November Ethanol Production Steady, Imports And Consumption Down

Ethanol production in November remained steady at pretty much the same level since August. Imports for the month dropped by over 50% and consumption fell by almost 50 million gallons from the number posted in October to the lowest level since August.

The numbers are skewed downward somewhat since November has only 30 and October has 31. Daily production in November was 668,000 barrels per day versus 647,000 barrels per day in October.

Ethanol Production Numbers in Gallons
	Production	Imports	Stocks	Consumption
November 2008	842,268,000	11,676,000	639,534,000	852,474,000
October 2008	842,016,000	25,830,000	638,064,000	901,530,000
September 2008	806,274,000	103,572,000	671,748,000	863,142,000
August 2008	842,478,000	81,102,000	625,044,000	852,348,000
July 2008	799,764,000	57,120,000	553,812,000	819,840,000
June 2008	736,848,000	65,982,000	516,768,000	791,910,000
May 2008	778,806,000	36,372,000	505,848,000	793,968,000
April 2008	708,456,000	60,942,000	484,638,000	763,182,000
March 2008	730,674,000	15,456,000	478,422,000	707,238,000
February 2008	631,050,000	20,286,000	439,530,000	660,114,000
January 2008	664,356,000	20,790,000	448,308,000	679,308,000
December 2007	636,762,000	8,904,000	442,470,000	674,352,000

Source: - Energy Information Administration

Japan Airlines Conducts Biofuels Test Flight

Japan Airlines successfully conducted a test flight today of an unmodified Boeing 747-300 aircraft with one engine running on a 50% biofuels and 50% aviation jet fuel.

Tokyo, January 30, 2009: Today, Japan Airlines (JAL) became the first airline to conduct a demonstration flight using a sustainable biofuel primarily refined from the energy crop, camelina. It was also the first demo flight using a combination of three sustainable biofuel feedstocks, as well as the first one using Pratt & Whitney engines. The results of the flight are expected to conclusively confirm the second-generation biofuel’s operational performance capabilities and potential commercial viability.

The approximately one and half-hour demo flight using a JAL-owned Boeing 747-300 aircraft, carrying no passengers or payload, took off from Haneda Airport, Tokyo at 11:50am (JST). A blend of 50% biofuel and 50% traditional Jet-A jet (kerosene) fuel was tested in the No.3 engine (middle right), one of the aircraft’s four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. No modifications to the aircraft or engine were required for biofuel, which is a ‘drop-in’ replacement for petroleum-based fuel.

The JAL cockpit crew onboard the aircraft checked the engine’s performance during normal and non-normal flight operations, which included quick accelerations and decelerations, and engine shutdown and restart. A ground-based preflight test was conducted the day before the flight to ensure that the No. 3 engine functioned normally using the biofuel/ traditional Jet-A fuel blend. Captain Keiji Kobayashi who piloted the aircraft said, ‘Everything went smoothly. There was no difference at all in the performance of the engine powered by the biofuel blend, and the other three engines containing regular jet fuel.”

The biofuel mixture was produced from 84% camelina, less than 16% jatropha, and less than 1% algae feedstocks. The camelina feedstock was supplied by Sustainable Oils, Inc., the jatropha by Terasol Energy, and the algae by Sapphire Energy.

Source : Japan Airlines Release

Is Ethanol Responsible For High Milk Prices?

Over the last year ethanol has been blamed for the high price of milk along with a number of other food cost increases. There is an article in the news today with a quote from dairy farmer Brian Getty that provides some insights into what has pushed milk prices up.

“The only thing that kept milk prices high for ’08 was exports,” he said. “Last year was a record year for exports.”

This isn't really any big surprise as I wrote in a post over a year ago that export demand was what was pushing dairy prices higher. But it is good to hear it coming from a dairy producer.

Source : The Record News

Cornell Professor David Pimentel Releases New Study Critical Of Biofuels

Cornell professor David Pimentel has just published another study critical of ethanol and other biofuels. Pimentel has published several studies over the last several years that have all come to the same conclusion that it takes a lot more energy to produce ethanol than the finished ethanol contains. And these studies always get a lot of press and are quoted by every ethanol critic as being the gospel but he has had a habit in the past of using old data and questionable substitutions for co-product values to arrive at his conclusions. In this study he concluded that basically no biofuels are worth the effort.

Their paper then looks at the efficiency and costs associated with converting a range of crops into energy and shows that in each case more energy is required for this process than they actually produce as fuel. The research finds a negative energy return of 46 percent for corn ethanol, 50 percent for switchgrass, 63 percent for soybean biodiesel and 58 percent for rapeseed. Even the most promising palm oil production results in a minus 8 percent net energy return. There are also a number of environmental problems linked to converting crops for biofuels, including water pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, global warming, soil erosion and air pollution.

So far all I have been able to find is the summary posted by the journal that the study was published in. Hopefully over the next few days I will be able to see the full study and find out the data he used to come up with his conclusions.

Source : ScienceDaily

WIND ENERGY GROWS BY RECORD 8,300 MW IN 2008

The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all previous records in 2008 by installing 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity (enough to serve over 2 million homes), the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today, even as it warned of an uncertain outlook for 2009 due to the continuing financial crisis.

The massive growth in 2008 swelled the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50% and channeled an investment of some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the country today along with natural gas, AWEA added. At year’s end, however, financing for new projects and orders for turbine components slowed to a trickle and layoffs began to hit the wind turbine manufacturing sector.

The new wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 42% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally last year, according to initial estimates, and will avoid nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking over 7 million cars off of the road.

The amount that the industry brought online in the 4th quarter alone – 4,112 MW - exceeds annual additions for every year except 2007. In all, wind energy generating capacity in the U.S. now stands at 25,170 MW, producing enough electricity to power the equivalent of close to 7 million households and strengthening our national energy supply with a clean, inexhaustible, homegrown source of energy.

Source : American Wind Energy Association

ICM to operate 3 Conoco stations selling ethanol

ICM has formed a partnership to operate three ethanol-blend stations in Conoco's name, including one that is set to open within a few weeks in Wichita.

They are the country's first stations offering ethanol fuel to operate under the canopy of a major oil company, ICM marketing director Alan Goodnight said Monday.

The Wichita station, at 3805 W. 21st St., is ConocoPhillips Jump Start.

The other two stations are in Topeka and Coffeyville and opened earlier this month. The Topeka station, 1531 SW Wanamaker, will have a grand opening Wednesday.

Colwich-based ICM has joined with Poet and Crescent Oil to form NewGen Fuels, which owns and operates the three stations.

Source : The Wichita Eagle

October Biodiesel Production Numbers Down

October biodiesel production numbers continued to slide ending the month at 61,718,000 gallons compared to 64,134,000 gallons for the month of September. Since peaking in July production has dropped by almost 6 million gallons per month.

October 2008 - 61,718,000 gallons
September 2008 - 64,134,000 gallons
August 2008 - 66,696,000 gallons
July 2008 - 67,410,000 gallons
June 2008 - 63,378,000 gallons
May 2008 - 52,500,000 gallons
April 2008 - 52,836,000 gallons
March 2008 - 49,056,000 gallons
February 2008 - 43,260,000 gallons
January 2008 - 50,736,000 gallons

2007 - 489,804,000 gallons

Source : U.S. Census Bureau

Panda Ethanol Hereford Subsidiary Files Bankruptcy

Panda Ethanol has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy for it's Hereford, TX Subsidiary. The subsidiary has been plagued by construction problems and delays that caused Panda to fire the general contractor and assume control of the construction process. Plans are to put the facility, which is in the late stages of construction, up for sale.

Although the ethanol refinery is in the late stages of construction, on December 31, Panda Ethanol was notified by Societe Generale, the administrative agent for the Hereford subsidiary's lending syndicate, that one of the major syndicate banks had informed Societe Generale that it would not fund its share of further borrowing requests for the project. After repeated conversations with the syndicate and an unsuccessful attempt to secure debtor-in-possession financing, the Hereford subsidiary's management concluded that the only prudent option available was to put the facility up for sale through a Section 363 sale process.

According to the release this bankruptcy does not include Panda Ethanol, the parent company.

The Hereford facility was one that I have been looking forward to seeing in operation. This facility and others planned by Panda were to use cow manure from local feedlots to power the plant. The good news is that there is already a potential buyer.

The Hereford subsidiary is currently in negotiations with a potential buyer. Pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, other companies will have an opportunity to submit bids for the facility under a court-supervised process. The company expects for a sale to close within 60 to 90 days.

Source : Panda Ethanol Press Release

Senator Nelson Introduces Biogas Legislation

Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson has introduced legislation that promotes the development of biogas – a natural gas substitute created by converting agricultural, animal or other organic wastes – through tax incentives.

“We already have the technology to break down these wastes to create biogas but it needs encouragement from the federal government to become a commercially-viable alternative to natural gas. This new energy source would benefit rural communities and the environment while lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring energy security,” said Nelson. “We shouldn’t waste the waste; we should promote biogas development.”

This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Mike Crapo of Idaho, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, John Thune of South Dakota, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Biogas is produced through technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) that can convert animal wastes and other agricultural or organic wastes into at least 50% methane (the principal ingredient of natural gas). Biogas can be used as is on the farm or co-located with another facility such as an ethanol plant, or as a renewable substitute for natural gas, propane or other fossil fuels.

Nelson’s legislation, the Biogas Production Incentives Act of 2009, would encourage greater production of biogas for energy purposes by providing biogas producers with a tax credit of $4.27 for every million British thermal units (mmBtu) of biogas produced. This could mean more jobs and a boon for rural communities.

Biogas production also offers environmental benefits such as a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of both carbon dioxide and methane and improved water quality through better manure management.

Study : Ethanol Production More Energy Efficient Than Previously Thought

In September I wrote about an study to be released by researchers at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln that concluded that ethanol production was more energy efficient than previously thought. Previous studies were done or relied on data acquired before the most recent ethanol plant building boom occurred. These new plants, built since January 2005, will represent about 75% of all plants operating by the end of this year and produce ethanol with much greater efficiency than older plants.

These newer biorefineries have increased energy efficiency and reduced GHG emissions through the use of improved technologies, such as thermocompressors for condensing steam and increasing heat reuse; thermal oxidizers for combustion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and waste heat recovery; and raw-starch hydrolysis, which reduces heat requirements during fermentation.

This study more thoroughly evaluates the effect of these new plants as well as improvements in crop production and co-product utilization on the net energy yield and green house gas reduction of ethanol. Below is a summary of the conclusions of the study.

Recent improvements in crop production, biorefinery operation, and coproduct utilization in U.S. corn-ethanol systems result in greater GHG emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and ethanol-to-petroleum output/input ratios compared to previous studies. Direct-effect GHG emissions reductions were found to be 48% to 59% compared to gasoline, which is two to three times greater than estimated in previous reports (Farrell et al. 2006). The NER (Net Energy Ratio) has improved from 1.2 in previous studies to 1.5 to 1.8 on the basis of updated data. Ethanol-to-petroleum ratios were 10:1 to 13:1 for today’s typical corn-ethanol systems but could increase to 19:1 with progressive crop management that increases both yield and input use efficiency.

Source : Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Ethanol

Ethanol Phase Separation

The EPA published a report in 1995 that describes the conditions under which phase separation can occur in oxygenated fuels. The primary oxygenates discussed in the report are ethanol and MTBE.

Phase separation occurs when the water content reaches the maximum amount that the gasoline blend can dissolve, any additional water will separate from the gasoline. According to the report, if the only source of water is from moisture in the air, phase separation is unlikely to occur due to the length of time required.

For example, at a constant temperature of 100 degrees F and relative humidity of 100%, it would take well over 200 days to saturate one gallon of gasoline in an open gasoline can (assuming the only source of water is water vapor from the air). Water absorption from the air is far slower at lower temperatures and humidities. (At a temperature of 70 degrees and relative humidity of 70%, it would take over two years to saturate one gallon of conventional gasoline in the same gasoline can.) Again, oxygenated gasolines can hold more water than conventional gasoline, and would therefore take much longer to saturate with water.

Source : Water Phase Separation in Oxygenated Gasoline

For those who would like a more visual reference, an individual in Hawaii put regular gasoline and E10 in glass jars and observed them over a four and a half month period. During the test period the temperature averaged 81 degrees and the humidity averaged 68% relative humidity. Pictures were taken periodically during the test and show that no phase separation occurred and visually the E10 appeared to be normal even though the regular gasoline had developed some haziness.

Source : Hawaii Gasoline Test

Brazil Through An American Farmers Perspective

A group of corn farmers from Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska are on a two week study tour of Brazil and Argentina. A blog has been set up to follow the tour which started on January 10 and runs through January 25. The tour thus far is still in Brazil.

I have to admit that I am subscribed to about 65 feeds and for the most part just read over most posts and try to catch the high points. But with this blog I have read every last word. The differences between our country and Brazil in terms of laws, agricultural practices and commitment to ethanol and biodiesel is to me very interesting. There is a lot that both countries can learn from each other.

Blog : Midwest Corn Growers 2009 Study Tour to South America

Biofuel Carbon Footprint Not As Big As Feared

Publications ranging from the journal Science to Time magazine have blasted biofuels for significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, calling into question the environmental benefits of making fuel from plant material. But a new analysis by Michigan State University scientists says these dire predictions are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct.

"Greenhouse gas release from changes in land use – growing crops that could be used for biofuels on previously unfarmed land – has been identified as a negative contributor to the environmental profile of biofuels," said Bruce Dale, MSU University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science. "Other analyses have estimated that it would take from 100 to 1,000 years before biofuels could overcome this 'carbon debt' and start providing greenhouse gas benefits."

But as Dale and his co-authors point out in their research, published in the January online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology, earlier analyses didn't consider a number of variables that might influence the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biofuels.

"Our analysis shows that crop management is a key factor in estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with land use change associated with biofuels," Dale said. "Sustainable management practices, such as no-till farming and planting cover crops, can reduce the time it takes for biofuels to overcome the carbon debt to three years for grassland conversion and 14 years for temperate zone forest conversion."

The discrepancies between the time it will take biofuels to offer environmental benefits is due to the models used for each analysis, Dale explained.

"There are no real data on what actually happens as demand increases for land for biofuel production in one part of the world potentially leads to land clearing, because it is impossible to track these relationships in the real world," Dale said. "All the estimates are based on economic relationships and theoretical models with various data and assumptions. It's really one set of assumptions versus another set. The other scientists believe their assumptions are more reasonable, and we believe ours are more reasonable.

"How land is managed after it's converted to cropland is very important," Dale continued. "The authors of the Science paper assumed the worst-case scenario – plow tillage – which we don't think is accurate. The actual use of sustainable management practices – no till, reduced till and other approaches – is more than 50 percent and increasing."

Other paper authors are Seungdo Kim, MSU visiting associate professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and his son, Hyungtae Kim, a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.

Dale and Seungdo Kim also are members of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct basic research aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy.

Study : Biofuels, Land Use Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Some Unexplored Variables

New Tool To Determine The Cost Of Producing Corn Ethanol

Iowa State researcher David Peters has created a tool to determine the cost and profitability of producing corn ethanol.

David Peters, an assistant professor of sociology in Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been getting questions about the profitability of ethanol plants under current market conditions and decided to create a spreadsheet that would allow anyone to figure it out for themselves.

"I've developed a model that inputs all the costs," he said. "Then it indexes it to corn prices and ethanol prices to determine profitability."

With the aid of this tool Dr. Peters estimated the near term costs of producing ethanol for plants with and without debt. Below is the summary of his report.

For ethanol plants with capital debt costs the ethanol break even price
ranges from $1.85 to $2.05 per gallon. This is higher than the near-term
ethanol price of $1.72 to $1.75 per gallon. Thus, ethanol plants with capital costs
are expected to generate net losses in the near-term.

• At $3.75 corn the ethanol break even price with debt is $1.85 per gallon.
• At $4.00 corn the ethanol break even price with debt is $1.90 per gallon.
• At $4.25 corn the ethanol break even price with debt is $2.00 per gallon.
• At $4.50 corn the ethanol break even price with debt is $2.05 per gallon.

For debt-free ethanol plants with no capital costs the ethanol break even price
ranges from $1.70 to $1.90 per gallon. Under near-term ethanol prices, debtfree
plants are expected generate small net profits when corn prices range between
$3.75 and $4.00 per bushel. However, debt-free plants begin to generate larger net
losses as corn rises above $4.25 per bushel.

• At $3.75 corn the ethanol break even price is $1.70 per gallon.
• At $4.00 corn the ethanol break even price is $1.80 per gallon.
• At $4.25 corn the ethanol break even price is $1.85 per gallon.
• At $4.50 corn the ethanol break even price is $1.90 per gallon.

The news release from Iowa State says that the tool can be found at http://www.soc.iastate.edu/ but I wasn't able to find it. If anyone else can please leave a comment with the location.

Source : Iowa State News Release

Flometrics Tests BioDiesel As Rocket Fuel

Flometrics Inc. announced today that it had successfully tested biodiesel as rocket fuel.

Flometrics, Inc. announced today that it has successfully completed its first series of tests on a RocketDyne LR-101 rocket engine with BioDiesel as a rocket fuel. The engine was also tested with RP-1 kerosene rocket fuel from the US Air Force.

According to the article the biodiesel posted performance within 4% of that of RP-1. This could lead to more environmentally friendly rockets, but it also holds another possibility that I thought was interesting.

The use of vegetable based rocket fuel opens up the possibility of growing oil-producing crops on the moon or mars for use as stock for rocket fuel, eliminating the need of lifting the fuel from the surface of the earth.

Source : Space Travel

Dynamic Fuels Renewable Diesel Plant Begins Construction

Construction has begun on the Dynamic Fuels plant in Geismar, LA. The plant will produce renewable diesel and jet fuel from animal fats such as beef tallow, pork lard, chicken fat and greases.

Dynamic Fuels is a joint venture between Tyson Foods and Syntroleum. The animal fats will be supplied from Tyson slaughterhouses. The plant, which will produce 75 million gallons per year, will employ 45 workers and is expected to begin production in the middle of 2010.

Although it states in the article that the plant will primarily use non-food grade animal fats, this is somewhat misleading since animal fats are sometimes added to livestock feeds. And even though I have no problem with any business trying to create higher value products, they have been critic of ethanol production for removing corn from the food supply just as their use of animal fats will do.

Source : Arkansas Business

POET To Announce Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant Opening

Indications are that POET will officially announce the opening of their cellulosic ethanol pilot plant in the morning. The pilot plant is located in Scotland, South Dakota and is meant to help them fine tune their production process ahead of building a commercial scale plant. The pilot plant is capable of producing 20,000 gallons of ethanol per year from the corn fiber and cobs.

According to a recent article the pilot plant is already up and running.

Standing amid test tubes and fermenting machines in POET's laboratory in Sioux Falls, company research and development chief Mark Stowers gives an upbeat report on the pilot plant.

"We started up on November 18 and already we've been making cellulosic ethanol and we're very, very excited," said Stowers.

Project Liberty is the project name for their plans to convert an existing 50 million gallon per year corn ethanol production plant located in Emmetsburg, Iowa into a 125 million gallon per year plant, producing 100 million gallons of ethanol from corn starch and 25 million gallons from corn fiber and cobs. Construction is expected to begin this year.

Update : POET just made the announcement through a press release.

Ethanol's Use In Snowmobiles

The NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine posted an article on snowmobile users having problems with ethanol blended gasoline. My guess is there will be more over the next few days as this echoes through the internet.

Snowmobilers Have Trouble With Ethanol Gas

Some time back I ran across some information on the use of ethanol blended gasoline in snowmobiles. The Yellowstone National Park allows snowmobiling in the park and had at some point become concerned with the emissions that they produced. After extensive testing being conducted by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, they concluded that the use of oxygenated fuels such as ethanol blended gasoline would be the best way to reduce emissions from snowmobiles operating in the park. Their website has a wealth of information on their efforts to reduce emissions from snowmobiles and their experience with ethanol blended gasoline. Here are some exerts from their website.

One method for reducing emissions from snowmobile engines is the use of oxygenated fuels. The oxygenated fuel used in Montana is a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent conventional gasoline. Use of oxygenated fuels reduces emissions of most harmful pollutants from gasoline engines in both snowmobiles and snowcoaches.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has persuaded snowmobile rental agencies in West Yellowstone to try out the ethanol blend fuel and alternative oil products. All of the West Yellowstone rental businesses use these products exclusively, with a considerable reduction in pollution.

Rental agents noted that use of the alternative products eliminated carburetor freezing and significantly reduced the need for engine repairs.

Tests of emissions done in the field by the University of Denver showed that each 1 percent of ethanol in the gasoline blend would reduce carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by a little more than 1 percent so that roughly, a 7 percent blend of ethanol fuel reduced CO emissions by 7 percent. The Yellowstone National Park staff has operated the Park's fleet of 100 snowmobiles with E-10 and bio-based lube oil since 1997.

Project findings caused West Yellowstone snowmobile and snowcoach rental agencies to voluntarily use E-10 and bio-based lube oils to reduce emissions and increase power. The fleet operators experienced a 60 percent reduction in required maintenance calls, avoided carburetor freezing, and had better power and fuel economy.

It is hard to understand why snowmobile users in Maine are having problems related to ethanol blended gasoline when these fuels have been used successfully for several years in Yellowstone.

Source : Montana Department of Environmental Quality

Corn Plus Ethanol Plant Trading Carbon Credits

There is a really good article in the Mankato Free Press about Corn Plus. Corn Plus is one of the ethanol producers that I admire for the fact that they have gone to great lengths to make their operation more efficient.

The net effect of all their efforts to reduce fossil fuel use and emissions has allowed them to enter the carbon credit trading market. Under the program companies pledge to meet certain emissions reductions targets and if they reduce emissions enough they gain credits that they can sell.

Corn Plus has been able to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in the production of ethanol at their Winnebago, MN facility by burning the concentrated syrup leftover after ethanol production in a fluidized bed reactor which cut natural gas usage by about 52%. They also installed two 2.1 megawatt wind turbines that provide 40 to 50 percent of the electricity the plant needs.

On top of saving money and giving Corn Plus a more reliable energy costs, these steps have also created about 40,000 tons worth of emissions credits potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for Corn Plus to trade.

Although not mentioned in the article, Corn Plus is also known to me for their work in testing a microwave drying process that has the potential to cut energy usage during the drying of the distillers grains by about 20%. The process was developed by Cellencor Corporation and was tested at the Corn Plus facility earlier in 2008.

Source : Mankato Free Press

Verenium's Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Begins Production

The USA Today has an article on Verenium's demonstration scale cellulosic ethanol facility. The facility began startup operations in April and after some initial equipment and process problems, started production earlier this week.

Come visit a scruffy patch of land here in sugar-cane country, where 15-foot-high piles of what looks like hay stretch three blocks alongside a gleaming, silver-and-yellow jumble of pipes, tanks and girders.

The hay, actually crushed sugar-cane stalks, is feedstock for the first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant in the USA. The biorefinery cranked up this week and, according to its backers, kicks off a new era of clean transportation fuels that won't compete with the food supply. Corn-based ethanol, by contrast, has been blamed for driving up food prices and doing little to reduce the global warming gases emitted by petroleum-fueled vehicles.

The plant located in Jennings, Louisiana will make 1.4 million gallons of ethanol per year from sugarcane stalks (bagasse) leftover from sugar production.

USA Today

Continental Airlines Conducts Biofuels Test Flight

Continental Airlines successfully completed a test flight of an unmodified Boeing 737-800 with one engine running on a mixture of 50% biofuels and 50% aviation jet fuel yesterday. This marks the first test flight undertaken by an American airline on biofuels and data gained from the test indicate that the fuel performed well, perhaps even better than standard jet fuel.

“The airplane performed perfectly,” test pilot Rich Jankowski said. “There were no problems. It was textbook.”

The plane burned 3,600 pounds of a 50-50 jet fuel-biofuel mix in one engine and roughly 3,700 pounds of traditional fuel in the other, meaning the test batch was somewhat more efficient, he said.

The biofuel mixture used was a mixture of algae and jatropha derived fuels. The algae based fuel was provided by Sapphire Energy and the jatropha based fuel was provided by Terasol Energy.

Source : Houston Chronicle

Michigan School Installs Corn Burning Furnace

The Merrill Community Schools of Michigan installed a corn burning furnace to provide heat to the middle school and high school as part of a 2006 construction project that also included installing more efficient lighting. Although initial problems were encountered, the system seems to running properly now.

"We saved $90,000 the first year in electric and gas," said Searles, who conservatively estimates at least $10,000 is attributed to the corn furnace.

At the time that this system was planned and construction first began corn prices were at a low. Since then corn prices have gone from around $2.00 per bushel in early 2006 to hitting a high of almost $8.00 last summer to fall again to a current price of around $4.00. Now that the price has come back down it is again more economical to burn corn than natural gas.

"It seems to be heating well," said Searles. "I'm really happy that we'll be able to begin saving money because the cost of corn has come down significantly."

Corn burning furnaces have been around for some time. I remember seeing one displayed at the county fair at least ten years ago. A quick google search for 'corn stoves' nets several manufacturers of residential corn burning stoves.

And that really brings me to the main point of this post. Corn has for a long time been something that was cheap enough to burn. For all the talk this last year about a food crisis and all the blame heaped on ethanol for taking corn off the food market, the fact that it is cheaper to burn corn than it is to burn natural gas suggests to me that we place a higher value on energy than we do on food.

Source : MLive

E85 Stations Top 1900

The number of E85 stations across the country have now topped 1900 locations.

In my last post I noted that the number of E85 stations closed out 2008 at 1899 and I knew that the 1900 mark would be just days away. According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition that mark was reached earlier today.

The pace seems to be accelerating as the 1800 mark was reached on October 13, 2008 and the last 100 have come in less than two months. Lets hope the economic slowdown and low gasoline prices don't slow the growth E85 locations.

E85 Stations Finish Year At 1899 Locations

2008 was a good year for E85 stations. Over the course of the year over 400 new locations were added bringing the total at years end to 1899.

January 1, 2009 - 1899
December 1, 2008 - 1868
November 1, 2008 - 1837
October 1, 2008 - 1782
September 1, 2008 - 1743
August 1, 2008 - 1663
July 1, 2008 - 1627
June 1, 2008 - 1579
May 1, 2008 - 1560
April 1, 2008 - 1521
March 1, 2008 - 1501
February 1, 2008 - 1475
November 9, 2007 - 1378
May 7, 2007 - 1200

The current number plus the locations of all E85 stations can be found at the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.