Biofuels: just in time production article in the park guide

Biofuels: written by Thomas Bean a just in time production

refer to link line above for on-line article published in summer 2006 The Parkguide

Research and development into methods of “cleaning up” fuels such as coal and oil and into the development of bio-based fuels have been going on for years. However, costs were always cited as one of the obstacles that prevented the integration of such fuels into our daily lives. The argument was simple: coal, gas and petroleum products were abundant and cheap. We don’t need alternatives. Recent breakthroughs and innovations have begun to reduce those costs…some say just in time.

Gas prices have gone back up and are expected to remain high during the summer traveling season. The continued instability in the Middle East and in other oil-producing parts of the world will only put more pressure on those prices. Hurricane Katrina exposed some potential weaknesses in the distribution system for petroleum. These and other factors make the research and development of cleaner fuels in the Triangle area more important than ever before.

“The landscape has changed and it’s not going to change back,” says Raghubir Gupta, executive director of clean fuels research at Research Triangle Institute (RTI). He cites three reasons that developing clean fuels is more important now than ever before.


National security and fuel usage are linked as never before. Dependence on foreign oil has much more signifi cant implications in the post 9-11 world.
The demand for energy on the global market is increasing like never before. Energy usage in countries like India and China is skyrocketing.
Global climate change from the use of fossil fuels must be addressed.
“There is a tremendous amount of opportunity to increase the usage of renewable fuels,” shares Anne Tazewell of the N.C. State Solar Center. “Before we’ve had the issue of improving air quality. Now energy security and dependence on foreign oil have come to the forefront, especially since 9-11.”

Local companies and organizations such as RTI, Novozymes and Piedmont Biofuels are recognizing these opportunities and moving to meet these new needs. Businesses such as United Energy, which owns twenty-three Crown gas stations in the Triangle area, are taking the fi rst steps to introduce these fuels to drivers.

“We see so much research and development going on in this area, and there seems to be a number of projects starting to make fuels on a commercial level,” explains Katy Ansardi, executive director of Sustainable North Carolina. “The next challenge is to incorporate new fuels into the existing infrastructure.”

RTI is involved in research in cleaning up existing fuels like coal and the use of new fuels such as hydrogen cells. The institute’s focus is on finding ways to commercialize new developments as quickly as possible.

“All our projects have an industry component,” Gupta adds. “We work with industry at the very early stages and look at what parts of a project can be commercialized the quickest.”

RTI has been actively researching clean coal technology with the U.S. Department of Energy for more than 20 years. The goal of that research has been the conversion of solid coal into synthesis gas (also known as syngas) to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources of petroleum. In 2005 RTI researchers developed T-2749, a material that removes sulfur from coal at a greatly reduced cost. RTI partnered with Eastman Chemical Co. to use T-2749 at Eastman’s plant in Kingsport, Tenn.

The U.S. is the “Saudi Arabia of coal,” says Gupta, so new technology to clean up coal is a great way to reach the goal of a 25 percent reduction in fuel imports.

RTI is also involved in developing new technologies to use and store hydrogen for electric power and for transportation fuel. Additional funding from the Department of Energy allows RTI and industry partners to create new ways to purify hydrogen using nanostructured membranes and new ways to store hydrogen.

Novozymes, one of the world’s leaders in developing enzymes and microorganisms for commercial use, has developed an enzyme that can break down starch in corn stalks and husks and convert it to sugar that can be fermented and used to produce ethanol. A recent breakthrough at Novozymes has decreased the costs associated with producing fuel from more than $6/gallon to less than $2/gallon. That breakthrough has sparked a national effort to develop an integrated design for producing the fuel using enzymes; the ultimate goal is to reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil. This new effort – which was endorsed by President George Bush in his 2006 State of the Union – includes the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Novozymes, Abengoa Bioenergy and federal officials.

“We believe North Carolina is a place that could become energy independent,” explains Yokima Cureton, spokesperson for Novozymes. Current farming operations produce enough cellulosic waste to provide for North Carolina’s energy needs. Such a transition would have additional economic benefits for the state.

“North Carolina currently spends about $5 billion each year for petroleum, but all of that money leaves the state because there is no production or refining capability here. “Biofuels can be made here, so the funds to pay for them stay in-state,” Tazewell points out.

Ethanol is already being used in cars in many parts of the country, including North Carolina. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol with 15 percent gasoline. Some cars can use E85 but few gas stations sell it. E10, a mixture of 10 percent ethanol with gasoline, can be used in almost any car. In what a company official called a very successful trial period, United Energy in Raleigh sold E10 at its 23 Crown gas stations in the Triangle area during much of 2005 but had to stop because of supply instability and pricing concerns.

“We are looking at biodiesel from a sustainable point of view. We would rather see 100 plants that produce 1 million gallons than one plant that produces 100 million gallons.” – Lyle Estill, president of Piedmont Biofuels
“RTI has been actively researching clean coal technology with the U.S. Department of Energy for more than 20 years.”

“We liked selling it and the public liked buying it, but demand is really going up” shares Haddon Clark, vice president at United Energy. “When it gets more plentiful, we’ll probably go back to it.”

United Energy has also sold biodiesel, which replaces traditional diesel fuel. While supplies are not as volatile as ethanol, the company has stopped selling biodiesel, at least for now. “We are looking at both ethanol and biodiesel in the future,” Clark added.

Supplying biodiesel is a passion for Lyle Estill of Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro. The company sells biodiesel to consumers in the Triangle who use it in their diesel automobiles, but has also sold to the Town of Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Zoo.

“We have a narrow and intense market niche,” Estill says. “We have a bunch of users who want to be petroleum free.” The company is building a plant with a capacity of 1 million gallons. The goal is to draw all the feedstocks – oils such as chicken fat, beef tallow and waste vegetable oil that are used to produce biodiesel – from within 100 miles of the plant.

“We are looking at biodiesel from a sustainable point of view,” Estill elaborates. “We would rather see 100 plants that produce 1 million gallons than one plant that produces 100 million gallons.”

With energy prices likely to stay high or possibly increase further, research, development and commercial use of biofuels and clean fuels is likely to continue to meet the demand. “I don’t know of many (dealers) who are scared of ethanol or biodiesel,” Clark says. “When they become more plentiful, I think our industry will be all over it.”

“Our next challenge is to integrate biofuels into our existing infrastructure,” explains Garrett Screws, corporate affairs liaison with Novozymes. “We need to increase production, solve the transport issues and provide incentives for retailers to sell the fuels. But it’s very exciting to see this much interest and excitement in developing biofuels.”