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News and Trends
http://www.unep.fr/energy/activities/water/pdf/Issue%20Paper%20No.2_FINAL.pdf In the second of its "Bioenergy Issues" paper series titled, "Water and Bioenergy", the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) highlights the emerging issue of water and water use in global development of the biofuels industry. In terms of water quantity impacts, increased biofuels production and use can lead to an increase in the use of water, which is already a limited resource in many countries. Research cited by UNEP shows that about two per cent, or 44 cubic kilometers of the global water withdrawals for irrigation are being used for bioenergy production. Thus, increased water use for bioenergy production could add to existing water-stress in areas with scarce water resources, triggering new environmental and social consequences. In terms of water quality impacts, bioenergy production can reportedly lead to "water quality problems, both on a project-level and on a regional level due to cumulative effects". During the crop production phase, run-off from fertilized fields can increase nitrogen and phosphorus levels, and could lead to eutrophication in waterbodies. According to Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and UNEP Executive Director, "There is no doubt that we need to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and move to cleaner, more environmental friendly options, but we need to make sure we are not creating more problems than we solve. Biofuel production has risks and opportunities. We need to examine all the risks, so that we can take full advantage of the opportunities, for emissions cuts, for new green jobs, and for raising the standards of living for some of the world's poorest communities". The full report can be downloaded from the UNEP website (URL) above. Related information: UNEP Bioenergy Issues Paper No. 1 "Towards Sustainable Production and Use of Resources: Assessing Biofuels" http://www.unep.fr/energy/activities/water/pdf/Issue%20Paper%20No.2_FINAL.pdf
http://www.eesi.org/usda-faa-announce-partnership-develop-aviation-biofuels-28-oct-2010 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have teamed up on a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding, for the development of aviation biofuels in the country. The feedstocks considered for jet biofuel development are forest and crop residues. In order to achieve the objectives, the two agencies will: (1) "bring together their experience in research, policy analysis and air transportation sector dynamics to assess the availability of different kinds of feedstocks that could be processed by bio-refineries to produce jet fuels", and (2) "develop a tool to evaluate the status of different components of a feedstock supply chain, such as availability of biomass from farms and forests, the potential of that biomass for production of jet fuel, and the length of time it will take to ramp up to full-scale production". According to the USDA press release, the cooperative agreement supports a larger research plan led by USDA through its five Regional Biomass Research Centers, and the plan sets out to include as many U.S. rural areas as possible to maximize the economic benefits of biofuel production across the country. Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.thebioenergysite.com/articles/785/pennycress-from-nuisance-weed-to-new-source-of-biofuel The Bioenergy site highlights the research by the United States Department of Energy, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), on the production of biodiesel using oil extracted from the seeds of a "nuisance grass", field pennycress. The grass belongs to the Brassicaceae family (the same family as other well known biofuel feedstocks such as camelina and canola). It is often considered a "nuisance grass" due to its unsightly growth. In large quantities, it is also reported to be toxic to livestock. The USDA-ARS scientists research indicate that pennycress has a potential value as a biodiesel feedstock. Like other members of the Brassicaceae family, this grass is said to be a "prolific producer of oil-rich seeds". The biodiesel produced also conformed to the fuel standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Of particular interest are the good "cold-flow properties" of the pennycress-biodiesel. "Cold flow properties" are a set of measured parameters which indicates the biodiesel's tendency to remain fluid (i.e. not solidify) under very cold conditions. A good biodiesel should not solidify or "gel" under very cold conditions to maintain good engine performance. "Cloud point" and "pour point" are the two most common parameters for assessing cold flow properties of biodiesel. "The average cloud and pour points for field pennycress biodiesel were 14 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 10 degrees Celsius) and minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius), respectively". These values are reportedly better than those obtained for soybean biodiesel.
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/3/1/23 Scientists from the University of York and University of Dundee (United Kingdom) report the development of a "robust and reliable high throughput (HT) assay for biomass digestibility", which can be used to screen the large numbers of samples involved in biomass recalcitrance studies in potential biofuel feedstocks. Overcoming "biomass recalcitrance" is a major hurdle in the commercial development of biomass-to-ethanol conversion process from lignocellulosic (second generation) feedstocks. Lignocellulosic biomass must be made more digestible in order for it to become ethanol-fermentable. This involves the (1) destruction of its well ordered structure and tough lignin coating, (2) breakdown (or "saccharification") of its complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. A fundamental understanding of gene function and enzymatic mechanisms of biomass recalcitrance in plants, is one area of study which can help in the development of "tailored-feedstocks" with good biomass digestibility. It could also help in the development of more effective processes which improve biomass digestibility. According to the UK researchers, "the development of high throughput (HT) methods of screening for phenotypic and biochemical alterations in plants has played an important role in identifying the functions of genes and enzymes in specific pathways in plants and other organisms. However, the analysis of large populations of plants for cell wall digestibility is time consuming, labour intensive and expensive". They developed an analytical platform that can perform saccharification analysis in a 96-well plate format, and can allow the screening of lignocellulose digestibility of large populations of samples from varied plant species. They validated the method using transgenic tobacco with altered lignin, and demonstrated its reliability and reproducibility. The full results are published in the open-access journal, Biotechnology for Biofuels (URL above). Biofuels Processing
http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2010/10/biodiesel Reseachers from Brown University (United States) report a "streamlined" version of the biodiesel formation reaction from waste vegetable oils using bismuth triflate or scandium triflate as catalysts, in a microwave reactor. The conventional biodiesel formation reaction usually involves the addition of an acid (or base) and methanol to the oil for about 2 hours, at high temperature. The resulting product is a mixture of methyl esters, which is collectively known as "biodiesel". In the new process, the use of acid or base is made unnecessary, and energy consumption is reportedly lower. Only oil, methanol and the catalysts are raw materials that were placed inside a microwave reactor. According to the Brown University press release, the researchers found that " the new catalysts converted waste vegetable oil into biodiesel in about 20 minutes in the microwave reactor, whereas current reactions without catalysts using a conventional heater take two hours. While their microwave method needs a higher temperature to pull off the biodiesel conversion (150 degrees Celsius versus 60 degrees Celsius under current methods), it uses less energy overall because the reaction time is much shorter". A paper related to their research is published in the journal, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (URL above). Biofuels Policy and Economics
(free sample access journal-article during time of access) A team of research scientists from the University of Illinois (United States) report an "integrated biogeochemical and economic analysis of bioenergy crops in the Midwestern United States". One of the aims of the study was to determine the viability of "biofuel grasses" (miscanthus and switchgrass) as cash crops in the United States and how viability is affected by location. Using an integrated biophysical model of bioenergy crop yields with economic analysis, they examined how break-even prices differ across bioenergy crops and across different locations in the Midwestern United States. Among the results (as highlighted by Bioenergy site) are: (1) miscanthus generally showed a three-fold higher yield compared to switchgrass in the Midwest; (2) even if switchgrass is native to the region (Midwest), it has poor cold tolerance, and does not grow well in higher latitudes (i.e. Minnesota, Wisconsin); (3) biomass yields for both miscanthus and switchgrass were higher in the south than in the north; (4) the costs of cultivation were shown to vary between miscanthus and switchgrass, and farmers may have to consider tradeoffs in the choice of bioenergy crop; for example, miscanthus has a higher yield and longer lifespan, but it is planted from small sprouts (called "rhizomes"), which is more expensive than switchgrass seed. The full results of the study are published in the journal, Global Change Biology Bioenergy (URL above). |
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