Biofuels International July/August 2015

July/August 2015 Issue 4 • Volume 9

international

To 10% and beyond Advanced biofuels are best for emissions targets in Finland

Proposal under fire EPA’s proposed limitations on US biofuels production volumes draw heavy criticism

Regional focus: biofuels in Scandinavia

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international Issue 4

Volume 9

July/August 2015 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 Keeley Downey Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4183 keeley@woodcotemedia.com DEPUTY EDITOR Ilari Kauppila Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4126 ilari@woodcotemedia.com INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER Shemin Juma +44 (0)203 551 5751 shemin@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 A one-year, 6-issue subscription costs £150/€210/$275 Contact: Lisa Lee Tel: +44 (0)208 687 4160 Fax: +44 (0)208 687 4130 marketing@woodcotemedia.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or other means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Whilst the information and articles in Biofuels International are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect. Any opinions expressed in this magazine should not be construed as those of the publisher.

ISSN 1754-2170

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c ntents 2 Comment 4 News 14 Technology news 18 Incident report 19 Green page

20 Low iLUC biofuels

The RSB has developed a set of criteria and compliance indicators for operators wishing to demonstrate that their operations have a low iLUC risk 22 Proposal under fire

EPA’s proposed limitations on US biofuels production volumes draw heavy criticism from both the US government and the biofuels industry 24 Business brief 25 Current price index 26 Good news all round

The US biodiesel industry receives some clarity 28 Pioneering advanced ethanol

St1 Biofuels has opened its sixth Etanolix facility and is developing its first Cellunolix ethanol plant in Finland 30 To 10% and beyond 32 Plant update: biofuels in Scandinavia 34 Unlocking the oil-renewables link 36 The plates to bring the gains 38 Pinching on energy costs

Efficient heat exchange networks can help plant operators achieve significant savings in energy costs 40 Steam rising

Hot steam is often used in first generation ethanol processing for a variety of applications. Second generation ethanol production, however, presents a whole new set of challenges 42 Driving down costs

New enzyme technology converts waste oils into biodiesel 44 Feedstock for biodiesel: the good, the bad and the ugly 45 Future-proofing your plant

The biodiesel industry is a volatile one and plant owners are often forced to take great risks. Help may be at hand with retrofit solutions 47 Cooking up a solution

Dubai’s tourism sector is growing, thus putting pressure on the strain on the city’s waste disposal system

international

July/August 2015 Issue 4 • Volume 9

To 10% and beyond Advanced biofuels are best for emissions targets in Finland

Proposal under fire EPA’s proposed limitations on US biofuels production volumes draw heavy criticism

49 The third extinction: Getting real in biofuels 51 The saponification of unsaponifiables

Putting an end to filters clogged by sterylglycosides in biodiesel production 53 Are your claims patent eligible?

56 Events & advert index

Regional focus: biofuels in Scandinavia

Front cover courtesy of IncBio FC _Biofuels_July-August_15.indd 3

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Keeley Downey Editor

Sun, sea and ILUC

T

he countdown has begun for many of us who are eagerly anticipating a welldeserved and much needed summer vacation. At Biofuels International HQ however, things are as busy as ever as biofuels policy continues to advance at breakneck speed.

We are also very excited to be putting the finishing touches to our 8th Biofuels International Expo and Conference, which, for the first time ever, will be held in sunny Portugal.

The event will kick-off on 22 September with a plant tour of our key sponsor and co-host IncBio’s newly constructed biodiesel plant, followed by a walking city tour around the beautiful coastal city of Porto. The conference will then take place on 23 and 24 September, with the first day’s proceedings being brought to a close with a stunning networking dinner cruise along the Douro River.

One issue that is sure to be a hot topic at the conference is indirect land use change (ILUC). In July

the EU’s Agricultural and Fisheries Council officially approved new rules relating to biofuels and ILUC. The directive, which the European Parliament accepted earlier this year, amends the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the 1998 Fuel Quality Directive (FQD).

The directive aims to mitigate ILUC emissions by placing a 7% limit on the contribution of first generation biofuels, including those produced from energy crops, towards the RED target.

Commenting on the Council’s approval, the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE) said the new rules must now be ‘implemented quickly to ensure Europe meets its climate and energy targets for transport’. Member States have two years to transpose the new rules. ‘[The] political conclusion to the ILUC debate is long overdue. With only five years left to meet the climate and energy targets for transport, urgent action is now needed at national level to transpose

and apply these new biofuel rules,’ said Robert Wright, secretary general of ePURE. ‘Increasing the amount of sustainable biofuels on the EU market through the roll out of higher biofuel blends, such as E10, is the only realistic, cost-effective way for Member States to meet these targets.’

Robert Wright is just one of many industry experts who will be presenting at our conference later this year. Other speakers include Melanie Williams from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels – whose article on ILUC can be found inside – as well as the European Commission’s Andreas Pilzecker, Rory Deverell from ITNL FCStone, and ISCC System managing director Norbert Schmitz.

For more information about exhibiting, or to register as a delegate, visit www.biofuels-news.com/ conference. We look forward to seeing you in Portugal!

Best wishes, Keeley

Follow us on Twitter: @BiofuelsMag

2 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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bioethanol news Fulcrum Bioenergy partners with United Airlines United Airlines has invested $30 million (€27 million) in Fulcrum Bioenergy and will have the option to directly participate in Fulcrum’s waste-to-jet fuel plants across North America.

United will also have the opportunity to purchase 90 million gallons per year of Fulcrum’s cost-competitive, sustainable jet fuel under long-term offtake agreements, subject to availability.

‘This is a major advancement of Fulcrum’s programme to provide large volumes of commercial and military spec fuel at competitive pricing to the industry. This strategic partnership with United accelerates our whole programme,’ says E. James Macias, Fulcrum’s president and CEO. ‘We have created a business that will compete directly with fossil fuel on the basis of cost and sustainability. Since our inception, Fulcrum has developed a robust operating platform and business plan that brings in large industry leaders to create value throughout the waste to fuels process. We have combined the best team in biofuels with two of the largest waste services companies, two major airlines, the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US

United Airlines will have the option to buy 90 mgy of Fulcrum’s sustainable jet fuel

Department of Agriculture (USDA), the best technology providers and a premier contractor to build out our programme,’ Macias adds.

Fulcrum has partnered and entered into agreements with two of the nation’s largest waste services providers, a subsidiary of Waste Management and Waste Connections, to secure large volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW) under longterm contracts. The Waste Management subsidiary will provide the majority of the volume for the Sierra BioFuels Plant near Reno, Nevada, and Waste Connections will provide the balance under a separate long-term MSW supply agreement.

In May 2015, Fulcrum announced it had executed

a $200 million fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Abengoa for the construction of the Sierra BioFuels Plant.

And last August, Fulcrum announced a strategic partnership with Cathay Pacific Airways, its first with an airline. This partnership included an equity investment and a 10-year fuel offtake agreement. Fulcrum was awarded grants by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and a loan guarantee from the USDA with the expectation that Fulcrum will be a future supplier of renewable transportation fuels to the military.

The combined alliances with United, Cathay Pacific, the DoD and the USDA provide

Fulcrum with a long-term pathway for delivering lowcarbon transportation fuel to the airline industry, the US Navy and the US Air Force.

The Sierra BioFuels Plant is Fulcrum’s first commercial scale plant.

Located approximately 20 miles east of Reno, it will convert more than 180,000 tonnes of prepared MSW feedstock into approximately 12 million gallons per year of renewable syncrude that will be further refined into low carbon transportation fuel.

Permitting, front-end engineering and site preparation activities for the Sierra plant have been completed and construction activities will begin later this year with production beginning in 2017. l

Ergon Biofuels ethanol plant returns to full capacity Ergon Biofuels’ ethanol plant in Vicksburg, Mississippi is back to full operation following a brief suspension in services to facilitate renovations and upgrades.

The plant was originally established in 2007. On 31 December 2013 the facility became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ergon BioSciences and was rebranded as Ergon Biofuels.

The installation of processing upgrades has led to increased ethanol yields and improved dried distillers’ grain.

Implementation of new technology, set for completion later this year, will allow for the production of corn oil, used in biodiesel.

Craig Busbea, general manager for Ergon Biofuels, says: ‘We are excited to have the ethanol plant back in operation. The improvements made to the Vicksburg facility reaffirm Ergon’s commitment to producing biomass energy in Mississippi.’ l

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German engineering Anti-wear technology Customized design

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bioethanol news CNE acquires 24% equity of Hungarian ethanol plant China New Energy (CNE), a bioenergy technology solutions provider, has invested €250,000 to acquire a 24% stake in the Hungary-based Visontai Bioetanol Fejlesztő Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság (Visontai) bioethanol plant.

In November 2013, CNE was contracted by Visontai to design and construct a biorefinery for the production of 150,000 litres per day of corn-based

ethanol. Under the terms of this agreement, CNE has the option to conditionally subscribe for, and to acquire, additional equity in Visontai.

CNE says it has exercised this right with the acquisition of 24% of the equity and, subject to certain contract provisions, could acquire up to 50% of the equity with a further €250,000 investment.

The biorefinery will take 13 months to build and is scheduled to enter production in 2017. Visontai will operate it, while CNE will supply its

proprietary pre-treatment, fermentation, distillation and dehydration technology to the project. It will also provide long-term training, support and maintenance. Local project partners will complete the civil engineering and construction of the biorefinery.

The contract value for CNE is approximately €34 million, of which approximately €11 million will be due by CNE to local subcontractors. Stage payments will be due to CNE based on construction milestones. The corn feedstock

has already been contracted from Hungarian farmers and a long term off-take for the ethanol has been agreed with an international commodity trader.

Mr Yu, chairman of CNE, says: ‘It has been a strategic goal of CNE for some time to buy into a biorefinery project and deliver a recurring income from the sales of bioethanol.

We are delighted to acquire a stake in this European project and look forward to the successful development of the business.’ l

FCStone to supply corn for Gevo’s Luverne plant

CHS acquires Patriot Renewable Fuels ethanol plant

FCStone Merchant Services is to originate and supply corn for Gevo’s plant in Luverne, Minnesota after the two companies entered into an agreement.

CHS, a North American farmer-owned cooperative and global energy, grains and foods company, has acquired the Patriot Renewable Fuels ethanol plant from Patriot Holdings.

Engaging FCStone to conduct Gevo’s corn purchasing at Luverne is expected to free up more than $1 million (€900,000) of working capital, which has previously been tied up in corn inventory.

By leveraging FCStone’s scale and corn buying expertise, Gevo expects to improve its corn purchasing capabilities by increasing the number of suppliers (farmers and elevators) from which it will buy corn, and by extending the duration of its forward corn purchasing commitments, which should enable Gevo to take advantage of lower corn price environments.

As part of this arrangement, Gevo will pay an origination fee for every bushel of corn it purchases from FCStone. FCStone will pay Gevo an annual fee for leasing the corn storage bins at the Luverne plant.

FCStone is a division of INTL FCStone

Gevo will benefit from lower corn price environments

and a leader in providing specialised financial services in commodities, securities, global payments, foreign exchange and other markets to its clients. It utilises origination tools to assist commercial organisations in sourcing their grain needs.

FCStone designs new programs to procure corn by working closely with commercial grain elevators, livestock feeders and ethanol plants, with the goal of enhancing margins. l

The Annawan, Illinois facility produces 125 million gallons of ethanol annually, and is the second ethanol plant that CHS has purchased; in June 2014 it acquired the former Illinois River Energy plant at Rochelle, Illinois.

‘CHS will pursue ethanol manufacturing ownership in strategic current and new geographies that allow us to add value for our owners across our ag business and energy enterprise from inputs to value-added fuel and feed ingredients to the marketplace,’ comments Gary Anderson, CHS senior VP, North America grain marketing and renewable fuels.

The facility will be rebranded as CHS and its 68 employees will become CHS employees. l

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bioethanol news Pacific Ethanol completes Aventine merger Pacific Ethanol, a producer and marketer of renewable fuels in the western US, has completed its merger with Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings.

our ethanol production capacity, this synergistic transaction expands our geographic footprint, leverages our existing infrastructure to reach new markets and customers and enhances our overall scale and co-product diversification. We look forward to working with Neil Koehler, the company’s the Aventine employees to president and CEO, says: ‘We achieve a smooth integration are pleased to complete this and accelerate the growth of acquisition, establishing Pacific our combined company.’

Ethanol as the sixth largest Per the terms of the definitive producer of ethanol in the US. In merger agreement, Aventine addition to more than doubling stockholders received 1.25

shares of Pacific Ethanol common stock for each share of Aventine common stock owned at closing. As a result, Pacific Ethanol issued approximately 17.76 million shares in the merger, resulting in 42.5 million total shares outstanding as of 1 July 2015.

Aventine had term debt of approximately $145 million (€130.5 million) as of 1 July.

Aventine’s ethanol production assets include its 100 million gallon per year wet mill and 60 million gallon per year dry mill

located in Pekin, Illinois, and its 110 million gallon per year and 45 million gallon per year dry mills in Aurora, Nebraska.

Combined with Pacific Ethanol’s current ethanol production capacity of 200 million gallons per year, the combined company will have a total ethanol production capacity of 515 million gallons per year and, together with Pacific Ethanol’s marketing business, is expected to sell over 800 million gallons of ethanol annually, based on historical volumes. l

DuPont signs deal to bring cellulosic ethanol to China

Advanced Ethanol Council changes name and expands membership

DuPont and Jilin Province New Tianlong Industry (NTL) have announced a licensing agreement to begin the development of China’s largest cellulosic ethanol manufacturing plant, located in Siping City, Jilin Province.

The Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC), an advanced and cellulosic ethanol producers and technology providers’ advocate group, is expanding its organisational charter to include other types of advanced biofuels.

The agreement allows NTL to license DuPont’s cellulosic ethanol technology and use DuPont Accellerase enzymes, to produce renewable biofuel from the leftover biomass on the province’s corn farms. NTL is working to secure the necessary government approvals and support to implement this agreement.

Combining NTL’s ethanol production expertise with processing technology, technical support and enzymes supplied by DuPont, NTL will be able to produce cellulosic renewable fuel for the rapidly growing Chinese liquid biofuel market, which is projected to exceed 1.7 billion gallons per year by 2020.

‘As we bring online the largest and most sophisticated cellulosic facility in the world in the state of Iowa in the US, we are simultaneously working with leaders who share the same vision of producing the next generation of clean renewable fuels in their region,’ says Jan Koninckx, global biofuels leader for DuPont Industrial Biosciences.

This announcement is particularly important in light of China’s aggressive goals for renewable energy, cutting its reliance on foreign oil and increasing employment opportunities for its large number of rural citizens. l

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The new group, called the Advanced Biofuels Business Council (ABBC), has also announced new corporate and board members.

‘The Council is already taking a collaborative approach to problem solving and advancing policy positions to accelerate the commercial deployment of many different types of advanced biofuels,’ says Adam Monroe, president of the Americas for Novozymes and ABBC chairman, ‘so this is really about accurately reflecting the breadth of our membership and their advanced technologies, while continuing to put the industry in the best position to succeed.’

As part of the expansion, the Council announced a number of other membership moves, with two existing members – Poet-DSM and Cellerate (a cellulosic biofuel joint venture between Quad County Corn Processors and Syngenta) – taking seats on the board of directors.

New member company Aemetis, an advanced renewable fuels and biochemicals company, will also join the board.

Sweetwater Energy, a renewable biochemical producer who uses a unique technology to convert low-cost plant materials to a variety of high-value biochemical, will join ABBC as a corporate member.

As membership grows, ABBC aims to push an agenda focused on defending and enabling the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), building political support for comprehensive tax reform and expanding market access for advanced biofuels.

‘If you look at the history of policymaking for renewable fuels, it is very clear that good things happen when we stick together and speak with one voice. That’s what we are focused on at the Council, putting the advanced bio-refining industry in the best position to succeed,’ says executive director Brooke Coleman. l

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bioethanol news ArcelorMittal, LanzaTech and Primetals Technologies partner for €87m biofuel plant Carbon recycling company LanzaTech has entered into a letter of intent with steel and mining company ArcelorMittal, and Primetals Technologies, a technology and service provider to the iron and steel industry, for the construction of Europe’s firstever commercial scale production facility to produce bioethanol from waste gases generated during the steelmaking process.

The resulting bioethanol will be predominantly used in petrol blending, but it can also be further processed into other products such as drop in jet fuel.

The plant will produce 47,000 tonnes per year of ethanol, sufficient to fuel 500,000 cars with ethanol blended petrol.

Approximately 50% of the carbon used in the chemistry of steelmaking leaves the process as carbon monoxide. Today, this waste gas stream is either flared or used to heat and power the steel mill.

In either case, the carbon monoxide is combusted and the resulting CO2 is emitted. LanzaTech’s technology,

however, recycles the waste gases and ferments them with a proprietary microbe to produce bioethanol. Every tonne of bioethanol produced displaces 5.2 barrels of petrol as well as reducing ArcelorMittal’s CO2 emissions by 2.3 tonnes.

Construction of the €87 million flagship pilot project, which will be located at ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, is anticipated to commence later this year, with bioethanol production expected to start mid-2017. Construction will be in two phases, with phase one providing an initial capacity of 16,000 tonnes of ethanol per annum by mid-2017 and phase two, which will be completed in 2018, bringing the total capacity to 47,000 tonnes of ethanol per annum.

ArcelorMittal, which has been working on this project since 2011, has signed a long-term partnership agreement with LanzaTech. Hence, once construction of the Ghent flagship plant is complete and the commercial viability of the project is proven, the intention is to construct further plants across ArcelorMittal’s operations. If scaled up to its full potential in Europe, the technology could enable the production of around 500,000 tonnes a year of bioethanol.

‘This partnership is an example of how

we are looking at all potential opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions and support a transition to a lower carbon economy,’ says Carl De Maré, VP of innovation at ArcelorMittal. ‘Steel is produced through a chemical process that results in high levels of waste gases being emitted. This new technology will enable us to convert some of these waste gases into fuels that deliver significant environmental benefits when compared to conventional fossil fuels. It is a further example of why our carbon footprint should be viewed on a life cycle analysis basis, given steel is 100% recyclable and the material impact we make on reducing the carbon footprint of our customers through product innovation.’

As the production of bioethanol is a new activity, ArcelorMittal intends to set up a dedicated company for the roll out of this technology with strategic financial partners. Financing will be sought from a number of different sources. A total of €10.2 million has been secured under the EU’s 2020 Horizon programme for R&D and talks are currently taking place with potential equity and debt partners.

Primetals Technologies will be responsible for part of the engineering, automation, key equipment and commissioning. l

Ensyn and Youngstown Thermal sign RFO biofuel supply agreement Ensyn Fuels, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ensyn, has signed a contract with Youngstown Thermal for the supply of RFO – Ensyn’s advanced cellulosic biofuel.

Ensyn Fuels is to provide Youngstown Thermal up to 2,500,000 gallons of RFO per year, with deliveries to begin as soon as the fourth quarter of 2015, in time for the 2015-2016 winter season.

Youngstown Thermal will use the RFO to displace up to 50% of its fuel needs in a natural gas fuelled boiler. This five-year contract follows a series of successful RFO combustion demonstrations carried out at Youngstown Thermal in 2014.

Youngstown Thermal is the owner and operator of a steam distribution system in Youngstown, Ohio. It provides steam for heat and hot water for the central business district of the city, including the university.

Ensyn’s RFO is a liquid fuel produced from non-food solid biomass including forest and mill residues. RFO, essentially ‘liquid wood’, displaces petroleum fuels in heating operations and is also a renewable feedstock for refineries for the production of spec petrol and diesel.

Ensyn Fuels’ initial deliveries of RFO are expected to be produced at its 3 million gallon per year facility in Ontario, with eventual supply from the Ontario facility and/or one of several new projects Ensyn and its partners are developing

in eastern Canada and eastern US. Ensyn’s Ontario facility has been qualified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the US Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) programme. Ensyn expects that sales of RFO to Youngstown Thermal will qualify for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the RFS. Ensyn Fuels will provide Youngstown Thermal with dedicated on-site storage for the RFO as well as a delivery system, including a new burner.

The contract with Youngstown Thermal is the third long-term supply contract Ensyn has signed committing RFO from its expanding production capacity and the first supply contract to be signed for district heating. l

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biodiesel news IncBio to supply 75,000 tpy biodiesel plant to Colombia Portugal-based IncBio, an engineering company and specialist in fully automated industrial ultrasonic biodiesel plants, has secured an agreement to design and build a 75,000 tonne per year biodiesel plant for Biocosta Green Energy in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The facility will produce biodiesel directly from crude palm oil blended with palm acid oil and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) up to a total of 25% FFA. It will include pre-treatment, acid esterification with IncBio’s solid catalyst technology, transesterification, dry wash using ion exchange resin and biodiesel distillation. It will incorporate IncBio’s ultrasonic technology in all steps of the plant in order to produce the highest quality biodiesel at the lowest possible cost.

The plant will use local, sustainable palm oil as

A 3D rendering of the 75,000 tpy biodiesel plant

feedstock when it begins operations in May 2016.

José Marques, CEO of IncBio, says: ‘The client has awarded this contract to IncBio because our unique crude vegetable oil-tobiodiesel process has proven to be the most cost effective in both CAPEX and OPEX terms.

By using ultrasonic technology we can reduce the amount of catalyst and reagents required

in all steps of the process, compared to traditional technologies, whilst producing the highest quality biodiesel.

‘Using our unique multifeedstock technology, industrial units are able to convert a range of raw materials with up to 100% FFA into high quality biodiesel, exceeding the strict standards of EN14214 and ASTM D6751.

The range of feedstock our

plants are able to process includes crude vegetable oils, waste materials and by-products such as used cooking oil, animal fats, distilled FFAD, PFAD, trap grease oil, etc. Our process is revolutionising the way the biodiesel market is evolving, by ensuring complete flexibility of feedstock, helping struggling plants back onto profitability.’ l

USDA to invest up to $100m to boost infrastructure for renewable fuel use The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to $100 million (€91 million) in a Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership to support the infrastructure needed to make more renewable fuel options available to American consumers.

Specifically, USDA will administer competitive grants to match funding for state-led efforts to test and evaluate innovative and comprehensive approaches to market higher blends of renewable fuel, such as E15 and E85.

States that are able to provide greater

than a one-to-one ratio in funding will receive higher consideration.

‘A combination of factors, including lower commodity prices and reduced demand for feed as the poultry industry recovers from highly pathogenic avian influenza, are creating uncertainty for America’s corn and soyabean producers. With this partnership, USDA is helping to ensure the infrastructure is in place for consumers to access more renewable fuels, expand marketing opportunities for farmers, and grow America’s rural economies,’ says agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack.

Higher blends of renewable fuel offer significant potential for increasing

the use of renewable fuels in the US petrol pool, but currently the typical gas pump can deliver fuel containing a maximum of 10% ethanol, limiting the amount of renewable energy consumers can use to fuel their cars.

The new partnership will help support the installation of fuel pumps capable of supplying higher blends of renewable fuel by partnering with states to fund innovative, public-private partnerships to test more comprehensive approaches to marketing such blends. This new investment seeks to double the number of fuel pumps capable of supplying higher blends of renewable fuel to consumers, such as E15 and E85. l

10 july/august 2015 biofuels international

biodiesel news Boeing, Japanese aviation industry unveil biofuel ‘roadmap’ to 2020 Olympics Boeing and Japanese aviation industry stakeholders have charted a course to develop sustainable aviation biofuel for flights during the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

The Initiatives for Next Generation Aviation Fuels (INAF) – a consortium of 46 organisations including Boeing, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Japan’s government and the University of Tokyo – laid out a five-year roadmap to develop biofuel by 2020 as a way to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint.

Using sustainably produced biofuel reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by 50-80%

compared to conventional petroleum fuel, according to the US Department of Energy.

‘Boeing is proud to work with Japan’s aviation sector, including customers and the Japanese government, to achieve their ambitious goals for developing sustainable aviation biofuel,’ says George Maffeo, president of Boeing Japan. ‘Building on our longstanding relationships in Japan, we are committed to help reduce aviation’s carbon emissions and its reliance on fossil fuel.’

INAF said the Olympics and Paralympics are ‘the perfect opportunity’ for Japan and its airlines to showcase their environmental commitment.

Shinji Suzuki, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Tokyo, adds: ‘As the new aviation biofuel ‘roadmap’ indicates, Japan

is ready to accelerate development and use of sustainable aviation fuels by the 2020 Olympics.’

The report’s conclusions include: • Industry, government and academia in Japan need to collaborate to promote the introduction of sustainable aviation biofuel to support Japan’s energy security and reduce aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

• Potential feedstocks, or biologically based sources, that could be used to produce sustainable aviation biofuel in Japan include municipal solid waste, plant oils and animal fats, used cooking oil, algae, cellulosic biomass and residues from the wood products industry.

• Policy incentives promoting the introduction of next generation aviation fuels are

a prerequisite to success in aviation biofuel use.

INAF was established in May 2014 with the aim of establishing a supply chain for next generation aviation fuels in Japan. Its roadmap process assessed the entire biofuel supply chain, including procurement of raw materials, production of sustainable aviation fuel, blending biofuel with conventional petroleum jet fuel and how biofuel will be incorporated into an airport’s fuelling infrastructure.

As part of Boeing’s commitment to protect the environment and support long-term sustainable growth for commercial aviation, the company has active biofuel projects on six continents, including in the US, Australia, Brazil, Africa, China, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. l

Biodiesel plant opens in Ontario Atlantic Biodiesel has officially opened its state-of-the-art renewable fuel facility located in the Niagara Greenbelt in Welland, Ontario.

‘Our facility is up and running. We are excited to be a part of this community and to support the local economy. We are making a commitment today; where we are able to, we’re going to source locally,’ says Michael Paszti, COO of Atlantic Biodiesel.

The new Atlantic Biodiesel facility is one of the largest plants of its kind in North America, producing 45 million gallons per year of renewable biodiesel and 4 million gallons per year of high-grade glycerine.

It is strategically located within close proximity of rail infrastructure, providing for storage and shipping ability to a range of North American markets.

‘The facility will bring approximately 25 direct jobs and significant indirect business to the area,’ says Mayor Frank Campion. l

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Atlantic Biodiesel’s plant in Ontario

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biodiesel news Amyris and Total to proceed with jet fuel JV Industrial bioscience company Amyris and Total Energies Nouvelles Activités USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total S.A., (Total) have announced plans to restructure their existing fuels joint venture.

The agreement will allow Amyris to proceed with the commercialisation of its jet fuel technology over the coming years.

Following the restructuring, Total would own 75% of the joint venture with Amyris.

In conjunction with this transaction, Amyris has also agreed on key business terms with Total and Temasek, another major stockholder of Amyris, under which these stockholders would exchange an aggregate of $138 million (€124.6 million) of convertible debt for Amyris common stock at a price of $2.30 per share. An additional $37 million of outstanding convertible debt will be restructured to eliminate Amyris’s repayment obligation at maturity and provide for mandatory conversion to Amyris common stock.

The closing of the exchange transactions would be subject to customary closing conditions, including any required board of directors or other internal approvals, and regulatory approvals or notices. l

Alaska Airlines, WSU partner to advance use of aviation biofuels Alaska Airlines is teaming up with the Washington State University-led Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) to advance the production and use of alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals.

of Food and Agriculture, and is comprised of 22 member organisations from industry, academia and government laboratories. Its mission is to facilitate the development of biojet and bio-product industries in the Pacific Northwest using forest residuals that would otherwise become waste products. A key task of the project is to evaluate the economic, environmental and societal benefits and impacts associated with such developments.

‘Developing alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals represents a significant economic challenge with considerable sustainability benefits,’ comments Michael Wolcott, NARA co-director.

In 2011, Alaska Airlines became the first US airline to fly multiple commercial passenger flights using a biofuel refined from used cooking oil. The carrier flew 75 flights between Seattle and Washington, D.C. and Seattle and Portland.

Alaska has set the ambitious goal of using a sustainable aviation biofuel blend on all flights departing one or more airports by 2020. l

As the airline partner for NARA, Alaska Airlines intends next year to fly a demonstration flight using 1,000 gallons of alternative biofuel being produced by the NARA team and its many partners.

NARA’s focus is on developing alternative jet fuel derived from post-harvest forest residuals.

Residual treetops and branches are often burned after timber harvest.

‘Sustainable biofuels are a key to aviation’s future and critical in helping the industry and Alaska Airlines reduce its carbon footprint and dependency on fossil fuels,’ says Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines senior VP of external relations.

NARA is a five-year project supported by the US Department of Agriculture, National Institute

Green3Power to build a $175m biofuel plant in Florida Green3Power Operations, a wholly owned subsidiary of BioPower Operations, has been granted permission to build a $175 million (€158.5 million) biofuels plant in Florida’s St. Lucie County, US. The energy facility will convert waste into ultra-low sulfur synthetic green No. 2 diesel fuel using G3P’s gasification technology and the FischerTropsch process. It will be located at

the existing St. Lucie County Solid Waste Management Facility, helping to extend the life of the landfill.

G3P is in talks with St. Lucie County to develop a renewable energy gasification facility at the County’s Glades Road Landfill. G3P has finalised the site plan and the project will be presented to the County Commissioners on 21 July for their consideration.

G3P has been working with Vanderweil Engineering, a joint venture partner in the plant which will convert approximately 1,000 tonnes per day

of municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, used tires and yard waste to synthetic diesel fuel. If additional waste is required, it will be sourced from the County landfill.

Green3Power Operations and Vanderweil will provide design, permitting, engineering, procurement and contractor (EPC) services during the next 18 months while the plant undergoes permitting and construction. G3P will also provide operations and maintenance for the facilities for 20 years with a 10-year extension, after it has been built. l

12 july/august 2015 biofuels international

REG starts $31m upgrade of US biodiesel refinery US biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group (REG) has commenced a $31 million (€28.6 million) upgrade of its Danville, Illinois biodiesel refinery.

It’s in Our Nature

The refinery, with the production capacity of 45 million gallons, will be made capable of distilling biodiesel to eliminate impurities and produce a pure form of biomass-based diesel that exceeds industry quality standards, according to REG. Other scheduled work includes pre-treatment capacity improvements, as well as storage, logistics and other optimisation enhancements.

Fifth Third Bank will finance up to $12 million of the project cost and an existing loan facility will be extended to December 2017.

REG bought the Danville biorefinery in 2010.

The current project is the company’s sixth major enhancement of such plant since late 2012. l

US senators urge EPA to increase biodiesel production volumes A group of 36 US senators from both major parties have sent an open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to increase the biodiesel production volumes proposed under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

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The letter comes in the aftermath of EPA setting a lower limit on biodiesel production than originally envisioned by the US Congress, which has drawn heavy criticism from both the biofuel industry and US lawmakers.

In the letter, the senators voice their concern of EPA failing to recognise domestic US biodiesel industry’s production capacity.

‘While the proposal put forward by EPA is an improvement over the November 2013 proposal, it would only grow biodiesel volumes to 1.9 billion gallons by 2017 which is just slightly more than the industry’s actual production of more than 1.8 billion gallons in 2013.

‘We believe the domestic biodiesel industry is fully capable of additional growth and urge the EPA to revise the volumes in the final rule,’ the letter reads.

The group – led by Republicans Chuck Grassley, Iowa and Roy Blunt, Missouri, and Democrats Patty Murray, Washington and Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota – also says EPA’s actions over the past year have created tremendous uncertainty and hardship for US biodiesel industry and that levels need to be reconsidered to prevent domestic product from being replaced by imports.

EPA is expected to finalise the volume rulings by 30 November, with the public comment period closing on 27 July. l

technology news Celtic Renewables receives European award for innovation Celtic Renewables, a biofuels company based in Edinburgh, UK, has been named Europe’s most innovative biotech SME by the European Association for Bioindustries (EuropaBio).

The company received the nomination for producing the world’s first biofuel capable of powering vehicles from the residues left over from whiskey production.

The award, along with a cheque for €10,000, was presented at the European Parliament by Carlos Moedas, the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

Accepting the award, Celtic Renewables founder and president Professor Martin Tangney said: ‘This recognition by EuropaBio and the European Parliament is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with Celtic Renewables.

‘It highlights the importance of the real need to get biotechnologies such as ours to the market and we are fully committed to playing our small part in growing a bioeconomy in Europe.’

Nathalie Moll, secretary general of EuropaBio added: ‘The work and stories of this year’s shortlisted SMEs provide an incredibly inspiring insight

Celtic Renewables founder and president Martin Tangney (left) receiving award from EU Commissioner Carlos Moedas

into the value, diversity and potential of European biotechnology for citizens.’

The annual Most Innovative European Biotech SME Awards is organised by the EuropaBio to recognise the crucial role played by small and medium sized biotech firms in responding to some of society’s greatest challenges.

The awards were judged by a panel drawn from members of the European Parliament and other biotech experts.

The jury shortlisted five companies from across Europe for the finals that took place during the Benefits of Biotechnology event, which included keynote addresses from Commissioner Moedas and Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.

Celtic Renewables produces sustainable ‘drop-in’ advanced biofuel (biobutanol) from the 2 billion litres of liquid effluent and 750,000 tonnes of barley residue produced annually by the £4 billion (€5.7 billion) malt whisky industry.

The company – a spin-out from Edinburgh Napier University’s Biofuel Research Centre – is currently targeting a share of a £25 million fund for advanced biofuel development from the Department for Transport to build its first commercial scale demonstration facility at a site in Scotland. l

Bioethanol technology validated at Berkeley Lab Microvi Biotechnologies, an innovator of biocatalytic processes working with the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit (ABPDU) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has demonstrated improvements to biological ethanol production.

Microvi’s technology uses engineered biocatalyst composites which have been synthetically designed to alleviate ethanol toxicity on the cells which produce it, induce higher feedstock conversion yields and efficiencies, and enable robust and repeatable continuous fermentation.

The technology, which is now commercially available, is also designed to limit microbial contaminants in the production process.

In the first phase of the MicroviABPDU collaboration, Microvi’s biocatalytic technology was compared with a conventional yeast ethanol production (control) system run in parallel, at bench scale, at the ABPDU. The investigation showed that even under non-optimined conditions, the Microvi technology achieved higher performance values than the control system.

A preliminary techno-economic evaluation by Microvi indicates that the combined impact of higher productivity, increased titers, and near complete conversion of feedstock to ethanol represents a strong case for cost reduction by ethanol and bio-based chemical producers.

‘The type of technology represented by this new biocatalytic process could play a key role in improving ethanol production economics and scaling using traditional first generation feedstocks as well as leveraging second generation non-food energy crops and agricultural residue,’ says Todd Pray, program head at the ABPDU. l

14 july/august 2015 biofuels international

technology news Solvay opens biotechnology lab in Brazil In Brazil, Solvay has opened its first fully dedicated Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory (IBL) to boost the development of innovations and solutions based on sustainable chemistry, used in a growing range of end-markets.

The fully integrated laboratory in Paulinia will chiefly focus on researching new processes and molecules derived from biomass, which is mostly plant or vegetable based and abundantly

available in Brazil with its favourable climate and vast surface.

‘With this laboratory Solvay can further nourish its innovation portfolio, using renewable resources, with tailored solutions to meet sustainability demands from customers in multiple endmarkets,’ says Louis Neltner, Solvay’s Research and Innovation Group general manager. ‘Thanks to Brazil’s wide variety of biomass, competitive agricultural businesses and biotech expertise the country has all the required conditions to develop and grow products and solutions based on renewable resources.’

The laboratory’s researchers will work jointly with the group’s Global Business units in Solvay’s research and innovation centres worldwide as well as with external partners including public and private institutions.

For many decades now Solvay has been developing products and solutions based on bio-sourced raw materials such as ethanol and glycerol. Its growth and innovation strategy responds to society’s challenges in dealing with the scarcity of resources amid growing industrialisation, urbanisation and an increasing number of consumers. l

Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 expands testing to improve aviation’s environmental performance Boeing has announced the next phase in ecoDemonstrator 757 testing, including the first flight with US-made ‘green diesel’ and two new environmentrelated technologies.

These developments advance the ecoDemonstrator programme’s mission to accelerate the testing and use of technologies to improve aviation’s environmental performance.

‘With the ecoDemonstrator, Boeing looks to reduce environmental impact through the aeroplane’s lifecycle, from improving fuel efficiency and cutting carbon emissions to recycling production materials,’ says Mike Sinnett, VP of product development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. ‘In addition to our new technologies, flying the ecoDemonstrator 757 with US-made green diesel is another positive step toward reducing our industry’s use of fossil fuel.’

NASA and TUI Group, the world’s largest integrated tourism group, are collaborating with Boeing on ecoDemonstrator 757 tests.

In cooperation with NASA, the 757 flew on 17 June from Seattle to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, using a blend of 95% petroleum jet fuel and 5% sustainable green diesel,

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The ecoDemonstrator 757 is fuelled with a blend of 95% petroleum jet fuel and 5% green diesel.

The green diesel was made from waste animal fats, inedible corn oil and used cooking oil

a biofuel used in ground transportation.

Boeing is working with the aviation industry to approve green diesel for commercial aviation by amending the HEFA biojet specification approved in 2011. This would make aviation biofuel more widely available and price competitive with Jet A including US government incentives. Diamond Green Diesel in Norco, Louisiana produced the 757’s green diesel from waste animal

fats, inedible corn oil and used cooking oil to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 80% less than petroleum jet fuel.

The green diesel flight to Langley was coordinated with the US Federal Aviation Administration, Pratt & Whitney and Honeywell, among others. Epic Aviation blended the fuel. In December 2014, the ecoDemonstrator 787 made the firstever flights with green diesel, which is a different fuel product than biodiesel. l

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technology news New IRENA Platform supports renewable energy innovation, quality and collaboration The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched a new online platform which will enable policy makers and other energy sector players to access the world’s largest collection of global renewable energy standards and patents.

The International Standards and Patents in Renewable Energy platform, also known as INSPIRE, is the first and most complete solution of its kind, helping users search through, locate and analyse 400 international standards and more than 2 million patents for renewable energy technology.

‘The INSPIRE platform provides a strategic window into the innovation and growth taking place in the renewable energy sector,’ says IRENA directorgeneral Adnan Amin. ‘It consolidates vast collections of renewable energy patents and standards, which can foster

collaboration between innovators, spur improvement through product comparison and benchmarking and help identify partners, matching domestic energy needs to innovative energy solutions.’

A collaboration between IRENA, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) means the INSPIRE platform has multiple functionalities.

The standards section enables users to search through a database of more than 400 internationally used standards and generate reports as needed. It also explains what standards are, how they can be used and why they are important for quality assurance, investor confidence and technology trading. The patents section houses the world’s most comprehensive global patent database for carbon mitigation technologies, the EPO’s PATSTAT, which contains nearly 2 million patent documents.

‘The INSPIRE platform demonstrates the role of the global patent system as a

support for innovation in renewable energy, encouraging research and development in technologies to serve modern energy needs while addressing climate change,’ comments EPO president Benôit Battistelli.

‘INSPIRE also showcases the role of patent information, which provides valuable high-level information to advise policy makers on the renewable energy sector.’

The combination of resources on INSPIRE will help users analyse various aspects of renewable energy policy and innovation. It can help indicate the effectiveness of policies to promote renewable energy innovation through the analysis of trends in patent activity.

Users can also perform metadata analysis of technology trends, comparing development within, or between, different technologies. For example, the number of patents filed for renewable energy technology has increased annually by more than 20% in recent years, while the average increase for other technologies is around 6%. l

Norwegian company to convert woody biomass into transportation fuels SynSel Energi AS, a member of SynSel Energy Inc. (SynSel), has entered into an IH2 process demonstration license agreement with CRI/Criterion Catalyst Company, a member of the CRI Catalyst group (CRI), a global group of catalyst technology companies.

IH2 technology is a continuous catalytic thermo-chemical process which converts a broad range of forestry/ agricultural residues and municipal wastes directly into renewable hydrocarbon transportation fuels and/ or blend stocks.

The Basic Engineering Package for the 5 tonne per

day demonstration plant located in Grenland, Norway is to be completed over a period of several months by Zeton of Ontario, Canada. Zeton is the preferred engineering services provider for IH2 facilities at demonstration scale.

The IH2 demonstration plant will be integrated into an existing third party petrochemical manufacturing site, allowing for optimised capital and operating expense.

Zeton’s engineering and fabrication experience with IH2 technology at the bench and pilot scale will assist in de-risking subsequent commercial scale designs.

SynSel recognises the potential of the IH2 technology to monetise residual biomass and cost-effectively deliver renewable hydrocarbon fuels and/or blend stocks

at prices competitive with fossil fuels currently. The company intends to extend its collaboration with CRI and its partners to implement the IH2 technology on a commercial scale in Norway initially. Innovation Norway has provided initial funding support for the demonstration plant as an integral pathway to several commercial IH2 plants in Norway.

The design feedstock for the facility will be forest residues including slash, sawdust, bark and woodchips with the ability to process select agricultural and municipal residues as well. IH2 hydrocarbons produced from these feedstocks span the petrol, jet and diesel range. The hydrocarbons currently meet the ASTM specifications for their respective road transport

fuels, positioned for the US market as an E10 petrol fully renewable product or as a 100% fully renewable on-road diesel. Ongoing research indicates a high probability to achieve EN specification fuels or high-quality blend stocks.

Jet-range hydrocarbon blend stocks are also produced.

The IH2 process was developed by Gas Technology Institute (GTI) of Des Plaines, Illinois – a research, development, and training organisation serving energy markets. GTI experts invented, tested, and patented IH2 technology and are providing ongoing commercialisation support. Twelve US and seven international patents have been issued on the technology. CRI Catalyst has been granted exclusive worldwide licensing rights. l

16 july/august 2015 biofuels international

technology news Whitefox ethanol dehydration unit ready for commissioning at Pacific Ethanol Whitefox, a clean fuel membrane specialist, has delivered and is commissioning its industrial scale membrane system to Pacific Ethanol on schedule.

Pacific Ethanol’s Madera plant with the Whitefox dehydration system installed

The objective of the project is to reduce the consumption of water, energy and emissions in the production of ethanol while increasing product output at Pacific Ethanol’s Madera plant in California.

The agreement between Whitefox and Pacific Ethanol was announced in May and the standalone, container based membrane system has been delivered and installed at the plant.

Tie-ins and commissioning have begun, with start-up scheduled shortly.

The membrane unit will be used to assess the impact of treating certain side streams in the ethanol production process and optimise the design of a membrane solution to remove bottlenecks, improve production efficiency and increase capacity at the Madera plant. l

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biofuels incident report A summary of the recent explosions, fires and leaks in the biofuels industry Date 5/7/2015

Location

Company

Incident information

Iowa, US

Canadian Pacific Railroads

Canadian Pacific Railroads has nearly finished clean-up and environmental monitoring after a 4 February 2015 train derailment caused ethanol to spill into the Mississippi River near Dubuque.

Most of the ethanol carried in the 15 derailed tanker cars was removed, but some of it managed to spill into soil and water around the accident site.

After soil replacement, environmental monitoring around the site shows no further ethanol contamination.

A final report on the clean-up is expected by the end of summer.

HOC Transport

A tanker carrying between 8,000 and 10,000 gallons of ethanol exploded and caught on fire on a junction bridge on Interstate 70 motorway.

The 50-year-old driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and he is facing charges.

The tanker’s entire haul burned, melting metal traffic girders and concrete, and causing massive disturbances in rush hour traffic.

The incident caused heavy structural damage to the bridge, with repair costs expected to rise up to $1 million (€905,000).

Officials say repair work could take weeks or even months and have applied to federal emergency funding.

No official announcement about the causes of the accident have been made at the time of writing.

1/7/2015 Ohio, US

21/06/2015

Minnesota, US

Poet

An explosion at the 42 million gallon per year facility in Glenville injured two workers after ethanol vapours leaked from piping and caught fire.

According to plant manager Steve McNinch, the facility was closed after the incident.

The building sustained damage, but no further details have been released.

At the time of writing there was no scheduled date for restarting the plant.

The incident is not expected to affect ethanol prices.

Coincidentally, the local fire services had just recently carried out a safety check, so they were able to act with great speed and precision.

11/06/2015

Iowa, US

N/A

A driver was injured when his truck transporting biodiesel rolled over after he lost control of the vehicle.

The transported biodiesel reportedly spilled to the ground.

04/06/2015

Naracoorte, Australia

N/A

A building at a Southern Australian biodiesel plant caught fire and burned out of control for several hours, causing an estimated AU$20,000 (€13,800) worth of damages.

The fire was brought under control during the same day, with one person taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

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Look mum, no refuelling!

A new breakthrough for biofuels was achieved when a race car drove across the US on just a single tank of renewable diesel for the first time in history. But what went into turning this achievement from ambition to reality?

Imagine, if you will, a road trip during which you wouldn’t have to stop for refuelling once. Some might say such a thing would ruin the fun, but to the people at Neste, a Finland-based oil and fuel refining and marketing company, it was a goal. A goal they have now achieved.

Four-time X Games champion Tanner Foust’s arrival in Santa Monica, California, marked the end of the first drive across the US on a single tank of renewable fuel. Driving a brightly-coloured white, blue and green race car, Foust completed the last stage of the more than 2,400-mile trip from Florida’s Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean on the Interstate 10, the fourth-longest transcontinental highway in the US. The drive was a feat of engineering, people, and fuel, all working together to make history. The project was started

by Pat O’Keefe, CEO and president of CLP Motorsports, VP at Golden Gate Petroleum, and one of the three other drivers in addition to Foust.

He wanted to do something to promote renewable fuels – and no doubt to have a reason to drive across the country.

When searching for the right fuel for the trip, Pat knew where to look.

The NEXBTL renewable diesel by Neste has been sold

by Golden Gate in the San Francisco area since 2013, and O’Keefe was keen on using it.

‘What a great opportunity to be able to partner with

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Neste on this project so that we can help bring awareness to the public about this amazing fuel – NeXBTL renewable diesel,’ he says.

NEXTBTL is a low-carbon renewable diesel, which complies with the ASTM D-975 and also meets the requirements of California’s diesel fuel programme.

‘Motorists expect a lower carbon footprint as well as lower tailpipe emissions from renewable fuels, without compromising high quality and good performance. We made this unique trip to show that advanced biofuels such as NEXBTL renewable diesel meet these requirements,’ says Kaisa Hietala, executive VP of renewable products at Neste.

And for a trip such as this, no ordinary car will do.

CPL created a custom-built Superlite Coupe (SLC) race car, running on a modified 1.9-litre Volkswagen TDI diesel engine with a 48.6 gallon fuel tank.

The car was built with maximum efficiency in mind, and so its aerodynamically designed body was manufactured out of fibreglass with a light-weight aluminium monocoque chassis. The result was a vehicle with all the power and handling of a fully-fledged race car, but which was still legal to drive on the street.

With the car built and fuelled, the cross-country trip could begin, but not before the SLC’s fuel tank was sealed to prevent any funny business from happening during the journey. The task of driving was split between four aces: the already mentioned O’Keefe and Foust, CLP Motorsports GM Luke Lonberger, who holds a Formula Drift driving license and has competed in several other motorsport series, and Michael von Disterlo, CLP’s lead technician and another Formula Drift driver, who has

The Neste and CLP Motorsports-built SLC race car drove across the US on a single tank of renewable diesel

been competing in a Northern Californian pro-am series for the past two seasons.

The drive lasted a total of 37 hours and two minutes, with one official pit stop in Houston, Texas, to give a break to the drivers, if not the car. Accompanying the SLC were two support vehicles, who did not fare quite as well with the task, and 16 other stops were required to accommodate the needs of vehicles and, occasionally, drivers who had had too much coffee.

When the car finally reached the finish line in Santa Monica after 2,507 miles, its fuel

consumption was measured.

During the drive, the SLC burned 37.6 gallons of fuel at a 66 mph average speed, yielding an average fuel consumption of 66.7 miles per gallon. Neste estimates that the use NEXBTL during the journey cut about 75% of GHG emissions when compared to one which would have been done on a regular car using regular diesel.

At the end of the long journey, the thirsty drivers were rewarded with glasses of champagne. But Neste would not reveal whether the car got its tank filled with a new load of fuel. l

Top Tweets A selection of fascinating tidbits heard through our Tweetvine! (@biofuelsmag) Sari Mannonen ‫@‏‬SariMannonen Finland’s R&D investment has been ranked second in the world! @goodnewsfinland #innovation #education #entrepreneur Agriculture Brazil ‫@‏‬BRZAgro 2nd generation #ethanol should be competitive in 4 years, says Raizen #Brazil Jim Harris ‫@‏‬JimHarris Clean Energy = HUGE Economic Opportunity.

More Cdn Workers in Clean #Energy Than Dirty #TarSands #CSOTA #climate Tank Storage Mag ‫@‏‬TankStorageInfo #Funfactfriday time! The diesel engine is actually named after the inventor & it originally ran on peanut oil in 1895

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The RSB has developed a set of criteria and compliance indicators for operators wishing to demonstrate that their operations have a low iLUC risk

Low iLUC biofuels

I

ndirect Land Use Change (iLUC) is in the news. The ‘iLUC Amendment’ to the Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives is now set to pass into EU regulation over the next few months after much negotiation and delay. While the magnitude of iLUC affects and iLUC factors are subject to a high level of uncertainty, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) has been working to show how some biofuels and biomaterials have a much lower risk of generating iLUC. In 2013 the RSB General Assembly decided to focus on the role individual producers can play in preventing indirect impacts and developed a

mechanism to promote biofuels with a lower risk of causing negative indirect effects.

In order to minimise the occurrence of iLUC, the RSB developed a set of criteria and compliance indicators for operators1 wishing to demonstrate that their operations have a low iLUC risk, i.e. are unlikely to cause any displacement of an equivalent biomass production to another location. These were approved by the RSB General Assembly in June of this year.

The RSB standard already contains measures to mitigate food insecurity in those parts of the world where there is food poverty. This new standard goes a step further and shows

how biomass for biofuels and biomaterials can be grown with minimal risk to food production.

it can lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions’2.

How is iLUC defined by the EU?

Which biomass production methods are low iLUC risk?

The EU describes iLUC as ‘where pasture or agricultural land previously destined for the food, feed and fibre markets is diverted to biofuel production, the non-fuel demand will still need to be satisfied either through intensification of current production or by bringing non-agricultural land into production elsewhere. The latter case constitutes indirect land use change and when it involves the conversion of land with high carbon stock

RSB has focused on three separate approaches to the production of low iLUC risk biomass for biofuels and biomaterials. Producers who achieve an increase in yield or use unused/degraded land, or waste/residue materials will be able to demonstrate that biomass was produced with minimal indirect impact on food production or biodiversity. The new criteria and indicators are based on the Low Indirect Impact

20 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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Biofuels (LIIB) Methodology3, developed in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Ecofys4.

The three different approaches are described in more detail below.

Yield increase The ‘yield increase’ approach applies to any situation where feedstock producers are able to increase the amount of harvested biomass out of a fixed area of land. An increase in the harvested biomass may be the result of: • An improvement in agricultural practices, e.g. fertilisation, crop protection, improved crop varieties, precision farming • Intercropping, i.e. the combination of two or more crops that grow simultaneously, for example as hedges or through an agroforestry system • Crop rotation, i.e. the combination of two or more crops that grow at different periods of the year Producers need to develop a management plan in which yield increase measures are documented, together with their expected contribution to increased yields and evidence of their implementation.

Yield increases are established with respect to a reference year, which can be 2008 or the year preceding the implementation of yield increase measures, whichever is later. The ‘baseline scenario yield’ and ‘reference yield’ are then established. The reference yield is the average yield of the producer over the preceding five years, which is multiplied by either the average annual yield growth for similar producers in the region, or a default value of 1.1, to obtain the baseline scenario yield.

The actual amount of low iLUC risk biomass is calculated by the difference between the actual yield and the baseline scenario yield multiplied by the land under cultivation with the specific crops to which

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yield increase measures have been applied. Specific equations used are detailed in the actual document.

In cases where a food crop is combined with an energy crop, operators should monitor that the increase in biomass harvested out of the energy crop does not come at the expense of the harvested biomass from the food crop, even if the total harvested biomass (i.e. food crop + energy crop) increases.

Unused/degraded land Producers need to demonstrate that the land was not used for ‘provisioning services’ during the three years preceding the reference date, which is 1 January 2008, or the date when the unused land was put in cultivation, whichever is later. The definition of provisioning services comes from The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 20055, which covers food, animal feed or bioenergy feedstocks. Also, no shifting cultivation or very long crop rotation systems, in which fields are left fallow for up to 10 years, shall take place on the land.

An intermediate case can apply when the land has been previously used in a limited way.

More specifically, the land was used for provisioning level up to a yield that is 25% or less (by energy content, protein content or estimated market price) of the earnings or yield that can be reasonably expected from cultivation of the same crop(s) in normal conditions. In this case, the producer must demonstrate that the yield obtained through the limited provisioning services that existed prior to the reference date did not decrease due to the new operations. If the new operations do affect these limited provisioning services, the producers must deliver compensation providing equivalent benefits to local communities in line with specific RSB principles and criteria.

In this case, only the biomass produced in addition to the

biomass obtained from existing provisioning services is eligible as low iLUC risk biomass.

Use of waste/residues In the EU, wastes and residues are classified as such by both the EU Renewable Energy Directive and individual Member States. Examples include used cooking oil (UCO), municipal solid waste (MSW), agricultural residues (e.g. straw), wastewater, and animal fats that are unsuitable for food or feed.

However the material must satisfy additional criteria for it to be low iLUC risk. It should be generally discarded for landfilling or incineration in the region where it is generated, i.e. there is no other use being made of it. A region can be at the sub-national (e.g. a metropolitan area, a state or a province), national, or supranational (e.g. several countries, EU, ECOWAS region) level. A larger region involves a greater availability of feedstock, but a smaller region makes it easier to demonstrate that no other uses are currently being made of a given waste/residue.

As an alternative, an operator can show that the use of this waste/residue does not result in any indirect increase in greenhouse gas emissions so that its diversion to produce biofuels or biomaterials does not result in the use of a fossil combustible in replacement and that the material was not used previously as food, feed, or fibre.

were produced in accordance with the sustainability criteria for biofuels’.

Yield increases and the cultivation of a second annual crop are specifically recognised as mitigating indirect land use change. It is likely therefore that these low iLUC risk biofuels will be favoured in the future, and they will not be associated with extra GHG emissions due to iLUC. The logical extension of this argument is that low iLUC risk biofuels should not be part of the 7% cap on food crop derived biofuels. This is because the main purpose of the 7% cap is to prevent iLUC. How to make a ‘low ILUC risk’ claim on your biofuel or biomaterial Operators can become certified to the RSB Low iLUC risk biomass criteria and compliance indicators as a voluntary addition to their certification to the RSB EU RED standard (or the RSB Global Standard). The two certifications can be attained at the same time or separately.

Compliance with this standard enables operators to make a ‘low iLUC risk’ claim on their biofuel. RSB will be learning by implementing the new standard over the next year, and it welcomes applications from both current and prospective RSB participating operators. l References: 1 http://rsb.org/pdfs/standards/ RSB-STD-04-001-ver0.3RSBLo wiLUCCriteriaIndicators.pdf

How do the RSB low iLUC indicators fit with EU regulation?

2 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=%2f%2 fEP%2f%2fNONSGML%2bREPO RT%2bA8-2015-0025%2b0%2bD OC%2bPDF%2bV0%2f%2fEN

Although regulation may still change, the EU has introduced the concept of ‘low indirect land-use changerisk biofuels’6 into the iLUC amendment. These are defined as biofuels, ‘the feedstocks of which were produced within schemes which reduce the displacement of production for purposes other than for making biofuels and which

3 http://www.ecofys.com/files/files/ ecofys-epfl-wwf-2013-credible-robustcertification-of-low-iluc-biofuels.pdf 4 www.ecofys.com 5 http://www.millenniumassessment.org 6 http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ downloads/iluc-directive/201504_ final_version_iluc_directive_en.pdf For more information: This article was written by Melanie Williams, director EMEA, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials. Visit: www.rsb.org

july/august 2015 21

biofuels regulations

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EPA’s proposed limitations on US biofuels production volumes draw heavy criticism from both the US government and the biofuels industry

Proposal under fire

T

he US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced proposed volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme for 2014, 2015 and 2016, while also proposing volume requirements for biomassbased diesel for 2017.

The proposals’ release came after the EPA was taken to court by US oil companies due to the long standstill the decision had been stuck in.

EPA says the proposal would boost renewable fuel production and provide for ambitious yet responsible growth over multiple years, supporting future expansion of the biofuels industry.

‘This proposal marks an important step forward in making sure the Renewable Fuel Standard programme delivers on the Congressional intent to increase biofuel use, lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security,’ says Janet McCabe, the acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air. ‘We believe these proposed volume requirements will provide a strong incentive for continued investment and growth in biofuels.’

In addition to future levels, the proposals include a belated proposal for 2014, as the EPA failed to enforce the suggestions it made for the year in 2013.

fluctuation in prices, making advanced biofuel RINs occasionally rise above corn ethanol RINs in value, possibly making importation from Brazil more lucrative than local production.

Government criticism The proposed production levels lag behind the levels set by US congress in 2007 (over 20 billion gallons total by 2015), which EPA acknowledges, but at the same time calls the proposed levels ‘ambitious but responsible’.

The practice known as the blend wall would also be upheld under the new regulations, which restricts the proportion of biofuels in retailed fuel to 10% (E10).

Furthermore, EPA is saying the E10 requirement for ethanol blends may be waived for premium plus grade products due to insufficiency of locally-produced ethanol and to reduce the level of bioethanol importation.

The importation regulation may in fact be needed, as the new targets have given a boost to advanced biofuel renewable identification number (RIN) values, which may increase interest to import Brazilian sugarcane ethanol to the US, as it is considered an advanced biofuel under the RFS. The proposal has caused

Biofuel producers, farmers, and politicians have lashed aggressively against the proposals, which they say impose the blend wall to hinder the development of biofuels.

The entire governmental delegation of the US state of Iowa, led by Republican member of Congress David Young, sent a letter to EPA urging it to arrange a public hearing. According to the letter, the long delay in issuing the renewable volume obligations (RVOs) to fuel producers and the decision to deviate from Congressset levels has created uncertainty in the industry and hampered investment.

‘The flawed justification that the EPA uses to defend the proposed levels, especially related to ethanol, raises questions about the agency’s commitment to renewable fuels,’ the delegation states.

The US Senate subcommittee on regulatory affairs also called the EPA to a hearing to answer for the years-long delays to quotas, saying the RFS was ‘unworkable in its

current form’ and accusing EPA of steadily missing deadlines since 2009 and creating great uncertainty in the biofuels market.

McCabe, presenting EPA at the hearing, replied with reference to the RFS statute’s ambiguity, saying it was EPA’s job to interpret ‘congressional language’ in implementing the statute.

‘When you have a situation where the fuels cannot, in fact, be delivered to consumers as what set out in the statute—and Congress set out this waiver authority to be interpreted by us—we found it reasonable to reduce the volumes to a level that still complies with Congress’ intent,’ McCabe said.

Industry comments EPA held a public hearing on 25 June in Kansas City, Kansas, where representatives from several biofuels companies made testimonies, again calling the logic behind the proposals flawed and accusing the proposal of favouring fossil fuel producers over the biofuels industry.

Steve Murhpy, GM of Poet’s biorefining plants in Laddonia and Macon, says the proposed ruling will ‘harm those who have tried to abide by the RFS as passed and reward those who have sought to stymie its purpose since day one’.

‘When the RFS was passed

Cellulosic biofuels

Biomass-based diesel

Advanced biofuel

Total renewable fuel

2014

33 million gallons

1.63 billion gallons

2.68 billion gallons

15.93 billion gallons

2015

106 million gallons

1.7 billion gallons

2.9 billion gallons

16.3 billion gallons

2016

206 million gallons

1.8 billion gallons

3.4 billion gallons

17.4 billion gallons

2017

N/A

1.9 billion gallons

N/A

N/A

EPA’s proposed volume limitations for the biofuels industry

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the people in our industry were given a promise; produce clean fuels and there will be a place for them in the marketplace,’ Murphy says.

‘So our industry went ahead and built out the capacity to supply 15 billion gallons of renewable fuel. Now, with this rule, the EPA is saying well yes that is what the legislation said, but the oil companies, also known as obligated parties, aren’t quite as obligated to use your renewable fuels as you were led to believe.’

He also questions how Brazil is able to run a standard ethanol blend of 27.5% while the US cannot manage a 15% blend.

Randy Doyal, CEO of Claremont, Minnesotabased farmer-owned ethanol production cooperative Al-Corn Clean Fuel, throws criticism at EPA’s view of insufficient local supply of ethanol, stating ‘that is clearly not the case’ given last year’s record production.

‘Moreover, the Clean Air Act statute does not permit EPA to take into account “factors that affect consumption”, such as purported infrastructure constraints or the so-called “blend wall”, in determining whether to grant a general waiver of the RFS. By embracing the blend wall concept, the EPA proposal not only violates the law, but also undermines the incentive to expand biofuel production and distribution capacity, and allows oil companies to blend only as much renewable fuel as they are comfortable using,’ Doyal says.

Geoff Cooper, senior VP of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), says the RFS has been a ‘tremendous success’, which has ‘stimulated growth in biofuel production, revitalised rural economies, reduced GHG emissions, and lowered pump prices’, but now EPA is overstepping its legal authority.

‘Nothing in the statute

biofuels international

allows EPA to set the RVOs based on the socalled blend wall or alleged infrastructure limitations.

Congress considered measures that would have allowed waivers based on distribution infrastructure. But they rightly rejected those concepts because they knew allowing such off-ramps would allow oil companies to hold the RFS programme

hostage,’ Cooper states.

The industry is obviously not satisfied with the regulation proposals, but many environmentalists have welcomed the cuts to biofuel volumes. EPA will be holding another panel to hear from more representatives, but no further discussion is expected before the final decision is made.

EPA is set to finalise RVOs

by 30 November, which would mean the decision would come nearly two years after the deadline originally given to the agency for coming up with appropriate RVOs. According to RFA statistics, the biofuel industry in the US produced 14.34 billion gallons of ethanol in 2014, with the expected production for 2015 surpassing 15 billion gallons. l

Dr. Jeremy Javers, Ph.D. Research & Development St. Joseph, MO

Cellulosic Technology

. . . that’s where we put our energy.

When you’re looking for new technologies in the race to maintain your competitive advantage, you’re looking for something that is proven – something with clear results. That’s why Jeremy and the rest of ICM’s Research and Development team were the first in the market to develop Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol. It’s just another way ICM is continuing to add value to the feedstock already being processed in existing ethanol plants. That’s where we put our energy.

icm20years.com

july/august 2015 23

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biofuels business brief

People on the move

Ensyn appoints Jamerson to board of directors Bruce A. Jamerson has joined Ensyn’s board of directors to represent Preferred A shareholders, replacing Governor Bill Weld who will continue serving on the board.

Jamerson is currently president of Conifer Investments, a strategic advisory firm, and holds board positions with Benson Hill Biosystems and Novita.

In the past he has served as chairman and CEO of Mascoma and as president and board member of VeraSun. Jamerson has a background in banking and holds an MS degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BGS from the University of Michigan.

Previously, her roles at Novozymes (USA) included senior director of global biomass business development, being responsible for growing the company’s cellulosic ethanol business, and as global marketing manager for biofuels.

Bryant has also worked as marketing manager for Chevron’s retail downstream business and held product management, operational and engineering roles with other companies such as Assyst and Burlington Industries.

She holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in textile engineering from North Carolina State University.

Amyris appoints Bryant as senior VP of corporate development Amyris has appointed Cynthia Bryant as its new senior VP of corporate development and collaborations.

Bryant is experienced in the biofuels industry, as prior to joining Amyris she served as senior director of marketing and business development for Novozymes (Denmark), where she managed the company’s household care business.

New president to lead Poet-DSM Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels’ commercial activities will be moving forward under the leadership of the joint venture’s first president: Dan Cummings.

Cummings will oversee day-to-day operations of Poet-DSM, represent the joint venture publicly, and coordinate functions between the parent companies.

He will also act as the central point of contact for external relations, which includes all technology licensing activities for Poet-DSM worldwide.

Cummings joins the company after serving as president and director of Ineos New Planet BioEnergy, and as global VP of commercial and external affairs for Ineos Bio. Previously he held senior business, corporate and legal positions at Ineos and BP. Cummings holds a

Cindy Bryant, SVP of corporate development and collaborations, Amyris

Hughes joins Poet as senior VP of business development Business development at Poet will now proceed und er a new senior VP as Abe Hu ghes assumes his new role .

Hughes will help guide Poe t’s strategies for continued growth both in the US and abroad.

He joins Poet after serving five years as VP of New Holland Agriculture and Construction in North America and as VP directo r at Fiat Group.

During his career spanning over 20 years, Hughes has also worked in investment banking, pharmaceuticals, and avionics.

Hughes, originally from Ariz ona, holds an MBA in general management from Harvard Business School and a BA in history from Cornell University.

He will be based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Dan Cummings, president, Poet-DSM

law degree from Temple University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor in Economics from the University of Puget Sound.

Cummings will be based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

DSM names Atul Thakrar president of bio-based products and services Atul Thakrar will take responsibility for DSM’s involvement in the emerging biorenewables industry, including holding board positions on the Reverdia and Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels joint venture boards.

Thakrar will be based in Delft, the Netherlands, and will report to Rob van Leen, chief innovation officer, DSM. DSM’s bio-based products and services unit focuses on conversion technologies in the field of renewable biomass

to fuels and chemicals, with its main presence in Elgin, Illinois; São Paulo, Brazil; and Delft, the Netherlands.

Thakrar is a US citizen, who has worked and lived in multiple countries, including China, India and Belgium.

Most recently he was president and CEO of Segetis, an early-stage specialty materials startup based in the US. Thakrar started his professional career in the oil industry in 1980 and has worked for companies like Rohm and Haas, Cytec Industries, and Soane Energy in several business and strategic leadership roles.

Thakrar is successor to Anton Robek, who led DSM’s platform for products and services in biofuels and bio-based chemicals since 2011. l

Atul Thakrar, president of biobased products and services, DSM

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SCB Commodity Brokers Global Biofuels Prices Prices quoted: 14/07/15 Product

URL: www.starcb.com

Mid Price

Product

Mid Price

EU Biodiesel RED ($/mt)

US Biodiesel B100 ($ gal)

FOB ARA RME

881.75

Houston SME

2.694

FOB ARA SME

864.25

Houston TME

2.644

FOB ARA PME

854.25

NY Harbour SME

2.714

FOB ARA FAME 0

864.25

NY Harbour TME

2.664

FOB ARA FAME -10

881.75

Mid West SME

2.754

EU Biodiesel Non RED ($/mt)

US Ethanol ($/gal)

FOB ARA RME

866.75

NY Harbour Barges

1.67

FOB ARA SME

849.25

Argo ITT Illinois

1.60

FOB ARA PME

839.25

FOB USGC

1.66

FOB ARA FAME 0

849.25

Rule 11 TWS (Railcar)

1.61

FOB ARA FAME -10

866.75

Rule 11 NWS (Railcar)

1.61

EU Ethanol (€/cbm) T2 FOB Rotterdam

RINs ($/RIN)

US Ethanol ($/cbm)

585.00

2015 Ethanol (D6)

0.458

2015 Biodiesel (D4)

0.770

FOB US ANP

471.55

2015 Advanced (D5)

0.745

FOB Santos

495.00

Emission Credits ($/mt)

LCFS Credits

50.50

Current price index

E

U ethanol raised its game in the second quarter of 2015 after a poor start to the year. Idled production capacity in response to poor Q1 margins helped rebalance a previously oversupplied market, with subsequent production shortfalls driving both producers and endusers to briefly pay over €600 per m³ for product in April and improving margins relative to a recovering feedstock grain market.

Spot physical prices subsequently fell back into the mid-€550s/m³ through May and June. The paper market lagged the downward shift in physical, with forward prices steeply backwardated relative to ongoing prompt material shortages and the Q3/Q4 spread widening to close to €50/m³.

The implementation of Germany’s greenhouse gas (GHG) saving mandate at the beginning of this year interrupted established intra-

biofuels international

European Ethanol-­‐Wheat Margin (EUR/cbm)

European trade flows, with high GHG product delivered from Scandinavia displacing German product with poor GHG-saving credentials into non-German markets.

The shift has helped spur interest in rail deliveries from Germany and Eastern Europe into Rotterdam, with a brief opportunity for Brazilian imports to enter Europe in June failing to significantly dent the appetite for local product.

Deteriorating European grain growing conditions, as a heatwave amplifies the effects of long-running dry weather, will likely support prices going forward, with traders watching the prospects for the 2015 grain harvest closely.

With the new rapeseed crop rapidly approaching, European farmers and crushers have been running down inventories, and many crushing plants have closed for maintenance. The lack of prompt feedstock has been exacerbated this year by

160 140 132 120 100 80

138 126 107 92 72

60

55

53

49

46

47

55

40 20 0

Source: SCB

Ethanol production margins tighten going forward

depressed palm and soya imports from South America and Asia. The resulting biodiesel supplies have been running dry during peak summer driving demand, pushing the biodiesel curve into a mirror image of ethanol’s backwardation. Traders have looked at imports from Asia, with some spot cargoes fixed, but with the long lead time in production and delivery to Europe, Asian PME’s window of opportunity into the world’s largest end-user market is quickly vanishing.

While waste grade biodiesel

continues to flow into the UK as oil companies look to make the most of summer blending opportunities, the traditional pricing link between FAME 0 and UCOME has weakened, giving UCOME a price advantage over other grades.

This can, in part, be explained by reduced German UCOME demand: European producers are now able to offer RME and FAME with high GHG values and, for the moment, the relatively higher prices that many had expected for high-GHG biodiesel have not materialised. l

july/august 2015 25

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biofuels market analysis The US biodiesel industry receives some clarity

Good news all round

Brian Milne, product manager, Schneider Electric

S

pot soya methyl ester biodiesel prices in the US advanced during the second quarter of 2015, buoyed by the unveiling in late May of demand targets for the biofuel from 2014 through 2017, although the upside slowed late in the quarter on reduced demand for diesel while producer margins weakened.

It was a good quarter for the industry, lent support by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which at long last proposed the mandated volume of biomass-based diesel fuel that must be blended in the US under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA issued its proposal on 29 May, 18 months late for the 2014 mandate and six months late for 2015 according to the statute, the Energy Independence and Security Act, establishing an expanded RFS. US biodiesel production, the majority of which uses soyabean oil as its feedstock, slowed in the first quarter versus the comparable yearago quarter and was flat in April against year ago because of the lack of guidance from the EPA, and the expiration on the final day of 2014 of a $1 (€0.90) gallon tax credit for blending the biofuel into

petroleum-based product.

That changed in May when US biodiesel producers, intuiting a favourable proposal from EPA, ramped up output to 169.5 million gallons, 20 million gallons or 13.5% more than in May 2014, based on the latest statistics from the agency.

Output might have slowed in June due to weakening producer margins, with nearest delivered Chicago Mercantile Exchange soyabean oil futures spiking to a 35.29cts pound 10-month high on 5 June before dropping back to 33.56cts on 30 June.

B100 SME biodiesel in the Chicago, Houston and New York Harbor spot markets traded at or near their second quarter highs on 29 May after the EPA, compelled by a legal settlement with oil industry trade groups the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, made public its demand mandate under the RFS known as a Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO).

In the Chicago market, B100 SME biodiesel rallied 32cts or 11.2% per gallon during the second quarter, trading last on 30 June at $3.19 gallon. In Houston, B100 SME biodiesel surged 22cts or 7.7% from 1 April to $3.09 gallon on 30 June, with New York Harbor B100 SME biodiesel also up 22cts or 7.6% during those three months to $3.11 gallon.

The EPA had struggled to issue the annual RVOs, which must be issued on the last day of November of the preceding year, due to concerns over an ethanol-saturated petrol market. Ethanol above a 10% concentration in petrol is not allowed in all conventional vehicles on US roads yet following the RFS volumes legislated would have pushed the concentration

Spot values

EPA qualified biomass-based diesel production and imports

ULSD/soyabean oil spread

above that ratio in what is known as the ‘blend wall’.

In its proposal on 29 May, EPA reduced the RVO volume for renewable fuels, which is primarily satisfied by blending conventional corn-based

ethanol into petrol through 2016 to avoid pushing the ethanol concentration level over 10%, while boosting the RVO for biomass-based diesel.

As administrator of the RFS, EPA has some latitude in

26 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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adjusting an annual RVO that is different than volumes set in the EISA. Although the RFS increases annually through 2022, the nested category for biomass-based diesel goes no higher than 1 billion gallons.

However, EPA proposed a 1.63 billion gallon RVO for the category for 2014, 1.7 billion gallons for 2015, a 1.8-billion gallon RVO for 2016, and to 1.9 billion gallons for 2017.

It was the only nested category in which an RVO was proposed through 2017.

This has given producers, which have idled, restarted only to again shut production plants over the past few years because of a lack of guidance on federal demand mandates, renewed confidence. The biodiesel industry needs the federal mandate to ensure demand.

Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), which are compliance credits generated

when a qualified renewable fuel under the RFS is produced or imported and are tradable to ensure flexibility in meeting RFS targets, rallied on the EPA announcement.

D4 RINs, which are used to show compliance with the biomass-based diesel mandate, generated in 2015 surged from 81.5cts in the beginning of the second quarter to 91.5cts on 29 May when the proposal was issued, and reached a high for the second quarter on 15 June at 92.0cts. Since mid-June however, 2015 D4 RINs have staged a retreat as obligated parties under the RFS, which include refiners, blenders and importers, backed off on buying the credits possibly on end quarter book squaring. 2015 D4 RINs ended June at 83.0cts.

Biodiesel producers and marketers will tell you the RIN value is a critical component

of the cost equation for moving biodiesel into the market. Their profitability would also benefit from a renewal of the blender’s credit which expired as the calendar turned to 2015.

The blender’s credit, in years when it is available, is aimed to incentivise blending biodiesel into distillate fuel, with the US Treasury paying $1 per gallon for the activity.

Many in the industry expect the tax credit will again be reinstated and, as in years past, be made retroactively to include all of 2015. Spot deals, when transacted, are frequently executed in a ‘50/50 deal’, in which the seller agrees to give half of the tax subsidy to the buyer should it again be reactivated.

The belief in a revival of the tax subsidy is not far-fetched, industry veterans explain.

They point to a Tax Extender bill floating in a slow moving

Congress, although travelling at light speed in 2015 compared with the past few years, that includes extensions for 56 tax credits, with one of them the biodiesel blender’s credit. They reason it would be difficult to unravel the package because unpacking the bill and attempting to eliminate some of the credits would be contested by legislators that have already fought for those tax extensions. Extending tax credits is popular for legislators looking to support their constituents and remain popular in their districts. As such, the logic goes, expect the biodiesel blender’s credit to be reinstated late in 2015. l 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 Schneider Electric. Milne has nearly 20 years’ experience in the energy industry as an analyst, journalist and editor, +1 952 851 7216

Sunoil Biodiesel produces biodiesel from waste products Sunoil Biodiesel, made from wasted materiaIs such as used cooking oil, dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions by around 90-94%, and meets the Quality Standards EN 14214 and ASTM. Opened in 2006 Sunoil’s plant is the first biodiesel facility in the Netherlands with a capacity of 100 million liters a year. The plant is equipped with high standard automation systems, an infrared system, and most raw material samples and biodiesel can be measured on site. Sunoil Biodiesel has a biodiesel tankstorage in Rotterdam.

For more information on Sunoil Biodiesel please contact: Managing Director: W. Hadders Email: info@sunoil-biodiesel.com Tel. + 31 (0)591 637 637 1e Bokslootweg 17, 7821 AT Emmen (Holland)

...a sustainable alternative biofuels international

www.sunoil-biodiesel.com july/august 2015 27

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biofuels profile

St1 Biofuels has opened its sixth Etanolix facility and is developing its first Cellunolix ethanol plant in Finland

Pioneering advanced ethanol

by Keeley Downey

O

n 5 June 2015 St1 Biofuels, an ethanol manufacturer and technology producer headquartered in Finland, officially opened its 5 million litre per year ethanol plant in Gothenburg, Sweden.

St1 Biofuels delivered the facility to North European Bio Tech Oy (NEB), which is an associated company of supermarket chain SOK Corp. and St1. Production capacity of the plant will be leased to North European Oil Trade Oy (NEOT). NEOT is a sister company of NEB and an independent fuel supply company in the Baltic Sea region, delivering fuels to major Nordic service station

chains – ABC, ST1 and Shell – with a total of 1,500 service stations in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

The plant, production capacity at which is currently being ramped up, uses leftover bread and process residues from local bakeries as its main feedstock.

Agreements are in place with various bakeries, large grocery chains and waste management companies, which deliver these materials directly to the ethanol facility.

Speaking to Biofuels International, Patrick Pitkänen, head of business development at St1 Biofuels, says: ‘As well as out of date bread, we also handle materials

with high starch and sugar contents, such as cakes.

These are advantageous feedstocks in terms of yield because they contain a lot of sugar and carbohydrates.

It is feasible, cheap and sustainable because there is no land use change – direct or indirect – and this is important for advanced biofuels.’

The Gothenburg plant is integrated into an existing oil refinery, also owned by St1. There are a number of benefits of fully integrating the facility into the functions and logistics of the refinery, such as the use of residual heat and cooling, product distribution, and current operational staff.

‘Locating our new plant

inside the refinery has many advantages,’ says Pitkänen.

Everything is already in place, for example we have waste heat for the process, we have existing wastewater treatment and cooling systems, the operations staff are there and the maintenance crew is already in place.’

The ethanol produced at this site is used for transport fuel. Once the biofuel is quality checked, it is pumped to the refinery and blended into a finished product according to specification. The ethanol-petrol blend is then transported from the refinery to terminals and retail sites.

While much of the infrastructure needed for

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the plant had already been built, obtaining permits for the facility was no mean feat. As Pitkänen explains: ‘Naturally there were very stringent safety regulations that we needed to comply with because the plant operates within a refinery.

Together with the fact that Etanolix is a new process, it made the permitting phase a little slower than usual.’

brewery waste and local bakery and shop leftovers.

St1 Biofuels has different platforms for different feedstocks. While Etanolix is designed for waste products from the food industry, the Bionolix platform is

“It is feasible, cheap and sustainable to use feedstocks such as out of date bread and cakes”

Three platforms St1 Biofuels’ latest facility is an Etanolix ethanol plant, meaning the process uses as feedstock waste products from the food industry. The company already operates four Etanolix plants in Finland – Hamina, Jokioinen, Lahti and Vantaa – however has entered the Swedish

recent, platform is Cellunolix, which was developed to handle lignocellulosic materials. The first Cellunolix facility will be co-located at a sawmill site, and will be the first facility in the world to use sawdust from

Patrick Pitkänen, St1 Biofuels

for ethanol plants which handle household kitchen biowaste. Here a biogas plant is integrated with the

softwood as feedstock for the production of cellulosic ethanol at commercial scale.

The €40 million plant is to be

scaled up to 50 or 100 million litres per annum and St1 Biofuels has ‘already started evaluating facilities for a larger plant in either Finland or Sweden’, Pitkänen reveals.

The first of its kind, the Cellunolix facility in Kajaani has received financial backing from the Finnish government in the form of a €12 million grant.

Speaking about the Kajaani Cellunolix plant, Pitkänen says: ‘It’s a brownfield site and so the construction phase will be quite short.

The building and existing infrastructure was from a shuttered paper mill which we are now transforming into our first Cellunolix plant. All the equipment for the facility has been ordered and some of it has a long delivery time.

We have started modifying the building and will begin installing equipment towards the end of this year.’

Ambitious targets

The 5 mly Etanolix plant in Gothenburg

market ‘after realising there wasn’t much feedstock for Etanolix in Finland’, according to Pitkänen.

The Etanolix technology is versatile and each project is different. In Jokioinen, for example, the 7 million litre per year ethanol plant is bolt-on integrated with local enzyme production facilities, using process residues from enzyme production as feedstock.

Meanwhile in Lahti, a 1 million litre per year ethanol plant is integrated with the Oy Hartwall Ab brewery, utilising

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biofuel production facility, therefore generating two output streams from one low-yielding feedstock.

There is currently one Bionolix ethanol plant operational in Hämeenlinna, Finland. Integrated with an anaerobic digestion plant, the facility produces 1 million litres of ethanol annually from materials such as municipal biowaste. The biogas is converted into renewable heat and power and sold to local networks.

St1 Biofuels’ third, and most

located in Kajaani and, once construction is complete, will begin producing 10 million litres per year of bioethanol when it comes online in mid-2016.

The process uses steam explosion to open up the cellulose structures of the sawdust, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis to extract the sugars for ethanol fermentation. In May this year it was announced that the plant will use enzyme technology from Novozymes.

The technology can be

The growing volume of wasteand residue-based ethanol production in Finland supports the country’s climate strategy and reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels. The Finnish government has recently announced ambitious plans to increase the nation’s consumption of renewable fuels to 40% by 2030.

‘These targets are very aligned with our strategy and our approach is to build plants in those countries where we are also active with fossil fuels, i.e. Finland, Sweden and Norway,’ says Pitkänen.

As well as building and operating its own plants, however, St1 Biofuels is also working towards being able to license its technology to companies who wish to establish advanced ethanol production in Europe and around the world. ‘Outside of the EU, the US, the Philippines, Thailand and South Africa are very interesting markets for us,’ he concludes. l

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biofuels biofuels in Finland Advanced biofuels are best for emissions targets in Finland

To 10% and beyond

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he new EU framework requires a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 1990 levels, and an EU wide binding target for renewable energy of at least 27%.

Traffic is rapidly becoming the largest single source of CO2 emissions in the EU, however no specific, official targets have been set for GHGs from the transportation sector. Transport emissions are not expected to change dramatically between 2020 and 2050; today approximately 95% of these emissions come from fossil fuels. Lowering emissions from within this sector is challenging as they have significantly higher marginal costs compared to the emission trading sectors.

CO2 emissions from transport depend on the distance driven, energy consumption and the carbon intensity of the fuels used.

In addition to changing the means and methods of transport and general improvements in the transport system, CO2 emissions in transport can be reduced by improved energy efficiency and the increased uptake of electric vehicles or biofuels.

In order to meet the targets outlined above, all of these changes must come into play.

Research supports investments in domestic advanced biofuels VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and VATT Governmental Institute for Economic Research have completed a study commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, assessing not only the climate but also the cost impact of the EU’s

2030 climate objectives on Finland’s energy system and national economy. According to the study, increased use of second generation biofuels in road transport would be the most cost-effective way of achieving GHG emissions goals presented in the policy framework. Based on the economic impacts, the most cost-efficient way to reduce emissions is to invest in the production – and uptake – of domestic, advanced drop-in biofuels. The main benefit of these biofuels is that they are already compatible with the existing distribution system and vehicle base.

The study also found biogas to be a relatively cost-efficient option for reducing transportrelated CO2 emissions, but would require a significant increase in the number of gaspowered vehicles. However, the high price of electric cars at present means their largescale uptake will not be costeffective based on their impact on GDP until technology advancements bring down their price significantly. Also, resale value is an important factor in consumer purchase decisions of vehicles which is not currently helping the choice of electric cars.

An important note in the study was that, when assessing GHG emissions of different fuels, well-to-wheel analysis (used to assess total energy consumption including energy production) should always be used.

Emission reductions achieved with biofuels should have the same ranking as those achieved with renewable electricity. Currently, electric vehicles are of more interest to vehicle manufacturers because electricity is always considered zero emission fuel, despite of the source

Finland and Sweden have forestry residues sustainably available for biofuels production to meet the proposed 0.5% advanced biofuel target

of electricity which might be anything from coal to wind.

Produced from European grown raw materials, advanced biofuels not only reduce our dependence on external energy sources but achieve a GHG saving of up to 95% compared to fossil fuels. Nevertheless, a vehicle running on biofuel is valued the same way as a vehicle running on fossil fuel as European vehicle legislation is based solely on studying emissions while driving.

Using total CO2 figures including emissions generated in the manufacturing, processing, and transporting of the fuel, the well-to wheel analysis was also suggested by a recent study of The Joint Research Centre of the EU Commission (JRC), EUCAR and Concawe. Provided that the comparison also takes into account the CO2 emissions generated during energy production, advanced biofuels such as renewable diesel fare well in an emission comparison with electric cars and hybrids. When driven, an electric car does not generate any emissions, but the CO2

emissions from the production of electricity may be very high.

In fact, advanced biofuels can easily achieve lower CO2 emissions than electric cars whose batteries are being recharged with electricity produced by the average production methods in the EU. Finland sets bold targets for biofuels Finland has been a frontrunner in setting ambitious targets for renewable energy in the transport sector. While the EU has a 10% target by 2020, Finland’s target already stands at 10% in 2016 and this will increase to 20% by 2020. To reduce emissions further after 2020, it is necessary to increase the use of low carbon or carbon neutral energy in transport.

Finland’s government has set out an ambitious target in order to further reduce Finland’s dependence on foreign fossil fuels by halving oil imports and increasing the share of renewable fuels use to 40% by 2030.

The Finnish industry group,

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Collaboration between private companies, research institutes and government have proven successful in biofuels development in Finland

the Petroleum and Biofuels Association, approves the programme and agrees that domestically produced biofuels that are suited to Finland’s distribution system and current vehicle fleet are the most effective way to cut transport emissions.

Residues and waste are available According to the VTT and VATT study, majority of the raw material requirements for new Finnish biorefineries needed to achieve the new 40% target could be met with the domestic supply of wood and waste materials.

The availability of waste and residues for biofuels is well in line with the study made by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), together with the European Climate Foundation, environmental NGOs and a coalition of advanced biofuel companies.

This study estimates that second generation biofuels could cover 16% of European traffic fuels by 2030. This amount is equivalent to 37 million tonnes per year of oil.

In the original ICCT report ‘Wasted’, biofuel potential was calculated at the European level, showing that there are enough resources sustainably available to replace 16% of European road transport fuel by 2030, if it could all be collected and utilised.

The latest ICCT national

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level study found that all 11 EU Member States examined have more than enough resources available to meet the proposed 0.5% advanced biofuel target several times over with domestic facilities.

The resources however vary from country to country – France and Germany have more agricultural residues, for example, while Finland and Sweden have more forestry residues. The UK, on the other hand, has large quantities of waste sent to landfill. The basic conclusion, however, is the same.

Finland at the forefront of advanced biofuels production Finland has seen the rise of a sizeable biofuel cluster, which was born partly from the need of the forest industry to renew and create new business in the sector. The results of R&D work in both privately held companies and in long-term collaboration projects with the government have proven successful.

Finland has not only plenty of wood-based raw materials, but also top level know-how for the production technologies of advanced biofuels. The nation has been a pioneer in sustainable advanced biofuels using residues, waste and lignocellulose as raw material.

The latest commercial-scale biofuels plant in Finland is the UPM Lappeenranta biorefinery.

Commercial production began in January 2015 with an annual production capacity of 120 million litres a year of wood-based renewable diesel for transport. The biorefinery uses crude tall oil, a residue of UPM´s own pulp production, as its feedstock and is integrated into the existing UPM pulp and paper mill in Lappeenranta.

The biorefinery was awarded with the EU Sustainable Energy Europe Award in 2014 from the European Commission for the innovative use of an own residue for producing advanced biofuels with 80% GHG emission reduction.

Investment needed Advanced biofuels offer the fastest and the most costefficient way to decarbonise the transport sector in the short and medium term, reflecting the slow renewal pace of the car fleet. However, the demand for biofuels is based on legislation connected to the EU’s climate and energy policy. Do we want to stay dependent on polluting fossil fuels or do we want to harvest the potential of innovative biofuels technologies?

To drive European investments, it is time for European institutions to create a credible and ambitious energy and climate package for 2030, enabling investments in advanced biofuels production in Europe.

Now that the ILUC file is finally concluded, Member States should introduce binding sub targets for advanced biofuels, as outlined in the ILUC Directive.

European companies are technology leaders in advanced biofuels, paving the way for the EU to show leadership in heading towards global climate negotiations at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris 2015. Those Member States that are willing to commit to doing what it takes to get the advanced biofuels industry on its feet have an opportunity to take the lead in technology development for an industry with enormous potential to expand in the coming decades. l For more information: This article was written by Sari Mannonen, sales and marketing director, UPM Biofuels, Finland.

Visit: www.upmbiofuels.com

UPM’s €175 million advanced wood-based biorefinery is located in Lappeenranta, Finland

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biofuels plant update

Plant update: Scandinavia Danish CWC Biofuels Location Lolland, Denmark End product Second generation biofuels Feedstock Straw Construction / expansion / CWC has launched pre-construction acquisition for a straw-based feedstock biofuel plant Designer/builder Green Fuel Nordic will provide technologies and support development Completion date Pre-construction expected to finish in Q3 2015

DONG Energy Location Maabjerg, Denmark End product Second generation bioethanol Feedstock Straw Construction / expansion / EU funding takes construction of acquisition a bioethanol plant at the Maabjerg Energy Concept (MEC) forward Completion date Pre-construction expected to finish in Q3 2015 Investment €39 million in EU funding Comment MEC is made up of a consortium of companies which, in addition to DONG Energy, comprises enzyme producer Novozymes, and local utilities Vestforsyning, Struer Forsyning, and waste management firm Nomi

SynSel Energi AS Location End product Feedstock

Grenland, Norway Renewable hydrocarbons Forest residues including slash, sawdust, bark and woodchips Capacity 1,825 tonnes per year Construction / expansion / A demonstration plant is to be acquisition constructed to test the IH2 technology to convert forest and agricultural waste into hydrocarbons Designer/builder The IH2 technology was developed

by Gas Technology Institute of Des Plaines, Illinois, and licensed by CRI Catalyst Company of Houston, Texas.

Zeton provides construction services.

Project start date June 2015 Comment The plant will be completed ‘over a period of several months’

Borregaard Location Sarpsborg, Norway End product Exilva microfibrillar cellulose Feedstock Cellulose Capacity 1,000 tonnes per year Construction / expansion / Construction of a plant to produce acquisition Exilva-brand cellulose to replace petrochemicals Project start date Production expected to start in Q3 2016 Investment NOK225 million (€27 million)

St1 Biofuels Location Kajaani, Finland End product Cellunolix Bioethanol Feedstock Sawdust Capacity 2.5 mgy Construction / expansion / Construction of bioethanol plant acquisition Project start date Summer 2015 Completion date Projected as mid-2016 Investment €40 million

UPM Location End product Feedstock Capacity Construction / expansion / acquisition Project start date Completion date Investment

Lappeenranta, Finland Renewable UPM BioVerno diesel Forestry residues 32 mgy Construction of world’s first woodbased renewable diesel production plant Q3 2014 January 2015 €175 million

Suomen Bioetanoli (SBE) Location Myllykoski, Finland End product Bioethanol Feedstock Straw Construction / expansion / SBE is constructing a bioethanol plant acquisition at the Myllykoski site purchased from UPM Project start date 2015 Completion date Production projected to begin in early 2018 Investment €30 million from the Finnish government Comment Acquisition of feedstock from local farms in progress

Silva Green Fuel Location End product Feedstock Construction / expansion / acquisition

Tofte, Norway Second generation biofuels Forestry materials Sodra and Statkraft have signed a cooperation agreement and created a new company, Silva Green Fuel, to begin production of biofuel at the former Tofte pulp Mill Project start date Pending Comment Silva’s first task is to find a costeffective technology for profitable production of second generation biofuels based on forestry raw materials. A future commitment depends on whether the authorities facilitate the increased use of biofuels through tax changes and other attractive incentives

St1 Biofuels Location End product Feedstock

Gothenburg, Sweden Etanolix ethanol Bio-waste and process residues from bakeries Capacity 1.3 mgy Construction / expansion / Delivery and inauguration of a acquisition bioethanol plant Project start date May 2014 Completion date June 2015 Investment Undisclosed

*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 keeley@woodcotemedia.com

32 july/august 2015 biofuels international

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

FOR INVESTMENT IN WASTE-BASED BIODIESEL PLANT IN CROATIA Croatian company BIOM d.o.o. is seeking a business partner (strategic partner, financial institution, equity fund or private investor) willing to participate in construction and operation of the waste-based, 100,000 t/y biodiesel facility implementing worldwide leading biodiesel technology. The plant will be located within the Port of Ploce, at the Croatian Adriatic cost.

The project has secured all necessary permits so that construction of the plant can start immediately after the project financing is secured.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS • An equity comprising 30% of the investment is secured by BIOM • The cutting edge multi-feedstock technology insures both feedstock flexibility and considerable cost efficiency in biodiesel production. Used cooking oil, animal fat, acid oil, trap grease and other waste-based feedstock will be coming from local, EU and international suppliers • An annual capacity of 100.000t and 30.000 m³ of storage capacity allows economies of scale • The project received queries and LOIs from potential buyers, whose total demand significantly exceeds the plan capacity • Excellent location provides outstanding transportation links by sea, rail and road

LOCATION WITHIN THEWithin EU the EU Location For all details about the project please contact us on: BIOM d.o.o.

Zadarska 80, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Ph: +385 1 3837 987 Fax: +385 1 3837 902 e-mail: ante.samardzic@biom.com.hr davor.franic@biom.com.hr

Ploce

BIOM is willing to consider offers from all interested parties.

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biofuels price assessment As demand for renewables rises, filling the gap between traditional oil and agricultural analytic resources is more important than ever

Unlocking the oil-renewables link

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he development of the biofuels industry has introduced new levels of trade complexity to the much longer-established mineral oil and agricultural markets.

Rainfall and pestilence were not even blips on most oil producers’ or traders’

screens until around 10 years ago. Similarly, farmers paid little heed to the impact of fuel supply balances or oil geopolitics on the size of the potential market for their crops. The rapid growth of biofuels has shifted supply/ demand fundamentals for oil and agricultural producers

and end-users. Greenhouse gas reduction imperatives are pump priming renewables for rapid global growth.

To date, the biofuels market has been underserved in the provision of easily understandable trade and supply chain analysis and coherent biofuel hedging

instruments to allow biofuels’ complex, volatile price risk profiles to be effectively managed. At the same time it is imperative that benchmarks meet the challenge of increased regulatory and political scrutiny to prevent any risk of manipulation.

PRIMA, a research and

PRIMA: Innovating on benchmarking and analysis PRIMA is a dedicated, independent research and pricing provider filling the gap between traditional oil and agricultural analytic and pricing resources. PRIMA’s proprietary price assessment methodology eradicates assessment price distortions to guarantee fairly-established index settlement prices. Meanwhile, PRIMA’s stable of research reports and web-feeds report on and analyse the influencing fundamentals and directional trends which drive the price of biofuels, and increasingly sway the marginal supply of refined fuels, grains, oilseeds, and non-food crops.

Pricing benchmarks have been key to the development of trade in financial and commodities markets, offering opportunities to manage price volatility and offset risk. But regulatory alarm bells have been ringing over the construction of settlement benchmarks since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash exposed widespread manipulation of settlement instruments, including Libor, used to determine billions of dollars’ worth of international trade.

Recent regulatory scandals have brought into sharp focus the fact that market participants relying on a vulnerable benchmark for clearing and trading can themselves be open to accusations of market abuse.

Benchmarks are now under increased

market and regulatory scrutiny, and regulators are working together across jurisdictions to scrutinise systemic risks posed by poorly formulated indexes.

Using its detailed knowledge of price formation in commodity and wider financial markets, PRIMA has tackled the problem of index price distortion head on. It has developed its own proprietary pricing software to eliminate the methodological flaws which can notoriously sway existing assessments away from unbiased fair value, to the detriment of market participants and consumers.

PRIMA’s price assessment methodology has been designed to give well-documented visibility on assessment formation to trading, management, regulatory, and compliance functionaries. This guarantees consumers that their commodities have been priced in the fairest way possible based on fully recorded sessions of bona fide trading.

PRIMA’s analytic products provide the accompanying understanding for market observers to contextualise the formation of PRIMA price assessments.

Equilibrium price relationships where renewables interface with traditional fossil fuels are complicated and inherently volatile as oil’s geological extraction and processing fundamentals differ wildly from the

fundamentals of growing feedstocks and processing them into biofuels.

PRIMA analyses the logistical supply chains for biofuels, feedstocks and their fossil fuel substitutes from well to wheel: from the non-food or agricultural commodity used to produce the biofuel, to the petrol or distillate motor fuel pool into which the biofuel will ultimately be sold for blending. PRIMA analytics give visibility on the current construction of prices in the biofuel, oil, and agricultural markets against their historical context, as well as understanding of the trends which will drive prices going forward.

The oil, agricultural, and biofuels markets are intrinsically international.

Arbitrage economics are constantly changing depending on supply/ demand balances between crops, waste feedstocks, and fossil fuel, as well as government tax and tariff policies designed to either protect home markets or stimulate domestic fuel supply industries. PRIMA provides the visibility on fuel and crop markets, biofuel mandates, and audit requirements, stretching from Asia to South America, which effective trading and hedging requires. PRIMA also carries out informed and trusted analysis on what real time developments in markets differentiated by geography and commodity profile may mean for sector specific or regional price direction.

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pricing provider filling the gap between traditional oil and agricultural analytic and pricing resources, provides a ready solution to the mounting benchmarking challenges facing the fuels and agricultural sectors as they interface through renewables.

Diversifying demand To accommodate existing biofuel markets, oil and agricultural firms have been forced to quickly seek a global understanding of the pricing relationships between the agricultural products used as biofuel feedstocks and the fossil fuels into which they are blended. With Asian, African and South American countries adding their own domestic biofuel markets to substitute imported oil with home grown fuel, the economics of renewables and their fossil fuel substitutes are stretching further and gaining in complexity.

Auditing requirements now have a big impact on fuel and feedstock supply

PRIMA price assessment

chains. Evolving standards ensure farmers use only the best environmental practices when growing feedstock for biofuel production.

The accompanying paperwork creates new pricing fundamentals while maximising the greenhouse gas savings biofuels can offer relative to their mineral oil equivalents and protecting natural habitats.

A clear understanding of how complex and sometimes contradictory mandate and

auditing policies work and interrelate is now intrinsic to effective risk management and profitable trading for producers, end-users and intermediaries across the oil, biofuel, and agricultural sectors. The importance of a transparent and rigorous benchmark process has been brought into sharp relief by recent record-

breaking regulatory fines for benchmark manipulation.

Market participants which rely on vulnerable benchmarks requiring subjective input expose themselves to unnecessary risk. This is where PRIMA steps in. l For more information: This article was written by Matthew Stone, MD of PRIMA. Visit: www.prima-markets.com

The rapid growth of biofuels has shifted supply/ demand fundamentals for oil and agricultural producers and end-users biofuels international

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biofuels heat exchangers Plate heat exchangers have several benefits when compared with other types of heat exchangers and can help bring great savings

The plates to bring the gains

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stablishing environmentally and economically sustainable processes in the ethanol industry is key to producers’ success. To be successful, an ethanol producer must reduce energy waste, maximise production and minimise maintenance operations.

Plate heat exchangers (PHE) excel in all of these areas.

Plants not necessarily interested in process optimisations can benefit from installing PHEs as a means of upgrading thermal integration technology. Heating and cooling of liquids is at the core of ethanol manufacturing.

Capturing surplus process heat and redirecting it to other areas of the plant reduces energy costs.

Great economic benefits can be obtained through a survey of all surplus and counterflowing heat streams and calculating recovery feasibility models, prioritising the results for maximum economic impact. Common recovery opportunities include thermal flows around: • Juice • Mash • Beer • 95% ethanol condenser • 100% ethanol condenser • 100% ethanol cooler • Distillation column bottoms cooler • Syrup condenser • Dryer exhaust heat recovery In every case, PHE interchangers can extract useful energy from temperature approaches thought to be unfeasible with

Plate heat exchanger technology offers process optimisation and cost benefits for ethanol manufacturers

shell and tube exchangers and thus tighten up the entire plant’s energy balance.

Solutions PHEs are ideal for accommodating the high flow rates, high-solids liquids and gas phase flows encountered in ethanol manufacturing processes. They deliver high-uptime performance in challenging applications, while their superior heat transfer efficiency reduces fuel costs. At the same time, their compact size and light weight gives them the space efficiency to accommodate retrofit needs and opportunities in heat recovery without excessive installation costs.

Tranter, a provider of PHEs with over 30 years of experience in the industry, manufactures heat exchanger lines which offer solutions

to some of the challenges encountered in ethanol processing. The heat exchangers Tranter can provide are gasket plate HEs, both normal design and wide-gap, spiral HEs, all-welded shell and plate HEs, and Platecoil embossed prime-surface HEs. Wide-gap gasketed PHEs With good thermal efficiency, these units offer close temperature approaches and high U values. Their high induced internal turbulence and high flow velocity reduce fouling and plugging.

These flow properties also aid clean in place (CIP) performance while helping to reduce downtime.

The wide flow channels are well-suited for viscous and solids-laden fluids encountered in ethanol liquid processing. Their asymmetric profiles make it possible

to configure wide/narrow or medium/medium plate arrangements to help optimise specific applications. In steam applications these exchangers are resistant to condensate blocking and flooding.

All-welded shell and plate HEs The shell and plate heat exchanger is designed as a performance upgrade over shell and tube and block-type welded heat exchangers.

The exchanger offers high thermal performance at a compact size, similar to that of gasketed plate heat exchangers, with low holdup volume and low installed weight, especially when filled.

The exchanger has a welded thermal element subassembly within a cage structure, welded only to the end cover. The cage prevents any cantilever stresses from being transferred to the plate

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energy from drains • Improve economic performance in existing tanks and vessels using clamp-on retrofits.

Spiral heat exchangers Heating or cooling of particleladen or viscous fluids in applications involving mash or syrup can be difficult for most types of heat exchangers.

Spiral heat exchangers – with their compact, single channel design – are suited for outstanding thermal and uptime performance in these applications. Spirals can attain high heat-transfer Gasketed plate HEs offer thermal control benefits in critical process stages, such as in yeast cooling

Ethanol PHE applications

pack. The result is a pressure vessel with an accordionlike core that is tolerant of thermal expansion.

In the ethanol industry, shell and plate units have proven to be well-suited for duties involving large flow imbalances, such as distillation vapour condensers, economisers, aftercoolers, intercoolers, and in related service.

• Evaporator heating banks

Platecoil prime surface HEs Platecoil embossed steel alloy prime surface heat exchangers deliver efficient and uniform thermal control in immersion duty, when jacketing vessels, reactors or dryer shells, and within fluidised beds or configured as gas phase heat recovery banks. In diverse thermal processing these exchangers can deliver better thermal control than pipe coil, half pipe, dimple sheet or gridcoil fabrications. Processors worldwide have used Platecoil banks or formed panels to: • Eliminate steam sparging for reduced water and steam consumption • Capture waste energy from moist, wet flue gases at temperatures as low as 67°C • Recycle low-grade heat

• Molecular sieve regeneration condensers

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• Batch hydrolysis vessel heating surfaces • Evaporator economisers • Economising and heat recovery • Blow heat recovery • Yeast coolers • Beer/mash interchangers • Thermal control of fermentation

coefficients with particleloaded fluids, while avoiding fouling, plugging, unequal fluid distribution or dead spots in both channels.

The spiral heat exchanger’s single flow channel is self-cleaning and foulingresistant, because flow cannot bypass an obstruction. As a result, the flow distribution within both channels remains even and steady throughout the exchanger.

Temperature differences between the fluids of less than 3°C can be reached.

Other significant applications in ethanol processing where spirals can be used involve vapour/ liquid and gas or vapour/ liquid service where the spiral’s subcooling capability and long condensation path maximise recovery. Spirals can also be integrated directly within column fabrications. l For more information: This article was written by Malcom Cagle, contracts and special projects, Tranter. Visit: www.tranter.com

• Vent condensers • Distillation column heating surfaces • Syrup condensers • Ethanol preheaters • Anhydrous condensers and coolers

Plate heat exchangers for ethanol manufacturing. From left: spiral HE, oblong shell & plate HE, gasketed PHE, standard and removable core shell & plate HEs, and Platecoil prime surface HE bank (foreground)

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biofuels heat exchangers Efficient heat exchange networks can help plant operators achieve significant savings in energy costs

Pinching on energy costs

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or many industrial sites, energy is the main cost of operations after raw materials. Not only is consuming energy very costly, but also most of the time a tremendous portion of this energy is lost due to inappropriate integration of heat. Consequently, the energy costs affect the total production cost of the final product. Improving the energy efficiency of processes thus represents a major objective.

Using the pinch method, to recover waste heat by strategically exchanging heat between hot and cold streams within the process, is an excellent choice to reduce energy consumption. When the number of exchanges is small, finding the optimum configuration manually is easy.

But when many exchanges are possible, an appropriate methodology and a specific tool become necessary.

In a pinch Pinch analysis is a well-known methodology for optimising process energy consumption.

It allows determining the minimum required process utilities consumption. This methodology minimises energy consumption of chemical processes by calculating thermodynamically feasible energy targets and achieving them by optimising heat recovery systems, energy supply methods, and process conditions.

In pinch theory, the synthesis of the optimal heat exchanger network is subject to construction rules, for example, the division of the problem into two sub-problems, one below and the other above the pinch temperature. However,

the ideal point may not be simple to reach due to partial exchanges on streams, stream divisions, or other reasons, and the number of heat exchangers needed may be significant.

While optimisation tools can help determine the optimal structure of heat exchanger networks using MINLP-type algorithms, these tools often have calculation times that are long, and their convergence on an industrial scale is not guaranteed.

Simulation software ProSim, a France-based chemical engineering software provider, has released a solution dedicated to process diagnostics and energy integration, Simulis Pinch.

The approach developed for Simulis Pinch is more efficient and pragmatic: the aim is to quickly propose some effective solutions with a limited number of heat exchangers.

The method is not an ‘optimal’ method in the mathematical sense of the term, as it systematically aims to exchange the maximum power between two streams that meet the real constraints of the industrial site, taking into account factors such as fluids compatibility and distance. If a hot stream and

T/Q chart and recoverable heat duty using Simulis Pinch

a cold stream can exchange heat, the algorithm searches for the possible couplings that allow the exchange of maximum thermal power under certain limitations or ‘boundary conditions’. The computational speed and built-in intelligence of the tool show the energy integration solutions due to the classical approach and also clearly identify which ones are impractical, based on criteria specified by the user.

Pinch analysis is important for understanding and optimising heat exchanger networks. Extensive literature exists on this methodology and has demonstrated it to be an effective way to reach energy efficiency objectives.

Nevertheless, engineers need an industrial approach and an

adapted solution to be able to easily apply pinch technology to find the best possible energy exchanges between streams to be heated and streams to be cooled. It must also take into consideration all the constraints of the plant, including distance and incompatible exchanges.

The combination of a complete process simulation software, such as ProSimPlus, and a tool dedicated to pinch analysis, like Simulis Pinch, make these products wellsuited for industrial users to make their processes more energy efficient. l For more information: This article was written by Isabelle Girard, marketing and communications manager, ProSim. Visit: www.prosim.net

Simulis Pinch: Energy integration of processes in Microsoft Excel

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biofuels heat exchangers Hot steam is often used in first generation ethanol processing for a variety of applications.

Second generation ethanol production, however, presents a whole new set of challenges

Steam rising

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he use of steam for heating is prevalent in most chemical processing industries, including the biofuels industry, due to its high energy density and versatility. Common steam applications in traditional first generation ethanol production include the initial heat-up of a starch slurry mixture and oil extraction of thin stillage via direct steam injection within a centrifuge. Steam is also used in the distillation process via heat exchangers.

A jet cooker known as the Hydroheater, from direct steam injection fluid heater manufacturer HydroThermal, is used in many traditional ethanol production processes. It has several advantages, such as shear from injecting steam into corn slurry and mechanical shear from a pressure drop across the jet cooker.

The Hydroheater is currently being used in a cellulosic ethanol production process that is focused on cooking and shearing the corn fibre in the whole stillage left over from processing corn to ethanol. The high temperature attained through the use of direct steam injection and the shear induced by the high pressure drop across the Hydroheater assists in making the corn fibre more accessible to the enzymes required for the conversion.

There are many similar opportunities for the use of the Hydroheater in second generation plants. The unit is ideal for lower viscosity slurries and where particle sizes are much smaller.

Direct steam heating can also play a role in sterilisation efforts to produce clean water

for use in the bio-sensitive areas of the process. Direct steam heating applications can also be used to produce hot water for clean-up.

Steam in second generation plants But what role does steam play in second generation ethanol plants? To begin to understand steam’s role in heating corn stover or other cellulosic materials, it is necessary to first consider the new challenges cellulosic materials present.

The abundance of cellulosic materials worldwide, and thus the low cost of feedstock, is a clear advantage in the production of ethanol. The challenges of using cellulosic materials include high fibre content, the need to process at very high levels of solids, and the presence of grit/ sands in the materials.

All these factors cause cellulosic slurries to be typically viscous and present complexities in heat transfer.

A typical heat exchanger depends on turbulent flows through heat exchanger channels or tubes in order to indirectly transfer heat from steam. Not only will this turbulence cause increased wear in a heat exchanger, but the high solids content of the cellulosic material will cause plugging or bridging issues.

A second challenge for the cellulosic industry is the high temperature required for breaking down cellulose fibre.

Typical heating profiles require exact temperature rises within a certain time frame. Pressure and chemical additions up to 180°C are required for processing feedstock

without creating negative compounds and to adequately break down plant cell walls.

Temperatures this high typically lead to an excessive number of failures in indirect heating applications. The use of direct steam injections allow for instantaneous high temperatures without the risk of equipment failure.

Sand and other abrasive elements inherent in this type of feedstock is also an issue.

New technologies are needed to deal with hard surfaces and to maintain a near-zero frictional pressure drop.

The non-obstructive heater Hydro-Thermal has designed a new patented product for this application. A heater with a straight-through design and a ceramic covering on the product surface is now

effective application for high viscosity slurries or slurries with larger particle sizes.

Second generation biofuels produced from cheaper and abundant plant biomass residues have been viewed for many years as a plausible method to decrease global dependence on petroleum, and as a valid octane enhancer. Cellulose and hemicellulose fractions from lignocellulosic residues make up more than twothirds of typical feedstock biomass composition and their conversion into ethanol will be advantageous for producers. However, this chemical process presents an exceptional challenge, as the technology to produce these replacement fuels is still being tested and developed.

Fuels derived from cellulosic biomass are essential in overcoming our dependence

The non-obstructive heater (NOH)

available for up to a 16� process pipe size. The nonobstructive heater (NOH) is designed to keep product velocities low, and features radial injection of steam into the product for an even mixing zone. The velocity of the steam will still impart shearing effects into the product, which will help break down cellulose complexes, but not at the level of a jet cooker.

This heater configuration is an

on petroleum for liquid fuels and addressing the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions which impact climate change and accelerate global warming. l For more information: This article was written by Jim Zaiser, president, Hydro-Thermal; Richard Bobinger, application engineer for Hydro-Thermal; and Scott Lucas, MD and principle of LucasE3.

Visit: www.hydro-thermal.com and www.lucase3.com

40 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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We understand that your interests are also our interests. Clients come first. Always. We know what’s important to your company. That’s all in our character, and one of our many strengths: location on open sea draft of 16.5 metres congestion-free connections with the hinterland no nine-to-five mentality accessible ports and people dedicated terminals for a broad range of cargo you can reach us 24/7 at +31 115 647400

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july/august 2015 41

biofuels enzymes New enzyme technology converts waste oils into biodiesel

Driving down costs

T

owards the end of 2014, Danish biotech company Novozymes launched a new enzymatic solution for the production of biodiesel from waste oils. Known as ‘Eversa Transform’, the enzyme process converts used cooking oil (UCO) and other lower grade oils into biodiesel.

Enzymatic biodiesel is not a new concept, but the high costs associated with this technology previously meant commercial viability was not realised. The reason for this is traditional enzymatic processes use immobilised enzymes.

While this ensures repetitive and continuous use of the enzyme, it also gives rise to an additional bearing on cost.

Eversa Transform is a liquid enzyme which is directly mixed with the oil. This cuts costs, therefore making it the first commercially available enzymatic solution to make biodiesel from waste oils or oils high in free fatty acids (FFAs).

been designed to handle.

‘We estimate that there are around 18 million tonnes of renewable oils available globally. While 6 million tonnes of this is being turned into biodiesel, we see the potential

0.5%. Doing that is costly with the traditional chemical process and so we offer an economically viable alternative with the enzymatic process.’

Despite being a difficult feedstock to handle, there

The Eversa enzymatic process converts UCO and other lower grade oils into biodiesel, helping producers reduce their raw material costs to convert a lot more,’ says Frederik Mejlby, marketing director for Novozymes’ Grain Processing division.

‘In order to produce onspec biodiesel from waste oils, the FFAs need to be reduced quite a lot, down to

are many advantages of using waste oils in biodiesel production plants. Growing demand for refined vegetable oil in the food industry has led to higher prices, causing biodiesel producers to search for alternative – and more

sustainable – feedstocks.

Most of the feedstocks currently used are from refined soyabean oil, refined palm oil, or refined rapeseed oil.

Existing biodiesel process designs have difficulty handling oils containing more than 0.5% FFAs, meaning that waste oils with high FFAs have not been a viable feedstock option in the past. The Eversa enzymatic process converts UCO and other lower grade oils into biodiesel, helping producers reduce their raw material costs. The biodiesel is sold to the same trade specification as biodiesel created through traditional chemical processing.

Eversa can work with a broad range of fatty materials as feedstock, but initial focus has been on UCO, DDGS corn oil and fatty acid distillates. ‘We even see some of our partners convert brown grease into biodiesel

Novozymes Eversa®

The underdog

Methanol

Biodiesel Enzymes

Feedstock

Oil Pretreatment

Polishing

Separation of crude FAME after reaction

The majority of biodiesel production plants today are based on chemical methods which require the use of harsh chemicals such as sodium methoxide (one of the most hazardous chemicals in traditional biodiesel plants) and sulphuric acid.

Of the approximate 25 million tonnes of biodiesel that are produced around the world each year, around 19 million tonnes are derived from refined vegetable oils.

Only the remaining 6 million tonnes come from renewable oils (typically high in FFA) and it is this under-used feedstock which Eversa has

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Pretreated Oil

Enzyme Reactor

Flash Dryer

Heavy phase

The enzymatic biodiesel process

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www.dsengineers.com so it really has an amazing potential,’ says Mejlby.

Roll-out Novozymes took around seven years to develop Eversa before the technology was launched towards the end of 2014. There are currently two plants using the enzymatic solution to produce biodiesel: Blue Sun at its St Joe Refinery in Missouri, and Viesel in Stuart, Florida. Production at Viesel’s plant has been halted since the beginning of April when four 10,000-gallon tanks of biodiesel caught fire, but operations are expected to resume later this year.

Although these two facilities are based in the US, Novozymes plans to roll out its technology globally and is currently working with partners in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

‘Using waste oils means we are able to match the most suitable feedstock to the technology. In some places this will be UCO, for example, while in southeast Asia it is palm oil,’ Mejlby explains.

He continues: ‘What is interesting about southeast Asia is that there is the crude palm oil, which is cheaper than rapeseed and soyabean oil, and then there is a side stream which comes out of palm oil refineries – palm oil fatty acid distillate (PFAD). This product can also be used to make biodiesel. We can target both crude palm oil and PFAD.’ Retrofit In order for an existing biodiesel plant to switch from a chemical catalyst to the enzymatic process, retrofitting is required. Biodiesel producers looking to utilise Eversa will therefore have to invest time and resources. Novozymes’ engineering partners estimate that the resulting improved process economy indicates a payback time of three years or less, depending on the plant

biofuels international

setup and feedstock savings potential in that region.

Mejlby says: ‘Most biodiesel plants out there need retrofitting in order to run on the enzymatic process, which takes anywhere from six to 18 months. Depending on each project, we estimate a payback between 12 and 36 months.

We work with engineering partners Desmet Ballestra out of Belgium, Viesel and WB Services in North America.’

Advantages Eversa offers biodiesel manufacturers the freedom to choose a wide variety of feedstocks, reduce utility costs and increase the safety and sustainability of biodiesel production: • Safer and more sustainable – The enzymatic process eliminates the need for sodium methoxide. The reduction of harsh chemicals and by-products ensures safety for both personnel and the environment. FFAs are also converted without the need for sulphuric acid.

• Environmental benefits – Based on a PhD study conducted by the Technical University of Denmark, CO2 emissions are 35% less compared to vegetable oil-based biodiesel that is manufactured using traditional methods.

Novozymes also plans to carry out a lifecycle assessment on Eversa in the near future.

• Does not use high pressure or high temperature – The enzymatic process runs at 35°C, compared to 70°C required for some other technologies. This therefore uses less energy and helps the biodiesel plant reduce its expenses. l

For more information: Visit: www.novozymes.com

Biomass Biodiesel Bioethanol Cogeneration From Basic Engineering to Full Turnkey Project Single Point Responsibility through EPC or EPCM+© with guaranteed: ✔ Process Performances ✔ Time Schedule ✔ Budget

Engineers & Contractors Brussels • Belgium Tel.: +32 (0)2 634 25 00 Fax: +32 (0)2 634 25 25 E-mail: info@dsengineers.com

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biofuels retrofit

High FFA esterification technology from BDI can be integrated into existing biodiesel plants

Feedstock for biodiesel: the good, the bad and the ugly Older biofuels plants, while still capable of continued operation, may encounter issues with being unable to efficiently use new materials or accommodate for changes in available feedstocks

W

hen raising the question of what is a ‘good’ feedstock for biodiesel production, the answer must always be: the cheapest. Consequently, ‘good’ does not include materials such as fresh vegetable oil, and ‘bad’ feedstocks – like used cooking oil (UCO) – are no longer state-of-the-art.

Today, ‘ugly’ feedstocks, such as grease trap waste, flotation fats, or Category 1 animal fats with free fatty acids (FFAs) above 50% and a high sulphur content, are entering the industry.

Austria-headquartered BDI has developed processing technologies for these ‘ugly’ materials.

Step by step improvements In 2002 BDI built a multifeedstock biodiesel plant, which handles UCO and animal fats, for ecoMotion Spain in Barcelona. In 2006, BDI increased the plant’s overall capacity to 31,000 tonnes per year, and in May 2015 completed the latest phase of the project by increasing feedstock flexibility.

The retrofit saw the installation of BDI’s high FFA esterification technology at the facility, where waste oils and fats with high FFA content can now be converted into second generation, standardscompliant biodiesel.

Customer demands Animal fats, in particular Category 1 materials and grease trap waste, vary in quality depending on the time of year. High temperatures during the summer cause animal by-products to quickly deteriorate in quality.

Consequently, the FFA content can rise up to 50% and above.

Due to the fluctuating FFA content, ecoMotion Spain’s original esterification unit, designed for using ‘bad’ feedstocks with up to 20% FFA, needed to be extended.

Esterification process BDI’s high-FFA esterification technology has been developed through in-house R&D work. The esterification unit can be integrated into biodiesel plants as an additional esterification step. It allows processing

feedstock with no upper limits on FFA content, while a conversion rate of up to 95% is achieved. Process conditions are designed so that the specific characteristics of ‘ugly’ feedstocks are handled by using only methanol and eliminating the need for additional catalysts. In order to maximise safety and ensure uniform quality of the final product, the process is program-controlled.

The feedstock will be mixed with methanol and heated up to the reaction temperature. The esterification reaction takes place in a continuous reactor under specific conditions.

After the reaction, low volatile substances, such as methanol and water, will be separated.

Excess methanol will be fully recycled in the process.

Success story With the BDI high-FFA esterification technology, ecoMotion Spain has increased the efficiency and flexibility of its biodiesel plant. By being able to efficiently process even the most challenging of animal by-products according to strict legal requirements, the technology makes an

important contribution towards saving resources and reducing CO2 emissions.

The retrofit project was completed according to agreed schedules and BDI handed over the plant following a successful trial run. As part of the order, the complete process control system of the plant was also brought up to date.

‘Biodiesel producers are currently facing major challenges as a result of uncertainties surrounding the future of European biofuel policy. However, the use of waste and residual materials is safeguarded due to the positive environmental aspects,’ says BDI board member Dr Edgar Ahn (CSO).

‘With the BDI retrofit programme, we can already integrate well-developed solutions into biodiesel plants for future needs. With the ecoMotion Spain project, we were able to prove our leading technologies biodiesel production and the handling of the most challenging animal by-products available on the market.’ l

For more information: Visit: www.bdi-bioenergy.com

44 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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The biodiesel industry is a volatile one and plant owners are often forced to take great risks. Help may be at hand with retrofit solutions designed to keep plants open for business even in the toughest of times

Future-proofing your plant

O

ver the past 10 years, the production of biodiesel has been one of the most challenging business arenas.

So many plants have been conceived, funded and built without vertical integration and have then fallen foul of the massive market shifts that have occurred.

Virtually all mainstream biodiesel plants built by conventional process OEMs in the US and Europe have undergone at least one financial restructuring, with some going through many more.

This is a sad indictment on the way in which legislators have not had the same level of commitment shown by so many in the industry. In a number of situations, the lack of international agreements, which make the playing field level for all and drive the biodiesel demand forward by simple legislation, has caused the pendulum of advantage to swing in all directions at different stages. These rapid changes have caused feast and famine across the international biodiesel processing stage, devastating businesses and investor confidence in the process.

This situation has left many plant owners assetrich and cash-poor whilst looking at ever tightening margins when processing their preferred feedstock.

have aspired to turn their plants into, as much as possible, multi-feedstock facilities. To do this, process module upgrades are the norm. Upon investigation, many plant owners have found original OEM plants to be expensive and that they only offer solutions generally in line with what the base technology was in the first instance.

Plant owners have therefore been left with the stark choice of mothballing until circumstances improve, instigating internal R&D processes to upgrade the plant themselves, or looking elsewhere for alternative solution providers.

None of these choices is risk-free or cheap.

The mothballing option is normally taken by plant owners who have delayed making the final choice until it is too late or cannot

afford the alternatives. In many cases, mothballing is the beginning of the end of that particular operation, as threshold to restart operation is very high, not to mention costly, and keeping good staff onboard when the business is not moving forward is not always easy.

The internal plant upgrade is a compelling option for many owners. Most in the industry are passionate about it and have a great deal of understanding about the chemistry and systems that are required to make plants work. There are many talented chemical and mechanical engineers within the biofuels industry, who – given half a chance – can do wonders.

However, even with handson experience in solving dayto-day processing matters, it will take some time to reach an optimised solution,

no matter what type of fix they pursue. In many cases, solutions for esterification from low to medium levels of FFA have been developed only to find the market moving even further within a short trading period. The question then is, will the engineers have enough time and resources to upgrade the plant?

The third, and perhaps the most unpredictable, option is to look for external help.

There are many solution providers with various mechanisms for establishing multi-feedstock capability.

Small and mighty One such provider is BHR Biofuels. It provides esterification and transesterification reactors built to specific plant requirements. These reactors are designed using process-

Plant owners’ options Most, if not all, plant owners

biofuels international

BHR Biofuels supplies esterification and transesterification reactors

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biofuels retrofit intensified methods that allow their physical size to be small whilst maintaining high levels of performance.

Using a combination of heat, pressure, and the application of appropriate mixing power to bring down reaction times allows these continuous systems to fit on a 13m x 3m containerised skid, available to be shipped globally. Due to their size, mobility and flexibility, process capacity can be scaled with relative ease with a minimum impact on space usage.

It is, for the most part, straightforward to retrofit these types of reactors upstream of the plant when a simple review of the plant’s process flow diagram (PFD) shows quite clearly the various location options. The decision of exactly where to

place the unit will then be a function of the process and the physical constraints of the plant’s layout.

Reactors and high-FFA feedstock The esterification reactor can be used as a pre-reactor module only to reduce the bulk FFA in the feedstock, or can also be utilised to treat either stripped FFA streams or soap streams coming off the existing plant. Another solution is to use a two-stage system to produce a well below 1% FFA stream from very high FFA streams of as high as 80% FFA, thereby completely replacing any pre-existing FFA plant treatment systems.

However, while these esterification reactors enable much larger quantities of

feedstock to be esterified from far greater levels of FFA, the process generates more wetted methanol. This wet methanol will have to be dried for reuse. If the plant has spare capacity within its methanol distillation module, it can be performed in-house. If not, external facilities or upgrades will have to be found.

The very nature of high FFA feedstocks means they can occasionally be used to make slightly lower ester biodiesel, and sometimes will require further post-processing, such as biodiesel distillation or glycerine washing. Both of these processes have been shown to raise the ester level to around and above the EN standard.

The same process can also be performed with

transesterfication reactors, which can be incorporated within an existing system either upstream in series, in parallel, or as a complete replacement system.

Due to the size and complexity of the reactors, and the economic model of BHR Biofuels, the reactors are priced competitively, and they can also be leased if the correct conditions are met by the plant owner.

These systems have been retrofitted at several plants in Europe and the US. For prospective clients who wish to view any of these retrofits, subject to certain conditions, a plant visit can be arranged. l For more information: This article was written by Dr Owen Matthew Davies, MD of BHR Biofuels.

Visit: www.bhrbiofuels.com

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On the high-rise: With the number of hotels and restaurants in Dubai increasing, cheap feedstock is becoming more widely available

Cooking up a solution Dubai’s tourism sector is growing, thus putting pressure on the city’s waste disposal system

T

he potential for biodiesel, generated from used cooking oil, is tremendous in regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is focused on driving its hospitality and tourism sector as part of economic diversification. With the number of hotels and restaurants in Dubai increasing – and set to grow, especially in the run-up to the 2020 World Expo and beyond – the ability to source feedstock cheaply and adequately is more promising than ever before.

As the UAE grapples with one of the highest per capita waste figures in the world, it is seeking to generate biofuel from used cooking

biofuels international

oil (UCO) as part of a drive that is eating away land.

Although the biodiesel industry has experienced tremendous growth, raw material supplies have served as a natural brake and created a strain on margins for biodiesel producers. The surge in commodity prices is a result of numerous factors including a weak dollar, expanding domestic and global biofuel production capacity, low commodity stocks due to global weather situations, increased energy and transportation costs, and the great global food demand.

In order to achieve the industry’s vision of replacing 5% of diesel demand by 2015, additional focus on new raw

material sources for biodiesel production is needed. New feedstock opportunities vary significantly both in terms of potential impact on the market in terms of volume and timing for commercialisation.

A factor that has limited green initiatives in the past is the perception of higher costs associated with renewable energy. This myth is being shattered through the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the energy sector. Dubai is rapidly becoming one of the most eco-friendly cities in the world, and forward-thinking cleantech companies such as Lootah Biofuels, which produces biofuel from UCO, are helping the UAE

achieve its green goals.

Following global concerns about the impacts of using food crops for biofuels production, there have been increased measures to encourage a more diverse range of feedstocks to be used in the future.

Why used cooking oil?

Huge quantities of waste cooking oils and animal fats are available throughout the world, especially in the Middle East which is emerging as a global hospitality hub.

Management of such oils and fats pose significant challenges relating to disposal and water/land contamination.

Even though some of this

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biofuels biofuels in the Middle East waste cooking oil is used for soap production, a large part of it is discharged into the environment. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the US estimates that some 100 million gallons of waste cooking oil a day is produced in the US. As large amounts of waste cooking oils are illegally dumped into rivers and landfills, the use of waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel for petrodiesel substitution offers significant advantages because of the reduction in environmental pollution. Diesel fuel consumption significantly contributes to the formation of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other global pollutant emissions. The petroleum diesel is also a major source of NOx, SOx, CO, particulate matter, and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

Such pollutants not only have a negative impact on the global environment, but they also severely impact human health due to their persistence in the environment.

The annual global consumption of diesel fuel is approximately 934 million tonnes. The US alone consumes 178 million tonnes a year. The use of waste cooking oil as a biodiesel source has the potential to reduce CO2, particulate matter, and other GHG emissions as the carbon contained in biomass-derived fuel is largely biogenic and renewable.

UCO, which would otherwise be wasted, is one of the most economical choices for producing biodiesel. Since one of the major concerns in biodiesel production is the price of feedstock, utilisation of waste cooking oil significantly enhances the industry’s economic viability.

Situation in the Middle East The unfavourable climatic conditions of the Middle East for growing crop-based

Economics

Large quantities of waste cooking oil are illegally dumped into rivers

feedstock makes UCO the most preferred feedstock for biodiesel production. With the Middle East emerging as a global hospitality and logistics hub, the demand for diesel and UCO potential have both increased drastically.

Using UCO as a feedstock reduces biodiesel production costs by about 60-70%, as feedstock constitutes approximately 70-95% of the overall biodiesel production costs. UCO has the highest carbon saving ratio amongst all available biodiesel feedstocks. The use of non-edible plant oils, when compared with edible

oils, is significant due to the tremendous demand for edible oils as food. Edible oils are also too expensive to be used as fuel at present.

In order to effectively recycle UCO into biodiesel, Dubai Municipality has authorised certain recycling premises like Lootah Biofuels and Neutral Fuels to collect UCO from restaurant and food chains. The municipality also takes stern legal action against restaurants who refuse to provide their UCO to these recycling premises and instead drain it into the sewers or sell it to illegal buyers on higher prices.

The economics of biodiesel production have taken a new turn with the current surge in crude oil price in the world market. BBC recently reported that the crude oil price set a fresh new record level at $109 (â‚Ź99) per barrel. The diesel price in the US is close to $4 per gallon and even the Middle East is not spared. As the oil prices increase in the international market, biodiesel could become a more viable alternate energy source. Oil feedstock cost accounts for over 70% of the total costs of biodiesel production.

Hence, if waste oils are used as biodiesel feedstock, the economics of biodiesel can be significantly improved.

Moreover, the use of waste cooking oil also reduces waste treatment costs.

In many parts of the world, there is no legislation to ban the disposal of waste cooking oil into the drainage system, which creates several operational and maintenance problems. The disposed oil can solidify, thereby blocking the drainage systems, and it also pollutes sewage and waterways. The cost of sewage treatment with high lipid content could be high.

Recycling UCO into biodiesel provides a solution to many of these problems.

Restaurants would not need to spend money to transport their waste oil to disposal sites. Municipalities could spend less money on sewage treatment if the lipid content in the sewage is low. Hence, recycling of waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel will decrease the cost of waste treatment. l

For more information: This article was written by Imran Khan, editor, Ziwira.

Contact: imran@ziwira.com

48 july/august 2015 biofuels international

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Biofuel technologies come and go, but active measures are needed to keep the current wave of bioeconomy from crashing

The third extinction: Getting real in biofuels

S

ome people love the term ‘creative destruction’.

However, it seems often to be used as a flimsy excuse for destroying strong knowhow built over decades and replacing it with anarchy.

But even in biofuels, nothing is permanent. There are far too many technologies competing for a place in the sun or against solar energy and plug-ins. Many must disappear so that the biofuel sector can develop sensibly.

Four biowaves and the third biofuel extinction

biofuels international

been reinvented, much in the same way one would reinvent the wheel, and huge financing inefficiency has thrown good money onto already-existing or doomed technology.

Now, a thoughtful moment for biofuels has arrived. They will not solve the world’s oil problem, due to there being far too little biomass.

Biofuels are too dependent on subsidies, unless there is a very strong security-ofsupply imperative. The latter is powerful in the US, and recent geopolitical events in

the EU have awakened the awareness. Therefore we need the right mix of biofuels in the secure, quadruply sustainable fuel supply. The triple bottom line has been expanded to a quadruple bottom line: economically, environmentally, socially, and politically sustainable biofuel solutions. His Holiness Pope Francis I, in his second encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, has also given a religious dimension to the discussion, which hopefully resonates deeply, even in agnostic hearts.

WE ARE RIDING THE FOURTH WAVE OF BIOECONOMY… THE PÖYRY BIOWAVES

First wave: Efficient local use of available biobased raw materials

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN Especially not solar energy

Second wave: WW II resource push

Third wave: 70’s oil crisis

Fourth wave: Modern bioeconomy

Now Time

Figure 1: Pöyry’s four waves of bioeconomy

COPYRIGHT©PÖYRY

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Image copyright: Pöyry

Among non-fiction books, Elizabeth Kolbert’s ‘The Sixth Extinction’ has received a lot of publicity.

The author discusses previous mass extinctions of species on Earth and asserts that we are now in the middle of a sixth extinction event. The bioeconomy and biofuels are approaching the fourth wave (Figure 1).

In the first wave, local biomass was used for partly local, partly export use for biofuels, bioenergy and biochemicals and materials (e.g. tar for the Royal Navy). The technologies from ancient times to the dawn of the 20th century disappeared, developed further, or lived on locally. The first extinction went by, not dramatically but naturally.

In the second wave, World War II brought on a resource crunch, with the need for a supporting bioeconomy.

Biocoal, biofuels, biogas and bio-based chemicals were all there. This time, many of the technologies went into hibernation, to be reawakened and improved.

This happened in the 70s, with the oil crisis leading to a furious effort in bioproducts.

Again, the technologies went into a deep sleep.

In the current fourth wave, the very much alive ghosts of old technologies have

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biofuels opinion The DNA of biofuel solutions An ancient Chinese curse says: ‘May you live in interesting times’. Indeed, we do. But, the opportunities are truly great. What biofuel technologies will live on?

What are the biofuel value chains that will survive and prosper? How will biofuels and electric cars live in symbiosis?

To make sense of the technology options and the family squabbles, we have used the archaeological option. If the third biofuel technology extinction is akin to a fight between DNAs of different species, we should build a database of the DNAs of biofuel technologies. We have reconstructed the basic DNA of a biofuel solution: feedstock, process, external input, outputs. A string of 41 zeroes and ones describes any biofuel technology – and the 41 criteria are infinitely expandable. Furthermore, we now have a system for viewing changes to development emphasis, new solutions budding off in a family of related solutions, and also a method for forecasting the next steps. Based on the DNA similarity, technologies arrange themselves in families. If a hypothetical new technology were to be introduced, mathematics will seek out the easiest steps to reach it (Figure 2).

Enter data mining and chemistry A characteristic of biofuels has for a long time perhaps been a strong emphasis on gasification and equipment, or in other words, equipment resembling big boxes of steel. Molecules are not big enough for big business.

However, a change can be seen, also perhaps because of the expense of investments in many gasification-based technologies. If we want to

be creatively destructive, we must lay aside big steel for a while. It is needed; machinery suppliers will still be key. However we must also consider the molecules.

If we assume that certain DNAs will survive the third extinction, the digestion of these creatures is key.

Some ground rules are: • The simpler and more robust the digestion, the better • The more types of biomass that can be digested, the better • The more efficient the uptake of nutrients from expensive biomass, the better • The shorter the path from land/ocean biomass to consumer, the better.

Hence, we are really looking for ways to find short, efficient pathways from biomass to the

X? The technology reaper plays no favourites.

X?

X? X? Figure 2: Playing with technology family trees

COPYRIGHT©PÖYRY

management consultants – without any clue about what it was – called it ‘big data’, which is now going to solve everything. It will not, but in finding the best new routes mentioned earlier, a new alliance between data mining,

A thoughtful moment for biofuels has arrived. Biofuels will not solve the world’s oil problem, and they are too dependent on subsidies. Therefore we need the right mix of biofuels in the secure, sustainable fuel supply end product. But the problem here is the myriad types of biomass, of processes, of enzymes, chemicals, and routes. How do we find the valid candidates?

In the 80s, there was something called ‘artificial intelligence’ that was going to solve everything. It didn’t, but it hid itself everywhere in the computer programs we use.

There was also something called neural networks and data mining, and they also hid themselves, until

X?

chemistry, material knowhow, and economics is essential.

Material knowhow (including biomass) is advancing with huge steps.

The technology for data mining has existed for some time. Chemistry is advancing among innumerable paths, where no single expert can understand more than a few. The economics from biomass to market are complex. But, if we: • Use databases of basic chemical transformations

and molecules; • Use known warning flags for problems and let computer programs discover new ones; • Combine, among others, biomass availability and price expertise; • Use the best methods in molecule design; • Vector in coming virtual reality technology (such as Oculus Rift and Microsoft Hololens); • And let big datamasses be crunched, we will have a completely new type of laboratory for process and product development for which commercial solutions already exist. This does not replace pilots and demo plants, but it will both save on doomed investments and open new possibilities. And best of all, this laboratory exists today. Extinction is ongoing, but this time maybe it will be a process of true innovation. If not, then maybe energy insecurity will secure subsidies until this creative process kicks in. l

For more information: This article was written by Petri Vasara, Dr Tech., global practice leader, Pöyry Management Consulting Oy. Visit: www.poyry.com

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Putting an end to filters clogged by sterylglycosides in biodiesel production

The saponification of unsaponifiables

S

terols are natural constituents of vegetable oils in their acylated (ASGs) form. They consist of three chemically connected units: fatty acids, glucose and steroids. Sterols are the major part of the socalled unsaponifiables of crude plant oils. The level of sterols is high especially in palm and soyabean oil.

But elimination through refining is never complete.

What is left of the sterols (ASGs) in the oil will enter the alkaline biodiesel process.

Upon transesterification the fatty acids are cut off to form FAME, but the steroid remains linked to the glucose to form the sterylglycoside (SGs). The glucose makes the steroid very polar and little soluble in biodiesel.

Even at rather low levels of 20-50 ppm, SGs promote the formation of aggregates in biodiesel – which appear as cloud-like milky substances of particles of only 10-15 microns – most likely to clog filters. DIN EN 14 214 limits the level of SGs in biodiesel to <5ppm. inaChem GmbH came across this problem when it recently designed a new acid catalysed process for biodiesel, called the MBT Technology (EP 2 464 715).

For the first time it is using an acid catalyst – methane sulfonic (CH3-SO2-OH) acid – which, unlike sulfuric (HO-S=O2-OH) acid, does not sulfonate the biodiesel.

The MBT Technology was primarily designed to replace the double step process of acid oils and UCOs – esterification followed by transesterification – with a single step reaction.

biofuels international

Fatty acid

Glucose

Steroid

Sterols - ASGs

Methane sulfonic acid Glucose

Steroid FAME

soluble in glycerol

soluble in biodiesel

Complete saponification of sterols

During scaling up, inaChem observed palm and soyabean oils with high levels of sterols (ASGs). The company’s researchers were surprised to find no SGs in the biodiesel after transesterification. Even after months of storage at low temperature they did not observe any fine particles or cloudiness. The analytical HPLC test then proved the complete absence of SGs in the biodiesel.

So what had happened, did the sterols simply disappear?

With help of Dr Hendrik Stein from ASG Analytical Service at Augsburg, the researchers realised that the methane sulfonic acid cleaves the sterols (ASGs) completely into its three chemical units: glucose which enters the glycerol phase, fatty acids which are esterified, and the pure steroid which enters the biodiesel phase in which it is well soluble.

Sterylglucosides are not formed, and hence the filter clogging problem due to SGs is completely eliminated.

Producers handling feedstock from soyabean and palm oil which contain

sterols at levels higher than 50 ppm could now consider switching to MBT Technology. inaChem discussed with experts how its technology could further help improve the efficiency of biodiesel production, especially from sterol rich soyabean and palm oils.

Of the several refining steps from crude oil to feed oil, it may be possible to omit the last three. MBT Technology makes it possible to use the oil directly after it has been neutralised.

The oil still contains FFAs and

water but neither of these impurities interfere with the MBT Technology, inaChem research has proven.

Of course, this is only the very beginning of a new idea for improving biodiesel production technology.

However, improvements in efficiency can be observed by eliminating refining steps.

This approach still has to be discussed further and evaluated with experts.

While today most of the financial support for renewable energy innovation is handed to second generation or advanced biofuels, inaChem feels there is much more potential to improve the first generation biofuel – or biodiesel – and to finally make biodiesel the best biofuel out of all generations. l

For more information: This article was written by Dr Axel Ingendoh of inaChem GmbH. Visit: www.inachem.de

Crude Oil Sterols Degumming Sterols Neutralization

Bleaching Sterols

Feed Oil Sterols

Steam Distillation

Feed Oil MBT Biodiesel

Biodiesel

Proposed shortcut of crude oil refining for MBT Technology

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New guidance from the US Patent & Trademark Office identifies limitations on what can be claimed

Are your claims patent eligible?

A

s a leader in biofuel production, the US presents a key market for developing and protecting technology to convert biomass to biofuels. Patents, and their exclusionary rights, provide an important tool for commercialising biofuels and other bio-products, or otherwise participating in the bio-based economy. The US has seen a significant change in several aspects of its patent laws over the last several years, however, creating an impetus to review patent portfolios currently protecting or being built around these technologies.

One area of significant change has been in ‘subject matter’ or patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Section 101 generally establishes the patent-eligible statutory classes of invention, which include processes, machines, manufacture, and compositions of matter.

Historically, the only limitations (or exceptions) placed on the eligibility of claims that fall within these classes have been that the claim must not be directed solely to a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea. Despite most, if not all, inventions including elements of these exceptions within their scope, US courts and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) did not enforce section 101 as a threshold requirement until recently.

Significant to the industry, the Supreme Court ruled as patent ineligible claims

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encompassing isolated DNA molecules having a naturally-occurring sequence in its June 2013 Association for Molecular Pathology v.

Myriad Genetics Inc. decision.

While leaving room for the patent eligibility of claims encompassing DNA molecules that have been modified by the hand of man, e.g. complementary DNA (cDNA), the Myriad decision swept away scores of granted patent claims to isolated, naturallyoccurring DNA molecules.

In its wake, lower courts have begun the formidable task of defining the bounds of what biotechnology-related patent claims remain patent eligible. And, the USPTO recently issued guidance, including examples, for determining if a claim that encompasses a naturallyoccurring phenomenon (or product of nature) is patent

eligible. These examples extend well beyond patent claims to isolated DNA molecules and are a must read for anyone in the biobased economy seeking US patent protection.

This article provides an introduction to the USPTO’s section 101 examination guidance and highlights several relevant examples.

Subject matter eligibility examination at the USPTO In determining subject matter eligibility, the patent examiner makes an initial determination of whether a patent claim falls within one of the four statutory classes of invention under section 101: process, machine, manufacture, and composition of matter (Figure 1, step 1).

If the claimed invention falls

Step 1 IS THE CLAIM IN A STATUTORY CLASS?

Step 2A IS THE CLAIM DIRECTED TO A LAW OF NATURE, PRODUCT OF NATURE OR ABSTRACT IDEA?

Step 2B DOES THE CLAIM AMOUNT TO SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE JUDICIAL EXCEPTION?

Figure 1: USPTO examination scheme for patent eligibility

within a statutory class, she then proceeds to apply the two-step test established by the Supreme Court in its 2012 Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories decision.

First, the patent examiner determines whether the patent claim encompasses or recites an exception to patent eligibility, i.e. a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea (Figure 1, step 2A). Products of nature include both naturally occurring products and man-made products that are not ‘markedly different’ from naturally occurring counterparts. Under this step, the examiner must determine if there is any marked difference between a claimed product and its naturally occurring counterpart.

Second, the patent examiner determines whether the claim includes an element or combination of elements in addition to the judicial exception so that the patent claim, when viewed as a whole, amounts to significantly more than the exception (Figure 1, step 2B). If the patent claim as a whole does not ‘tie up,’ i.e. prevents others from using the recited exception, then the claim is likely patent eligible. Under Step 2B, the patent examiner is to consider the additional claim elements individually and as an ordered combination.

Patent eligibility of claims reciting a ‘nature based product’, which is the USPTO’s term for a product

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biofuels patents that needs the marked differences examination, will turn in most cases on the outcome of the step 2A analysis. Step 2B is largely geared towards examination of claims that recite a law of nature or an abstract idea.

In the abstract, this twostep inquiry can seem quite complicated, particularly for patent claims that encompass products of nature.

Fortunately, the USPTO provided guidance in its recent examples to illustrate how it will determine patent eligibility of claims reciting such products1. The examples discussed below illustrate where those in the bio-based economy may encounter application of the test.

Of biocatalysts and their products Biofuel production generally involves the enzymatic conversion of a starting molecule (e.g. a sugar) present in a renewable starting composition (e.g. corn stover extract), into a fuel molecule (e.g. ethanol), present in an output composition. The fuel molecule is then isolated from

Keeping a close eye on this developing area of US patent law is critical to … a strong patent portfolio

may recite a nature based product and consequently will be examined for subject matter eligibility at the USPTO. Claims to biocatalyst microorganisms The US Supreme Court confirmed the patent eligibility of genetically modified microorganisms in its landmark Diamond v. Chakrabarty decision. A recombinant microorganism and its naturally occurring counterpart can have markedly different structural characteristics based on the mere presence of a transgene or if the transgene confers a new activity on the host cell.

However, claim drafters must

Input

Process

Output

Biomass Host cell

Automation

Fuels Chemicals

CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER

Enzymes

JUDICIAL EXCEPTION

Products of nature

Co-products

Abstract ideas

Products of nature

Figure 2: Typical patent claims and the judicial exceptions for biofuel production

the output composition.

A robust patent portfolio covering aspects of biofuel production will include composition claims directed to the biocatalyst, the input and output compositions, and method claims directed to various phases of biofuel production and extraction.

Each of these types of claims

avoid capturing naturally occurring microorganisms within the scope of the claim. For example, a claim to ‘a bacterium from the genus Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energygenerating plasmids, each of said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon

degradative pathway’ would be patent eligible if no naturally occurring Pseudomonas contains two stable plasmids providing separate hydrocarbon degradative pathways. But if such a Pseudomonas exists in nature, or is later discovered, then the claim would not be patent eligible.

Claims to an isolated naturally occurring microorganism are not patent eligible. However, a claim to a mixture of bacterial species where the mixture has, for example, different host infectivity than the individual species in nature, may lead to a different result. Under the USPTO’s examples, a claim to ‘an inoculant for leguminous plants comprising a mixture of Rhizobium californiana and Rhizobium phaseoli is patent eligible where (i) Rhizobium californiana and Rhizobium phaseoli do not occur together in nature, and (ii) the claimed inoculant infects a host plant that neither bacteria would infect in isolation.

Claims to renewable starting compositions Production of biofuels or other renewable chemicals relies on some form of biomass as a starting material.

Thus, claims to a starting composition will necessarily recite a nature-based product. Nevertheless, the claim may be patent eligible if the starting composition has markedly different characteristics compared to the naturally occurring

source of the biomass.

For example, a claim to ‘a beverage composition comprising pomelo juice and an effective amount of an added preservative’ may be found patent eligible over the naturally occurring pomelo fruit, where a marked difference of the claimed composition is slower spoiling.

Thus, careful comparison of the starting biomass’ characteristics to that of the naturally occurring source materials may identify differences that could support the patent eligibility of claims to the starting biomass.

Claims to a product isolated by a process Under a long standing principle of US patent law, the patentability of a product-by-process claim turns on the patentability of the product itself. The same principle applies in the patent eligibility examination. For example, a claim to a biofuel composition defined by the process of making it is patent eligible only if the biofuel composition itself is markedly different from a naturally occurring counterpart. If the biofuel composition does not have a naturally occurring counterpart, the examiner would compare the composition to its individual components as they occur in nature.

For example, a claim to ‘a gunpowder composition comprising potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur’ is patent eligible because of the marked difference between the explosivity of the gunpowder composition relative to the lack of explosivity of the individual components as they occur in nature. Thus, a careful comparison of the characteristics of a biofuel composition to that of its individual components as they occur in nature could identify marked differences that may support patent eligibility of a biofuel composition.

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Processes not exempt The USPTO applies the same two-part analysis to determine patent eligibility of process claims. However, a process claim that recites a product of nature exception is patent eligible when the claim as a whole focuses on a process of practically using the product of nature, and not on the product per se. For example, a claim to ‘a method of treating cancer by administering amazonic acid’ is patent eligible even if a claim to the amazonic acid itself is not.

Similarly, a claim to a method for producing a biofuel using a naturally occurring

enzyme or microorganism is likely patent eligible even if a claim to the enzyme or microorganism per se is not.

Generally, processes of producing a biofuel or bio-product using a product of nature qualify as patent eligible. And, extraction, distillation, and other processes to recover the biofuel or bio-product also qualify just the same.

However, just because a claimed process includes steps of extraction or recovery, does not per se make the claim patent eligible.

Where, for example, the claimed process includes an algorithm or mathematical

formula, which qualifies as a law of nature or abstract idea, to control a step or the entire claimed process, the claim may not be patent eligible. The USPTO will apply the same two-step analysis to determine if such claims as a whole provide meaningful limits on the use of the algorithm or mathematical formula and qualify as patent eligible.

Conclusion The USPTO’s examples for determining patent eligibility of claims that recite products of nature provide useful guidance for evaluating the viability of patent portfolios currently

protecting or being built around production of biofuels and other bioproducts in the US. However, the scope of patent eligibility will continue to change as courts further define its boundaries. Keeping a close eye on this developing area of US patent law is critical to the development and maintenance of a strong patent portfolio. l References: 1 See http://www.uspto.gov/ patents/law/exam/mdc_examples_ nature-based_products.pdf.

For more information: This article was written by Directors, Jeremiah Frueauf and Deborah Sterling, Ph.D. and Associate Miklos Gaszner, Ph.D. Visit www.skgf.com

Deadline for artwork: 1st September

Don’t miss your chance to appear in the September/October 2015 issue of Biofuels International magazine Regional focus: Asia Feedstock focus: Algae Aviation: Efforts are firmly underway to bring to market sustainable aviation fuel that will reduce GHG emissions and diversify the fuel supply Corn oil: The use of corn oil for the production of biodiesel has grown substantially in recent years Oilseed extraction: How should oilseeds be processed before pressing?

Software and automation: Automation technology in biofuels plants plays a key role in ensuring safety and availability Risk reduction: Addressing investment risk in the second generation biofuels industry

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Upcoming biofuels events SEPTEMBER 2015 15-17 Oils and Fats

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26-28

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27-29

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25-26

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Biofuels International magazine (ISSN 1754-2170) is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September, November by Woodcote Media, Marshall House, 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6RW. The 2015 annual subscription price is $275. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd street, Jamaica, NY11413 Periodical postage pending at Jamaica NY 11431.

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