An innovative process for turning waste biomass—such as dead trees, agricultural waste and lumber byproducts—into a liquid fuel to power conventional engines has been licensed by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. to Tolero Energy, LLC, a private biofuels company based in Sacramento, Calif. The technology represents a leap forward for the biofuels industry: the ultra-low-sulfur biofuel does not require additional refinement or processing before blending with biodiesel and petroleum diesel.
The exclusive license provides Tolero Energy global rights to the technology, including the right to grant sublicenses.
Tolero CEO Chris Churchill said the company will focus on the transportation fuels market as it completes development of the UGARF bio-oil technology. He expects to make product based on the technology available in the first half of 2010.
Lead inventor of the technology is Tom Adams, a retired member of the University of Georgia Faculty of Engineering. Co-inventors are John Goodrum, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Dan Geller and Joshua Pendergrass—all presently or previously associated with the UGA Faculty of Engineering.
“Fuel produced through this efficient technology, which uses dead biomass as the starting material, holds the promise of being highly economical, carbon-negative and environmentally acceptable,” said Adams, now an engineering consultant.
Tolero will use this low-cost, on-site process to turn non-food, waste biomass into sustainable and renewable forms of energy and industrial products. The biomass is heated at carefully controlled high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, a process known as fast pyrolysis. The vapors produced during pyrolysis rapidly condense into a bio-oil that can be added to biodiesel or petroleum diesel. Other pyrolysis by-products are gas and bio-char, which can be used as a soil amendment.
Dead trees are one of the major sources of waste biomass for Tolero, said Churchill. He explained, “Infestations of the mountain pine beetle have devastated forests in the western United States and Canada, killing over 40 million acres of pine trees. As the trees decompose and decay, they release millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the devastation has created a significant and dangerous fire hazard in the western forests.
“Harvesting dead trees and forest residue and converting them to renewable fuel and soil amendment products will help reduce the CO2 released into the atmosphere and reduce the fire danger. The recent fire in the Los Angeles foothills, which was fueled by years of highly flammable dead biomass build-up, is a prime example of a situation where this technology can be put to use. Tolero has the capability to establish pyrolysis facilities to process the dead underbrush and convert it to a renewable fuel that is easy to transport,” Churchill said.
Tolero also will convert other types of cellulosic biomass, such as agricultural waste and waste wood pallets, into renewable transportation fuels, heating fuels, soil amendments and industrial products.
“We are glad that our new business partner, Tolero, will be using biomass waste as starting material for the production of biodiesel,” said Gennaro Gama, senior technology manager at UGARF charged with the management of UGA’s bioenergy technologies. “Not only is this approach socially responsible, since it does not employ food crops as the source of biofuels, it also is ecologically sound, as it will open areas to reforestation and at the same time lead to the production of cost-efficient, sulfur-free fuels,” he said.
“This commercialization approach perfectly reflects the social and ecological concerns of UGA’s bioenergy researchers and the research partnership formed with Tolero,” Gama concluded.
UGARF performs the technology transfer function for the University of Georgia, taking assignment of patents and licensing such patents to the private sector in return for royalty income to support the research mission of the university. To learn more about technology commercialization at the University of Georgia, see http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/tco/industry/.
Tolero Energy LLC focuses on renewable transportation fuel from waste biomass. More information is available at www.toleroenergy.com.
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Showing posts with label uga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uga. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
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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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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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
High-Yielding Switchgrass the Focus of Ceres and University of Georgia Researchers
/PRNewswire/ -- Energy crop company Ceres, Inc., announced today that it will work with University of Georgia researchers to develop new high-yielding switchgrass seed varieties and improved crop management techniques for the southeastern United States. Switchgrass, which can reach yields of 6 to 10 dry tons or more in the Southeast, is widely considered an ideal raw material for next-generation biofuels and biopower.
The multi-year project will bring together plant breeders, agronomists and support scientists at Ceres and the University of Georgia to develop improved seed varieties. Field researchers will also evaluate cropping practices in the Southeast, adapting developments made by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, an Oklahoma-based agricultural research institution with which Ceres has a long-term product development collaboration.
"This project allows us to expand our internal and collaborative plant breeding activities in a region where we believe the industry will have a strong presence," said Ceres plant breeding director Jeff Gwyn, Ph.D. He noted that University of Georgia has experienced researchers and a well-regarded collection of switchgrass breeding materials and germplasm -- the precursors of commercial seed varieties. "There's a lot of headroom for improvement and I'm confident that working together we can continue to drive up yields at a robust pace," he said.
Plant breeder Charles Brummer, Ph.D., University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said that regionally focused research will be valuable for growers across the region since Georgia and the Southeast have a unique set of environmental factors, owing to their long growing season and high rainfall.
"By trialing and selecting new products in the middle of their target market, we can make greater gains more quickly and with greater certainty," Brummer said. He noted that in addition to selecting higher-yielding plants, researchers will examine seeding rates, row spacing and no-till planting recommendations, and other crop management practices.
Ceres will have commercialization rights for products developed under the Ceres-funded project. The Noble Foundation will also participate in the project, including both field research and switchgrass breeding lines. Other aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed.
In December, Ceres launched the first switchgrass and sorghum varieties developed for bioenergy, which are sold under the company's Blade Energy Crops (www.BladeEnergy.com) label. Ceres has established the largest field-trial network for dedicated energy crops in the United States, including more than a dozen leading universities and institutions.
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The multi-year project will bring together plant breeders, agronomists and support scientists at Ceres and the University of Georgia to develop improved seed varieties. Field researchers will also evaluate cropping practices in the Southeast, adapting developments made by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, an Oklahoma-based agricultural research institution with which Ceres has a long-term product development collaboration.
"This project allows us to expand our internal and collaborative plant breeding activities in a region where we believe the industry will have a strong presence," said Ceres plant breeding director Jeff Gwyn, Ph.D. He noted that University of Georgia has experienced researchers and a well-regarded collection of switchgrass breeding materials and germplasm -- the precursors of commercial seed varieties. "There's a lot of headroom for improvement and I'm confident that working together we can continue to drive up yields at a robust pace," he said.
Plant breeder Charles Brummer, Ph.D., University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said that regionally focused research will be valuable for growers across the region since Georgia and the Southeast have a unique set of environmental factors, owing to their long growing season and high rainfall.
"By trialing and selecting new products in the middle of their target market, we can make greater gains more quickly and with greater certainty," Brummer said. He noted that in addition to selecting higher-yielding plants, researchers will examine seeding rates, row spacing and no-till planting recommendations, and other crop management practices.
Ceres will have commercialization rights for products developed under the Ceres-funded project. The Noble Foundation will also participate in the project, including both field research and switchgrass breeding lines. Other aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed.
In December, Ceres launched the first switchgrass and sorghum varieties developed for bioenergy, which are sold under the company's Blade Energy Crops (www.BladeEnergy.com) label. Ceres has established the largest field-trial network for dedicated energy crops in the United States, including more than a dozen leading universities and institutions.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Fuel From Fat
When the cost of diesel skyrocketed to more than $4 a gallon, Travis Sweat fought back. Using knowledge from the Internet and recycled oil from fast-food restaurants, he made his own fuel for $1 a gallon.
“I’d heard of other people (making their own fuel), and I knew there were several different ways to do it,” said Sweat, who has run his 1997 Ford F250 on a blend of waste vegetable oil for seven months.
Free oil is the base
Sweat, a game warden from Griffin, Ga., gets free used liquid fryer oil from a friend who owns a restaurant. He uses vegetable, peanut and soybean oils. Hydrogenated oil can’t be used.
Sweat filters the oil twice and puts it through a water separator. It takes 30 minutes to process a 55-gallon batch of fuel. “Basically, I just pour a few things in a drum, filter it and I’m ready to go,” he said.
Sweat’s recipe is 80 percent oil, 15 percent to 20 percent diesel and 5 percent gasoline.
His fuel isn’t biodiesel, which is “harder to make and requires more chemicals,” he said. WVO fuel blend can only run in certain types of engines and injection systems, Sweat said. It won’t work at all in newer trucks.
A smooth ride
When Sweat switches his truck from diesel to his WVO blend, he likes the difference. “The engine gets really quiet and smooth, and it runs a lot better,” he said. “There used to be a rough idle at stop signs, and now there isn’t.”
Sweat’s wife, Stephanie, has faith in her husband’s homemade fuel. She must. She drives the truck to work and to run errands around town.
Sweat admits, though, his greatest concern is engine failure.
“It was a little scary at first,” he said. “If you blow a diesel engine, you’re looking at $5,000 to $10,000 to replace it.”
A matter of time
Sweat should be careful, said Dan Geller, a researcher with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. From an engineering standpoint, the fuels he’s burning won’t work for long.
“The engineer in me says this is a bad idea because of the potential for disaster,” Geller said. “But the practical, environmental side of me says it’s great. It’s just not for the faint of heart.”
With WVO, not all the oil combusts, he said, and over time carbon builds up in the engine and will damage it.
The problem is chemical not physical. “The molecules in the oil are big molecules, relatively speaking, compared to diesel molecules,” Geller said. “You can thin it all you want, but you aren’t changing the molecule structure.”
Do you feel lucky?
Geller has met hundreds of people who have used WVO in their vehicles for up to five years with no problems. He also knows some who have had unsuccessful ventures with WVO and other homemade fuel recipes.
“If you’re mindful of what you’re doing and are very mechanically inclined, go ahead and try it,” he said. “I wouldn’t personally do it.”
Geller has conducted numerous experiments with biodiesel, he said, and would use it in his own vehicle. “With biodiesel, you go to the pump, you put it in and you don’t have to think about it.”
WVO blended fuel is better for the environment, runs much cleaner than petroleum, is a renewable resource and relieves some of our dependence on foreign oil, he said. “But you can get all the same advantages from biodiesel, and you don’t have to make it yourself.”
By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia
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“I’d heard of other people (making their own fuel), and I knew there were several different ways to do it,” said Sweat, who has run his 1997 Ford F250 on a blend of waste vegetable oil for seven months.
Free oil is the base
Sweat, a game warden from Griffin, Ga., gets free used liquid fryer oil from a friend who owns a restaurant. He uses vegetable, peanut and soybean oils. Hydrogenated oil can’t be used.
Sweat filters the oil twice and puts it through a water separator. It takes 30 minutes to process a 55-gallon batch of fuel. “Basically, I just pour a few things in a drum, filter it and I’m ready to go,” he said.
Sweat’s recipe is 80 percent oil, 15 percent to 20 percent diesel and 5 percent gasoline.
His fuel isn’t biodiesel, which is “harder to make and requires more chemicals,” he said. WVO fuel blend can only run in certain types of engines and injection systems, Sweat said. It won’t work at all in newer trucks.
A smooth ride
When Sweat switches his truck from diesel to his WVO blend, he likes the difference. “The engine gets really quiet and smooth, and it runs a lot better,” he said. “There used to be a rough idle at stop signs, and now there isn’t.”
Sweat’s wife, Stephanie, has faith in her husband’s homemade fuel. She must. She drives the truck to work and to run errands around town.
Sweat admits, though, his greatest concern is engine failure.
“It was a little scary at first,” he said. “If you blow a diesel engine, you’re looking at $5,000 to $10,000 to replace it.”
A matter of time
Sweat should be careful, said Dan Geller, a researcher with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. From an engineering standpoint, the fuels he’s burning won’t work for long.
“The engineer in me says this is a bad idea because of the potential for disaster,” Geller said. “But the practical, environmental side of me says it’s great. It’s just not for the faint of heart.”
With WVO, not all the oil combusts, he said, and over time carbon builds up in the engine and will damage it.
The problem is chemical not physical. “The molecules in the oil are big molecules, relatively speaking, compared to diesel molecules,” Geller said. “You can thin it all you want, but you aren’t changing the molecule structure.”
Do you feel lucky?
Geller has met hundreds of people who have used WVO in their vehicles for up to five years with no problems. He also knows some who have had unsuccessful ventures with WVO and other homemade fuel recipes.
“If you’re mindful of what you’re doing and are very mechanically inclined, go ahead and try it,” he said. “I wouldn’t personally do it.”
Geller has conducted numerous experiments with biodiesel, he said, and would use it in his own vehicle. “With biodiesel, you go to the pump, you put it in and you don’t have to think about it.”
WVO blended fuel is better for the environment, runs much cleaner than petroleum, is a renewable resource and relieves some of our dependence on foreign oil, he said. “But you can get all the same advantages from biodiesel, and you don’t have to make it yourself.”
By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia
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Friday, December 5, 2008
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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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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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Georgia College Football Game Goes Green
When rival football teams from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech take the field Nov. 29 in Sanford Stadium for one of the biggest games of the year, the grass in the stadium won't be the only thing that's green.
The University of Georgia has partnered with Georgia Power who will provide Green Energy for the game. It will be the first time that electricity for a University of Georgia football game has been generated completely by renewable sources.
"The University of Georgia is an emerging leader in research on development of renewable energy sources, and we are significantly lowering energy usage on campus through conservation and use of alternative sources," said UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans. "Using electricity from the Green Energy program fits well with our commitment to energy conservation and we are pleased to join with Georgia Power in this innovative program."
By using environmentally friendly Green Energy, UGA will help protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help promote the use of renewable energy in Georgia and support domestic energy self-reliance.
"Georgia Power looks forward to providing Green Energy for one of the great annual match-ups in college football," said Chris Womack, Georgia Power's Executive Vice President of External Affairs. "This partnership demonstrates the University of Georgia's commitment to the development of renewable energy in the state."
The electricity for the game will displace traditional forms of energy such as coal and natural gas from the power grid. The majority of the electricity in Georgia Power's Green Energy program currently comes from the Seminole Landfill methane gas facility in DeKalb County.
Since Georgia Power began the Green Energy program in October 2006, almost 4,000 customers have committed to purchase in excess of 18 million kilowatt-hours of Green Energy annually. Residential customers can purchase 100-kilowatt-hour blocks of Green Energy for $3.50 per block, which is added to their monthly electricity bill.
Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is America's first chartered state university and Georgia's largest and most comprehensive educational institution.
Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.
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The University of Georgia has partnered with Georgia Power who will provide Green Energy for the game. It will be the first time that electricity for a University of Georgia football game has been generated completely by renewable sources.
"The University of Georgia is an emerging leader in research on development of renewable energy sources, and we are significantly lowering energy usage on campus through conservation and use of alternative sources," said UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans. "Using electricity from the Green Energy program fits well with our commitment to energy conservation and we are pleased to join with Georgia Power in this innovative program."
By using environmentally friendly Green Energy, UGA will help protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help promote the use of renewable energy in Georgia and support domestic energy self-reliance.
"Georgia Power looks forward to providing Green Energy for one of the great annual match-ups in college football," said Chris Womack, Georgia Power's Executive Vice President of External Affairs. "This partnership demonstrates the University of Georgia's commitment to the development of renewable energy in the state."
The electricity for the game will displace traditional forms of energy such as coal and natural gas from the power grid. The majority of the electricity in Georgia Power's Green Energy program currently comes from the Seminole Landfill methane gas facility in DeKalb County.
Since Georgia Power began the Green Energy program in October 2006, almost 4,000 customers have committed to purchase in excess of 18 million kilowatt-hours of Green Energy annually. Residential customers can purchase 100-kilowatt-hour blocks of Green Energy for $3.50 per block, which is added to their monthly electricity bill.
Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is America's first chartered state university and Georgia's largest and most comprehensive educational institution.
Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.
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Monday, July 28, 2008
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.
“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.
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