10 Million Gallon/Year Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Facility to be built in MN

This project is noteable because it is being built next to an exiting corn ethanol biorefinery that has been using cellulosic materials as process fuels (in place of the usual natural gas). This means they already have experience in sourcing and processing the material that will now be used as ethanol feedstock in the new facility. This should improve their chances for commercial success. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
SunOpta BioProcess Inc. Announces Plans to Develop a 10 Million Gallon Per Year Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Facility - Business - RedOrbit:
Nov. 20, 2007
"The plant will be environmentally friendly and use locally contracted woodchips as the cellulose source, with residual lignin serving as fuel stock for an energy efficient gasification and co-generation system that will provide the required power for both the corn starch and cellulosic ethanol operations."

Is ethanol driving up food prices?

One of the criticisms of ethanol is that it drives up corn prices, in turn driving up food prices -- the "food vs. fuel" debate. The implication is that ethanol is immoral because it causes people to go hungry. At the grand opening of an ethanol biorefinery in Shenendoah, Iowa Monte Shaw Addressed this issue. Shaw is the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. He pointed out that corn farmers actually get very little of the money you pay for food items that had corn inputs. He gave a few current examples. The corn farmer, 
he said, gets 6.4 cents from an 8 oz chicken breast, 5.6 cents from a quarter 
pound hamburger, 13 cents from an 8 oz. pork chop, and 3.9 cents from a 
14 ounce box of corn flakes. So what does cause higher food prices these days? The rising cost of crude oil. This impacts the cost of transportation, processing, and packaging. Shaw pointed out one other factor -- record profits reported by some of the major food processing companies. They have been able to make a success of their business models despite higher input costs.
Shaw also addressed the complaint that ethanol production requires uses valuable water supplies. Fortunately, water use per unit of ethanol production has gone down over the years. Now, says Shaw, it takes a little less that 3 gallons of water for every gallon of ethanol. And in facilities such as the one at Shenandoah, municipal gray water is being used--water that would otherwise usually be wasted. Shaw then compared this to water 
requirements for other things. It takes 150 gallons of water, he said, to produce 1 copy of 
the Sunday paper. And 90 gallons of water per gallon of gasoline! Now that really puts the issue in perspective. 

New Iowa Ethanol Biorefinery Uses Gray Water

The new Green Plains Renewable Energy biorefinery at Shenandoah, Iowa held a grand opening on November 17, 2007. One the plant tour, I learned that they use gray water from the city of Shenandoah. Then some of the water leftover from the ethanol production process is used to water a golf course. The limited water supply available from the city water plant had threatened to stop plans for the ethanol facility until this solution was found. The ethanol biorefinery employs almost 40 people and provides a new market for area corn farmers. It also provides leftover distiller's grain for feeding livestock. A large crowd attended the grand opening, listening to speeches and taking the tour on a warm and beautiful November day. 

WLRM Celebrates Completion of Its Cellulosic Ethanol Breakthrough

This is the first I've heard of this waste managemnet company and their cellulosic ethanol process. It sounds promising if it works out. I'm assuming their first feedstocks would be materials currently going to landfills. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Press Release - WLRM Celebrates Completion of Its Cellulosic Ethanol Breakthrough

POET to Power SD Ethanol With Wood Waste, Saving Up to 60% in Natural Gas

Much of the wood waste that will be used to produce steam for this ethanol biorefinery would otherwise go to landfills. This kind of efficiency will be increasingly important as cheap fossil fuels become more scarce. Waste could be usilized in this way at all ethanol biorefineries, not just those using new cellulosic technologies. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
POET to Power Chancellor, SD Ethanol Plant With Wood Waste to Produce Steam, Saving Up to 60% in Natural Gas:
Nov 15, 2007 -- Grainnet
"Waste wood from pallets, construction sites and area landfills will be the primary fuel source for the solid waste fuel boiler."

LS9 moving ahead with biofuel replacement for diesel and gasoline

This new biofuel will be made from the same feedstocks as ethanol, but will act more like fossil fuels in how it burns, where it can be used, and ease of transportation through pipelines. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Inside Bay Area - 'Designer biofuels' may replace gas
11-5-2007 -- by Julia Scott

Researchers make ethanol from biodiesel byproduct

Biodiesel can be made from corn oil left over from ethanol production. Now researchers have developed a way to inexpensively produce ethanol from glycerine--a byproduct of biodiesel production in plentiful supply these days. With the implimentation of both processes, biofuel production will become more efficient, less reliant of fossil fuels, and less expensive overall. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Biofuels News (Green Portal):
Nov 2, 2007 -- by Andiun Kirkbride McElroy

First "Closed Loop" Ethanol Biorefinery up and Running

This Biorefinery is fueled by gas from cattle manure and they feed byproducts back to the cattle, closing the loop. It's a revolutionary system that is developing a track record on a commercial scale at Mead, Nebraska. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Suburban Newspapers - Mead Ethanol continues to produce:
October 22, 2007
"'We've been really pleased, especially with the quality of the gas,' he said. 'It's excellent.'"

Grand Opening at Shenandoah, IA Ethanol Biorefinery

This event is set for Novemebr 17th. Should be a good opportunity to hear some speakers and visit an ethanol biorefinery.
Grainnet -- October 23, 2007
Green Plains Renewable Energy to Hold Grand Opening in Shenandoah, IA For Company's First Ethanol Plant

Giant corn stalks may be better for ethanol

Here we are talking about getting sugars from the stalks--even easier to convert to ethanol than the starch from corn kernels. The long days of midwest summers cause high sugar production instead of forming ears in tropical maize (corn) varieties. This could mean a large increase in ethanol yield per acre and decrease in fertilization without the need for new cellulosic processing technology. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
If Corn Is Biofuels King, Tropical Maize May Be Emperor:
Science News -- Oct. 16, 2007
"Without ears, these plants concentrate sugars in their stalks, he adds. Those sugars could have a dramatic affect on Midwestern production of ethanol and other biofuels."

Ethanol plant with reduced emissions

These significant advances in ethanol production technology will reduce cost and environmental impact. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
The Times-Tribune - Ethanol plant a new breed:
by Elizabeth Piet -- 10/07/2007
"the facility will use 25 percent less thermal energy and 50 percent less water than existing U.S. ethanol plants, with the goal of eliminating both in the future."

Moving Wind to the Mainstream: Leveraging Compressed Air Energy Storage

Underground compressed air storage could move wind power to a new level in inexpensive production of electricity. Traditional coal or natural gas powered generators have always had a huge advantage over wind and solar because they could deliver power when needed. Batteries were never efficient or cost effective enough to compete with this. Underground comrpessed air storage powered by wind-driven compressors could close this gap, making wind power extremely attractive and competitive with fossil fuels. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Moving Wind to the Mainstream: Leveraging Compressed Air Energy Storage :
by David Marcus -- October 1, 2007
"The study's results indicate that compressing air with wind power can deliver measurable economic value and make renewable wind power more cost-effective and grid-friendly."

Mid-America economy up on farming, ethanol

Mid-America economy up on farming, ethanol -survey | News | Economic News | Reuters

Texas A&M, Ceres To Develop Sorghum For Cellulosic Ethanol

When you consider sorghum requires much less water than corn, a 2000 gallon per acre per year ethanol yield would be a tremendous breakthrough for ethanol production in North America. It would expand the range of production well beyond the Corn Belt. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Texas A&M, Ceres To Develop Sorghum For Cellulosic Ethanol:
CNNMoney.com -- Oct 1, 2007
"Rooney's first breeding lines - the precursors to hybrids - can grow to almost 20 feet under favorable weather conditions and could produce more than 2,000 gallons of ethanol per acre, more than four times as much as a conventional cornstarch-to-ethanol process."

Tennessee hosts U.S. first switchgrass ethanol plant

Emerging Energy News: Tennessee hosts U.S. first switchgrass ethanol plant:
October 1, 2007
"Construction of the 5 million gallon per year biorefinery will begin by the end of 2009, with the aim of commencing operation in 2009."

AAA Begins Posting Daily Average Price of E-85 Ethanol Fuel

AAA Begins Posting Daily Average Price of E-85 Ethanol Fuel on Fuel Gauge Report Website:
Grainnet.com -- September 27, 2007
"Pricing information for E-85 is also available on AAA’s TripTik� Travel Planner, an interactive mapping, routing and travel planning tool that is available free at www.AAA.com."

American Biofuels Council Launches "Certified Biofuels Educator" Program

American Biofuels Council Launches "Certified Biofuels Educator" Program to Provide Professionally Trained Biofuels Experts to Local Communities
Sept. 12, 2007

Researching on-farm Ethanol from Sweet Sorghum

The sweet juice from sweet sorghum stems is easily fermented to ethanol, but must be done quickly after harvest. An on-farm approach might just work. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
ScienceDaily: 'Sweet' Biofuels Research Goes Down On The Farm:
September 4, 2007
"Science Daily — Oklahoma State University’s sorghum-related biofuels research is taking a localized approach, with the aim of making possible the effective production of ethanol in the farmer’s own field."

Missouri Biorefinery makes food and fuel

This ST. Joseph Missouri biorefinery is a good example of efficient grain processing--providing both food and ethanol. -- Jeff G.
Cattle Network - Connecting The Beef Industry Worldwide: "This new generation ethanol facility features a mill in the front of the plant that separates the corn kernel into its component parts. This technique enables increased utilization of the starch within the kernel. The resulting higher quality starches will be used for food customers whereas the lower quality starches will be used to produce ethanol."

Hot compost bugs could be better for cellulosic ethanol

This British company believes their new bacteria will make cellulosic ethanol more feasible. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
Hot compost bugs promise greener car fuel | Environment | Reuters : "'We believe what we've found is not far from the silver bullet, and our demonstration plant will be about showing that,' Curran told Reuters during a visit to the group's laboratories in Guildford on Wednesday."

UF chooses Florida Crystals for ethanol plant

This commercial scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery will apparently use bagasse as a feedstock. Bagasse is the portion of the sugar cane left over after extracting the sugar. It will be available without extra transportation expense as with many other potential feedstocks. -- Jeffrey Goettemoeller
UF chooses Florida Crystals for ethanol plant - South Florida Business Journal:

Food & Fuel: Biofuels Could Benefit World's Undernourished

Farmers around the world finally have a chance to sell their goods at a profit. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Food & Fuel: Biofuels Could Benefit World's Undernourished :
RenewableEnergyAccess.com -- Aug 21, 2007
"The increase in world agriculture prices caused by the global boom in biofuels could benefit many of the world's rural poor. This is one conclusion of a new 450-page book, 'Biofuels for Transport: Global Potential and Implications for Energy and Agriculture,' authored by the Worldwatch Institute and published by Earthscan."

New reports examine corn, ethanol, food price connection

Ethanol and corn prices have just a tiny effect, if any, on food prices. The bigger effect is from oil prices, especially for transportation. Jeff G.
New reports examine corn, ethanol, food price connection
Southeast Farm Press -- August 9, 2007

Tennessee biorefinery will turn switchgrass into cellulosic ethanol

The University of Tennessee is partnering with Mascoma to build a biorefinery in Tennessee that will turn switchgrass and woodchips into cellulosic ethanol. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Monroe County Online information
by Melissa Kinton, the Monroe County Advocate -- Aug 13, 2007
"Biofuel Company Selects Vonore Site"

DOE to Provide funding for increasing efficiency of FFV's, E85 Ethanol

This is certainly a step in the right direction for ethanol. These technologies will allow vehicles to go more miles on fewer BTU's from ethanol. The lower cost of E85 could reflect a real savings when fueling these new ethanol-optimized vehicles. This will also effectively improve rthanol's net energy balance because a given amount of ethanol will do more work. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Department of Energy - DOE to Provide up to $21.5 million for Research to Improve Vehicle Efficiency:
DOE press release -- August 7, 2007
"Seven of the eleven projects selected total up to $15.3 million in DOE funding and will focus specifically on improving flexible-fuel engines and light-duty vehicles that operate on ethanol-gasoline blends up to 85 percent ethanol by volume (E-85). Research will seek to take advantage of favorable properties of ethanol blends without diminishing gasoline fuel efficiency. "

Gulf Ethanol Plans to make ethanol from super-tall sorghum

Gulf Ethanol Corp. Advances Production Plans for Sorghum Ethanol Plant Along Texas Gulf Coast:
Grain Net -- Aug. 7, 2007
"Houston, TX--Gulf Ethanol Corporation, (OTC:GFET), has advanced its plans for an enhanced ethanol production facility along the Texas Gulf coast that could use the new sorghum plant developed by Texas A&M as its primary feed stock"

Senators urge blender pumps for ethanol

A group of senators is urging UL to approve "blender pumps" that would allow the customer to choose the percentage of ethanol. This would allow selling various ethanol belends with just two storage tanks--one for ethanol and one for gasoline. The two would be blended at the pump. If we would go a step further and remove the prohibition-era requirement for denaturing ethanol, expenses at ethanol biorefineries could be reduced. Currently, most ethanol producers use gasoline as the denaturant. They need tanks and infrastructure for blending at the biorefinery that would not be needed if the requirement for denaturing were removed. -- Jeff Goettemoeller
Obama Works to Expand Use of Biofuels Nationwide | U.S. Senator Barack Obama:
March 17, 2007
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ben LaBolt
Urges Underwriters Laboratories to certify 'blender pumps' to make E85 fuels more accessible to motorists across the country"