Green Gasoline - Sustainability

[Burnham Institute]

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112243&org=OLPA&from=news


NSF Press Briefing: Green Gasoline

A renewable petroleum alternative from plants; briefing on Sept. 23
Logo depicting green gasoline.

A press briefing on green gasoline will take place on Sept. 23, 2008.
Credit and Larger Version

September 15, 2008

View video interviews with John Regalbuto of the National Science Foundation, biochemist Clint Chapple from Purdue University, Randy Cortright, CTO of Virent Energy Systems, and chemical engineer George Huber from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

First-generation biofuels have been hampered by a range of factors, from incompatibility and lower energy yields to concerns about their potential impacts on food prices. A new, second-generation biofuel known as cellulosic gasoline, or "green gasoline," is positioned to bridge those gaps and eventually provide gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other chemicals that are identical to petroleum counterparts yet are derived from non-food plants and agricultural waste.

Breakthroughs emerging this year are ushering in a period of rapid development in green gasoline research, and now some of the largest petroleum companies in the world are joining the effort. On Sept. 23, 2008, three leading experts from academia and industry will host a panel discussion at NSF to highlight how far researchers have come, and how far they still need to go, to bring plant-derived gasoline to market.
Who:

John Regalbuto, chemical engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program Director at the National Science Foundation
George Huber, chemical engineering professor from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Randy Cortright, CTO of Virent Energy Systems
What: Discussion of the present and future of green gasoline research
When: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. ET
Where: National Science Foundation
Room 110
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, Va. (Ballston Metro Stop)

Check in at security desk, 9th & Stuart St. entrance.

For Directions, see http://www.nsf.gov/about/visit/.

RSVP to Josh Chamot, media officer for engineering, at jchamot@nsf.gov.

Note: On September 27, NSF will be at Family Day at the U.S. Botanic Garden, just across First Street SW from the U.S. Capitol, to display typical "green energy" plants used in green gasoline production-along with a sample of "biocrude" and the catalysts used to create green gasoline from plants-and to answer questions from the public. The plants are being provided by the USDA U.S. National Arboretum courtesy of their Power Plants-Farming Energy exhibit.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Green Gasoline - Sustainability

Cellulosic Ethanol


While ethanol is typically produced from the starch contained in grains such as corn and grain sorghum, it can also be produced from cellulose. Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and is the most common organic compound on earth. It is more difficult to break down cellulose to convert it into usable sugars for ethanol production. Yet, making ethanol from cellulose dramatically expands the types and amount of available material for ethanol production. This includes many materials now regarded as wastes requiring disposal, as well as corn stalks, rice straw and wood chips or "energy crops" of fast-growing trees and grasses.

Producing ethanol from cellulose promises to greatly increase the volume of fuel ethanol that can be produced in the U.S. and abroad. A report found the land resources in the U.S. are capable of producing a sustainable supply of 1.3 billion tons per year of biomass, and that 1 billion tons of biomass would be sufficient to displace 30 percent or more of the country's present petroleum consumption.

Importantly, it offers tremendous opportunities for new jobs and economic growth outside the traditional "grain belt," with production across the country from locally available resources. Cellulose ethanol production will also provide additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Building upon the strong foundation grain-based ethanol technology has provided, the ethanol industry is rapidly developing and expanding the number of feedstocks available for ethanol production. Iogen Corporation in Ottawa, Canada produces just over a million gallons annually of cellulose ethanol from wheat, oat and barley straw in their demonstration facility. In late 2007, Range Fuels broke ground on a 20 million gallon per year facility that will process ethanol from wood and wood waste in Georgia. Several existing ethanol plants in the U.S. are engaged in research and demonstration projects with the U.S. Department of Energy utilizing the existing fiber in their facility that typically goes into the livestock feed coproduct. Enzyme companies including Genencor International and Novozymes are working on research projects with the Department to significantly reduce enzyme cost and increase enzyme life and durability.

With continued advancements in pretreatment technology, fermentation, and collection and storage logistics, the commercial production of cellulose ethanol becomes more economically feasible......

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resource/cellulosic/