from Animal Fat". E85.whipnet.net. http://e85.whipnet.net/alt.fuel/animal.fat.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
45. "Biodiesel produced from “tra”, “basa” catfish oil". governemental site. http://www.fistenet.gov.vn/details_e.asp?Object=2111609&news_id=4540732. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
46. "Demonstrating the value of a fishy biodiesel blend in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands" (PDF). Biodiesel america. http://www.biodieselamerica.org/files/articles/alaskafishoil_fs_3_18_02.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
47. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_821dst_dcu_nus_a.htm)
48. Van Gerpen, John (2004 - 07). "Business Management for Biodiesel Producers, August 2002 - January 2004" (PDF). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/36242.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
49. A Promising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy - washingtonpost.com
50. ^ Michael Briggs (August 2004). "Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae". UNH Biodiesel Group (University of New Hampshire). http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
51. Herer, Jack, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes", Ah Ha Publishing, 1985.
52. Klass, Donald, "Biomass for Renewable Energy, Fuels, and Chemicals",page 341. Academic Press, 1998.
53. Kitani, Osamu, "Volume V: Energy and Biomass Engineering, CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering", Amer Society of Agricultural, 1999.
54. ^ Biofuels: some numbers
55. [www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-337.pdf Purdue report ID-337]
56. DOE quoted by Washington Post in "APromising Oil Alternative: Algae Energy"
57. Strahan, David (13 August 2008). "Green Fuel for the Airline Industry". New Scientist (2669): 34–37. http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19926691.700-greenfuel-for-the-airline-industry.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-23.
58. India’s jatropha plant biodiesel yield termed wildly exaggerated 
59. Jatropha for biodiesel
60. Weed’s biofuel potential sparks African land grab, Washington Times, February 21, 2007, Karen Palmer
61. Kazuhisa Miyamoto (1997) (HTML). Renewable biological systems for alternative sustainable energy production (FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin - 128). Final. FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7241e/w7241e05.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
62. Tad Patzek (2006-07-22). "Thermodynamics of the Corn-Ethanol Biofuel Cycle (section 3.11 Solar Energy Input into Corn Production)" (PDF). Berkeley; Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 23(6):519-567 (2004). http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/papers/patzek/CRPS416-Patzek-Web.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
63. "Looking Forward: Energy and the Economy" (PDF). http://www.dallasfed.org/news/educate/2004/04ecsummit-brown.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-08-29.
64. "Hands On: Power Pods - India". http://www.tve.org/ho/doc.cfm?aid=1433&lang=English. Retrieved on 2005-10-24.
65. "Palm Oil Based Biodiesel Has Higher Chances Of Survival". http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=157856. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
66. ^ John Sheehan, Terri Dunahay, John Benemann, Paul Roessler (July 1998) (PDF (3.7 Mb)). A look back at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Aquatic Species Program: Biodiesel from Algae. Close-out Report. United States Department of Energy. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24190.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
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70. Biofuel demand makes fried food expensive in Indonesia - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
71. The other oil shock: Vegetable oil prices soar - International Herald Tribune 
72. http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/sustainability/pdfs/Food%20and%20FuelApril162008.pdf
73. Food versus fuel debate escalates
74. How Food and Fuel Compete for Land by Lester Brown - The Globalist > > Global Energy
75. "The Economist – The End Of Cheap Food". http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=7216688&story_id=10252015.
76. Departement of energy
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80. "Technology: High Yield Carbon Recycling". GreenFuel Technologies Corporation. http://www.greenfuelonline.com/technology.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-09.
81. Sergeeva YE, Galanina LA, Andrianova DA, Feofilova EP. Lipids of filamentous fungi as a material for producing biodiesel fuel. Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology 2008: 44, 523-527
82. G. Strobel, et al. (September 2, 2008). ""The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072)"" (PDF). Microbiology. http://plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/strobel/documents/mycodiesel.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-04.
83. Henry Fountain (2008-12-15). "Diesel made Simply From Coffee Grounds". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/science/16objava.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-15.

Other references

• An Overview of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel Lifecycles, May 1998, Sheehan, et al. NREL (60pp pdf file)
• Business Management for Biodiesel Producers, January 2004, Jon Von Gerpen, Iowa State University under contract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (210pp pdf file)
• Energy balances in the growth of oilseed rape for biodiesel and of wheat for bioethanol, June 2000, I.R. Richards
• Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus, 1998, Sheehan, et al. NREL (314pp pdf file)
• Algae - like a breath mint for smokestacks, January 11, 2006, Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Biodiesel
• Tyson, R.L.. ""2006 Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide Third Edition"" (PDF). http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/npbf/pdfs/40555.pdf.
• Biodiesel’s Bright Future from the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST magazine.

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Categories: Alternative propulsion, Biofuels, Diesel substitutes, Direct biofuels, Liquid fuels, Sustainable transport

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