Why is world going hungry? Blame ethanol

AMERICANS, WHO mainly can afford it, are paying more for food these days, but as a new U.N. report reminds us, there are poor people around the world who can't afford the rising prices.

They are going hungry, are rioting in some countries — are even resorting to eating mud cookies in Haiti — and maybe you are wondering why.

Ethanol, that's why.

Full Article

And the rest of the article goes on say that it is not only ethanol's fault, it is our fault. So it is not the world's quest for biofuels that is causing the problem it is our quest for biofuels alone that is at issue.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, ethanol has not lessened the amount of food that we are producing. And given that export numbers are up for almost all of our agricultural products, it is obvious that we are doing our part to supply the world with food.

Now if the argument is the increased food prices, one has to wonder the effectiveness of the strategy the author is advocating. Would it not be better to provide farmers in other countries with the seed and farming techniques to increase there own production instead of competing against them with cheaper commodities. The cheap food prices of the past have driven small farmers around the world out of business and created the dependency on our agricultural products.

For example look at this article from July 2006.

The growing dilemma that Mexico's 2 million corn farmers face as the tariffs that protect them shrink under the North American Free Trade Agreement was an issue in this month's presidential election. And as the United States wrestles with already high levels of illegal immigration, some experts say the demise of Mexico's peasantry deserves serious U.S. attention.

"The Bush administration has sought to control immigration at the border, but that's virtually impossible," said Harley Shaiken, director of UC Berkeley's Center for Latin American Studies. "The beginnings of immigration are in the displacement of farmers in Mexico."

An estimated 1.5 million agricultural jobs have been lost since NAFTA went into effect in 1994.

Now contrast that to this article from April 2007.

Now, with supplies short and prices for the grain on world markets reaching 10-year highs of over $4 a bushel in February, farmers are being feted by government ministers who want more corn acres planted for food and energy.

“Thanks to God and good prices, things are looking up,” said farmer Rogelio Zacaula, 66, in the agricultural town of Ciudad Serdan, east of Mexico City.

Higher prices benefits farmers around the world. The farmers then spend there money in their area which benefits their local economy and raises the standard of living for the area. It will all balance out in time.

It is easy to look for the negatives in a situation or to get tied up in the emotions surrounding an issue. But this issue also represents opportunities for the farmers around the world. Strengthening local farming is an opportunity for communities around the world to lessen their dependence on imported food items and live in a more economically sustainable way. As is often said, and something that I truly believe in, what is good for farmers is good for the local community.

Where's the wheat?

Heller’s Bakery in northwestern Washington, D.C., has been a cornerstone of the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood since the 1920s. But lately times are tough. Never before has flour — a staple item in a bakery — been so expensive. “Even though I raise the prices, it’s still not enough,” says Erland Duni, one of the bakery’s owners.

Blame the rising cost of flour on the rising cost of wheat, which climbed from $6.04 per bushel in August to $11.04 in February. And blame the rising cost of wheat on a wheat shortage. But don’t try to blame the wheat shortage on the biofuels industry, experts say. It has more to do with the fickle weather and high demand.

Full Article

Corn is good fibre source in dog food

Nutritional biochemists in Illinois found that corn fiber shows promise as a more economical and healthier ingredient in dog food than some of the fibers now in use.

George Fahey and colleagues point out that the fiber content of dog food varies widely and is often of inferior quality. Many dog foods use fiber from sugar beet pulp. Corn fiber -- available in large amounts as a byproduct of ethanol production -- is an attractive alternative. However, researchers have little information on corn fiber's effects in dogs.

Full Article

If this shows promise it may be another opportunity for increased sales of distillers grains.

Iowa State Releases Another Land Use Study

Last week, economists at Iowa State University released another land use study. In it they make a case that because standard life cycle analysis don't take some factors such as land use changes into account, that a new method for measuring greenhouse gas emissions is needed for biofuels. And they suggest a method called system wide analysis.

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is the standard approach used to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of biofuels. However, it is increasingly recognized that LCA results do not account for some impacts—including land use changes—that have important implications on GHGs. Thus, an alternative accounting system that goes beyond LCA is needed. In this paper, we contribute to the literature by laying out the basics of a system-wide accounting (SWA) method that takes into account all potential changes in GHGs resulting from biofuel expansion. We applied both LCA and SWA to assess the GHG impacts of ethanol based on Iowa corn.

The part that strikes me as odd about all this is that they are continuing to compare biofuels to the past methods of producing gasoline. For example...

For many products, including fossil fuels, a standard LCA is generally
all that is needed to understand GHG emission implications.

In other words they are suggesting that the production of gasoline doesn't cause any land use impacts. While that may be true for offshore drilling or drilling in the desert, it doesn't apply to projects such as the oil sands of Canada.

The oil sands of Canada are found underneath an area over 54,000 square miles in size. The deposits are recovered by one of two methods. Deposits that lie close to the surface are recovered through strip mining, deposits that lie deeper underground are recovered in situ, meaning in place.

The area that is to be strip mined is about 1300 square miles in size. And since that requires that the existing swampland be drained and forest be cleared, that means there are some really big land use impacts to be considered.

The area that will be subject to in situ recover techniques will also have land use issues as roads will have to be cut and pipelines laid in.

So there are land use issues that need to be considered for oil as well.

The oil sands also require much more energy to recover than conventional deposits of oil. That means that the energy balance of oil sands is lower. In fact it is estimated that it takes the amount of energy in a barrel of oil to recover 3 barrels of oil in this manner. And the amounts of greenhouse gases associated with recovery are also about 3 times higher.

Refining is also harder and greenhouse gas emissions associated with refining oil sands oil is estimated to be 15% to 40% higher than oil from conventional sources.

So not only does the oil sands projects cause land use changes that needs to be accounted for but it also produces larger amounts of greenhouse gases at the refineries.

As the easier sources of conventional crude oil are used up more and more production will be shifting to these types of projects. In addition to the Canadian oil sands projects, oil sands in Venezuela are already starting to be produced as well.

And as it is, Canada is our largest supplier of oil and about 47% of the oil produced in Canada in 2006 came from oil sands.

The point I am trying to make is that the researchers shouldn't be performing system wide analysis (SWA) on ethanol and comparing that to gasoline's life cycle analysis (LCA). They should be scrutinizing both ethanol and gasoline with the same analysis method.

Sources:

Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Ethanol from Iowa Corn: Life Cycle Analysis versus System-wide Accounting
Alberta Energy: Oil Sands
Alberta Energy: What is Oil Sands
EIS: Tar Sands
Wikipedia: Tar Sands
The Harm the Tar Sands Will Do
Refinery pollution may soar

And the next line of attack is....

Just when I was starting to think that every aspect of ethanol had been attacked, they found something else to go after. Today there is a article in the news about ethanol posing a fire hazard.

The nation's drive to use more alternative fuel carries a danger many communities have been slow to recognize: Ethanol fires are harder to put out than gasoline ones and require a special type of firefighting foam.

Full Artile

Ethanol is just one of the many thousands of chemicals that a firefighter might have to face. And probably not anywhere near the most dangerous. And just like many other chemicals, fighting an ethanol fire will require special materials and techniques.

To that end the Renewable Fuels Association has been working to educate responders to ethanol incidents.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is releasing Responding to Ethanol Incidents, an educational video detailing proper materials needed to combat potential ethanol incidents. The video is available to watch online at www.ethanolrfa.org

The video is a technical document that is directed primarily at ethanol plant operators and first responders such as fire marshals. It documents Ethanol Firefighting Foam test results and educates viewers on how to deal with ethanol-related spills and fires.

At the end of the day though, we are talking about a chemical that if its wasn't denatured (mixed with a small part gasoline) is drinkable and that when it burns releases no dangerous fumes. Much more dangerous chemicals routinely make their way through our neighborhoods.

PetroSun BioFuels Buys Into Alabma Biodiesel Plant

PetroSun BioFuels, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroSun, Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire a fifty percent interest in Fleet Biodiesel, Inc., an Alabama corporation. Fleet Biodiesel is currently completing the acquisition of an 82.5% interest in Eagle Biodiesel located in Bridgeport, Alabama.

The Eagle Biodiesel assets include a biodiesel refinery, port access to the Tennessee River, five-truck tanker fleet and a retail biodiesel station. The biodiesel refinery is currently producing and selling 60,000 gallons per month and is in the process of expanding its monthly production to four million two hundred thousand gallons.

PetroSun BioFuels will provide algal oil to the Bridgeport refinery for the increased feedstock requirements within the next twelve months.

Press Release

PetroSun is one of the leading companies in the development of algae biodiesel. Given their stated goal of supplying this plant with algal oil, I take this as continued confidence on their part that they will be able to produce significant supplies of algal oil. To me that is a good sign and it will be interesting to see it prgress.

Related Posts:

• PetroSun To Build Biodiesel Plant Using Algae Oil
  

Ethanol's Economic Contribution in 2007

America’s economy has slowed considerably and many analysts are increasingly resorting to the use of the ‘R’ word – recession. Yet, amid the bleak economic news and forecasts, America’s ethanol industry stands out as one of the few bright spots, says the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The economic benefits of America’s expanding ethanol industry underscore the potential of the developing green economy to lift the nation toward a new economic horizon.

The Renewable Fuels Association released a study conducted by John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC detailing ethanol's contributions to the U.S. economy in 2007. Some highlights include...

• U.S. ethanol production helped support the creation of 238,541 new jobs, more than 46,000 of which coming in the manufacturing sector;
  
• U.S. ethanol production increased the Gross Domestic Product by $47.6 billion;
  
• U.S. ethanol production increased household incomes by $12.3 billion;
  
• U.S. ethanol production generated $8.2 billion in new tax revenue for federal, state and local governments; and,
  
• U.S. production and use of 6.5 billion gallons of ethanol in 2007 displaced the need for 228.2 million barrels of imported oil and an estimated value of $16.5 billion.
  

Full Story
Study

Jatropha Being Tested In Santa Barbara

At first sight, it looks like a weed — a ragged shrub bearing sickly green fruit, growing across a plot of wasteland near the dump that overlooks Highway 101. It grows on almost any soil, and with hardly any rain. Its seeds are as toxic as any poison. But this unusual plant conceals an unlikely secret: The oil from its thick black seeds can be used to power your car. And this hardscrabble patch here in Santa Barbara is a project on the cutting edge of one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

The plant is Jatropha curcas — also known as the Barbados nut or Physic nut, and originally brought to India from South America by Portuguese sailors centuries ago for use as a “living fence” that animals and insects instinctually avoid. Indian farmers soon found that the thick oil that came from crushed jatropha seeds could fuel their lamps. But it wasn’t until very recently that researchers found the same oil could also make diesel fuel. Since, jatropha has been the rising star of the biofuels boom in countries like India, where farmers are planting thousands of acres with this weed. In June, oil giant British Petroleum announced a joint venture to invest $160 million in jatropha. And in September, investment firm Goldman Sachs reported that biodiesel from jatropha could cost just $43 a barrel to produce — far less than corn ethanol or crude oil. But, in spite of all the interest, jatropha has never before been cultivated in the United States. That is, not until now.

Full Article

Virgin Atlantic set to fly jumbo jet powered by biofuel

This morning Virgin Atlantic and its suppliers Boeing and GE will stage a test flight of the world's first commercial biofuel plane.

One of the airline's top pilots, Captain Geoff Andreason, Virgin Atlantic's chief Boeing pilot, will fly his plane from Heathrow to Amsterdam. It is a one-and-a-half hour flight and the assembled company watches on big screens as the plane takes off and lands.

One of the plane's four engines will be run on a composite fuel, which is 75 per cent standard aviation fuel and 25 per cent a secret biofuel recipe.

Full Article

Gasoline pipeline to carry ethanol

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is modifying an existing gasoline pipeline to carry ethanol in Florida. The 106 mile long, 16 inch diameter pipeline will connect a terminal in Tampa to another in Orlando. The pipeline is expected to be operational in six months and cost $4 million.

Full Article

Related Posts:

• Magellan, Buckeye study U.S. ethanol pipeline
  
• Oil Pipeline Industry Expands Ethanol R&D
  

Is Ethanol Responsible For High Wheat Prices?

Yesterday I noticed a couple of articles in the news that pointed to ethanol as part of the reason that wheat prices are so high. And again today, there are still more articles saying the same thing.

The biofuel movement is also being blamed, as grain farmers switch from wheat to corn - the main crop used for ethanol.

Full Article

Another article puts it this way.

While their overseas counterparts deal with bad weather and export restrictions, many U.S. wheat farmers have switched to growing corn to meet demand in the expanding ethanol market, Sowers said. The full impact of the wheat shortage hasn't yet reached Main Street, he said. "It will get much, much worse," he said.

Full Article

But are they right?

As I have noted before corn prices were at a low point in 2005 and as a result corn acreage went down in 2006. So any changes that would be seen in planting patterns would have occurred since 2005. So let's look at the numbers for corn and wheat.

Corn Acres Planted

2007 - 93,600,000 acres
2006 - 78,327,000 acres
2005 - 81,779,000 acres

Wheat Planted Acres

2007 - 60,433,000 acres
2006 - 57,344,000 acres
2005 - 57,229,000 acres

All this information can be found at the USDA website.

As you can see the notion that farmers have switched from wheat to corn is simply not true. Like so many of the misconceptions surrounding ethanol is has been accepted as fact and passed on by the very people who are supposed to be impartial and check the facts before they report them.

Update: March 9, 2008

The USDA reports that the acres of winter wheat planted have increased this year by over 1.6 million acres.

Winter Wheat Acres Planted

2008 - 46,610,000 acres
2007 - 44,987,000 acres
2006 - 40,575,000 acres
2005 - 40,433,000 acres

Distiller Grains Exports Nearly Double in One Year

Distillers grains exports in 2007 set a new record and were nearly double export levels in 2006, according to data released this week by the Foreign Agriculture Service, Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) hailed this as important news for those interested in corn ethanol’s important coproduct.

“The export market for distillers grains continues to grow tremendously,” said Bill Hoffman, Chairman of NCGA’s Joint Trade Policy A-Team, which partners on trade issues with the U.S. Grains Council. “The strong demand for ethanol coproducts in foreign markets in 2007 demonstrates the significant nutritional and economic value of these products for livestock.”

The United States exported 2.36 million metric tons of distillers grains in 2007, up 88 percent from the 1.25 million metric tons exported in 2006. Export totals in 2007 were nearly triple 2004 levels.

Full Article

POET and Iowa State Collaborate on Starch to Ethanol Research

A research collaboration with Iowa State University into starch for ethanol production is receiving funds from POET. Through the collaboration with POET research, ISU researcher Jay-Lin Jane is hoping to find starches to further improve the efficiency of POET’s patent-pending BPX™ process.

BPX is a raw starch hydrolysis that converts starch to sugar and then ferments to ethanol without the use of heat. It is utilized in 20 of POET’s 22 ethanol production facilities where its benefits include reduced energy costs, increased ethanol yields, increased nutrient quality in the feed co-products and decreased plant emissions.

"Our collaboration with Dr. Jay Lin Jane is intended to extend the performance of our patent-pending BPX process to provide a greater yield of ethanol per bushel of corn without the need for cooking," said Dr. Mark Stowers, Vice President of Research & Development at POET. By understanding the starch structure and methods of processing starch, we expect to be able to target further increases in ethanol yield per bushel, reductions in energy required and improvements to the quality of distillers grains."

Full Press Release

Ethanol's Effect on the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

The USGS recently completed a report on the factors effecting the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. As has been known for some time the Dead Zone is caused by nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Mississippi River system. This study attempted to answer the question of where these nutrients are coming from.




As you can see corn and soybean farming is a significant contributer, but it also shows that if all corn and soybean farming were ended not even half of the problem would go away.

But the real question is how much is ethanol effecting the situation. Well with a little math we can figure that out.

First let's see how many acres of corn and soybeans were planted in 2007.

Corn - 93,600,000 acres
Soybeans - 63,631,000 acres
Total - 157,231,000 acres

Now let's see how many acres of corn went to ethanol production. The final numbers aren't out for 2007 yet, but it looks like about 6.5 billion gallons of ethanol will have been produced in 2007. The average yield of ethanol per bushel of corn is about 2.8 gallons. The average yield per acres of corn in 2007 was 151 bushels.

6,500,000,000 / 2.8 / 151 = 15,373,700 acres

Now to find out what percentage of the total acreage was devoted to ethanol production.

15,373,700 / 157,231,000 x 100 = 9.8%

So 9.8% of all the acres planted in corn and soybeans went to ethanol production.

So using the chart above, if 52% of all nitrogen was from corn and soybean farming and 9.8% of that was from ethanol that would mean that 5.1% of all the nitrogen delivered to the Gulf of Mexico was because of ethanol production.

And if 25% of the phosphorus was from corn and soybeans farming and 9.8% of that was from ethanol that would mean that 2.5% of all phosphorus delivered to the Gulf of Mexico was because of ethanol.

That would mean that if all the acres that produced corn for ethanol in 2007 were taken completely out of production, 5.1% less nitrogen and 2.5% less phosphorus would be delivered to the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources:

Ethanol Production Statistics
USDA: Crops and Plants
USGS : Nutrient delivery to the Gulf of Mexico

Magellan, Buckeye study U.S. ethanol pipeline

Two U.S. oil products pipeline companies said on Tuesday they have launched an assessment on whether to build what would be the first dedicated ethanol pipeline from agriculture centers in the Midwest to the heavily populated U.S. Northeast.

The companies, Magellan Midstream Partners LP and Buckeye Partners LP, said the proposed pipeline -- with a preliminary cost estimate of more than $3 billion -- would span about 1,700 miles (2,740 km) and take several years to build. The assessment could be completed later this year.

Full Article

How much of the increase in egg prices is due to ethanol?

There is a story in the news today that talks about egg production in New York state. In the article they give some numbers that I found interesting.

While production is down, prices paid to New York farmers for eggs remain up. A dozen eggs brought New York poultry farmers an average of $1.29 in December, up 4 cents from November and up 57 cents from December 2006.

Full Article

And the reason that I find these numbers interesting is because so much blame has been aimed at ethanol for egg price increases. With these number we can actually figure how much of the increase is due to higher corn prices.

The USDA gives some numbers as to how much corn is needed to produce a dozen eggs.

The feed conversion ratio for egg production is approximately 4 pounds of feed per 1 dozen eggs or approximately 30 billion pounds of feed use in 2006.

Approximately 80 percent of egg-type feed is corn or 24 billion pounds in 2006.

The USDA also provides numbers for the price of corn for the time periods mentioned. The average price for a bushel of corn in December 2006 was $3.01 and for December 2007 it was $3.76.

Since there are 56 pounds in a bushel of corn, that would mean that in December 2006 a pound of corn would cost 5.4 cents. So even if all the feed needed to produce a dozen eggs was corn that would mean that the feed costs would be 21.6 cents per dozen eggs.

In December 2007 a pound of corn would cost 6.7 cents and that would mean that feed costs would be 26.8 cents per dozen eggs.

So from December 2006 to December 2007 the feed costs to produce a dozen eggs went up by 5.2 cents and the amount the farmer got went up by 57 cents. So less than 10% of the increase seen at the farmer level was due to higher feed costs.

Clearly the bulk of the increases seen in egg prices is coming from factors other than rising corn prices.

Hat tip to Food and Fuel America.

Sources:

An Analysis of the Effects of an Expansion in Biofuel Demand on U.S. Agriculture
USDA: Prices January 2008
USDA: Prices December 2007

Ethanol and the cost of beer

There is another article in the news today that illustrates the attitude that I talked about in a recent post. In that post I suggested that ethanol was becoming the standard built in excuse for any rises in food prices.

The article I am talking about suggests that ethanol is responsible for beer prices rising.

Across the country, farm fields once used for growing hops and barley for beer are sprouting corn, which has become lucrative because of President Bush’s support of ethanol, a corn-based alternative fuel. And then, basic economics comes into play: With demand for hops and barley outstripping supply, the cost for those commodities goes up.

Full Article

On some levels this makes good logical sense and on others it doesn't. First off hops aren't row crops like corn, they are perennial, meaning that you plant them once and harvest them for years. It also is a vine which requires support structures to grow upright, so those support structures would have to be removed before corn could be planted. These support structures can be seen in this picture.

As I have noted before corn prices were at a low point in 2005 and as a result corn acreage went down in 2006. So any changes that would be seen in planting patterns would have occurred since 2005. So let's look at the numbers for corn, hops and barley.

Corn Acres Planted

2007 - 93,600,000 acres
2006 - 78,327,000 acres
2005 - 81,779,000 acres

Hops Acres Harvested (the USDA doesn't list acres planted since it is a perennial)

2007 - 30,911 acres
2006 - 29,365 acres
2005 - 29,463 acres

Barley Acres Planted

2007 - 4,020,000 acres
2006 - 3,452,000 acres
2005 - 3,875,000 acres

All this information can be found at the USDA website.

So as you can see both hops and barley both gained acreage in 2007. So why did the reporter get this wrong? He fell for the assumption that all food related price increases are because of ethanol. Once a person accepts that as fact all the rest of the "facts" such as corn limiting other crop acreages just fall into place.

Boeing explores using biofuel to power jets

Boeing Co. said its planes may fly on a mix of biofuel and jet kerosene within five years.

The company has been examining the use of alternative fuels for two years, environment director Billy Glover said. A Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747 is scheduled to make the first biofuel-powered test flight for a commercial plane later this month.

Boeing is focusing on so-called second-generation biofuels, which would be more environmentally friendly, Glover said. Algae has the "highest yield potential," he said. Oil from Babassu nuts -- grown in South America -- and the hardy Jatropha bush also are being considered.

He figures biofuels would start out at low percentage blends at first due to limited availability. And he also noted that biofuels have already been introduced in ground transport.

Full Article

Ethanol is to food prices as greed is to gasoline prices

There is an article in the news today that is good example of what I am talking about.

The pending global food crisis is due, in part, to a rich twist of irony: One of the factors driving up the price of T-bone steak, a dozen eggs and a carton of milk is a perfectly edible vegetable, a staple of many diets - corn.

To add to the irony, we're growing more corn than ever before. We're just not eating it.

"The U.S. is now using more corn for production of ethanol than our entire crop in Canada," says Kurt Klein, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Lethbridge. "It's huge."

Further the article says...

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the relationship between corn and rising food prices. As corn prices rise, farmers plant more corn and fewer fields of wheat, barley, soybean, canola and anything else that sprouts from the ground. Mr. Klein, who seeded his farm to canola last year, notes that soy and canola prices have doubled in the last year and a half while the price of wheat is up 80%.

Full Article

When you check the facts you see that the amount of corn planted last year was at a high point. In fact it was the largest amount of acres planted in the last 50 years.

Corn Acres Planted

2007 - 93,600,000 acres
2006 - 78,327,000 acres
2005 - 81,779,000 acres

So that must mean that the acres planted in wheat, barley, soybean, canola and anything else that sprouts from the ground must have gone last year if what he is saying is correct.

Wheat Acres Planted

2007 - 60,433,000 acres
2006 - 57,344,000 acres
2005 - 57,229,000 acres

Barley Acres Planted

2007 - 4,020,000 acres
2006 - 3,452,000 acres
2005 - 3,875,000 acres

Soybeans Acres Planted

2007 - 63,631,000 acres
2006 - 75,522,000 acres
2005 - 72,032,000 acres

Canola Acres Planted

2007 - 1,183,000 acres
2006 - 1,044,000 acres
2005 - 1,159,000 acres

And as far as anything else that sprouts from the ground, that is a lot of stuff to check. But look at it this way, corn harvesters are very expensive pieces of equipment and unless you already have one chances are you aren't going to switch from something you already know how to grow to corn. So the most likely crops to lose acreage to corn production will always be crops that are normally used in crop rotations with corn.

So as you can see, except for soybeans all other crops mentioned gained acres in 2007 over 2006 numbers. And as far as soybeans goes, since the byproduct of ethanol production (distillers grains) is a substitute for soybeans in livestock feed, increased ethanol production at least partially offsets the need for soybeans. I went into this a little further in this recent post.

Factors effecting food prices are complex issues. For instance since we all know that it takes diesel to run farm equipment and natural gas at food processing plants, how have the recent increases in energy effected food costs? How has the drought in Australia that limited their crop production effected food prices? How has the increased demand for commodities from developing nations such as China and India effected food prices? How has Argentina's ban on most beef products effected meat prices?

Likewise the factors that go into the price of gasoline are equally complex. How do geopolitical tensions in the middle east effect gasoline prices? How does OPEC market controls effect gasoline prices? How does limited refinery capacity effect the price of gasoline during the peak driving season?

There are a lot of factors that go into the price that we pay for food and gasoline, but most people don't care about all of that stuff. They just want a quick, simple answer as to why prices are going up that they can understand. And for food prices that answer is ethanol and for gasoline prices that answer is greed.

Conclusions of recent land use studies disputed

Micheal Wang of the Argonne National Laboratory and Zia Haq of the Department of Energy have written a letter in response to the recent land use study disputing some of the assumptions used to form their conclusions.

Among the assumptions that they disputed are the incorrect land use models were used to model land use changes in the United States, Brazil, and China, that increased future corn yields weren't factored in, and that distillers grains weren't given the proper offsets.

Full Letter

David Morris author of 'Ethanol and Land Use Changes' also disputed parts of this study and another recent land use study.

Among the things that he disputes are that future increases in ethanol production efficiency weren't taken into account. He also states that the future deceases in gasoline production efficiency stemming from increased amounts of oil coming from unconventional sources such as the tar sands projects weren't considered.

Full Report

New study to back more ethanol in standard vehicles

State ag secretary expects results to be released by March 1.

A pending study on how higher blends of ethanol perform in conventional engines could offer a solution to the challenge of distributing greater quantities of ethanol being required by the new energy bill, according to South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture Bill Even.

Even just returned from the mid-winter meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture where higher ethanol blends was among the hot topics.

Even said he brought a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency about the new ethanol study being done by the state of Minnesota.

The research is taking an in-depth look at how ethanol blends of more than 10 percent alcohol are performing in non-flex fuel vehicles and the impact of emissions. Now, most vehicles can safely use 10 percent ethanol blends, but higher blends are supposed to be used only by flex-fuel vehicles.

Even said all 50 state ag secretaries signed the letter to the EPA supporting the Minnesota research.

Full Article

DuPont and BP Disclose Advanced Biofuels Partnership Targeting Multiple Butanol Molecules

Under the partnership, there currently are more than 60 patent applications in the areas of biology, fermentation processing, chemistry and end uses for biobutanol. The program is designed to deliver by 2010 a superior biobutanol manufacturing process with economics equivalent to ethanol. DuPont disclosed that those patents cover the higher octane isomers as well as the previously announced 1-butanol. “We believe this places the BP/DuPont partnership in a strong intellectual property position in the butanol areas of greatest interest,” Anton said.

Ian Dobson shared new BP engine and vehicle testing data that demonstrated high octane biobutanol at concentrations of 16 percent delivers similar fuel performance compared to current 10 percent ethanol blend gasoline fuels which importantly means that butanol can help achieve higher biofuel penetration without compromising fuel performance. BP has completed a testing program of 16 percent high octane butanol covering fuel formulation, short-term engine performance impacts and long-term, no harm and durability vehicle fleet trials.

Laboratory and vehicle assessment of butanol blends greater than 16 percent also have produced favorable test results. The results show that 16 percent high octane butanol blends have the added advantages of vapor pressure behavior and distillation curves comparable to regular gasoline and, unlike 10 percent ethanol, do not phase separate in the presence of water.

Press Release

BP and DuPont have been working on butanol for some time and have a fact sheet that explains some of butanol's advantages.

Fact Sheet (PDF)

Ethanol boom may stifle U.S. gasoline demand

While debates heat up on whether ethanol will ever be "green," one aspect of the alternative fuel is becoming clearer: explosive production is stifling an established driver of oil markets -- U.S. gasoline demand -- and could lead to lower prices at the pump.

The ethanol boom comes just as U.S. oil refiners, who had been struggling for years to keep up with rising fuel demand in the world's largest energy consumer, begin to catch up by adding surplus capacity. Together, these factors could help reverse gasoline supply tightness that has driven fuel prices higher, particularly during the petroleum rally of the last five years.

"Ethanol blending could help ease U.S. refining bottlenecks and that could be ultimately reflected in lower prices at the pump," said Eric Wittenauer, an analyst at AG Edwards in St. Louis.

U.S. gasoline demand growth has averaged about 1.3 percent annually from 1971 through 2007, but the growth rate has slowed in recent years, even as the population continues to grow, falling to 0.6 percent in 2007. Early this year gasoline demand growth has only been 0.4 percent, the government said on Wednesday.

Full Article

The effect of ethanol on land use

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association has a nice response to the recent study that suggested ethanol was causing land use problems.

As ethanol captures more and more of the U.S. energy market, more attention is being devoted to the resources required to produce this clean-burning, renewable energy source, including the water and land required to grow the crops and process the grain into alcohol.

One study goes so far as to claim that biofuel production is causing a massive shift in land use, robbing conservation programs of acreage and thus would be more damaging in terms of CO2-Greenhouse Gas production than the consumption of the oil it displaces.

In Minnesota, where the biofuels revolution has been underway for more than a decade, that major shift has not occurred to date, not even in the past year despite record jumps in crop prices and land rental rates.

Minnesota has 1.8 million acres enrolled in conservation programs, according to Perry Aasness, state director of the Farm Services Agency (USDA). In September 2006, 382,000 acres were set to expire, and all but 65,000 acres were re-enrolled or granted extensions to continue in the Conservation Reserve Program. That portion taken out of conservation represents 3.6 percent of the total.

The article goes through some additional historical information and makes some good points. One of the most compelling is that not all acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program are environmentally sensitive.

"We have to remember too that CRP was conceived originally as much as a way to take land out of production to improve crop prices, as it was a conservation program," said Aasness. "Not all the acres enrolled are environmentally sensitive land-it can be argued that paying for a slightly smaller number of acres, a higher percentage of which are marginal, gives us a bigger bang for our conservation dollar."

Full Article

And my personal opinion on the situation is that the CRP is real double edged sword for farmers. Some look at the CRP as paying farmers not to produce, as if it were some sort of welfare program for farmers. But the second you suggest acres coming out of the CRP then people cry foul because they see them as environmentally sensitive areas. For farmers, from a public relations perspective, the CRP is a no win situation.

GreenShift Executes Agreement with United Ethanol to Extract Corn Oil

NEW YORK — GreenShift Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: GERS) today announced its execution of an agreement with United Ethanol, LLC (www.unitedethanol.com), to initially extract up to 1.5 million gallons per year of crude corn oil from the distillers grain co-product from United Ethanol's new dry mill ethanol plant.

GreenShift's patent-pending Corn Oil Extraction Systems(TM) have been engineered to help ethanol producers increase cash flows through the introduction of a third and novel revenue stream - corn oil. GreenShift provides turn-key extraction systems to participating ethanol producers at no cost to the ethanol producers in return for the long-term right to purchase the extracted corn oil at a per pound premium to its value when trapped in the distiller's grains. GreenShift's extraction technology also reduces overall plant emissions and utility costs by upwards of $1 million per year for a 100 million gallon per year ethanol plant that dries 100% of its distiller's grains.

Complete Story

Who is behind all the anti-ethanol information?

The Union of Concerned Scientists did a report some time back on the tactics that big oil was using to fight the global warming movement.

A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science.

Now that the oil companies have come around to the notion that global warming does exist, these groups have turned their attention to ethanol. Over the last couple of years I have seen quite a few articles written by authors associated with these groups spreading misinformation about ethanol. One article in particular I pointed out the connection in a recent post.

And as further proof, look at The Facts About Ethanol website. It plainly states it is a project of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an organization that Greenpeace says was funded by Exxon to dispute global warming.

And as was pointed out in this recent post, the oil companies are funding university studies with the goal of discrediting ethanol's benefits.

Academia plays a role as well. There is perhaps no one more hostile to ethanol than Tad W. Patzek, a geo-engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley. A former Shell petroleum engineer, Patzek co-founded the UC Oil Consortium, which studies engineering methods for getting oil out of the ground. It counts BP (BP ), Chevron USA, (CVX ) Mobil USA, and Shell (RDS ) among its funders. A widely cited 2005 paper by Patzek and Cornell University professor David Pimentel concluded that ethanol takes 29% more energy to produce than it supplies—the most severe indictment of the biofuel. Michael Wang, vehicle and fuel-systems analyst at the Energy Dept.'s Argonne National Laboratory, says among several flaws in the study is the use of old data and the overestimation of corn farm energy use by 34%. Pimentel defends the study. In a recent update, he and Patzek hiked the estimate of ethanol's energy deficit to 43%.

A more moderate conclusion comes from a recent study by the University of California at Davis, which last year received a $25 million grant from Chevron to study biofuels. It said the energy used to produce ethanol is about even with what it generates and that cleaner emissions would be offset by the loss of pasture and rainforest to corn-growing. Only a small part of the research backed by the grant will involve ethanol, says Billy Sanders, UC Davis' research director. The primary focus will be developing alternative processes and feedstocks for biofuel that is not ethanol.

In addition to these two examples there are many others. Many of the most recent studies that have proved unflattering to ethanol were produced at universities that recently received funding from oil companies.

For example the most recent study that I commented on in this post that suggested that biofuels are worse for the environment than petroleum based fuels because of the changes in land use has links to oil money.

The study was conducted by researchers from Princeton and Iowa state. Princeton received $15 million in 2000 from BP to set up it's Carbon Mitigation Initiative. Iowa State has received $22.5 million from ConocoPhilips in 2007.

Another recent study by the Nature Conservancy concluded that because of land use changes biofuels released 17 to 420 times more greenhouse gases than the fossil fuels they replaced. Just a quick Google search shows that they too have received oil money.

Two major oil companies that support the Alaska drilling — BP and Exxon Mobil — hold Conservancy leadership council seats. Exxon Mobil has donated $5 million to the Conservancy. Another supporter of drilling, Phillips Alaska, has given at least $1 million, records show.

Livestock groups have also gathered together to oppose ethanol production. As the Wall Street Journal recently noted...

In the past, livestock farmers supported ethanol because it was good for the overall farm economy. But now they began to complain that the higher corn price cut sharply into their profits. A meat-producer trade group called the American Meat Institute took a stand against federal support for biofuels last December, joined soon after by the National Turkey Federation and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

So it probably should come as no surprise that the recent study by Kansas State that found that E. Coli increased in cattle fed distillers grains as opposed to those fed a diet that didn't contain distiller grains was sponsored by the National Cattleman's Beef Association.

Drouillard, James S., Nagaraja, Tiruvoor G., and Renter, David G., National Cattlemen's Beef Association, $36,750, "Strategies to Address Adverse Effects of Distiller's Grains on Prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in Feedlot Cattle."

And this is just a few quick examples.

None of this is meant to suggest that research shouldn't be done on the various issues that surround biofuels. But the key point here is how the information is presented. We all know that both sides will conduct research and present facts in a way that looks best for their cause. In other words we expect that information coming from the biofuels industry may be overly optimistic and that information coming from groups opposing biofuels may be overly pessimistic.

But when we see something coming from a third party we expect the information to be more realistic and accurate. So if the opposition groups can hide their involvement they get to spread their overly pessimistic message with the added credibility provided by these seemly neutral third parties.

In closing, be careful where you get your information from. Check the sources and the organizations behind the information and only believe information that you can back through multiple independent sources. And that includes information I provide.

USDA Lab Focuses on Deadly E. Coli

A recent study done at Kansas State showed a increase in E. Coli in cattle fed distillers grains versus cattle fed a diet that didn't contain distillers grains. Several small studies have been done and have shown inconsistent results. But the media really jumped on this one and suggested a link between distillers grains and recent increases in the numbers of E. Coli related recalls.

All the while a much larger study has been underway by the USDA Meat Animal Research Center.

The large scope of the research being conducted at the Meat Animal Research Center sets its work apart from research at universities and other labs in the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

"The uniqueness of what we do is in the sample size," Koohmaraie said. "We really don't speak unless we have confidence in the data. A bug like E. coli 0157:h7 is really problematic if you don't design the experiment properly."

One of the lab's current projects will test whether feeding cattle distiller's grain — a byproduct of making the gasoline additive ethanol — has any effect on the level of E. coli and the quality of meat produced.

The Nebraska Corn Board suggested the distiller's grain research last spring, and the lab agreed because more and more feedlots are using the ethanol byproduct, Koohmaraie said.

The research involves 600 cattle. Half are being fed a traditional grain feed and half are being fed distiller's grain. The research will wrap up in June after the cattle have been sold for slaughter and samples of their carcasses have been collected.

Full Article

USDA Project Description

US Assistant Secretary for Energy calls “well funded opposition and media campaigns gaining traction” the biggest issue facing biofuels in 2008

The Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy said that “well funded opposition and media campaigns gaining traction” are the biggest issues facing biofuels in 2008.

Andrew Karsner was responding to a question posed on LinkedIn, a popular social networking site for businesspeople. The question asked “What is the single biggest issue facing biofuels in 2008? Is it production costs, project funding, legislation, adoption, or perhaps something else?”

In September, Business Week ran a stinging article on the efforts of oil companies to slow the spread of E85. The article pointed out that, as fuel blinders, it is the oil industry that receives the 51 cent per gallon tax credit for ethanol, but the industry - which did not request the subsidy - has been funding anti-biofuel studies, stimulating a food vs. fuel debate by suggesting that biofuels are driving up the price of food, and not launching E85 through their own brands, forcing eE85 to be distributed through independents.

The Business Week article said that the opposition from biofuels advocates was expected, but that Big Oil has earned the enmity of US automakers, who are pushing E85 for among other reasons, the potential of E85 to relieve them of a $100 billion investment in reaching tough CAFE emission standards. The article quoted Mark N. Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, in saying that Big Oil has “reacted aggressively against the expansion of ethanol production, suggesting that it perceives the growth of biofuels as an independent, competitive threat to its market power in refining and gasoline marketing.”

The food vs. fuel debate picked up in June on the heels of a report released by the American Petroleum Institute that concluded that consumers would pay “$12 billion-plus a year more for food as corn prices rise to meet ethanol demand.”

Global Insights, which authored the report for API, said that the fact that API paid Global Insights to prepare the anti-ethanol report did not influence Global Insights’ decision to reach anti-ethanol conclusions.

Big Oil's Big Stall On Ethanol

Even as it pockets billions in subsidies, it's trying to keep E85 out of drivers' tanks

For some industries, the prospect of $3.5 billion in federal subsidies now, and double that in three years, might be a powerful incentive. But not, apparently, for the oil industry, which is seeing crude oil prices soar to record highs. Despite collecting billions for blending small amounts of ethanol with gas, oil companies seem determined to fight the spread of E85, a fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gas. Congress has set a target of displacing 15% of projected annual gasoline use with alternative fuels by 2017. Right now, wider availability of E85 is the likeliest way to get there.

Complete story

Important people don’t know the ethanol tariff

It has surprised me over how real little understanding exists among some people in high places over the justification for the 54 cent/gallon ethanol tariff, so it’s not surprising that it’s not common knowledge. The tariff needs to be extended and reauthorized again this year and besides those with a vested interest in undermining the ethanol industry, like big oil, there are some goof-balls with a gross misunderstanding of the tariff, like NY Senator Charles Schumer. The Senator is introducing legislation to repeal the tariff, ostensively to “make more corn available to dairy farmers and reduce milk prices” . . .as though there is some imagined direct connection between the two.

Full Article

The author of this article does a good job explaining the relationship of the tariff to the subsidy and also the effects of eliminating the tariff.

Sweden serves as ethanol model

Sweden has embraced ethanol unlike any other country outside Brazil, and the Nordic nation's example may help the United States in its quest to reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

How committed is Sweden, a small country with just 4.2 million cars?

Last year, it began converting beer, wine and hard alcohol smuggled into the country into biofuel used to power trucks and buses. Many Swedes attempt to bring alcohol home because taxes are lower in continental Europe. In 2007, Sweden turned 180,000 gallons of alcohol into biofuel.

Of course simply producing the fuel isn't enough, there has to be outlets for it's sales also.

The United States has about 121 million drivers and just more than 1,200 E85 pumps, mostly in the Midwest. By contrast, Sweden has 5 million drivers but more than 1,000 ethanol pumps, in part because of a 2006 Swedish law that requires stations to have an alternative fuel pump.

Sweden has also used tax credits and incentives to encourage drivers to buy flex fueled vehicles.

About 12 percent of vehicles sold in Sweden in 2007 were E85 models, versus an expected 6 percent in the United States.

Sweden has moved rather aggressively towards ethanol and Michigan is studying it's model for ideas on how to boost it's own economy with ethanol use.

"To understand the connection between renewable energy and jobs, just look at Sweden -- a country with striking resemblances to our state: the same size population, similar geography with two-thirds of their land covered by forests, a strong automotive sector," Granholm said. "Sweden set high goals for their use of renewable energy. The result? They created over 2,000 businesses and 400,000 jobs in their renewable energy sector -- 400,000 jobs."

Full Article

Ethanol plant will capture, sell CO2

In an age when carbon dioxide has become a dirty word, a Milton plant is trying to put the gas to good use.

United Ethanol broke ground about a month ago on a plant that will collect 250 tons of carbon dioxide a day. The gas currently is being released into the atmosphere as a byproduct of the company’s ethanol production.

At the end of the process, the carbon dioxide could end up cooling your food as it’s being processed or putting the fizz in your can of soda.

Full Article

Petro firms applaud new study damning biofuels

Critics of the rush to put land into biofuel production got 450 new allies this morning: the member companies of the U.S. National Petrochemical and Refiners' Association (NPRA).

Just in case you were wondering who stands to benefit from the results of this study.

“We’ve consistently called attention to the unintended consequences of building up a mandatory reliance on biofuels,” Drevna said.

That is because the intended consequences of reducing petroleum consumption is bad for his organization.

Full Article

The one thing that strikes me from all this is that so many embraced this study without question. Nobody has stopped to ask the one simple question that is the most important question of all in regards to climate change. Nobody has stopped to ask the question of where did the carbon come from.

When you burn down a forest, you release a lot of carbon into the air in the form of carbon dioxide. But that carbon was absorbed by the plants over their lifetime from the air. So no new carbon is being introduced into the atmosphere.

Burning gasoline on the other hand is releasing carbon that has been locked away underground for a long time. So it is putting new carbon into the air.

Both processes put carbon into the air and no I am not in any way suggesting that burning down forests is a good thing. But the fact remains that you can only burn a forest down once. But over time you can put many times the equivalent of the carbon in a forest into the air by burning fossil fuels.

Where Does It All End?

This latest biofuels study suggesting that growing crops for biofuels could be causing increased emissions due to land use changes really has me thinking.

Has anyone stopped to think about how much fire biofuels, and especially ethanol has come under lately? Just look at the list of issues that has been lobbied against ethanol.

Ethanol's energy balance.
Ethanol's water use.
Ethanol's environmental record.
Aspects of corn farming.
Ethanol's fuel mileage.
Food issues.
Subsidy and import tariff issues.
Even the byproduct of ethanol production, distiller grains has come under fire.

And I am sure that if I thought about it a little more I could come up with more issues.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, it almost seems as if there is a concerted effort to tarnish ethanol's image. Just look at the list, ethanol has been attacked, the feedstock (corn) has been attacked, and the byproduct of it's production (distillers grains) has been attacked.

And think about this also, were any of these issues ever discussed when MTBE was being used in the nation's fuel supply? Have you ever seen it asked what the energy balance of MTBE is? Ever see any studies done to see the greenhouse gas emissions of MTBE compared to other additives?

So why is it that if we never heard anything about how MTBE compared on all these issues during the twenty plus years it was in use that there is so much focus on these issues now concerning ethanol?

Study: Ethanol May Add to Global Warming

Initial results of a new study were released today that suggest biofuels may be worse for the environment than petroleum.

"Using good cropland to expand biofuels will probably exacerbate global warming," concludes the study published in Science magazine.

Sounds like a real definitive conclusion. But wait it gets better.

The researchers said that farmers under economic pressure to produce biofuels will increasingly "plow up more forest or grasslands," releasing much of the carbon formerly stored in plants and soils through decomposition or fires. Globally, more grasslands and forests will be converted to growing the crops to replace the loss of grains when U.S. farmers convert land to biofuels, the study said.

Full Article

They claim that our diversion of croplands to produce energy crops will cause deforestation that will result in higher greenhouse gas emissions than if we had just burned gasoline.

Of course to make this plausible you have to totally forget that most deforestation of the Amazon takes place for cattle farming and not crop production.

DEFORESTATION IN BRAZIL: 60-70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon results from cattle ranches while the rest mostly results from small-scale subsistence agriculture. Despite the widespread press attention, large-scale farming (i.e. soybeans) currently contributes relatively little to total deforestation in the Amazon. Most soybean cultivation takes place outside the rainforest in the neighboring cerrado grassland ecosystem and in areas that have already been cleared. Logging results in forest degradation but rarely direct deforestation. However, studies have showed a close correlation between logging and future clearing for settlement and farming.

Full Article

A keen observer will also note in that article there is a graphic that shows the amount of deforestation that has taken place each year since 1998 and 2007 had the least amount of deforestation at a time when ethanol production was at it's highest.

On top of that you have to forget that the future of petroleum lies in projects like the tar sands of Cananda.

The tar sands are found beneath boreal forest, a complex ecosystem that comprises a unique mosaic of forest, wetlands and lakes. Canada's boreal forest is globally significant, representing one-quarter of the world's remaining intact forests. Beyond the ecosystem services it provides (cleansing water, producing oxygen and storing carbon), it is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including bears, wolves, lynx and some of the largest populations of woodland caribou left in the world. Its wetlands and lakes provide critical habitat for 30 per cent of North America's songbirds and 40 per cent of its waterfowl.

If currently planned tar sands development projects unfold as expected, approximately 3,000 square kilometres of boreal forest could be cleared, drained and strip-mined to access tar sands deposits close to the surface, while the remaining 137,000 square kilometres could be fragmented into a spider's web of seismic lines, roads, pipelines and well pads from in situ drilling projects. Studies suggest that this scale of industrial development could push the boreal ecosystem over its ecological tipping point, leading to irreversible ecological damage and loss of biodiversity.

Full Article

So the results of this study are perfectly plausible as long as we first agree to totally ignore facts and blame all deforestion on ethanol and believe that petroleum production will be no worse for the environment in the future.

Biodiesel Yields Even Higher Energy Balance

A new analysis shows that the energy balance of biodiesel is a positive ratio of 3.5-to-1. For every unit of fossil energy needed to produce the fuel over its life cycle, the return is 3.5 units of energy, according to new research conducted at the University of Idaho in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The announcement of the increase—up from 3.2—was made today at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo in Orlando.

The Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and USDA had produced the first comprehensive life cycle inventory for biodiesel in 1998. That landmark research found a 3.2 energy balance for biodiesel, while petroleum diesel yielded only 0.83 units of energy per unit of fossil energy consumed. The many changes that have occurred in the U.S. biodiesel and agricultural industries since the 1990s prompted researchers at the University of Idaho to update the study in cooperation with the USDA. Both the 1998 and 2007 study are based on biodiesel production from soybeans, which according to U.S. Census data is responsible for more than 80 percent of 2007 estimated biodiesel production. Biodiesel’s energy balance improved in the 2007 study even though the new analysis is more comprehensive than previous work, and even extends to the energy required to manufacture the farm machinery used to produce soybeans.

“The bottom line is that the energy balance of biodiesel has definitely improved in the last decade,” says University of Idaho Department Head of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Jon Van Gerpen, who credits Assistant Professor Dev Shrestha and graduate student Anup Pradhan for their work on the study. “The increase in soybean yields and a decrease in herbicide use greatly contributed to the increased energy balance. Meanwhile, energy used for crushing soybeans is significantly lower than what was reported in the NREL study.”

The researchers found national soybean yield data from 1975 to 2006 shows that the yield has increased at the rate of 0.6 bushels per acre per year. Yet, the fertilizer application rate has essentially remained the same and the herbicide application rate has declined to one-fifth of its rate in 2000. Reduced herbicide applications have the added benefit of requiring less diesel for field spraying.

At the processing level, technology improvements at soybean crushing facilities led to 55 percent less energy needed than what was reported in the NREL study. Although transesterification to convert soybean oil into biodiesel has also become more energy efficient, this process only contributes a small fraction of overall energy in the lifecycle analysis.

Today’s announcement came during a conference session highlighting promising feedstock developments, ranging from higher oil content in soybeans to new feedstocks, like algae. The NBB has launched a feedstock development initiative to help the market spur additional sources for biodiesel.

“As demand for biodiesel climbs, having enough feedstock available at a competitive price will continue to be an important issue,” said Ed Hegland, NBB chairman and a Minnesota soybean grower. “Soybean oil will continue to play an important role, but we are also excited about the prospect of algae and other feedstocks on the horizon. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning alternative fuel that can be used in any diesel engine. A domestically produced, renewable fuel, it can be made from animal fats or vegetable oil. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in a substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.

Source : Press Release

How Is Ethanol Effecting The Gasoline Supply?

Since I had these numbers handy from other calculations I have done, I thought it would be interesting to see how ethanol is effecting the gasoline supply. More specifically I wanted to see if ethanol was lowering the amount of gasoline we were using.

To just look at the numbers is a little confusing because the number the Energy Information Agency (EIA) provides for Finished Motor Gasoline keeps going up every year. But that number includes the amount of ethanol blended into the gasoline supply as well as the amount of gasoline used.

Finished Motor Gasoline

2006 - 3,377,174,000 barrels x 42 = 141,841,308,000 gallons
2005 - 3,343,131,000 barrels x 42 = 140,411,502,000 gallons
2004 - 3,332,579,000 barrels x 42 = 139,968,318,000 gallons
2003 - 3,261,237,000 barrels x 42 = 136,971,954,000 gallons
2002 - 3,229,459,000 barrels x 42 = 135,637,278,000 gallons

This looks fairly normal because you expect that each year the number of drivers increases and the amount of gasoline consumed to increase as well. But since Finished Motor Gasoline contains ethanol we need to subtract out the amount used in each year to get the amount of gasoline used.

Ethanol Used : Domestic Production + Imports

2006 - 5,377,400,000 gallons
2005 - 4,048,900,000 gallons
2004 - 3,530,000,000 gallons
2003 - 2,900,000,000 gallons
2002 - 2,085,000,000 gallons

Gasoline Used : Finished Motor Gasoline - Ethanol

2006 - 136,463,908,000 gallons
2005 - 136,362,602,000 gallons
2004 - 136,438,318,000 gallons
2003 - 134,071,954,000 gallons
2002 - 133,552,278,000 gallons

As you can see even though the amount of Finished Motor Gasoline increased each year, the amount of gasoline used has stayed pretty much level from 2004 to 2006. Without ethanol we would have seen the same steady rise in the amount of gasoline used. So ethanol is allowing the fuel supply to keep expanding while keeping the amount of gasoline used level.

Sources:

EIA: Definitions, Sources and Explanatory Notes
Renewable Fuels Association: Industry Statistics
EIA: Product Supplied

Texas A&M System, General Atomics Receive Grant for Algae Research

Texas AgriLife Research, part of the Texas A&M University System, and General Atomics, a San Diego-based technology company, have received a $4 million grant from the state's Emerging Technology Fund for biofuel microalgae research.

The ETF grant authorized by Gov. Rick Perry will be supported by more than $4 million of parallel U.S. Department of Defense sponsored research aimed at developing microalgae-derived biodiesel fuels to support U.S. domestic and military needs.

Full Aricle

California Company to Produce Ethanol From Waste Sugars

Greenbelt Resources Corp. announced Friday that Master Recycling Center, Inc. has increased its earlier order of two million gallons to five million gallons of ethanol per year. Diversified Ethanol Corp., a subsidiary of Greenbelt Resources Corp. will begin construction of the new facility in Pomona, Calif. with completion planned for late spring/early summer of 2008. Diversified is focused on producing valuable renewable energy from substances that presently are considered waste -- in this case converting energy produced by breweries and soft drink manufacturers among others. Currently, industries pay firms such as Master Recycling to dispose of expired consumer beverages such as soft drinks. Using the proprietary technology of Diversified Ethanol, Master Recycling can now convert the waste sugars into valuable energy.

Corn-based ethanol's future is somewhat limited by the new Renewable Fuel Standard established in the 2007 Energy Act. That act limits corn-based ethanol production to 15 billion gallons -- which is essentially a doubling of the current industry's production capacity. In addition to cellulosic ethanol produced from switchgrass, sugarcane bagasse, wood waste, wheat and rice straw and other feedstocks, there is expected to be a place for biofuels produced from urban trash and other wastes, soft drink and beer wastes and even coal. In other words, all regions of the country are expected to play a role in a future ethanol and biofuels industry.

Researcher Studying Watermelon Waste For Ethanol Production

This isn't a new item but something that I hadn't heard anything on in some time. A while back I ran across an article talking about using waste watermelons as a feedstock for ethanol production.

"Historically, our industry will abandon 20-25 percent of the crop that they grow every year," said Bob Morrissey, executive director of the National Watermelon Association. "After they go through the field three to five times and pick the ripe watermelons that are ready, they'll have a bunch of melons left, but they'll be spread all over in every direction. It's not economically feasible to send any labor in there to walk 10 yards in this direction and get a watermelon, walk 15 yards in that direction for another two or three - then drag the truck up the dirt road and get a few more," said Morrissey.

Besides those left in the field, watermelons that aren't visually perfect are rejected. That adds up to a lot of melons that never make it to the Fourth of July picnic.

Several months ago, Morrissey was discussing new marketing possibilities with a watermelon researcher, when an idea hit them like a ton of bricks. Why not create a new revenue stream for those 800 million pounds of watermelons abandoned every year? Why not turn the melons into fuel?

Full Article

And the reason they think they would do good as a feedstock for making ethanol is because watermelons contain 10-14% sugar that can be fermented into ethanol.

That article is from September 2006 and I really hadn't heard anything else about it until I ran across some information at the USDA website.

The USDA Agriculture Research Service began a research project in August 2007 to determine the suitability of using watermelon juice, rind and pulp waste streams for making ethanol.

The objectives of this project are (1) to experimentally optimize the conditions for fermentation of watermelon juice to fuel ethanol, and (2) to optimize the process and conditions for conversion of the complex carbohydrates of watermelon pulp and rind to their constituent sugars for subsequent fermentation.

Project Overview

If this proves successful it could open the door to using other waste fruits for ethanol production as well. This could provide ethanol producers with a low cost feedstock and also provide fruit producers with added revenue for something that at the moment has no value.

Enzyme technology benefits DDGS fed birds

// 01 feb 2008

Broiler producers looking for lower feed costs with DDGS can save around $9 per tonne, without risking bird performance, according to the latest research from Danisco Animal Nutrition.

Two trials conducted by Auburn University and Purdue University, USA, showed that adding both a new generation phytase (Phyzyme® XP) together with xylanase, amylase and protease enzymes (Avizyme® 1502) to corn soy broiler diets containing 10% corn DDGS improved bodyweight gain and feed efficiency. Bodyweight gain was improved by around 5-8% and feed conversion improved by up to 11 points (6%).


The trial conducted by Auburn University, the enzyme combination was also added to a lower cost diet reduced in energy by 80kcals/kg feed and containing 0.1% lower available phosphorus and lower calcium. At 56 days of age, broiler liveweight gain was significantly better (8%) and feed conversion numerically improved (4 points) compared to broilers fed a standard corn soy diet containing 10% corn DDGS.

Using DDGS is agreat way to lower feed costs and also improve nutrition in poultry feeds.

Minnesota Leads The Nation In Number Of E85 Pumps

According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, Minnesota leads the way in the number of E85 stations. And as you can see by the list below of the top ten states it leads by a healthy margin.

Nationwide - 1477

Minnesota - 341
Illinois - 169
Wisconsin - 101
Missouri - 96
Indiana - 92
Iowa - 88
South Dakota - 70
Michigan - 59
Ohio - 56
South Carolina - 53

Almost a quarter of all the E85 stations in the country are in Minnesota. So the question is how did they achieve such numbers. Senator Amy Klobuchar provided some insight in her comments before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy on July 31, 2007.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, Minnesota ranks first in the nation in E-85 infrastructure – we have 320 pumps out of 1250 in the nation – far more than any other state. And I know, Mr. Chairman, that it’s a question of particular interest to you – how did Minnesota come to be the leader in this area? The answer, I believe, comes down to leadership:

• Leadership in state government in setting statewide ethanol standards and providing grants for E-85 pumps.
  
• Leadership of the Minnesota Corn Growers, who formed a coalition with the American Lung Association of Minnesota, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, and others to promote E-85 across the state.
  
• Finally, leadership on the part of the ethanol producers, who have developed innovative marketing arrangements, whereby they sell E-85 directly to gas stations, and cut out the oil company-owned middleman. In Minnesota, about 2/3 of the gas stations that sell E-85 purchase it directly from the ethanol producer, and that’s why they can afford to sell it at a price that’s attractive to consumers.
  

So what can we, at the federal level, learn from Minnesota’s example? First, wherever possible, we should encourage ethanol producers to sell directly to gas stations. Outside of Minnesota, ethanol is generally sold under long-term contract to blending terminals, which are part of the oil company-owned pipeline system. The terminals then re-sell the ethanol to gas stations. In essence, the price that consumers pay for ethanol is usually set by ethanol’s biggest competitor, the oil companies. When ethanol producers sell ethanol directly to gas stations without a middleman:

• drivers get the benefit of a low-cost fuel,
  
• the ethanol producers collect the 51 cent-per-gallon federal blender’s credit instead of the oil companies,
  
• and America’s energy dollars come right back to our rural communities.

Solutions to problems don't always have to be difficult to find. As you can see Minnesota has already found a way to increase the availability of E85 and at the same time encourage competitive pricing. The same model could be spread throughout the country so that we all could have a choice between E85 and gasoline.

Researcher Studying Camelina For Biodiesel Production

A three-year, $300,000 effort aims to find out whether camelina is the Northwest's great biofuel hope or simply another crop rotation that doesn't live up to its hype.

A group of four researchers from Washington State University, the University of Idaho and Oregon State University are working together to provide growers with the agronomic answers. WSU agronomist Bill Schillinger said trials are already established in Corvallis, Pendleton, Moscow and Lind. Other team members include UI's Stephen Guy and OSU's Don Wysocki in Pendleton and Tom Chastain in Corvallis.

The researchers want to evaluate whether results already achieved in Montana are possible in the Northwest. Duane Johnson, vice president of Agricultural Development for Great Plains Oil and Exploration, said his company contracted 28,000 acres in Montana. Others contracted 11,000 additional acres.

Full Article

Camelina is in the same family of plants as canola, mustard and broccoli and has shown promise as a feedstock for biodiesel. The meal leftover after the oil has been extracted can also be used as animal feed.

ISU goal: Transform plastic trash into fuel

Iowa researchers and biodiesel producers have joined a federal effort to convert plastic trash from military bases into fuel.

The research can change the disposal of plastic, said Balaji Narasimhan, an Iowa State University associate dean of research and economic development.

Narasimhan is among the ISU researchers trying to figure out how to make certain types of plastics dissolve in biodiesel at rates fast enough to use in the public or private sector, he said.

The project is supported by a $1.65 million defense appropriation. I have seen information on this before and it is part of the overall effort by the defense department to lower the environmental footprint of the military and also to lower the amount of fuel that would have to be shipped to remote bases.

Mitch Zafer of General Atomics said temporary military bases - where the technology will most likely first appear - produce 3,200 pounds of garbage in a five-day period, and about 330 pounds of that is plastic.

The technology would use the plastic trash to help make diesel fuel, which also would be used at camp, Zafer said.

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Biofuels Industry Added 10% to Iowa's 2007 GDP

A new study commissioned by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association concluded that the biofuels industry added $12.7 billion, or about 10 percent, to Iowa GDP in 2007. Further economic benefits include...

• Generate $2.9 billion of household income for Iowa households
  
• Support the creation of more than 96,000 jobs through the entire Iowa economy
  
• Generate nearly $790 million in state tax revenue.
  

Full Study

The study also lists the individual contributions made by the ethanol and biodiesel industries on the Iowa economy.

E85 Stations Continue to Rise

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition reports 1475 stations across the country now offering E85. That is up from 1378 on November 9, 2007 and from 1200 on May 7, 2007.

National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition