Diversified Ethanol says first waste-to-ethanol project will be completed in Florida
July 18, 2008
In Florida, Diversified Ethanol announced that it would complete its first waste-to-ethanol plant in Dade City, rather than Pomona, California as previously announced under its feedstock agreement with Master Recycling. The company said that faster-tracking in permitting, plus more favorable construction costs led to the decision to complete the Florida plant first.
Diversified Ethanol designs and builds small scale, modular ethanol plants using brewery, beverage or food processing waste. The company’s Butterfield system includes a proprietary water recycling system reducing water use by up to 85%.
Waste-to-ethanol background
• Syntec Biofuel has announced that it would drop an upfront $250,000 licensing fee for its waste-to-ethanol process, in a bid to attract business from to corn-based ethanol producers hit by soaring feedstock prices.
• In Indiana, the Post-Tribune is reporting that a proposed Lake County garbage-to-ethanol facility will release highly toxic chlorinated dioxins.
The other competitor, Indiana Ethanol Power, has commenced contract negotiations with Lake County Solid Waste Management District for its proposed 20 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant.
• In New York, Masada said it is awaiting a green light from the the city council of Middletown to proceed with a 10 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant.
• In Canada, the city of Edmonton has proposed a gasification plant for the Clover Bar landfill that will convert trash into ethanol.
• In New Jersey, a 10 Mgy corn and fruit waste ethanol plant has been proposed by New Jersey Ethanol.
• BlueFire Ethanol Fuels is ready to break ground this month on its 3.1 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant near Lancaster, California. The company is awaiting its air permit before commencing construction, after securing additional financing to supplement a cellulosic ethanol grant from the Department of Energy received last year. The company, which plans to erect a number of waste-to-ethanol plants near landfills, has a 16.6 Mgy plant on the drawing board that would be built near Corona. Bluefire holds the exclusive North American license to employ the Arkenol Process Technology, a patented system that transforms cellulosic waste into usable ethanol.
• Idaho published a state energy assessment targeting opportunities in waste-to-ethanol. Biofuels Digest has obtained a copy of the full report and it can be downloaded here.
Biofuel Energy commences ethanol shipments from Nebraska, Minnesota as new plants reach 90% capacity
July 18, 2008
In Colorado, Biofuel Energy said that it had commenced shipping ethanol from its two 115 Mgy corn ethanol plants in Nebraska and Minnesota. The company said that it shipped 2 million gallons in its first week. The plants were completed and opened last month, and are currently operating at 90 percent capacity.
BioFuel Energy commissioned its corn ethanol plants last month at Wood River, Nebraska, and Fairmont, Minnesota, with a combined ethanol production capacity of 230 Mgy and 720,000 tons of distillers grains. The Minnesota plant had initially run at 50 percent capacity due to rising corn costs.
BioFuel (BIOF) recently reported quarterly results, showing a $0.12 loss per share for overhead expenses. Commenting on the results, Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said “The timetable for bringing online BioFuel’s two 115 MMgy plants, Wood River (Nebraska) and Fairmont (Minnesota), remains essentially unchanged … BioFuel shares continue to be valued well below its construction costs.”
EcoPlus gets go-ahead to produce “white coal” from fats, grease in California
July 18, 2008
In South Carolina, EcoPlus has received approval from the Berkeley County Council to construct a “white coal” plant that would create a coal-like substance for electricity production, using waste fats and grease from local restaurants and businesses. The plant would cost up to $10 million. The company operates a plant in North Carolina that processes 200,000 gallons of oil annually
55 Mgy Green Plains Renewable Energy corn ethanol plant launches in Iowa
July 17, 2008
In Iowa, the 55 Mgy Green Plains Renewable Energy corn ethanol plant in Superior commenced production, and will supply California, New York and Florida markets with ethanol fuel as well as local markets with wet distillers grains and a broader market with dried distiller grains. The plant expects to spend up to $130 million per year to acquire 18-20 million bushels of corn, at $6.50 to $7.22 per bushel.
Green Plains background
Earlier this year, Green Plains Renewable Energy and VBV announced that they will merge into a 330 Mgy ethanol producer. VBV owns a majority stake in two 110 Mgy corn ethanol projects slated for completion this year, Indiana Bio-Energy and Ethanol Grain Processors in Tennessee.
Green Plains Renewable Energy received a $2.19 million grant last month from the Iowa Power Fund for algae-related development. Details over licensing and royalties remain to be worked out in coming weeks. The grant will fund 75 percent of a $2.8 million, 195-day algae production trial that will produce 1.6 tons of algae biomass. A second phase costing $4.2 million would produce a half-ton per week of algae biomass, and a third phase costing $80 million for a commercial scale plant would produce 1700 pounds per hectare per day of biomass.
Last February, members of the Great Lakes Cooperative approved a merger with Green Plains Renewable Energy by a vote of 718 to 174. The Cooperative, which recorded $146 million in revenues in 2007, specializes in grain, feed and fuel products in Iowa and Minnesota with operations in seven northern Iowa locations. The merger gives Green Plains access to a reliable supply of corn for its biofuel production stream.
Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and the Great Lakes co-operative announced the potential merger last September, in an agreement that brought together Great Lakes’ corn production capacity with Green Plains’ manufacturing, financial and marketing capabilities.
The origin of the deal is reported to be efforts by Great Lakes to provide corn for Green Plains’ 50 Mgy Superior, IA plant, scheduled to open in 2008. The company opened its 50 Mgy corn ethanol plant at Shenandoah, IA last year.
Under the merger agreement, co-op members will receive a combination of cash and stock.
15 Mgy Terra Bioenergy waste fat biodiesel project commences construction in Missouri
July 17, 2008
In Missouri, the 15 Mgy Terra Bioenergy waste animal fat biodiesel plant has commenced construction in St. Joseph. The $25 million project is expected to be completed in February.
Missouri background
The Republican gubernatorial primary election campaign heated up recently over biofuels policy, when U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof criticized opponent Sarah Steelman’s energy policy, saying “An array of independent analyses debunk the proposals contained in The Steelman Plan, which could result in higher gas prices, job losses, and an enhanced dependence on foreign oil. Until last week, Steelman appeared to recognize the benefits of biofuels and the positive impact they have had on the state’s agriculture economy and the ongoing effort to wean our dependence on foreign oil. Now, in a dramatic about face, she’s proposing the elimination of Missouri’s ethanol mandate.”
In March, the state Senate passed a new measure mandating a B5 or higher blend in all diesel fuel sold in the state. The measure now moves to the House for approval. Missouri, which enacted an E10 mandate in January, would become the sixth state to establish a biodiesel mandate.
Gov. Matt Blunt has been accelerating Missouri to a leadership position in biofuels. Last month, he announced a series of tax incentive proposals designed to promote biofuels. The governor proposed $2 million in tax incentives for gas station owners converting to E85, and tax credits for consumers who buy E85 or a hybrid vehicle.
Missouri’s E10 mandate took effect January 1st. With the new law, Missouri joins Minnesota and Hawaii as the only states mandating E10. Most Missouri stations switched months previously, and the transition as reported to be smooth.
Missouri has a unique feature in its ethanol mandate allowing fuel retailers to switch back to unblended gasoline if the price of ethanol exceeds the price of gas. There are concerns that, if the price of ethanol drops below gas and retailers again sell E10, that they will have co-mingled fuels in their tanks that would bring them below the minimum blending requirement.
On the production side, Missourian ethanol plant development has slowed to a standstill, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources. After boom conditions in recent years, no new plants have submitted new or revised permit applications since July, and of three plants that had previously received construction permits, none have proceeded to begin construction.
In May, Show Me Ethanol completed raising an additional $6.9 million from private investors and debt, and will use the proceeds to complete its 55 Mgy corn ethanol plant in Carrolton. The new investors will receive 9 percent of the equity for their investment and their investment will be securitized with a lien on the facilities. The plant will produce 176,000 tons of dried distillers grains for livestock feed, and will employ 35 people on its 33 acre site.
The plant ran into difficulties when it was revealed that state Rep. John Quinn, the brother of state Governor Matt Blunt, and the wife of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves are Show Me Ethanol investors. State rules prohibit legislators or their immediate family from becoming investors in plants that receive favorable state tax treatment, and the plant lost $6 million in state incentives because of the ties to lawmakers.
North Dakota investigates switchgrass, field peas as 200 Mgy in ethanol projects wilt
July 17, 2008
In North Dakota, local scientists are touting field peas and switchgrass as future feedstocks for the North Dakota ethanol industry, rocked in recent weeks by the cancellation of two new projects in Jamestown and Harkinson with 200 Mgy in new planned capacity, and the shutdown of a third facility in Grafton that had produced 10 Mgy. The state has a current operating capacity of 125 Mgy at three active plants in Richardton, Underwood and Walhalla. A recent presentation at the North Central Research Extension Center suggested that fermentation proceeds faster with field peas than corn, and that up to 10 percent of corn used in ethanol could be replaced with field peas.
North Dakota background
Recently, the Newman Group announced that a 100 Mgy corn ethanol project at Spiritwood was placed on hold due to high feedstock prices and water availability. Company executives said that the plant would not be profitable at corn prices of $7 per bushel, and that the Spiritwood-area aquifer did not have enough water to provide for both a recently expanded Cargill malt plant in the area and the Spiritwood ethanol facility.
Last November, Great River Energy, Cargill and Newman Group broke ground on the $500 million Spiritwood Station complex that includes the 100 Mgy ethanol plant. The complex will also feature a coal-based power plant that will produce electricity for the Great River member co-ops in Minnesota, as well as steam for a Cargill malt processor and the ethanol plant.
Spiritwood Ethanol plant had reduced its projected freshwater needs from the Spiritwood aquifer, in planning last year, to 140,000 gallons per day. The remainder would come primarily from wastewater recovered from a nearby Cargill malt plant, which uses 4 million gallons per day from the acquifer.
HR Biopetroleum to build demonstration-scale algae oil plant in Maui, using Maui Electric CO2 emissions as feedstock
July 16, 2008
In Hawaii, HR Biopetroleum announced that it will build a microalgae production facility adjacent to the Maui Electric plant in Maalaea, and will use 10 percent of the Maui Electric plant’s CO2 emissions as feedstock. The CO2 will be delivered by pipe from the Maalaea pipe, and the plant will produce up to 3 Mgy of algae oil based on a projected 750-acre algae farm producing 5,000 acres per gallon.
The company said that it expected that it would take up to three years to obtain permits for the operation, which would be profitable in the first year of production according to HR Petroleum execs. Last year, the company announced a six-acre demonstration project on the Big Island in cooperation with Shell and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii in Kona.
Algae background
Algae-based research and development continues to pick up in pace, even though the US Defense Department is estimating that the current production cost of algae oil exceeds $20 per gallon. Recent developments include:
- Royal Dutch Shell is saying that “significant hurdles must be overcome before algae-based biofuel can be produced cost-effectively,” citing the large amounts of water currently required for a project. However, a review by AFP of current projects points to the promise of solar biofuels — diversion of carbon dioxide from utility plant or other major emitters, through an algae broth, as both a feedstock for algae cultivation and a CO2 scrubber for the plant. A project at MIT found that pumping CO2 through an algae broth reduced CO2 emissions by as much as 85 percent and also reduced nitrous oxide emissions, an even more potent greenhouse gas, by 85 percent.
- In Massachusetts, Codon Devices announced a multiyear partnership with Algenol, in which Codon will supply bioengineering etchnology and Algenol will contribute its scientific intellectual property, to produce algae based ethanol.Algenol Biofuels announced an $850 million investment from Mexico’s BioFields last month, using the company’s technology to produce ethanol from micro-algae. The company uses a process developed by CEO Paul Woods in the 1980s to produce ethanol from algae cells, and the company says that its process bypasses the costly step of drying and pressing algae to extract oil for biodiesel.The company said that it plans to initially produce 100 Mgy of ethanol at its first plant using saltwater, in the Sonoran Desert of Mexico, and will increase production by 2012 to 1 billion gallons, with a projected yield of 6,000 gallons per acre. The company reported that it had received $70 million from undisclosed private investors in addition to the BioFields proceeds. BioFields said that it has already signed an off-take agreement with Pemex, the Mexican state oil company.
- In California, algae startup Aurora BioFuels announced that has raised $20 million in series A financing from Oak Investment Partners, Noventi and Gabriel Venture Partners. Gabriel and Noventi has participated in a seed stage round. Aurora will use technology developed by Berkeley professor Tasios Melis for an open-pond algae production system, and will produce biodiesel from algae. The company says that its process reduces the cost of biodiesel production by half, compared to current methods.
- In Washington state, a group of entrepreneurs, scientists and corporate executives have formed the Algal Biomass Organization to accelerate the development and commercial application of algae biomass. The group will organize the second Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle on October 23-24
- “The jury is out on all [algae systems],” Sandia National Laboratory researcher Ron Pate told Popular Mechanics.
- In Washington state, algae start-up Bionavitas said that it will take up to four years to reach commercial levels of production,
but that its waste water treatment business is developing faster. - In Florida, PetroAlgae said that it hoped to reach its commercial production stage next year, as algae producers begin to differentiate over varying methods of getting past the algae “shade wall” and other issues in achieving commercial scale.
- New Zealand’s Aquaflow said that it has developed a scalable method for producing and harvesting algae in the wild, and envisioned expanding to a series of 1,000 acre facilities in the US and other countries.
- A research team from the University of Texas has developed a new blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) that secretes a soft cellulose, glucose and sucrose. The team told Science Daily that the microbe “could provide a significant portion of the nation’s transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.” The cyanobacteria is grown from sunlight and salty water at facilities on non-agricultural land. The team said that the
cellulose is a soft, gel-like type that is easy to break down, and that the microbes secrete the sugars and cellulose, making it possibly to continually harvest biofuels feedstock without destroying organisms and using powerful enzymes to extract sugars. - In Texas, US Sustainable Energy is awaiting lab results from a test of biocrude production using 20 pounds of algae as a feedstock. The company recently ran its initial test of 20 pounds of 5% oil-content algae feedstock with 40 percent water content, and resulted in an ignitable oil product.
Flambeau River Biofuels receives $30 million from US Department of Energy for forest residue to biodiesel plant
July 16, 2008
In Wisconsin, Flambeau River Biofuels received a $30 million grant from the US Department of Energy for a 6 Mgy biodiesel plant that uses gasification to turn forest and agricultural residues into biodiesel. The funds will be used to retrofit an existing pulp and paper mill, so that the biodiesel plant can share existing infrastructure. The plant is expected to commence production in 2010.
The proposed biorefinery will be installed in an existing pulp and paper mill in Park Falls, Wis., and will produce liquid fuels from abundant and renewable cellulosic (wood) biomass. The biorefinery will not be dependent on any food-based feedstock materials, but rather on by-product or residuals from forest and agricultural sources. When completed, the facility will produce at least 1 trillion BTUs of renewable energy for the host mill and 6 million gallons of transportation (sulfur-free diesel) fuels per year.
FRB participants/investors include: ANL Consultants, Auburn University, Brigham Young University, Citigroup Global Markets, CleanTech Partners, Emerging Fuels Technology, Flambeau River Papers, Johnson Timber, National Renewable Energy Lab, Michigan Technological University, NC State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ThermoChem Recovery International, University of Wisconsin, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory.
A matrix of the complete DOE small-scale biorefinery grant round (nine projects) is here.
Diversified Ethanol launches tortilla, cereal waste-to-ethanol plant in Nebraska
July 16, 2008
In Nebraska, Diversified Ethanol announced that it would construct a 1.5 Mgy ethanol plant near Omaha, using waste byproducts from tortillas, bread, and cereal production. Diversified Ethanol designs and builds small scale, modular ethanol plants using brewery, beverage or food processing waste. The company’s Butterfield system includes a proprietary water recycling system reducing water use by up to 85%.
Waste-to-ethanol background
• Syntec Biofuel has announced that it would drop an upfront $250,000 licensing fee for its waste-to-ethanol process, in a bid to attract business from to corn-based ethanol producers hit by soaring feedstock prices. “Corn prices have killed any prospect that most of those using fermentation processes with grain feedstock can produce ethanol cost-effectively,” Syntec chairman and president Michael Jackson said. Syntec proposed a royalty arrangement for its thermonchemical catalysts, which convert wood chips, corn stalks, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse and other non-food materials into biofuels.
• In Indiana, the Post-Tribune is reporting that a proposed Lake County garbage-to-ethanol facility will release highly toxic chlorinated dioxins. The developers of the proposed facility, Genahol-Powers 1, say that they can eliminate most of the pollutants before they reach the atmosphere. though the company says it can virtually eliminate their escape into the environment. Two companies are competing for a 20-year waste disposal contract. One, Genehol, will use a gasification process to produce ethanol from garbage.
The other competitor, Indiana Ethanol Power, has commenced contract negotiations with Lake County Solid Waste Management District for its proposed 20 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant. The plant will use the GeneSyst process to convert solid waste to ethanol. Construction is expected to commence in 2008, and production in 2010.
• In New York, Masada said it is awaiting a green light from the the city council of Middletown to proceed with a 10 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant. The plant, which was originally proposed in 1996, has cost more than $40 million in its development phase, according to the Times-Record. The plant is scheduled for completion this December but the relationship between the city and Masada has deteriorated, with the city filing a lawsuit and Masada filing for arbitration.
• In Canada, the city of Edmonton has proposed a gasification plant for the Clover Bar landfill that will convert trash into ethanol. The facility is expected to convert 100,000 tonnes of waste material into methanol, and to develop a process to convert methanol into ethanol for fuel markets. The proposed plant would open in 2010.
• In New Jersey, a 10 Mgy corn and fruit waste ethanol plant has been proposed by New Jersey Ethanol. A $6 million facility would be constructed near Bridgeton with an initial capacity of 3 Mgy, and the company said they have completed permitting and will now proceed with construction.
• BlueFire Ethanol Fuels is ready to break ground this month on its 3.1 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant near Lancaster, California. The company is awaiting its air permit before commencing construction, after securing additional financing to supplement a cellulosic ethanol grant from the Department of Energy received last year. The company, which plans to erect a number of waste-to-ethanol plants near landfills, has a 16.6 Mgy plant on the drawing board that would be built near Corona. Bluefire holds the exclusive North American license to employ the Arkenol Process Technology, a patented system that transforms cellulosic waste into usable ethanol.
Verenium receives Department of Energy grant towards demo-stage cellulosic ethanol plant in Louisiana
July 15, 2008
In Louisiana, Verenium said that it had received an unspecified award from the Department of Energy towards its 1.4 Mgy demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Jennings. The grant will assist Verenium to achieve cost and performance goals in support of its move towards commercial scale deployment.
Verenium background
Verenium Chairman Carlos Riva said that the new Farm Law did not provide sufficient loan guarantee support for the needs of the cellulosic ethanol industry, although he praised the new Law as a good start. Riva said that the $320 million earmarked in loan guarantees represented just over the cost of two cellulosic ethanol plants, which have an approximate price tag of $150 million each. Riva said that, although another $150 million may be added to the fund, the US needed to do more to support the development of the 21 billion gallon capacity of the cellulosic ethanol industry by 2022.
Verenium Corporation reported quarterly revenues of $15.2 million in the 1st quarter of 2008, up from $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2007, as it commences start-up at a 1.4 Mgy demonstration scale facility in Louisiana for its cellulosic ethanol from wood waste.
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