On the Path to Low Cost Renewable Fuels, an Important Breakthrough

[OKIsItJustMe]

(Please note, US Department of Energy article — Copyright concerns are nil.)

http://energy.gov/articles/path-low-cost-renewable-fuels-important-breakthrough

[font face=Serif][font size=5]On the Path to Low Cost Renewable Fuels, an Important Breakthrough[/font]

April 18, 2013 - 4:10pm

[font size=3]America’s homegrown fuel resources -- from wood chips to the leaves and stalks of corn plants -- are plentiful. Research finds that these resources could produce enough clean, renewable fuel to replace about 30 percent of the nation’s current petroleum consumption. Still, on the path to creating a strong, thriving biofuels industry, there are challenges we continue to address. That’s why we’re working with researchers, industry and other partners to increase the reliability and cost-effectiveness of renewable fuel production.

The good news is we are making progress -- particularly when it comes to cellulosic ethanol. For the uninitiated, cellulosic ethanol is fuel produced from the inedible, organic material abundant in agricultural waste -- including grasses, farm waste and virtually every type of plant. While cellulosic ethanol represents a huge opportunity for the renewable fuels industry, the high costs and inefficiencies associated with the technology are barriers to its commercialization. However, with major technology milestones met by researchers at our National Labs and industry partners -- that’s all starting to change.

Last fall, scientists at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) successfully demonstrated the technical advances needed to produce cellulosic ethanol cost competitively at $2.15 per gallon -- a process that was modeled at $9 per gallon just a decade ago.

To get here, scientists led pilot-scale projects at NREL’s Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility and Thermochemical Users Facility for two cellulosic ethanol production processes -- biochemical conversion and thermochemical conversion. Both processes successfully produced renewable fuel at prices competitive with petroleum. At the biochemical pilot, cellulosic ethanol was produced at a modeled commercial-scale cost of $2.15 per gallon. For the thermochemical pilot, cellulosic ethanol was produced at a modeled commercial-scale cost of $2.05 per gallon.

The successful demonstration of these cost-cutting technologies is helping the private sector ramp-up efforts to commercialize cellulosic ethanol production. Facilities to produce cellulosic ethanol are under construction including Energy Department-supported projects led by Abengoa in Hugoton, Kansas, POET in Emmetsburg, Iowa, and INEOS in Vero Beach, Florida. Going forward, these technical breakthroughs will be leveraged by private industry and Energy Department to commercialize other technical pathways -- including the conversion of cellulosic feedstock into high performing “drop-in” biofuels that are virtually indistinguishable from gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

You can learn more about the Energy Department’s efforts to sustainably transform the nation's abundant renewable resources into cost-competitive, renewable fuel by visiting the Bioenergy Technologies Office website.[/font][/font]

[M Kitt]

1. Changing our Behavior is necessary, and may be Decades too late to prevent Global Conflict

Thanks for the post, OK.

Think we're still at the 25% consumption rate, our "Market Demand" of available processed crude petroleum distillate. Although US global demand for Petroleum resources is nearly matched by China at this point.

So future conflict in that regard would be a pretty safe bet, disgusting as that prospect is.

And control of 25% of the worlds petroleum resources won't suffice, US energy needs are expanding as are those of China.

We COULD have tapered back our energy needs over several decades as Jimmy Carter pointed out, instead we're now faced with adjusting our consumption rates under disastrous circumstances, literally under fire (Iraq, Afghanistan) in support of our Mid-East policies and those whose political ambitions placed us there (IE Petroleum Interests).

Instead of listening to those former US national leaders who warned against allowing Corporate Interests to steer National Policy (Dwight Eisenhower, for instance) we're today balancing our gluttonous fuel consumption against war policies in support of that gluttony.

And those who take the most profit from current US energy conservation policies (lack of, essentially) are least likely to agree with changes to those policies.

Don't see many of those "Profiteers" volunteering for military service in support of US petroleum gluttony, tho.

As Kurt Vonnegut was fond of saying, "And so it goes".

[M Kitt]

2. Bio-diesel VS Ethanol

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/5597/biofuels-ethanol-and-biodiesel-decrease-ghg-emissions-significantly-canadian-report/

http://tinyurl.com/d2d2bnf

Agreed, OK, that ethanol is the better alternative, burns cleaner and environmentally only adds the amount of carbon produced by the plant in terms of "Waste Product", plus the processed plant waste is potentially useful as manufactured textile or other fabric applications.

Both of these alternate fuels have advantages, with our current approx. 25% ethanol mix fuel reducing carbon emissions significantly.

But Bio-diesel would be a "Temporary" fix, isn't sustainable in the long term, and produces increased HS (methanol related sulfate) which may not be worth the trade-off in terms of monoxide reduction.

Thanks again.

[ljm2002]

3. Good information...

...thanks, it's good to see what alternatives we are working on.

It seems to me there won't be any silver bullet, but enough of these workable alternatives may enable us to step off the petroleum treadmill. Whether it can happen in time, that's the big question.