Newsletter Archive

The drive to reorganize was a response to the President's Management Agenda as well as the DOE/EERE Strategic Program Review, which was completed in March of 2002. Both documents showed the need to strengthen EERE's focus on programs and program management as well as flatten its organization to make it more responsive. In addition, as stated by Douglas Kaempf, Manager of the Biomass Program, the "reorganization of DOE's Biomass Program responds directly to the spirit of the Biomass R&D Act of 2000 and the recommendations of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee."

The mission of the new Biomass Program is to develop approaches for expanding the use of biomass for energy and industrial products by making biorefinery technologies cleaner and more efficient, reliable, and lower in cost. Biorefinery technologies will have a significant impact on the United States by reducing its imports of foreign oil, increasing the nation's energy security, and providing substantial benefits to the environment. In order to achieve its mission, the Biomass Program will focus on developing R&D in the areas of gasification, cellulosic ethanol, and biobased products.

Gasification
Program R&D will focus on the feasibility of producing biomass-derived fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and hydrogen through gasification. It also will focus on developing a catalytic gasification technology that will allow recovery of energy from wet biomass, such as residuals left behind during ethanol fermentation. A major success of the program is the Future Energy Resources Corporation (FERCO) Burlington Gasifier Project, which achieved a major milestone in 2001 by successfully operating its commercial-scale demonstration plant in Burlington, Vermont.

Cellulosic Ethanol
Currently, ethanol is not being produced from cellulose or hemicellulose, the fibrous sugar polymers that make up the bulk of plant material. The Biomass Program is strongly pursuing cellulosic ethanol technology in order to expand the variety of biomass resources that can be used to produce ethanol. The Biomass Program will focus its R&D on integrating cellulosic conversion processes with existing starch-based commercial facilities. A major goal for the program is to work with an ethanol producer to demonstrate the feasibility of the commercial production of ethanol and co-products from the corn fiber stream.

Biobased Products
Research and development of biobased products offers the opportunity to create high-value products that will assist in developing other components of an integrated industrial biorefinery. The Biomass Program is conducting biobased product R&D to produce value-added chemicals, biobased engine oils and solvents, biobased plastics and improved enzymes. A major success for the program is Cargill Dow LLC's polylactic acid (PLA) plastic manufacturing operation in Blair, Nebraska. Using sugar from cornstarch as a feedstock, the sugar is fermented to lactic acid, which is then converted to PLA polymer. The PLA is used to produce plastic and fibers, which are then used to produce soda bottles, clothing and other products.

The Biomass Program relies strongly on competitive solicitations to identify projects that support its program focus areas. In April, an Integrated Biomass Solicitation was issued seeking proposals focusing on R&D in cellulosic conversion and biobased products. 190 proposals were received, from which six projects will be selected. Additional competitive solicitations will be issued in the future to identify projects that will allow the Biomass Program to fulfill its R&D goals.

The reorganization of DOE's Biomass Program allows a cohesive, sound approach to biomass R&D planning, and a single point of contact for the biomass community. The result should be new advances in biomass technologies that crosscut the range of bioenergy and biobased product applications.

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The State of Iowa has 24 electric generating plants that use biomass resources. These plants have a combined capacity of 22 megawatts (MW), ¹ and account for less than one percent of Iowa's total electric capacity.² Of this total, 52 percent (12 MW) comes from biogas, 47 percent (10 MW) from Municipal Solid Waste - MSW - and one percent (less than one MW) from timber residues.¹ Though the biopower industry in Iowa is not as large as in some states, the state can look forward to an increase in activity due to the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The bill - which became law in May 2002 - contains $405 million in funding that will be divided among five different areas of renewable energy development activities, giving farms and rural communities in Iowa an economic boost.³

Iowa has one of the largest fuel-ethanol capacities in the nation - about 662 million gallons of fuel-ethanol production per year, which is about 24 percent of the nation's capacity.⁴ As one of the states that banned the use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) as an oxygenate in its gasoline, Iowa's ethanol market is expected to continue to grow. Iowa was an early supporter and adopter of E85 fuel - a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, which relied on ethanol to meet the oxygen requirement in gasoline. At the pump, Iowa residents choose E85 53 percent of the time, and in 2001, nearly 50,000 gallons of the blend were sold at Iowa retail locations.⁵

The most recent addition to ethanol production facilities in the state was Tall Corn Ethanol, LLC, which began operating on August 9, 2002. It is the largest farmer-owned ethanol plant in the state. Using the dry corn process, the production facility will need 15 million bushels of corn to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol and 120,000 tons of distillers dried grains annually. This past year saw two additional ethanol plants begin construction in Sioux Center - 14 million gallon production potential - and Galva - 18 million gallon potential.⁶

Iowa continues to expand their fuel-ethanol market, and farmers are beginning to enjoy greater economic benefits. The Iowa Corn Promotion Board continues to fund research on new technology for the usage of corn-for-ethanol production, which is part of a $1 million research budget. The outlook is very bright - according to the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the renewable fuel standard could increase the use of corn to 150 million bushels of corn in the next three years.⁷

DOE, USDA Research Manure-Powered Turbine
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Energy Technology Laboratory will evaluate the potential of generating electricity and heat from animal manure. The generator could benefit small dairy operations of less than 250 cows by producing approximately 400,000 Btu's and up to 26 kw per hour. The manure produced by the cows will be pumped into an anaerobic digester, which separates the liquids and the solids and processes them to produce a methane-containing biogas. What remains is then used as a fertilizer with a greatly reduced odor. If the system proves to be both efficient and cost-effective, it holds the solution to the problem of waste generated by dairy cows and it can lower farmers' energy costs, which account for a large portion of their operation costs. http://www.earthvision.net

USDA Report Finds Ethanol 'Energy Efficient'
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced the results of a new USDA study that confirms the energy efficiency of ethanol and its positive role in reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil. The report, "The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update," concludes that ethanol production is energy efficient because it yields 34 percent more energy than is used in growing and harvesting the corn and distilling it into ethanol. The report concludes that the net energy value of corn ethanol has become positive in recent years due to technological advances in ethanol conversion and increased efficiency in farm production. Studies using older data tend to overestimate energy use because the efficiency of growing corn and converting it into ethanol has improved significantly over the past 20 years. http://newuses.org

Ethanol Growth Outpaces Funding
There is only enough funding available under Nebraska's Ethanol Development Act for two-and-a-half new plants according to State Sen. Cap Dierks. If only four of the 21 proposed ethanol plants qualify for the incentive program, it could be out of money in three years. The act provides supplemental income to new plants during their first eight years of operation and includes an 18-cent per gallon production incentive. State lawmakers are meeting with program leaders and representatives from the state's ethanol plants to come up with new funding ideas. Some of these ideas include asking the state or the corn and sorghum checkoffs for more money and a distilled grains or fertilizer tax. http://www.theindependent.com

Adkins Energy Begins Ethanol Production in Illinois
Adkins Energy LLC completed construction two months ahead of schedule and became the first farmer-owned plant to produce ethanol in Illinois. This plant will convert more than 13.5 million bushels of corn into approximately 40 million gallons of ethanol and other valuable co-products annually. http://www.ethanolrfa.org

New Jersey Governor Supports Ethanol Project
Governor James McGreevey announced his support for efforts to construct the first ethanol production facility in New Jersey. Garden State Ethanol is seeking to build a 40 million gallon facility that would process about 14.2 million bushels of corn, 121,000 tons of distillers grains and 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide. A number of potential locations in South Jersey are being considered for plant locations. http://www.state.nj.us

Soy Biodiesel Peaks Rocky Mountain Interest
The town of Breckenridge, Colorado officially announced this month its intention to run its diesel-powered fleet on B20, a fuel blend made up of 20 percent soy biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel. The town plans to use 5,000 gallons a month to power its snowplows, buses and street sweepers. The National Biodiesel Board estimates that if all the major ski resort towns on the western slope of the Rockies used B20, they could annually prevent about 20,000 pounds of carbon monoxide and 2,000 pounds of particulate matter, hydrocarbons and sulfur from polluting the mountain environment. http://www.unitedsoybean.org

India to Become Second Country to Mandate Ethanol Use
India announced that, as of 2003, all gasoline sold in nine states and four Union Territories will be required to contain at least five percent ethanol. The rest of the nation will come under the second phase of the rule, though no timetable for it has been set. The areas switching to an ethanol blend represent 300 million people, which is more than the entire U.S. population, and it will require about 40 million gal/yr of ethanol to meet the ethanol requirement. While experts in the Indian ethanol industry admit that the country does not yet have enough ethanol production to meet the demand, the necessary capacity will be brought online quickly enough.
Oxy-Fuel News, June 6, 2002. "India To Become Second Country To Mandate Ethanol Use"

Data Sources:
OxyFuel News: Ethanol (U.S. Avg: Terminal); MTBE (Houston, TX: spot); Gasoline (Gulf Coast: spot, regular grade)
USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, "Agricultural Prices," "Grain Stocks"

Data Sources:
U.S. DOE-Energy Information Administration, "Petroleum Supply Monthly"
USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, "Agricultural Prices," "Grain Stocks"

*Please note: Units used for fuel data have been revised to correct an error in previous editions.