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November 2007
New Energy magazine for the bioenergy business
Fuel for our future Biomass: Next field of dreams? Diversity of fuel by-products Supplement with De Molenaar
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Workshop Workshop::
use of
Alternative
biogas
December 18, 2007
Location: Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5 8500 Kortrijk Belgium
x Mrs Anneli Petersson [Swedish Gas Centre, SE]
x Mr. Maikel Timmerman [ASG-WUR, NL]
x Mrs Eline Ryckebosch
x Mrs Nathalie Devriendt [VITO, BE]
x Mr. Mathieu Dumont [Platform Nieuw Gas, NL]
x Mr. Erik Polman
x Mr. Jo Demeyere
x Mrs Helge Vandeweyer
[Kiwa, BE]
[VREG, BE]
[HOWEST, Departement
[HOWEST, Departement PIH - Project Biomethane, BE]
Biogas is booming business in Belgium. Many plants are under construction and a lot of research in pre- and post-treatment is going on. One of the most important topics for future implementation and development of biogas in Belgium will be the economic and energetic optimization of the use of biogas. In this aspect there is a research project going on in West-Flanders called Project Biomethane. Some of the results of this research project will be presented on the next workshop organised by Biogas-E vzw, together with other policy views, results and practical experiences from Belgium, the Netherlands & Sweden. (all presentations are given in Dutch, except one)
BIOGAS-E VZW Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5 B-8500 Kortrijk
+32 (0)56 24 12 63 +32 (0)56 24 12 24 info@biogas-e.be
Check out www.biomethaan.be Check out www.biomethaan.be For the programme and registration, For the programme and see www.biogas-e.be registration, see www.biogas-e.be
01•Inhoud:01
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14:35
COLOFON
Pagina 1
New Energy is a supplement with De Molenaar, trade journal for the grain processing and feed industry in the Benelux. De Molenaar is a two weekly trade journal. The special New Energy, magazine for the bio energy business, is first published in October 2006. The second publication is due in April, 2007.
CONTENT
Management Egbert van Hes, general manager Pieter van Hes, manager
Commercial manager Seb van der Kaaden
Editorial staff Jacqueline Wijbenga, managing editor Trees van der Wal, senior editor Tineke van der Weg, editor Editorial contributors Lourens Gengler, Florian Gerlach, Jacques Van Outryve, Mark van Seggelen, Jef Verhaeren, Hans van Vliet, Mike Wilson and others. Editorial address P.O. Box 340 8901 BC Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) Tel. +-31-(0)58-2954862 Fax. +-31-(0)58-2954878 Email: redactiemolenaar@eisma.nl Advert department Siebolt Nieuwenhuis, head of sales Ria Hoekstra, sales administration Advert department address P.O. Box 340 8901 BC Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) Tel. +-31-(0)58-2954865 Fax. +-31-(0)58-2954871 Email: verkoop@eisma.nl Subscriptions Vanessa Olde Agterhuis Tel. +-31-(0)58-2954870 Fax. +-31-(0)58-2954871
CONTENT
content
Publishing company Eisma Businessmedia bv P.O. Box 340 8901 BC Leeuwarden (The Netherlands)
Publisher Minne Hovenga
POLICY
2 New Energy News 4 High prices fuel debate on food security 20 Fuel for our future
BIODIESEL
9 10
Subcribers to De Molenaar will automatically receive the supplement New Energy. Those interested in the special New Energy can subscribe to this special. Each copy will cost €5 (excluding VAT) to be paid upon receipt.
Biodiesel-project fed by jatropha oil Glycerol more than just a by-product
BIOMASS
14 18
Biomass: The next field of dreams? Harvest, transport and storage of biomass big challenge
BIOETHANOL
22 24
Fuel from wheat and sugar beets Quality and diversity problem of fuel by-products
PrePress ZeeDesign, Witmarsum (The Netherlands)
DEVELOPMENT
27
Print Scholma druk bv, Bedum (The Netherlands) © Copyright 2006 Eisma Businessmedia bv, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. Nothing from this publication may be multiplied and/or copied in any way without written permission from the publisher. Publisher and authors declare that this magazine was made with the utmost care and to the best of their knowledge. However neither publisher nor authors can be held responsible for the correctness and/or completeness of the information supplied. Publisher and authors do not accept any responsibility for any form of damage caused by decisions or actions taken on the basis of the presented information. Users of this magazine are firmly advised to not use this information without question, but to use their professional knowledge and skills and to check the information before use.
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Cars don’t drive on vitamins
New Energy November 2007
02-03•NE News:02-03
05-11-2007
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Pagina 2
New Energy News
EU reduces aid for energy crops The European Commission will reduce the aid per hectare for energy crops this marketing year. Farmers will receive 45 euro/ha only for just over 70 percent of the land on which they claimed the aid. The rather small and symbolic aid of 45 euro per hectare was decided in the Mid Term Review-package (MTR) for a maximum guaranteed area (MGA) of 1.5 million hectares or a budget. The MGA was extended in December 2006 to 2 million hectares or 90 million euro when the new member states entered into the system. The first and the second year the energy crop premium area was respectively 0.56 m hectares and 1.25 m hectares and so below the MGA and within the budget. For 2007 farmers have applied for 1.989 m hectares in the old and 0.854 m hectares in new member states. That means that the MGA and the budget will be oversubscribed. The European Commission now has decided, unanimously backed by the Management Committee for Direct
Payments (representating the member states) to reduce the area each farm has claimed by a coefficient of 0.70337. In other words farmers will receive the 45 euro/ha aid only for just over 70 percent of the land on which they claimed the aid. To receive the energy crop premium farmers have to have a contract with a collector or first processor in order to ensure the crops will be used for processing into the relevant energy products. And those contracts are already signed. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann Fischer Boel, said that this payment has been very useful in stimulating the European biofuels sector. But she asked herself whether it is still necessary. “There is a binding target for biofuels and a blossoming marketplace now”, she said. She will discuss
the aid in the Health Check of the agricultural EU-policy. Biofuel in transport Speaking in Brussels at Agra, Alexander Langenfeld from the European Commission said that the EU could increase biofuel use in transport from 10 percent to 14 percent by 2020. There is enough raw material available, but he said also that without a binding target the EU would only achieve 4 percent by 2020. To reach the 10 percent target the EU needs to shift 18 million ha of land to raw material for biofuel production. One third of this could come from setaside. Two thirds has to come from expanding crop area and converting land away from cereal production. But the EU will also import raw material from third countries, like sugar cane from Brasil and rape oil from Ukraine and Russia and palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. The EU will also import biofuels.
New Energy
US corn ethanol market begins consolidation New corn-based ethanol plants are being built across the U.S. Midwest and corn prices are nearly double their levels of two years ago. So it’s hard to believe anyone is worried about the U.S. ethanol market. But those who have studied the markets believe there is at least some cause for concern. “In the next 12 to 18 months we’ll have too much ethanol on the market”,
predicts Jim Murphy, staff consultant at The Context Network, a West Des Moines, Iowa consultancy focusing on strategy and market issues. “The industry will go through consolidation”, he says. “You’ll see some plants bought up and people going out of business because they can’t make money at it.” The market for ethanol as a fuel additive
IN BRIEF The European Investment Bank has made ‘sustainable, competitive and secure energy’ one of its priority objectives in its Corporate Operational Plan for 2007-2009. In 2006, the EIB financed projects within the EU in the energy sector with EUR 3 billion in loans, of which EUR 456 million for investment in renewable energy. The targets set for 2007 within the EU have been raised to EUR 4 billion of loans for investment in the energy sector, of which some EUR 600-800 million should be for renewables. When looking at the energy balance in ethanol production it is more effective to use its co-product DDGS as a fuel source than to sell it for animal feed, according to Nicholas Zeman in Ethanol Producer magazine.
in U.S. vehicles will be saturated by 2008, Murphy predicts. Ethanol plants will sell out before they go broke predicts Iowa State farm management specialist Steve Johnson. “We’re going to consolidate ethanol plants like you wouldn’t believe”, he says. “Someone else will simply own that plant with better margins to manage that risk. But the ethanol plants that are up and running have a pretty good cushion. The easy money has already been made.” U.S. government policies will have a big impact on how far the market will go for renewable fuel, Murphy says. Next year the U.S. Congress may pass a new, ‘alternative fuel standard’ that could raise the bar and set a more aggressive standard to get somewhat more close to what President Bush has called for – 35 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2017. Without such incentives the future is cloudy, he adds.
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Third World countries call for moratorium on biofuel development The direct and indirect effects of the biofuel blending targets set by Western countries are huge. At least one group now believes Western countries should stop stimulating biofuel production, at least for a set period of time. This should enable all those concerned to get a clear picture of the consequences of the developments set in motion by putting blending targets. This conclusion was drawn by the participants of a debate on ‘Biofuel policy and the South’ held in The Netherlands. “Local needs should be taken into consideration before world wide biofuel policy is made”, stressed Mina Susana Setra of Aman. “The first task of agriculture is to feed people, not to make fuel”, according to Brasilian Mateus Trevisan. The Dutch minister of Environment, Jacqueline Cramer, was impressed by the concerns of the people contributing to the debate. But she is of the opinion that Western countries do have an obligation to provide a sustainable world for generations to come and to contribute to solving the climate problem. “Making the right choices is not always easy.” The minister however is convin-
ced Western countries should make an effort to stimulate rural sustainable development in Third World countries. “Biofuel development could be part of that”, says Cramer. Therefore she is not willing to stop the development of these fuels. “We should however take sustainability into consideration as a major concern.” Cramer was president of a Dutch committee that set sustainability criteria for biofuel development. The Dutch members of parliament present at the debate all agreed that these criteria should be leading. Marcial Arias from Panama is not convinced these sustainability criteria will be sufficient to stop the adverse effects. “These criteria focus on economics, but hardly include social and cultural criteria. To protect the local people those should be part of sustainability criteria.” Simone Lovera, managing coordinator of the Global Forest Coalition, however thinks that it should be limited to small scale projects. “Stop deforestation at a large scale now. Once the forest is gone, climate change will progress rapidly even though you continue focussing on sustainability.”
gy News
Cargill to convert waste to energy in Indonesian Cattle Feed Lot Cargill is constructing an anaerobic digester on PT Santosa Agrido’s Lampung Bekri 23,000-cattle feedlot operation in Lampung on the Indonesian isle of Sumatera. Every year, the digester will capture and convert cattle effluent from the feedlot and convert it to 900 tones of methane gas that will be used to generate energy for the feedlot. The project will also reduce the greenhouse gas equivalent of 188,000 tones of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere over 10-years. Co-products from the process and digested solids will be used as organic fertilizer for growing corn for their cattle feed. This digester is currently under construction and is scheduled to be fully operational by February 2008.
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Downside Each advantage has a downside. This is a famous saying of our Dutch soccer player and coach Johan Cruijf. The saying seems to apply to biofuels as well as to many other things in life. Just as we’ve found a way to put a major effort towards tackling the climate problem, we’re confronted with its negative consequences. From a scientific point of view the climate problem was always there, however not as severe as we seem to experience it in this day and age. Is it a sign of a next ice age or can we really blame it on our own human behaviour and activities? Scientists don’t agree on either theory, however they do agree that something has to be done to stop the adverse effects. This realisation made many governments look at the contributions they make to stop the adverse effects of the climate change. In Western communities one of the answers was to stimulate biofuel development, especially by putting blending targets into place. This resulted in a boost to biofuel development, especially in the US and EU. The blending targets however can not be met by their own production. Calculations show that even if all set-a-side land is dedicated to biofuels, there won’t be enough to meet the demand. Imports of raw materials, or even biofuels, are necessary. And this is were the scales go out of balance, according to a number of nongovernmental organisations. They plea for a moratorium –time to stop and think- on the imports of raw materials and biofuels. The Dutch minister of Environment, Jacqueline Cramer, and her Agricultural collegue Gerda Verburg are of the opinion we can do both: stimulate green fuels and help third world countries in their development to secure food supply and maintain biodiversity. All it takes is a lot of effort, but it is possible, they say. Let’s just take a minute to stop and think, before we jump on that train already in motion. We might have a better feel of direction if we wait for the next one. The saying each downside has an advantage, might prove to be equally true. Jacqueline Wijbenga
New Energy November 2007
04-05-06-08•world food:4-5-6-8
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High prices fuel de b Policy
[Jacqueline Wijbenga]
Organisor The rising prices of raw materials fuel the debate over whether or not to stimulate the production of biofuels. The Dutch foundation on the world food dilemma organised three debates with captains of industry, policy makers, scientists and non governmental organisations
Sustainable attention of policy makers and professional for the world food issue is the main aim of the Dutch Foundation for World Food Dilemma. This foundation works together with the Dutch Farmers Association (LTO Nederland), World Wildlife Fund, Oxfam Novib and the labor union FNV Bondgenoten. Experts from different fields such as energy, agriculture, food production, finance as well as representatives from universities, non governmental and governmental organisation were invited to join the debate on The right to feed or fuel. This lead to the final debate on World Food Day, October 16th, 2007.
to discuss ‘The right to food or fuel’. “Biofuels are a bitter necessity to contribute to bringing climate change to a halt”, according to the Dutch minister of Agriculture.
Higher prices for grains have drawn attention to the use of these products for purposes other than food production. Mexican tortillas and Italian pasta became more expensive this past summer. The fingers pointed in the direction of biofuel producers as those responsi-
ble for this effect. Agricultural and economic analysts disagree with this conclusion, as only a small part of the world grain supply is used to produce biofuels. However everyone agrees that yet another market, besides food and feed, using the same raw materials puts the
pressure on supplies. That’s especially true in years when harvests are low due to droughts or floods, such as in 2007. High grain prices also fuel the debate on world wide food security. This topic was discussed in three meetings set up by the Dutch foundation on the world food dilemma (see text box). The outcome of these meetings is aimed at assisting the political discussion in The Netherlands and Europa. Development The price increases for raw materials such as wheat and corn have not only effected food prices, says Mark Woldberg, manager business development at alcohol production company Nedalco. “High wheat prices mean high ethanol prices. For many ethanol producing facilities the present prices of wheat, up to 260 euro per ton last september, are too high to produce ethanol cost effecitively.’’ Many factories in the EU have chosen to temporarily shut down. According to Woldberg the demand biofuels places on raw materials is limited compared to the demand from food and feed production. Daan Dijk, vice-president of Social Responsible Entrepreneurship at Rabobank, agrees. “Of the total grain supply about 40 percent is allocated to
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e bate on food security World Food Day 2007 debate on ‘The right to food or fuel’
feed production. Only 0,1 percent of the arable land in the world is at present used for the production of biofuels.’’ The effect of the biofuel development on the world food problem is limited, according to Dijk. “This however does not relieve us from our duty to take responsibility in the dilemma of the world food security.’’ World food security is at risk, says Johan van de Gronden, president of the Dutch department of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This is due to the rapidly growing world population and increased welfare levels in highly populated countries such as China and India. “In the year 2050 we have to feed a world population of 9 billion people. This will put pressure on arable land and biodiversity.’’ But not only is the need for more food evident in future. The demand for energy will also increase, partly as input for food production. “In the past our organisation focussed very much on our
own goal, biodiversity. But if we all remain in our part of the production chain we won’t find the solution. Bread, biofuels and biodiversity interact. We have to look at problems in a broader perspective to find solutions,’’ says Van de Gronden. Solutions The development of biofuels has been driven by countries in the Northern hemisphere, as they have been confronted with energy insecurity and climate change. In the Southern hemisphere the main concerns are food security, income and access to energy. In the quest for solutions to the problems in the Northern hemisphere, the focus seems to be on biofuels. “One should however look at many other sources of renewable energy’’, says Chris Westra, senior consultant at Energy Centre Netherlands. According to Westra renewable sources such as solar, warmth and
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wind have high potential. “The technology needs to mature further, but at To meet the food ECN we have high expectations of it.’’ demand in the Another viable option is the use of bioworld agriculture mass for energy production. “All in all should be stimulathere are plenty alternative energy sour- ted in developing ces with regard to the production of countries as well electricity. However, the largest countrias in Europe, panel bution should come from individuals members on world themselves: energy saving.’’ Westra illufood day agreed. strates his point this way: “In the seventies a Dutch house used about 3000 cubic meters of gas, these days only 500 cubic meters is required. Looking at electricity however we’ve seen an enormous increase as more and more appliances require a continous electricity supply.’’ In addition to saving energy, the alternative sources can contribute to the energy demand as far as electricity is concerned. “However, there are no good alternatives for gas and oil. For this purpose biofuels are needed’’, states Westra. >>
New Energy November 2007
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>> High prices fuel debate on food security
Choices The Dutch minister of Agriculture, Gerda Verburg, agrees with him, according to her statement at the debate on World Food Day in The Hague. “Biofuels are a bitter necessity to contribute to bringing climate change to a halt. The climate change must be stopped. It affects many lives all over the world, but to a large extend mainly those people living in poor countries.’’ Choosing biofuels is not a choice against solving the food problem, in the opinion of the agricultural minister. She is of the opinion that food and fuel are not necessarily at cross purposes with each other. “Yes, there is a risk of putting food security in danger if the focus is only on the so-called first generation biofuels. These require a large energy input and claim a considerable amount of arable land. It is for this reason the Dutch government wants to focus on improving the first gerenation biofuels, but more so stimulate the second generations biofuels.’’ Woldberg of Nedalco illustrates the point: “If the development of fuel from cellulose is completed, it would be possible to produce 3 million metric tons of ethanol from residue material. This is about 30 percent of the expected ethanol demand in 2010.’’
Criteria Before any policy is formulated to further stimulate renewable energy, sustainability criteria should be set. This is the opinion of Willem Jan Laan, European executive of external affairs at multinational Unilever. Hans Bruning (ICCO) and Kees Kodde (Defense of Environment) agree with him. “In 2003 the European Union set goals for mixing mineral fuels with biofuels. These goals should be met in 2010. But by setting the goals, they didn’t take the consequences of them in to consideration’’, says Laan. One of the consequences has been increased imports of palm oil, stimulated by funds of European governments in orther to improve development of biofuels. Food company Unilever was directly confronted with the consequences of the higher demand for palm oil. Prices of vegetable oils have increased since. But according to Laan this is not their main concern. “As large buyers of vegetable oil we’ve set standards and criteria together with other parties in production. These are aimed at preventing contraverse effects of our production on the countries from which we import our oils. Such criteria however do not yet apply to the imports of these oils for the use in biofuels.’’ Kodde sup-
ports this observation: “The extra demand for palm oil has stimulated deforestation in many of the supplying countries. Part of which is also illegal.’’ The deforestation is a major negative side effect of the development of biofuels, states Kodde, “and it also hinders or even sets back the progress made with regard to reducing climate change.’’ Laan is in favor of certifications of imports that comply with the sustainability criteria. Kodde however thinks that certification will not be the sollution to deforestation. He pleas for a moratorium on the goals set by the European Union as long as the consequences of this policy on development in the exporting countries is not clear. “Biofuels are supposed to have a benifit on climate change, but this effect is limited. Other measures aimed to reduce the need for transport fuels are much more effective, but this requires a mind change in the transport business. At present they don’t seem to be willing to make an effort.’’ Dilemma The organisers put the dilemma forward as ‘food or fuel’. The Dutch minister of Agriculture, Verburg, hopes that in twenty years time developments will
Non governmental organisations are of the opinion economic development has to be stimulated locally.
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New Energy November 2007
>>
07•adv:07
02-11-2007
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YOU R URGE NT A NA LY TIC A L Q UE S T I O N DESERVE S A PROMPT SOLUTION Jufferstraat 9-15 3011 XL Rotterdam P.O. Box 893
Sw i ft se r vi ce wi th attrac tiv e rates Myc otoxi ns Pes ti c i d es Hea v y M eta l s GM O Micr o B i ol og y Now a l s o a v a i l a b l e: B io fu e ls an d B io m as s More information about these and/or other analyses? Please contact us by phone, fax, e-mail or go to www.tlr.nl
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phone +31 (0)10 282 32 92 fax
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04-05-06-08•world food:4-5-6-8
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>> High prices fuel debate on food security
“Deforestation is a major negative side effect of the development of biofuels”, states Kees Kodde of the Dutch ngo Milieudefensie (Defense of Environment).
have proven that the wrong title was choosen. “I don’t believe in the contradiction. In my opinion it can be ‘food and fuel’. Albert Jan Maat, president of the Dutch Farmers Association, agrees with the minister. “I strongly believe that there will be room for food and fuel in twenty years time’’, he says. “In the old days agriculture provided food, feed, fuel and maintanance of the landscape. These days we tend to focus on only one purpuse, but agriculture can be multifunctional. We should bring that back as common practice.’’ With the non-governmental organisations, he agrees it is necessary to set the right priorities. “Evidently the first need of every human being is food.’’ To meet this demand agriculture should be stimulated in developing countries as well as in Europe. “It is the only continent where food production has not increased. This is cause to worry says FAO, and we agree with them.’’ Besides food production agricultural development can also contribute to the energy demand, thinks Maat. “Dutch horticulture has proven it can be very energy
efficient. Modern green houses can provide energy instead of only consume it. I’m convinced there is still more energy to find in modern agriculture. That energy will come to the surface in the near future.’’ Human energy Bruning of ICCO agrees that there is still a lot of unutilized human energy (knowledge, capital) that can be put to good use for common goals. However, he doesn’t agree with Verburg and Maat that food and fuel will live side by side in the year 2025. “If we met half of that goal now, we won’t make it all the way by then.’’ This doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to make an effort. On the contrary. “I do aim at both food and fuel, but only if we can agree on the ‘basic principles’. In our opinion economic development has to be stimulated locally, sustainability is a non-negotiable criterium, knowledge has to be stimulated and acreage has te be available.’’ Dijk (Rabobank) is convinced biofuels can contribute to the development of rural areas in third
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world countries. “Rural development’s historical experience has taught us, always start with agriculture. However productivity is low in these areas. Once that can be increased then food and fuel is possible.’’ Member of the Dutch parliment Esmé Wiegman agrees with both gentlemen: “Stimulating knowledge development and entrepreneurship is the key to successfully beat the contradiction of food or fuel.’’ Bruning adds: “This approach will only be successfull in relatively stable economies.’’ According to Laan (Unilever) this is part of the reason the dilemma will, at least in the year to come, remain food or fuel. “Economies are far from stable in a lot of the countries presently producing for the biofuel market. Furthermore the world population still grows. In 20 years time, 50 percent more food is needed. This requires an increase in productivity and the utilisation of more acreage. The pressure on our ecosystems and on food security therefore remains.’’
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New Energy November 2007
09•Jatropha:09
05-11-2007
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Pagina 9
Brazil’s first commercial jatropha biodiesel project is into operation. BioDiesel Technologies’ (BDT) has delivered four processing units to increase the plant capacity to 40.000 t/y by the end of the year.
The CPU 1000 biodiesel production unit, provided by Biodiesel Technologies, has a total capacity of 32.000 tons per year.
Biodiesel project fed by jatropha oil Biodiesel After the success of its biodiesel production in Europe, the Austrian technology provider of modular biodiesel equipment, BioDiesel Technologies GmbH (BDT) established a biodiesel processing unit in Brazil. “This project is our first entrance into the South-American market and our first commercial scale project fed by jatropha oil,” said Claus-Jürgen von Lattorff, managing director of BioDiesel Technologies. “It is important to show versatility and innovation in a market that is developing so quickly.” Project operator and investor, Compahnhia Productora de Biodiesel de Tocantins, has formed agreements with local co-operatives and small farmers in the state of Tocantins to supply the biodiesel facility with the required feedstock. This has led to the establishment of 48.000 hectares of jatropha plantation, which will give an important boost to the local agricultural community.
Jatropha, a non-edible high yielding oilseed crop, will provide a cheap and stable feedstock supply for the plant. Ta l l o w The multi-feedstock technology will also allow the use of animal tallow for the manufacturing of biodiesel. This could prove to be a significant source of income to the large slaughter-house industry within the Tocantins state, which has over 6 million head of cattle. This operation, bringing local agricultural communities into the biofuel production process, will form the model upon which future biodiesel operations in Brazil will be constructed. Hence President Lula has shown his support for the project. Brazil has introduced mandatory blends of 2 percent by 2008 and 5 percent by 2013 as well as numerous tax incentives for biodiesel producers that source their feedstock from local
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communities. Compahnhia Productora de Biodiesel de Tocantins is examining project sites for a further two projects within the region, taking total regional production to over 120.000 tons of biodiesel per year.
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BDT is a biodiesel equipment manufacturer and project developer based in Austria. The company, founded in 2003, has 17 multi-feedstock projects operating in ten countries worldwide. BDT, which has built its success on its standardized modular processing units, is now looking to expand on its accomplishments by pursuing partnership deals with companies in SouthAmerica and Asia. BDT aims to establish commercial production operations with regional partners for the construction of its biodiesel processing equipment outside of Europe.
New Energy November 2007
10-11-12-13•Glycerol:10-11-12-13
Biodiesel
05-11-2007
12:10
Pagina 10
[Yueming Dersjant-Li and Manfred Peisker]
Glycerol more than j It is expected the availability of glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, will increase rapidly. Literature studies and practical experiences have demonstrated that glycerol is a good energy source and has a high feeding value in animal feed.
With the rapidly increase in biodiesel production, more glycerol (by-product of biodiesel) will be produced. The approximate proportions of the chemical reaction involved in the production of biodiesel are: 100 l of vegetable oil + 10 l of methanol yield 100 l of biodiesel + 10 l of glycerol. It is predicted that only three years from now biodiesel production will reach 12 million tons in Europe. This equals to a quantity of 1.2
Figure 1. A reaction scheme of the triacyl-glycerol from vegetable oil in the presence of a catalyst with methanol or ethanol and yields methyl esters of fatty acids and glycerol.
0
0CR1
0
0CR2
cat. base R1C00Et + R2C00Et + R3C00Et + C3H5(0H)3 3 Et0H 0
0CR3
Ethyl esters of fatty acids
Glycerol
Triglyceride
Figure 2. The production and refining process of a feed
Rapeseed oil Soybean oil
+
Biodiesel
Methanol
grade glycerol.
NaOH
+
Crude Glycerol
Physical separation
Crude glycerol: Glycerol Methanol NaOH Sodium soap water
HCl Separation of sodium soap Adjust pH
Glycerol Methanol NaCl water Fatty acids Physical separation
Multi-step Distillation Feed grade glycerol
Methanol Water
million ton of glycerol, thus a substantial amount of glycerol will be available as feed ingredient for animal feed. P ro d u c t i o n In the manufacturing process of biodiesel the triacyl-glycerol from vegetable oil reacts in the presence of a catalyst with methanol or ethanol and yields methyl esters of fatty acids (biodiesel) and glycerol (figure 1). This reaction is a very slow process and therefore an acid or base is used as catalyst to help the reaction proceed more quickly. Almost all biodiesel is produced using the basecatalyzed technique as it is the most economical process requiring only low temperature and pressure. The commonly used base catalysts are NaOH or KOH. When NaOH is used as catalysts, the feed grade glycerol (80%) may contain 2-3% of Na (mainly as NaCl if HCl is used in the washing step). When KOH is used, the feed grade glycerol product may contain 2-3% of K. The salt content of glycerol (e.g NaCl or KCl) should be considered when formulating animal feed. In broilers, high K content may be a limiting factor in using glycerol containing high amount of K, since high K content in the diet may cause wet litter problems. Crude glycerol can be completely (99.7 % purity) or partially (> 80 % purity) refined. The partially refined glycerol is mainly used in the animal feed industry. Figure 2 illustrates the refining process of feed grade glycerol. P ro p e r t i e s Glycerol has more than 1500 applications in a wide range of sectors including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, animal feed and others. Pure glycerol is a colour- and odourless liquid, while feed grade glycerol (>80%) is a yellowish liquid of sweet or salty taste. Apparently, the sweet taste has positive
10-11-12-13•Glycerol:10-11-12-13
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Pagina 11
n just a by-product Figure 3. Freezing points of glycerol-water solutions. o
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15 10 5 0 -5 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
-10 -15 -20 -25 It is expected
-30
the availability
-35 -40 -45 -50 Percent of glycerol by weight effects on palatability of the animal feed. The freezing point is related to the glycerol purity (figure 3). The feed grade glycerol (with minimum 80% glycerol content) has a freezing point at –20°C. Crude glycerol is a slightly viscous liquid; it is hygroscopic and readily miscible in aqueous solutions. The viscosity of feed grade glycerol at 20°C is lower than molasses and comparable to vegetable oil (table 1). Application feed Glycerol is a good energy source in livestock feed. With increasing cereal prices, it becomes more attractive to use glycerol as energy source in animal feed. In addition, supplementation of glycerol in the diet can improve pellet quality and meat quality. Glycerol is rapidly absorbed after feeding and the absorption is almost complete, only traces of glycerol
are found in faeces (Kijora, 2007). Thus the digestibility of glycerol is about 100%. The gross energy of pure glycerol is 18.1 MJ/kg and due to the almost complete absorption, digestible energy can be assumed equal to gross energy. In pigs and poultry, the metabolizable
energy (ME) is related to glycerol inclusion levels. Bartelt and Schneider (2002) reported ME value of glycerol in pigs and poultry determined by difference trial with 30 hens, 40 male broilers and 23 male castrates pigs (25 kg body weight). Glycerol was included in the diet at 0, 5, 10 and 15% as replacement of corn starch. The excretion of glycerol in the urine increased when more than 5% glycerol was included in the diet. The highest ME values were found at 5% glycerol inclusion level. With increasing glycerol inclusion level, the ME is reduced, especially for pigs (table 2).
of glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production, will increase rapidly.
>>
Table 1. Viscosity of liquid feed ingredients (mPas) at 20°C.
Water
Veg Oil
Gly 50%
Gly 80%
Gly 99.9%
Molasses
1
70-100
10
150
1450
5000-10000
Table 2. ME of glycerol for hen, broilers and pigs, estimated in a difference trial* or calculated**
Glycerol %
Hen
Broilers
Pig-measured*
Pigs-calculated**
5 10 15
17.6 16.8 14.5
17.7 17.0 15.4
17.5 14.4 10.6
17.58 14.27 11.06
* Values are determined with difference trial (Bartelt and Schneider, 2002) ** Values are calculated as: ME = GE glycerol intake – GE glycerol in urine for pigs (Kijora, 2007)
1o
11
New Energy November 2007
10-11-12-13•Glycerol:10-11-12-13
05-11-2007
12:10
Pagina 12
>> Glycerol more than just a by-product
measuring GE of glycerol in feed and in urine respectively and calculated as ME = GE glycerol intake minus GE glycerol in urine, the value is very close to the ME value determined by difference trial (table 2). At low glycerol inclusion level, the energy utilization efficiency of glycerol is high. For example, the ME/GE = 17.6/18.1 = 97% in pigs when glycerol is included at 5% in the diet.
It is predicted that only three years from now biodiesel production will reach 12 million tons in Europe.
Based on the energy value determined in this study, the authors suggested that no more than 5% of pure glycerol (i.e. 6-7% of feed grade glycerol) should be considered in diet formulation for full exploitation of the energy value of glycerol. Kijora has used a simple approach to estimate the ME of glycerol in pigs by
Energy value Kerr et al. (2007) determined metabolizable energy value of a feed grade glycerol (86.95%) in piglets, marketing pigs, broilers and laying hens. In piglets (11 kg) and marketing pigs (110 kg), feed grade glycerol was added to a basal diet (0, 5, 10 or 20%). ME in starter pigs was related to glycerol inclusion level, being 3601, 3239 and 2579 kcal/kg (15.1, 13.6 and 10.8 MJ/kg), for 5, 10 and 20% glycerol inclusion level, respectively. This translates to a ME value of 17.3 MJ/kg for pure glycerol at 5% dietary inclusion. This is very close to the
Table 3. Effect of crude glycerol on growth performance of young pigs (Lammers et al., 2007).
% glycerol in the diet 0 LS Mean
Table 4:
5 SE
LS Mean
10 SE
LS Mean
SE
P
Pen weight gain, kg
60.9
1.4
61.2
1.4
60.2
1.4
0.9
Pen feed: gain, kg:kg
1.6
0.02
1.6
0.02
1.6
0.02
0.09
Average daily gain, kg/d
0.46
0.01
0.46
0.01
0.45
0.01
>0.1
Glycerol, %
Control
5
10
20
30
24
24
36
6
6
GR, 26-55kg
1.73
1.93
1.93
2.09
2.04
FI, 55-100kg
2.36
2.57
2.52
2.54
2.67
GR, 26-55kg
690
731
782
701
590
FI, 55-100kg
742
795
792
706
576
GR, 26-55kg
2.51
2.64
2.47
2.98
3.46
FI, 55-100kg
3.18
3.23
3.18
3.60
4.64
Summarized data on effects of gly-
No. repl.
cerol on growth
ADFI, kg DM/d
performance in growing (GR) and finishing (FI) pigs from 4 feeding experiments (Kijora, 2007).
ADG, g/d
FC, DM FI/WG
ME value reported by Bartelt and Schneider (2002) and estimated by Kijora (2007). It was estimated that ME is 99% of DE, and DE is not different from GE for starter pigs at 5% glycerol inclusion level. However, in market pigs (110 kg), the ME value was not influenced by glycerol inclusion level and ME was estimated as 3088 kcal/kg for the glycerol tested. In broilers, the AMEn of the feed grade glycerol was determined as 3877, 3499 and 3675 kcal/kg for 7-10d, 21-24d and 42-45d old broilers, respectively. The average value was 3684 kcal/kg. In laying hens, AMEn of the feed grade glycerol was determined as 3805 kcal/kg. In ruminants, it was observed that the energy value was not influenced by glycerol inclusion level but by starch content in the feed. The energy values of glycerol are comparable with the energy of grain in high starch diets and 14% higher than grain in low starch diets. For a low starch concentrate, the ME of pure glycerol was determined as about 15 MJ/kg (14.4-14.9) and NEL was about 10 MJ/kg (9.5-9.9) at glycerol inclusion levels between 10 to 20% (Suedekum & Schroeder, 2002). The NEL is lower than derived from theoretical consideration of 11.1MJ/kg based on a GE of 18.1MJ/kg. More research is needed for determination of fermentation loss of glycerol in rumen and to further evaluate the energy value in ruminants with different diet compositions. Nursery pigs The researchers from Iowa State University (Lammers et al., 2007) evaluated the use of feed grade glycerol as energy source in nursery pigs. A total of 96 piglets were weaned at 21 days of age with initial mean body weight of 7.9 kg. The pigs were fed corn soybean based diets containing three levels of feed grade glycerol at 0,5 and 10% for a 33 days testing period. The growth performance of the piglets was not affected by glycerol inclusion levels (table 3). The research concluded that feed grade glycerol can be fed as an energy source to young piglets without negative effects on growth performance.
10-11-12-13•Glycerol:10-11-12-13
05-11-2007
12:10
Pagina 13
Pelleted feeds
Already in the 90-ies, HumboldtUniversity Berlin (Kijora) has carried out four feeding experiments in growing and finishing pigs fed diets containing glycerol levels up to 30%. The optimal growth performance was observed at glycerol inclusion levels between 5-10% (table 4). Glycerol inclusion level of 30% in the diet significantly reduced growth performance. It is suggested that adequate water intake is important when high amounts of glycerol are included in the diet, since glycerol can have effects on osmo-regulation. Glycerol inclusion in the diet improved feed intake due to the sweet taste of glycerol. The feed intake increased up to 20% independent of glycerol inclusion levels. Up to 10% glycerol inclusion, the higher feed intake resulted in increased growth rate. However, increased glycerol inclusion level above 5% lead to an increase in urine excretion of glycerol, that partially explains the low feed efficiency at high glycerol inclusion levels. B ro i l e r s In poultry, glycerol can be used as a pellet binder and energy source. Cerrate et al. (2006) tested 0, 5 and 10% crude glycerol in corn-soy based broiler feed, each diet was fed to 8 replicate pens of 60 male broilers for 42 days. The diet with 10% glycerol had 0.15% more potassium. They observed that the inclusion of 5% crude glycerol had no adverse effects on body weight, feed intake, feed conversion or mortality compared to those fed the control diet. With 10% dietary inclusion, there was a reduction in bodyweight associated with reduced feed intake. The authors suggested that the reduced growth rate with 10% glycerol was related to low feed flow rate in the tube feeders. Simon et al. (1996) tested increasing levels of pure glycerol in a corn-soy diet (0; 5; 10; 15; 20 or 25% glycerol inclusion) in broilers up to 31 days of age. Highest daily weight gains were achieved with 5 and 10% glycerol (34.9 and 35.3 g/animal/d resp.). While increasing glycerol inclusion level to 20 and 25% significantly reduced growth rate (30.2 and 26.6 g/d, resp.). Feed conversion
Glycerol has hygroscopic properties and this may have an effect on binding forces and water activity in the feed. Therefore, glycerol may influence physical, chemical and hygienic parameters of feeding stuffs. Suedekum (2006) has evaluated the physical, chemical and hygienic properties of pelleted compound feeds containing glycerol of different purities and at different concentrations. Feeds were stored under different environmental conditions reflecting a range of situations that will also occur in practice. Ergosterol, an indicator of fungal activity, was used to evaluate the hygienic quality of the pellets. At the start of the experiment the feed had 2.9 to 3.4 mg/kg DM of ergosterol. After 8 weeks of storage, a sharp increase of ergosterol (11.4 mg/kg DM) was observed in the control feed without glycerol addition. For all glycerol added compound feeds, there was no increase in ergosterol content (1.7 to 3.4 mg/kg DM) compared to the values at the start of the test. These results indicate that glycerol of different purities has a preserving effect. This might be explained by reduced free water activity (aW-values) and therefore glycerol may consequently improve pellet shelf life. Physical quality of the pellets was not affected by purity or concentrations of glycerol of up to 150 g/kg DM. This study demonstrated that glycerol at different purities may help to stabilize the hygienic quality of pelleted feeds without compromising physical quality of the pellets. LĂśwe (2000) reported that glycerol inclusion level up to 12% had positive effects on pellet quality, as indicated by improved pellet durability, reduced percentage of fines (Pfost-Test). In addition, inclusion of glycerol in pelleted feed reduced electrical energy consumption at the pellet press (20 - 30%) therefore glycerol additions provide economical benefits in feed processing. As glycerol can be used as a good pellet binder, a commercial pellet binder will not be needed when glycerol is used.
ratio was not affected up to 10% glycerol (1.65) and rose to 2.08 with 25% glycerol. However, nitrogen balance was positively correlated with dietary glycerol up to 20%. The studies in broilers indicated that 5-10% of glycerol can be used in broiler feeds. In practice, the high ash content, i.e NaCl or KCl may limit the inclusion level of glycerol in broilers feed. An inclusion level of 3-5% of feed grade glycerol is recommended in broiler feeds. Replacement In ruminants, glycerol is used as a gluconeogenic substance as partial replacement of propylene glycol for treatment of ketosis in low starch diets. Furthermore, glycerol is a good energy source and can be used successfully as readily available carbohydrate source up to 10% in diets for ruminants. Glycerol
can be used to replace starch rich components as rapidly fermentable source in diets. The sweet taste of glycerol may improve intake of diets with inferior palatability (e.g. extensively fermented silages). It was observed that glycerol supplementation in cows improved feed intake, milk production and protein content in the milk (Bodarski et al., 2005; Reichel et al., 2006). Meat quality Studies have demonstrated that incorporation of 5% glycerol in the feeds of fattening pigs could have positive effects on meat quality (Mourot et al, 1993; Cerneau et al., 1994). The addition of glycerol increased water retention in tissues and reduced dripping and cooking losses, resulting in an increase in cooking yield (table 5).
-
Table 5: Effect of glycerol on carcass quality of pork.
Trial 1*, 35-102kg
Trial 2**, 80-110kg
glycerol, %
0
5
Drip losses
1.81a
1.31b
Cooking losses
30.09a
26.57b
Cooking yield
100%a
101.9%b
* Mourot et al., 1993; ** Cerneau et al, 1994.
12
13
New Energy November 2007
14-15-16•Cellulose:14-15-16
05-11-2007
10:59
Pagina 14
Biomass: The next f Biomass
[Mike Wilson]
Cellulosic ethanol is still years away, but agriculture’s role in this new energy source is already being mapped out. Here’s how the industry is shaping up in the United States.
John Caveny looks outside his kitchen window and spots a field full of green – green for the environment and green money for his pocketbook. There on a hill is a wall of 13-foot tall grass, millions of spiny threads reaching to the sun. It’s called Miscanthus, a crop with no American cropping history but great potential to become a major United States energy source. And despite the ongoing demand boom for corn and soybeans, Miscanthus could someday compete for acreage in the Corn Belt. “Miscanthus makes about one and a halve times more barrels of oil equivalent per acre than a 200-bushel corn crop would,” says the Illinois farmer. “So the only question is, how do we turn this into a useful, price-competitive product?” Hope A growing debate over cellulosic ethanol (CE) - a liquid fuel that is still more hope than reality and won’t be economically viable for five to ten years - is already shaping the future of United States agriculture. Millions of dollars in private and public funds are pouring into research to develop a way to turn biomass – grasses, corn stover, wheat straw, poplar willows, even municipal garbage – into usable liquid fuel. What’s driving it? Higher petroleum prices and
a desire to wean United States vehicles off Mideast oil sources, for starters. But the potential economics may be the real key. CE already works in the lab, but not on a large scale. If a process can be commercialized, it may become a cheap and plentiful source of energy. R e s e a rc h Two years ago the Department of Energy (DOE) released a study that showed the United States has the potential to deliver an estimated 1 billion tons of feedstocks needed annually to replace at least 30 percent of current United States petroleum transportation fuel with renewable biomass. Earlier this year DOE awarded nearly $400 million to companies putting together biorefinery systems that may lead to commercialized processes. “The DOE wants to jump start the United States cellulosic industry,” says Jill Euken, Bioenergy specialist with the Center for Industrial Research and Service at Iowa State. “They’re pouring millions into cellulosic research. It’s the equivalent of the Manhattan Project.” Meanwhile United States farmers, researchers and agribusiness interests are looking at what kinds of energy crops may be grown and how they will be harvested, transported, stored and processed. DOE’s study shows
that over one-third of future energy crops will come from perennial grasses like switchgrass and Miscanthus. Today’s research is focused more on corn stover, the leftover leaves and stalks from maize, because of its natural tie to conventional grain-based ethanol plants, so popular now across America. “The potential is what is really driving this,” says Hans Blaschek, Director at the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research at University of Illinois. “It may take ten years before it’s commercially viable, but when it happens, it will revolutionize farming.” H u rd l e s Two types of processes are being developed to convert cellulose to biobased products: thermochemical (processing that use heat, pressure and catalysts) and biological processes that use biological organisms (yeasts, bacteria, fungi). The energy in biomass – the sugars - are locked within both the hemicellulose and cellulose, two of the major three constituents of plant cell walls. “When you bring in a cellulosic crop, it’s a combination of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, which is like biological glue that holds everything together,” explains Jim Murphy, a biofuels consultant at The Context Network, West Des Moines, IA.
14-15-16•Cellulose:14-15-16
05-11-2007
10:59
Pagina 15
t field of dreams?
“With starch or sugar you’ll convert virtually all of it to ethanol, but you get a lower yield with cellulosic ethanol, so it’s going to be at a higher cost,” he says. “It can be done, but it’s expensive and fundamentally that’s why cellulosic may likely always be more expensive than ethanol made from carbohydrates. Right now it still costs roughly twice as much to make ethanol from cellulose than from corn, though this margin has narrowed some as the price of maize has increased. The cost of building a cellulose-based ethanol plant is also a major hurdle since it costs four to five times that of a corn-based plant.” Unlock Even so, a number of United States companies, such as Logen and Poet (former-
ly Broin), have built plants and patented processes that may someday lead to economically-viable CE. And not everyone believes the sugars will be that difficult to unlock. “It’s going to be taken care of right in the field after grain harvest,” predicts Niles Hushka, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) at KLJ Solutions, an engineering and energy development firm. A former North Dakota farmer, Hushka says within 7 to 10 years operator-less robotic machines twice the size of a common harvester will slowly grind through a field of corn stover, picking off the stalks and placing them inside its belly where the entire cellulosic conversion process takes place. “It will separate the sugars out, send a portion to the digesters or gasifiers and spread the rest on the field. What we get out of it is
14
15
multiple components we can use but primarily the sugars, which are picked up daily like a milk run.” Thermochemical conversion processes have received less attention and less funding from DOE over the past 20 years. However, that may be changing. Leaders of key commercial and government groups are rapidly expanding research and development in to the use of gasification and fast pyrolysis (thermochemical processes). Advantages of these processes is that they can be used with mixed streams of cellulosic materials, and may actually take less time to get to commercial use than the biological systems. New entrées into the bioprocessing field like ConocoPhillips are concentrating their efforts on these technologies. It is very likely that biore-
John Caveny sees a day when farmers will have cellulose farms, acre upon acre of switchgrass, Miscanthus grass, and filter strips – all harvested for eventual use in energy factories.
>>
New Energy November 2007
14-15-16•Cellulose:14-15-16
05-11-2007
10:59
Pagina 16
>> Biomass: The next field of dreams?
fineries may include both biological and thermochemical processes – creating ‘hybrid’ systems.
“Miscanthus makes about one and a halve times more barrels of oil equivalent per acre than a 200-bushel corn crop would,” says the Illinois far-
Farm impact If or when CE is developed, what does it mean back on the farm? Several different feedstocks in different regions will be grown, predicts Blaschek. The American south could see an industry based on wood chips; the Great Plains focused on wheat straw. The Midwest could see biorefineries built around corn stover, DDGS (dried distillers grains) or Miscanthus, for example. “That creates new challenges,” Blaschek says. “If you were working with a high density petroleum product you could stick it in a pipeline and move it from here to Texas. If you have a few tons of stover, the challenge is how you get it in a format to transport. “There isn’t enough information now to say one feedstock is better than the other in terms of cell wall breakdown. Until we figure out how we do this process in a way that allows us to overcome these issues, it’s not going to happen on a commercial scale.” At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, they’re working with the University of Illinois to evaluate cell wall composition of corn leaves. Researchers are looking at brown midriff, the center vein in a corn leaf, to see if certain germ plasm is associa-
ted with low lignin. “The hypothesis is, this low lignin stover should be more likely to break down,” says Blaschek. This is the first step in a process that someday may lead to seed corn companies commercializing and selling a seed corn uniquely designed for stover used as an energy feedstock. Compelling economics CE won’t take off unless government incentives and profit potential drive investors and processors to create the processes, systems and markets that encourage farmers to grow and harvest the biomass. But everyone up and down agriculture’s supply chain has a stake in this fledgling industry. A big jump in perennial grass acreage would take a bite out of corn and soybean acreage and impact seed, herbicide and fertilizer makers. On the farm level Miscanthus’ main selling point is its low production cost. This perennial grass requires little fertilizer or weed control after the first
few years of production. While it costs $2000 per acre to plant the sterile grass plugs, a stand can last 20 years. Provided they get a market for these energy crops, low input costs should make farmers sit up and take notice. “Costs are going to drive this thing,” says Caveny, who once fed cattle and grew corn and beans, but now grows grass for energy projects and grazing systems. “We’re not asking farmers to take a loss. We’re going to ask farmers to plant this stuff and make money.” Chance Caveny sees a day when farmers will have cellulose farms, acre upon acre of switchgrass, Miscanthus grass, and filter strips – all harvested for eventual use in energy factories. “You look at what this stuff is going to be worth and what your annual variable expenses will be and yes, I see a chance we’ll be growing more Miscanthus than corn and soybeans here,” he says. But Caveny warns that other parts of the supply chain must also buy in to the new field of dreams if anyone expects a new market and infrastructure to begin growing around energy crops. “This will never work if only the farmer makes money,” he concludes. “You have to let other parts of agri-industry make money off this. Your fertilizer companies and equipment makers, they’ve got to make a cut off this too.”
-
mer, John Caveny.
16
17
New Energy November 2007
17•adv:17
06-11-2007
08:59
Pagina 17
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New Energy
18-19•Biomass:18-19
05-11-2007
10:54
Pagina 18
‘Harvest, transport and storage o Biomass
[Mike Wilson]
Scientists who dream of using leftover crops or grasses as raw product to create cellulosic ethanol have yet to figure out how to harvest, transport or store the biomass before moving it to a biorefinery.
Jay and Ty (right) Stukenholtz built a biomass harvester to go on top of a conventional combine.
“To harvest, transport, store and handle incredible volumes of biomass from field to the processing plants will be the biggest challenge for agriculture”, predicts Theo Freye, speaker of the Executive Board at Claas KGaA and the Chairman of the company’s U.S. expansion since 1997. “Today’s machines and technologies are not sufficiently adapted because they are optimized for food production.” That’s why folks like Stuart Birrell, Iowa State University (ISU) engineer, are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and John Deere to look into equipment designs best suited to biomass harvest. His work in corn stover has led him to conclude the stover needs to be collected during grain harvest with attachments on the header and behind the combine. “Single pass allows us to reduce soil contamination, which can be an issue”, he says. “And one pass is much cheaper because every time you put a new machine in the field it’s added cost.” Initially, Birrell didn’t see the need for a special machine designed for grain and stover harvest. Rather, he expects equipment makers to build attachments to be sold separately. “This way if they want to get into cellulosic, they buy attach-
ments and don’t have to invest in a new machine”, reasons Birrell. “This provides farmers a lower risk opportunity to enter the corn stover feedstock supply chain without a major capital investment. As the cellulosic feedstock market matures and demand is assured, more specialized harvesting systems will likely be developed.” Cob-collecting Jay and Ty Stukenholtz in Julian (Nebraska) invented a cob-collecting system that can be retro-fitted on to most any existing harvester. A universal cleaner boot collects crop residue as it exits the combine, sorts off much of the cob material, and blows it into a tank that sits on top of a grain extension on the combine. Cobs only weigh 10 pounds per cubic foot, so the top tank doesn’t have much effect on operating dynamics of the combine. The system is equipped with an infrared camera for the combine operator to monitor the cob level in the tank. It’s wired into the same hand console that runs the header controls. When the top tank gets full, the operator can unload ‘on the go’. When the truck or grain cart is in position, the top tank rolls to one side and dumps the load in 30 seconds.
Logistics model Klein Ileleji, agriculture engineer at Purdue University, did a simulation on transportation logistics moving corn stover from farm gate to an ethanol plant. The study used square bales of stover harvested separately from the grain harvest, then stored under cover on the farm to prevent spoilage. In the model an average of 20 minutes was needed for loading a semi trailer with bales using 39 bales per trailer, or 17.5 tons per truck load. Once at the ethanol plant trucks would be weighed, feedstock sampled and bales unloaded using cranes and conveyors. The bales would then move to an on-plant storage location. A 100-million gallon capacity plant with six unloading stations might need 53 trucks delivering loads in 16-hour shifts (four loads per day) to meet the plant’s 10-day biomass supply needs. In the model, farmers working with the plant would need to deliver 70 dry tons per day. At $35 per ton of feedstock that would bring in about $2,450 per truck per day in revenue. P l a n t p ro x i m i t y Another point that is becoming clear: the closer you farm to a new cellulosic
18-19•Biomass:18-19
05-11-2007
10:54
Pagina 19
e of biomass is big challenge’ Today’s machines and technology optimized for food not fuel production
plant, the better your opportunities will be to work with that plant. Based on estimates from NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), the smallest economically-viable biorefinery would need 2000 tons per day of biomass. If the raw product were corn stover, and based on that target, a plant would need 30 percent of the corn acreage from 50 percent of the corn growers in a 50-mile radius around the facility to get their daily dose of 2,000 tons of biomass. A greater problem may be the density of any biomass coming off the farm. Transportation costs and logistics will be too difficult if lightweight crop materials like Miscanthus, switch grass or corn stover cannot be ‘densified’, points out Birrell. “The raw density of stover is about 3 to 4 pounds per cubic foot”, he says. “A very dense hay bale is about 9 to 11 pounds per cubic foot and you need about 12 pounds per cubic foot to get a weight limit on a truck. If we cannot fully load a truck then it takes significantly greater truck loads to transport material to a central location.” John Caveny, who has grown Miscanthus for five years, believes the crop can be baled and then pelletized or ‘densified’ on individual farms - then stored in conventional grain bins. That would go a long way to ease concerns about when and how to supply biorefineries with year-round biomass raw product. “We’re looking at making the grass into a briquette twice the size of a kernel of corn”, Caveny says. “That means whatever storage a farmer uses now can be used with these Miscanthus briquettes.” However, pelletizing takes energy – which adds to the cost, notes Birrell. “We’re going to put a lot of energy into making those pellets, then we’re going to need a lot of energy to break those pellets apart again to allow enzymes to
penetrate. It may be viable, but you may have to double the energy cost.” Storage issues If pelletizing and storing in grain bins won’t work, storage may be an issue on typical American farms. Birrell suggest biomass may best be stored in centralized locations, such as a grain elevator, that could then use bulk transport systems to move the materials to a plant as needed. If stover harvest takes place over two months that means someone will need to store that material 300 days of the year. “Even if you get density to 11 pounds per cubic foot, that’s a pile of stover bales 100 acres by 25 foot high”, says Birrell. Yet another futuristic model being worked on goes like this: corn stover is sour-
18
19
ced in a 60-mile radius around a cellulosic plant. Stover is collected using GPS, based on soil types, to make sure soil tilth is not affected by residue removal (poorer soils would have little stover removed, better soils would have more removal). The biomass is densified into small logs or bales and stored on farms. Other on-farm machines would crumble the logs and extract a concentrated sugar-based slurry which would be delivered to the refinery through a series of pipelines – reducing transportation costs dramatically. In any case, all of the seemingly insurmountable problems you can think of with cellulosic ethanol are already being worked out by bright-minded engineers and analysts. It may be only a matter of time before the cellulosic revolution begins.
-
New Energy November 2007
The biomass harvester at work.
20-21•Rodrigues:20-21
05-11-2007
11:02
Pagina 20
Roberto Rodrigues Roberto Rodrigues is the past minister of Agriculture in Brazil. He is currently cochairman of the Interamerican ethanol commission, and also coordinator of the Getulio Vargas Foundation Agribusiness Center (GV Agro). He is a farmer himself (also sugarcane) and agriculture engineer.
Roberto Rodrigues, former minister of Agriculture, shows that there is still 106 million ha available for agriculture without any disadvantage for the protected environmental areas.
‘Fuel for our future’ Bioenergy will reduce poverty and bring democracy Policy
[Lourens Gengler]
According to the former minister of Agriculture in Brazil, Roberto Rodrigues, it is a false dilemma to suggest that we have to make choices between food, feed or fuel. Even more, he says that increasing the production of biofuels in the world will reduce poverty and increase democracy, since oil-importing countries can now start producing their own energy and become less independent.
Former minister of Agriculture in Brazil, Roberto Rodrigues, is travelling the world and bringing his positive message to a wide scope of people. In June he was in The Netherlands at the Agrivision congress organized by feed-producing multinational Nutreco in association with Rabobank. Key influential people from a wide range of companies around the world discussed the boundaries of growth in food, feed and fuel. And
20-21•Rodrigues:20-21
05-11-2007
11:03
while some of the speakers proclaimed that the current increase of biofuels does have a negative effect on the availability of food, Rodrigues showed that this is certainly not the case in Brazil. Also in the rest of the world, increasing biofuel production can provide people with their own energy source besides food production. ,,Of the ten biggest problems that humanity is facing in the coming next years, five are related to agriculture. These are: energy, water, food, environment and poverty. The increasing world population is getting wealthier and demanding more food and energy. At present the world is too dependent on fossil fuels that are finite, poorly distributed and controlled by a small number of people. We have an answer, and that is biofuels. Therefore we can increase agriculture production by using larger areas and increasing productivity per hectare. In contrast to what many people think, this will not necessarily lead to environmental damage. For instance Brazil has extensive areas that can be brought into production. Currently we are just using 62 million hectares as arable land. The total area of our country is 850 million hectares. More or less half of this is the Amazon rainforest and other protected nature reserves. Taking also into account cities, lakes, mountains, etc., then at the end there is still another 106 million hectares available for agriculture”, concludes Rodrigues. He claims this already proves that Brazil has the capacity to produce much more food and feed without damaging essential nature areas.
Pagina 21
destroy the environment, and especially the Amazon. This is an absolute idiocy because sugarcane needs a dry period for proper production, and obviously, because of the name, the rainforest does not have such a period. But it seems that nobody wants to believe us. Even recently I was interviewed by the BBC, and it turned out to be more like an inquisition. Even they were prejudiced against our agriculture”, says Rodrigues. Prices He agrees that at this moment more competition can be seen between feed and fuel and raw materials are getting expensive. ,,But the overall impact on food will not be substantial and will decrease when second-generation biofuels emerge, and feed producers will use the new by-products. Furthermore agriculture will respond to the higher demand and prices, and we can bring millions of hectares into production”, predicts Rodrigues. It is beyond any doubt that Brazil has the possibility, and the willpower, to largely increase biofuels, especially ethanol. And they have one big advantage, their cost price is much lower then anywhere in the world. Currently around 0,22 $/litre, while in the U.S. it is double as much and in Europe even three times as expensive when making it
out of beet sugar. This difference will probably increase much more says Rodrigues. ,,In the next ten years I expect that sugar production per hectare will double in Brazil from better cane varieties, better production and harvesting methods. Other countries are already now protecting their farmers with import taxes, and I can understand that. But nevertheless we will need to organize a world wide infrastructure for ethanol so that everyone can benefit from this almost endless market.” Pity Brazil regards itself a leading country for ethanol and points at the technology for flex fuel cars and production plants. But Rodrigues thinks that other developing countries can also benefit from the ethanol production by becoming less dependent on oil imports. ,,Any country can produce its own biofuels and poor countries can benefit. Within 20 years there will be a big change when poor countries can produce ethanol from cellulose. This is a great opportunity and we are now at the edge of a whole new world civilisation. This will lead to more democracy and less poverty. It will be phenomenal what will happen in the coming years in the world. Therefore I think it is a pity that I am already 65 years old”, concludes the optimistic Rodrigues.
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Inquisition But what about the current expansion of biofuels? Isn’t that already taking away a large portion of the food ´cake´? According to the data presented by Rodrigues this is not the case. ,,For instance only five percent of the arable area in Brazil is used for sugarcane. From these 3,1 million hectares we produce 17 billion litres of alcohol. And it is a lie to say that this is limiting food production now or in the future”, says the former Brazilian minister. Another lie that he is strongly trying to eradicate is the suggestion that sugarcane is causing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. ,,It looks like the rest of the world is thinking that we are only trying to
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New Energy November 2007
Only five percent of the arable area in Brazil is used for sugarcane.
22-23•Tiense suiker:22-23
02-11-2007
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Pagina 22
Fuel from wheat a Bioethanol
[Jef Verhaeren]
In less than two years time the docks of the Belgium town of Wanze will be occupied by a bioethanol plant. It will process wheat and sugar beets to produce 300 million liters of bioethanol.
“If all goes according to plan, we expect to process wheat from harvest 2008”, says Sylvie Decaigny.
At present the dock is still just a dock. But this will soon change, according to plant manager Philippe Bausier of BioWanze. In the year 2009 the bioethanol plant BioWanze will be situated at these docks. The location was chosen for practical, economical and political reasons. The Belgium town of Wanze is just south of the language barrier, so it can count on full support of the Wallonian government. On the other hand, the location is still in the centre of the Belgian arable crop farming area and in the vicinity of large wheat growing areas in Western Europe. Furthermore there is easy access to waterways, rail and highways and close to one of the mother companies Tiense Suikerraffinaderij. BioWanze is an initiative of Tiense Suikerraffinaderij and Crop Energies Ag (see box). They invest 250 million euros in the project. This amount includes a water treatment plant.
Supplies The plant will produce 300 million litre of bioethanol from the end of 2008 onwards. To produce this they will process 800.000 metric ton of wheat and 400.000 metric ton sugar beets. The molasses produced by Tiense Suikerraffinaderij will be used to produce ethanol. The total production requires approximately 100.000 ha of wheat and 6000 ha of sugar beets. This will be produced in Belgium, but raw materials also come from neighbouring countries such as Germany and France. “We expect we can get about half of the necessary wheat supply here by boat, around 30 percent will be delivered by train and the rest comes to Wanze by truck’’, explains Sylvie Decaigny, supply chain manager. A pipe line connects BioWanze with Tiense suikerraffinaderij to supply the sugar syrup. BioWanze expects to be able to contract wheat directly from farmers or other
wise by on the spot market or through brokers. “If all goes according to plan, we expect to process wheat from harvest 2008”, says Decaigny. BioWanze has not yet secured these supplies. There are no contracts for delivery of final products either. B y - p ro d u c t s Besides bioethanol the plant will produce 55.000 ton gluten and 250.000 ton dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGS). The bioethanol leaves the plant by boat as will most of the DDGS. The gluten and around 30 percent of DDGS will be transported by truck. DDGS is a liquid product, rich in protein. “Furthermore it contains fatty acids, carbohydrates and fibres a valuable product for the feed industry”, according to Cristelle Noirhomme, sales and marketing manager. A major market for this product will be the liquid feed product market. This implies that
22-23•Tiense suiker:22-23
02-11-2007
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Pagina 23
t and sugar beets Tiense Suiker unfolds large bioethonal project in Belgium most of the product ends up in the Dutch pig farming or dairy farming. “Belgian farmers don’t use these liquid by-products in the same amounts as Dutch farmers do”, explains Noirhomme. Not all of the product will be sold as liquid. “We’ll also dry part of the by-products and sell it to the feed industry to be used in mixed feed.” Noirhomme also expects some sales to go towards the compost industry. Furthermore the bran left over from the wheat processing will be used to supply part of the energy needed for the BioWanze plant. “We strive to sup-
ply 70 to 80 percent of our energy requirements ourselves”, says Decaigny. Cycle “It is important that a valuable product like DDGS is used in the same areas where the raw materials originated from. This relieves the pressure on the import of protein products from all over the world”, states Noirhomme. “Not only do DDGS have value for the feed industry, the production of DDGS has a positive energy balance as a whole.” The main challenge for BioWanze will be the stocking of DDGS.
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Initiative BioWanze is an initiative of Tiense Suikerraffinaderij and Crop Energies Ag. Both these companies are part of the German group Südzucker. This is a co-operative owned by German sugar beet farmers (56%) and via the Autrian Landbouwbank also by Autrian sugar beet farmers (10%). The remaining shares are owned by private people. Besides the plans for a production plant in Wanze, Südzucker already owns bioethanol plants in Zeitz (Germany, 360.000 metric ton) and Dunkerque (France, 100.000 metric ton). Both units already produce bioethanol.
New Energy November 2007
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05-11-2007
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Pagina 24
Quality and diversity pro b Bioethanol
[Jef Verhaeren en Emile Ackx]
Dried distillers grain with solubles, glycerol, rape seed cake are some of the by-products of biofuel production. For their nutritional value there is a lot of interest in these products, mainly from the feed industry. Main challenge for application is to provide byproducts with consistent quality and nutritional properties. The use of by-products from biofuel production was subject of a seminar held in Strasbourg (France), organised by French feed additive producers Ajinomoto-Eurolysine and Adisseo. Christian Delporte, technical manager at Roquette, started of by outlining the development of the European biofuel production in the years to come. “In 2005 the world ethanol production was 36 million ton. The EU-25 contributed only 1.9 million ton, which is equal to 5 percent of the world production”, says Delport. Brasil and the United States both account for 36 percent of the total production. “If we take into account all the plans for ethanol production in Europe, a production of near to 7.5 or 8 million ton should be feasible.” Delporte stresses this will depend on developments in individual European countries. For example, Spain stated it would produce 1756 million ton of bioethanol by the end of 2008. “They now import grains for use in animal feed, so one can put a question mark with their goals on the bioethanol production”, according to Delport. “Even if we are able to produce 8 million ton
According to Christian Delporte Europe will need 8,8 million ton of bio-ethanol to meet the blending target of 4.75 percent.
bioethanol, this will still not be sufficient to meet the blending obligations set by the European Commission”, he points out. Wheat Contrary to the United States, Europe produces ethanol mainly from wheat. Besides that sugar beets, corn and molasses is used for ethanal production - however, these are marginal compared
to wheat-supplied ethanol plants. To produce one ton of bioethanol, 3,3 ton of wheat is required. This equals 0,4 hectares. One ton bioethanol in turn also provides 1,15 ton of dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGS) as a by-product. In practice there are three different production methods for ethanol and its by-product. The direct way, without extra steps, produces DDGS that after a drying step
24-25•ddgs:24-25
05-11-2007
13:17
Pagina 25
o blem of fuel by-products
“The quality of DDGS strongly depends on the specific bioethanol production process”,
“The use of DDGS in feed has its limitations”, says dr. Piet van der Aar.
says Cécile Gady of Adisseo France.
European feed industry looks at possibilities of new ingredients contains 10% moisture, 35% raw protein and 8% raw fibre. Alternatively the wheat grits can be separated at grinding. This leaves only the floor for the fermenting. After fermentation and just before drying, the grit is than added to the DDGS again. The product specifications of this by-product are: 10% moist, 27% raw fibre and a sugar- and starch content of 15%. The third way uses a wet grinding step that separates the gluten and grit. Only the starch and other solubles are used for fermentation. Adding the grit just before drying results in DDGS with 10% moisture, only 20% protein, 7% raw fibre and a sugar and starch content of 20%. Most of the DDGS will be moist or fluid and therefore suitable for use as fluid feeds in dairy cattle or hogs. “This product will most likely not be usable in poultry feed. If they do use it, they will have to pay extra attention to sodium, chloride, sulphur and phosphor content of the product.” Nutritionists have to account for the variation in the different components within the by-product, warns Delporte. Va r i a b i l i t y Cécile Gady, research manager feed stuffs at Adisseo France, confirmes the
variability and diversity in nutritional properties of DDGS. Not only the source - wheat or corn - makes a difference; but there are also variations within the same raw material. Gady noted differences in feed efficiency rates of amino acids between separate samples of cornDDGS. “The amino acid content differed between the samples. The largest variability was found for lysine.” Besides that the amount of metabolisable energy of corn-DDGS is subject of debate between scientists. The recently found values are much higher than those mentioned in the NRC tables of 1994. But not only corn-DDGS shows variation, this is also true for wheat-DDGS. Scientists don’t agree on values of metabolisable energy and amino acid rates. Recent research has shown higher levels of metabolisable energy than those suggested by the French Institute National pour la Recherch Agronomique in 2004. “Results are also strongly influenced by the method of research”, says Gady. However, a nutritionist wants a consistent product with predictable content and nutritional value. Gady is of the opinion that for the time being there are too many variables in the production of DDGS. “Therefore a nutritionist should always
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analyse the specific product he is using and not work with the standard values issued.” P ro t e i n s o u rc e Dr. Piet van der Aar of Schothorst Feed Research (The Netherlands) is of the opinion that the use of DDGS in the European feed industry will increase. “This will mainly be wheat-DDGS of European origin, but I expect some imports of corn-DDGS.” Besides that the feed industry will increase the use of glycerol and rape seed cake, he predicts. Van der Aar warns of potential side effects when feed ingredients shift. “Feeds will contain more protein which can lead to gastrointestinal disturbance and an increase in nitrogen and ammonia emission.” According to Van der Aar by-products of the biofuel production are regular ingredients for the feed industry. Assessment of their quality should be a standard included in the production process. “Knowledge of the right energy value of the product is essential information for a nutritionist.” The low lysine rate is also a matter of concern; however this can be corrected using normal optimising techniques available to the industry.
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New Energy November 2007
26•adv:26
05-11-2007
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Pagina 26
XDS
- the advantage of simplicity
“With tthe “With he X XDS DS ffrom rom FFOSS OSS iitt iiss sso o simple simpl le to make a measureme measurement nt tthat hat tthe he h human uman e error rror iiss rremoved emoved a and nd I ccan an g get et on o nw with ith o other ther tthings hings iinstead nstead o off cchecking hecking tthe he vvalidity alidity o off m measurements.” easurements.” Marc Arends, Laboratory Manag Manager, gerr, Sunoil Biodiesel – Emmen (NL)
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27-28•Algen:27-28
05-11-2007
12:06
Pagina 27
The world economy depends on mineral oil. In the search to become less dependent on mineral oil, new solutions are being researched. Carel Callenbach might have an answer. He grows an organism – algae - that extracts oil directly out of sunlight.
Development
[Marc van der Sterren]
‘Cars don’t drive on vitamins’ “There’s only one method of producing biofuel in a sustainable way,” says Callenbach. Using the word sustainable, Callenbach is talking both environmental as well as financial. All energy on earth comes from the sun, and photosynthesis is the most efficient way to modify sunlight into energy for human use, he says. As long as people do not find a way to copy this difficult technology from nature, they depend on plants, because these are the only organisms that have this ability. Callenbach’s solution is simple. He uses
algae, the most efficient plant on earth, to exploit photosynthesis. It’s a very small plant that doesn’t produce wood, roots, or energy-gulping seeds and fruits. It’s not much more than chlorophyll and oil. The tiny plants produce oxygen while sequestrating CO2. “Ten times more then a forest”, Callenbach claims. Growing algae is possible without producing seeds first. Above that, chemicals are not needed. Dikes Callenbach is the owner of Ingrepro. A small company situated in a farm land-
scape near Borculo, The Netherlands. Behind a farm, Callenbach has a production plant of 7000 square meters. Small dikes give the pool the shape of a long folded channel. The water is just half a meter deep. A big paddle wheel makes the water flow calmly. The production of algae is a very fast process. Within 24 hours a new cell is born and fully grown. This expansion leads to production of at least 30.000 kilograms of algae per hectare. Besides this production pool, Ingrepro runs a processing plant. With an oil
>>
The production of algae is a very quick process. Within 24 hours a new cell is born and fully grown. This expansion leads to production of at least 30.000 kilograms of algae pro hectare.
26
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New Energy November 2007
27-28•Algen:27-28
05-11-2007
12:06
Pagina 28
>> ‘Cars don’t drive on vitamins’
Director of Ingrepro Carel Callenbach: “There’s only one method of producing biofuel
At the moment, Ingrepro only produces algae for feed consumption purposes.
in a sustainable way.”
cape near Borculo, The Netherlands. Behind a farm, Callenbach has a production plant of 7000 square meters. Small dikes give the pool the shape of a long folded channel. The water is just half a meter deep. A big paddle wheel makes the water flow calmly. The production of algae is a very fast process. Within 24 hours a new cell is born and fully grown. This expansion leads to production of at least 30.000 kilograms of algae per hectare. Besides this production pool, Ingrepro runs a processing plant. With an oil press they harvest between 30 and 40 percent oil out of the algae. But there might be a way to increase this percentage, if they only find a more productive way to grow algae. Callenbach compares the small plants with pigs: “They also produce more or less fat, depending on their breed, the feed and the climate.” Omega-3 The potential of algae is immense. The amount of energy in the small plants is a sustainable way of producing biofuel. But algae supply more than just fuel. The oil is not only edible, it’s also very healthy. Algae oil contains essential components like omega-3 and other acids. Callenbach explains this oil is even healthier than fish oil. “Fish get those healthy ingredients out of algae. But oil get’s old and fish often store heavy metals in it.” Ingrepro skips this step. “Algae oil is the most
pure natural oil”, the Ingrepro-director claims. At the moment, his company mainly produces algae for nutrition. It can be used for human consumption, but now it’s mainly for feed, especially for horses, petfood and fish. He sells the algae fresh, dried or frozen, as well as the oil and the rest of the products. M a r g i n a l ro c k y s o i l The next step for Ingrepro is the oil business. In Asia Callenbach wants to start a production plant of algae as big as 1000 hectares, but using sustainable methods. There’s no comparison with palm oil, Callenbach insists, because “We do not need fertile land.” In some areas there are wide landscapes which are totally eroded. The fertile layer is entirely flushed away. “We can use that type of land,” he says. “We can even use the most marginal rocky soil.” Moreover, depending on the species, algae can be grown in salt water, “So there’s no need to interfere with the water supply.” At the moment, Ingrepro only produces algae for feed consumption purposes. In Callenbach’s vision, the energy plant is going to be a supplier of micro ingredients for the existing company. While producing oil, they not only use the oil cake for feed, they also extract vitamins out of the algae. “Car’s don’t need to drive on vitamins,” he says. The resources the energy plant will generate will also be invested in the
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micro ingredients business. “To maintain a sustainable chain, the oil production will always be connected to feed and aquaculture.” For this, Callenbach already made contacts with fish breeders and shrimp farms. In the south of Europe, he intents to build an algae production plant for aquaculture. Big Callenbach’s plans are big. Algae might even become a leading business, the entrepreneur predicts. “In the near future sustainability will gain importance worldwide.” His company has been in business only two and a half years and the demand already exceeds his capacity. “We are working hard to build a commercial organisation on a large scale,” he adds. Ingrepro is going to eventually compete with the oil companies. But Europe is a difficult market, Callenbach knows. He contacted a couple of electricity companies in The Netherlands, “but they are not ready to innovate with technologies like ours”, Callenbach says. However, his vision goes beyond the country borders of The Netherlands. He’s not going to wait for a chance or a possibility to get subsidies. His production will start in Asia and maybe also in the United States. Later on, the oil will be shipped to Rotterdam for the European market. Soon, probably next year already, there will be a stock exchange of algae oil in Chicago, Callenbach predicts.
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New Energy November 2007
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05-11-2007
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Pagina oms 3
s k o o b t s i l a i Spec
New Energy magazine for the bioenergy business
Biofuels: implications for the feed industry Increasing biofuel production has a major impact on the feed industry. Not only will the competition for food, fuel and feed decrease the availability of feedstuffs for animal production, but also new feedstuffs will become available for which the nutritional quality needs to be reviewed. The nutritional value and usability of the by-products as feedstuffs is the main focus of this book. Additionally, it gives an overview of the current and future developments of the emerging bioenergy production. ‘Biofuels’ updates nutritionists, researchers, traders and those working in the allied industry on the current 'state of knowledge' of the usability of the different by-products from biofuel production in specific animal feeds.
Starch derivatization This publication addresses the large possibilities of starch as an industrial raw material. Starch is industrially produced on a large scale, from various plants such as corn, tapioca and potato. It is renewable, "green" and cheap. Although the starches from these plants differ, the current application areas are the same. Besides the classical applications of starch in food products, their use as adhesives and in the paper and textile industry, new applications such as bioplastics are being developed. Such new possibilities are created by the use of new chemicals and the preparation of highly substituted products in non conventional solvents, such as aqueous alcohols. Using newly developed enzymes also increases the scope of applications.
Sustainable food production and ethics Sustainability has become an issue widely debated in many countries. Given the central role of food supply and the emotional relationship that modern mankind still has to its food, sustainability is seen as a value which has to be maintained throughout food supply chains. The complexity of modern food systems invokes a variety of ethical implications which emerge from contrasts between ideals, perceptions and the conditions of technical processes within food systems, and the concerns connected to this. Topics range from reflections about the roots of sustainability and the development of concepts and approaches to globalisation and resilience of food systems as well as specific ethical aspects of organic farming and animal welfare.
Precision agriculture ’07 With ever-increasing pressures on world agriculture in both economic and environmental terms, application of the concept of precision agriculture is one way of enabling farmers and producers to cope. 'Doing arable agriculture and horticulture more precisely' means that the use of inputs is optimised, crop yield and quality are maximised and leakage of agro-chemicals and fertilisers to the environment is minimised. This publication contains papers presented at the 6th European Conference on Precision Agriculture. The papers reflect the wide range of disciplines encompassed by precision agriculture, including: soil physics, crop physiology, agronomy, IT, agricultural technology, sensor technology, remote sensing, geostatistics and environmental science.
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omslag 4:omslag 4
05-11-2007
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Pagina oms 4
Plants Plants for for Pelleting Pelleting of of Renewable Renewable Raw Raw Materials Materials
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