|
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
News and Trends
http://biopact.com/2007/08/sun-grant-initiative-funds-17-bioenergy.html The Sun Grant Initiative (SGI) is a national program in the South Central Region of the United States, established to develop new solutions for the energy needs of the country, and to “revitalize rural communities” through research, education and extension programs. With headquarters in Oklahoma State University, the SGI has made available, about US$ 2.5 million in research grants for the development /enhancement of biomass energy. Seven “integrated projects” ($125,000/year for up to 3 years, characterized by multi-institutional participation) and ten “seed-grant projects” ($35,000/year for up to 2 years, for novel exploratory research) were awarded for the first round of funding. The broad areas of research include the development of novel and cost-effective techniques for bioenergy crop breeding, biofuel processing (production and purification) and economics. Some of the research topics in the integrated projects category include, the development of bioenergy-tailored sorghum/sweet sorghum crops and syngas/gasification technologies. The seed grant projects include advanced biodiesel feedstock development, sorghum stover for ethanol production, and bioconversion of biomass by the microorganism, Vibrio furnii. http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/5006 http://biopact.com/2007/08/community-based-biodiesel-production-in.html Village scale production of biodiesel from palm kernel was initiated in the eastern region of Ghana, through a collaboration between the Dumpong Pineapple Growers Cooperative and a Ghana-based nongovernment, Dumpong Biofuels. A basic processor was built to extract oil from locally sourced palm kernel and to convert the extracted oil into biodiesel by “transesterification” (related information in link below). The basic processing equipment includes a 55 gallon steel drum with heating and piping systems.The biodiesel is being used to power farm equipment, a generator for energy, and a pump for supplying drinking water. This endeavor is expected to bring some socio-economic improvements to the village. Related information on transesterification and biodiesel chemistry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel_production http://biopact.com/2007/08/vietnam-to-build-two-cassava-and.html Vietnam is set to move its bioenergy program through the construction of two large ethanol production plants, each with different biofuel feedstocks. The first plant (to be constructed by Itochu Corporation, Japan) will utilize cassava chips and will have an estimated annual ethanol production capacity of 100 million liters. The second plant (to be constructed in partnership between Vietnam’s Bien Hoa Sugar Company and Singapore’s Fair Energy Asia Ltd) will have an annual ethanol production capacity of 50,000 tons. According to the Biopact website, Vietnam has a large cassava production potential and can benefit from its utilization as a bioenergy feedstock. Cassava is reported to thrive in marginal soils, and requires low agricultural inputs. Studies also show that cassava is an “efficient biofuel plant” due to its “strong energy balance”. Related Information on Cassava Energy Balance Study: http://biopact.com/2007/04/first-full-energy-balance-study-reveals.html Contact Hien Le of the Biotechnology Information Center in Vietnam at hientttm@yahoo.com for more news in Vietnam. Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production
http://www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/070817_Forestry.shtml American Scientists from the University of Georgia (UG)and the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) are undertaking a project to "greatly expand the gene catalog for pines". The two research bodies will also initiate the first gene discovery efforts in five other conifer families for potential bioenergy crop breeding applications. The UG team head, forest biotechnology professor Jeffrey Dean said that “the wood from conifers will almost certainly be an important component of this nation’s biomass energy strategy despite it being an undomesticated species. Information from this project will greatly enhance the ability of tree improvement programs to develop pines tailored to the needs of the future bioenergy industry”. Using state-of-the art technology for genome analysis, genes expressed as the conifers grow and respond to their environment will be catalogued. Professor Dean’s team hopes to eventually understand the formation of biomass components, particularly, lignin formation, during the phases of tree growth. Lignin is the material that prevents accessibility of plant cellulose for biofuels production. Its removal is the main challenge to decrease the cost of biofuel (ethanol) production from lignocellulosic plant biomass. Although loblolly pine (a commercially important variety in some American regions)is the main target for the research, other conifers are also lined up for study, including, coast redwood, and Wollemia nobilis.. Biofuels Processing
http://oasys2.confex.com/acs/234nm/techprogram/P1116760.HTM Scientists from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States developed a mobile portable pyrolysis module for the conversion of poultry litter into a “diesel-like bio-oil’. Pyrolysis is a process of heating the raw material in the absence of air. This is a process that takes care of the environmental and bio-security issues asscociated with poultry litter, while producing a value-added product. The added portability also reduces the cost of transporting the raw material for biofuel processing. Using a “fast pyrolysis fluidized bed reactor”, the research team headed by Associate Professor Foster A. Agblevor, obtained a bio-oil product with a yield ranging from 30% to 50%, and a heating value between 26 Megajoules/kg to 29 Megajoules/kg. Related Information http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19199/ Scientists from the University of Minnesota in the United States, developed a catalytic system which can directly convert solid biomass into synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) within a very short period of time. The synthesis gas then can be burned for power generation, or further processed into liquid biofuels.The biomass is first reduced mechanically to millimetre-sized particles, and then allowed to pass through a porous surface containing the catalyst (an element called Rhodium) at 700 to 800 degrees Celsius. The rhodium catalyst is said to facilitate “the partial oxidation reactions that keep the system hot and convert the gases to hydrogen and carbon monoxide”. The nature of the porous structure is the key feature for the fast formation of synthesis gas from solid biomass (about 70 milliseconds in the lab scale system). If the process is scaled up, it could offer a more energy-efficient method for biofuels production by allowing cost-efficient, compact and fast reactors which can be located close to biomass sources. Related information on synthesis gas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesis_gas http://biopact.com/2007/08/fungi-make-biodiesel-efficiently-at.html Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology discovered a microbial route for biodiesel production. The common chemical route for biodiesel production is to react plant oil with methanol under alkaline conditions followed by heating at about 50 oC for several hours. The enzyme “lipase” is then added to the oil-methanol mixture. In the newly discovered microbial route, the thermal treatment is deleted. The raw material mixture of plant oil and methanol is simply passed through a bed of spores from the fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, to produce the biofuel. The lipase enzyme produced by the fungus converts the oil and methanol into biodiesel immediately. This process does not have the costs associated with the purification of the lipase enzyme and the long thermal treatment, thus reducing cost and increasing production efficiency. The research was recently presented as a poster paper at the International Conference on Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. Biofuels Policy and EconomicsA report by Rafael Diezmos on Philippine bioethanol industry updates, is posted at Asian Biofuels Hub website. Among the highlights of the report are: (1) The Philippine Biofuels Act of 2006, which targets 60% energy efficiency by 2010, is in the process of implementation; (2) about 8 to 9 ethanol production plants set to produce ethanol at 100,000 L/d to 150,000 L/d, have filed applications for accreditation to the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE); (3) the establishment of “ethanol highways” or “ethanol corridors”, patterned after the “United States Midwest Corridor Program”, has been proposed as one of many infrastructures in support of biofuels. With these developments the Philippine bioethanol industry is really getting a head start. |
||||||
