The Energy Blog

Are Biofuels Sustainable?

Robert Anex, left, an Iowa State associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is leading several studies to determine whether a bioeconomy that produces fuel and chemicals from biorenewable resources will be sustainable. One study found an integrated process for producing ethanol from plant fiber could recycle plant nutrients back to the soil.

Innovative bioconversion processes configured to recover key plant nutrients from biomass will allow recycling nutrients to crop fields, thereby closing nutrient cycles and reducing the energetic and economic costs of fertilization. Such advanced bioconversion matched with complementary biomass production may promote the development of highly productive agricultural–industrial systems that protect environmental quality.

"It may well be that the development of biomass-based crops production systems can have as profound an impact on agriculture and its environmental footprint as it does on energy security and the global climate," Anex and co-authors Andrew Heggenstaller and Matt Liebman of Iowa State's agronomy department and Lee Lynd and Mark Laser of Dartmouth College wrote in a recent paper. "Whether this is a positive impact or a negative impact will depend largely on how biomass feedstocks are produced and converted, and the extent to which these two activities are integrated."

GM's First True Hybrid: GMC Yukon

The 8/24 San Jose Mercury News reported on their test drive of the GMC Yukon 2-mode hybrid, a full-size sport-utility with as many as eight seats, the capability to tow a boat, that delivers a fuel-economy gain and can run on pure electricity.

The Yukon is claimed to get 25% greater overall fuel economy and 40% greater in city driving than the standard 2008 Yukon with a 5.3-liter V-8, that is rated at 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway (new EPA MPG rating system, which lower MPG estimates for most vehicles). The hybrid is equipped with a 6.0 liter V-8 for better low-end torque.

The gas engine stops when you come to a stop. If you don't gun the engine, you can accelerate to about 30 mph before the gas engine kicks in.

Penn State: Black liquor to DME as Alternative Fuel

Penn State press release:

Adding a little coal and processing the papermaking industry's black liquor waste into synthesis gas is a better choice than burning it for heat, improves the carbon footprint of coal-to-liquid processes, and can produce a fuel versatile enough to run a cooking stove or a truck, according to a team of Penn state engineers.

"Black liquor is routinely burned in a recovery boiler," said Andre Boehman, professor of fuel science. "But it has more energy value as a synthesis gas, which is then used to create other fuels."

Black liquor is a combination of lignin from the wood, the chemicals used in papermaking and water. Normally, after burning, mills extract the inorganic chemicals and recycle them. Synthesis gas or syngas can be made from a variety of organic wastes and is a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The final product looked at by the researchers is DME or dimethyl ether.  . . .

DME is building new markets in both heat producing fuel applications and transportation. In Japan and China, some demonstration diesel trucks and buses already run on DME. Volvo has a third-generation experimental truck that runs on DME, and other companies are also testing vehicles.

(Penn State) students looked at the efficiency of using black liquor as the feedstock for manufacturing synthesis gas and then DME, and realized that they needed the economy of scale for the process to be really efficient and economical. The capacity of paper mills for fuel production could be expanded by co-processing coal with the black liquor.

Growth in Biofuels Production Remains Strong

Growth in the biofuel industry remains strong for both ethanol and biodiesel, according to a presss release for the Soyatech's Biofuels Index, newly updated for Q2 2007. However, the data also shows signs that the corn-based ethanol build out may be leveling off.

Soyatech's Biofuels Index, which tracks planned and actual build-out of biofuels production capacity, reports dramatic growth in planned capacity for ethanol plants over the past year, from 6.761 billion gallons per year (BGY) as of July 1, 2006, to 13.03 BGY as of July 1, 2007 - an increase of 93%. During this same period, growth in ethanol capacity under construction increased 199%, from 2.417 BGY to 7.226 BGY.

During Q2 2007, total online capacity for ethanol increased by 564 million gallons per year (MGY), or 10.7%, from 5.289 BGY to 5.853 BGY. Capacity in planning rose by approximately 6% during the quarter.

However, the Index also points to a slight leveling off in construction of ethanol plants during Q2 2007 - the first time since the Index began tracking these numbers. According to the Index, capacity under construction decreased slightly by 1.7%.

"While the percent change is too small and the time frame too short to identify this as a definitive trend, we understand from industry sources that it is more difficult to secure debt financing for new refineries due largely to increased equity requirements on the part of banks providing this funding. We suspect that an additional cause may be constraints on the amount of corn available as a feedstock to produce ethanol," said Jacob Golbitz, director of research for Soyatech and its parent company, HighQuest Partners.

Sprinter Plug-in to Get JCS Li-ion Batteries

Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) and Dodge have announced that a fleet of Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrid delivery vans soon will be operating within the United States powered by Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

The vans will be powered by Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries developed by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions (JCS). The Dodge Sprinter plug-in hybrids will be placed in multiple locations within the U.S., exposing the technology to different drive cycles and to aquire information that can be used to develop the next generation of Lithium-ion batteries.

"Advanced battery technology is the single most important enabler in making all types of electric vehicles practical," said Mary Ann Wright, who leads the JCS joint venture and is vice president and general manager of Johnson Controls' hybrid battery business. "Plug-in hybrids, conventional hybrids, electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will benefit from Lithium-ion technology. Johnson Controls-Saft is determined to deliver state-of-the-art batteries to power advanced, environmentally friendly vehicles,"

According to Wright, the Dodge Sprinter is an ideal vehicle to carry a large battery pack and still have ample room readily accessible for use as a delivery vehicle. Fleets of Sprinter plug-in hybrids were put into service in Los Angeles, New York and Kansas City in 2006 during the first phase of Chrysler and Daimler's plug-in hybrid development program. Powered by Johnson Controls-Saft nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and Li-ion battery packs, the Sprinter vans have provided valuable data to accelerate the development of future battery technology.

Toray Develops Carbon Fiber Plastics for Auto Platforms

Toray Industries Inc. has developed a technology with Nissan Motor Co. and others that will enable automakers to slash vehicle weight by using a lighter material to build car platforms, The Nikkei learned Thursday.

The technology speeds up the resin molding process, enabling carbon fiber to be mass-produced for automotive use. Unlike conventional steel platforms that can weigh about 300kg for a luxury passenger car, carbon fiber plastics, which combine carbon fiber and resins, will help cut platform weight to roughly 150kg.

This will allow automakers to reduce the overall weight of their vehicles , which average around 1.5 tons, by 10 per cent, resulting in a 4-5 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency.  . . .

Because carbon fiber would still be somewhat costly, Toray plans to initially market its technology for use in luxury vehicles. It predicts that the cost will eventually fall to a level similar to conventional steel platforms.

GM May Make 60,000 `Volt' Electric Cars in First Year

Jeff Green of Bloomberg reported that General Motors Corp. may build as many as 60,000 of its Volt electric cars for their inaugural year on the market, four times the sales of Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid Prius on its U.S. debut, people with knowledge of GM's plans said.

Production at that level may allow GM to sell the plug-in Volt for less than $30,000, said the people, who didn't want to be identified because the plans are confidential.

GM product chief Bob Lutz has said he wants to sell the first Volt by late 2010, and expects to have prototypes ready for testing early next year.

Read complete Bloomberg article

See previous post on Volt.

University of New Hampshire to get 80-85% of its Energy from Landfill Gas

The University of New Hampshire president Mark Huddleston recently announced that the UNH, in cooperation with Waste Management of New Hampshire, Inc., has launched EcoLine, a landfill gas project that will pipe enriched and purified gas from Waste Management’s landfill in Rochester to the Durham campus.

UNH is the first university in the nation to undertake a project of this magnitude; it will not only stabilize the university’s fluctuating energy costs but significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which have doubled in the last five years and grown at an annual rate of 18.9 percent.

The renewable, carbon-neutral landfill gas, from Waste Management’s Turnkey Recycling and Environmental Enterprise (TREE) facility in Rochester, N.H., will replace commercial natural gas as the primary fuel in UNH’s cogeneration plant, enabling UNH to receive 80-85 percent of its energy from a renewable source.

“By reducing the university’s dependence on fossil fuels and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, EcoLine is an environmentally and fiscally responsible initiative,” said Huddleston. “UNH is proud to lead the nation and our peer institutions in this landmark step toward sustainability.”

Construction is set to begin immediately on a landfill gas processing plant in Rochester which will purify the gas, and the 12.7 mile underground pipeline which will transport the gas from the plant to the university’s Durham campus. UNH is expected to fuel its cogeneration plant with landfill gas by the fall of 2008. Estimated cost of the project, including the construction of a second generator at UNH, is $45 million.

Thin-Film solar Market Soaring

According to a new report from NanoMarkets LC the global market for thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) is forecast to reach $7.2 billion by 2015, compared to just over $1.0 billion today.

The report states that the market is being driven by the inherent advantages of TFPV. . . . most manufacturers are ramping up production capacity and several -- including First Solar, Fuji Electric, Nanosolar, Sanyo, Uni-Solar and G24i -- are building plants with more than 100 MW in capacity.

Some of the findings of the report include:

• PV could eventually account for as much as 20 percent of the U.S. market's energy needs.
• TFPV was only five percent of the entire PV market recently , but it is expected to account for 35 percent of the photovoltaics market by 2015.
• TFPV can be manufactured using simple printing or other R2R machines.  Printing TFPV has the potential for lowering capital costs by as much as 75 percent, reducing waste and increasing throughput.

Powerspan Ammonia Based CO2 Capture to be Tested at Burger Plant

Powerspan Corp. and BP Alternative Energy have announced a collaborative agreement to develop and commercialize Powerspan's carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology, called "ECO2(TM)" for power plants. The scope of the agreement includes financial and technical support for pilot demonstration and commercial scale-up activities, which may include joint development of large-scale demonstration projects that would capture CO2 from power station flue gas. The captured CO2 would be sent for secure, long-term storage deep underground. Use of ECO2 for large scale capture and storage of CO2 from power plants represents a major option for reducing greenhouse gases. It is expected that pilot plant testing will take place at FirstEnergy Corp.'s R.E. Burger plant in Shadyside, Ohio in early 2008.

The ECO2 process is a post-combustion CO2 capture process for conventional power plants. The technology is suitable for retrofit to the existing coal- fired, electric generating fleet as well as for new coal-fired plants. The regenerative process is readily integrated with Powerspan's patented Electro- Catalytic Oxidation, or ECO(R), process for multi-pollutant control of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and fine particulate matter from power plants.