In Landmark Move, EPA Approves Higher Ethanol Blend for Vehicles Built in Last Decade

/PRNewswire/ -- Growth Energy announced today that U.S. jobs will be created, carbon removed from the air, and our national security made stronger with a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to raise the amount of ethanol that can be blended into our fuel from 10 percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15) for all vehicles built in the last decade.

The decision today to permit E15 for 2001-to-2006 model year vehicles follows an October decision by EPA to permit blends up to E15 in vehicles 2007 model year and newer. The EPA was responding to a regulatory petition, the Green Jobs Waiver, filed in March 2009 by Growth Energy, America's leading voice for ethanol supporters and producers.

A full move to E15 creates a bigger market for American ethanol that could help create as many as 136,000 new jobs in the United States and eliminate as much as 8 million metric tons of GHG emissions from the air in a year — the equivalent of taking 1.35 million vehicles off the road. Increasing the domestic, renewable fuel supply would also displace some of the 7 billion gallons of oil that is imported every day into the United States from countries such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, at a cost of more than $300 billion annually to our economy.

"This is a bold move forward, changing America's energy future for the better," said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. "Increased use of ethanol will strengthen our energy security, create U.S. jobs, and improve the environment by displacing conventional gasoline with a low-carbon fuel."

Buis added that with engine and emissions systems testing on cars 2001 through 2010 complete – and showing no issues with using E15 as a fuel – EPA's approval of E15 should be extended to older vehicles to make continued progress in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil.

"There are many more steps we can take toward achieving our energy security and environmental goals. We commend the EPA and we urge them to continue testing E15 for all vehicles, so that every American motorist has the opportunity to use a blend of fuel that is proven to be better for our economy, our security and our environment."

The previous E10 standard – which permits up to 10 percent ethanol blended into fuel – was set in the 1970s to help spur the growth of a domestic, renewable fuels industry in answer to America's first major oil crisis, engineered by OPEC. Since then, the United States has remained addicted to foreign oil; two-thirds of the oil used in this country comes from overseas.

In March 2009, Growth Energy filed a petition with EPA to permit the raising of that regulatory cap on the ethanol blend from 10 percent to 15 percent to displace more foreign oil.

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Sugarcane Ethanol Offers Clean, Affordable & Secure Alternative Energy

/PRNewswire/ -- As Earth Day approaches and Americans seek out environmentally friendly energy sources, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) today launched an expansive national awareness campaign to explain sugarcane ethanol's benefits. UNICA's education campaign will include a new website, SweeterAlternative.com, online, print and radio advertising, new research and a high-profile partnership with the Indy Racing League.

"We hope the Sweeter Alternative campaign will help Americans understand how sugarcane ethanol is a clean and affordable renewable fuel that could help them save money at the pump, cut U.S. dependence on Middle East oil and improve the environment," said UNICA's Chief Representative in North America, Joel Velasco.

Sugarcane ethanol is a renewable fuel produced from sugarcane, which is grown in the United States, Brazil and more than 100 countries. Like other forms of ethanol, it can be added to gasoline and used in all American vehicles at blends up to 10 percent ethanol. The Sweeter Alternative education campaign will highlight three key benefits of sugarcane ethanol:

-- Energy Security. Sugarcane ethanol is one more good option for
diversifying energy supplies and improving U.S. energy security, so
Americans are not reliant on any one source or country.
-- Economic. Americans could save about a dollar per fill-up off the
price of regular gasoline by expanding the use of sugarcane ethanol.
At an average price of $0.50 less per gallon than corn ethanol,
sugarcane ethanol is one of the least expensive renewable fuels
available.
-- Environmental. Sugarcane ethanol cuts greenhouse gases by at least 60
percent compared to gasoline - better than any other biofuel widely
produced today. The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed
sugarcane ethanol's superior environmental performance earlier this
year by designating it an "advanced renewable fuel." This important
category of biofuels will make up 21 billion gallons of America's fuel
supply by 2020, or about 15 percent of today's gasoline market.

Most sugarcane ethanol is currently produced in Brazil, a South American country with a democratically elected government and a long-standing trade relationship with the United States. Brazil has replaced more than half of its gasoline needs with sugarcane ethanol - making gasoline the alternative fuel in that country. Many observers point to Brazil's experience as a case study for other nations seeking to expand the use of renewable fuels.

"Unfortunately, Americans cannot fully benefit from this clean, less expensive alternative while Congress continues to maintain trade barriers against imported ethanol," Velasco continued.

The U.S. government currently imposes a $0.54-per-gallon tariff on ethanol from most foreign countries, making sugarcane ethanol practically unavailable in the United States. By contrast, imported oil enters America duty free. The 54-cent import tax on ethanol will expire at the end of this year.

Last week, Brazil took an important first step to build an open and global biofuels marketplace by eliminating its tariff on imported ethanol through the end of 2011. UNICA is asking the Brazilian government to make the tariff elimination permanent if Congress will do the same and drop the U.S. tax on imported ethanol.

"Consumers win when businesses have to compete in an open market, because competition produces higher quality products at lower costs. The same principle holds true for the renewable fuels market where competition will create a race to the future and generate better alternatives for consumers. Americans will benefit from having the sweeter alternative - sugarcane ethanol - available as an option at the pump," Velasco concluded.

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) is the leading trade association for the sugarcane industry in Brazil, representing nearly two-thirds of all sugarcane production and processing in the country. UNICA's priorities include serving as a source for credible information and analysis about the efficiency and sustainability of sugarcane products, particularly its biofuels. The association works to encourage the continuous advancement of sustainable practices throughout the sugarcane industry and to promote biofuels as a clean, reliable alternative to fossil fuels.

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Governors Urge EPA to Move Forward on E15 Waiver: Interim Ruling a Step in the Right Direction

/PRNewswire/ -- Governors John Hoeven and Chet Culver, chair and vice-chair of the 36-member Governors' Biofuels Coalition, today (December 4) said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's announcement will likely allow higher ethanol blends, such as E15, and is a step in the right direction. At the same time, they urged the agency to move forward with the waiver as quickly as possible.

The Governors' Biofuels Coalition first called for research and testing on the efficacy of utilization of intermediate ethanol blends - E13 to E20 - in 2005. Hoeven and Culver acknowledged that the EPA signaled the possibility of allowing the use of E15 in all vehicles manufactured after 2001, reflecting the rapidly emerging capacity of newer vehicles to utilize a wide range of liquid fuels.

The two governors also called "significant" EPA's announcement that it would initiate a fuel pump labeling process to ensure that consumers use the proper gasoline for their vehicles and equipment should the use of ethanol blends greater than 10 percent be ultimately approved. Although the EPA labeling initiative seems to signify that further research data expected by May will corroborate these early findings about E15, they urged that any labeling scheme should make access to E15 convenient and simple. They said it should encourage consumers to use blended fuel as part of their normal gas purchases, and one way to accomplish that is with blender pumps, which allow consumers to choose the blend appropriate to their vehicles at the pump.

Jointly, the governors said: "The EPA's final approval of an E15 blend will help to attract the necessary private investment to support the next generation of biofuels, and will usher in an expanded role for advanced biofuels in the transportation fuels market. That will benefit the rural economy, the environment and the nation."

Ethanol's contribution to the American economy at the E10 blend level is well documented by a 2009 study. "In 2008, ethanol displaced the need for 321 million barrels of oil or roughly 5 percent of U.S. oil imports valued at $32 billion - money that stayed in the U.S. economy and supported 494,000 jobs," said Governor Hoeven. "The move to E15 will not only expand the economic and environmental value of biofuels, it will diminish the impact of future gasoline price spikes on consumers," said Governor Culver.

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Outdoor Power Equipment Institute Deeply Concerned About EPA Ethanol Statement, Neglects to Address Impact on Millions of Small Engine Equipment

(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) today announced that it remains concerned by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to the Growth Energy waiver on 15 percent ethanol as it overlooks the impact on hundreds of millions of outdoor power equipment used by consumers, such as utility vehicles, lawnmowers, chainsaws, snow throwers and other affected equipment, including boats, ATVs, motorcycles and snow mobiles.

“EPA’s letter basically addressed the consideration of E15 for newer automobiles, but ignores the substantial non-automobile product families and the economic and safety issues related to their use,” said Kris Kiser, Executive Vice President at OPEI. “However, we’re pleased that EPA acknowledges more testing is needed.”

Department of Energy testing of mid-level ethanol blends on outdoor power equipment engines demonstrated performance irregularities and failure on tested product. “Should EPA allow higher levels for newer autos, we still face a daunting task of educating millions of consumers and labeling pumps to prevent possible mis-fueling that could potentially harm engine equipment and its users,” added Kiser.

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U.S. energy legislation forward thinking, limiting

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 charges the U.S. to add 36 billion gallons of biofuels to the country’s transportation fuel mix by 2022. Continued investment in research, development and deployment are required to achieve this goal.

Recent scientific studies warn that increasing land use for producing biomass for biofuels would increase greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions compared to gasoline. Some may disagree with these studies. However, they do show the weakness in expanding a crop-based fuel system without planning for sustainability.

If we continue to try to produce more biomass from the current spectrum of crop choices, GHG emission restrictions could put small biofuel producers and family farms at a disadvantage. Reduced emissions require crops that are easier to grow; require less money to plant, harvest and water; and are easier to process.

Needed production improvements

Corn ethanol production in the U.S. consumes a quarter of the country’s corn crop. Increasing ethanol production to the targeted 15 billion gallons a year by 2022 will double the corn required. That increase will impact land and water needs and create environmental concerns.
We need to improve the productivity of corn and other biofuels crops and incorporate improvements into the production process.

Producing lignocellulosic ethanol or other advanced biofuels, or green diesel, is a challenge. Technology development in this field has advanced, but most U.S. facilities are still in the early-demonstration phase.

Using existing forestry and agriculture residues for biofuels would have minimal environmental impact while creating opportunity for small businesses and farms.

Forestry and agriculture generate significant biomass. According to the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, forestlands can produce 368 million dry tons of biomass annually. Current legislative definitions make renewable forest biomass off-limits to biofuels companies. Definitions must be changed, while maintaining the resources' sustainability.

Data from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources suggests collecting residues and producing chips for biofuel production costs $11 to $12 per ton delivered to mills.

Food v. fuel

It’s crucial that we have a diverse source of biomass that doesn’t compete with food supplies. Diversity allows different geographical regions to focus on crops best suited to local conditions. Current federal funding often favors specific feedstocks, hampering development and transfer technology for novel crops.

Many novel crops are being explored. For example, a recent UGA study looked at using a multi-benefit winter cover crop, oil seed radish, for its biofuels potential. UGA scientists led a global team in sequencing the sorghum genome and are now working toward understanding how we can use the information to produce biofuels at lower costs in poor soils.

Targets eliminate possibilities

Targeted GHG reductions can unintentionally eliminate some promising technologies that are lagging behind because of late starts, such as algae-based biofuels.

Anaerobic digestion, a well-developed technology, is not considered because the energy output (methane gas) isn’t a liquid transportation fuel at room temperature. A similar process called landfill bioreactor produces methane biogas which can be converted to compressed natural gas. Its GHG emissions are 17 percent less than its fossil-based equivalent.

Anaerobic digestion can create jobs and produce net income to farms and small biofuels producers. UGA researchers are developing a system that combines anaerobic digestion with algae production.

Current regulatory policies don’t readily support developing such integrated solutions in early development. More pilot-scale testing could help move them to the marketplace faster. Federal agencies seem focused on large-scale demonstrations before pilot-scale research is completed.

Welcomed policy change

Carbon sequestration is a welcomed change in national policy. Current regulatory emphasis favors carbon capture and storage through geological storage of compressed CO2. Although potentially a reliable technique, this approach favors larger-scale sequestration.

One example of a smaller-scale method is using biochar, a byproduct of pyrolysis, a high-temperature breakdown of cellulosic materials that produces a liquid hydrocarbon, which could be converted to green diesel or other liquid fuels.

Biochar has high carbon content and stays in the soil for decades, increasing agricultural productivity and sequestering carbon for a long time. However, the regulatory framework doesn’t favor developing this technology.

There is great promise for biofuels to augment our energy supply. New ideas, technologies and discoveries are emerging from universities and research centers daily. Development and use of these discoveries could be faster if regulatory framework would support deeper exploration into novel crops that don’t pit fuel against food.

Encourage innovation

We need policies to encourage processes and technologies that create jobs and income for farms and small businesses. We need support that allows us to investigate diverse feedstocks and low-cost, efficient production methods that protect and enhance the environment.

If we are to reach 36 billion gallons of biofuels in our transportation fuel mix by 2022 while reducing GHG emissions, all avenues of exploration must be open and barriers to development removed.

By K.C. Das
University of Georgia

K.C. Das is director of the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Engineering. This editorial was presented as testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business’ subcommittee on regulations and healthcare.

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Radish oil for biodiesel

Corn and soybeans are excellent crops for use in ethanol and biodiesel production, but chickens, cows and people like to eat the crops, too. University of Georgia engineers are searching for non-food crops that can be used to make alternative fuels.

The oilseed radish is one crop that could be used to produce biodiesel in Georgia, said Dan Geller, a biological engineer with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Canadian cover crop

The radish is widely grown in Canada as a cover crop, or one that is planted to improve the soil and prevent erosion in fields. But it isn’t typically grown for food.

Its seed is about 40 percent oil by weight, said Nicholas Chammoun, a CAES graduate student working with Geller. This makes it an excellent candidate for the biodiesel market.

For his research, Chammoun had oilseed radish seeds crushed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Peanut Research Laboratory. The oil was then converted into biodiesel by the CAES biological and agricultural engineering department.

“This sounds like a short and easy process,” he said. “But it actually took a long time since there was very little data on converting oilseed radish oil to biodiesel.”

Engine-tested

Next, he had to prove the new biodiesel would actually work in diesel engines and perform as well or better than No. 2 diesel and other existing biodiesels.

The oilseed radish biodiesel passed the engine tests, performing much like No. 2 diesel, he said.
With the help of the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, Chammoun determined whether farmers would benefit economically from growing the crop.

“No matter the crop, it will take land to produce it,” said John McKissick, director of the center. “It’s still a battle for food production over fuel production on the same limited land. In Georgia, food is still more economically viable.”

The economic research data on the radish as a biodiesel crop was also used to assess its economic potential as a Georgia cover crop.

“They would harvest in the spring, and the crop would also protect the soil in the winter,” Geller said.

Roots aerate soil

And as a cover crop, its extra-long tap root breaks up and aerates soil and draws up nutrients for the following crop, or one grown for food or fiber.

Georgia farmers could grow peanuts and cotton in the summer months and follow with a crop of oilseed radish in the fall.

“Oilseed radish isn’t grown for the food market, but it can be grown for the fuel market,” Geller said. “And it can be grown cheaper with a greater oil yield per dollar than soybean, and with lower inputs.”

The economic evaluation showed the oilseed radish had potential to be an economically viable crop for Georgia, McKissick said. But more research is needed to determine the yield and costs of producing the crop.

Crushers needed

Geller calls the university’s research results promising but notes there is one large missing piece to the puzzle.

“We can get the seed, and the agronomic data is available,” he said. “The farmers just need someone to crush the seed. The big kicker is which comes first, the farmer or the crusher?”
Crushers are companies that process seeds to extract oil.

If crushers are found, Geller says Georgia farmers could begin growing these new crops in a few years.

CAES researchers are also studying the use of algae, switchgrass and sunflower as oil sources for biodiesel production.

By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia

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Environmental Radicals Are Obama's Achilles Heel: Blocking New Oil Drilling Will Bring Back $3-4 a Gallon Gas

/PRNewswire / -- President Obama has put America into the hands of "environmental radicals." It is only a matter of time before "his vast popularity runs aground on his energy policies," according to a column by Jon Basil Utley posted at Reason magazine's site, http://www.reason.com/news/show/133458.html.

"In the name of saving the planet from global warming, [Obama] has delayed new oil drilling, an action that will have major political repercussions once the world economy recovers. Instead of using some of the stimulus billions to produce more gas and oil, Obama's appointees dream of 'renewable' energy derived from corn, wind, sunshine, and even grass," Mr. Utley says in an article entitled "Obama and the Alternative Energy Fiasco."

"It's essential to remember that so-called renewable energy cannot replace oil and natural gas in any significant way. For example, corn-based ethanol production 'costs' nearly as much to produce as it saves in oil and can only exist with the help of costly and unending subsidies. ... In contrast, oil and gas drilling could provide hundreds of thousands of solid, well-paying, blue-collar jobs -- and would produce millions in new tax revenue," Mr. Utley says.

"Instead of producing more of the cheap, abundant energy that fueled America's dynamic growth, the extremists ... dream of drastically cutting American consumption. All of these things are happening at a time when natural gas is abundant and cheap. ...The new technology of horizontal fraccing has made it economically feasible to drill into vast shale deposits in many states."

"Windmills depend upon a two-cent-per-kilowatt taxpayer subsidy to remain competitive. They also require backup gas generators (in case the wind isn't blowing when needed). Solar power is even more expensive and also would need billions for back-up generators and new transmission lines," Mr. Utley explains.

"It's little more than socialist Malthusianism to argue that the world is running out of energy. Science will always find and harness new sources." Producing from America's vast oil reserves could "transform our trade deficit and ... (prevent) lower living standards for most Americans."

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UGA Researchers Looking to Turn Fruit into Fuel

Half of all the fruit grown in Georgia is never eaten by people or animals. It rots in the fields. A University of Georgia researcher says that spoiled fruit could fuel cars.

That wasted fruit can be converted into bioethanol through a fermentation process, said Elliot Altman, program coordinator for the UGA Center for Molecular Bioengineering.

“All fruits are 10 percent sugar, or potentially 5 percent ethanol,” said Altman, an engineer with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “It’s a real opportunity.”

The fermentation process could create a high-protein byproduct, which can be used in animal feed, called dried distillers grain. The largest opportunity in Georgia lies in watermelons and peaches. Last year, the state harvested one billion pounds of watermelon and more than 61 million pounds of peaches. The same amount rotted in the fields.

The fruit is left behind because it doesn’t make the grade for commercial sale. Consumers don’t want fruit that doesn’t look perfect, even though it is fine to eat in most cases. Some of the discarded fruit is used in preserves and juice, but 50 percent never leaves the field.

Ethanol conversion is not possible on a small scale like biodiesel operations. Getting enough commodity groups excited about converting the waste to fuel is one battle Altman hopes legislation may help with.

“One farmer isn’t big enough to set up operation,” he said. “If packers knew in advance the fruit would be used for something, they could gather it in a separate place for transport to the ethanol plant.”

Government regulations mandate the blending of 5 percent ethanol into gasoline by 2009 and 10 percent by 2011. The Renewable Fuel Standard program will increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

But, ethanol plants aren’t cheap.

“You can’t build a small plant,” he said. “To be cost effective, most experts agree that a plant would need to produce at least 10 million gallons of ethanol a year.”

Altman and his colleague Mark Eiteman, a biological and agricultural engineering professor, are working on techniques to simplify the commercial ethanol plant, making it cheaper to produce ethanol and DDG.

For example, their group has researched adding expired table sugars to increase the ethanol yields that can be obtained. Access to waste fruit is not a year-round venture, he said.

“Even with a couple of fruits, a fruit-ethanol plant would only be operational for half a year, and the infrastructure for an ethanol plant is a significant investment,” Altman said.

Altman is currently researching several other products – like grain sorghum – that could be used when the fruit is not available.

“It has silo storage capability and is able to grow in areas of Georgia not suitable for anything else,” he said. “It does not take away from other crops and would not hurt the food market.”

Georgia also has potential to produce ethanol from bakery waste. “We have a unique niche in the Atlanta area with our bakeries.”

By April Sorrow
University of Georgia

April Sorrow is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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East Coast Ethanol, LLC Will Become Biggest Supplier to Southeast U.S.

East Coast Ethanol, LLC is announcing the construction of a new 110-million gallon per year,
$216 million corn-based ethanol production facility near Jesup in Wayne County, Georgia.

The new Georgia ethanol operation is part of an $871 million investment by ECE - one of four plants to be built in the Southeast U.S. that will help solve the growing need for ethanol
fuel and our Nation's energy crisis by providing home-grown renewable fuel. This grassroots U.S. based firm will hire more than 40 employees locally and generate over $100,000,000 annually to the local economy.

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DOE Announces Additional Steps in Developing Sustainable Biofuels Industry

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer today (October 7, 2008) released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP). The Plan, developed by an interagency board co-chaired by DOE and USDA, outlines specific action areas and goals toward achieving renewable fuels production targets. Secretary Bodman also announced additional steps the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is taking to support the development of a sustainable biofuels industry: research to enable increased use of biofuels, deployment of cellulosic biorefineries, and biofuels research and development.

“The challenge is to find ways to go farther and to go faster – we must progress to the next level,” said Secretary Bodman. “That means we must accelerate the development and deployment of next generation biofuels, fuels made from cellulose, algae and from other non-food products as well as fuels compatible with our existing energy infrastructure including renewable diesel, green gasoline and bio-butanol.”

Increasing the Use of Biofuels
U.S. consumers already use E10, gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol, in conventional vehicles and other engines. In order to meet the goals set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, however, the U.S. will likely need to use higher blends of ethanol in conventional vehicles. To assess the potential impacts of higher blends of ethanol such as E15 and E20, gasoline blended with 15 and 20 percent ethanol, on conventional vehicles and other gasoline engines, DOE initiated a testing program in August 2007.

A preliminary report released today by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides results available to date from testing E15 and E20 on 13 vehicles and 28 small non-road engines, including lawn equipment and generators. The information reported today, along with data that will be collected over the course of this broad test program, will help determine whether higher blends of ethanol can be effectively used in conventional vehicles. The report showed that most of the regulated emissions with E15 and E20 were within the normal test variation, and no statistically-significant change was detected. While the data collected to date is encouraging, particularly with regard to regulated emissions, additional studies are needed on a wider range of vehicles and engines

Supporting Deployment of New Technologies
The deployment of cellulosic biorefineries is a critical pathway to meeting renewable fuels production mandates. Today, DOE announced additional funding with POET, LLC of Sioux Falls, S.D. This commercial-scale cellulosic biorefinery project was originally announced by Secretary Bodman in February 2007; today an additional phase of funding was announced. POET received $3.7 million in the first phase of funding under a cooperative agreement that covers initial design, permitting, and preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation. Today in the second phase the Secretary announced POET would be awarded an additional award for up to $76.3 million in federal funding, subject to annual appropriations. Today’s funding supports final design, construction, and commissioning of the project to develop an economically viable cellulose-to-ethanol biorefinery that employs alternative energy technologies will be co-located at POET’s Emmetsburg, Iowa ethanol plant and will use corn cob, and potentially corn fiber, to increase plant production of ethanol by up to 25 million gallons per year. Subject to annual appropriations, DOE’s total investment in the POET project is up to $80 million, with an expected total project cost of nearly $200 million.

Pyrolysis Oils Projects
While supporting deployment and increased biofuels usage, DOE continues to focus on research and development of advanced biofuels technologies. Today, DOE announced the selection of five advanced biofuels projects up to $7 million, subject to annual appropriations. The five projects selected will develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly ways to convert non-food feedstocks into stabilized pyrolysis oils. These biologically-derived oils are generated through the rapid heating of biomass, for the ultimate production of transport fuel. Pyrolysis oils offer the potential of a greenhouse-gas neutral, renewable, and domestically produced alternative to petroleum-based fuels.

Five advanced biofuels projects received negotiation of awards:

UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.) With partners: Ensyn Corp, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.), DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Wash.) and USDA-Agricultural Research Service.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Blacksburg, Va. and New Brunswick, N.J.) With partner: Rutgers University.
Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa and Houston, Texas) With partner: ConocoPhillips.
RTI International (Research Triangle Park, N.C. and Decatur, Ill.)With partner: Archer Daniel Midland Co.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, Mass.) With partner: Renewable Oil International.

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New UGA Biomass Technology Dramatically Increases Ethanol Yield from Grasses and Yard Waste

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass—and even yard waste.

“Producing ethanol from renewable biomass sources such as grasses is desirable because they are potentially available in large quantities,” said Joy Peterson, professor of microbiology and chair of UGA’s Bioenergy Task Force. “Optimizing the breakdown of the plant fibers is critical to production of liquid transportation fuel via fermentation.” Peterson developed the new technology with former UGA microbiology student Sarah Kate Brandon, and Mark Eiteman, professor of biological and agricultural engineering.

The new technology features a fast, mild, acid-free pretreatment process that increases by at least 10 times the amount of simple sugars released from inexpensive biomass for conversion to ethanol. The technology effectively eliminates the use of expensive and environmentally unsafe chemicals currently used to pretreat biomass.

The technology is available for licensing from the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., which has filed a patent application.

Inexpensive waste products—including corn stover or bagasse, the waste from corn and sugar cane harvests, fast-growing weeds—and non-food crops grown for biofuel, such as switchgrass, Napiergrass and Bermudagrass, are widely viewed as the best sustainable resources for ethanol made from biofuels.

“Using non-food crops that can be grown on marginal lands, like grasses, and fibrous waste streams like corn stover, is important because of the ongoing food-versus-fuel debate,” said Peterson. “When agricultural crops, such as corn or potatoes, are grown for biofuels production, the cost of the starting material may fluctuate greatly because of competing demands for food and feed. The trade-off with using a biomass like grasses is that grasses are harder to break apart than corn or potatoes, and the cost of making the same fuel, like ethanol, rises.”

Developing an efficient, cost-effective process to convert the fibrous stalks, leaves, and blades of plant wastes into simple sugars is the biggest challenge to bio-based ethanol production. Thick, complex plant cell walls are highly resistant to efforts to break them down.

Currently, woody biomass requires soaking under high pressure and temperatures in expensive, environmentally aggressive bases or acids before it is subjected to enzymes that digest it, producing simple sugars. The harsh pretreatment solutions subsequently must be removed and disposed of safely. They also cause formation of side products that can slow down the conversion of the sugars into ethanol.

In contrast, the environmentally friendly UGA technology eliminates the expense of harsh pretreatment chemicals and their disposal, and the formation of side products is minimal.

“The new technology has commercial application for the biomass industry, including producers of sugar cane, corn, switchgrass, Napiergrass and other woody biomass crops,” said Gennaro Gama, UGARF technology manager responsible for licensing this technology. “It may also help renewable energy and biofermentation companies—and local governments.

“By allowing for the use of myriad raw materials, this technology allows more options for ethanol facilities trying to meet nearby demand by using locally available, inexpensive starting materials,” he added. “This would greatly reduce the costs and carbon footprint associated with the delivery of raw materials to fermentation facilities and the subsequent delivery of ethanol to points of sale. Local production of ethanol may also protect specific areas against speculative fluctuations in fuel prices.

“It’s easy to imagine that this easy-to-use, inexpensive technology could be used by local governments, alone or in partnership with entrepreneurs, to meet local demand for ethanol, possibly using yard waste as a substrate,” he said.