Bioenergy - Biomass Utilisation

Biomass is actually potential energy stored within itself and i believe we are not fully utilising the potential out there. Finding more about the current research progress in this field is important as i discovered recently at a workshop organised by ICES of Singapore. The Bioenergy-Biomass Utilisation workshop was held on 25-Feb 2013, organised by ICES in collaboration with A*STAR. I will try and capture key learning’s from the event. Some of the techniques discussed below could potentiall be used for future projects. Research topics discussed were:

Cultivation and characterization of a New Butanol-Acetone Producing Clostridium Species -Asst. Prof He Jianzhong (NUS)

Molecular engineering of membrane materials and fabrication for the separation of Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) broths produced from non-food biomass -Prof. Neal Chung (NUS)

Enhancing plant biomass for cellulosic ethanol production -Prof. Prakash Kumar

Developing Novel biocatalysts for cellulosic Ethanol production -Dr Geng Anli

Next Generation Fuels: Upgrading of biomass-derived Pyrolysis Oil -Dr. Chang Jie

Thermal degradation of biomass to produce valuable products -Dr. Paul Sharatt

Brief intro

The workshop explored mainly 2^nd generation biofuels derived from non-food crops¹. This is vital to avoid the whole drama of "Food vs. Fuel" , keeping in touch with current rocketing food prices in an ever rising inflation environment. The figure below summarises the methods of obtaining biofuels from lignocellulose:

As you can see from Fig. 1 above, there are multiple ways we can make use of Lignocellulosic biomass.

Key Research Findings

• In the generation of biofuels via biological process: A single species of Clostridium has been identified as highest yielding strain capable of producing butanol at 29% yield².
• Membrane based pervaporation was successfully demonstrated to yield 99.5% alcohol from fermentation broth. This membrane technology is currently being explored for commercialisation².
• Novel biocatalysts (enzymes from fungal strains) for biomass hydrolysis and sugar fermentation were identified and tested with Oil palm empty fruit bunch. Results show 84% conversion rate².

Shak's Recommendation

• I foresee many opportunities to utilise current research findings in majority of industries. For example, wood chips from logging industry, Kernels and husk leftover from corn field, not to forget; PALM Oil industry. This about the huge potential of converting wasted leftovers into useful bio-energy.
• Encourage all interest parties from whichever industry you come from to collaborate with ICES, develop synergies between R&D and your Industry. [** Must put Disclaimer here: I do not represent ICES or any other interested party, there are research departments in most Engineering universities around the world, you may wish to sponsor their research. But if you are in Singapore, there is local collaboration between NUS/NTU and ICES which you can support too.]
• There's potential alternate application of membrane based pervaporation to separate impurities from water to obtain Process Water, without the hassle of distillation, a major cost component in Utilities.

REFERENCE:

[1] Blog Entry on Biofuels Part 2: http://sustainablechemeng.blogspot.sg/2011/05/biofuels-part-i-intro-history.html

[2]ICES Bioenergy - Biomass Utilisation Workshop abstracts : http://www.ices.a-star.edu.sg/media/22848/Abstracts%20for%20Bioenergy_Biomass%20Utilisation%20Workshop.pdf

Biofuel Part IV - Sustainability Issues

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

http://www.rodomotion.com/2010/08/20/52/

When we are dealing with sustainability there are three common areas that to be discussed namely social, economic and environmental. The diagram above clearly represents the three parts of sustainability, with a brief description of each. Also observe how they overlap and depend on each other to some extent. Sustainability is actually a complex issue hidden by its apparent simplicity.

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC ISSUES

The industrial revolution in UK and USA and rest of the world has changed our social structure and standards of living for the better(mostly). The changing of energy source has a great impact on people’s lives and social behaviour. For example during the industrial revolution, coal was the primary fuel used to provide towngas to power street lights and power most of modes of transport. There is a historic relationship between coal mining and the development of industrialized countries today.

Non-industrialised countries however does not have this progressive stages as they jumped into relatively cheap oil being available in the 1950s which also happens to be the same time many countries obtained independence from colonialism. The world has since moved on from coal to petroleum based fuels which may not be much cleaner but it has made cheap fuel available to the average car owner leading to great changes in lifestyle[1].

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The production of biofuels could unintentionally lead to negative environmental and social impacts. Potential competition with food crops may lead to increased commodity prices and increased demand for land may lead directly to deforestation to make way for new plantations. Biofuel production are also associated with social concerns such as labour rights, land conflicts and health concerns related to improper use of agrochemicals. Looking on the bright side of it, biofuel demand can create local economic benefits and bring about employment opportunities[2].

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Agriculture & Forestry

Production of biomass to be used to convert to energy is closely related with wider policies and practices for agriculture and forestry. The main consideration with such use is to make sure it is ecologically sustainable. It has to be renewable source of energy which means areas cleared to be used must be regrown later on. Biomass production for energy must not be at the expense of growing enough food to feed the world population which is only ethical[3].

We also have European Union and the USA facing problems with agriculture such as over-production of food, which is actively, encouraged by agriculture 1 subsidies. Such subsidies increase general taxes and the resulting surpluses affect world trade to the advantage of developing countries. In order to solve this problem, the European Union set aside land to maintain it unproductively or for growing biomass for energy. Such policies uphold the social benefits of an economically active rural population while at the same time bring environmental benefits by substituting biofuels for fossil fuels.

A major byproduct of agriculture and forestry is the waste biomass that is just thrown away but second generation biofuel technology can be used to convert these waste cellulosic biomass into useful bioethanol. The undesirable outputs of agriculture such as manure from intensive piggeries or farm animals can be biodigested to produce syngas bringing economic and environmental benefits for the rural population. Successful biofuel production facilities can utilize concentrated flows of biomass such as sawdust from sawmilling, straw from crops, and manure from penned animals and sewage from municipal works.

Developments in energy conversion from local crops are most likely going to be socially acceptable at the same time biomass used to replace fossil fuel use will bring about greenhouse gas benefits. Therefore it is desirable to achieve sustainable agriculture and forestry[4]. However greenhouse gas benefits of biofuel will depend on the system of cultivation, processing and transportation of feedstock.

Pollution

Biofuels fall under the renewable energy category as it is extracted from the flow of energy which already exists in the environment. The energy is then returned to the environment as it burns very efficiently producing nothing more than carbon dioxide and water. Minimum amount of air, water, thermal pollution may occur from material and chemical aspects but it is still in favour over fossil and nuclear fuels[5].

OTHER RELATED ISSUES

Food vs. Fuel debate

This is very appropriate

The main problem associated with first generation biofuel technology is the usage of food crops for the production of biofuels. It can be seen from history that liquid biofuels have been based on biomass obtained from grain, sugar and oil crops which are all important food crops, generally grown on the most fertile agricultural land available[6].

World population increases every year which means more food has to be produced to feed the increased population, those displaced by wars and those are just too poor to feed themselves. It is ironic because in European countries and the USA every year there are crop production surpluses going to waste while in some developing countries where people are starving, crops are exported out to developed countries for revenue. This is slightly out of topic and I am not trying to defend biofuel production but the reason why there is still a proportion of the world population starving everyday is because food is not efficiently distributed around the world.

However increasing worldwide demand for food indicates that these crops should not be diverted significantly for energy production, as we need to set our priorities right which is to eradicate world hunger. In order for biofuel production to be a major contributor to world energy supplies, the feedstock and land cannot be related to food. For example there is a need to push for a cheaper, more energy efficient process for producing bioethanol from easily available lignocellulosic materials such as corn stalks, straw, wood, sawdust and other woody residues rather than from food crops[7]. This will be widely accepted by everyone including the most cynical critique of biofuels.

Support for Biofuels

Bioethanol from corn...literally

There needs to be support from the public and governments of the world to bring biofuels to a whole new level and to reduce usage of fossil fuels. Biofuels industry has the potential to create over a million jobs in the US alone and add over $50 billion to the economy each year[8]. Governments can encourage the use of biofuels by having smaller tax on biofuels than on fossil fuels. This will not be useful if the amount of biofuel blended in the total fuel mix is small unless there is a mandatory requirement for all transport fuels to be sold with a certain percentage of biofuel. Policy changes towards biofuels should be encouraged such as introducing subsidies to producers of biofuel as part of the general agricultural subsidies[9].

 

CONCLUSION

The only constant in this world is change and the influence of modern science and technology will always ensure to older technology. It is hard to predict the long term effects of changing our energy supply but the sustainable nature of biofuels should be a great boon for the world in providing a better socio-economic stability[10]. The only way out of the current situation is to move forward and embrace biofuels technology.

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[1] Twidell J., Weir T., Weir A.D., Renewable Energy Resources (2006) Taylor and Francis (2006) Chapter 1.6 Social Implications

[2] Department of Transport – Carbon and Sustainability reporting within the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, Jan 2008 Section 2: Biofuels and the Environment pp 18. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/environment/rtfo/govrecrfa.pdf

[3], [4] Twidell J., Weir T., Weir A.D., Renewable Energy Resources (2006) Taylor and Francis (2006) Chapter 11.11.1 – Bioenergy in relation to agriculture and forestry: pp 389

[5], [6], [7] Twidell J., Weir T., Weir A.D., Renewable Energy Resources (2006) Taylor and Francis (2006) Chapter “ food vs. fuel”

[8] Tickell J., Roman K., Tickell K., From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank (2000) Biodiesel America, The Solution: Renewable Fuels pp 21

[9], [10] Twidell J., Weir T., Weir A.D., Renewable Energy Resources (2006) Taylor and Francis (2006) pp393 

Follow up with this four part series on BIOFUELS by clicking the link below:
Part I, Part II , Part III, Part IV

Biofuels Part III - Types and Sources

BIOFUEL PRODUCTION TYPES & SOURCES

Biofuels can be classified in two ways, firstly by the state at which the fuel exists in their natural form which are mainly gas, liquid or solid. And secondly by the sources they have been produced from and the technology used to produce them. In this literature review, biofuels have been classified according the second way. 

FIRST GENERATION – (food crops)

First generation biofuels are derived from food crops such as starch, sugar and vegetable oil using conventional techniques discussed later on. Several types of first generation biofuels are discussed briefly below.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is probably the most common and most popular type of biofuel in the world because it also is the easiest to produce from ordinary vegetable oil. Biodiesel is produced very simply by combining any type of oil or biomass with methanol and sodium hydroxide[1]. It can be used on any diesel engine without any changes to it by mixing with mineral diesel as was described earlier in the “History of Biofuels” section. 

There has a been great interest shown by European countries and the USA, the graphs below show a rising trend of biodiesel production is USA and many countries of Europe.

Figure 7 - Source: National Biodiesel Board

Figure 8 - Source: European Biodiesel Board

Biogas & Syngas

Biogas is produced from organic materials by anaerobic digestion. Waste materials which are biodegradable can also produce biogas if they are fed into anaerobic digesters[2]. The resulting biomass can be used as fertiliser for agricultural usage. Biogas is rich in methane gas which can be recovered and used as burning fuel. Methane gas is also produced by the natural decay of garbage dumps over time. Another process to produce Syngas or biosyngas is by gasification of biomass into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Hydrogen can be recovered from syngas or the syngas can be converted to diesel fuel using Fischer-Tropsch process[3].

Bioalcohols (bioethanol)

Enzymes and micro-organisms are used to produce alcohols through the process of fermentation of starches and sugar[4]. Ethanol being the most common of those bioalcohol as in bioethanol produced from sugar cane in Brazil. A significant amount of ethanol is also produced from sugar beets and corn by fermentation in other parts of the world.   

SECOND GENERATION (non food crops)

Second generation of biofuels had been developed to use biomass left from the non-food parts of current crops such as stems, leaves and husks left behind after the important parts of the crop has been taken. It also includes biomass from non food crops such as Jatropha plant (which are toxic), switch grass and industrial waste such as wood chips, skin and pulp from fruit pressings. This generation of biofuels is not cost competitive with existing fossil fuels, do not threaten food supplies and biodiversity[5].

THIRD GENERATION (algaculture)

Third generation biofuels is obtained from algae and this is also called advanced biofuel. Algae is easy to grow and it is a high-yielding feedstock for the production of biofuel as it produces 30 times more energy per acre of land than traditional crops such as corn or soybean[6]. They are biodegradable so it is environmentally friendly. Similar to obtaining the oil from vegetation, algae contains almost 40-50% oil which is squeezed out and the remaining biomass can be used as fertilizer or high protein animal feed. The oil from algae can be converted to biodiesel.

 

FOURTH GENERATION (biodiesel to gasoline)

Last but not least is fourth generation biofuels which is still undergoing research at the highest levels. The main aim is to convert biodiesel into gasoline similar to the one obtained from petroleum but it will be much cleaner with less harmful emissions. This is similar to how natural gas or methane is converted to petrol. However there is much more study required in this part and will probably not be available in 10-20 years time.

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[1] Biofuel Organisation:  http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html

[2] Biofuel Organisation:  http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html

[3] Lee S., Lee L., Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing, CRC Press (2005), “Biofuels and Bioenergy” pp123

[4] Biofuel Organisation:  http://biofuel.org.uk/first-generation-biofuels.html

[5] RenewableEnergy.com News Article: Next generation of biofuels; http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=49099

[6] Washington Post News Article; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303907.html  

Follow up with this four part series on BIOFUELS by clicking the link below:
Part I, Part II , Part III, Part IV

Green School in Bali

Introduction
When i first heard of this "Green School" idea in Bali, i was skeptical and i have reasons to back me up on this. But first lets look at the concept and the listen to what John Hardy has to say about his dream of building a green school at Ted Talks.

This is an introduction to Green School in Bali, founded by John and Cynthia Hardy. The school is a non-profit organization funded by the Sustainable Educational Trust. The eight-hectare campus features a rigorous curriculum with an environmental focus in an entrepreneurial context. International Baccalaureate (IB) program offered. The school will be accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS)

The Issue With School Fees & Local Effect

The school fees they are charging at his "Green School" is too much, none of the local balinese children can actually attend this school. How is it benefiting the local community? 

Here's what a teacher from South Korea has to say:

Actually, for an international school running a foreign curriculum, Green School is pretty cheap. The international school in South Korea where I work charges $30,000USD a year for tuition, and many people here can afford it; we're full to bursting. Our tuition is standard for the country, and I'd imagine that Green School's tuition is reflective of international school tuition fees in Indonesia. As for cost, offten the company for whom the parents work pay students' tuition as part of their benefits package.

A lot of people on this board who are criticizing the school for not taking local Balinese children don't understand what an international school is. International schools are generally intended for children of ex-pats who are already in the country anyway, not for local children. Perhaps it works differently in Bali, but in South Korea the Korean government doesn't allow international schools to accept locals. Nor can our students matriculate to Korean universities; they have to go overseas.

Honestly, the fact that he's aiming for even that many Balinese students is pretty impressive from an international school perspective. However, I will add that Green School does not have a good reputation among international educators or among the international school circuit in Indonesia.

I think for this concept to benefit the balinese, it must be replicable on a local scale because Bali belongs to the Balinese, no question. I would not be surprised if people come to this conclusion that there is alot of exploitation for personal profit, thinly disguised as social altruism.

One thing is clear in my mind, bali doesn't need any more rich expats who are going there to live a western lifestyle where it's cheap and easy. but if they want to go there, live in a bamboo house (and are prepared to maintain it over the years), shit in a compost toilet, grow your own food and survive on a local wage, take part in ceremony and uphold balinese tradition, then i have nothing for you but respect.

Education Is Key to Sustainability

Education is very important and the greater impact can be achieved with children who are taught sound practices. This man, John Hardy, after all the criticism he might get has made more of an impact, teaching over a hundred kids the importance of sustainable living, creating a community of green, nurturing people whose goal is to remove their carbon footprint as best they can.


I cannot stress how important education is without an example from my own observations. In most developing countries such as India or Bangladesh, cooking gas (LPG) is very cheap. Often maids or cooks are hired by people for do their daily chores. Sometimes one household will have 2 or even 3 maids for a relatively well-to-do family because labour is also very cheap. I have observed countless number of times these maids/cooks leave the stove running for hours even if they're not cooking. Such wasteful practice, but it is because they've never been to schools, or even if they have been to one, never really had proper civic/moral education. A proper education will give someone at least a moral obligation to try and not waste energy unnecessarily.

Back to the topic of Green school,  they talk about "educating the whole child," Certainly, getting mud between toes and building a school that looks like summer camp will make many kids appreciate the experience more. 


Is Green School just an idealistic one-off project?? I am convinced that ideas from Green School is transferable because of the major concepts behind it. LEED building principles award points for innovation and the core categories focus on the environmental results rather than the methods used to get there, but nonetheless as green building has gone mainstream. we’ve limited ourselves to a toolbox of best practices and variations on the same themes of renewable energy, water conservation, reuse and other elements. 

The psychological and health effects of this school I image are great, between the organic foods, lack of toxics and access to fresh air and daylight. Lessons taught in the school – organic gardening, taking responsibility, are among the most valuable effects the Green School will have on the future. One question remains in my mind – how were the resources gathered to build this, and how do we secure resources to do this on a large scale? 


Maybe it should be something like this? the new School of the Arts in Singapore

Biofuels Part II - Case Study and Usage

CASE STUDY AND USAGE

 In this section, several cases around the world are studied where biofuel production has been successful and where alternative to petroleum based fuels is in dire need. More importantly, there is emphasis on emerging economic powers of the world such as China, India and Brazil because in the near future these countries will have greatest need for fuels.

 

CASE STUDY 1 - Brazilian Ethanol Programme

Brazil is a leading example of how a successful biofuel programme can help the economy grow as it has a very large national production of bioethanol from sugar cane. For many years, bioethanol has been used in blends with traditional fossil fuels as liquid transportation fuels. In 2005, it was announced that Brazil and USA were the world’s two leading ethanol fuel producers, each producing about 45% of the global supply[i].

It all began after the 1970s fuel crisis for Brazil, as it turned to ethanol to become energy independent thanks to vast amounts of land available for sugarcane plantations. Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol and when blended in with unleaded petrol, it increases the fuels performances and at the same time decreasing harmful emissions[ii]. Vehicles in Brazil do not run on pure petrol anymore. Ever since 1977, it was made compulsory to blend 20% ethanol with petrol which meant E20 category and this required a slight change to the normal petrol engine. Nowadays, the compulsory level has become anywhere between 20% and 25% ethanol which is used in all regular vehicles. The most amazing thing is there are 3 million cars running on 100% hydrated bioethanol and six million vehicles fitted with flex-fuel capability. A major Brazilian car manufacturer came up with full flexible-fuel vehicles which are able to run on any proportion of ethanol and petrol[iii]. The ethanol powered “flex” vehicles are manufactured to tolerate hydrated ethanol which comprises of 95.6% ethanol and 4.4% water[iv].

Figure 4 - Source: Goldemberg J, Coelho S T, Nastari P M and Lucon O 2003 Ethanol learning curve - the Brazilian experience Biomass Bioenergy 26/3 301–4

CASE STUDY 2 – China’s Biofuel initiative

China’s energy sector and economy will face a great problem ahead in the future if they are not able to embrace the biofuel technology quickly. There is an ever increasing demand for oil and power from this largely populated country. Currently China is already one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels worldwide; consuming a total of about 60-70 million tones of fossil fuels every year, about one-third of it being imported[v].

To understand China’s stance on biofuels, we take a look back in history. During World War II, China used to produce diesel fuel, lubricating oils, gasoline and kerosene from Tung and other vegetable oils by cracking process[vi]. After the war, they have reverted back to conventional fossil fuels as well as unconventional fossil fuels such as those derived from coal. In fact majority of the energy provided to households in China is by coal fired power plants even today while majority of transportation fuels are fossil fuels.

Only recently the Chinese government has shown interest in biofuel production by building the largest Bioethanol production in Changchun [Jilian Province] plant with the capacity to produce 600000tons of Bioethanol per year[vii]. Furthermore the Centre for Renewable Energy Development (CRED) in Beijing is working together with Austrian Biofuels Institute and Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) from INCO-programme of the European Union. This study was conducted to find out the different feedstock available in China for Biodiesel production namely rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil and used frying oils[viii]. Two biofuels are being produced and used in China bioethanol from maize and biodiesel from cooking oils and fat residues. A 10% ethanol blend with petrol is already being in 10 provinces in China which has been made mandatory by the government. The government has been enthusiastically promoting biofuels which they see as a solution to their energy security, rural development and pollution problems[ix]. In 2007, China produced 1.6 million tones of bioethanol, the figure below shows how bioethanol production has risen from 2002 to 2007.

Figure 5 - China's Fuel Ethanol production 2002-2007 (x1000tons) Source: 2002 to 2006 NDRC (2008); 2007: Research and Market Biofuels Report (2008)

CASE STUDY 3 – Worldwide Jatropha plantation programme

One of the major problems associated with biofuels is the Food vs. Fuel dilemma especially in the production of 1^st generation biofuels which is discussed further in the next sections. Therefore research was conducted to produce biofuels from non-food crops and particular plant oil was of interest, Jatropha. In fact it was so successful that many countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas had started plantations.

It all started in India when Jatropha Carcus-“Honduras” were carried in by Portuguese sailors a few hundred years ago. They were planted around other valuable plantations as a fence because animals and insects were repelled away from it. Meanwhile, Indian farmers found out that the nut contained oil which they used in their oil lamps. Over the years, these farmers bred the plant to have higher oil content as high as 40-50%. India has always been interested to produce biofuels however it had to come from non-food crops. The Biodiesel produced required certain characteristics for example it had to come from non-food crops and grown in non-prime agricultural land. Jatropha fulfilled these requirements as it is resistant to droughts, requiring minimum use of pesticides and fertilizers. Jatropha plants are very hardy and grow very fast producing seeds for extraction within a few months. The picture below shows how fast the plant grows in a tropical country such as Malaysia.

Figure 6 - Growth of Jatropha in 7 days. "1 Hingga 7 Hari": 1 to 7 days

The success of Jatropha has spread everywhere and major projects are being undertaken in most developing countries such as Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mali, Paraguay and many more.      

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[i] [ii] Paul B., Paul Henry W., Future Energy: How the new oil industry will change people, politics and portfolios, John Wiley and Sons (2007) pp56

[iii] ICIS.COM News Article: Brazil’s flex-fuel car production rises, boosting ethanol consumption to record highs; http://www.icis.com/Articles/2007/11/12/9077311/brazils-flex-fuel-car-production-rises-boosting-ethanol-consumption-to-record-highs.html

[iv] Goettemoeller, Jeffrey; Adrian Goettemoeller (2007), Sustainable Ethanol: Biofuels, Biorefineries, Cellulosic Biomass, Flex-Fuel Vehicles, and Sustainable Farming for Energy Independence, Praire Oak Publishing, Maryville, Missouri, pp. 42, ISBN 978-0-9786293-0-4

[v], [vi], [vii], [viii], Knothe G, Jon Harlan Van Gerpen, Krahl J (2005) The Biodiesel handbook, AOCS Press, University of Michigan USA pp 206

[ix] Biofuels – At What Cost? Government support for ethanol and biodiesel in China (Nov 2008), Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute of Sustainable Development. http://www.globalsubsidies.org/en/research/biofuel-subsidies-china

Follow up with this four part series on BIOFUELS by clicking the link below:
Part I, Part II , Part III, Part IV