Market for cellulosic ethanol sours before fuel establishes foothold; Ga. plant too big a jump

Four years after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue touted his state's new plant that would turn wood into fuel as part of the expected boom in cellulosic ethanol, the plant is closed after running out of money before becoming commercially viable. The Georgia facility was supposed to be the nation's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant and the federal government promised $76 million for the project, Josh Goodman of Stateline.org reports. Georgia was hardly alone in "hoping that cellulose from all manner of plant material — from tree waste to grasses to corn husks — would serve as fuels that could clean the environment and end America’s dependence on foreign oil," Goodman writes.

The Georgia plant, which was operated by Range Fuels, was supposed to produce 20 million gallons of fuel in 2009 before increasing to 100 million gallons in subsequent years. "It never happened," Goodman writes. "Today, the facility is closed, at least temporarily." Federal legislation passed in 2007 called for 150 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol to be produced this year, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that less than 4 million gallons actually will be produced. For now commercialization of cellulosic ethanol has been delayed, Goodman writes, noting it remains unclear "whether the reversal reflects the dangers of chasing new technologies or whether the backers of cellulosic ethanol need just a little more patience."

Cellulosic ethanol proponents saw the fuel as a product that could be produced anywhere in the country, unlike corn-based ethanol, and turn obscure plants like switchgrass into cash crops, Goodman writes. So what went wrong? Some say the fuel wasn't ready for prime time when the Georgia plant was built. "You just don’t scale from a chemical lab scientific demonstration up to a $400 million plant in one step," Sam Shelton, the founding director of Georgia Tech. University’s Strategic Energy Institute, said. Others note investor interest in the fuel dropped after oil prices went down following the 2007-08 spike. (Read more)

Switchgrass shows promise for Ky. farmers

The growing market for new energy sources could be providing a new crop for farmers, especially Kentucky tobacco farmers. "A pilot project using switchgrass as an additive to coal being conducted by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture in conjunction with East Kentucky Power Cooperative and 20 northeastern Kentucky producers is showing hope," Tim Thornberry of Business Lexington reports.  Dr. Ray Smith, a UK forage extension specialist, told Thornberry the initial success of the project should encourage farmers to try it on a larger scale. The current project planted 750 acres of switchgrass, but "an expansion of the project is in the works and is being funded through the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund," funded by the national tobacco settlement with cigarette makers, Thornberry writes. 

"I think the greatest success of the project has been in providing practical advice to farmers on growing an alternative cash crop, and seeing them be successful," Smith told Thornberry. "These 20 farmers and their neighbors who have followed the project will be much more willing to try growing biomass crops on a large scale after seeing the success of the project and gaining the knowledge of how to grow and harvest switchgrass." Two Kentucky droughts since the beginning of the pilot period haven't been enough to slow the switchgrass's growth. "The 20 switchgrass stands grew well this year," Smith said. "Since it is a warm season grass (grows best when temperatures are in the 90's) and is very efficient with water, the heat and dry weather had very little effect on production."

Test burns of the switchgrass  have been successful on a small scale so far, said Nick Comer, spokesman for the power co-op. "It gave us an opportunity to look at, operationally, what we need to do in terms of processing and handling. On the first (burn) we just chopped up the switchgrass and put it in with the coal," he told Thornberry. "Last year we took pelletized switchgrass and mixed it in with the coal. Of course that's much easier to handle but there are costs involved in the process of turning it into pellets." He added "We didn't see anything that would indicate there would be a problem to burn on a much larger scale." (Read more)

Government to amp up biofuel production efforts

To meet the nation's biofuel goal, the government must accelerate the development of biofuel crops and products, says a new report from the White House. In the report to be released today, "An administration task force said the government needs, among other things, to set targets for commercializing new types of fuel crops, such as switchgrass," Phillip Brasher of the Des Monies Register reports. The report also advocates a regional approach that promoted specific fuels to suit particular regions.

Not everything in the report will please the biofuel industry, though. It suggests federal agencies identify "environmental and social issues that may confront biofuels development," Brasher writes, and it says new biofuel refineries must have guaranteed markets. The industry has been outspoken in its belief that such a requirement would make it virtually impossible for companies to obtain federal loan guarantees.

"Past performance and business as usual will not get us there," the report says of the 2022 mandate for the nation to use 36 billion gallons of biofuels. "Today, only 12 billion gallons of biofuels are produced annually." The report did not say how the agency would deal with the 10-percent cap on the amount of ethanol that can be added to gasoline, and greenhouse-gas reduction standards that could limit the increased production of ethanol and biodiesel, Brasher reports. (Read more)

Switchgrass converted to pellets for coal plants

A University of Kentucky College of Agriculture research project recently pelletized switchgrass for the first time as part of their attempt to create biofuel from the crop. Previously, ground switchgrass was mixed with coal to produce energy, but officials with East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a partner in the study, suggested UK try a pelleted form of the grass to better integrate the crop into their coal-fired systems, Katie Pratt of UK Ag News reports.

"Putting it in this form allows them to use current operational procedures to incorporate this biomass into their system without any significant changes or major financial output," Tom Keene, UK hay marketing specialist, told Pratt. Jeff Lowe, president of Midwestern Biofuels, which is pelletizing the switchgrass, explained, "Currently, we've tested up to an 8-percent blend with coal, and it's gone to another utility with no problems. It's handled well. It went through their mills and crushed down and went right to the furnace to make power."

Last year was the third-year of the four-year research project which has UK working with northeastern Kentucky farmers and their extension agents to learn more about future prospects for the crop. A dry 2007 and 2008, followed by an unusually wet 2009, have helped the researchers learn more about the crop's ability to stand up to weather variations, Pratt reports. "If we have a drought, that's not the end of the world," Keene said. "We still get production in a dry year so that's very good to know." (Read more)

Study shows switchgrass highly efficient for ethanol

When it comes to producing ethanol efficiently, switchgrass stands out. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the prairie grass (at left in a U.S. Department of Agriculture photo) delivers 540 percent more renewable energy than the energy consumed in growing it, including fertilizer and its production, a point on which it has a clear advantage over corn. In addition, the use of switchgrass as biomass has environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased soil conservation.

The study b the University of Nebraska "clearly demonstrates that managed switchgrass production systems have the potential to produce significantly more energy than is used in production and conversion," its authors write. Switchgrass has additional appeal since it does not require great farmland to grow. "Switchgrass is a good crop for marginal crop lands," Ken Vogel, a co-author of the study, told Timothy Gardner of Reuters. "Corn is still going to be grown to make ethanol; whether it ever takes a chunk of crop land away from corn is all going to come down to economics." Cellulosic ethanol now costs about twice as much as that produced from corn, but advances in the breakdown of cellulose could bring costs down, Gardner reports. (Read more)

At Iowa State University, John Verkade and his colleagues are trying to turn a 40-year-old discovery into a breakthrough for cellulosic ethanol production. For the past 40 years, Verkade has told a funny story about one of his Iowa State University students who thought a classmate might be swiping his lab materials. Today, that story could be the key to breaking down switchgrass and other plant material cheaply, ISU's Mike Krapfl writes.

On that day in the 1960s, Verkade's student, David Hendricker, discovered that his missing wooden applicators actually were being broken down by the chemical compound he was studying. Verdaker and Hendricker sought a patent, but it got lost in the shuffle until recently when another university professor, George Kraus, thought the compound could have a role in ethanol production. Verkade has since followed up with a proposal for U.S. Department of Energy funding. Verkade (on the left in photo by Bob Elbert) won a two-year, $125,000 grant and enlisted the research help of Reed Oshel (on the right in the same photo), an Iowa State graduate student. So far, they have had success using the compound to break down cellulose. Verkade says more research needs to be done, specifically to see how the compound might fit into the fermentation process. (Read more)