BIOFUELS SUPPLEMENT
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A bi-weekly summary of world developments on biofuels, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
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April 17, 2009

In This Issue:

News and Trends
- Scientists Harness Endophytic Bacteria for Sustainable Cultivation of Biofuel-Poplar Trees 
- Nanofarming: A Novel Way to Harvest Algal Oil for Algal Biodiesel Production 

Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Production
- Olive Tree Residues for Biomass Energy 

Biofuels Processing
- Compost and Manure Can Replenish Soil Carbon Lost Due to Corn Stover Removal 

Biofuels Policy and Economics
- Indonesian Palm Oil Industry Initiates Steps Toward Sustainability 
- Updates and Prospects of Second Generation Biofuel Feedstocks 





* NEWS AND TRENDS *

Scientists Harness Endophytic Bacteria for Sustainable Cultivation of Biofuel-Poplar Trees
http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=874
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/75/3/748 (may require paid subscription for complete access)

Poplar trees have been reported as one of the fast-growing trees that can be harnessed as a biofuel feedstock for cellulose ethanol production. As with other potential biofuel feedstocks under investigation, strategies for  sustainable cultivation are being studied. One of these "sustainable" strategies is the utilization of marginal soils for the cultivation of biofuel feedstocks. Increasing the ability of biofuel feedstocks to thrive in marginal soils is an active area of study. Recently, scientists from the Brookhaven National Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) and their colleagues from Hasselt University (Belgium) identified "plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal land". They identified some "endophytic bacteria" (bacteria residing within plant hosts without causing disease symptoms) from poplar and willow which had beneficial effects on plant growth. Poplar cuttings inoculated with Enterobacter sp. 638 and Burkholderia cepacia BU72, repeatedly showed the highest increase in biomass production by as much as 50%. The production of plant-growth-promoting hormones by endophytic bacteria which stimulates poplar growth in marginal soils, is seen as a possible mechanism. The results of their study are reported in the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Further investigations are underway, with the objective of improving biomass production and the carbon sequestration potential of poplar trees when grown in marginal soil..

Nanofarming: A Novel Way to Harvest Algal Oil for Algal Biodiesel Production
http://www.ameslab.gov/final/News/2009rel/Nanofarming.html
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=32791
http://www.physorg.com/news158333205.html

The Ames Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) reports that its scientists (together with colleagues from the Iowa State University) have developed "a groundbreaking ‘nanofarming' technology that safely harvests oil from the algae so the pond-based "crop" can keep on producing". The technology involves the use of nanoparticles (particles with sizes on a nanometer, or one-billionth-of-a-meter scale) to extract the oil from the algae, without destroying algal viability. The conventional method for algal oil extraction from algae usually involves destroying or breaking the algal cells in order to extract the oil. With the new "nanofarming" technology, the pond-grown algae are not destroyed and the algal cells continue to produce the oil while the nanoparticles harvest them. This would result in a reduction of production cost. The extracted oil is then converted into biodiesel by a process which uses a solid catalyst.




* ENERGY CROPS AND FEEDSTOCKS FOR BIOFUELS PRODUCTION *

Olive Tree Residues for Biomass Energy
http://www.worldofrenewables.com/index.php?s=843148a95ce560459593d2407e431613&do=viewarticle&artid=3154&title=olive-biomass-as-energy-source
http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/3423/olive-trees-as-power-source

About 700,000 tons of biomass residue from the pruning of olive trees in a plantation in Jaen, Spain is reportedly generated each year. The biomass residues are mainly branches and leaves from pruned olive trees. The Spanish Union of Small Farmers (UPA) of Jaen sees this as a resource for electrical power generation. The cooperative is finding ways to derive economic benefit from this resource. Utilization of olive-tree biomass into electrical energy may involve a direct combustion process in a processing plant. The UPA study shows that it would be "profitable to cut, chop and collect the olive branch prunings in the olive grove and transport them to the processing plant" for a cost of 50 euros per ton. In order to reduce the cost of transporting the biomass to a processing plant that is 30 kilometers away, the use of agricultural cooperatives as centers for the biomass collection, organization and logistics of each district, is being eyed. The construction of additional and strategically located processing plants, are also being considered..


* BIOFUELS PROCESSING *

Compost and Manure Can Replenish Soil Carbon Lost Due to Corn Stover Removal
http://www.worldofbioenergy.com/index.php?s=b6f4f2079e0b873112e756fbc72b212c&do=viewarticle&artid=176&title=replacing-carbon-loss-with-cellulosic-ethanol
http://agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/100/6/1703?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=Thelen&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT (may require paid subscription for full access)

Corn stover (the leaves and stalk residues of the corn plant left in a field after harvest) is considered one of the potential feedstocks for cellulose ethanol production. Traditionally, corn stover is left on land after harvest to improve soil fertility and also to improve soil organic carbon content. Removal of corn stover from the land for use in ethanol production can result in a loss of soil organic carbon, and may have adverse effects on soil fertility. According to Michigan State University scientists (in the United States), "growers wishing to maintain, or increase soil carbon levels for agronomic and environmental benefit will need to use carbon amendments such as manure, compost, or cover crops, to replace carbon removed with the corn stover". They found that compost and manure amendments increased to total soil organic carbon by 41% and 25%, respectively. The compost and manure amendments also decreased global warming potentials (GWP). Details of their findings are published in the Agronomy Journal (URL above).


* BIOFUELS POLICY AND ECONOMICS *

Indonesian Palm Oil Industry Initiates Steps Toward Sustainability
http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/?161661/Indonesian-palm-oil-industry-takes-step-towards-sustainability
http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/3485/indonesian-palm-oil-industry-moves-to-sustainability  

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) website reports that a major Indonesian plantation company has become the first certified maker of sustainable palm oil in the country. The Musim Mas Group Plantations is the first Indonesian company to "demonstrate that some of its plantations comply with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria". This is a set of standards that helps ensure that palm oil is produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way. "The RSPO brings together oil palm growers, oil processors, food companies, retailers, NGOs and investors to help ensure that no rainforest areas are sacrificed for new oil palm plantations, that all plantations minimize their environmental impacts and that basic rights of local peoples and plantation workers are fully respected". Palm oil is a biodiesel feedstock and its use for biodiesel production has been subject of recent debate due to questions about its sustainability. Indonesia is considered as the world's biggest producer of palm oil. Liantong Gan, head of Muim Mas' Sustainability Department hopes that the certification "will encourage more Indonesian companies to follow suit".

Related information on RSPO Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil Production http://www.rspo.org/PDF/CWG/RSPO%20Principles%20&%20Criteria%20for%20Sustainable%20Palm%20Oil%20(final%20public%20realease).pdf



Updates and Prospects of Second Generation Biofuel Feedstocks
http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?docid=163689393
http://www.worldofrenewables.com/index.php?do=viewarticle&artid=2929&title=according-to-frost-sullivan-improvements-in-second-generation-biofuels-critical-to-ensure-compliance-with-future-biofuel-mandates-in-europe

Frost and Sullivan (a management information services provider) recently published an analysis on the present and future prospects of second generation biofuel feedstocks. Second generation biofuel feedstocks are those which are derived from non-food sources. The more popular second generation feedstocks are: (a) cellulosic biomass (such as agricultural residues, grasses and fast growing trees) for ethanol, and (b) jatropha, camelina and algae for biodiesel. Some highlights of the report are: (1) Almost all of the production technologies for second generation biofuels are in the "final stages of commercialization", and may be realized within the next two years, (2) Although there will be no lack of feedstock for second generation biofuels, feestock/biomass accessibility will play "a catalytic role in ensuring the long-term commercial viability of second generation biofuels", (3) Algae is predicted to be a potentially lucrative alternative market for fuels in the future, (4) Japan has successfully tested camelina-, jatropha- and algae-based biofuels, (5) "Policies and the long term renewable fuel targets set by the European Union and the United States will significantly assist in establishing second generation biofuels"; these countries will help sustain the commercial success of second generation biofuels up to 2020.

The Frost and Sullivan website (URL above) gives instructions on how to obtain a copy of the full report.




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