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News and Trendshttp://biopact.com//10/quick-look-at-fourth-generation.html Developments in biofuel production are evolving so fast that there is recent talk about “fourth generation biofuels”. The Biopact website (URL above) provides key features of the waves of the so called “nth-generation biofuels”. The four generations of biofuels can be distinguished from each other by: (1) the feedstock used, and (2) the processing technology adopted. "First generation biofuels" use food-based feedstocks (like corn, sugar cane or soybean) as raw material, and utilize processing technologies like fermentation (for ethanol) and trans-esterification (for biodiesel). “Second generation biofuels” are produced from non-food feedstocks, like lignocellulosic plant biomass (switchgrass, poplar) and non-edible oilseeds (Jatropha) through the conventional method mentioned above and by themochemical routes (for the production of liquid “synthetic biofuels”). “Third generation biofuels” uses similar production methods on specifically designed or “tailored” bioenergy crops (often by molecular biology techniques) to improve biomass-to-biofuel conversions. An example is the development of “low-lignin” trees, which reduce pre-treatment costs and improve ethanol production, or corn with embedded cellulase enzymes. “Fourth generation biofuels”, are simply a step further from the third generation biofuels. The keywords are “carbon capture and storage (CCS)”, both at the level of the feedstock and/or the processing technology. The feedstock is tailored not only to improve the processing efficiency, but it is also designed to capture more carbon dioxide, as the crop grows in cultivation. The processing methods (mainly thermochemical) are also coupled to “carbon capture and storage” technologies which funnels off the carbon dioxide generated into geological formations (geological storage, for example, in exhausted oil fields) or through mineral storage (as carbonates). In this way, fourth generation biofuels are thought to contribute better to reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, by being more carbon neutral or even carbon negative compared to the other generation biofuels. Fourth generation biofuels epitomize the concept of “Bionergy with Carbon Storage (BECS)” Related links on carbon capture and storage: http://pangea.stanford.edu/~mhesse/news/CARBON%20CAPTURE%20How%20to%20breathe%20easier.pdf http://biopact.com//10/petrobras-ethanol-sales-to-exceed.html Brazil is projected to consume more ethanol than gasoline by 2020, when flexicar sales are predicted to dominate the car market in the country. Flexicars have engines that run on both ethanol and gasoline. By 2020, about 57% of fuel consumption in flexicars is expected to be ethanol. Considering this trend, the state-run oil company Petrobras has plans to adapt biofuel generation technologies by shrinking its oil business, and “shifting its core activities” . The company has recently announced plans to enter into the bioethanol industry, buying stakes in about 40 Brazilian ethanol plants, and investing in 20 new ethanol plants. Brazil is the second largest world ethanol producer after the United States, using sugarcane as feedstock (the United States uses corn as a major feedstock). According to the Brazilian Energy Minister, Nelson Hubner, ethanol provides about 18% of the country’s transport fuel needs.. http://biopact.com/2007/10/philippines-in-cooperation-agreement.html The Philippines’ Department of Agricutlure (DA), together with the Department of Energy (DOE), is one of the active government agencies committed to the development of biofuels in the country. The agency focuses on the development of feedstock and biofuel production plants. Recently the DA signed a memorandum of agreement with Praj Industries, an India-based biofuels technology solutions provider, to achieve the above goals. Under the agreement, the DA will provide land for feedstock development; provide farmer assistance and incentives to plant sweet sorghum, cassava, sugarcane or jatropha as bioenergy crops; and assist in attracting investments for commercial feedstock plantations and for construction of biofuel production plants. Praj, on the other hand, will provide design and engineering support, as well as biofuel production plants under mutually agreed conditions. Related information on Praj Industries: http://www.praj.net/alcoholplants.htm Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan//09/14/122524/Gene-modified-eucalyptus.htm A scientific team from Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) and North Carolina University in the United States has successfully developed a genetically modified (GM) eucalyptus tree which has a lower lignin content and a higher capacity to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Eucalyptus is a fast growing tree species with a woody biomass that can be potentially used as feedstock for “cellulose ethanol” production. With a lower lignin content, the “lignin barrier” that prevents accessibility of cellulose for biofuel processing is reduced. This translates to lower costs of biomass pretreatment prior to ethanol fermentation. Chen Zenn-zong, a researcher from TFRI, reports that an 18% percent reduction in lignin content would result in a 4.5% increase in cellulose content in the tree biomass. So, aside from reducing pretreatment costs due to a lower lignin content, the consequential increase in the cellulose yield would mean a higher ethanol yield per unit mass of feedstock. The research group have also enhanced the tree’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, thereby contributing to reducing greenhouse gases. Low lignin eucalyptus tree can be considered a “third generation” biofuel feedstock, as the modification improves biofuel conversion yields. On the other hand, because of its carbon capture ability, it could also be classified as a “fourth generation” biofuel feedstock.
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1848-e A two- year joint research effort on hybrid larch trees by the Hokkaido Forestry Research Institute and the Hokkaido Forest Products Research Institute have discovered that “trees grown from certain pollen and seed trees had 30 percent greater carbon storage capacity, compared to typical larch trees”. A “first hybrid generation between Dahurian Larch as seed trees and larch trees as pollen providers”, called the “F1”, has many desirable features like high seedling survival rates, weather resistance and increased resistance to mice pests, and a higher wood density compared to larch. The F1 hybrid of the Dahurian Larch is said to be the best choice to “enhance cost performance and carbon storage”. The larch tree is a fast growing tree species which is used in industrial plantations and in reforestation projects. The biopact website (URL above) reports that such fast-growing, “carbon capture” tree species would be useful in carbon-negative biofuel production..
http://biopact.com//10/brazilian-scientists-identify-elephant.html Brazil will be the site of one of the world’s first “grass-powered” power stations. Sykue Bioenergia has commissioned a thermochemical processing power plant that is fuelled by grass. It is set to be operational by December 2008. In a related development, Brazilian scientists found that elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) has a potential for power and electricity. It has a high biomass productivity due to its “efficient C4 fixation path”, and a strong net energy balance of 25 to 1. An energy balance of “25 to 1” means that elephant grass produces 25 times more energy than the fossil fuel energy used to produce it. By contrast, the Biopact website reports that corn has a net energy balance of “1 to 1”, while sugarcane has “8 to 1”.. Biofuels Processing
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/enfuem/asap/abs/ef7004145.html Olive oil mill wastewater is the effluent after olive oil extraction, and is highly polluting because of its high organic matter content. Generally, wastewater with high organic matter content can be treated by conventional biological wastewater treatment or can be utilized as fermentation raw material for the production of value added microbial products. However, this olive oil wastewater also contains high concentrations of phenolic compounds which inhibit microbial activity. This makes biological treatment or microbial fermentation difficult. Recently, scientists from the Department of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences, Hashemite University, Jordan, reported a way to remove these inhibitory phenolic compounds by fungal treatment, using the fungus Pleurotus sajorcaju. With this treatment, the wastewater is made more amenable to further microbiological processing. Up to a 68% reduction in phenolic compounds was achieved under the best conditions studied. The researchers also showed that the wastewater can be utilized for ethanol fermentation after fungal treatment. Despite the incomplete removal of phenolics after treatment, the wastewater could be effectively utilized by yeasts to produce ethanol at a concentration of 14.2 g/L in 48 hours. The results are published online (5 October 2007) by the American Chemical Society (URL above). Biofuels Policy and Economics
http://www.worldenergy.org/documents/transportation_study_final_online.pdf A recent report by the World Energy Council on “Transport Technologies and Transport Scenarios by 2050” (URL above), provides some analysis and technology projections related to issues on sustainable energy. In the report, biofuels are stated to have the highest potential to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 90%. This is based on the assumption that biofuels are produced in an “economically, environmentally, and socially” sustainable manner. Particular mention was made to cellulose ethanol and BTL (biomass-to-liquids) fuels. BTL fuels are generally made by a two-step thermochemical process involving (1) heat treatment to gasify the biomass into “synthesis gas” (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) and then (2) subjecting the synthesis gas to a chemical conversion process to produce a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons (“synthetic biofuel”). BTL fuels are considered to have some advantages such as (1) usability of the fuel in both existing and new vehicles, (2) immediate contribution to reduced petroleum consumption, and (3) no limitation by new transport infrastructure requirements. More information of biomass-to-liquid (BTL) technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass_to_liquid |
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