Posted June 14, 2010

 
 All biofuels producers- from biobutanol to renewable diesel plus cellulosic ethanol and more-must work together to promote the biofuel industry interests, said Michael McAdams. The president of the Advanced Biofuels Association gave the keynote address at the Advanced Biofuels Workshop (ABW) held June 14 in St. Louis.
 
 Building the first advanced biofuels plants is a big challenge before the industry. The question is, how developers and producers are going to get across the investment "valley of death," he asked. In order to do that, and to meet the biofuel goals mandated by the U.S. EPA, the industries must not remain segmented as they are now. "Show me the gallons," he said. 
 
 Although drop-in biofuels and diesel, both cellulosic and advanced, seemed to be the dominate topics at this year's ABW, ethanol certainly came up during the day-long event. ABW was held in advance of the 26th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, which will conclude June 17.
 
 Speaker Omar Abou-Sayed, the vice president of corporate development for Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., gave conference-goers a good visual of the type of people in attendance. When he asked audience members to raise their hands if they were already engaged in the production of either biodiesel or ethanol, the majority did so. Only a very few, however, indicated with raised hands that they were actively involved in the production of advanced biofuels or chemicals. 
 
 "Why is everybody here," Karl Seck, president of Mercurius Biofuels LLC, asked. "Because there's going to be a market for renewable biofuels, especially advanced biofuels."
 
 John Monks, business director for DSM, said many have a short attention span and have moved on from ethanol to many other biofuels. However, he suggested stopping, stepping back and recognizing what that first-generation industry has accomplished. There's no reason, he said, to discount ethanol. There's a lot to be learned from that "can-do attitude," he said. 
 
 DSM, which started out as a mining company, believes that there are opportunities to use existing corn-ethanol infrastructure and, with retrofits, carry it forward into second generation success. The company is focusing on gaining additional ethanol production from corn fiber. Although most overlook corn fiber as too minor of a source of additional ethanol production, Monks said DSM has calculated that utilizing corn fiber as a feedstock could yield an additional billion gallons. "It's not exactly a no brainer," he said. "There's going to have to be a lot of work, investment to get it done."
 
 Michael Slaney, managing director for Gevo Development LLC, spoke about the potential for ethanol facilities to retrofit for isobutanol production. The process is inexpensive and can utilize the existing ethanol fermentation process. The ethanol facility can remain operational, he said, except for about 2 to 4 weeks. He described the company's technology as feedstock agnostic, meaning it doesn't make a difference what feedstock is utilized, such as corn, sugar, wood or energy crops. 
 

 Drop-in biogasoline also came up during ABW. Gary Luce, CEO of Terrabon LLC, said the company's technology is modeled after the digestive system of a cow. Cows, he said, utilize bacteria and four different fermenters, or stomachs, to break down what they eat. The company is partnering with Waste Management and Valero to produce a drop in biofuel that can be used with existing infrastructure. The company's current focus is on municipal solid waste, but will eventually move to also investigating multiple energy crops as well as algae, he said.

Advanced Biofuels Workshop precedes FEW

Upcoming Events

2024 International Biomass Conference & Expo

2024 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

Carbon Capture & Storage Summit

North American SAF Conference & Expo

Advanced Biofuels Workshop precedes FEW.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Upcoming Events

2024 International Biomass Conference & Expo

2024 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

Carbon Capture & Storage Summit

North American SAF Conference & Expo

Advanced Biofuels Workshop precedes FEW