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Green Fuel: Ethanol and Bio Diesel from Corn and Biomass
Bio fuels made from high-diversity mixtures of prairie plants can reduce global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even when grown on infertile soils, they can provide a substantial portion of global energy needs, and leave fertile land for food production. Findings published in the Dec. 8, 2006, issue of the journal Science. |
Biomass could be converted into ethanol in commercial quantities at a cost equivalent to $25 per barrel of crude oil, or roughly half the current price of imported oil, according to E. Kyle Datta, co-author of Winning the Oil Endgame and managing director of research and consulting at the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy policy group. Datta said farmers who shift from corn to switchgrass could increase their per-acre profit from about $350 to between $400 and $600.
Commercializing biomass-to-ethanol technology would also have international political ramifications, according to Datta. Producing 2.4 million barrels of ethanol per day would "be a $40 billion per year transfer of wealth from the Middle East to our farmers," he said.
Green Energy Live is a leader in the emerging waste/biomass-to-ethanol industry. Our mission is to convert wastes that are currently being landfilled, into ethanol and other valuable co-products using our proprietary patented gasification and conversion technology. Our strategy is to acquire or deploy proprietary technologies that will extract the sugars and starch trapped in these wastes with small footprint, low capital cost and low operating cost technology platforms that can rapidly and economically be deployed to the waste site rather than vice versa. Green Energy Live provides engineering assistance, assists customers in applying biomass fueled energy systems to their specific needs, and provides complete equipment packages.
This is the Green Light to Go Green
One acre of corn can produce 300 gal. of ethanol per growing season. Ethanol is a plant-based alcohol fuel that's seen as a way to lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil. It is no secret that Ethanol plants are seeing a growth of undeniable proportions. The world's growing thirst for ethanol is leading to a boom in plant construction even far from the Corn Belt, which has been home to most production.
About half the new construction began in the year since President Bush signed an energy bill that encourages greater use of ethanol as an ecologically sound fuel additive. Current producers are at full speed. "It's a little bit of a dot-com atmosphere," says John Skelley, president of Arizona Grain, an equity partner in a new ethanol plant being built outside Phoenix. Thirty-three ethanol plants are under construction, and another eight of the 95 plants in operation are being expanded, the Renewable Fuels Association reports. The 16 plants operated by Broin Cos. of Sioux Falls, S.D., are at capacity.
"It's a gold rush right now," CEO Jeff Broin says.
Besides the energy bill, ethanol makers are getting a boost from Detroit, where automakers are promoting vehicles that can burn E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. The more common gasohol is 10% ethanol. The ethanol supply will more than double in the next decade, from 4 billion gallons produced last year to 9.8 billion by 2015, estimates a new report by John Urbanchuk of consulting firm LECG.
Builders say they have more work than they can handle. Ethanol plant construction firm Fagen in Granite Falls, Minn., is maxxed out through 2008. "We're turning down work every day," President Ron Fagen says. Some of the expansion is from existing operators. Archer Daniels Midland, the largest ethanol producer, plans to increase from 1.1 billion gallons a year Monday to 1.5 billion by 2008. Last month, ADM announced a plant will be built in Columbus, Neb. But some plants are planned outside the Corn Belt. In the West: California. Pacific Ethanol is building a $50 million plant in California's central valley, due to open later this year. The plant will use corn shipped in by rail and produce cattle feed as a byproduct. The plant is close to one of the nation's largest dairy herds.
Green Energy Live: Biomass Opportunity
Biomass fuel refers to any combustible form of organic material. This can include bark, saw dust, sanding dust, agricultural wastes such as peanut shells and rice hulls, and animal residuals. Systems provided by GELV will convert such waste products into usable thermal and electrical energy, efficiently and cleanly.
Biomass fuels are cleaner burning than conventional fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal, and unlike conventional fuels, biomass fuels are a renewable form of energy. Unlike corn, biomass can be harvested in quantity throughout the United States, according to Burt English, a professor in the agricultural economics department at the University of Tennessee. English said agricultural waste that comes from yard clippings and clearing trees could be collected from any urban area. Producing ethanol from switchgrass would take some land out of food production and would have "the impact of increasing farm prices and reducing government payments," he said.
English said the federal government should fund biomass ethanol that could be produced throughout the United States. "The facts point to the conclusion that biomass is a better use of resources," English said.
In April 2006, a group of 33 governors -- including those from Corn Belt states -- released a report recommending that the federal government spend $800 million over the next 10 years on biomass research.
Green Energy Live is positioned to capitalize on the opportunities of our technology in a broad array of industries, proprietary technology with GELV waste-to-ethanol expertise to convert corn waste and other organic waste matters into starch and other valuable co-products. The starch will be converted into fermentable sugar as a feedstock and for ethanol production.
Ethanol: A Green Opportunity
Ethanol is a federally mandated, clean-burning, renewable fuel that is critical to US energy security, and environmental protection. Ethanol is used as an oxygenate in 10% gasoline blends, under the Clean Air Act, and an octane enhancer to improve vehicle performance. It is the closest proxy for gasoline as a gas-extender (gasohol) with nationwide distribution in place. Ethanol has gained strong political support at State and Federal levels.
Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, often referred to as grain alcohol; E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Most ethanol is made from grain, just as moonshine is, though there is also research into making ethanol in commercial quantities from cellulosic plants, a complex process that uses plant matter such as switch grass as a base feedstock. A gallon of E85 has an energy content of about 80,000 BTU, compared to gasoline's 124,800 BTU; 1.56 gallon of E85 takes you as far as 1 gallon of gas.
Ethanol is an excellent, clean-burning fuel, potentially providing more horsepower than gasoline. In fact, ethanol has a higher octane rating (over 100) and burns cooler than gasoline. However, pure alcohol isn't volatile enough to get an engine started on cold days, hence E85. Much smaller quantities of ethanol are also added to around 30 percent of the gasoline sold in the States to meet EPA requirements for oxygenated fuels in metropolitan areas with the country's worst ozone air pollution.
According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), E85 currently is available in 36 states. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists 34 models of flex-fuel vehicles (FFV)--cars and trucks that can burn pure gasoline, E85 or any ratio of gas/ethanol in between--available in the 2006 model year. The NEVC estimates that 6 million FFVs have been sold in the States to date.
The performance of E85 vehicles is potentially higher than that of gasoline vehicles because E85's high octane rating allows a much higher compression ratio, which translates into higher thermodynamic efficiency. However, FFVs that retain the capacity to run on gasoline alone can't really take advantage of this octane boost since they also need to be able to run on pump-grade gasoline.
Saab engineers have developed a prototype, plug-in, flex-fuel vehicle. GM chooses to emphasize the ability of the E85 system to use advanced ignition timing, a higher compression ratio, and a higher turbo boost pressure, all of which increase the performance and efficiency of the internal combustion engine
According to the DOE, the growing, fermenting and distillation chain actually results in a surplus of energy that ranges from 34 to 66 percent. Moreover, the carbon dioxide (CO2) that an engine produces started out as atmospheric CO2 that the cornstalk captured during growth, making ethanol greenhouse gas neutral. Recent DOE studies note that using ethanol in blends lowers carbon monoxide (CO) and CO2 emissions substantially. In 2005, burning such blends had the same effect on greenhouse gas emissions as removing 1 million cars from American roads.
According to the Renewable Fuels Association, 95 ethanol refineries produced more than 4.3 billion gal. of ethanol in 2005. An additional 40 new or expanded refineries slated to come on line in the next 18 months will increase that to 6.3 billion gal. That sounds like a lot--and it is--but it represents just over 3 percent of our annual consumption of more than 200 billion gal. of gasoline and diesel. One acre of corn can produce 300 gal. of ethanol per growing season.
Biodiesel: Green Energy Opportunity
Fuels for diesel engines made from sources other than petroleum are known as biodiesel. Among the common sources are vegetable oils, rendered chicken fat and used fry oil. In fact, Rudolf Diesel's demonstration engine ran on peanut oil at the 1900 Paris World Exposition.
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| When Willie Nelson heads out on tour, he fuels his bus with BioWillie, his own brand of biodiesel--it's Farm Aid in action. |
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Modern diesel engines can run on 100 percent biodiesel with little degradation in performance compared to petrodiesel because the BTU content of both fuels is similar--120,000 to 130,000 BTU per gallon. In addition, biodiesel burns cleaner than petrodiesel, with reduced emissions. Unlike petrodiesel, biodiesel molecules are oxygen-bearing, and partially support their own combustion. According to the DOE, pure biodiesel reduces CO emissions by more than 75 percent over petroleum diesel. A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petrodiesel, sold as B20, reduces CO2 emissions by around 15 percent.
Biodiesel has a viable future as a major fuel for transportation. According to the National Biodiesel Board, production of biodiesel in 2004 was about 25 million gal., tripling to more than 75 million gal. in 2005. The trend is solidly upward, thanks to government incentives, the growing number of new diesel vehicles for sale and a grass-roots groundswell of support.
The Big Picture: Industry Players and Trends
Siemens Energy & Automation, a Silver Industrial Partner of the 21st Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo, is helping the U.S. meet its growing needs for ethanol. Ethanol used in fuel has been shown to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, create thousands of jobs, and reduce air pollution
Since 2000, Siemens has supplied process automation systems on two-thirds of the fuel ethanol plants built in the U.S. As of 2005, Siemens has provided process automation services and products to more than 30 plants, said David Meyer, manager for Siemens Fuel Ethanol Initiative. Combined, these new plants are producing more than 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol annually.
Total U.S. ethanol production for 2005 was 4 billion gallons. If the ethanol provision, recently approved by the Senate, in the current energy bill is accepted, U.S. ethanol production will reach 8 billion gallons annually by 2012.
“Siemens has earned this leadership position in the ethanol market because we help the industry reduce the time and costs it takes to take the finished product to market,” Meyer said. “By combining Siemens’ technological expertise, experience, and wide portfolio of integrated products, our customers are reaping the benefits of improved production processes, product yields, and operations.”
Integrated Ethanol Solutions
During the rapid development of today’s ethanol industry, Smar has established itself as a company that can provide a variety of automation and control solutions. Both Smar and Siemens Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) concept offer fuel ethanol manufacturers an entire suite of process control products to help with every production phase – including grinding corn and other grains, mixing, cooking, drying, fermenting, and storage.
Among these products are open control system platforms, transmitters that precisely measure and transmit process data, drives and motors for a wide range of applications, and electrical infrastructure options for the most diverse requirements.
Ethanol Industry
North America is increasing the use of Ethanol as a substitute for the gasoline additive MTBE. As the cost effectiveness of this technology increases, industrial companies in the USA and Canada are becoming interested in commercializing the technology and producing ethanol from grain and/or biomass.
World Ethanol Production and Growth
The Americas continue to be the world’s leading ethanol production region, with no indication of change in the foreseeable future. Total production in 2003 was 8 billion gallons, which is 66% of the world output. The world leader in the past 30 years continues to be Brazil, with 5 billion gallons in the country for 2003. At the peak of ethanol production, Brazil had 40 to 60% of its vehicles fueled by ethanol (1984 to 2002). Total US production in 2003 was 3 billion gallons, with projected spending of $4 billion.
Ethanol Plant Control System Design Considerations
There are presently 104 operating MFGE (motor fuel grade ethanol) plants in the US. The industry will need up to 2000 skilled employees to operate these 45 to 60 new ethanol plants. Most of these plants will be located in rural agricultural areas.
Green Energy Mission Statement:
To create an economically sustainable, socially beneficial, environmentally responsible agricultural development that uses an integrated approach to resource management for the economic and social betterment of the world’s farmers, rural communities, and citizens.
• Will produce Ethanol from Corn (15 million gallon plants)
• Utilize state-of-the-art technology to develop innovative revenue streams, and build for the
long-term versus lowest cost components.
long-term versus lowest cost components.
• Optimize co-product value:
· capture, process and sell all CO2.
· de-germ corn prior to fermentation to get corn oil as a revenue stream.
· produce high quality distiller's grains that have value in multiple animal species as a
high-protein,
high-fiber feed ingredient.
The grain processing plants will produce ethanol, high protein animal feed and CO2. There is an active and existing
market for all three products in the surrounding states. Corn usage in these facilities will expand existing markets
for corn in the region.
Multi-plant business plan strategy
· Multiple plants 40-5- million gallon plants.
· Become one of the most profitable producers of Ethanol
· Low cost production methods
· Focus on Ethanol as profitable fuel source
· Hedging strategy to minimize risks
· High quality, high value by-products
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