New corn stover study not in the realm of reality

April 21, 2014

BY Holly Jessen

The big hoopla this morning is around a new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, which concludes cellulosic ethanol from corn stover is actually worse for global warming than gasoline.

Oh boy. Despite the fact that the U.S. EPA has said in a statement that the study “does not provide useful information relevant to the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from corn stover ethanol,” it’s making major traction in the mainstream media. Of course.

The industry is speaking out, calling it deeply flawed. Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, pointed out that, currently, corn stover is typically removed from fields at the rate of only 10 to 25 percent. But, for some reason, this new study assumes stover removal of 60 to 70 percent. Somehow the authors missed the fact that the biofuels industry has already had many discussions on responsibly and sustainably removing corn stover from fields, without causing environmental harm. It’s not in the best interest of farmers, biofuels producers or the earth to strip fields of the majority of corn stover. It’s not happening to those levels and that makes the conclusions of this new study irrelevant in the realm of reality.

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As I was thinking about this, my mind wandered back to the many, many biomass feedstock options for cellulosic ethanol. Corn stover is, of course, one of the targeted feedstocks of several companies, with biorefineries currently under construction. The list includes Abengoa Bioenergy of Kansas LLC, DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol LLC- Nevada and Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels LLC/Project Liberty.

Then there’s wood waste, municipal solid waste, miscanthus, switchgrass, straw and … the list could go on and on. Basically, anything with plant fiber in it could be turned into ethanol. I once had a conversation with someone who was interested in duckweed to ethanol. I’ve heard talk about kudzu vine, known to some as a pest plant that “ate the South” being harnessed for good as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock. Researchers at the University of Manitoba even turned paper coffee cups from convenience store Tim Hortons into ethanol. Back in 2001, I wrote about a seventh-grade science teacher that produced ethanol from waste apples in Washington state.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from Kjell Hedberg of a Swedish company, High Quality Water Nordic AB. The company’s trademarked technology, ClearCrystals, is based on absorbing ethanol contained in mash in crystals, rather than through distillation. The crystals are then heated to release ethanol vapor, which is condensed. Doesn’t that sound futuristic! An episode of Stargate comes to mind, but that will only make sense to fellow Sci-fi fans.

Of course, biomass isn’t the only possible ethanol feedstock. Last week, Standford University researchers announced they had found a way to harness carbon monoxide gas to produce liquid ethanol. It sounds cool for sure, but the new technique is a long ways from commercial application.

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LanzaTech, which recently announced it was moving its headquarters to Illinois, is currently working on the design phase of its first commercial steel mill off-gases-to-ethanol facility in China. The company, which was founded in New Zealand, is also retrofitting its Freedom Pines facility in Soperton, Ga., a woody biomass-to-ethanol plant. 

It really is mind boggling, and exciting, to think about the many possible advanced ethanol feedstocks, whether it’s biomass for cellulosic ethanol production, a new technology using crystals or turning waste gasses into ethanol.

Though the industry has been attacked repeatedly, it will continue working toward making advanced biofuels a reality. This most recent study, may grab some headlines, but I just don’t see it stopping the march of progress. The industry has built up far too much momentum for that. 

 

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