biofuel

[Now that corn ethanol has fallen out of favor politically, the bioenergy industry will be focusing more and more on forests.]

- by Alex Maragos, November 28, 2014, WLFI

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"323","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"480","style":"width: 330px; height: 392px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"404"}}]]Ethanol made from corn already powers millions of cars and trucks on the road, but a group of researchers at Purdue University wants to make biofuel better. Since corn ethanol affects the food supply, this group creates fuel from something nobody eats — trees.

The quest to make better fuel involves several professors and students from the school’s chemical engineering and forestry departments. Every step of the process to make fuel from wood is carefully calculated and tested, starting with the type of tree the researchers need.

Poplar trees grow on three acres at the recently dedicated Richard G. Lugar Forestry Farm at Purdue. These trees are not rare, but this group is one of a kind. They were born in a lab by Purdue forestry professor Rick Meilan. He crossbred different strains to come up with the trees that would resist disease, grow fast and potentially produce the most fuel.

“We can genetically engineer it relatively easily,” Meilan said while walking among the nearly 2,000 poplars he planted. “Ten or 15 years from now we’ll be able to utilize these trees as a biomass source for making ethanol. So rather than relying exclusively on corn for making ethanol to use as a fuel, we’ll be able to use the sugars in the walls of these trees.”

- by Matthew Philips, November 24, 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"314","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 222px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images"}}]]The ethanol industry just avoided a death blow. Rather than deciding to permanently lower the amount of renewable fuels that have to be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply, as it first proposed a year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency last week opted to wait until next year to decide. The delay (official notice here) means this year’s ethanol quotas won’t be set until 2015 and ensures they will be lower than the original mandate envisioned. That’s not great news for ethanol producers, but it gives them more time to fight and avoids an outcome that could have been far worse.

When Congress first passed the Renewable Fuel Standard during the George W. Bush years, it set out a schedule of yearly mandates that rose steeply with what it thought would be the country’s perpetually growing demand for gasoline. Biofuel production has tripled since then, into a $30 billion-a-year industry.

- by Katie Lannan, November 19, 2014,  NJ.com

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"312","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 221px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: Katie Lannan, NJ.com"}}]]Firefighters called to the scene of what was originally described to them as a "small spill" Wednesday afternoon instead found 500 gallons of ethanol that had leaked out of a collapsed tanker truck.

The truck, carrying 7,000 gallons of ethanol, split as it was offloading its contents at a North Michigan Avenue business, said borough Fire Chief Lou Giordino.

"The tank itself just collapsed and broke open," he said.

Firefighters called the county hazardous materials team and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's emergency response team to the scene. Fire departments from nearby communities, including Union Township and Elizabeth, also assisted with the cleanup.

- by Erin Voegele, November 14, 2014, Biomass Magazine

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"310","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 300px; height: 233px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;"}}]]The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the November issue of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, which includes updated forecasts for the use of wood and biomass fuels in U.S. heat and power production.

The EIA predicts that wood biomass will be use generate 118,000 MWh electricity per day in 2015, up from 116,000 MWh per day in 2014 and 109,000 MWh per day in 2013. Waste biomass is expected to be used to generate 58,000 MWh of electricity per day next year, up from 54,000 MWh per day this year and 55,000 MWh per day last year.

The electric power sector is expected to consume 0.262 quadrillion Btu (quad) of wood biomass and 0.277 quad of waste biomass next year, up from 0.25 quad and 0.259 quad this year, respectively. The industrial sector is expected to consume 1.198 quad of wood in 2015, down from 1.25 quad this year. The industrial sector is also expected to consume 0.0169 quad of waste biomass next year, down from 0.172 quad this year. The commercial sector is expected to consume 0.091 quad of wood biomass and 0.046 quad of waste biomass next year, compared to 0.079 quad and 0.046 quad this year, respectively. The residential sector is expected to consume 0.571 quad of wood next year, down slightly from 0.580 quad this year. Across all sectors, the U.S. is expected to consume 2.123 quad of wood biomass next year, down from 2.164 quad this year. The U.S. is also expected to consume 0.492 quad of waste biomass next year, up from 0.478 quad this year.

/*-->*/ -By Emily Zucchino, October 28, 2014, Dogwood Alliance

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"308","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"480","style":"width: 160px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left; height: 160px;","title":"Photo: Dogwood Alliance","width":"480"}}]]Today’s biggest threat to Southern forests is the growing biomass industry. The wood pellet industry is expanding at a rate that is impossible for Southern forests to sustain. Our beautiful forests are being clear-cut, processed into pellets and then shipped to Europe to be burned for electricity.

We know that our forests aren’t fuel, and that’s why we’re sending an SOS to EU policymakers to Save Our Southern forests.

On November 13th, as the wood products industry meets in Chesapeake, VA to celebrate the destruction and export of our incredible forests, people from across the US are coming together for a National Day of Action to send an SOS to Save Our Southern forests. With 20 existing wood pellet facilities and 33 proposed, it’s crucial that we show EU policymakers that the biomass industry is bad for our environment, our communities and our economy. Join us in sending an SOS of more than 10,000 messages to EU policymakers.

Join us on November 13th to send an SOS to Save Our Southern forests.

PLEDGE TO TAKE ACTION NOW!

The increased demand for wood as a fuel source in the EU and particularly in the United Kingdom is driving the expansion of wood pellet manufacturing and export in the Southern US. We call on policymakers in the EU to hear our SOS and take action to stop the destruction of these forests.

The large-scale burning of wood pellets is not a solution to climate change or a feasible alternative to coal.

Mounting scientific research shows that burning wood pellets manufactured from trees will increase near-term carbon emissions and accelerate climate change. A recent report released by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change confirms that all scenarios in which whole trees or coarse woody residuals are used for wood pellets produce a result that is not carbon beneficial.

Additionally, our living forests provide many benefits.

Standing forests are our best defense against climate change through gathering and storing carbon.

Forests provide our communities with clean air to breathe, water to drink, and natural protection from flooding and hurricanes. They are home to countless species of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Cutting them down as a solution to the climate crisis is bad policy and makes no sense. We can no longer invest in forest destruction; we need to focus on forest conservation.

Protect our bottomland wetland forests!

Join us on November 13th to send an SOS to EU policymakers.

Help us reach our goal of 10,000 messages!

- by Katie Fehrenbacher, November 11, 2014, Gigaom.com

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"309","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 220px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;"}}]]Biofuel company KiOR, which has become a symbol of the difficulties of venture capitalists investing in clean technology startups, finally filed for bankruptcy this week, many months after shutting down its biofuel plant and operating on fumes, unable to pay its debts. Many, including myself, have been predicting this for awhile and thought it would come a lot sooner. But affiliates of early investor and major shareholder Vinod Khosla, as well as Bill Gates (also an investor in Khosla Ventures), have been funding the company’s day-to-day operations, keeping it going throughout the year.

Affiliates of Khosla could end up with the assets of KiOR, as they’ve placed the only bid in the sale process, and if there are no better offers, KiOR plans to sell the assets to “senior lenders,” which means funds affiliated with Khosla. Senior lenders agreed to convert $16 million of senior secured debt into new equity in the deal. KiOR interim CFO Christopher Artzer said in the filings that after an asset sale or reorganization, KiOR will continue research and development efforts on its biocrude development technology.

- by Seth Slabaugh, November 11, 2014, The Star Press

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"307","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 200px; height: 115px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","title":"Photo: randolph-county.org"}}]]Cardinal Ethanol has paid a $9,600 fine to settle a complaint that it violated its Clean Air Act operating permit.

The penalty is insignificant in light of the grassroots, investor-owned company's profitability — $26.4 million net income for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2013.

President Jeff Painter said revenue and income data for fiscal year 2014 are not available because an independent audit has not been completed.

But according to Securities and Exchange Commission information, the company's net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 totaled $29.4 million.

Until now, Cardinal Ethanol had been the only biofuels plant in East Central Indiana that had not paid a civil penalty for alleged air or water violations. Those violations usually occur during planned shutdowns for maintenance or start-ups.

"We paid the assessment in order to expedite this settlement," Painter said.

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the company did not take reasonable steps to restore an air pollution scrubber's operation to normal operation as soon as practical during planned shutdowns in 2011-13.

The complaint also accuses the company of failing to record visible emissions of bag house exhaust around Christmas time in 2012.

- October 28, 2014, HartfordBusiness.com

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"306","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"264","style":"width: 264px; height: 264px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"264"}}]]Glastonbury construction firm Gemma Power Systems has completed the 49.9 megawatt construction of a biomass plant in Woodville, Texas, three months ahead of schedule.

The plant to be run by the East Texas Electric Cooperative will operate on chipped forest waste. Construction of the facility began in 2012.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Gemma served as construction manager.

Gemma's subsidiary Gemma Plant Operations will run the plant for the electric cooperative under a separate contract.

- August 14, 2014, Waste Management World

[The latest bad idea coming out of the polluting bioenergy industry.]

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"301","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"395","style":"width: 333px; height: 274px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;","width":"480"}}]]A scientist at the University of Alberta, Canada is research to determine whether it’s effective to use pipelines to transport agricultural waste used in biofuels.

According to the university, Mahdi Vaezi, a PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering, is looking at agricultural wastes such as straw and corn stover which are used as feedstock for bio-based energy facilities.

Vaezi’s lab is claimed to be the only one in the world conducting this kind of research on biomass slurries.

The university explained that biomass material derived from food and non-food organisms has traditionally been transported by truck, at great expense. However, when done at a large scale, transporting biomass materials by slurry pipeline could help make the cost of biorefineries competitive.

- by Eric Reinhardt, October 13, 2014, Business Journal News Network

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"297","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 333px; height: 231px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;"}}]]OWEGO, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) has signed a manufacturing agreement with Concord Blue Energy, Inc. to provide all manufacturing support for the firm’s reformertechnology.

That technology converts waste to energy using advanced conversion technology.

Lockheed Martin is now the “exclusive manufacturing provider” of the Concord Blue reformer, Lockheed said in a news release distributed on Friday.

Concord Blue specializes in transforming nearly any form of waste into a variety of clean, renewable fuels and energy.

Concord Blue USA, Inc. is headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm also operates international offices in India, Germany, and Dubai.

Lockheed Martin and Concord Blue Energy, Inc. in 2013 reached an agreement to offer an advanced waste-conversion system to address waste disposal, energy security, and climate-control issues.

Advanced waste conversion is an “emerging” technology that uses gasification processes to convert waste products to electricity, heat, and synthetic fuels, according to the Lockheed news release.

It addresses the current burden on landfills, conventional incineration, and fossil fuels, along with the desire for green-baseload energy, Lockheed said.

Concord Blue’s waste-to-energy process employs a patented technology called steam thermolysis to convert waste material using heat transfer instead of incineration, “efficiently” producing syngas without combustion.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin Corp. is a security and aerospace company that employs about 113,000 people globally. The firm focuses on the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

The corporation generated net sales of $45.4 billion in 2013.