Scientists unveil mechanical gas capture and storage technique based on nanovalves

A team of Canadian chemists has unveiled an innovative process for capturing and storing gases based on nano-scale molecular valves, with potential applications in biogas and hydrogen, as well as in managing greenhouse gases in industrial operations. The invention is described in a paper published in the current online version of Nature Materials.

This is a proof of concept that represents an entirely new way of storing gas, not just improving on a method that already exists. We have come up with a material that mechanically traps gas at high densities without having to use high pressures, which require special storage tanks and generate safety concerns. - George Shimizu, professor of Chemistry at University of Calgary

The "molecular nanovalves" are based on the orderly crystal structure of a barium organotrisulfonate. The researchers developed a unique solid structure with this material that is able to convert from a series of open channels to a collection of air-tight chambers. The transition happens quickly and is controlled simply by heating the material to close the nanovalves, then adding water to the substance to re-open them and release the trapped gas.

Metal–organic frameworks have demonstrated functionality stemming from both robustness and pliancy and as such, offer promise for a broad range of new materials. The flexible aspect of some of these solids is intriguing for so-called 'smart' materials in that they could structurally respond to an external stimulus.

It is on the basis of such a stimulus-responsive framework that the gas capture device was developed: an open-channel metal–organic framework that, on dehydration, shifts structure to form closed pores in the solid. This occurs through multiple single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations such that snapshots of the mechanism of solid-state conversion can be obtained.
Notably, the gas composing the atmosphere during dehydration becomes trapped in the closed pores. On rehydration, the pores open to release the trapped gas. For this reason, the new material represents a thermally robust and porous material that is capable of dynamically capturing and releasing gas in a controlled manner:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biogas :: biohydrogen :: gas capture :: gas storage :: greenhouse gas ::

The researchers from the University of Calgary and the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (National Research Council of Canada) say it represents a novel method of gas storage that could yield benefits for capturing, storing and transporting a range of important gases more safely and efficiently.

The paper includes video footage of the process taking place under a microscope, showing gas bubbles escaping from the crystals with the introduction of water.

The process is highly controllable and because we're not breaking any strong chemical bonds, the material is completely recyclable and can be used indefinitely. - Shimizu

The team intends to continue developing the nanovalve concept by trying to create similar structures using lighter chemicals such as sodium and lithium and structures that are capable of capturing the lightest and smallest of all gases - hydrogen and helium.

These materials could help push forward the development of hydrogen fuel cells and the creation of filters to catch and store gases like CO2 or hydrogen sulfide from industrial operations, says co-author David Cramb.

Capturing and storing (or transforming) greenhouse gases from industrial operations is becoming increasingly important for a transition towards a future low-carbon world. For biofuels in particular, capturing CO2 from the production process is important to improve the greenhouse gas balance of the fuel. The new gas capture technique also has potential applications in capturing and storing biomethane, a fuel obtained from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste.

References:
Brett D. Chandler, Gary D. Enright, Konstantin A. Udachin, Shane Pawsey, John A. Ripmeester, David T. Cramb & George K. H. Shimizu, "Mechanical gas capture and release in a network solid via multiple single-crystalline transformations", Nature Materials, advance online publication Published online: 20 January 2008, doi:10.1038/nmat2101.

University of Calgary: Rounding up gases, nano style - February 1, 2008.

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TU Delft launches bionanoscience initiative

The Technical University of Delft, in the Netherlands, announces it is creating a new Bionanoscience department. Bionanotech concerns research at the meeting point of biology and nanotechnology and is as yet largely unexplored. It is expected to become one of the key scientific fields of the 21st century with potential applications in medicine, industrial biotechnology, biofuels, agriculture and many other fiels. Over the next decade, TU Delft is set to invest €10 million derived from strategic assets in the new Bionanoscience department, which will form part of the university’s Kavli Institute of Nanoscience. Last week, the Kavli Foundation also agreed to help support the initiative financially by donating US$5 million.

Bionanoscience is the discipline where biology and nanoscience meet. The molecular building blocks of living cells are the focus of bionanoscience. The nanotechnology toolkit enables the precise depiction, study and control of biological molecules. This creates new insights into the fundamental workings of living cells. Furthermore, it is increasingly possible to use the elements of the cell, to the extent that – in a new disruptive field like synthetic biology – gene regulation systems, artificial biomolecules and nanoparticles can be developed and applied within the cells.

The incorporation of new biological building blocks in cells is highly promising for applications in, for instance, medical science and industrial biotechnology. This link to synthetic biology makes bionanoscience highly relevant in the quest to design dedicated bioconversion organisms for the efficient production of bioproducts and biofuels (more here).

Science at the interface of nanotechnology and biotechnology is also seen as having a wide range of potential applications in agriculture and bioconversion: from nanoprocessing biomass for cellulosic ethanol, to the development of nano-catalysts and nano-channels for plant oil based fuels; from cellulose nano-crystals and fibre-enhanced bioplastics, to the design of micro-dosing technologies for nutrients, fertilisers and pesticides, to intelligent nano-bio-sensors and environmental sensors that improve agriculture and make it more sustainable (previous post).

TU Delft's Faculty of Applied Sciences’ new Bionanoscience department will explore the full spectrum from nanoscience to cell biology to synthetic biology, and as such will naturally and strategically complement the activities of the existing Nanoscience and Biotechnology departments.

Investment in biologically oriented fundamental research and its potential applications is of great strategic importance to TU Delft:
sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: bioconversion :: synthetic biology :: biotechnology :: nanotechnology :: nanobiotech :: bionanoscience ::

This research field is new and has a bright future, and the research into individual cells is at the cutting edge of science and technology. Cell biology is becoming increasingly an engineering discipline: the traditional approach of the biologist is rapidly changing into that of the engineer. This is the motivation behind TU Delft’s strategic decision to add bionanoscience to its research portfolio and by doing so enhance its international position and profile.

In addition to TU Delft’s €10m contribution, last week the Kavli Foundation also decided that it is willing to donate US$5m to the bionanoscience initiative. The new department will work closely with the Nanoscience and Biotechnology departments and will ultimately be the same size as the existing departments in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. To this end, the next few years will see an intensive recruitment drive to attract about 15 top scientists to the department.

Initial steps have already been taken towards creating structural European cooperation: the prestigious European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg has indicated its willingness to work together with TU Delft bionanoscientists. EMBL is a major potential partner, in particular in view of the EMBL’s expertise in the field of molecular cell biology. Further discussions on cooperation will be held with representatives from EMBL during a Kavli-EMBL workshop in Delft on 12 and 13 February.

References:
AlphaGalileo: TU Delft launches bionanoscience initiative - February 1, 2008.

Biopact: A quick look at nanotechnology in agriculture, food and bioenergy - December 13, 2006

Biopact: Scientists create first synthetic bacterial genome - importance for biofuels - January 25, 2008

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A380 test flight on GTL fuel kicks off Airbus alternative fuel program - includes biofuels

EADS today announced that an Airbus A380 aircraft has successfully completed the world’s first ever flight by a commercial aircraft using a liquid fuel processed from gas (Gas-to-Liquids - GTL). The flight from Filton, UK to Toulouse, France, lasted three hours. This test in the first stage of a programme to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative fuels in the airline market, which includes research into Biomass-to-Liquids fuels (BTL - synthetic biofuels).

The A380, today’s most fuel efficient airliner, is powered by Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. Shell International Petroleum provided the Shell GTL Jet Fuel. The tests are running in parallel to the agreement signed in November 2007 with the Qatar GTL consortium partners and the results will be shared.

The A380 was chosen because the aircraft is already the environmental benchmark in air travel. It has four engines including segregated fuel tanks making it ideal for engine shut down and re-light tests under standard evaluation conditions. During the flight, engine number one was fed with a blend of GTL and jet fuel whilst the remaining three were fed with standard jet fuel.

This test flight initiates Airbus’ alternatives fuels research programme. GTL could be available at certain locations to make it a practical and viable drop-in alternative fuel for commercial aviation in the short term. GTL has attractive characteristics for local air quality, as well as some benefits in terms of aircraft fuel burn relative to existing jet fuel. For instance, it is virtually free of sulphur. Synthetic fuel can be made from a range of hydrocarbon source material including natural gas or biomass, via the Fischer-Tropsch process.

Testing GTL today will support future second generation biofuels, but which are not presently available in sufficient commercial quantities. Airbus says it will study viable second generation biofuels when they become available:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: synthetic biofuel :: biomass-to-liquids :: gas-to-liquids :: aviation :: Airbus ::

Fuel and environment are key challenges aviation is facing and for which technology and international research collaboration open up new horizons. Our alternative fuels roadmap requires innovation, diversity of ideas and options that need to be explored. This takes bold cross industry and cross border collaboration and that's what we are showing today with our groundbreaking first test flight with alternative fuels. It is part and parcel of Airbus' commitment to providing leadership as an eco-efficient enterprise. - Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO

Airbus's trial comes at a time when Virgin Atlantic is expected to test the world's first large civilian aircraft on biofuel. It announced the test flight will take place this month. The aircraft will be a Boeing 747. Virgin has not disclosed which biofuel it will be utilizing on that historic occasion.

With Airbus' test flight today and its announcement that it too will research next-generation biofuels, all major aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and others) now have initiated programs to research renewable biofuels for aviation.

In December, the United States Air Force conducted the first ever transcontinental flight of a large aircraft - a C17 - on a synthetic fuel. The flight followed successful tests of the fuel blend in C-17 engines in October, and was the next step in the Air Force's effort to have its entire C-17 fleet certified to use the mixture. Air Force officials certified B-52 Stratotankers to use the mixture in August, and hope to certify the fuel blend for use in all its aircraft within the next five years (previous post).

References:
EADS: Airbus Completes First Test Flight With Alternative Fuel On Civil Aircraft - February 1, 2008.

EADS: Airbus A380 Commences Alternative Fuel Test Flight Programme - February 1, 2008.

Biopact: USAF C-17 makes first ever transcontinental flight on synthetic fuel blend - December 18, 2007

Biopact: Virgin Atlantic to test biofuel in 747 in early 2008 - October 16, 2007

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British Columbia launches Bioenergy Strategy: electricity self sufficiency with biomass, zero GHG emissions from power, 50% biofuels by 2020

British Columbia's govrnment announced the launch of the province's comprehensive Bioenergy Strategy [*.pdf]. The framework aims to make the Canadian province entirely electricity self-sufficient by 2016 by relying on biomass. The emphasis on bioenergy will also lead to meeting the target of achieving zero new emissions from energy generation projects. Moreover, bioenergy and biofuels are to make up 50 per cent of all renewable fuels in the province by 2020.

The plan covers investments over the coming decennium into the broadest range of bioenergy sectors: bio-electricity, bioproducts, organic waste-to-energy, next-generation liquid biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and gasification based biofuels, biohydrogen and biogas (timeline, click to enlarge).

According to the government, the Bioenergy Strategy will create new opportunities for rural communities; spur new investment and innovation; help British Columbia reach the goal of achieving full energy security, and help it fight climate change in a drastic way.

The BC Bioenergy Strategy includes:

• Establishment of $25 million in funding for a provincial Bioenergy Network for greater investment and innovation in B.C. bioenergy projects and technologies
• A target for B.C biofuel production to meet 50 per cent or more of the province’s renewable fuel requirements by 2020, which supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation
• The establishment of funding to advance provincial biodiesel production with up to $10 million over three years
• Development of at least 10 community energy projects that convert local biomass into energy by 2020
• Issuing a two-part Bioenergy Call for Power – the first part will be issued shortly, the second part by July 1, 2008 – focusing on existing biomass inventory in the forest industry and offering opportunities for smaller energy producers with projects that are immediately viable
• Establishment one of Canada’s most comprehensive provincial biomass inventories that creates waste to energy opportunities
• Support for methane capture from the province's largest landfills
• Incentives to utilize waste wood from phased-out beehive burners to produce clean energy
• Support for wood gasification research, development and commercialization

The plan further aims to develop the province’s bioenergy resources to enhance both the environmental and economic benefits for its people by collaborating with the Western Climate Initiative and the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, creating First Nations bioenergy opportunities and providing energy providers with information to develop new opportunities.

The proposed Bioenergy Network will:

• Support wood gasification research, development and commercialization in collaboration with the University of Northern British Columbia, University of British Columbia, Forest Products Innovation, the National Research Council, the forestry and energy sectors, industry and other partners.
• Advance biorefining for multiple, value-added product streams, such as biochemicals, in conjunction with bioenergy production in new facilities and/or at existing industrial operations by working with the BC Bioproducts Association, First Nations, agricultural and forest sectors.
• Encourage the development of pilot and demonstration projects with industries and communities in key biomass resource areas.
• Support research into socially and environmentally responsible dedicated energy crop production and enhance enzymatic and other biotechnology solutions for biomass-to-energy conversion.
• Advance the development of biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and renewable diesel from algae and other resources, through the Green Energy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Technologies Project and other initiatives.

energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biohydrogen :: biogas :: bio-electricity :: bioproducts :: renewable :: emissions :: British Columbia :: Canada ::

The network will strengthen the development of world-class bioenergy research and technology expertise in British Columbia. This will include the creation of at least one academic leadership chair in bioenergy.

There is an abundance of bioenergy opportunities, such as using biomass created out of the mountain pine beetle outbreak that can stimulate investment and economic diversification while producing clean energy. - Gordon Campbell, British Columbia's Premier

B.C. has half of Canada’s entire biomass electricity-generating capacity. This strategy helps forest-dependent communities and brings opportunity to the agriculture sector as it looks at recovering maximum value from beetle-killed timber, wood wastes, and agricultural residues to generate renewable energy. - Rich Coleman, Forests and Range Minister

Additionally, the bioenergy strategy will help facilitate the closure of beehive burners and divert the waste stream for energy production, increase production and utilization of biofuels including biodiesel and facilitate production of anaerobic digestion bioenergy to address waste anagement
challenges posed by the agricultural industry. The Province will also work with industry to develop new fine particulate standards for industrial boilers to improve air quality.

B.C. leads Canada in energy production from biomass. Over 800 megawatts of biomass electricity capacity is installed in the province, enough to power 640,000 households. Pulp and paper mills meet over a third of their electricity needs through cogeneration of electricity and steam on site. In 2007, the B.C. wood pellet industry produced over 900,000 tonnes of wood pellets, of which 90 per cent was exported for thermal power production overseas.

Encouraging the emerging bioenergy industry and developing new and innovative uses for beetle-wood is part of the provincial Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan.

References:
British Columbia, Office of the Premier, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Forests and Range: New Bioenergy Strategy Advances Innovation - January 31, 2008.

British Columbia Energy Plan: British Columbia Bioenergy Strategy [*.pdf].

British Columbia Energy Plan: Bioenergy Information Guide [*.pdf].

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Welcome to the Anthropocene?

An international team of geologists is proposing that since the Industrial Revolution humankind has so changed the earth that it has brought about an end to one epoch of earth’s history and marked the start of another. They believe that human dominance has so physically altered the earth itself that the Holocene epoch has ended and we have entered a new epoch - the Anthropocene.

In the open access article "Are we now living in the Anthropocene?", published in the journal GSA Today, the scientists examined phenomena such as changes in the patterns of sediment erosion and deposition, major disturbances to the carbon cycle and global temperature, ocean acidification and wholesale changes to the world’s plants and animals.

Human activity has become the number one driver of most of the major changes in Earth's topography and climate. You can’t have 6.5 billion people living on a planet the size of ours and exploiting every possible resource without creating huge changes in the physical, chemical and biological environment which will be reflected dramatically in our geological record of the planet. - Dr Andrew Gale, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth

The Holocene epoch the researchers think is now ending, is a geological period which began approximately 11,550 years ago. It is part of the Neogene and Quaternary periods and can be considered as an interglacial in the current ice age. In 2002, Paul Crutzen, a Nobel Prize–winning chemist, however suggested that we had left the Holocene and had entered a new Epoch — the Anthropocene — because of the global environmental effects of increased human population and economic development.

Members of the Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London now amplify and extend the discussion of the effects referred to by Crutzen and then apply the same criteria used to set up new epochs to ask whether there really is justification or need for a new term, and if so, where and how its boundary might be placed. In their paper, the scientists present the scholarly groundwork for consideration by the International Commission on Stratigraphy for formal adoption of the Anthropocene as the youngest epoch of, and most recent addition to, the earth's geological timescale.

Human influence altering the Holocene
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the global human population was some 300 million at A.D. 1000, 500 million at A.D. 1500, and 790 million by A.D. 1750 and exploitation of energy was limited mostly to firewood and muscle power. Early to mid-Holocene increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide ranged from 260 to 280 ppm, a factor in the climatic warmth of this interval, the result of forest clearance by humans. Human activity was not absent in the creation of Holocene strate, but it did not create new, global environmental conditions that could translate into a fundamentally different stratigraphic signal.

In contrast, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the present day, global human population has climbed rapidly from under a billion to its current 6.5 billion (Fig. 1, click to enlarge), and it continues to rise. The exploitation of coal, oil, and gas in particular has enabled planet-wide industrialization, construction, and mass transport, the ensuing changes encompassing a wide variety of phenomena, which can be summarised under the following headings:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: agriculture :: biodiversity :: climate change :: fossil fuels :: population :: geology :: Holocene :: Anthropocene ::

Changes to Physical Sedimentation
Humans have caused a dramatic increase in erosion and the denudation of the continents, both directly, through agriculture and construction, and indirectly, by damming most major rivers, that now exceeds natural sediment production by an order of magnitude.

Carbon Cycle Perturbation and Temperature
Carbon dioxide levels (379 ppm in 2005) are over a third higher than in pre-industrial times and at any time in the past 0.9 million years. Conservatively, these levels are predicted to double by the end of the twenty-first century. Methane concentrations in the atmosphere have already roughly doubled. These changes have been considerably more rapid than those associated with glacial-interglacial transitions. Global temperature has lagged behind this increase in greenhouse gas levels, but temperatures in the past century rose overall, with the rate of increase accelerating in the past two decades. Temperature is predicted to rise by 1.1 °C to 6.4 °C by the end of this century, leading to global temperatures not encountered since the Tertiary.

Biotic Change
Humans have caused extinctions of animal and plant species, possibly as early as the late Pleistocene, with the disappearance of a large proportion of the terrestrial megafauna. Accelerated extinctions and biotic population declines on land have spread into the shallow seas, notably on coral reefs. The current rate of biotic change may produce a major extinction event. The projected temperature rise will certainly cause changes in habitat beyond environmental tolerance for many taxa.

The effects of these temperature changes will be more severe than in past extinction waves because, with the anthropogenic fragmentation of natural ecosystems, “escape” routes are fewer.

The combination of extinctions, global species migrations, and the widespread replacement of natural vegetation with agricultural monocultures is producing a distinctive contemporary biostratigraphic signal. These effects are permanent, as future evolution will take place from surviving (and frequently anthropogenically relocated) stocks. - Jan Zalasiewicz, et. al.

Sea-level change
Pre-industrial mid- to late Holocene sea-level stability has followed a 120m rise from the late Pleistocene level. Slight rises in sea level have been noted over the past century, ascribed to a combination of ice melt and thermal expansion of the oceans. The rate and extent of near-future sealevel rise depends on a range of factors that affect snow production and ice melt. In its latest report, the IPCC predicted a 0.19–0.58 m rise by 2100.

This prediction however does not factor in recent evidence of dynamic ice-sheet behavior and accelerating ice loss possibly analogous to those preceding “Heinrich events” of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, when repeated episodes of ice-sheet collapse caused concomitant rapid sea-level rise. Current predictions are short-term, while changes to the final equilibrium state may be as large as a 10–30 m sea-level rise per 1 °C temperature rise.

Ocean acidification
Relative to pre-Industrial Revolution oceans, surface ocean waters are now 0.1 pH units more acidic due to anthropogenic carbon release. The future amount of this acidification, scaled to projected future carbon emissions, its spread through the ocean water column, and its eventual neutralization (over many millennia) has been modeled: projected effects will be physical (neutralization of the excess acid by dissolution of ocean-floor carbonate sediment, hence creating a widespread non sequence) and biological (hindering carbonate-secreting organisms in building their skeletons), with potentially severe effects in both benthic (especially coral reef) and planktonic settings.

The sensitivity of climate to greenhouse gases, and the scale of (historically) modern biotic change, makes it likely that we have entered a stratigraphic interval without close parallel in any previous Quaternary interglacial. - Jan Zalasiewicz, et. al.

The scientists conclude that the Anthropocene might evolve into a “super-interglacial” , with Earth reverting to climates and sea levels last seen in warmer phases of the Miocene or Pliocene, most likely achieved via a geologically abrupt rearrangement of the ocean-atmosphere system. Such a warm phase will likely last considerably longer than normal Quaternary interglacials. It is not clear that an equilibrium comparable to that of pre-industrial Quaternary time will eventually resume, they write.

Figure: Comparison of some major stratigraphically significant trends over the past 15,000 yr. Trends typical of the bulk of immediately pre-Holocene and Holocene time are compared with those of the past two centuries. Credit: Zalasiewicz J, et al., GSA Today.

References:
Zalasiewicz J, Williams M, Smith A, Barry TL, Coe AL, et al. (2008), "Are we now living in the Anthropocene", GSA Today: Vol. 18, No. 2 pp. 4–8

AlphaGalileo: Man's impact on the planet brings about new epoch in earth's history - January 31, 2008.

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Study: biofuels industry added 10% to Iowa's GDP in 2007

A study prepared for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) details the dramatic impact the growing renewable fuels industry has on Iowa’s economy. Biodiesel and ethanol production and the construction of new biorefineries proves to be a major force in driving Iowa’s economy forward, especially in rural communities. The sector added as much as 10% to Iowa's GDP in 2007. The report titled "Contribution of the Biofuels Industry to the Economy of Iowa" [*.pdf], was prepared by economist John Urbanchuk, a director with LECG, LLC.

Its main findings are that the sector has added substantial value to agricultural commodities produced in Iowa, has brough a large number of jobs, and has made a significant contribution to the state's economy. Based on the size of the biofuels industry at year-end 2007, ethanol and biodiesel:

• Added $12.7 billion, or about 10 percent, to Iowa GDP
• Generate $2.9 billion of household income for Iowa households
• Supported the creation or retention of more than 96,000 jobs through the entire Iowa economy
• Generated nearly $790 million in state tax revenue

Details are outlined in table 1 (click to enlarge).

Critics will say that these dramatic benefits are only possible because the sector is heavily subsidised (previous post). Moreover, it is unclear how heavy the indirect social and environmental costs of the mainly corn-based ethanol industry in Iowa are: the international effect of increased food prices, especially on the urban poor in maize importing countries, must be taken into account.

What is more, the potential local environmental costs - such as water depletion, nitrogen runoff, etc - as well as the effects of the complex "displacement effect" should not be underestimated. This displacement effect, which consists of indirect land-use changes, seems to be playing out in Brazil, where deforestation recently shot up in a rush to produce more soybeans as the U.S. shifts land from soy to corn (previous post). However, these effects are difficult to measure or to establish with certainty.

Nonetheless, the IRFA sees the numbers as proof of the fact that the biofuels industry is capable of bringing major local social and economic benefits:

Corn and soybean prices are up. Land values are up. Household income is up. State tax revenue is up. The common denominator is renewable fuels. John Urbanchuk’s report paints a dramatic picture of the far-reaching positive impacts of producing biodiesel and ethanol in Iowa. But the best news is that we’re just getting started. The new 36-billon gallon federal renewable fuels standard will drive the industry forward and Iowa will remain front and center. - Monte Shaw, IRFA Executive Director

Nationally, total ethanol capacity expanded 37 percent to 7.5 billion gallons. Iowa is the largest biofuels producer accounting for 31 percent of U.S. ethanol and 20 percent of biodiesel production capacity. At the end of 2007 Iowa’s 28 operating ethanol plants had operating capacity of more than 2 billion gallons and its 14 biodiesel plants had 318 million gallons of capacity. In addition, three ethanol plants are expanding production and 14 new ethanol plants and two new biodiesel plants are under construction. When completed, these new plants will increase Iowa’s biofuel production capacity by nearly 70 percent:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: corn :: soy :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biorefinery :: economics :: employment :: Iowa ::

With its new Energy Bill, the United States has set itself on a track to become a major biofuels producer that will ensure 20% of all transport fuel consumption comes from renewable, bio-based fuels by 2022.

Under the bill, the Renewable Fuels Standard increases to 36 billion gallons (136 billion liters) by 2022, roughly the equivalent of between 1.8 and 2 million barrels of oil per day. Of that amount, corn ethanol production is capped at 15 billion gallons per year starting in 2015 (56.8 billion liters), a three-fold increase of current production levels; the remainder is expected to be provided by 'advanced biofuels', the majority of which are cellulosic biofuels. In the final year of the standard (2022), cellulosic biofuels should contribute more (16 billion gallons) than does corn ethanol (15 billion gallons) (previous post).

In an earlier report, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that the biofuels industry in the U.S. has brought farm income to all-time record highs. The USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) showed in its annual Agricultural Income and Finance Outlook, that net farm income reached $87.5 billion in 2007, up $28.5 billion from 2006 and exceeding the 2004 record (more here).

References:
John M. Urbanchuk, Contribution of the Biofuels Industry to the Economy of Iowa [*.pdf], report prepared for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, LECG LLC, January 2008.

IRFA: Renewable Fuels Power Iowa Economy ) New Study Outlines Dramatic Increases in Job Creation and Household Income as Renewable Fuels Industry Grows - January 31, 2008.

Biopact: US becomes biofuel nation as Congress approves Energy Bill - December 19, 2007

Biopact: Scientist: U.S. corn subsidies drive deforestation in the Amazon - January 04, 2008

Biopact: Subsidies for uncompetitive U.S. biofuels cost taxpayers billions - report -
October 26, 2006

Biopact: USDA: Biofuels lead to all-time record farm income in the United States - December 17, 2007

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Oxford Catalysts announces expansion of catalyst research capacity: towards ultra-clean synthetic biofuels

New catalysts could hold the key to developing cleaner and greener synthetic (bio)fuels. As part of its mission to produce such fuels, Oxford Catalysts announces it is expanding its laboratory facilities and investing in additional analytical equipment to speed up the development of new catalysts, including new Fischer Tropsch (FT) and hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) catalysts. These types of catalyst play an important role in processes such as gas-to-liquids (GTL) and coal-to-liquids (CTL) which are used to convert feedstocks such as natural gas and coal into liquid fuels. FT catalysts are also important in the emerging field of biomass-to-liquids (BTL) which yields ultra-clean synthetic biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass.

Developing new catalysts can be a time consuming process, and each catalyst has to be custom-made for a particular application to suit a customer's requirements. Having this expanded lab facility will allow us to carry out the necessary testing to provide our customers with the essential information they need about a catalyst more quickly. It will also help us to develop further new and innovative catalysts at a rate that will allow us to meet demand for new applications within the clean fuels area as they continue to arise. - Derek Atkinson, Business Development Director, Oxford Catalysts

The expansion, due to begin at the end of January 2008, will involve a total investment of over £1 (€1.34/$1.98) million, and will more than double the floor space of the existing laboratory facilities. As part of the project, Oxford Catalysts has already purchased two Amtec Spider16 high throughput screening gas phase reactor systems. These are due to be brought into operation in March and April 2008. To supplement the rigs it already owns, it also plans to purchase three additional rigs, including a small scale Fischer-Tropsch (FT) rig, a reforming test rig, and a hydro-desulphurisation test rig, along with associated analytical and catalyst preparation equipment:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: gasification :: Fischer-Tropsch :: synthetic biofuels :: catalysts ::

In addition, Oxford Catalysts will be taking on the necessary technicians and catalyst preparation chemists needed to support the new equipment, as well as employing additional senior technology managers. In all, scientific staff numbers are expected to rise from the current 15 to around 23. The expansion is expected to be completed by July 2008. In the meantime, Oxford Catalysts will be posting regular progress updates on its website.

Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels are based on a reaction that is the key step in the process of converting natural gas (mainly methane), coal or biomass into virtually sulphur-free liquid fuels, such as gasoline or diesel. It uses hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide – known as syngas – to make waxes which are then split into liquid fuels. Oxford Catalysts' FT catalysts are carbide-based.

Trials at the University of Oxford showed that in comparison with the leading industrial catalysts, the FT carbide catalysts had a greater cost effectiveness, double the productivity on a weight-for-weight basis, higher quality output, a tolerance to higher levels of water and carbon dioxide, making them particularly well-suited to CTL and BTL, where such contaminants are typically found.

Oxford Catalysts produces specialty catalysts for the generation of clean fuels, from both conventional fossil fuels and renewable sources such as biomass. Core products include catalysts for the following markets: petro/chemicals: removing sulphur from gasoline/diesel and converting natural gas or coal into ultra-clean liquid fuels; fuel Cells: generating hydrogen-on-demand from methanol starting at room temperature or from conventional hydrocarbon fuels by reforming at higher temperatures; biogas Conversion: transforming waste methane into the chemical building blocks of liquid fuels; portable steam: creating superheated steam instantaneously from methanol and hydrogen peroxide.

References:
AlphaGalileo: Stepping on the gas: accelerating catalyst development for cleaner fuels - January 30, 2008.

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Scientists outline novel approach to ecosystem management: beyond imagined 'pristine' biomes

Traditional ecosystems in which communities of plants and animals have co-evolved and are interdependent are increasingly rare, due to human-induced ecosystem changes. As a result, historical assessments of ecosystem health are often inaccurate. Conservation and restoration efforts and public perceptions about "pristine" biomes based on these inaccuracies could lead to misguided ecosystem management practises. A novel approach must therefor be developed, says a team of scientists who present such a new vision in a paper posted this week on Frontiers e-View, the online prepress publication site of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, published by the Ecological Society of America.

The researchers suggest that such efforts should focus less on restoring ecosystems to their imagined "original state" and more on sustaining new, healthy ecosystems that can cope with current environmental change. Their work is congruent with that of a growing group of environmental researchers who say traditional ecology pays too much attention to increasingly rare "pristine" ecosystems while ignoring the overwhelming influence of humans on the environment. New environmental science therefor tends to look at ecosystems as "anthropogenic biomes" instead (previous post).

Timothy R. Seastedt (University of Colorado at Boulder), Richard J. Hobbs (Murdoch University in Australia) and Katharine N. Suding (University of California at Irvine) looked at ecosystem management studies from the past 12 years to develop a new approach to managing ecosystems in the face of increasing human impacts.

The focus of ecological study should not simply recognize change, but should acknowledge that current systems have already been transformed and are in the process of transforming further. - Seastedt et al.

Historically, ecosystems have passed through discrete stages over time, based on a cycle of predictable disturbances. The authors define this variation as the historical range of variability for a particular geographic area. Many human factors contribute to moving an ecosystem away from its historical range of variability, including the composition of gases in the atmosphere, climate change, invasions of non-native species, extinctions and land fragmentation effects.

In the modern era, human activities augment and promote these disturbances, affecting ecosystems more rapidly and with a broader scope than traditional disturbances. Major permanent ecosystem changes are therefore much more likely. Environmental changes of this magnitude often produce "novel ecosystems", combinations of animals, plants and environmental regimes that have never occurred before.

Most ecosystems are now sufficiently altered in structure and function to qualify as novel systems, and this recognition should be the starting point for ecosystem management efforts. Under the emerging biogeochemical configurations, management activities are experiments, blurring the line between basic and applied research. - Seastedt et al.

As the authors point out, "In managing novel ecosystems, the point is not to think outside the box, but to recognize that the box itself has moved, and in the 21st Century, will continue to move increasingly rapidly."

Problems with traditional ecology
Management experts traditionally looked at so-called "pristine" systems when devising management strategies for novel ecosystems, the goal being to restore ecosystems to their presumed historical state. However, the authors of this paper see two problems with this approach. First, such untouched ecosystems are rare if not completely absent from our planet, and therefore cannot be used for comparison:
energy :: sustainability ::biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: nature :: culture :: ecosystems :: biomes :: conservation :: imagination :: ecology :: ecosystem management :: environmental change :: anthropocene ::

Second, current management practices often try to fix past mistakes by focusing on one aspect of an ecosystem, such as eradicating invasive species. The authors point out, however, that in many cases this approach results solely in the removal of a negative factor and does nothing to improve the health of the ecosystem. For example, once an invasive plant species is removed, if no further action is taken, there is plenty of room for other invasive species to colonize the area.

The solution, according to the authors, involves acknowledging the current level of change in an ecosystem and using innovative approaches to ensure that the novel ecosystem is resilient to further change. As an example, the authors cite a rare tall-grass ecosystem in which selective grazing by cows can be an effective replacement for seasonal fires that are actively suppressed due to the proximity to a highway.

Currently, however, enthusiasm and funding are in short supply for these types of management efforts, since policy makers and the public tend to demand short-term results rather than looking at the longer term benefits. The researchers conclude that ecologists should assume the role of liaison between lawmakers and managers:

Scientists provide an appropriate interface between stakeholders and managers. Awareness among stakeholders, policy makers, and managers of the realities of current and future ecosystem changes is essential to generate management strategies that have positive rather than neutral or negative outcomes. - Seasteadt et al.

The Ecological Society of America is the world's largest professional organization of ecologists, representing 10,000 scientists in the United States and around the globe. Since its founding in 1915, ESA has promoted the responsible application of ecological principles to the solution of environmental problems through ESA reports, journals, research, and expert testimony to Congress.

Picture: restored tallgrass prairie in the U.S. Scientists urge ecosystem managers to go beyond imagined "pristine" conditions and instead make existing systems integrate with change and more resilient to it. Credit: Tallgrass Prairie Center.

References:
Timothy R Seastedt, Richard J Hobbs, and Katharine N Suding, "Management of novel ecosystems: are novel approaches required?", Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Volume preprint, Issue 2008 (January 2008) pp. 0000–0000, DOI: 10.1890/070046

Eurekalert: Scientists outline novel approach to ecosystem management - January 31, 2008.

Biopact: Environmental researchers propose radical 'human-centric' map of the world - November 26, 2007

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India lauches first biofuels and bioenergy science centre at University of Mumbai to develop advanced fuels

India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) at the Ministry of Science & Technology has funded [*.doc] the establishment of the country's first Centre of Energy Biosciences (CEB). The CEB, which is funded at Rs24 crore (€4.1/$6.1 million) and aims to raise an additional Rs16 crore (€2.7/$4 million), has received the specific task of developing cutting-edge biofuels, bioenergy and biohydrogen technologies capable of converting lignocellulosic biomass into transportation fuels. The centre will aim to develop bio-based renewables in order to reduce India’s rising dependence on petroleum fuels and to cut down emissions of greenhouse gases.

The Centre of Energy Biosciences will establish advanced pilot biofuel plants and create research partnerships with leading biotechnology, industry and academic organisations from India, the United States and other countries. Plant biotechnology, enzyme technology, metabolic engineering, and life cycle and technology assessments are focus areas. The CEB is to be established at the University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT), the University of Mumbai's leading scientific institution.

The problem
Liquid petroleum fuel demand makes up more than 30% of India's total energy consumption of which petrol and diesel consumption together add up to about 65 million tons per year.

According to the UICT, a good part of this demand can be met through biomass resources. Primarily an agricultural economy, India produces about 200 million tons of waste biomass per year unfit for animal and human consumption. This lignocellulosic waste biomass, coupled with specially developed high yield energy crops that can be grown on India’s 30 million hectares of waste but marginally cultivable land, can together yield enough alcohol to meet country’s liquid fuel demand.

However, technologies that can be used to make the required alcohol fuels from waste biomass in an economically and ecologically sustainable manner are still under development. The DBT-UICT Centre of Energy Biosciences has therefor been given the specific responsibility of developing new cutting edge technologies and to integrating technology components developed elsewhere in the country under various research schemes, all with the aim of providing liquid biofuel for the country.

Lignocellulosic waste biomass can become the truly renewable source of bioethanol intended to be next generation liquid fuel. But the technology available today is only in pieces. We will set up a pilot scale plant incorporating all components of the technology to bring down cost capital as well cost of production. - Professor G D Yadav, co-director Centre of Energy Biosciences

Research partnerships
The technical program of the CEB is to be coordinated by Dr. Arvind Lali and will involve active scientific collaboration with industrial and academic partners. While the UICT will be involved in design, scale-up and in bringing all technologies together, India's MAHYCO Research Centre will assist in the development of new biomass and crop varieties; Novozymes South Asia Pvt. Ltd. India will help in enzyme development; the School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, USA and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Centre for Resilience, Ohio State University, USA, will assist with bioconversion of sugars into fuels and is to provide mathematical modelling tools for it. Another bioconversion partner is Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biobutanol :: biohydrogen :: cellulose :: science and technology :: energy security :: oil :: bioeconomy :: India ::

These collaborations will be in the specific areas of plant biotechnology, enzyme technology, metabolic engineering, and life cycle and technology assessment. Focus of the research and technology development program at the CEB will be on creating a vibrant bioscience and bioengineering platform for developing and demonstrating viable technologies for bio-alcohols, biodiesel, biohydrogen and other biofuels production.

The UICT has a proven track record of productive association with chemical and biotech industry and with many novel concepts currently under development it is confident of making significant contributions in the area of biofuel technologies in a short time. As a result of the Centre being established and valuable IPR being generated, UICT also expects to garner increasing participation from both private and public investors in its biofuel technology development program in the near future.

Part of the Centre's task is to support the development of India's own bio-based knowledge economy by keeping local science, research and development inside the country:

Unless technology and knowledge is generated by a particular country, the industry and wealth generated is not economical for that country. Our students should take up our own problems. This is what is meant by knowledge economy. - Professor J. B. Joshi, UICT Director

The CEB emerged as a result of the vision and efforts of Dr. M.K. Bhan, Secretary DBT and Dr. Renu Swarup, Advisor DBT, will function under the leadership of Dr. J.B. Joshi, Director of the UICT and Dr. G.D. Yadav.

References:
UICT: DBT funds India's first Center of Energy Biosciences at UICT [*.doc] - s.d. [January] 2008.

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Native American tribes and grad students receive $3 million to tap forests and farms for biofuels in Washington

The University of Washington has launched a $3 million program that will team doctoral students, faculty and local Native American tribes to transform local forestry and agricultural waste into new generations of biofuels. The award for graduate education was awarded by the National Science Foundation.

The program's goals are to create a new generation of PhD graduates in sustainable energy, and develop local sources of renewable fuels. The students will learn to consider not only economic benefit, but the environmental and social implications of their designs. The program therefor takes a social, economic and environmental lifecycle or 'cradle-to-cradle' approach to bioenergy and biofuels from the very start.

The IGERT award, for Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training, funds six interdisciplinary doctoral students each year for five years. Program partners include the University of Washington's College of Engineering, the College of Forest Resources and the American Indian Studies Program.

The bioenergy experts in the making will follow a curriculum that includes topics like 'Sustainability & Design for Environment', 'Sustainable Resources in Indigenous Communities', 'Economics of Conservation', 'Plant-Microbe Interactions', 'Bio-fuel processing', 'Life Cycle Assessment', 'Engineering, Resource Management and Culture', and 'Technology Assessment in Indigenous Communities'. The centerpiece of the program is a two quarter multidisciplinary design and resource management project that will involve collaboration with Washington State Native American communities.

Local resources
Biofuels, energy sources from plants, are popular because they’re often domestically produced, renewable, and close to 'carbon-neutral' - meaning the plants suck up the same quantity of CO2 while growing that they release when converted into fuels and burned. But right now, biodiesel and ethanol are generally made from plants such as corn or soy imported from other states, or tropical oils imported from other nations. The new BioEnergy IGERT program will try to identify local alternatives.

A major emphasis will be forestry waste from the state's large forests (map, click to enlarge), the branches and debris that normally get burned or left behind to cause a fire hazard, and residue from paper mills. Students will also look at agricultural waste such as leftovers from apple and wheat crops. Converting these products to fuel creates a new source of energy and also reduces the quantity of material going to landfills and emissions from burning waste.

Transforming these wastes into a liquid fuel that fits in a gas tank is not easy. The alternative to first generation fuels based on easily extractible sugars, starches or oils, is cellulosic products, like wood or agricultural waste, which we can’t eat, but have repeating sugars embedded in their structures. These complex sugars are much more difficult to extract. But it is not impossible.

Cellulosic biofuels
According to Dan Schwartz, professor of chemical engineering and leader of the interdisciplinary group that has received the multimillion-dollar award, wood can be processed into a product that resembles brown sugar or molasses. These technologies do exist, he says, but they are not yet economical, nor can they be operated at sufficient scale right now:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cellulose :: waste :: forestry ::indigenous communities :: community resource management :: lifecycle assessment :: social impact assessment :: Native Americans :: Washington ::

Students in the program will work on these types of engineering challenges for sustainable energy. They will also consider social and environmental impacts. The program emphasizes 'cradle-to-cradle' analyses that compare the overall impact of different energy sources. How much energy does it take to harvest and process the resource? Where does it go when it’s burned as fuel? Is it reducing the food supply? What would it take to do it on a large scale? Are there social benefits, such as increasing local employment?

Understanding the energy and environmental impacts of biomass production, transportation and conversion into biofuels allows us to engineer systems that maximize the benefits of switching to biofuels. - Joyce Cooper, associate professor of mechanical engineering who performs life-cycle assessments

Native Americans
Another major emphasis of the grant is working with Native American communities. Native Americans are underrepresented in doctoral programs and the project will recruit students from those communities, Schwartz said. Partners include the Yakama Nation in southern Washington and the Quinault Indian Nation on the Olympic Peninsula.

Washington state tribes’ natural resources are more valuable than those of tribes in any other state except for Alaska and California, said Tom Colonnese, director of the UW’s American Indian Studies program and member of the program board. The Yakama Nation, located on 1.2 million acres in south-central Washington, controls more forestry resources than any other Native American tribe in the country.

While each doctoral student in the program will work on a traditional thesis, each year’s class will work together on a group project on one of the Native reserves, solving an energy-related problem identified by one of the tribes.

Phil Rigdon, director of natural resources for the Yakama Nation and a graduate of the UW’s College of Forest Resources, said tribe members are discussing their options for sustainable energy. Plans include installing small-scale hydropower and wind energy projects. The collaboration with the UW may produce energy from forest and agricultural wastes.

We have significant natural resources, and to be able to convert some of that to energy would help our economy as well as provide jobs for our community. Working with people at the UW who are technically capable of the engineering is an important link to make this happen. - Phil Rigdon, member of the BioEnergy IGERT program's advisory board

Students will be asked to incorporate not just engineering constraints, but also address environmental, social and labor concerns in their designs. "We want appropriate energy technologies" Schwartz emphasized. "Whenever you hear someone present an energy solution and say, ’This is the solution,’ you know it’s wrong because there is no one solution for every situation"

The results could be applied to other forest- or agricultural-based communities in the state. And the skills the students learn will be prized by future employers, Schwartz believes.

This year the committee got additional funding from the University of Washington, enabling it to accept eight graduate students who began classes in January. Students can major in any of the participating colleges. This class includes three students in the College of Forest Resources and five in the College of Engineering. The students’ skills and interests range from plant ecology, to remote sensing to map forest resources, to chemical engineering techniques for converting biomass into other products. The inaugural class includes two Native American students.

This is the eighth IGERT award for the University of Washington, which has won more of the interdisciplinary training grants than any other institution in the country. Previous IGERT programs were focused on nanotechnology, urban ecology, international environmental issues and astrobiology.

Map: Land cover map of Washington State. This false color image uses data from the Landsat satellite; forests in green and deserts in red. The light blue regions are the highest mountains in Washington. Credit: NASA/Landsat.

References:
University of Washington: Graduate students and Native American tribes will tap forests, farms for biofuels - January 30, 2008.

University of Washington: Bioresource-based Energy for Sustainable Societies - project website.

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Outlook Resources to acquire 75% of biomass densification company Prairie Bio Energy

Canada's Outlook Resources Inc. announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire 75% of the outstanding common shares of Prairie Bio Energy Inc., of La Broquerie, Manitoba. Prairie Bio Energy has developed a proprietary densification process for the production of biomass 'fuel cubes', a renewable fuel alternative to traditional coal, propane and natural gas for heating and power generation.

Bioeconomy Park
Outlook's current projects seek to introduce normally uncorrelated business initiatives or "tenants" into a single cluster or 'Bio-Economy Park' location. Prairie Bio Energy's biomass densification process is seen as fitting well within this structure. The 'Park' concept allows ecological relationships to be developed between individual business units allowing them to operate symbiotically through the sharing and exchange of resources within the Park. These ecological relationships are meant to create an opportunity for higher overall efficiencies between the Bio-Economy Park tenants because of their increased capacity to exploit a resource sharing opportunity.

Additionally the by-products and waste streams of renewable biofuels and bioenergy production can be mostly, if not completely, eliminated amongst the Bio-Economy Park's group of tenants as the waste from one component becomes input energy, nutrients or a source of feedstock for another. This integrated approach thus forms the key to experimenting with 'cascading' and 'circular' resource strategies.

Biomass in Canada
Biomass energy, or bioenergy, is the energy stored in non-fossil organic materials such as wood, straw, vegetable oils and wastes from the forestry, agricultural and industrial sectors. Like the energy in fossil fuels, bioenergy is derived from solar energy that has been stored in plants through the process of photosynthesis. The principal difference is that fossil fuels require thousands of years to be converted into usable forms, while properly managed biomass energy can be used in an ongoing, renewable fashion. Municipal solid waste and sewage sludge can also be considered as biomass.

In Canada, biomass energy accounts for 540 PJ (petajoules) of energy use. It already provides more of Canada's energy supply than coal (for nonelectrical generation applications) and nuclear power, accounting for 5% of secondary energy use by the residential sector and 17% of energy use in the industrial sector, mainly in the forest industries. Including lumber and pulp and paper, forestry accounts for 35% of Canada's total energy consumption; the forest industries meet more than one-half of this demand themselves with self-generated biomass wastes. The forest industries have been increasing their use of wood wastes that otherwise would be burned, buried or landfilled. Principal uses include firing boilers in pulp and paper mills for process heat and providing energy for lumber drying.

Prairie Bio Energy's approach to utilizing biomass is focused on the design of novel densification techniques. Its briquetting technology results in a 7/8inch fuel cube that utilises the lignin in the biomass as a binder. The primary components of the fuel cubes include a mixture of wood by-products and flax shives. The energy content is approximately 7900 BTU (British Thermal Unit) per pound, making the fuel is equivalent in energy to lignite coal. The fuel cubes have an average density of 33 pounds per cubic foot and a moisture content of 5-6%:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: densification :: briquetting :: co-firing :: bioeconomy :: Canada ::


Acquisition
With the acquisition of Prairie Bio Energy, Outlook Resources plans to produce a renewable fuel product from biomass more commonly known as Biomass-fuel or Refuse-Derived-Fuel. Management believes this approach will result in Outlook being particularly well positioned to process a variety of industrial and agricultural processing wastes or by-products in a manner that allows for the production of higher value products to be used as a source of renewable, carbon neutral fuels.

Outlook intends to grow the company through the construction and operation of both RDF/Biomass-fuel densification plants in addition to the development of environmentally conscientious, land based aquaculture facilities built and operated in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The transaction includes an exchange of Outlook Resources shares for Prairie Bio Energy shares and a combination of cash and notes payable. The transaction is subject to the completion of due diligence, TSX Venture Exchange approval and to Outlook raising a minimum of $2 million dollars.

Prairie Bio Energy was founded in 2004 by Stephane Gauthier and Eugene Gala, P. Eng. The business employed 5 people and culminated in the establishment of a 100 ton per day biomass fuel cubing line that was operated from Prairie Bio Energy's 20,000 square foot research and development facility located on an 80 acre agricultural property, one hour east of Winnipeg. Patent applications have been filed in Canada and the U.S. for the Prairie Bio Energy densification process.

Stephane Gauthier, President and Eugene Gala, Executive Vice President & COO will continue to lead Prairie Bio Energy as the company moves forward with Outlook Resources on the development of a commercial scale, 400 ton per day biomass cubing production facility. All of the current employees will be retained and the operations will be expanded over the next six months to facilitate additional business currently being finalized. Outlook is currently negotiating a long term lease on suitable premises for the proposed production facility.

Outlook will acquire 75% of the voting equity of Prairie Bio Energy in consideration for the issuance of 4,067,702 common shares of Outlook priced at $0.06 per share, the payment of $744,000 of debts owed to shareholders of Prairie Bio Energy and the assumption of the liabilities of Prairie Bio Energy. The founding shareholder group, including Stephane Gauthier and Eugene Gala, will retain a 25% interest in Prairie Bio Energy. The share consideration will be subject to a voluntary escrow until December 31, 2008 subject to earlier release upon Prairie Bio Energy meeting certain milestones.

References:
Outlook Resources: Outlook to Acquire 75% Ownership of Prairie Bio Energy - January 28, 2008.

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Nobel Laureate Steven Chu sees a biofuels revolution

Late last year, Professor Steven Chu held a talk at the World Affairs Council of Northern California in which he explains his work on advanced generations of biofuels and how science and technology could make the green fuels part of an entirely new, sustainable energy paradigm. Some of the world's best scientists - amongst them 43 Nobel Laureates - are working in Chu's Lab on bioenergy, renewables and global warming because the energy and climate challenges we face require a Manhattan Project approach, he says.

Professor Chu, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997, says no one nation can effectively reverse the growing problems caused by our changing climate and growing energy consumption. Coordinated global efforts - between governments, international organisations, and civil society - can help us conserve and develop new energy resources, as well as ensure the continued growth of emerging and developed nations.

Biofuels might play an important role in this development. Rapid scientific advances in biotechnology and plant sciences make the efficient production of renewable energy from non-food biomass - that is, cellulose, the world's most abundant organic compound - possible. Increases in the photosynthetic efficiency of plants will soon emerge, but the ultimate challenge will be to develop 'synthetic plants' with very high conversion efficiencies. Such artificial photosynthetic machines, inspired by nature, will make hydrocarbons out of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

But before we get there, emerging advanced biofuels are likely to be applied on a world changing scale. The Nobel Laureate questions many of the conventional neo-malthusian views on the availability of natural resources. Instead, he says, there is a large enough carrying capacity - land, water, sunshine, soil and seeds - and institutional capacity to generate highly efficient, genuinely sustainable biofuels, food and fiber products for the population. With enough political will and the right policy choices, a secure energy and climate future based on biofuels becomes possible.

Current biofuels come with their problems and the dependence on food crops is not sustainable nor desirable. Scientists like Chu are therefor working to develop new biomass conversion technologies that could end the food versus fuel dilemma, and serve communities in poor countries. The Nobel Laureate refers to an energy crop like Miscanthus, which yields 10 times more fuel than corn, requires no fertilizer or water, reduces erosion by a factor of 100 and requires no till. It grows its own nitrogen fixing bacteria and improves soil properties. These crops will become the feedstocks of the future. Chu is working on novel and efficient ways to breakdown the cellulose of these plants, which would make biofuels abdunant and cheap. Genomics and genetic engineering of microbes (such as those found in termite guts) will accomplish the task.

In his talk, Chu also referred to the most comprehensive report written so far about the future of energy this century, the panel for which he co-chaired. It is the report titled 'Lighting the Way: Toward A Sustainable Energy Future', published by 13 National Science Academies, written by the world's leading energy scientists and discussed here. In it, the scientists warn for a potential energy crisis of unprecedented proportions, and call for the immediate implementation of new technologies and fuel sources - lik