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Giving Biofuels A Boost: Collaboration For Bioenergy Development
by Christopher J Brigham 11 July 2013 Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. Christopher J Brigham Partnerships between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic are key in bioenergy development, writes the University of Massachusetts ’ Christopher J Brigham… Alternative fuels, especially biofuels, are currently hot topics in both the academic and private sectors throughout the world. In many cases, an innovative idea in academic research will become the next revolutionary industrial process, and in some cases, the next potential global solution. I have previously stressed the notion that the academic scholars of today are the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As in spheres such as information technology, space, and economics, the next generation of powerful, marketable ideas in biofuel production and technology will come from the universities and institutes of technology. Scientists, politicians, business leaders, and other citizens from both the US and EU offer a myriad of views on global climate change and how this problem will be mitigated in the coming years. Increasingly, biofuel alternatives to petroleum are being developed, such as the use of sugarcane-based ethanol in Brazil. Ethanol, as an inefficient and somewhat problematic biofuel, is really only effective if the proper infrastructure is developed along with it (which has been done in Brazil). Ideally, successful biofuel development will rely on existing infrastructure, both to transport the fuel to the consumer and to utilise the fuel to generate power. There has been an increased focus in the US on researching cost-effective production of biofuels that are compatible with existing transportation infrastructure. This focus is driven by a renewed focus on funding of scientific research in the US, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) , which produces funding opportunities for academic and private sector researchers. ‘Fossil fuel consumption remains high’ In both the US and the EU, fossil fuel consumption for energy remains high. Given the concentrated efforts of EU nations to shift to other sources of energy (wind power, solar energy, biodiesel, etc.), the EU-27 have slowed any increase in petroleum consumption, if not altogether halted it. In the US, fossil fuel consumption has decreased somewhat in recent years, but petroleum-based fuels still dominate the US energy consumption landscape. Keeping in mind the EU and US reliance on foreign sources of oil, uncertainty about the size of a finite supply of fossil-based petroleum, and the increasing demand for renewable products, it makes sense for biofuels to be offered as an alternative fuel source, especially for powering motor vehicles. It should be said that ‘alternative’ fuel source does not mean ‘replacement’ fuel source. We must respect the notion that the Earth’s petroleum supply is large enough to sustain our current habits, perhaps for the entirety of our lifetimes, but also prepare for the possibility that the fossil fuel supply is indeed finite. Academic institutions are major players in biofuels research innovation. Many patents and other intellectual property have been developed as a result of academic research on bioenergy. Currently, programmes like Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in the US are funding innovative and transformative research in many different aspects of the energy space, from biofuels to rethinking the way the energy grid operates. Similar programmes have been established in the EU, focusing on valorisation of waste biomass, biodiesel production, and other relevant topics. While funds from these programmes go mainly to academic institutions, fostering the next wave of innovation, there is also opportunity for partnership with the private sector. This could be crucial for the development of ideas in bioenergy and bringing them to market. Transatlantic collaboration I propose a partnership in biofuels research and development that has been largely underexplored, if not unexplored: the opportunity for US and EU universities to work together to address the challenge of creating an affordable and efficient bioenergy infrastructure. In a global economy, continued cooperation among respected global institutions is a must. A pooling of resources between the US and EU could have economic and even political advantages for the nations involved, and could help shape the energy future on both sides of the Atlantic. Christopher J Brigham PhD Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts Dartmouth www.umassd.edu [This article was originally published on 1 st July 2013 as part of Science Omega Review Europe 02] Read more: http://www.scienceom…t#ixzz2Yk2V4ZrS Continue reading
In 1776, Energy Was Rooted In Wood
In 1776, an “all of the above” approach to energy basically meant wood. The course of human events has run 237 years since then, and we’re pretty much independent of fuel from trees. The fossil fuels coal, natural gas and oil now provide about 90 percent of the energy Americans consume, according to a special Fourth of July report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But wood is getting a federal push for a comeback, this time as technically revolutionary advanced cellulosic biofuel. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels into gasoline and diesel by 2022 , putting pressure on oil producers to invest in alternative fuel sources, such as sugar, algae and wood chips. Cellulosic biofuels include fuels produced from wood, grasses, or the inedible parts of plants, and, more recently, algae . The Obama administration has urged the development of non-carbon resources, as an alternative to fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. And while the oil industry has challenged biofuel mandates citing lack of available cellulosic fuel , the future mandated targets still stand, with tax credits and other incentives further encouraging companies to invest. To help meet the upcoming mandates, Chevron Technology Ventures teamed with forest products giant Weyerhauser in 2008 to form Catchlight Energy. It supplies raw material to Pasadena-based Kior, which makes advanced biofuels from southern yellow pine at a plant in Columbus, Miss. The commercial scale plant, which began shipping its product earlier this year, can process 500 tons of woody biomass per day. The resulting biofuel is blended with gasoline and diesel to reduce the petroleum component and carbon emissions of those fuels. Wood chip-based fuel, however, costs about $4.50 a gallon to produce, said Desmond King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures. And on Thursday, the nationwide average retail price per gallon was $3.48 for regular gasoline and $3.82 for diesel, according to AAA. The main challenge in wood’s return as a fuel source is that there isn’t enough of it. “You can look at the cost to make a gallon, but the problem is how much biofuel you need to make a difference to the world’s oil supply,” King said. The world’s annual timber production would only generate 3 million barrels a day of biocrude, he said. Meanwhile, according the Energy Information Administration, the world is consuming about 90 million barrels of oil a day. Continue reading
Second Gen Biofuels Most Efficient Use Of EU Bioenergy
July 10, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin Bioenergy should be produced in line with EU objectives to use resources more efficiently, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), including reducing the land and other resources needed to produce each unit of bioenergy and avoiding environmental harm from bioenergy production, extracting more energy from the same material input, and avoiding negative environmental effects potentially caused by bioenergy production. In 2010, bioenergy comprised approximately 7.5 percent of energy used in the EU and is expected to rise to around 10 percent by 2020, according to EU Member States’ National Renewable Energy Plans. According to the EEA analysis, the most efficient energy use of biomass is for heating and electricity as well as advanced biofuels or second generation biofuels. The research shows that the current energy crop mix is not good for the environment and recommends a broader mix of crops to reduce environmental impacts, including perennial crops which are not harvested annually like energy grasses or short rotation willow plantations to enhance ecosystem services such as flood prevention and water filtration. Bioenergy is often considered carbon neutral, as the carbon dioxide released in combustion is assumed to be compensated by the CO 2 absorbed during plant growth. However, the research shows that indirect land use change can negate any greenhouse gas savings from biofuel production based on energy crops due to the displacement of crop production onto previously unused land, which can lead to the conversion of forests and savannah to agriculture ultimately harming biodiversity and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. “Bioenergy is an important component of our renewable energy mix, helping to ensure a stable energy supply. But this study highlights the fact that forest biomass and productive land are limited resources, and part of Europe’s ‘natural capital,'” Hans Bruyninckx, EEA executive director, said. “So it is essential that we consider how we can use existing resources efficiently before we impose additional demands on land for energy production.” For more: – download the report Read more: Second gen biofuels most efficient use of EU bioenergy – FierceEnergy http://www.fierceene…0#ixzz2YfQfXVKy Subscribe at FierceEnergy Continue reading
