Biofuels International November/December 2017

November/December 2017 Issue 6 • Volume 11

international Powered by UPM BioVerno

Wood-centric car concept Sustainability agenda moves up a gear

Fuels of the future

Renewable diesel production breakthrough

Regional focus: biofuels in southeasxxxxxralasia Regional focus: biodiesel in North America

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November/December 2017 Woodcote Media Limited Marshall House 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 6RW, UK www.biofuels-news.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Peter Patterson Tel: +44 (0)208 648 7082 peter@woodcotemedia.com EDITOR Liz Gyekye Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4183 liz@woodcotemedia.com DEPUTY EDITOR Daryl Worthington Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4126 daryl@woodcotemedia.com INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER Edward McCauley +44 (0)203 551 5751 edward@biofuels-news.com US SALES MANAGER Matt Weidner +1 610 486 6525 mtw@weidcom.com PRODUCTION Alison Balmer Tel: +44 (0)1673 876143 alisonbalmer@btconnect.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES £170/€235/$270 for 6 issues per year Contact: Lisa Lee Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4160 Fax: +44 (0)208 687 4130 marketing@woodcotemedia.com

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ISSN 1754-2170

biofuels international

12 Incident report

14 Plant update

16 Current price index 17 California dreaming on a biofuel-producing day

A proprietary technology to greatly enhance the economics of producing high-quality biodiesel 18 Regional focus: Biodiesel in North America

Midwest lawmakers blitz White House as EPA seeks lower biodiesel mandate 20 Fuels of the future

UK breakthrough in sustainable diesel production 22 Improving production efficiency

An innovative technology is helping the biofuels industry to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn kernel fibre 24 Wide range of issues tackled at Biofuels International Conference

The great and the good met in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the tenth Biofuels International Conference 27 Purifying biodiesel

‘Waterless’ purification of biodiesel using cow dung ash 28 A car with a green heart is on the move

More than just running on renewable diesel, UPM’s new Biofore Concept Car is built on sustainability 30 Ethanol plant optimisation: The next steps

Many plants are looking for ways to achieve higher yields and improve efficiencies

November/December 2017 Issue 6 • Volume 11

international Powered by UPM BioVerno

32 The green agenda

REDcert – Your partner for sustainability certification

Wood-centric car concept Sustainability agenda moves up a gear

Fuels of the future

Renewable diesel production breakthrough

Regional focus: biofuels in southeasxxxxxralasia Regional focus: biodiesel in North America

Front cover image courtesy of UPM BioVerno

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biofuels comment

Adios, farewell, goodbye and good luck

W

Liz Gyekye Editor

ell that’s it – I’m off. I am writing my final comment for Biofuels International, as I prepare to move on to pastures new. Over the past 23 months in this role, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the whole supply chain, including meeting and writing about global biofuels specialists.

I’ve been so impressed by their dedication and determination, passion and professionalism and I am in awe of how hard you guys work to make a difference to the planet. At the end of the day, that is the main aim of the industry – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What have I learnt over the past 23 months? Being different is good! It makes people curious about you and want to learn more.

Doing the hard stuff is good!

You develop expertise and learning that pays back time and again. Being foolishly brave is good! To quote T.S. Eliot, “only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”.

This still applies today. To be successful you still need

to think different, sweat the detail and take a leap of personal faith. For example, many companies involved in the biofuels industry are thinking differently. By its nature, biofuels is different.

It’s not a conventional fuel.

Innovation is omnipresent in this sector. For instance, UK sustainable energy company Renovare Fuels claims to be the first ever to have successfully converted actual landfill gas into dropin renewable diesel fuel with no fossil fuel additives. In this issue, Biofuels International catches up with the company’s chief technology officer, Devin Walker.

The next phase of development of liquid fuels will be the use of bacteria or microbes to turn streams of gases from industrial plants and power stations, usually CO2 of carbon monoxide, into much larger molecules with value as fuels. Most approaches to achieving this use biotechnology of various types, although several very different pathways are being explored.

Probably the best advanced is the technology being

pioneered by US-headquarted Lanzatech. Lanzatech’s process involves biological conversion of carbon to products through gas fermentation. Using microbes that grow on gases, carbonrich waste gases (rather than sugars, as in traditional fermentation) and residues are transformed into useful liquid commodities. The future looks interesting.

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have enjoyed working on it. Last but not least I want to thank my manager and my colleagues for all of their help and support (see side panel on page 1).

I have enjoyed working with them. Please continue to support the magazine. My successor is my colleague Daryl Worthington. My new role is still within environmental publishing so there is every chance our paths may cross again – and if they do, please come and say hello.

It’s been a pleasure!

Liz Gyekye Editor

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2 november/december 2017 biofuels international

Getting the best out of your seeds is our ambition.

Process design

for your needs.

bioethanol news EU phase out of crop-based biofuels by 2030 moves a step closer Policymakers in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) have voted in support of a proposal for a total phase out of cropbased biofuels by 2030.

The ENVI vote on the revised Renewable Energy Directive, dubbed RED II, happened on 23 October. Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout was the rapporteur for the Parliament’s ENVI draft report on RED II. Background Last November, the European Commission proposed to phase-out food crop-based biofuels from 2021. It said to minimise Indirect LandUse Change (ILUC) impacts, RED II would introduce a cap on the contribution of foodbased biofuels towards the EU renewable energy target, starting at 7% in 2021 and going down progressively to 3.8% in 2030. However, this October, a thin majority of MEPs have voted for this cap to be set at 0%.

MEPs have also voted to ban the use of biodiesel from all vegetable oils by 2030 and of palm oil biodiesel as early as 2021 under the revised RED.

The European Commission is planning to ban European crop-based biofuels a few years after promoting them

They also voted to boost second-generation biofuels and called for advanced biofuels to represent at least 2.5% of energy consumption in transport by 2020.

Overall, policymakers adopted Eickhout’s report with a narrow majority of 32 votes in favour, 29 against and 4 abstentions.

This decision will be important in how the European Parliament positions itself when it makes its final decision on crop-based biofuels. The decision is expected to be finalised in December. However, the final vote could stretch into 2018.

Eickhout said: “I am delighted that the Parliament

is demanding an end to the use of palm oil as a biofuel.

Not all biofuels have the same environmental impact and EU policy needs to make a better distinction between the good and the bad.

“With few exceptions, food and feed crop biofuels end up displacing food production and have negative climate impacts that sometimes even exceed fossil fuel emissions.”

Reaction from industry In response to the news of the vote, Emmanuel Desplechin, secretary general of European renewable ethanol association ePURE, said: “The vote shows a very

divided European Parliament.

Even as they adopted a higher and binding renewables target, MEPs cannot agree about what to do with transport, a sector that accounts for a quarter of the EU’s total emissions. On the one hand, they have adopted a high ambition to decrease the carbon intensity of transport fuels. On the other hand, they are banning European crop-based biofuels a few years after promoting them.

“While ENVI MEPs have tried to differentiate among biofuels and reward those like European ethanol with high GHG savings and low risk of adverse impacts, the agreement falls short of setting a blending obligation for these sustainable low-carbon biofuels.

“The European Parliament ITRE Committee and Plenary must now realise that the constant changes in the EU’s policy on crop-based biofuels will discourage investment in advanced biofuels – thus defeating one of the goals of the Commission’s proposal. As the most recent Council text recognises, most EU Member States see investment certainty for crop-based biofuels as a ‘sine qua non’ for adequate future investment.” l

China aims to beef up bioethanol production by 2020 China is planning to extend its use of bioethanol as it seeks to intensify its anti-pollution efforts.

China plans to use an ethanol gasoline blend across the country by 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration (NEA) said on 13 September, 2017.

“The plan was unveiled as the country is pushing the use of biofuel,

which is renewable, applicable, environmentally friendly and techsavvy. It is an ideal alternative to fossil fuel,” a senior NEA official said.

More than 40 countries and regions consume about 600 million tonnes of ethanol fuel every year, accounting for around 60% of the world’s annual gasoline use.

China is the world’s third largest bioethanol producer and uses nearly 2.6 million tonnes a year. Gasoline blended

with ethanol accounts for one-fifth of its annual gasoline consumption.

According to the plan, China aims to build an advanced liquid biofuel system and put into operation a demonstrative facility that will be able to produce 50,000 tonnes of cellulosic ethanol a year, by 2020.

China launched corn-to-ethanol pilot programmes in 2004, as part of efforts to cut emissions and advance new energy. l

4 november/december 2017 biofuels international

bioethanol news World’s ‘first’ commercial second-generation bioethanol facility ‘shuts down’ Local media are reporting that the Beta Renewables cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy, has been shut down.

The €250 million ethanol refinery has the capacity to produce 40,000 tonnes of bioethanol per year, from around 270,000 tonnes of biomass. Established in 2011, has been claimed that it was the world’s first commercialscale bioethanol refinery.

Financial restructuring at US-headquartered Group Mossi & Ghisolfi (M&G), who built and operated the facility, is behind the shutting down of the bioethanol plant.

“The court of Alessandria admitted Gruppo Mossi

Ghisolfi companies to the “concordato preventivo” in accordance with article 161 sixth paragraph of the Bankruptcy Law,” reads a statement issued by Beta Renewables on 27 October.

“The court granted all companies a term of 120 days starting from 26 October, 2017, for the filling of the proposal of the composition with creditors, with the exception of IBP srl for which the court granted a term of 60 days.”

This essentially means that the Beta Renewables biorefinery has just 60 days to present a restructuring plan to Italian authorities.

The 150,000m2 Crescentino biorefinery was established at the end of 2011 as a

CropEnergies reports surge in first half revenue

Beta Renewables cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy, has been shut down, according to media reports

joint venture between M&G subsidiary Biochemtex and the Texas Pacific Group Fund.

Late in 2012, Novozymes acquired 10% of the shares in Beta Renewables.

On 31 October, M&G filed

for ‘Chapter 11’ of the US Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganisation under the country’s bankruptcy laws, in the District of Delaware, for 11 companies in its portfolio. l

Waste-to-jet fuel plant plans

German biofuels producer CropEnergies has reported strong first half of 2017/18 results.

Renewable fuels company Velocys has entered into a partnership to prepare the business case for a commercial scale waste-to-renewable-jet fuel plant in the UK.

In the company’s financial statement, CropEnergies said revenue increased by 31% to €460 million for the first half of 2017/18, compared to €350 million for the same period the year before.

The surge in revenue was helped by higher production volumes of ethanol, food and animal feed products and the growth in trading volumes, the company said.

Altogether, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 13% to €67 million in the first half of 2017/18. In the second quarter of the current financial year, EBITDA amounted to €33 million, compared to €31 million the year before.

Operating profit reached €47 million. According to CropEnergies, higher proceeds for ethanol compensated for slightly decreasing sales prices for food and animal feed and higher raw material prices.

In the reporting period, CropEnergies increased production to 567,000 cubic meters, compared to 450,000 cubic metres the previous year. This increase was mainly due to the fact that its production plant in Wilton, UK, was taken back into operation in July 2016. The production of food and animal feed products grew parallel to the higher ethanol volumes, CropEnergies said. l

Velocys will lead the initial feasibility stage of the project, with funding support from all members of the partnership. Subject to successful completion of the feasibility stage and all the required development stages, the aim is to achieve a final investment decision in 2019.

As well as Velocys, the partnership includes British Airways, Britain’s largest international airline; Suez, an expert in recycling and waste management; and Norma, an Ervington Investments affiliate and the largest investor in Velocys.

The prospective plant would take hundreds of thousands of tonnes of post-recycled waste destined for landfill or incineration, and process it into clean-burning, sustainable aviation fuel. It is expected that the jet fuel produced at the facility would deliver over 60% greenhouse gas reduction and 90% reduction in particulate matter emissions compared with conventional jet fuel.

Replacing conventional jet fuel with the renewable alternative would contribute to both carbon emissions reduction and local air quality improvements around major airports, Velocys claimed in a statement.

“Our strategy remains highly focused on exploiting the large US market for cellulosic renewable fuels. Alongside the excellent progress we are making there, we believe that the recently announced Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) changes will allow the UK to become a world leader in sustainable jet fuel,” said David Pummell, CEO at Velocys. l

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november/december 2017 5

bioethanol news Cellulosic ethanol plant to be built in Romania Speciality chemicals producer Clariant has announced approval from its board of directors to invest in a new full-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Romania.

When complete, the new facility will produce cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residues using sunliquid technology. With an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes, the facility will be a flagship site to demonstrate the competitiveness and sustainability of the sunliquid technology at commercial scale, in turn supporting Clariant’s sunliquid licensing business strategy.

“Clariant is continually investing in the development of sustainable products and innovative solutions

such as sunliquid,” said Christian Kohlpaintner, a member of the Executive Committee at Clariant.

“This pioneering process demonstrates the production of efficient and sustainable advanced biofuel and has great potential as a technology platform for a variety of bio-based materials.

It is a further illustration of Clariant’s successful innovation strategy, as this technology provides additional growth potential to an already strong portfolio.”

Clariant has set-up a new Biofuels & Derivatives Business Line, as part of its Catalysis business area, to allow further focus on the commercialisation of bioethanol, licenses and enzymes. From January 2018, all activities and costs related to the sunliquid technology platform will be

transferred from Corporate Costs to the Business Line.

Earlier this year, Clariant announced that it had signed the first sunliquid technology license agreement with Enviral, Slovakia’s largest bioethanol producer. The agreement will see Enviral use Clariant’s technology to construct a full-scale commercial plant for cellulosic ethanol production in Slovakia.

“After five years of operating our pre-commercial sunliquid plant in Straubing, Germany, and thorough process demonstration we are now ready to scale-up to the next level,” explained Markus Rarbach, head of Start-up Business Biofuels & Derivatives at Clariant.

“It is the next big step into an attractive market and a significant advancement in the successful commercialisation of this highly innovative and

sustainable technology.”

The investment also brings substantial economic benefits to the region. By locally sourcing feedstock, greenhouse gas savings can be maximised and additional business opportunities arise in the region along the value chain.”

The new plant is expected to deliver its first batch of product in 2020. At full capacity it will process approximately 250,000 tonnes of wheat straw and other cereal straw annually, which will be sourced from local farmers. Co-products from the process will be used for the generation of renewable energy with the goal of making the plant independent from fossil energy sources.

Consequently, the resulting cellulosic ethanol is an almost carbon neutral advanced biofuel. l

World’s ‘first’ municipal waste-to-ethanol facility starts production Enerkem has announced that commercial production of cellulosic ethanol has started at its facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

According to a statement from the company, it is the first commercial scale plant in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol from nonrecyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal waste.

“The commercial production of cellulosic ethanol at our facility in Edmonton marks a landmark moment for our company as well as our customers in the waste management and petrochemical sectors, and confirms our leadership

in the advanced biofuels market,” said Vincent Chornet, president and CEO at Enerkem.

Enerkem has been producing and selling biomethanol since 2016, and expanded production to include cellulosic ethanol with the installation of its methanol-to-ethanol conversion unit early in 2017.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the advanced biofuels market is expected to grow to reach 124 billion litres per year by 2030.

“We will now progressively increase production in Edmonton, while preparing to build the next Enerkem facilities locally and around the world,” added Chornet.

A picture of Enerkem’s state-of-the-art Edmonton biofuels facility

Enerkem explained in a statement that its cellulosic ethanol provides two major environmental and sustainability benefits.

Advanced biofuels are helping to facilitate more sustainable transportation by producing fuels that replace a large

portion of gasoline. At the same time, Enerkem’s system disrupts the traditional waste landfilling and incineration models, offering an alternative to communities looking to recover waste while sustainably fuelling vehicles. l

6 november/december 2017 biofuels international

biodiesel news US imposes anti-dumping duties on Argentine, Indonesian biodiesel The US Department of Commerce has imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia ranging from around 50 to 70%.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition is claiming victory on the news.

The Commerce Department found that biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia are sold into the United States below fair value, and they imposed preliminary duties on imports from these countries based on the amount of dumping found.

“It is reassuring with each decision that the Commerce Department is reviewing the data and facts at face value.

The law is clear, and violations of trade law shouldn’t be ignored at the expense of the livelihoods of thousands of Americans employed or affected by biodiesel,”

said Doug Whitehead, chief operating officer of the National Biodiesel Board.

As a result of Commerce’s ruling, importers of Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel will be required to pay cash deposits on biodiesel imported from those countries.

The cash deposit rates range from 54.36 to 70.05% for biodiesel from Argentina, and 50.71% for biodiesel from Indonesia, depending on the particular foreign producer/exporter involved.

Cash deposit requirements were imposed when the preliminary determination was published in the Federal Register in late October. The duty deposit requirements are in addition to the deposits required pursuant to Commerce’s preliminary countervailing duty determination in August, which confirmed that biodiesel producers in Argentina and Indonesia have received massive subsidies.

The NBB Fair Trade Coalition filed these petitions

to address a flood of subsidised and dumped imports from Argentina and Indonesia that has resulted in market share losses and depressed prices for domestic producers.

Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464% from 2014 to 2016, taking 18.3% points of market share from US manufacturers. Imports of biodiesel from Argentina again jumped 144.5% following the filing of the petitions.

These surging, low-priced imports prevented producers from earning adequate returns on their substantial investments and caused US producers to pull back on further investments to serve a growing market.

Between the preliminary and final anti-dumping determinations, the Commerce Department will

audit the foreign producers to confirm the accuracy of their data submissions.

Parties will file briefs on issues arising from the agency’s preliminary anti-dumping duty determinations, and the Commerce Department will hold a hearing, with a final anti-dumping determination due early next year.

A final determination by the Commerce Department in the companion countervailing duty determination is due to be announced in early November, with a final determination by the International Trade Commission connection with the countervailing duty case expected in December. l

Call for Trump to reject EPA’s biodiesel proposals Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has joined biodiesel producers and agricultural leaders to urge President Trump to reject the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to cut biodiesel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

In October, Grassley spoke about this issue and addressed his concerns to biofuel stakeholders at Renewable Energy Group’s (REG) Newton, Iowa biorefinery. REG is a US-based advanced biofuels producer.

The message from Grassley and the

biofuels international

industry was clear – President Trump should “keep his promise and not just protect, but grow biodiesel volumes”.

Grassley was joined by biodiesel producers, soybean and corn farmers and other industries supported by biodiesel to discuss the notice from EPA seeking comments on reducing minimum volumes for biomass-based diesel for 2018 that were finalised almost a year ago, as well as further reductions to the proposed 2019 volumes.

The reductions are being sought by petroleum refiners despite growing global demand for diesel and the proven ability by US biodiesel producers to meet growing RFS targets.

“This proposal would drastically undermine biodiesel production,”

Grassley said. “It’s contrary to the statements made by then-candidate Trump and President Trump. It’s not consistent with what EPA Administrator Pruitt told me in January when I spoke to him in my office prior to his confirmation.”

Agriculture leaders agreed. “This is a serious issue for Iowa and US agriculture at a time when the farm economy is already enduring a downturn,” said Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, and Iowa Soybean Association’s director of Market Development. “We already have excess feedstock capacity due to a surplus of corn and soybeans on the market, which has lowered commodity prices.

We do not believe this is what President Trump wants for rural communities.” l

november/december 2017 7

biodiesel news Aemetis commercialises advanced enzymatic biodiesel process in India California-based biorefining company Aemetis has announced that its Universal Biofuels plant in India has achieved a major milestone in the commercial production of advanced enzymatic biodiesel by processing one million pounds of low-cost waste feedstock unsuitable for use in traditional biodiesel production facilities and achieving high biodiesel yields by utilising its advanced enzymatic biodiesel process.

The production process utilised the first shipment of low-cost waste feedstock delivered to the Universal Biofuels plant by BP Singapore (BPS) pursuant to the three-year supply agreement signed by Aemetis and BPS in May 2017.

The 50-million-galloncapacity Universal Biofuels plant, located on the east coast of India, in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, developed the patent-pending advanced enzymatic biodiesel process technology, designed and built the advanced enzymatic biodiesel process reactors, and is now converting lowcost waste feedstock into high-quality distilled biodiesel.

According to Aemetis, production costs are lowered as the pre-treatment conversion process uses less energy and fewer chemicals, such as methanol, than traditional biodiesel production processes.

In addition to improved operating costs, the low

capital cost of the Aemetis advanced enzymatic biodiesel process allows for widespread and low cost adoption throughout the biodiesel industry by converting existing biodiesel plants.

“Through our internal development of pre-treatment processing of low quality waste oil feedstocks, we were able to unlock the advanced enzymatic biodiesel technology potential for commercial viability,” said Sanjeev Gupta, managing director of Universal Biofuels.

He added: “Using enzymes in our unique process technology opens new feedstock opportunities that will increase profitability.”

According to Aemetis, typical biodiesel processes are not economic to convert high free fatty acid feedstocks common in waste oils such as brown grease, low-grade used cooking oils, palm fatty acid distillate and other plant oil waste feedstocks, which are usually about a third lower in cost than traditional feedstocks.

These untapped waste feedstocks also have less price volatility than other oil feedstock markets, as few alternative markets exist.

Since feedstock is the primary

cost in biodiesel production, Aemetis anticipates its advanced enzymatic biodiesel process technology has the potential to positively impact its profit margins.

Biodiesel shipments to BPS will use a pipeline connection from the plant to the Port of Kakinada for bulk unloading of feedstock and loading of biodiesel onto ships primarily delivering to Europe and the US. In April 2017, Aemetis filed a patent on the proprietary pre-treatment process used by Universal Biofuels to enable the enzymatic processing of waste oil feedstock to biodiesel. The Aemetis technology solves a primary issue of enzymatic biodiesel production, which is a requirement for the feedstock to maintain a constant optimal temperature, pH and contaminant level that allows for maximum enzymatic activity.

The Aemetis biorefinery in India also produces refined glycerin for pharmaceutical and industrial customers. The Aemetis plant is the first and only Indian biofuels producer approved under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard for delivery of tallow and waste oil biodiesel into California. l

US company Aemetis commercialises advanced enzymatic biodiesel process in India

Finnish firm Neste acquires full ownership of Neste Jacobs Renewable diesel firm Neste and US-headquartered Jacobs Engineering Group have agreed that Neste acquires the 40% shareholding of Jacobs in Neste Jacobs Oy. After this transaction, Neste holds all shares in Neste Jacobs.

“Neste Jacobs is the leading company specialising in process industry technology, engineering and project management services in the Nordic countries,” said Jyrki Mäki-Kala, CFO at Neste and chair of the Board of Directors of Neste Jacobs.

“Its global customers include oil, gas and petrochemical companies, in particular. Jacobs, one of the largest companies in the world in engineering, has been a minority shareholder for 14 years and provided Neste Jacobs with expertise and an international scope.

“Neste Jacobs is an internationally respected company in its field. It is important that its quality continues to be high and its expertise remains competitive.

Considering Neste, the engineering, project and technological expertise of Neste Jacobs supports the company’s growth strategy and operational efficiency.”

The sale and purchase agreement has been signed and the parties have agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed.

The largest customers of Neste Jacobs include Neste and Borealis. The company employs 1,300 experts in engineering, technology and project management who work on projects in many different countries. l

8 november/december 2017 biofuels international

biodiesel news Cargill building ‘state-of-the-art’ biodiesel plant in Kansas US-based biofuels producer Cargill has announced plans to produce a $90 million (€75 million), “state-ofthe-art” biodiesel plant in Wichita, Kansas.

Set to open in January 2019, the new biodiesel facility will produce 60 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

“This new facility will enable Wichita to be a competitive supplier in the biofuels market, bringing value to the suppliers and customers we work with, and connecting farmers with industrial customers by supplying quality biomassbased diesel,” said Pat Woerner, biodiesel commercial leader for Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain business.

“Biofuels are good for the US farm economy and can bring capital investment to

US-based biofuels producer Cargill has announced plans to produce a $90 million biodiesel plant in Wichita, Kansas

agriculture while boosting economic development in farm communities.”

Construction of the new 42,000 square foot facility will begin December 2017.

It will employ approximately 35 full-time employees. The plant will be located next to Cargill’s oilseed processing

plant in the area, and will replace an existing oil refinery managed by Cargill’s Global Edible Oil business.

Cargill already has a strong biodiesel operation in the US Midwest, with plants in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri. Unlike many other biodiesel traders, Cargill

is an ‘integrated producer’ managing the entire supply chain from origination to production and delivery.

“We are excited to bring this new facility to our customers and farmers in Wichita,” said Warren Feather, oilseed managing director for Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain business. “At Cargill, we’re prepared to handle demand for biofuels while balancing it against the need to nourish a growing global population.”

Cargill offers biofuels from a variety of renewable resources, including corn, soybeans, sugarcane, palm oil, and biogas. It produces ethanol and biodiesel in the US and the EU, ethanol in Brazil, and biodiesel in Argentina.

The company has a presence in 12 Kansas communities and employs more than 4,000 people. l

Algae used to produce biodiesel from coal emissions Scientists from Michigan State University (MSU) are looking for new algae-based technologies to capture power plant emissions and convert them into a range of products including biofuels and other chemicals.

“We’ve been running bioenergy experiments with algae on campus for over a decade,” said Wei Lao, associate professor of biosystems and agriculture engineering at MSU. “We’re now testing a novel technique not only to mitigate power plant emissions, but also to turn them into new sources of revenue.”

Previous research has revealed that photosynthetic green algae is capable of capturing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, but this is not enough to match the output of a conventional power plant.

A 100-megawatt coal-fired power

biofuels international

plant releases between 3,000 and 4,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each day. To match this would require thousands of acres of land to culture sufficient amounts of algae.

Liao and his team are now working to condense this process into something viable from both an energy and economic point of view. To do this, they will apply a process called “biomass cascade conversion”, according to an article on MSU Today. This process can fully optimise the components of algae for the production of highvalue chemicals and biofuels.

An environmentally-friendly, high efficiency carbon dioxide absorbent is a key product of cascade conversion, one which absorbs carbon dioxide at a relatively high rate and requires significantly less space. For this reason, the MSU Today article argues that biomass cascade conversion presents significant economic benefits for the environment and the power plant.

Polyurethanes, biodiesel, and valueadded chemicals and fuels suitable for a range of applications are byproducts from cascade conversion.

Liao’s team will work with PHYCO2, a California-based firm that specialises in producing algae for industrial applications, to provide the algae colony for the project. l

US scientists are looking for new algaebased technologies to capture power plant emissions and convert them into biofuels

november/december 2017 9

technology news Green light for Flint Hills Resources’ Edeniq technology-based ethanol plant The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Flint Hills Resources’ registration of its 100 million gallons per year Iowa-based ethanol plant. The plant will use Edeniq’s technology.

Flint Hills Resources’ Iowa Falls plant is the fifth existing ethanol plant to receive approval from the EPA for cellulosic ethanol production using Edeniq’s Pathway technology.

The four existing ethanol plants that have previously received this approval are: Pacific Ethanol’s Stockton, California plant; Flint Hills Resources’ Shell Rock, Iowa plant; Little Sioux Corn Processors’ Marcus, Iowa plant; and, Siouxland Energy Cooperative’s plant located in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Edeniq’s registered customers now total 500mgpy of nameplate ethanol capacity and are averaging

more than 1% cellulosic ethanol.

Customers’ cellulosic ethanol yields have increased on average in 2017, and Edeniq expects its technology will continue to advance cellulosic yields for its customers. According to Edeniq, significant results are now being shown from process improvements and tuning, yielding ever-increasing production and product diversification.

The firm said its technology remains the “lowest-cost solution” for producing and measuring cellulosic ethanol from corn kernel fibre utilising existing fermenters at existing corn ethanol plants, and has already proven cellulosic ethanol yields of up to 2.5% or higher, as a percentage of its customers’ total volume output.

Once approved by the EPA, customers are eligible to qualify cellulosic gallons with D3 RINs, which are considered the most valuable on the RIN market.

Additional benefits of Edeniq’s technology include increases in corn oil production

US EPA has approved Flint Hills Resources’ Edeniq technology-based ethanol plant

and greater overall ethanol yields, all provided by a zero-capex cellulosic ethanol production option. l

St1 progresses with renewable diesel production plans Nordic energy company St1 has signed an engineering design package and licence agreement with Haldor Topsoe for a renewable diesel production unit, which will be integrated with its refinery based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The construction of the plant will be subject to a final investment decision after completion of the design in spring 2018 and after obtaining the required environmental permit.

The company announced a €40m investment in a hydrogen unit at the refinery in July.

The hydrogen unit represents the first step in the renewable diesel production investment programme targeting an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes in renewable diesel production.

St1 operates in Sweden, Finland and Norway. The objective of St1’s long-term advanced renewable fuels strategy is to competitively fulfill the 2030 regulations planned in its home market.

According to St1, Sweden will face a challenging GHG reduction obligation, while Finland and Norway must meet tightening biofuels mandates.

Despite the increasing binding targets, major regulatory uncertainties remain with respect to feedstocks.

“The Nordic countries in which St1 operates have the world’s most ambitious renewable fuels targets. It would therefore be logical for us to invest in renewable diesel production at our refinery,” said Hilde Wahl, CEO of St1 Sverige.

“However, forthcoming EU legislation, particularly concerning feedstocks, is casting a long shadow of political uncertainty which is making the investment decision very difficult. A flexible feedstock base is therefore the only feasible alternative for us when planning the plant. It will deliver sustainable, high quality transportation fuels for today’s and future vehicle fleets.”

St1 also continues to develop new, advanced ethanol production technologies with a strong focus on ligno-cellulosic feedstocks. The first Cellunolix plant to manufacture

advanced ethanol from sawdust is in the commissioning phase in Kajaani, Finland. The company is also seeking locations for new Cellunolix plants in its operating countries.

A letter of intent was signed in 2016 for a plant in the industrial area of Follum in Hønefoss, Norway for example.

St1 already operates five dispersed ethanol plants producing advanced waste-based ethanol for transportation, using biowaste as feedstock. One of the ethanol plants is integrated with the St1 refinery in Gothenburg with the capacity of five million litres of advanced ethanol a year, using 20,000 tonnes of bakery waste as feedstock.

“Renewable diesel production in Sweden will perfectly complement our commitment to reduce fossil CO2 emissions in line with our vision. We still make most of our profits from fossil energy, which will enable us to invest substantially, on several fronts, in developing innovative renewable energy production, such as advanced renewable fuels, geothermal heat and wind power,” said Kim Wiio, CEO at St1 Nordic. l

10 november/december 2017 biofuels international

technology news Revolutionary step in the search for perfect algal strain Developing better algae is a vital requirement in the quest to achieve sustainable algal biofuel.

Now, researchers claim to have developed a new technology that could ‘revolutionise’ the search for the perfect algal strain – algal droplet bioreactors on a chip.

In the new technology, developed by researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute and Texas A&M University, a single algal cell is captured in a tiny droplet of water encapsulated by oil.

Then, millions of algal droplets squeeze onto a chip about the size of a quarter.

Each droplet is a micro-bioreactor, a highly controlled environment in which algal cells can grow and replicate for several days, forming a genetically homogenous colony that goes through its typical biological reactions, including the production of lipids.

“This is the first microsystem that allows both lipid content analysis and growth rate measurement at high throughput, whereas previous

work could only do one or the other,” remarked senior author and engineer, Arum Han of Texas A&M University.

Although modifying algal genes can be relatively straightforward with the latest technologies, identifying which genes to target is time consuming and costly. When an algal culture is exposed to a mutagen it produces millions of unique, potentially improved cells that must be individually tested for the expression of a desired trait, such as increased lipid production.

Mutated genes can then be identified through whole-genome sequencing.

“The important thing is to develop a tool that can screen millions of cells in a much shorter time frame and a smaller space. In a chip housing millions of droplets of cells, each droplet is like a flask or a bioreactor, and that’s how we can get results faster from just a tiny chip,” explained author and BTI post-doc, Shih-Chi Hsu. Algae known to grow faster or slower, or produce more or less lipid, were used to validate the chip system. The researchers then screened 200,000 chemically mutated cells, identifying six mutants with both faster

growth and higher lipid content.

The screening, done on-chip, uses fluorescence detection of chlorophyll, representing total cell mass, and BODIPY, a fluorescent molecule that binds to lipids. All mutants with potential for improved growth or lipid production were recovered and verified off-chip.

Although promising, 200,000 is still a low number of mutants compared to what is needed to find the “super algal strain”.

“The most extraordinary variants will be found in one in a million, or ten million, so the throughput needs to be accelerated,” explained senior biologist and BTI President, David Stern.

Significantly, the technologies needed to improve the throughput are already in development, including chips that can screen millions of droplets in one experiment.

“Such high-throughput technologies can rapidly accelerate the development process to obtain strains that are more efficient for use in biofuel production,” Han remarked.

The research has been published in the journal Plant Direct. l

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november/december 2017 11

biofuels incident report A summary of the recent explosions, fires and leaks in the biofuels industry Date

Location

Company

Incident information

19 October

Fort Wayne, Indiana, US

N/A

Five rail cars derailed on a bridge as they were leaving a rail yard southeast of Fort Wayne.

Three of the derailed cars were carrying grain while the fourth was a tanker carrying biodiesel. Although some of the grain leaked out, the biodiesel tanker remained intact and upright, meaning no fluid leaked.

The biodiesel tank car was inspected by specialists as a precaution.

12 October

Albert City, Iowa, US

Valero

Two people were injured following an accident with a welder at the Valero ethanol plant in Albert City, Iowa, according to the Pilot Tribune.

One of the victims was hospitalised for burn injuries. The plant was not damaged, and was able to continue operations.

4 September

Niagara, Canada

N/A

A garage and a neighbouring house were destroyed following a biodiesel fire in Welland, Canada.

A resident in the town was processing biodiesel from cooking oil in their garage when the electrical pump used to filter the product ignited the blaze.

Live power lines fell in the fire, which spread to a neighbour’s property.

Nobody was seriously hurt in the incident.

2 September

Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

N/A

A commercial bus driver was killed following a collision between his vehicle and a tanker transporting ethanol.

According to a statement from the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, the tanker driver lost control of their vehicle, striking a motorway barrier before ramming the bus.

28 August

Yerevan, Armenia

Nairit

A huge fire broke out following explosions at the Nairit chemical plant in the Armenian capital Yerevan. According to preliminary a report, the detonations were caused by a lowflying plane.

About 350 tons of ethanol lacquer burnt at the incident. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

12 november/december 2017 biofuels international

biofuels international

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biofuels plant update

Plant update: North America Velocys Location End product Construction / expansion / acquisition

Designer/builder Project start date Investment

Cargill Adams County, Mississippi Renewable diesel Renewable fuels company Velocys has confirmed the location for its first biorefinery in the US. The company has signed a site option agreement with Adams County in the State of Mississippi for the new facility to be built in the city of Natchez Velocys October 2017 Adams County has offered Velocys economic incentives estimated to be worth the equivalent of $42 million (€36 million)

Location Alternative fuel Capacity Construction / expansion / acquisition

Project start date Investment

Kansas, US Biodiesel 60 million gallons of biodiesel annually US-based biofuels producer Cargill has announced plans to produce a $90 million (€75 million), “state-of-the-art” biodiesel plant in Wichita, Kansas.

Construction of the new 42,000 square foot facility will begin December 2017.

It will employ approximately 35 full-time employees. The plant will be located next to Cargill’s oilseed processing plant in the area, and will replace an existing oil refinery managed by Cargill’s Global Edible Oil business December 2017 $90 million (€75 million)

Gevo Location End product

US Hydrocarbons, renewable hydrogen, and other chemical intermediates Feedstock Ethanol Construction / expansion / US advanced biofuels company acquisition Gevo has announced that it will be partnering with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on a project to fine-tune the composition of the catalyst used in Gevo’s proprietary ethanol-to-olefins (ETO) process, in order to improve performance and accelerate scale-up efforts. ChemCatBio, a consortium within the US Department of Energy, awarded funding to the national labs in support of the project.

Gevo is developing its ETO technology, a process using ethanol as a feedstock for the production of hydrocarbons, renewable hydrogen, and other chemical intermediates Project start date October 2017 Investment Not disclosed

Enerkem Location End product Feedstock Construction / expansion / acquisition

Project start date Investment

Alberta, Canada Cellulosic ethanol Municipal waste Enerkem has announced that commercial production of cellulosic ethanol has started at its facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

According to a statement from the company, it is the first commercial scale plant in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-recyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal waste.

“The commercial production of cellulosic ethanol at our facility in Edmonton marks a landmark moment for our company as well as our customers in the waste management and petrochemical sectors, and confirms our leadership in the advanced biofuels market,” says Vincent Chornet, president and CEO of Enerkem September 2017 Not disclosed

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Ace Ethanol Location End product Feedstock Construction / expansion / acquisition

Designer/builder Project start date Investment

Wisconsin, US Ethanol Corn fibre Following successful pilot testing of its corn fibre-to-ethanol process, D3MAX is ready to move to the next stage of commercial development: the design of a full-scale plant at Ace Ethanol in Stanley, Wisconsin.

“Based upon the pilot testing, we believe D3MAX has the potential to significantly improve our companies’ financial performance. We are in the process of finalising pilot testing and will be working to ensure that we can seamlessly integrate the technology to our existing process. Once we have all the pieces in place the final decision on installation will be made by our board of directors and the Ace membership” D3MAX August 2017 Not disclosed

Sustane Location End product

Nova Scotia, Canada Clean burning fuel and other recycled products Feedstock Municipal solid waste Construction / expansion / The Canadian government is set to acquisition make a substantial investment into Sustane, a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based waste-to-energy company.

Sustane claims to have developed a new process which converts municipal solid waste into clean burning fuel and other recycled products. The investment will be used to scale up Sustane’s technology, supporting the creation of a demonstration facility in Chester, around 65km southwest of Halifax.

The facility will transform solid waste from landfill into recyclable materials as well as high value fuels that burn cleaner than fossil fuels Project start date August 2017 Investment $2.6 million (€1.8 million)

Tesoro Vertimass Location End product Feedstock Construction / expansion / acquisition

Completion date

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California, US Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline Ethanol California-based Vertimass has announced completion of the intermediate technology validation from the US Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO) for its catalyst technology which will convert ethanol to jet fuel, diesel fuel and gasoline blend stocks. The BETO validation verified performance against negotiated milestones, provided progress on scale-up, and reviewed Vertimass’ estimated cost for their transformative catalytic technology.

Vertimass believes the BETO verification paves the way to move to the demonstration scale August 2017

Location Alternative fuel Capacity

North Dakota, US Renewable diesel When complete, will treat 16,800 gallons of vegetable oil a day Feedstock Used vegetable oils Construction / expansion / North Dakota’s Tesoro Refinery acquisition is looking to develop a vegetable oil-to-fuel facility, according to the Associated Press.

The Dickinson, North Dakota based oil refinery is planning to implement an 8,000 barrel-per-day diesel hydrotreater to process soy or distillers corn oil into renewable diesel Project start date July 2017 Investment The entire project will cost $3.5 million (€3 million). The North Dakota Industrial Commission has awarded the Tesoro refinery a $500,000 (€436,000) grant to support the project *This list is based on information made available to Biofuels International at the time of printing. If you would like to update the list with any additional plant information for future issues, please email daryl@woodcotemedia.com

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biofuels market analysis SCB Commodity Brokers global biofuels prices Prices quoted: 23/10/2017 Product

Mid Price

EU Biodiesel RED ($/mt)

FOB ARA RME

1,020.50

FOB ARA PME

873.00

FOB ARA SME

FOB ARA FAME 0

FOB ARA FAME -10

903.00 903.00

1,020.50

EU Biodiesel Non RED ($/mt)

FOB ARA RME

985.50

URL: www.starcb.com Product

Mid Price

US Biodiesel B100 ($/gal)

Houston SME

3.299

NY Harbour SME

3.309

Houston TME

3.279

NY Harbour TME

3.289

Mid West SME

3.059

US Ethanol ($/gal)

NY Harbour Barges

1.450

FOB USGC

1.450

FOB ARA SME

868.00

Argo ITT Illinois

FOB ARA FAME 0

868.00

Rule 11 TWS (Railcar)

FOB ARA PME

FOB ARA FAME -10

838.00 985.50

EU Ethanol (€/cbm)

T2 FOB Rotterdam

457.00

1.383

Rule 11 NWS (Railcar) RINs ($/RIN)

0.900

2017 Advanced (D5)

1.040

442.00

2017 Biodiesel (D4)

FOB US ANP

404.18

Emission Credits ($/mt)

FOB Santos

557.50

1.365

2017 Ethanol (D6)

CIF Duisburg 60% GHG

US Ethanol ($/cbm)

1.365

LCFS Credits

1.045

96.00

Current price index

B

uoyant diesel prices in Europe, the greenhouse gas (GHG) recalibrations in Germany and the proposed increased mandates in the UK and the Netherlands have brought an unseasonal spike in activity for the European biodiesel market over the past weeks. With gasoil now at multimonth highs and static veg oil prices, biodiesel premiums to gasoil are now at their lowest point for the year. Refineries and other consumers, especially in Germany have taken advantage of this and are now buying fourth quarter 2017 and 2018 volumes, in some cases over blending their mandated requirements and “rolling tickets” into the next year.

UCOME, with its ability to count double in many jurisdictions and its high GHG count in Germany, remains the focus for many buyers; whilst producers remain focused on the spot market due to a lack of forward pricing on the UCO feedstock, traders remain happy to sell forward into 2018. Waste grade producers continue to struggle with the current pricing for biodiesel, traders are still importing product from Asia and continue to undercut domestic producers and as we approach the winter months the CFPP premium continues to grow, thus UCOME and the cost of blending UCOME for the UK or German market continue to grow.

FAME and RME markets continue to trade on a FOB ARA basis, France

remains the biggest market for “standard FAME” as the double counting market is limited and there are no premiums for high GHG product. Production margins for domestic European FAME and RME continue to aggressively yo-yo on an almost daily basis with at times little change in the market dynamics, as a result the FOB ARA market has been trading in a sporadic manor.

Argentinian SME is of course now flowing to Europe with the first of the cargoes bought since the duties were lowered due to arrive shortly. With South American soy giving very little in the way of added documentation (EG double counting or high GHG) combined with the specifications that do not meet EN 14214, we expect most of the product to flow to the major blend hubs of Europe where the product will be blended and enter the mass-balance systems of traders. There is some trepidation from producers who see these volumes from Argentina and increasing amounts of high GHG methane capture PME from Asia. We will have to wait and see what effect these volumes will have on the market and indeed how long the import arbitrage works.

European biodiesel has received an unseasonal boost to demand over the last few months as a combination of increased mandates and lower premiums to gasoil have brought more buyers to the market.

On the other hand, the European ethanol market T2 has so far experienced a considerable slide in prices during Q4 2017, shaking off some €77/cbm as it plunged from an average mark of €532 for physical delivery in September to current levels of around €455/cbm in the second half of October. This price drop was largely driven by a lack of physical bids throughout October coinciding with ongoing market expectations of additional flows of sugar beet-based ethanol entering the European market, caused by the removal of sugar quotas.

Ethanol cargos from South America arriving in Rotterdam additionally facilitated this price movement.

On the paper side, remaining front months for 2017 are backwardated with spread levels ranging roughly around €5-€10 for October/November and €3-€6 for November/December. The curve for the first three quarters of 2018 is in contango. The second half of 2018 is generally well supported, however a judgement regarding the accuracy of current price levels would be too premature. On a global perspective, the impending negotiations between Mercosur and the EU in favour of Brazilian ethanol imported into Europe still provides some uncertainty for the T2 market. More clarity is expected after the next round of discussions scheduled for the first half of November. l

16 november/december 2017 biofuels international

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A proprietary technology to greatly enhance the economics of producing high-quality biodiesel

California dreaming on a biofuel-producing day

C

alifornia is known for its innovative technology, progressive politics and sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. It is also the top agricultural producing state in the US, and a visit to its Central Valley provides evidence of sprawling farmland that stretches from the sea to the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

While all of this translates to making California the 6th largest economy in the world, the state’s continued reliance on fossil fuels is in stark contrast to its trend-setting ethos. The Central Valley has some of the worst air quality in the nation, failing to meet government health standards for both ozone (smog) and particulate pollution.

The region is also home to some of the poorest cities in the state that carry a high unemployment rate and substandard working wages. These challenges pose an opportunity to Russ Teall, founder and president of Biodico, who created a business model that he believes is as good for the local economy as it is for the environment. The concept: deploying fully sustainable biorefining technology that utilises local resources to produce energy and biofuel.

“We’ve spent years researching and developing a way to produce biofuels that make good environmental, social and business sense,” Teall says. “We’re attempting

biofuels international

to help farmers make themselves more energy self-sufficient by converting feedstocks into renewable sources of fuel and energy.”

Liquid gold To do this, Teall and his team have built a fully sustainable liquid biofuel facility at Red Rock Ranch in Five Points, California, which is in the heart of the Central Valley.

The plant produces up to 20 million gallons of biodiesel per year, and creates 45 direct jobs in partnership with a nearby community college.

The project is called “Zero Net Energy Farm” or “ZNEF,” and it operates entirely on renewable heat and power while incorporating advanced real-time and remote monitoring leading to complete system automation.

In addition to processing multi-feedstocks, such as used cooking oil, vegetable oil, and animal fats, the facility also utilises anaerobic digestion, gasification and an advanced utility scale solar cogeneration system.

“Our technology improves the economics of producing high-quality biodiesel and is based on a modular system that is easy to deploy,” Teall says. “Red Rock Ranch is an ideal farm to test the technology because it creates a perfect template of what we’d experience at other farms throughout the Central Valley.”

ZNEF has attracted the

attention of federal legislators, state energy officials, the agricultural industry, private enterprise and academia.

California Governor Jerry Brown has established a greenhouse gas reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 – the most aggressive benchmark enacted by any government in North America to reduce carbon emissions as reflected in the Paris greenhouse gas reduction summit.

The development of Biodico’s facility is supported, in part, by grants from the California Energy Commission and in collaboration with the US Navy, UC Davis, UCSB and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Agricultural sustainability is a key focal point for ZNEF, which is helping farmers dispose of wood prunings, converting them into sources of renewable energy. California utility agencies are renewing contracts with fewer biomass power plants in the state, leaving farmers in a lurch for processing orchard and vineyard waste.

Perhaps the biggest challenge Biodico faces is setting aside time for business development amid rising demand for its technology.

“Demonstrating the concept in action is key to getting folks engaged and interested in what we’re doing,” he says.

To garner more interest in Biodico’s technology, the company has developed a project management application that generates an interactive reference map

providing farmers with a visual assessment of the renewable resources available to them.

Sustainable farm This paves the way for deployment of the application in other regions throughout the US and on a global scale, enabling farmers to understand what types of resources they can utilise to create a fully sustainable farm.

In the meantime, Biodico is reaching out to Central Valley communities to educate farmers and farmworkers, as well as receive input to enhance its technology. Ray Leon, the mayor of Huron, which is considered the poorest city in California, recently received a “Green California Summit Leadership Award” for helping Biodico understand the dynamics of integrating clean energy and sustainable systems in low-income regions.

“Working with Mayor Leon has been a tremendous asset in developing our project and prioritising the goals we have in common, including job creation and generating fully sustainable clean energy for the region,” Teall says. “Communities throughout the world face the same challenges, and we look forward to helping them implement solutions.” l

For more information: This article was written by Evan Pondel, president at PondelWilkinson.

Visit: www.biodico.com

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biofuels regional focus

Midwest lawmakers blitz White House as EPA seeks lower biodiesel mandate

by Brian Milne

Brian Milne

U

S senators, representatives and state governors largely from the Midwest took the White House by storm in mid-October in response to a late September notice from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking data and comments for justification in reducing the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

On 5 July, EPA submitted its 2018 RFS proposal for public comment that modestly reduced demand requirements under the programme. While seen as a mixed bag for farm states and a missed opportunity by biodiesel proponents who sought a volume increase in the biomass-based diesel nested category, the proposal provided guarded optimism for the biofuel industry considering, the widespread concern the Trump administration would make dramatic changes to the RFS despite the President’s

insistence that he would support the programme.

The July proposal set the demand mandate for the RFS for 2018 at 19.24 billion gallons, including 15 billion gallons for conventional renewables that are overwhelmingly satisfied by corn-based ethanol – the maximum allowed under the programme. The proposal cut the demand mandate for the advanced biofuel and cellulosic biofuel nested categories to 4.24 billion gallons and 238 million gallons, respectively, while leaving the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel unchanged at 2.1 billion gallons for 2018 and 2019.

“In closing, we strongly recommend that EPA finalise the [renewable volume obligation] levels that were included in the initial draft proposal sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review in May 2017: 384 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel; 4.38 billion gallons of advanced biofuel; and 19.38 billion gallons of total renewable fuel,” said the Renewable Fuels Association, a Washington DC-based trade group for the ethanol industry.

Biomass-based diesel In its comments, the National Biodiesel Board sought an increase in the advanced biofuel volume for 2018 from 4.24 billion gallons to 4.75 billion gallons or higher and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2019 to at least 2.5 billion gallons, with biomassbased diesel the only nested category to have its demand

mandate proposed for two years. The trade association argued that the US biodiesel industry has plenty of unused production capacity, and the higher mandate for the advanced biofuel is needed to grow the market.

While proponents argued for higher volume requirements, the oil industry sought deep cuts in the RFS mandate or an outright repeal.

On 5 July, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said: “Acknowledgment of the high cost of compliance has been a long time coming, and we are grateful that this EPA proposal comes closer to reflecting what the market has shown year after year – the mandated levels of advanced, cellulosic, and biodiesel in the RFS are unrealistic. Nevertheless, the mandates for conventional and advanced biofuels are still too high – either exceeding demonstrated domestic biofuel production or the ability to use more biofuel than vehicles, engines, and the fuelling infrastructure can handle.”

So, the issuance on 26 September of a Notice of Data Availability seeking reasoning to reduce RFS volume obligations stunned the biofuels industry but was cheered by the oil industry.

US Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has championed the RFS for years and said President Donald Trump had assured him of his support for the programme, suggested the EPA was pulling a baitand-switch, and promised retaliation by holding up

nominations for the agency.

“Unfortunately, the EPA’s proposals seem to take us backward, not forward.

While I have appreciated the accessibility of the EPA and have had many positive conversations about the RFS, I have some significant concerns with the direction the agency appears to be taking,” said Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Spot biodiesel prices were under pressure following the NODA release despite advancing ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel prices, with New York Mercantile Exchange ULSD futures trading at a 27-month high on the spot continuous chart in late September. Spot biodiesel prices frequently trade in a cash differential against the futures contract. The value for Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN), credits used to show compliance with the RFS that trade in the open market, plunged to six-month lows.

RIN values The onslaught of legislators and governors, mainly from the Republican Party, appeared to get their message heard, with reports indicating Trump told the EPA on 18 October to stand down in the agency’s efforts to weaken the RFS. RIN values shot up on the news with the belief the NODA is a dead letter amid the building political support for the RFS. When considering the arguments raised by the EPA in its September notice along with the Trump administration’s protectionist tendencies

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however, the mid-October win for RFS proponents appears to be a tactical retreat by the White House, with the final rule due by 30 November, 2017.

In their notice, EPA raised concern that there would be an inadequate supply of biomass-based diesel for several reasons, including a higher cost for blenders and consumers of biodiesel following the lapse of a $1 (€0.80) gallon tax credit, which expired on the last day of 2016. The EPA’s argument is the cost of biodiesel for the blender increased $1 per gallon because of the lost tax subsidy, which would diminish demand.

EPA is also seeking comments and data on the effect to domestic supply with the loss of imports from Argentina and Indonesia after the US Department of Commerce made a preliminary ruling in August imposing duties on imports from the two countries in response to an anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition. The US Department of Agriculture said the US imported a record volume of 692.9 million gallons of biodiesel in 2016, up 96% from 2015, with almost 65% or 448.5 million gallons of the biodiesel imported from Argentina.

“With the current administration, it is a real possibility that foreign renewable fuel sources will not be allowed to participate in the [RFS] programme. If this occurs, the cost of the programme will increase due to the added cost of the domestic biodiesel,” said Thomas Hogan, P.E., senior vice president with Dallas-based Turner, Mason & Company.

EPA’s NODA is looking to thread the needle in triggering a waiver from the biomassbased diesel mandate by seeking comments on what justifies inadequate domestic supply and severe economic harm. A court ruling in July suggests securing a waiver from the RFS will be

biofuels international

a challenge, with the court focusing on Congress’ intent in establishing the law – The Energy Independence and Security Act. The court said the RFS is a market forcing policy designed to increase demand for renewable fuel.

“EPA repeatedly highlights the comments and concerns from the oil industry commenters that the phrase ‘inadequate domestic supply’ should be considered in light of the Congressional intent that the RFS improve US energy independence and security,” writes Jonathan Coppess with the University of Illinois Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics in their Farmdoc Daily series.

Coppess disagrees with the analysis, pointing to the market forcing policy mechanism.

In addition to these provisions, there has been lively discussion on attaching RINs to exports that would significantly add to the availability of RINs in the open market since RINs are now stripped from exports.

During the first seven months of 2017, US ethanol exports totalled 810.7 million gallons, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The EPA has heaped a pile of uncertainty upon US biodiesel producers of which they haven’t experienced before despite years of working through the ambiguities of the federal government. This uncertainty will undoubtedly chill investments and slow production in the short term, with spot biodiesel and RINs trading now captured in a headline-driven market. l

ULSD/soybean oil spread Based on 7.55 pounds of soya bean oil per gallon (USD/gallon)

EPA qualified biomass-based diesel supply volume

Market analysis spot prices

Bean and oil ULSD

For more information: This article was written by Brian Milne, who manages the refined fuel’s editorial content, spot price discovery activity and cask market analysis for DTN. Tel: +1-609-371-3328. DTN is the leading digital provider of information services, supply chain connectivity solutions and decision-support tools to more than 80,000 customers in agriculture, oil and gas, trading and weather-sensitive industries worldwide.

DTN, based in Omaha, Nebraska and Minneapolis, and is owned by TBG holding headquartered in Zurich.

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biofuels big interview UK breakthrough in sustainable diesel production

Fuels of the future

by Liz Gyekye

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UK sustainable energy company claims to be the first ever to have successfully converted actual landfill gas (biogas) into drop-in renewable diesel fuel with no fossil fuel additives.

Its technology also bolts on to the anaerobic digestion process. Here, Liz Gyekye catches up with Renovare Fuels’ chief technology officer Devin Walker to find out more.

How does your technology work?

The innovation lies in synergistically combining two transformative catalyst technologies with the capability to produce fuel from biogas more efficiently and cost effectively than any other existing technology, thus converting an environmentallyharmful waste gas into a high value, in demand renewable liquid fuel. At policy level not only does our technology solve the existing problem of processing biogas, it also meets the government criteria of processing new waste and turning it into a valuable commodity via the incorporation of anaerobic digestion (AD).

So, how does it work in practice?

First, we utilise the raw biogas and do an initial contaminant removal.

This involves removing the sulphur compounds, siloxanes and halocarbons.

This clean-up process is cheap in comparison to other technology since we don’t remove the CO2 portion of the biogas. Essentially, we use 100% of the biogas we extract from the AD or landfill process and remove only the

trace-level contaminants.

This clean biogas is then put through our first reactor, which is a tri-reformer. We introduce three elements into this, including oxygen, steam and the CO2 portion.

A synthesis-gas (syngas) is then produced. It is tuned to produce a 2:1 hydrogento-carbon monoxide ratio, which is important for the second reactor – a Fischer–Tropsch reactor.

the process as steam to the reformer or produce water for AD. AD is a large consumer of water and it can put a strain on local water supply. Our innovation satisfies its own water usage requirements. It also produces a fuel gas to power your reformer. In its entirety, all of the product streams coming out of this are usable. You are using the diesel or jet fuel for transport, water for AD, and fuel gas to

We are just trying to provide an economically-viable option for the waste industry A 2:1 ratio is optimal for the Fischer–Tropsch reactor to utilise a cobalt catalyst.

We use an ‘egg-shell cobalt catalyst’ which allows us to overcome heat and mass transfer limitations and we don’t produce waxes or heavy material. Renewable jet fuel and diesel come out of the Fischer-Tropsch process.

There’s no additional postprocessing after this. So, you are not having to hydro treat, hydro crack or do any high temperature distillation on the back end of that Fischer-Tropsch process.

Essentially, we are making a drop-in fuel that can go out to your user. Logistically, you can store and use it like you would any fossil fuel.

What makes this process one of a kind?

This is a unique process because there are two other products that come out of the Fischer Tropsch system.

This includes fresh water that can be recycled back into

power your equipment. It’s 100% self-sufficient. It powers itself. The only feedstock is the biogas itself. This means you have minimised demand for fossil fuels to power the plant minimising your overall CO2 footprint. Principally, a waste operator can meet over a 70% reduction in CO2 for their operations. A basic principle in chemical engineering is to reduce your by-products and your waste, and recycle everything while producing value added co-products.

What options are there for the user of this technology?

You can fit the technology on to an existing AD plant and utilise the biogas that they are already producing. It has a lower capital cost than biogas to biomethane processes and utilises what is already in place. It provides the producer with another option.

We are just trying to provide an economically-viable option for the waste industry.

In the UK, you produce 22.2

million tonnes of household waste per year. If you took all of that waste and stuck it in an AD or biodegradation unit producing biogas, you could expect to produce around 446,000 cubic metres per hour of biogas. If you plugged all this biogas into the Renovare technology, you could produce 1.1 billion litres per year of liquid fuel. So, what does that offset in terms of fossil-fuel use in the UK? You are talking around 5% displacement of fossil fuels in the transport sector. This isn’t the be all or end all, but a step in the right direction.

From a freight industry perspective, you can displace 12% of that industry’s usage. These may not be the largest numbers, but they are significant numbers.

What type of response have you got from industry about your technology?

We have a really positive response from industry and the business side. It’s pretty obvious to see what the benefits are that come with this innovation, but with any new technology there are those risk factors. From an industry standpoint, folks want to see that de-risk. They don’t want to be the first ones to stick their neck out there before having seen it work at a significant scale. That’s where we are at right now. We want to take all that risk off of their shoulders and do this at the demonstration scale.

Our demo unit is producing 420 litres per day. This allows for all the fuel specification testing to be done. All in all, the people who are the end users of the fuel have the confidence that their engine warranties are going to be

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still valid if they use this fuel. So, producing this at the demo level allows for independent engineering reviews and all the engine and fuel spec testing to be performed to satisfy the requirements of the Caterpillars, John Deeres and Rolls Royces of the world.

Our short-term goal is to partner with a biogas producer capable of producing 400m3+ per hour of biogas for our first commercial facility and then within three years expand to multiple sites, internationally at both the public and private sector levels.

very dangerous and a lot of fires occur as a result of this. Obviously, if you are producing methane from biodegradable trash there is a potential for fires (uncontrolled burning).

In the US, the majority of the waste is landfilled, so, we want to offer something that is compatiable for landfills and the AD process. There are a lot of different options and we are not limiting ourselves to one potential feedstock. Anything that is organic can be used as a feedstock. This opens doors to the agriculture industry.

Where do you hope to be in the next five years?

We are wrapping up the production of the demo this year and we will implement the demo in early 2018.

By mid-2018 we want to get our strategic partners lined up and make sure we are aligned with the UK government in terms of their CO2 reduction agenda.

In addition to this, we also have to make sure that our fuel will qualify under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO) order and qualify for renewable heat incentives (RHIs). In 2019, we will be looking to examine our first commercial contracts and then operating in 2021.

We are looking at India, other parts of Asia, Africa, and North America. Our sister company is T2CEnergy in the US. We are being deployed in the US and the UK simultaneously.

Both of these countries are highly developed in how they manage waste and already have centralised waste recovery operations in place. These are the two countries that we are focusing on in the early years.

In the future, we would like to move in to some developing countries. The issue is having the waste management infrastructure in place. India does a lot of open dumping, which is

Can you tell me a bit about your background?

I hold a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Florida. After gaining this, I went to work for the industry for a company called Applied Research Associates. I worked with a team of chemical engineers to develop drop-in jet fuel and diesel fuel from plant and algae oils for the US Airforce and US Navy.

This gas-to-liquid process that we developed led me to a feedstock conundrum. To be cost competitive you need to start with a feedstock that is cheap or negative in value.

This led me to T2C-Energy where we presented this idea to the US Department of Energy and entered into a business competition, ultimately winning $150,000 (€128,000). Since then, we’ve secured $2.2 million from the private and public sectors.

This solidified the findings that were coming out of the lab and allowed us to move to the demonstration scale.

biofuels international

How will European electrification goals affect the biofuels industry?

The government needs to be open to all options, including biomass, solar, wind and hydro. It will be a combination of all these technologies that will remove

our fossil-fuel dependency.

We are getting closer and closer to having viable options for energy other than fossil fuel for the masses.

It’s easy for the government to say that they will ban diesel cars and move to electric. I support the move towards electricity, but the most likely route to getting where you want is not drastic changes but continual growth and optimisation.

To bridge that gap you are looking at hybrid-type engines combining electricity and liquid transport fuel.

If you look at the aerospace and freight industries, they need certain power requirements to be met. I don’t think this can be met by 100% electrification of transport, currently. I hope that government perceives the reality of where we are now to achieve future goals.

Ultimately, you don’t want a

policy that limits your growth towards potential options.

You want something that allows technology to grow and let the market dictate what happens. Shutting doors by limiting your scope can be counterproductive.

In essence, when you say we are going all electric you have to be careful and question where that electricity is actually coming from. You don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul. If you switch from the use of petrol or diesel then use natural gas to power the majority of the electricity system for the transport sector you are still using environmentally-harmful fossil fuels to power your grid and transport sectors.

We would utilise 100% of the biogas and incorporate it into the fuel being produced.

Gas-to-grid injection and gas-to-liquids are big trends coming down the line. l

Devin Walker, chief technology officer at Renovare Fuel

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biofuels cellulosic ethanol An innovative technology is helping the biofuels industry to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn kernel fibre

Improving production efficiency

S

ince the beginning of its expansion period about 30 years ago, the global biofuels industry has been pursuing cellulosic solutions. While there are now a handful of large biomass-based cellulosic ethanol production facilities in operation around the world, many more companies have tried – and failed – to create an economic cellulosic ethanol process. Most failures have more to do with capital than technology – without a return on capital, even the most elegant technologies will eventually fail.

The leadership team at Edeniq recognised this problem and initially pursued a lower-capital, separate process train solution. After a few years, the Californiabased company’s attention turned to a zero-capital solution: in situ processing of corn kernel fibre. The premise was simple, but innovative – apply years of R&D on cellulosic processes to co-produce cellulosic ethanol from a feedstock already available at every corn ethanol plant.

To achieve success, Edeniq needed to address two key problems: (1) how to adjust a plant’s overall production process to get the most benefit from the addition of cellulase enzymes (supplied by a third party) and (2) how to quantify the gallons produced from corn kernel fibre, a challenging analytical exercise that requires obtaining an accurate mass balance for an ethanol plant’s fermentation process. Solving

these problems required that Edeniq’s scientists and engineers work closely with ethanol plant managers and operators, enzyme companies, and representation from various US agencies.

Leading the way In late 2016, Edeniq’s customer Pacific Ethanol registered its Stockton, California ethanol plant for co-production of cellulosic ethanol, the first such submission of its kind.

Today, the Stockton plant is one of five US ethanol plants registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to generate cellulosic ethanol D3 RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers) using Edeniq’s Pathway Technology.

Historically, D3 RINs have been the most valuable RINs

Brian Thome, CEO of Edeniq

in the marketplace, but D3’s – and in particular D3’s from cellulosic ethanol – have been exceedingly scarce. As an increasing number of Edeniq’s customers complete the EPA registration process, the number of cellulosic ethanol D3’s in the market has been rising. Edeniq customers have already generated well over 3 million gallons of cellulosic

ethanol. In 2018, Edeniq’s existing customer plants have the potential to produce 30 to 40 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol, and new customers could bring that total to 80 million gallons next year alone.

Edeniq Pathway continues the trend of innovation coming from within the ethanol industry that has dramatically improved production efficiency and asset value. In addition to process enhancements that have supported yield improvement from 2.70 gallons per bushel to 2.90 gallons per bushel in the last twenty years, the introduction of regenerative thermal oxidation, corn oil extraction, low-energy milling systems, and myriad other technologies have resulted in increased product diversity, lower energy requirements, and a lower carbon footprint by the plants.

Like these technologies,

Denmark Antolin, head of Lab Services, and Bowya Lee, laboratory technician, working in the Edeniq lab in Visalia, California

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Edeniq’s vision is for corn kernel fibre conversion to be become the norm at ethanol plants, enabling every plant to produce more than 3.00 gallons per bushel of corn, a threshold that once seemed impossible. If every plant generated cellulosic ethanol D3 RINs from 2.50% of its production, the total value to the industry would be more than $1 billion (€850,000).

Today, the highestperforming customers using Edeniq Pathway are already generating D3 RINs on more than 2.50% of their production. Ethanol production is a biological process, and even plants with the same production hardware can vary in their results. But, as Edeniq synthesises data and feedback from customer plants, the technology is being tuned to improve performance.

Average performance has

Jim Kacmar, Pathway program director, with laboratory technicians David Zavaleta and Bowya Lee in the Edeniq lab in Visalia, California

doubled since 2015, and the current goal is to bring every customer up to at least 2.50% solely through process improvements. Meanwhile, Edeniq’s R&D efforts are focused on achieving 3% to 4% from the cellulose in

corn kernel fibre and double that when the hemi-cellulosic conversion is incorporated. A corn kernel contains enough cellulose and hemi-cellulose to enable more than 10% of an ethanol plant’s production to come from cellulosic

sources, but accessing and fermenting all this additional sugar without additional capital expenditures is a major challenge that Edeniq looks forward to solving.

After years of broken promises by others in the industry, with production being perpetually “five to ten years away,” Edeniq’s key innovation was to obviate the problem of capital so that cellulosic ethanol could fulfill its promise of supporting the environment, the consumer, and US national security. The results of using the $20 billion of steel and concrete that is already in the ground? Cellulosic ethanol could be in your tank today. l

For more information: This article was written by Brian Thome, CEO of Edeniq.

Visit: www.edeniq.com

Team up to accelerate the global bioeconomy: ECO-BIO 2018 will provide an international forum to review progress in industrial biotechnology and creating biobased products and solutions.

Coverage includes: Scientific discovery Impact assessment of biobased solutions

Register now to:

Technological development Innovation and valorisation

More than 20 plenary and keynote speakers include:

Interact with high-level speakers

Stefan de Kok,

Solange I. Mussatto,

Participate in the forum discussions

Trevor Hodkinson,

Patricia Osseweijer,

Daniel Hayes,

Maria Reis,

Mike Jones,

Gill Stephens,

Jan Marienhagen,

Rob van Leen,

Present your research as a poster Make new research partnerships Gain a global perspective on the biobased economy

Zymergen, USA

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Celignis Analytical, Ireland Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

DTU, Denmark

TU Delft, The Netherlands Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal University of Nottingham, UK DSM, The Netherlands

Early booking deadline: 8 December 2017 Poster abstract deadline: 19 January 2018 Find out more and submit abstracts at

Organised by

www.elsevier.com/eco-bio-conference biofuels international

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biofuels biofuels event The great and the good met in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the tenth Biofuels International Conference

Wide range of issues tackled at Biofuels International Conference

by Liz Gyekye and Colin Ley

T

he future of bioethanol, advanced biofuel developments and an uncertain policy landscape were some of the hot topics discussed at this year’s Biofuels International and Bioenergy Insight conference.

The conference took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 4-5th October.

Rob Wakely, head of the low carbon fuels division, energy technology and international directorate, at the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT), kicked off proceedings on day one. Wakely discussed the UK’s Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation (RFTO), which is a legal requirement on fuel suppliers to supply a set percentage of sustainable renewable fuel. It is currently set at just under 5%.

It is classified as a tax and spend measure by Her Majesty’s Treasury, and is worth around £450m (€504m) per annum. According to Wakely, the RFTO is responsible for emissions savings equivalent to taking more than one million vehicles off the road each year.

He went into detail about the government’s plans to introduce a cap on cropbased biofuels in order to meet the UK’s renewable fuel obligations. The maximum level for the use of fuels made from agricultural crops

will begin at 4% in 2018 and reduce linearly year on year from 2021 to reach 3% in 2026 and 2% in 2032.

He said advanced lowcarbon fuels can tackle

largest blenders and distributors of biofuels.

Shell produces one of the lowest-CO2 biofuels available today through its joint venture Raízen, which makes ethanol

The UK’s RFTO is classified as a tax and spend measure by HMT plane and truck emissions.

Produced from wastes, they offer more than 95% carbon savings, but the fuels “we need most are still largely pre-commercial”, Wakely maintained.

Although he emphasised that electrification was the government’s preferred means of decarbonising road passenger transport, he said that demand forecasts indicate that even if all new cars were electric from 2020, only around 10% of UK transport energy demand would come from electricity in 2030.

from sugarcane in Brazil.

Murfin described how Raízen produces around 2.2bn litres of ethanol per year.

Separately, Grant Ensus,

commercial manager at Ensus, debated UK policy uncertainty. In relation to ongoing uncertainty for UK producers, Pearson posed some questions, including the following: • What will the size of the market be as we move through the 2020s?

• Will fuel companies introduce E10?

• If they do introduce E10 when will it happen?

• Will the crop cap really not impact bioethanol demand potential until late into the 2020s?

He said that policy certainty is always difficult but legislators need to work hard to ensure that the policies that they put

Cellulosic ethanol Elsewhere, Shell’s general manager for advanced biofuels, Andrew Murfin, emphasised how Shell was one of the world’s

Rob Wakely, head of low carbon fuels division, energy technology and international directorate, at the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT)

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in place are closely aligned with their desired outcomes.

Speaking about the future of bioethanol, Pearson said that bioethanol made from grain already contributes significantly to decarbonising transport. He also said that the industry needs to continue to demonstrate to legislators and the public its current and future potential to further contribute in a sustainable way. He also said that firstgeneration producers can and should be a route to developing novel fuels.

Bioenergy Conference Separately, Chris Stark, director of energy and climate change for the Scottish government, discussed Scotland’s final climate plan and the promise of using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.

Elsewhere, William Strauss, founder and president of consultancy Future Metrics, talked about the recent trends and forecasts in global wood pellet supply. He described how the wood pellet market had experienced growth rates over the last few years of around 10% annually: from around 19.5 million tonnes in 2012 to around 28.6 million tonnes in 2016.

Strauss also touched on sustainability issues. He said the “foundation of carbon emissions mitigation from the use of wood pellets happens because the net carbon added to the atmosphere from the combustion of wood pellets is zero”.

As long as the growth rate equals or exceeds the harvest rate, the net stock of carbon held in the forest landscape is held constant or is increasing, Strauss added.

Enviva’s Daniel Davidson also went into sustainability issues and said that the company’s ‘Track & Trace’ system follows every tonne of primary wood back to its origin in the forest or sawmill.

biofuels international

The tenth Biofuels International Conference took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, in October

Bioethanol made from grain contributes significantly to decarbonising transport The topic of sustainability was also addressed by Chris Holmes, head of waste and bioenergy at the Green Investment Group. He said that woody biomass continues to be challenged by lobby groups and think tanks and

that the main consistent accusation levelled against biomass is that pellet demand causes felling of trees.

Holmes said that concerns with woody biomass were recently set out in two papers published by Chatham

House, but the Renewable Energy Association provided a rebuttal to the studies.

Publication by the UK government of Ricardo’s study on counterfactuals has allayed many fears of high carbon-emitting outcomes, Holmes explained. However, he said that the conclusions and implications of the report continue to be debated.

He concluded that the biomass industry should aim to be fully transparent about the sourcing of its feedstocks.

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biofuels biofuels event Biofuels International also caught up with other leading representatives from the biofuels industry to find out what they thought of the conference and the sector Martin Tangney, president of Celtic Renewables “It was genuinely good timing to have the conference in Edinburgh this year.

Scotland has always had a long history in renewable energy but for me that history has always been about renewable electricity. Now, however, there’s a clear momentum in Scotland to expand beyond electricity and to look at heat and fuel.

“In addition, it was very good for the industry to have the Scottish government represented on the speakers’ platform through Chris Stark, director of Energy and Climate Change, sitting alongside Rob Wakeley, head of low carbon fuels at the UK Department of Transport, all in front of some big players and several new and emerging companies.

“What was really noticeable during the opening session, however, was that despite the fact that we had the head of biofuels for Shell on the platform and the senior director of a leading British renewables company, most of the questions were directed towards the policy makers. It does seem clear, therefore, that the industry is still looking for a degree of certainty that just isn’t available are present.”

Yuan-Sheng Yu, senior analyst at Lux Research “This was a really good event. The audience and speakers in Edinburgh spoke volumes for the diversity of today’s biofuels industry, not just in terms of the different types of companies involved but also the range of functions they cover.

“On day one, for example, we had the Scottish government, major oil and gas companies and the UK department of transport, all of which shows that it’s taking numerous players and stakeholders to move the biofuels industry forward.

“From that introductory platform we moved on to consider the innovations and technologies that will come into play once we have the right policy framework in place. That sparked a lot of discussion, especially during the Shell presentation, about the future for advanced biofuels, with the general message being that work in this area involves mid to long-term initiatives.

“It was also made clear to delegates that we need to give these developments time. This is one of the biggest issues we face as an industry, both in terms of public perception and investor attitudes. The public is still asking if biofuels are good or bad while investors want to know why the technology doesn’t already work. What people fail to realise, of course, is that the oil industry took several decades to get to the structure we have today and that the development of biofuels continues to include a lot of emerging technologies.

“It was encouraging, however, to look at the delegate list in Edinburgh and recognise the genuine interest that now exists to promote biofuels and push the sector forward.

“The Scottish government presentation included the very good point that while environmental reasons are part of the biofuels picture, the most important thing for many

countries and governments is to achieve economic growth.

In that context, I think there are a lot of opportunities for countries to leverage their existing agricultural and energy industries to promote economic growth.

“I’m more encouraged than frustrated about the industry after Edinburgh 2017. There’s obviously continued policy uncertainty and risk attached to biofuels but that will always be the case.

What’s important is to keep talking together; maintaining open dialogue; creating new windows of opportunity and giving investors the signs of optimism they need in order to commit more to this space and for governments to be helped to prioritise essential funding and budgets for this sector.”

James Cogan, industry and policy analyst at Ethanol Europe Renewables “I’m bewildered that ethanol CEOs aren’t working more together on the key issues, perhaps because some are ethanol and biodiesel CEOs and some are ethanol, biodiesel and palm diesel CEOs. This isn’t helping the sector’s current arguments, however. We need to find common ground and work as one.”

Jessica Robinson, director of communications at National Biodiesel Board “We have changed the way in which the US media talks about biodiesel.

As a result, we are starting to create a platform where policy decisions can also become more favourable for our industry.”

John Cropley, commodity analyst at ED&F Man “We talk about policy uncertainty in biofuels as something we want to do away with, and rightly so. However, policy uncertainly in just about any sector, biofuels included, is a fact of life and will always be so. We just have get on with it therefore.”

Robin Vercruse, VP of policy and environment at Fuel Freedom Foundation “The most surprising thing for us about the new US administration is that there is genuine support for corn ethanol. It may be for political reasons, of course, but it could be to the advantage of biofuels.” l

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‘Waterless’ purification of biodiesel using cow dung ash

Purifying biodiesel

A

vinash Alagumalai, a researcher and assistant professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India, was part of a study attempting to develop an innovative strategy to refine biodiesel. This exploration concentrates on a novel method for purifying biodiesel without utilising water in the biodiesel purification process.

Recent fluctuations in crude oil prices have sparked a renewed interest in the development of biofuels as a substitute to petroleumbased fuel for alleviating world energy shortages, economic crisis, and environmental catastrophes.

In particular, this trend has seen biomass fuels such as biodiesel increasingly seen as a viable option. Biodiesel is a major biofuel which is an excellent alternative to petroleum diesel, possessing significant benefits such as biodegradability, non-toxicity, high cetane number, and an absence of sulphur. Potential feedstocks for biofuels include vegetable oils, animal fats and waste frying oils. The last one is an unwanted residue of residences, restaurants, and industries which has a detrimental environmental impact. As a result, its use in the production of biodiesel not only aids in environmental protection, it also allows the generation of an alternative source of energy which contributes to the global economy.

The main chemical process used in the production of biodiesel is alkaline transesterification of vegetable oil or animal feedstocks through a variety of methods such as the common batch

biofuels international

process, supercritical process, ultrasonic irradiation or microwave methods. Of these potential methods, transesterification by the batch process is generally noted as the most economic and simple when it comes to overcoming the issues connected to the direct use of oil in diesel engines.

Transesterification is a process in which alcohol reacts in the presence of a catalyst to form biodiesel and glycerol. After glycerol removal in the biodiesel production process, the trace impurities are typically expelled by water washing. Several research studies have reported that multiple water washes are required to achieve satisfactory impurity removal from unpurified biodiesel. Some cases may require as many as six individual washes. As a result, the water washing method has a number of shortcomings such as turning out a large quantity of wastewater that requires treatment before reuse and causes operational problems such as emulsion.

Rice husk ash In recent years, a range of alternative waterless purification methods have been developed, such as ion exchange resins and absorbent treatment. In the absorbent method of biodiesel purification, commercial magnesium silicate (Magnesol) and silca are widely used.

Recent investigations by researchers have demonstrated the success of silica-based agricultural waste products in the removal of impurities from biodiesel, as reported by Márcia et al1. In their work, the researchers used rice husk ash as an adsorbent to purify waste frying oil biodiesel.

Overall, the absorption process is one of the most efficient methods for removing the water soluble-contaminants present in biodiesel. There is a need however, to carry out studies on biodiesel purification by absorption using lower-cost and more eco-friendly adsorbents. This is something this research has aimed to address.

Cow dung as a solution In this study, cow dung ash was used as an adsorbent to purify biodiesel. The cow dung ash was prepared by burning cow dung cakes in the muffle furnace at 500оC and then the ash was characterised

by X-ray powder diffraction followed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. From the characterisation studies, it can be seen that cow dung ash is an eco-friendly and low-cost adsorbent with high silica content along with trace amount of aluminium oxide, magnesium oxide, calcium oxide and iron oxide. The prepared ash at different concentrations (1, 2, 3 and 4 wt/wt%) was used in the biodiesel purification process and finally, the purified biodiesel was filtered with filter paper to take out the adsorbent. The refined

biodiesel samples were then subjected to spectral analysis.

The research was also able to determine the optimum concentration of cow dung ash for biodiesel purification through chemometric analysis by comparing the Fourier transform infrared transmission (FTIR) spectral characteristics of cow dung ash with the water treated FTIR. The test results disclosed that 1 % wt/wt concentration of cow dung ash exhibited better impurity removal from biodiesel analogous to water treatment.

Overall, this work demonstrated that the use of bio-waste cow dung ash is an effective adsorbent in purifying biodiesel analogous to traditional water washing technology. There is now a need to explore and exploit other biowaste which could be used as an adsorbent in biodiesel purification process. l Notes: 1 Márcia, C. M., Candice, S. F., Bruna, O., Edilson, V. B. & Elina, B. C. Rice husk ash as an adsorbent for purifying biodiesel from waste frying oil. Fuel. 92, 56–61 (2012).

For more information: This study was led by Prof. Murugesan Arthanarisamy from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode, India and has been published in Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group).

Contact: avinashandromeda@gmail.com

FTIR spectra of pure water and biodiesel treated wastewater

Source: A. Avinash & A. Murugesan. Chemometric analysis of cow dung ash as an adsorbent for purifying biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 9526 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-09881-z

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biofuels sustainability More than just running on renewable diesel, UPM’s new Biofore Concept Car is built on sustainability

UPM Biofore Concept Car

A car with a green heart is on the move

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PM’s Biofore Concept Car has attracted plenty of interest and during the autumn and winter it can be spotted at major events in Europe and Asia. What is the concept all about?

The concept car is like the whole innovative forest industry packed onto four wheels. It is a resourceeffective car demonstrating a totally new type of thinking, driving sustainable change and replacing oil-based materials with advanced, renewable biomaterials.

In the Biofore Concept Car, the majority of parts traditionally made from plastics are replaced with high quality, safe and durable biomaterials. UPM Formi biocomposites and UPM Grada thermoformable

plywood material can significantly improve the overall environmental performance of car manufacturing.

The vehicle runs on UPM’s wood-based renewable diesel, UPM BioVerno, while UPM Raflatac’s sustainable selfadhesive labels have been used on the car’s interior design and spare parts.

The Biofore Concept Car weighs about 150 kilos less than equivalent vehicles.

The Biofore Car is a joint production between UPM and the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Students of industrial design and automotive and mechanical engineering from Metropolia University were responsible for designing and building the car from start to finish. A

Anneli Kunnas, stakeholder relations and marketing manager at UPM Biofuels

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total of around 50 students participated in the fouryear project. In addition to Metropolia and UPM, several partner companies and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation also participated in the cooperation.

First public show in Geneva The Biofore Concept Car was first introduced to the public at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2014. Among the giants of the automotive industry, the Biofore Concept car was in good company in Geneva. In addition to the new materials, industry leaders were interested in the car’s design and woodbased UPM BioVerno diesel.

The car combines the development paths of UPM’s new products, like biocomposites and biofuels, which linked UPM to the automotive industry in the first place. UPM’s new materials result from strong

The latest pit stop for the UPM Biofore Concept Car was the Argus Biofuels event in London where Sari Mannonen, head of UPM Biofuels, talked about wood-based biofuels and innovation as fuel for transformation. ©Alan Sherrard

investment in R&D and the company’s expertise and experience in utilising pulp.

The Biofore Concept

Materials used in the Biofore car and their applications UPM FORMI: Composite material made of pulp and plastic. Up to 50% of UPM Formi raw materials are renewable. Use in the car: front mask, side skirts, dashboard, door panels and interior panels.

UPM GRADA: Wood material that can be formed with heat and pressure. Use in the car: passenger compartment floor, centre console, display panel cover and door panels.

UPM RAFLATAC: The automotive industry uses self-adhesive label materials, for example, on various components, spare parts and windscreens.

Safety markings, warnings, serial numbers and type numbers, and instructions for use can be printed on the material. Use in the car: spare parts, engine bay, interior and exterior finishing etc.

UPM BIOVERNO: Wood-based renewable diesel fuel that can be used in all diesel-powered cars. Manufactured from crude tall oil, a residue of pulp production.

Significantly reduces greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions compared to fossil fuels. Use in the car: fuel.

biofuels international

Car demonstrates UPM’s transformation to a leader in the forest-based bioindustry.

It also shows the potential of UPM’s biomaterials, not only for the automotive

and Argus Biofuels and Feedstocks on 17-19 October, a major networking event for the biofuels supply chain.

After London, the next pit stop for the Biofore Concept

The Biofore Concept Car was first introduced to the public at the Geneva International Motor Show industry, but also for various end uses including design and acoustics as well as a wide range of industrial and consumer applications.

Next stops: Tokyo and Augsburg

Car will be Japan and the EcoPro International Exhibition on Environment and Energy in Tokyo in December. The car will return to Augsburg, Germany next February for a seminar organised by UPM Biochemicals. l

In October 2017, the concept car arrived in London for two different events. It was on display at the FIPP (International Federation of Periodical Publishers) World Congress from 9-11 October,

For more information: This article was written by Anneli Kunnas, stakeholder relations and marketing manager at UPM Biofuels.

Visit: www.upmbiofuels.com

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biofuels plant optimisation Many plants are looking for ways to achieve higher yields and improve efficiencies

Ethanol plant optimisation: The next steps

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ost dry-grind ethanol plants built in recent years are well designed and fairly robust, but operating knowledge and equipment updates still offer many opportunities for yield, energy, and operational improvements. Fluid Quip Process Technologies (FQPT) offers plant optimisation studies and improvements for dry-grind ethanol plants.

Leveraging years of corn wet milling and ethanol experience, FQPT finds there are always opportunities for improvements, even at leading facilities.

In the US, most projects have traditionally focused on expanding capacity and in many cases pushing capacity in one area of the plant can lead to bottlenecks or yield losses in other areas of the plant. That is where

a thorough optimisation study can help to identify opportunities and many of these opportunities require minimal capital to make significant improvements.

“It is important to focus on reliability and up-time as well. Running a steady state with lots of up-time is the best way to achieve higher rates and yields,” says Neal Jakel, VP for Strategy and Development at FQPT. Consistency is also key to fully understand the full effects of changes in the plant when one wants to focus on dialling in on one variable. Another important place to start is having an accurate and upto-date mass balance on the entire plant. FQPT provides these or can help plants validate they are accurate.

FQPT offers more than 70 optimisation projects for dry-grind facilities. “Many

customers have completed some of the items, but we always find a number of projects to improve the plants,” adds Jakel. When it comes to optimisation it is key to identify the main goals, whether that is ethanol or corn oil yield, DDGS quality, energy efficiency, new co-products, or capacity.

Identifying the goals is a key start to an optimisation study.

Some examples of low-cost projects FQPT commonly implements include: Improving sieve vaporiser PSV sizing Correcting PSV sizing on the sieve vaporiser to reduce ethanol loss and beer column de-bottlenecking improvements.

Beer column optimisation Beer column improvements can include modifying the distribution header, correcting the feed valve sizing and location, improving heat recovery from the beer feed and also improving beer feed CO2 removal.

Ethanol loss prevention

FQPT’s 52 mill

Another area of optimisation projects focuses on ethanol losses. Direct ethanol losses are especially painful because a plant has put in all of the work to produce the ethanol and it is not going out the door

as ethanol in a truck or rail car.

Areas of focus include tanks, scrubber water, and whole stillage. Previous projects have shown improvements of up to 0.17 gallons per bushel by reducing losses in these areas.

Stillage decanter optimisation Analysing decanter performance to meet bestpractices can have significant improvements to the plant.

Producing a dryer cake helps to put less evaporative load on the rotary dryers and shifts it to the evaporation train which is more efficient. This can also help with oil yield recovery from evaporation. On the flip-side, ensuring a clean centrate stream helps reduce evaporator fouling and helps to reduce non-fermentable solids running around the plant and hurting yields.

A thorough plant evaluation study and mass balance and systematic implementation plan can help achieve significant improvements with minimal cost in areas like those mentioned above. Getting the most out of existing equipment is key. However, when looking at larger plant objectives, it is also important to consider gains from capital projects. There are various proven technology improvements that many plants are utilising to take operations to the next level.

One example is FQPT’s

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FQPT has been designing and manufacturing corn separation and grind equipment for over 25 years

FQPT offers more than 70 optimisation projects for dry-grind facilities

Selective Grind Technology (SGT). SGT is a patented secondary milling system installed on the slurry stream to make more starch available for sugar conversion and ethanol production. The system also mills the germ particles to release more oil for corn oil recovery. FQPT SGT systems demonstrate an average ethanol yield increase of 3% over baseline and an average oil yield increase of 30%. FQPT SGT

systems are installed in more than 1bn gallons of annual ethanol production. Installing a technology like SGT opens the door for further plant optimisations. In releasing more starch and oil, it is important to look at the plant’s operations to fully achieve the benefits of the system.

Leveraging experience with the technologies and further opportunities is key.

A different route in optimisation is gaining new

co-product opportunities while achieving yield or capacity goals. FQPT has some customers looking at de-bottlenecking the dryer and evaporation areas of their plants. There are options to improve and expand with the current technology or there are also opportunities to achieve the expansion by producing new co-products.

FQPT’s Maximized Stillage Co-Products (MSC) system recovers high-value protein from stillage. The system separates and dries the protein independently of the DDGS so significant load is taken off of current DDGS dryers. MSC also clarifies

Ethanol producer United Wisconsin Grain Producers (UWGP) has installed FQPT’s Maximized Stillage Co-Products (MSC) system

biofuels international

thin stillage and washes more oil into the thin stillage so evaporation can operate more efficiently and more oil can be recovered. A similar example is fermenter capacity.

A traditional option is to add a fermenter to increase overall fermenter capacity.

FQPT’s Fiber By-Pass (FBP) system recovers fibre before fermentation and by-passes it to the back end of the plant to achieve a 10-15% increase in capacity in the fermenters for starch. FQPT averages 2% or less residual starch in the fibre so there is not a risk of yield loss. Options like these are good to consider in a plant’s planning process because there may be opportunities to achieve optimisation goals and also create new opportunities.

All in all, the key to a good optimisation plan is clarifying short and long-term objectives, knowing where the plant is operating today with an accurate mass balance, and evaluating optimisation opportunities – small to large.

FQPT has a team of talented chemical and mechanical engineers to provide services to the industry in areas ranging from basic engineering or optimisation studies, to full turn-key implementation of solutions. l For more information: This article was written by Michael Franko, VP for Business Development at Fluid Quip Process Technologies.

Visit: www.fqptech.com Contact: mfranko@fqptech.com

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biofuels sustainability REDcert – Your partner for sustainability certification

The green agenda

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EDcert was founded in 2010 by leading associations and organisations of the German agricultural and biofuel sectors. By creating the scheme, the economic groups affected assumed joint responsibility for actively promoting certified sustainability of biofuels and liquid biomass.

Today, REDcert has more than 1,300 scheme participants from 27 countries, making it one of the leading certification schemes for sustainable biomass, bioliquids and biofuels in Germany and Europe. The

European Commission reaccredited the REDcertEU scheme in August 2017.

The REDcert-EU scheme is therefore available as usual for the next five years for implementing the sustainability requirements for energy-related use of biomass and can be used for all phases involved.

“The successful reaccreditation by the EU Commission is an important milestone for REDcert.

REDcert has established itself in the last few years as a partner for sustainability certification of biomass, biofuels and bioliquids and

today offers key support in the practical implementation of the sustainability certification. The reaccreditation means that REDcert is ideally positioned for the future and can rise to meet the challenges and changes on the market,” said Peter Jürgens, managing director of REDcert.

Since 2015, REDcert² has also been a certification scheme for sustainable agricultural raw materials which are processed for use as food or animal feed as well as biomass used for material purposes.

The REDcert² scheme is based on the REDcert-EU

certification scheme which has successfully been in place now for five years and was given a positive rating by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI Gold level). REDcert² can be used for the different phases of raw materials production and gathering, trade and processing. l

For more information: Visit:www.redcert.org.

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J a n u a r y

2 2–2 5 ,

F o r t

Wo r t h

We’re gathering to celebrate 25 years of hard work and innovation by those who were driven to make the U.S. biodiesel industry what it is today and those who are driven to take this industry into the future.

Join us in Fort Worth, Texas for the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo!

Register for this milestone event at

biodieselconference.org biofuels international

NATIONAL

BOARD

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Have you done your homework? biofuels heading

Research gives you a clear advantage over your competitors. You can get the very latest information on new plants, projects, innovations and legislative updates all from one source‌www.biofuels-news.com Get an A* and get online today.

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