Second-generation biofuels

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Second generation biofuel technologies are able to manufacture biofuels from inedible biomass and avoid conversion of food into fuel.

Contents

Introduction

The term "second-generation" biofuel has been used to designate multiple meanings:

  • The customary usage of the term designates a biofuel obtained from a feedstock that cannot be used except through some novel, intermediate process. An example of this is cellulosic ethanol, the production of ethanol from woody materials for which the long chains of cellulose must be broken down before conversion to ethanol. Another important example are BTL-fuels (biomass-to-liquids) that are produced from different types of biomass by gasification or putrefaction followed by catalytic synthesis of either ethanol of liquid hydrocarbons (Source: Quo Vadis Biofuels). (The "first generation" of biofuels, in this sense, are therefore those made more readily and traditionally, such as ethanol -- ethyl alcohol -- distilled from grains, sugarcane, potatoes and fruit, in which the shorter starch molecules are more directly converted to ethanol through fermentation.)
    • "Second generation biofuel technologies are able to manufacture biofuels from inedible biomass and could hence prevent conversion of food into fuel." [1]
  • Because of the difficulty in making new technologies, such as producing ethanol from grasses, technologically and economically feasible, the term "second generation" biofuels has by extension also come to be used for biofuel technologies that are sufficiently advanced or experimental in nature as of the present.
    • This definition was used by Galp Energia, a Portuguese oil and natural gas company [2]

News

2010

  • Klobuchar bill: trojan horse for bad biofuels, 14 July 2010, Nathanael Greene’s Blog/NRDC: "It should come as no surprise that the first copy of the full text of Sen Klobuchar's energy bill was found on a corn ethanol industry association website; the bill reads like the industry's wish list."
    • "Here are some of laundry list of bad biofuel provisions:
  • "Gutting the definition of renewable biomass so that it would include everything from old growth to garbage..."
  • "Defining mature and mainstream corn ethanol, which has been commercially produced for well over 30 years as an 'advanced biofuel' under the RFS2."[4]
  • New Federal Policies Needed to Jump-Start Clean Advanced Biofuels Industry, 14 June 2010 by The Union of Concerned Scientists: "The federal government needs to adopt a suite of new policies to spur production in the stalled advanced biofuels industry, according to a report, The Billion Gallon Challenge, released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
    • "Advanced cellulosic biofuels – made from grasses, woodchips, wastes and other non-food sources – release dramatically less pollution than gasoline or corn ethanol. Reforming production tax credits for biofuels and providing new loan guarantees, investment tax credits and other financial incentives would spark investment in cellulosic biofuels, cut oil consumption, reduce global warming pollution, and ultimately save taxpayers money, the report found."
    • "Currently, cellulosic biofuels are falling far short of the mandated levels. In 2010, the standard requires fuel suppliers, largely oil companies, to purchase 100 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had to lower this target to just 6.5 million gallons due to a lack of supply."[5]
  • A new, improved outlook for biofuels: UBS sees opportunity in advanced technology, switch to nonfood feedstock, 10 June 2010 by Martin Mittelstaedt of The Globe and Mail: "The mania over ethanol as fuel didn’t play out so well for investors last time, but there might be a new way to profit from the renewable energy industry as companies rush to commercialize what is being dubbed second-generation biofuel production. The big winners are expected to be enzyme makers, forest companies, and the agricultural sector. "
    • "The call by UBS for investors to take a plunge back into biofuels is one of the first by a major investment firm since a disastrous crash in the sector two years ago. The shares of many companies that were trying to make ethanol from corn, for blending into gasoline, have plunged, and scientific critics have assailed the idea of using food as fuel, saying it had few environmental benefits."[6]
  • DOE Announces up to $11 Million for Biofuels Technology Development, 28 May 2010 by US Department of Energy: "The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $11 million in funding over three years for research and development in the area of thermochemical conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing fueling infrastructure. The objective of this funding is to improve the conversion of non-food biomass to liquid transportation hydrocarbon fuels via pyrolysis, a process that decomposes biomass using heat in the absence of oxygen to produce a bio-oil that can be upgraded to renewable diesel, gasoline, or jet fuel."
    • "DOE anticipates selecting three to four projects under this announcement and will require a minimum of 20% cost share from applicants. Selected projects will also be required to include an analysis of greenhouse gas reductions as compared with petroleum fuels."[7]
  • DOE juices biofuels industry with 13 “Electrofuels” grants, 30 April 2010 by Biofuels Digest: "In Washington, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it will award $106 million in ARPA-E funding for 37 research projects that produce advanced biofuels more efficiently from renewable electricity instead of sunlight; design completely new types of batteries to make electric vehicles more affordable; and remove the carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants in a more cost-effective way."
    • "According to the DOE, 'today’s technologies for making biofuels all rely on photosynthesis – either indirectly by converting plants to fuels or directly by harnessing photosynthetic organisms such as algae. This process is less than 1% efficient at converting sunlight to stored chemical energy. Instead, Electrofuels approaches will use organisms able to extract energy from other sources, such as solar-derived electricity or hydrogen or earth-abundant metal ions. Theoretically, such an approach could be more than 10 times more efficient than current biomass approaches.'" [8]
  • Obama touts ethanol as vital piece of rural economic recovery, 28 April 2010 by Ben Geman, The Hill:"Obama endorsed expanded ethanol production during a speech at a Macon, Missouri plant owned by POET, the country’s largest ethanol producer."
    • "Obama noted funding for ethanol projects and research in last year’s stimulus law, and also cited his interagency biofuels working group. The administration wants to see ethanol production tripled over the next 12 years, he said. "
    • "POET and other companies are also seeking to develop next-generation fuels made from materials such as crop wastes, algae and grasses."[9]
  • Will Extending the Ethanol Tax Credit Slow Progress Toward Advanced Biofuels?, 25 April 2010 by Solve Climate: "The federal tax credit for ethanol is among the most controversial energy- or environment-related policies in the country. The volume on all sides of the issue is increasing, with some shouting down ethanol’s claim to lower greenhouse gas emissions, others touting the tax credit’s job-creation capabilities and still others lamenting the diversion of farmland for fuel."
    • Autumn Hanna of Taxpayers for Common Sense was quoted in the article as saying, the tax credit "does little more than pad the pockets of big oil companies like Shell. The ethanol tax credit has already cost taxpayers more than $20 billion in the last five years and, if extended, taxpayers stand to lose billions more. Since the 1970's, taxpayers have heavily subsidized corn ethanol. It’s time this mature energy industry stand on its own two feet."
    • "Legislators from agricultural states claim that ethanol won’t prosper on its own yet, and that more than 100,000 jobs would be lost if the credit were allowed to lapse."
    • Craig Cox, the senior vice president for agricultural and natural resources at the Environmental Working Group "argues that extending the ethanol tax credits now will only divert resources from much-needed research into those second-generation fuels."[10]
  • Berkeley Lab To Build DOE Advanced Biofuels User Facility, 2 April 2010 by Berkeley Lab: "The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has been awarded nearly $18 million from the Recovery Act to build an advanced biofuels process development facility. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), this new facility will help expedite the commercialization of next generation biofuels by providing industry-scale test beds for innovative technologies."
    • "Berkeley Lab's Advanced Biofuels PDU will feature pre-treatment of biomass capabilities and bioreactors for the production of microbial or fungal enzymes that can break down biomass into fermentable sugars. The facility will also have substantial capabilities for fermentation or further conversion of sugars into advanced biofuels, along with the capacity to purify these fuels in sufficient quantities for engine testing."[11]
  • Department of Energy to Invest Nearly $18 Million for Advanced Biofuels User Facility, 31 March 2010 by U.S. Department of Energy: "[T]he Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will build an advanced biofuels process development facility aimed at speeding the commercialization of advanced biofuels by allowing researchers and the private sector to test and integrate innovative technologies."
    • "'The Department is committed to developing cost-effective and sustainable advanced biofuels. With this investment, we will vastly increase the capacity to test new innovative approaches on a larger, integrated scale,' said Assistant Secretary Zoi. 'Scaling up these clean energy technologies is crucial to addressing climate change and building a strong, domestic clean energy economy.'"
    • "Planned capabilities include unique pretreatment of biomass, enzyme production, fermentation for the production of multiple biofuels, and product purification in quantities sufficient for engine testing at partner institutions."[12]
  • BIO Calls for a Range of Policies to Support Biorefinery Commercialization and Create Green Jobs, 4 March 2010: "Public policy should extend support to all biorefinery projects, because production of biobased products and green chemicals at integrated biorefineries holds the same potential to generate jobs, boost economic growth, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as advanced biofuels."
    • Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section, stated,"The United States is a world leader in developing industrial biotechnology for biofuels, biobased products, and green chemicals. Deployment of the technology can improve U.S. economic competitiveness, contribute to renewed, sustainable economic growth, and create high-wage, green jobs. U.S. employment in plastics and chemical manufacturing has declined over the past two decades and is projected to shrink further, as capital investment for the petroleum-based industry has shifted away from the United States. Development of domestic biobased products and renewable chemicals can restore competitive advantage to the United States and possibly save jobs in the sector."[13]

2009

  • Shell halts wind and solar spending in favour of biofuels, 18 March 2009 by BusinessGreen.com: "Oil giant Shell has announced it is to focus its future renewable energy strategy on biofuels and halt investment in technologies such as wind and solar, which it maintains are failing to offer sufficient economic returns."
    • Shell "has established itself as the world's largest buyer and blender of biofuels and has increased funding for a number of developers of second generation biofuels over the past year, only this month taking a larger stake in biofuel specialist Codexis."
    • "Friends of the Earth (FoE) accused Shell of 'backing the wrong horse' with its focus on biofuels, arguing that they 'often lead to more emissions than the petrol and diesel they replace'."[17]
  • IEA report examines second-generation biofuel challenges, 10 March 2009 by Biomass Magazine: The International Energy Agency "has released a report examining the current first- and second-generation biofuel industries and the challenges at-hand for second-generation biofuel development and commercialization. The report's researchers have concluded that while many technical challenges remain for second-generation biofuels, a steady transition from first- to second-generation biofuels is expected in the near- to mid-future."
    • "According to the report, the transition to an integrated first- and second-generation biofuels industry will most likely be spread over the next one to two decades and will require continued significant governmental support."
    • "Based on various company announcements, the IEA determined that the first commercial-scale second-generation facilities could be up and running by 2012...and that 'the first commercial plants are unlikely to be widely deployed before 2015 or 2020.'"[18]
    • See the full IEA report, From 1st- to 2nd-Generation Biofuel Technologies - An Overview of Current Industry and RD&D Activities.

2008

Events

2010

2009

2008

Reports

The March 2010 report by the National Wildlife Federation, Growing a Green Energy Future, examines issues related to the sustainability of biomass utilization in the United States.



Liquid biofuels edit
Oils & fats: Biodiesel | Pure plant oil (PPO)/Straight vegetable oil (SVO) | Renewable diesel
Oil feedstocks: Animal fat, oil palm, rapeseed, soybeans, etc.
Alcohols: Bio-ethanol | Biobutanol - Alcohol feedstocks: cellulosic, sugarcane, corn, sugarbeets, etc.
Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL): Pyrolysis oil | Methanol | Dimethyl ether (DME) - Biomass feedstocks

Other: ETBE | biokerosene


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