[Gasification] Biomass Gasification to Improve Ethanol EnergyBalance

Tue Aug 8 19:57:48 CDT 2006

   Sure is a lot of logging going on in the midwest. I've logged in
both WI and MN and there's logging going on all over both states. Also
lived down South and know there's just as much logging going on in
Mississippi, Alabama, Lousiana, etc.
   Besides that, most places in the midwest have literally tons of
woodwaste from tree trimming, residential yard clean up, etc. which
costs the tree people and residents money to haul to the local
landfill. Those folks would be overjoyed to have some place to drop it
off for free. I'll be hauling a pickup load of brush to the landfill
in the morning and will get charged $5 to dump it, and every time I go
there I see mountains of the stuff.
     But I think the key feedstock the article mentioned was the
switchgrass and hybrid poplar. Both of which are being widely planted
in the midwest.


On 8/7/06, Mark Ludlow <mark at ludlow.com> wrote:
> Jane,
>
> Where is the "wood waste" to fuel the gasifiers coming from. The Midwest,
> where the bulk of ethanol production facilities seem to be located, is not
> exactly big timber country.
>
> Plenty of cornstalks that may otherwise be chopped, ensiled and used as
> animal food, but how do they get to the gasifier?
>
> Best regards,
> Mark
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org
> [mailto:gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Jane Turnbull
> Sent: Friday, January 02, 1970 2:38 PM
> To: gasification at listserv.repp.org; lwvc_energy at yahoogroups.com; Tom Jopson;
> Edward Flom
> Subject: [Gasification] Biomass Gasification to Improve Ethanol
> EnergyBalance
>
>
> This is from the Energy and Environmental Study Institute posting.
>
> Jane Turnbull
>
> Commentary
>
>
> Paving the Way for Cellulosic Ethanol, by Brendan Jordan of the Great Plains
> Institute
>
> High natural gas prices have convinced the management of two corn ethanol
> plants in Minnesota to replace their natural gas consumption with biomass.
> For the uninitiated, biomass is any plant material, and generally refers to
> plant material used for energy. Common biomass materials include wood waste,
> crop residues, and dedicated energy crops like hybrid poplar and
> switchgrass. Both the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) and the Central
> Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative (CMEC) are installing biomass gasifiers this
> year that will use waste biomass to produce heat and electricity to replace
> energy previously purchased on the market. In addition to improving their
> bottom line and shielding them from energy price fluctuations, this will
> also dramatically improve the CO2 emissions profile of their fuel, and set
> the stage for producing cellulosic ethanol.
>
> Faced with high natural gas prices, many ethanol plant operators are looking
> for other sources of process heat. According to a recent study (Tilman et al
> 2006), 60 percent of the lifecycle energy used in producing ethanol is made
> up of energy used in the plant for such processes as cooking the corn,
> distilling the ethanol, and drying the distillers grain.  Most plants use
> natural gas to supply that energy.
>
> High natural gas prices are causing problems for ethanol plants all over the
> Midwest. According to an article in Ethanol Producers Magazine from
> September 2005, CMEC spent $250,000 per month on natural gas in 2002 -- by
> 2005 that cost had doubled to $500,000 per month.
>
> Sebesta Blomberg, a technical and business solutions provider, is working
> with the Central Minnesota plant to plan their gasification project. They
> connected the plant with a technology provider, Primenergy of Tulsa, OK, and
> helped connect the plant with a source of biomass. CMEC is located in
> central Minnesota on the boundary between farm and forest country.  That
> means that a wood supply was widely available. The cooperative has signed a
> 10-year contract with a supplier of wood waste.
>
> Not only will the plant replace natural gas, but it will also produce
> electricity.  The gasifier will power a combined heat and power system that
> will sell 1 MW of green electricity to Xcel Energy.
>
> In addition to saving money for the plant, the new equipment will
> dramatically improve the environmental profile of the fuel. The typical
> fossil energy ratio of a corn ethanol plant is around 1.7:1. CMEC, with its
> new equipment, will have an energy ratio of 3.15:1. In other words, for
> every unit of fossil energy used in production, they¹ll get 3.15 units of
> ethanol. This translates into reduced fossil energy consumption, and a
> greater reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
>
> Frontline Bioenergy is the lead in designing and building the gasifier for
> Chippewa Valley. They plan to have Phase 1 of their project operating by
> early 2007. By then they will have a 70 ton per day gasifier operating using
> a combination of wood chips and corn stover. This will replace about 20
> percent of the plant¹s natural gas. When Phases 2 and 3 are completed in
> early 2009, they will replace over 90 percent of the plant¹s natural gas
> using primarily corn stover. Frontline¹s gasifier is especially suited for
> utilizing a variety of such feedstocks.  This project should have a similar
> renewable energy ratio to the Central Minnesota project.
>
> These projects have a variety of immediate benefits (fossil energy
> reduction, cost savings), but they are really important because they¹re
> positioning the ethanol business to move towards cellulosic ethanol. This is
> true for two reasons: they¹re helping plants learn how to collect and handle
> biomass, and they¹re helping plants learn how to use gasification
> technology, which can be a precursor to production of liquid fuels such as
> ethanol and synthetic gasoline and diesel from biomass.
>
> The Department of Energy has calculated that up to 1.3 billion tons of
> biomass could be produced for energy purposes in the United States without
> significant impacts on the food supply. This is enough biomass to replace
> more than one third of current petroleum consumption.  The problem is that
> while this biomass is available, it isn¹t stacked up outside the plant
> waiting to be used. There are logistical challenges in collecting and
> storing that biomass. Most industrial plants are hesitant to participate in
> such projects involving new technology and large scale biomass supply
> logistics. These are risks that a plant isn¹t willing to take until it has a
> proven technology. Thus, the chicken and egg problem with cellulosic ethanol
>  technology risk and feedstock risk combined make it difficult to
> demonstrate cellulosic ethanol plants.
>
> The CMEC and CVEC projects are getting around this problem in a clever way 
> by selecting a reliable feedstock for demonstrating the technology. Both
> projects will be using waste wood for their first phase  a feedstock that
> is a by-product of another operation (hence wood ³waste²). Then, once the
> technology is demonstrated, they can tackle the feedstock challenge by
> building a feedstock supply for a proven technology. Once a feedstock supply
> is collected and available, it could be used for various gasification
> technologies.
>
> The advantage of gasification technology is that it can be a bridge to
> various other energy technologies. Gasification can be combined with gas
> clean-up and methanation to produce pipeline quality natural gas. It also
> can be paired with various processes to produce a variety of liquid fuels,
> including synthetic gasoline and diesel and, yes, ethanol.  Other
> possibilities for products from gasification include purified hydrogen,
> ammonia for fertilizers, and acetic acid and bioplastics.  Engineers with
> both Frontline Bioenergy and Sebesta Blomberg feel that the plants they¹re
> working with will produce liquid fuels from gasification in the near future.
> Once the plant gasifies enough biomass to power the ethanol plant, it can
> start exporting energy from the gasifier, either as natural gas or liquid
> fuels. So, in answer to the commonly asked question of whether a corn
> ethanol plant can transition to a cellulosic ethanol plant? The answer would
> appear to be yes. And CMEC and CVEC are showing the way.
>
> Sources:
>
> Hill, J., E. Nelson, D. Tilman, S Polasky, and D Tiffany. Environmental,
> economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol
> biofuels. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2003
> 103:11206-11210.
>
> Korba, Ron. ³Turning Off the Valve². Ethanol Producers Magazine. September
> 2005.
>
>
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-- 
Harmon Seaver