Interdisciplinary "Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage" launched

An interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to reducing the planet’s carbon emissions from fossil fuels has been established at The University of Nottingham. The £1.1 million Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CICCS) will explore cutting edge technology that captures polluting carbon dioxide and stores it permanently in geological formations and soils or transforms it into useable and stable products — preventing its damaging release into the atmosphere.

Biopact tracks developments in carbon capture and storage (CCS), because the technologies can be (and are already being) applied to bioenergy to yield radical 'negative emissions' that remove historic CO2 from the atmosphere. Scientists have estimated that if applied on a global scale, such 'bio-energy with carbon storage' (BECS) systems can bring atmospheric CO2 levels back to pre-industrial levels by mid-century (2060). BECS is the most radical tool in the climate fight. Only bioenergy systems can become carbon negative, all other renewables and nuclear always remain carbon positive and contribute (small amounts of) CO2 to the atmosphere over their lifecycle.

Bioenergy coupled to CCS comes in many different forms. The most obvious one is applying the technologies of pre-combustion capture, oxyfuel combustion or post-combustion capture to power plants that burn solid biomass. In this case, BECS systems can yield negative emissions as large as minus 1000 grams of CO2 per kWh (compared with emissions from photovoltaic solar power: +100 gCO2eq/kWh, non-CCS biomass or wind power: +30gCO2/kWh, or nuclear power : +10gCOeq/kWH - see table, click to enlarge). Alternatively, CCS can be coupled to the production of liquid and gaseous biofuels, during which it captures CO2 emerging during the production phase (a first example). Its largest potential for biofuels can be found in its application to the production of fully decarbonised biofuels such as biohydrogen or bio-ammonia.

Bioenergy with carbon storage has multiple advantages and overcomes the main risk associated with CCS applied to fossil fuels: leaks of climate damaging CO2 from the geosequestration site. When CO2 originally captured from fossil fuels leaks, it contributes to climate change. But when bio-genic CO2 leaks, there is no net addition. However, for CCS to become feasible, a lot of incentives are needed, sound legislation and strong policy has to be introduced, and technology advancements must be made.

The CICCS will contribute to tackling these challenges. The Centre will be investigating new technologies that will store greenhouse gases from power plants safely and efficiently. From governments and environmental pressure groups to oil producers and energy-intensive industry, interdisciplinary research taking place at the centre will have a potentially global impact.

The CICCS will participate in a large number of research and development programmes, including the European Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), other EU programmes, Research Councils and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cleaner coal technology programme. CICCS's main programmes are:

• Cleaner coal technology: this programme supports the power industry through research on gas clean-up (mercury, CO2 and NOx), coal beneficiation, PF combustion, gasification, and combustion by-products control
• CO2 capture - new high capacity adsorbents for cleaner coal technology: (1) high capacity adsorbents for more efficient capture in traditional pulverised fuel (PF) combustion and integrated combined cycle gasification are being developed. (2) Novel and cost-effective processing of nanomaterials with high surface area and high thermal stability for carbon capture.
• Carbon geological sequestration: (1) saline aquifers and brines from oil and gas wells are being studied to ensure the integrity of long-term geological storage. (2) storage in red muds at the point of capture. (3) storage in unmineable coal seams.
• Terrestrial CO2 storage - establishing reliable leakage monitoring with a soil gas release facility; terrestrial CO2 storage can come in the form of biochar systems (previous post)
• Advanced concept-mineral carbonation to develop a CO2 sequestration module that uses silicate minerals to sequester carbon dioxide into a permanent, solid and stable form (an example can be found here).
• Light harvesting: Long-term usage involving using light energy for the photochemical conversion of CO2 into fuels or chemicals.
• Tackling public acceptability and regulatory issues through a broad sociological study of carbon capture and storage technologies and envisioning a new carbon economy.

The centre will be led by Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, of the University’s School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. But the research will be cross-disciplinary, bringing together engineers, mathematicians, bioscientists, geographers and geologists:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biogas :: biohydrogen :: bio-ammonia :: bio-electricity :: bio-energy with carbon storage :: biochar :: geosequestration :: carbon capture and storage :: negative emissions :: climate change ::

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will fund the centre over the next five years through its Challenging Engineering initiative.

We are excited about the prospects for CICCS to become a world leader in the field. We will continue to develop new processes that will make a significant impact in finding solutions for climate change and protecting the planet. We will present the research, training and outreach activities planned by CICCS at the launch event. The response to the centre has been outstanding so far. - Prof Maroto-Valer, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage

Dr Nick Palmer MP added: "I'm delighted to help launch the centre, as its technology may well be crucial to Britain's future. Britain has huge coal reserves, which could have a greatly enhanced future to guarantee our energy security if carbon capture technology were more advanced."

The official opening of the Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage will took place yesterday at the University Park.

Schematic: different sources from which to capture CO2, including biomass, and pathways to sequester it. Credit: IPCC.

References:
The University of Nottingham: Carbon research with global impact - February 6, 2008.

Biopact: Carbon-negative energy revolution a step closer: Carbon8 Systems to capture CO2 from biomass through carbonation - January 29, 2008

Biopact: Biochar and carbon-negative bioenergy: boosts crop yields, fights climate change and reduces deforestation - January 28, 2008

Biopact: Towards carbon-negative biofuels: US DOE awards $66.7 million for large-scale CO2 capture and storage from ethanol plant - December 19, 2007

Scientific literature on negative emissions from biomass:
H. Audus and P. Freund, "Climate Change Mitigation by Biomass Gasificiation Combined with CO2 Capture and Storage", IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.

James S. Rhodesa and David W. Keithb, "Engineering economic analysis of biomass IGCC with carbon capture and storage", Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2005, Pages 440-450.

Noim Uddin and Leonardo Barreto, "Biomass-fired cogeneration systems with CO2 capture and storage", Renewable Energy, Volume 32, Issue 6, May 2007, Pages 1006-1019, doi:10.1016/j.renene.2006.04.009

Christian Azar, Kristian Lindgren, Eric Larson and Kenneth Möllersten, "Carbon Capture and Storage From Fossil Fuels and Biomass – Costs and Potential Role in Stabilizing the Atmosphere", Climatic Change, Volume 74, Numbers 1-3 / January, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s10584-005-3484-7

Further reading on negative emissions bioenergy and biofuels:
Peter Read and Jonathan Lermit, "Bio-Energy with Carbon Storage (BECS): a Sequential Decision Approach to the threat of Abrupt Climate Change", Energy, Volume 30, Issue 14, November 2005, Pages 2654-2671.

Stefan Grönkvist, Kenneth Möllersten, Kim Pingoud, "Equal Opportunity for Biomass in Greenhouse Gas Accounting of CO2 Capture and Storage: A Step Towards More Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation Regimes", Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Volume 11, Numbers 5-6 / September, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s11027-006-9034-9

Biopact: Commission supports carbon capture & storage - negative emissions from bioenergy on the horizon - January 23, 2008

Biopact: The strange world of carbon-negative bioenergy: the more you drive your car, the more you tackle climate change - October 29, 2007

Biopact: "A closer look at the revolutionary coal+biomass-to-liquids with carbon storage project" - September 13, 2007

Biopact: New plastic-based, nano-engineered CO2 capturing membrane developed - September 19, 2007

Biopact: Plastic membrane to bring down cost of carbon capture - August 15, 2007

Biopact: Pre-combustion CO2 capture from biogas - the way forward? - March 31, 2007

Biopact: Towards carbon-negative biofuels: US DOE awards $66.7 million for large-scale CO2 capture and storage from ethanol plant - December 19, 2007

Biopact: Biochar and carbon-negative bioenergy: boosts crop yields, fights climate change and reduces deforestation - January 28, 2008

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The bioeconomy at work: Metabolix to develop advanced industrial oilseed crops for bioplastics and biofuels

Metabolix, Inc., a bioscience company focused on developing clean, sustainable solutions for plastics, fuels, and chemicals, announced that it has initiated a program to develop an advanced industrial oilseed crop to produce bioplastics. Oilseeds are the primary feedstock for the more than 250 million gallons of biodiesel produced annually in the United States and the co-production of bioplastics promises to improve the economics of this crop industry.

As part of this initiative, Metabolix has established strategic research collaboration with noted oilseed experts at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a leading not-for-profit research institute in St. Louis. Metabolix will assemble a team of scientists to establish a research and development presence in St. Louis. The team will work closely with Danforth's Principal Investigators Drs. Jan Jaworski, Edgar Cahoon and Joseph Jez. This collaboration is supported financially by a 2-year, $1.14 million grant from the Missouri Life Sciences Trust Fund to the Danforth Center.

The Danforth Center has extensive experience in oilseed technology. Combining their experience with Metabolix's patented technologies could expedite the commercialization of multiple products in oilseed crops. This technology is expected to play an important role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. This initiative aims to create another biobased route to economically produce bioplastics and biofuels in high yields directly in non food crops. - Dr. Oliver Peoples, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Metabolix

Industrial oilseeds represent the third crop system to which Metabolix is applying its patented technology. The company is a leader in developing enhanced switchgrass, and is also developing sugarcane crops (previous post) to co-produce biobased and biodegradable plastic within the leaves and stems of these crops to more economically meet clean energy and bioplastic needs globally:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biodiesel :: oilseed :: bioplastic :: bioeconomy ::

Scientists recently found that the production of green bulk chemicals (from which thousands of products can be made, amongts them bioplastics) from biomass, may be a very efficient and climate friendly way of using land - cleaner and more efficient in many cases that using that land to grow crops for liquid biofuels. Over the long term, such bio-based green chemicals made in biorefineries have the capacity to reduce carbon emissions by 1 billion tons (previous post).

Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world's needs for plastics, fuels and chemicals. The company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is now developing and commercializing Mirel bioplastics, a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to petroleum based plastics. Mirel is suitable for injection molding, extrusion coating, cast film and sheet, blown film and thermoforming. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, biofuels and chemical products in energy crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane.

Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company are commercializing Mirel through a joint venture called Telles. The first commercial scale Mirel production plant is being constructed adjacent to ADM's wet corn mill in Clinton, Iowa. The plant is expected to begin operations in late 2008 and is designed to produce up to 110 million pounds of Mirel annually. Mirel will reduce reliance on petroleum and decrease environmental impacts relative to conventional petroleum based plastics.

References:
Metabolix: Metabolix to Develop Advanced Industrial Oilseed Crops for Bioplastic and Biofuel Production - February 8, 2008

Biopact: Researchers find bio-based bulk chemicals could save up to 1 billion tonnes of CO2 - December 17, 2007

Biopact: Metabolix to develop bioplastics from sugarcane - May 09, 2007

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Biogas from vast amounts of food waste: new Food Bank/Industry partnership launched in Ontario

The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) and StormFisher Biogas, an Ontario-based renewable energy utility, have joined forces to launch Plan Zero, a province-wide social enterprise that will generate renewable electricity from food industry surplus and by-products that are destined for landfills.

Plan Zero will work with food industry producers, growers and manufacturers to direct organic by-products to StormFisher's biogas production facilities - called anaerobic digesters - which accelerate the decomposition of organic matter to create biogas for use in producing electricity, renewable natural gas and heat. Plan Zero will direct a portion of the proceeds from the sale of energy to Ontario's electricity grid to the OAFB.

StormFisher's anaerobic digesters can produce energy using a wide range of organic materials, from used cooking oils to cow manure. The company also formed relationships with farms, food processing facilities, universities and technology providers. Its first three biogas facilities are currently in early development in London, Drayton and Port Colborne (Ontario) and will be operational by 2009.

Today, millions of tonnes of organic by-products generated in Ontario go to landfills unnecessarily. Plan Zero will help food manufacturers improve their environmental efforts and bottom line while supporting food banks in their work to relieve hunger across Ontario. - Ryan Little, Vice President of Business Development, StormFisher Biogas

Plan Zero also provides a way for food industry producers, growers and manufacturers to direct surplus food products to the provincial food bank network. This surplus product will be distributed to food banks in over 100 communities throughout Ontario. Under Plan Zero, StormFisher and the OAFB will secure long-term agreements with food industry producers, growers and manufacturers that are looking for an environmental and economically beneficial alternative for disposing of their organic by-products:
energy :: sustainability ::biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biogas :: biomethane :: anaerobic digestion :: food waste ::

Plan Zero represents a powerful social enterprise initiative for the food industry as a single gateway for their surplus food and by-products. But this is not just a smart business decision. As a social enterprise, Plan Zero is also a meaningful way for businesses to fight climate change and hunger at the same time. - Adam Spence, Executive Director of the OAFB

Generating electricity from biogas involves capturing the gas produced by the decomposition of organic matter such as food by-products in anaerobic digesters - large holding tanks deprived of oxygen. The decomposition creates a mix of methane and carbon dioxide ("biogas") with the methane subsequently captured and burned to power an electricity generator. The energy created by the generator can then be fed directly into the electrical grid and sold to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to supply the province's electricity demand.

As a company that works both with the OAFB and StormFisher, we know the value of putting food that won't be sold to a good use. This is a program that just makes sense. - Chris Swartz, Director of Warehousing, Gordon Food Service Canada

StormFisher has announced agreements to create renewable electricity in partnership with a number of food processing companies in Ontario. One such partnership, with Inniskillin Wines, will create renewable electricity from the winery's grape by-products. About 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of winery by-products previously destined to a landfill will be given a new use as a fuel. Methane gas produced by the decomposition of grape pomace will be captured and used to generate power for homes in the Niagara region.

References:
StormFischer Biogas: New Food Bank/Industry Partnership to Market Renewable Energy From Food Industry By-Products - January 31, 2008.

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DOE JGI releases new version of metagenome data management & analysis system

Targeting its ever-expanding user community, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released an upgraded version of the IMG/M metagenome data management and analysis system, accessible to the public here. The JGI is a key international research effort analysing genomes from organisms for use in the production of next-generation bioenergy and biofuels.

IMG/M provides tools for analyzing the functional capability of microbial communities based on their metagenome DNA sequence in the context of reference isolate genomes. The new version of IMG/M includes five additional metagenome datasets generated from microbial community samples that were the subject of recently published studies. These include the metagenomic and functional analysis of termite hindgut microbiota (Nature 450, 560-565, 22 November 2007 - previous post) and the single cell genetic analysis of TM7, a rare and uncultivated microbe from the human mouth (PNAS, July 17, 2007, vol. 104, no. 29, 11889-11894).

"IMG/M is a fantastic tool that is incredibly helpful in understanding our data," said Stephen Quake, Co-Chair, Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and senior author on the PNAS study. "We used IMG/M in numerous ways, both to analyze our data and to understand general properties of other relevant bacterial genomes. I look forward to analyzing our new datasets with IMG/M."

IMG/M will be demonstrated at a workshop on March 26 as part of the DOE JGI Third Annual User Meeting. IMG/M contains all isolate genomes in version 2.4 of DOE JGI’s Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) system, which represents an increase of 1,339 reference genomes from the previous version of IMG/M. Now, IMG/M contains 2,953 isolate genomes consisting of 819 bacterial, 50 archaeal, 40 eukaryotic genomes, and 2,044 viruses.

IMG/M provides new tools for analyzing metagenome datasets in the context of reference isolate genomes, such as the Reference Genome Context Viewer and Protein Recruitment Plot that allow the examination of metagenomes in the context of individual reference isolate genomes. New Abundance Comparison and Functional Category Comparison tools enable pairwise function analysis (COG, Pfam, Enzyme, TIGRfam) and functional category (e.g., COG category) abundance comparisons, respectively, between a metagenome dataset and one or several reference metagenomes or genomes, and test whether the differences in abundance are statistically significant:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: lignocellulose :: genomics :: microbes :: bioconversion :: biotechnology :: microbiology :: Joint Genome Institute ::

IMG/M has been developed jointly by the DOE JGI’s Genome Biology Program (GBP) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Biological Data Management and Technology Center (BDMTC). The large-scale pairwise gene similarity computations for all the genomes included in IMG/M have been carried out using ScalaBLAST by the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Group of the Computational Sciences and Mathematics Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, using the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) Molecular Sciences Computing Facility supercomputer.

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by the DOE Office of Science, unites the expertise of five national laboratories - Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest - along with the Stanford Human Genome Center to advance genomics in support of the DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI’s Walnut Creek, CA, Production Genomics Facility provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges.

References:
U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute: DOE JGI Releases a New Version of its Metagenome Data Management & Analysis System - February 7, 2007.

Biopact: Scientists sequence and analyse genomes of termite gut microbes to yield novel enzymes for cellulosic biofuel production - November 22, 2007

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New land use techniques boost benefits of biofuels

Several recent studies about the carbon balance of first-generation biofuels, including two analyses published in Science, are based on assessments of current land use practises. These studies are important, but the conclusions drawn from them are often seriously flawed. Moreover, if these conclusions are placed in a neo-malthusian perspective on population and natural resources, they cannot be taken seriously at all because there is no credible basis for neo-malthusianism in the first place.

Let us first note that only a fraction of the current biofuels are produced from crops grown on cleared high carbon land like forests. The vast majority is based on low carbon land, so we are only looking at exceptions here. Scientists analysing the long term potential of explicitly sustainable biofuels have clearly outlined how much low carbon land is available on a global scale, and it is estimated to be more than 1 billion hectares - that is: non-forest land available after all food, fiber and feed needs for growing populations have been met (more here). In short, technically speaking, the planet can relatively easily sustain the production of both food and fuels for a growing population, sustainably.

That said, let's look at the current land use practises analysed in the studies. These practises involve the conversion of 'pristine' systems like forests, woodlands or grasslands, to make way for monocultures of energy crops . Under these practises, the biomass that is cleared is often burned, resulting in large carbon emissions. Biofuels made from low yielding crops grown on this land thus have a large 'carbon debt'. It can take years or decades before biofuels have repaid their debt and begin to reduce emissions (by replacing fossil fuels).

But all these analyses are based on existing, primitive land use practises and on first-generation, inefficient biofuels made from crops like corn or soybeans. They do not take into account new energy crops (e.g. crops that yield far more biomass and are engineered to store far more CO2 than ordinary crops), the use of plantation residues, new bioconversion technologies, and the radical option of capturing and storing carbon from bioenergy production.

Those who use current studies about the carbon balance of today's incredibly inefficient biofuels to conclude that all biofuels are incapable of reducing emissions are making a grave mistake. In fact, new and future land use practises by themselves change the picture entirely, and make biofuels and bioenergy the most radical tool in the fight against climate change. Add new crops and new conversion techniques, and it will be clear that biofuels present major benefits.

New land use practises
Let's explore these new concepts - they are based on developments that are already taking place. The schematic above outlines them in brief.

First of all, a major leap forward towards making biofuels carbon neutral from the very start - cancelling the carbon debt at once - is very simple. It consists of using the original biomass (e.g. woodland or forest) as a bioenergy feedstock. When clearing a forest, it is foolish to burn the wood which is the current practise, because this biomass is itself a highly valuable energy source. Instead of wasting the energy by burning the wood, it will be used as a biofuel feedstock.

Decentralised biofuel production plants that can be located close to the land to be cleared are already here. These plants draw on a process called fast-pyrolysis. It transforms any type of biomass into bio-oil, which can be further upgraded into transport fuels or used in power plants.

Using the biomass of the land clearance as a biofuel feedstock immediately pays back the bulk of the carbon debt that would have resulted from burning this biomass without using the energy contained in it. The only carbon debt left is that resulting from changes in the below-ground biomass, but in most cases this can be offset quite quickly (e.g. when a perennial grassland is replaced by polycultures of perennial energy grasses). Of course, this new land use technique requires the creation of infrastructures (such as roads), but these are likely to benefit local communities greatly.

Virtually no study looks at this simple step. It is however already being implemented. An example comes from old palm oil plantations that are being replaced by new ones. The old biomass stock - entire trees - is being converted into biofuels that replace fossil fuels. A Canadian bioenergy company (Buchanan Renewable Energies) is doing this in Liberia, where it is paying to use old palm forests' biomass as a feedstock for the production of pyrolysis oil. After this first transformation, the cleared land will be used for a new plantation. Fuels from this new plantation have no 'carbon debt'. This concept can (and should) be applied to all new biofuel ventures that convert undisturbed grasslands, wood lands or forests into energy crop plantations.

Carbon negative
This new land use practise is however only a first step towards far more interesting bioenergy concepts. In the future, original biomass will not only be converted into bioenergy or biofuels, but the fuel production process itself will be coupled to carbon sequestration techniques. These come in two forms: either geosequestration (storing CO2 in geological formations) or biochar systems (storing carbon in soils via charcoal or pyrolysis char).

The process works as follows: original biomass (e.g. a woodland) is used for the production of a biofuel such as pyrolysis oil. The local plant may itself already capture and store its own CO2 emissions (a first example of CCS coupled to biofuel production comes from the U.S. where the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium recently received $66 million to sequester CO2 from a biofuel plant - more here). The fuel is then sent to a facility where it is used for the production of either electricity and heat, a fully decarbonized biofuel (such as biohydrogen) or a low-carbon biofuel. At this facility, the CO2 is again captured and stored, before the decarbonized form of energy is used by the consumer. The end result is carbon-negative energy that yields negative emissions:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: land use :: emissions :: carbon capture and storage :: efficiency ::

Such carbon-negative fuels and energy is a radical tool in the climate fight. Unlike any other type of renewable energy, it actually removes CO2 from the past from the atmosphere.

Scientists working for the Abrupt Climate Change Strategy group, a think tank with a mandate from the G8 to study options for us to survive abrupt climatic change, calculated that if such systems were implemented on a global scale, we can bring atmospheric CO2 levels back to pre-industrial levels by mid-century (more here).

Besides the option of capturing and storing CO2 from bioenergy and biofuels, a whole series of new developments in all biofuel production steps have to be taken into account.

New crops, new bioconversion techniques
New land use practises were already discussed. Now let's look at developments in the field of energy crops, bioconversion, agronomy and the use of residues. Current biofuel crops like corn or soybeans are truly inefficient because biofuels made from them only utilize a fraction of the biomass grown, that is, easily extractible starch or oil. These first-generation biofuels have no future and are no longer of interest to the bioenergy community.

A large number of plant biologists and bio-engineers has already developed new crops that either yield far more biomass (which immediately clears much of the carbon debt), or that store far more CO2 than ordinary crops, or that contain in them codes for easy bioconversion. We will limit the discussion to a few examples of such crops: high-biomass sorghum (more here), eucalyptus trees with higher carbon storage capacity (here, and another similar crop - a hybrid larch with enhanced CO2 sequestering capacity, here), maize that contains its own bioconversion enzymes (previous post) and low lignin sorghums that can be turned much easier into fuels (here).

Secondly, an enormous number of efficiency leaps in biofuel production processes has emerged over the past years. This process is ongoing. Almost every day Biopact reports about them. Yesterday, scientists reported they have developed a new nano-engineered molecular sieve that dehydrates biofuels much more efficiently - which means less energy is needed, thus lowering the emissions from the production process (more here). Also yesterday, ZeaChem announced it succeeded in improving ethanol yields from wood via a hybrid conversion process based on thermochemical and biochemical transformation into hydrogen (used to power the process) and acetic acid, which is consequently turned into liquid fuel in a highly efficient manner. The yield increase: 50% (earlier post).

This type of evolutions occurs virtually every day and is tilting biofuel production to ever higher efficiency and lower emissions. Sadly, it takes a while before environmentalists, conservationists or researchers become aware of them and take them up in their analyses.

Third, mere agronomic interventions succeed in improving the carbon and energy balance of biofuels. One of the studies recently published in Science gives the example of growing polycultures of native prairie grasses - these polycultures actually store large amounts of carbon in soils, and by themselves become a strong carbon sink. Using the grasses as a bioenergy feedstock results in carbon negative fuels, merely as a result of good agronomic practises and because of the nature of these grasses (previous post). The original researcher who conducted this line of studies, David Tilman, was a co-author of one of the Science papers published today.

Finally, an area in which huge potential can be found is in the utilization of plantation and processing residues from existing agricultural operations and biofuel operations. Recently, we referred to the potential for the production of biohydrogen from palm oil residues. A palm plantation yields farm more biomass than is currently used in the form of oil. If these vast amounts of residues are used productively instead of burned or dumped as waste, the carbon balance of biofuels from the oil is seriously improved (previous post). There is similar potential is virtually all agricultural operations today. The same process can be applied in biofuel operations, where residues and byproducts (such as glycerine in biodiesel) is used as a feedstock for a myriad of green products that replace oil, coal and gas.

Conclusion
In short, we agree with the growing body of researchers who point to the many potential drawbacks of primitive, first-generation biofuels. Biopact has long ago distanced itself from these fuels (an exeption would be fuels like current sugarcane based ethanol in Brazil). We think much more care must be taken to assess the full lifecycle carbon emissions from biofuels, as well as indirect emissions that occur elsewhere on the planet because of the massive use of particular crops in one place (e.g. corn in the U.S. driving the expansion of soy in the Amazon).

But all this should not negate the fact that there is a range of bioenergy and biofuel production concepts that offers major benefits. Neither should the studies based on current inefficient biofuels halt the exploration and development of new crops and bioconversion technologies. The challenges presented by climate change and growing energy insecurity are too important and require continued investments in new technologies.


References:

Scientific literature on negative emissions from biomass:
H. Audus and P. Freund, "Climate Change Mitigation by Biomass Gasificiation Combined with CO2 Capture and Storage", IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.

James S. Rhodesa and David W. Keithb, "Engineering economic analysis of biomass IGCC with carbon capture and storage", Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2005, Pages 440-450.

Noim Uddin and Leonardo Barreto, "Biomass-fired cogeneration systems with CO2 capture and storage", Renewable Energy, Volume 32, Issue 6, May 2007, Pages 1006-1019, doi:10.1016/j.renene.2006.04.009

Christian Azar, Kristian Lindgren, Eric Larson and Kenneth Möllersten, "Carbon Capture and Storage From Fossil Fuels and Biomass – Costs and Potential Role in Stabilizing the Atmosphere", Climatic Change, Volume 74, Numbers 1-3 / January, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s10584-005-3484-7

Further reading on negative emissions bioenergy and biofuels:
Peter Read and Jonathan Lermit, "Bio-Energy with Carbon Storage (BECS): a Sequential Decision Approach to the threat of Abrupt Climate Change", Energy, Volume 30, Issue 14, November 2005, Pages 2654-2671.

Stefan Grönkvist, Kenneth Möllersten, Kim Pingoud, "Equal Opportunity for Biomass in Greenhouse Gas Accounting of CO2 Capture and Storage: A Step Towards More Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation Regimes", Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Volume 11, Numbers 5-6 / September, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s11027-006-9034-9

Biopact: Commission supports carbon capture & storage - negative emissions from bioenergy on the horizon - January 23, 2008

Biopact: The strange world of carbon-negative bioenergy: the more you drive your car, the more you tackle climate change - October 29, 2007

Biopact: "A closer look at the revolutionary coal+biomass-to-liquids with carbon storage project" - September 13, 2007

Biopact: New plastic-based, nano-engineered CO2 capturing membrane developed - September 19, 2007

Biopact: Plastic membrane to bring down cost of carbon capture - August 15, 2007

Biopact: Pre-combustion CO2 capture from biogas - the way forward? - March 31, 2007

Biopact: Towards carbon-negative biofuels: US DOE awards $66.7 million for large-scale CO2 capture and storage from ethanol plant - December 19, 2007

Biopact: Biochar and carbon-negative bioenergy: boosts crop yields, fights climate change and reduces deforestation - January 28, 2008


References to new crops, bioconversion methods and agronomic advancements can be found throughout Biopact's archive. References mentioned in this article are:

Biopact: Scientists develop low-lignin eucalyptus trees that store more CO2, provide more cellulose for biofuels - September 17, 2007

Biopact: Japanese scientists develop hybrid larch trees with 30% greater carbon sink capacity - October 03, 2007

Biopact: Third generation biofuels: scientists patent corn variety with embedded cellulase enzymes - May 05, 2007

Biopact: Carbon negative biofuels: from monocultures to polycultures - December 08, 2006

Biopact: Tallgrass Prairie Center to implement Tilman's mixed grass findings - September 02, 2007

Biopact: Sun Grant Initiative funds 17 bioenergy research projects - [on high-biomass sorghum] August 20, 2007

Biopact: Ceres and TAES team up to develop high-biomass sorghum for next-generation biofuels - October 01, 2007

Biopact: Scientists release new low-lignin sorghums: ideal for biofuel and feed - September 10, 2007

Biopact: Major breakthrough: researchers engineer sorghum that beats aluminum toxicity - August 27, 2007

Biopact: U.S. scientists develop drought tolerant sorghum for biofuels - May 21, 2007

Biopact: Sweet super sorghum - yield data for the ICRISAT hybrid - February 21, 2007

Biopact: Mapping sorghum's genome to create robust biomass crops - June 24, 2007

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Two studies state the obvious: clearing high carbon land for first-generation biofuels can lead to higher emissions

Two interesting studies published in Science state the obvious again: clearing undisturbed forests or grasslands without using their biomass, to plant low yielding first generation biofuel crops like corn or soybeans on them, increases carbon emissions. A tropical forest stores a lot of carbon, and burning this to make way for oil palms yields large emissions. It can take decades before the biofuel actually makes up for this 'carbon debt'. So far, nothing new.

The problem with the studies is that they stick to old and current practise, and do not look at the concept of utilizing the biomass from the land that is to be cleared, in a productive way as a bioenergy feedstock. This immediately clears much of a biofuel's carbon debt. But then, this practise is not yet used on a large scale, which is why the authors do not mention it (or are not aware of it). Moreover, the studies do not take into account future concepts like carbon-negative bioenergy, which is a system that takes historic CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere by coupling biofuel production to carbon capture and storage (BECS systems) or to biochar (the sequestration of carbon into soils via char).

In short, the studies are important, because they indicate that current agricultural practises used for first-generation biofuels are not sustainable. Instead, the analyses make a strong case for bio-energy with carbon storage (biochar and CCS), for the utilization of pristine biomass as a biofuel feedstock, and for a rapid transition to crops that store more carbon than the biomass that used to grow on the cleared land. They also indicate a clear need for land-use change analyses and research into 'indirect emissions' that must be taken into account when calculating the emissions balance of biofuels.

Analyzing the lifecycle emissions from biofuels, the first study by private conservation group The Nature Conservancy, found that carbon released by converting high-carbon lands such as rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands often far outweighs the carbon savings from biofuels. Conversion of peatland rainforests for oil palm plantations for example, incurs a "carbon debt" of 423 years in Indonesia and Malaysia, while the carbon emission from clearing Amazon rainforest for soybeans takes 319 years of renewable soy biodiesel before the land can begin to lower greenhouse gas levels and mitigate global warming (see graph).

An author and researcher from The Nature Conservancy comments [note the flawed argument about not utilizing the biomass from the cleared land]:

These natural areas store a lot of carbon, so converting them to croplands results in tons of carbon emitted into the atmosphere. We analyzed all the benefits of using biofuels as alternatives to oil, but we found that the benefits fall far short of the carbon losses. It's what we call 'the carbon debt.' If you're trying to mitigate global warming, it simply does not make sense to convert land for biofuels production. All the biofuels we use now cause habitat destruction, either directly or indirectly. Global agriculture is already producing food for six billion people. Producing food-based biofuel, too, will require that still more land be converted to agriculture. - Joe Fargione, The Nature Conservancy

Indirect emissions
While a number of studies have shown that conversion of particular tropical ecosystems, including peat swamps in Southeast Asia and rainforests in South America, for energy crops result in net emissions, the second study shows that when assessed at a global level, U.S. corn ethanol is also a major CO2 source — not a CO2 sink as usually claimed by the farm industry.

Using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gasses for 167 years. - Timothy Searchinger, et. al.

Their assessment is based on the additional land that needs to be converted abroad as a result of increased corn acreage planted for ethanol production in the United States. These are 'indirect' land-use changes occuring from biofuels production elsewhere:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: carbon emissions :: land-use change :: indirect emissions :: bio-energy with carbon storage ::

"To produce biofuels, farmers can directly plow up more forest or grassland, which releases to the atmosphere much of the carbon previously stored in plants and soils through decomposition or fire," write the authors. "The loss of maturing forests and grasslands also forgoes ongoing carbon sequestration as plants grow each year, and this foregone sequestration is the equivalent of additional emissions. Alternatively, farmers can divert existing crops or croplands into biofuels, which causes similar emissions indirectly. The diversion triggers higher crop prices, and farmers around the world respond by clearing more forest and grassland to replace crops for feed and food. Studies have confirmed that higher soybean prices accelerate clearing of Brazilian rainforest."

In particular, the authors — including researchers from Princeton University, Agricultural Conservation Economics, the Woods Hole Research Center, and Iowa State University — say that U.S. corn ethanol production is having a global effect. As U.S. corn exports declined sharply, production picks up in other countries where yields are lower, requiring conversion of more land for production, and driving global grain prices even higher.

The researchers say the current system has misplaced incentives: farmers are rewarded for the amount of biofuel produced while the resulting carbon emissions are ignored.

"We don't have proper incentives in place because landowners are rewarded for producing palm oil and other products but not rewarded for carbon management," said University of Minnesota Applied Economics professor Stephen Polasky, a co-author of the study. "This creates incentives for excessive land clearing and can result in large increases in carbon emissions. Creating some sort of incentive for carbon sequestration, or penalty for carbon emissions, from land use is vital if we are serious about addressing this problem."

Biofuels that work
Still the authors say that some biofuels do not contribute carbon emissions to the atmosphere because they do not require clearing of native vegetation. These include fuels produced from agricultural waste, weedy grasses, and woody biomass grown on lands unsuitable for conventional crops.

"Biofuels made on perennial crops grown on degraded land that is no longer useful for growing food crops may actually help us fight global warming," said University of Minnesota researcher Jason Hill, a co-author. "One example is ethanol made from diverse mixtures of native prairie plants. Minnesota is well poised in this respect."

The researches recommend that the full environmental impact of biofuel production be evaluated when making decisions on energy sources.

"In finding solutions to climate change, we must ensure that the cure is not worse than the disease," noted Jimmie Powell, who leads the energy team at The Nature Conservancy. "We cannot afford to ignore the consequences of converting land for biofuels. Doing so means we might unintentionally promote fuel alternatives that are worse than fossil fuels they are designed to replace. These findings should be incorporated into carbon emissions policy going forward."

"We will need to implement many approaches simultaneously to solve climate change. There is no silver bullet, but there are many silver BBs," said Fargione. "Some biofuels may be one silver BB, but only if produced without requiring additional land to be converted from native habitats to agriculture."

References:
Fargione, J. el al (2008). "Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt." Science, February 7, 2008, DOI: 10.1126/science.1152747

Searchinger, T. el al (2008). "Use of U.S. Croplands For Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gasses Through Emissions From Land Use Change." Science, February 7, 2008, DOI: 10.1126/science.1151861

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Ceres to supply energy crop seeds to experimental biorefinery: high-biomass sorghum, switchgrass

Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. announces that it will sow thousands of acres of switchgrass, high-biomass sorghum and other energy crops over the next three years near St. Joseph, Missouri to support a next-generation biorefinery being engineered by ICM, Inc., a leading biofuel process technology provider. The demonstration-scale project, which includes participation from academic institutions, government and other technology providers, will produce fuel, known as cellulosic biofuel, from biomass rather than corn. Last week, Department of Energy officials announced up to $30 million in supplemental funding for the planned facility (previous post).

Ceres' primary role will be to supply seed of specially developed energy crop cultivars to nearby farmers, who will grow the plants and harvest the biomass. The company will also provide agronomic recommendations to the overall venture, which will compare numerous raw materials, including Ceres' dedicated energy crops, for their conversion efficiency and fuel yields, as well as their economic viability.

Ceres says higher crop yields and optimized biomass composition can have a dramatic impact on reducing cellulosic biofuel production costs.

This project will be an important proving ground for new technologies, both in the field and at the biorefinery. Ceres will help determine the best mix of crops, the right traits and cultivars, as well as the agronomic practices that maximize biomass yields and conversion efficiency of the biomass to biofuel. - Richard Hamilton, Ceres chief executive

According to Hamilton, the learnings from this small-scale project will have far-reaching impact, allowing participating companies to optimize the biofuel production and delivery chain from seed to pump. He expects energy crop acreage across the U.S. to increase rapidly as best practices are duplicated in other areas.

Once we get crops in the field and biomass moving through a refinery, the industry will start bringing down costs, and ramping up production. Getting there will require the application of new technologies, such as biotechnology, both in the field and at the biorefinery. - Richard Hamilton

Energy crop and agronomic improvements are also expected to result in higher net energy benefits, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, switchgrass-to-ethanol produces about five times more energy than needed to grow, harvest and process it, and results in 90% less greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: cellulosic :: energy crops :: switchgrass :: energy crops :: biotechnology ::

The new Energy Act recently signed by President Bush calls for a minimum of 16 billion gallons of advanced biofuels per year from biomass. Dedicated energy crops converted in next generation biorefineries under development are expected to meet this target.

Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer of high-yielding, dedicated energy crops that can be planted as feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production. Its development efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and woody crops.

ICM engineers, builds and supports the industry's leading ethanol plants. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in a small agricultural community just outside of Wichita, KS, ICM also serves as a leading ethanol industry advocate.

Picture: Ceres' seed bank of tens of thousands of experimental plants, including improved energy crops. Credit: Ceres.

References:
Ceres: Ceres to Supply Energy Crops to Next-Generation Biorefinery - February 7, 2008.

Biopact: U.S. DOE invests $114 million in four small-scale biorefineries for next generation biofuels - January 30, 2008

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Researchers develop highly efficient hybrid nanoporous membrane to dehydrate biofuels; could replace distillation process

Scientists of the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a new hybrid organic–inorganic nanoporous membrane with unprecedented hydrothermal stability, enabling long-term application in energy-efficient molecular separation, including dehydration up to at least 150°C. The ‘molecular sieve’ is capable of removing water out of solvents and biofuels and is a very energy efficient alternative to existing techniques like distillation. The scientists, who cooperated with colleagues from the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and the University of Amsterdam, present their invention as an open access article in this week's Chemical Communications of the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry.

Devising more efficient processes to reduce energy consumption is one of the prime challenges of the 21st century. A promising strategy is to apply nanostructured membranes to sieve mixtures of molecules of different sizes. Membranes can be applied in energy-efficient separation of biomass fuel and hydrogen, dehydration of condensation reactions, and breaking of azeotropic mixtures during distillation. - Hessel Castricum, lead author

After testing during 18 months, the new 100 nanometer thick membranes, embedded in a cylinder (schematic, click to enlarge), prove to be highly effective, while having continuously been exposed to a temperature of 150 ºC. Existing ceramic and polymer membranes will last considerably shorter periods of time, when exposed to the combination of water and high temperatures. The scientists managed to do this using a new ‘hybrid’ type of material combining the best of both worlds of polymer and ceramic membranes. The result is a membrane with pores sufficiently small to let only the smallest molecules pass through.

We have designed a new nanoporous hybrid material with high hydrothermal stability. It combines high selectivity and permeability when applied in a molecular separation membrane. By incorporating organic Si–C_xH_y–Si links into an inorganic network, we have complemented the high thermal and solvent stability of Si–O–Si bonds with a high hydrothermal stability. We expect that this finding will have a considerable impact on separation technology as it can effect practical application with greatly reduced energy consumption. - Hessel Castricum

Ceramic membranes, made of silica, degrade because they react with water and steam. In the new membrane, part of the ceramic links is therefore replaced by organic links. By doing this, water doesn’t have the chance to ‘attack’ the membranes. Manufacturing the new hybrid membranes is simpler than that of ceramic membranes, because the material is flexible and will not show cracks. What they have in common with ceramic membranes is the rapid flow: an advantage of this is that the membrane surface can be kept small:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: biobutanol :: distillation :: dehydration :: efficiency :: molecular sieve :: nanotechnology ::

The hybrid membranes are suitable for ‘drying’ solvents and biofuels, an application for which there is a large potential market worldwide. The main advantage of membrane technology is that it consumes far less energy than common distillation techniques. The scientists also foresee opportunities in separating hydrogen gas from gas mixtures. This implies a broad range of applications in sustainable energy. Apart from that, the hybrid membranes are suitable for desalinating water. Using a hybrid membrane that is much smaller than the current polymer membranes, the same result can be achieved

The results have been achieved in a close cooperation of scientists from the Inorganic Materials Science Group of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology (UT), the Energy Efficiency in Industry department of ECN and the University of Amsterdam. The invention has been patented worldwide.

Schematic: the cylinder is the carrier of a hybrid membrane: a layer of about 100 nanometer thickness. The insert shows a close-up of the layer showing the organic links and pores. From the left of the tube, only water molecules leave the sieve. Credit: University of Twente.

References:
Hessel Castricum, Ashima Sah, Robert Kreiter, Dave Blank, Jaap Vente and André ten Elshof, "‘Hybrid ceramic nanosieves: stabilizing nanopores with organic links", Chemical Communications, 2008, DOI: 10.1039/b718082a

University of Twente: Nanosieve saves energy in biofuel production - February 7, 2008.

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Researchers: hybrid vehicles slow transition to more sustainable cars

Hybrid electric vehicles that run on both conventional gasoline and stored electricity can be no more than a stop gap until more sustainable technology is developed, according to researchers in France. Writing in the Inderscience publication International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, they suggest that the adoption of HEVs might even slow development of more sustainable fuel-cell powered electric vehicles that utilize (bio)hydrogen as their fuel.

No matter which type of vehicle might be most sustainable in the future - pure electric or hydrogen powered -, one thing is certain: in both cases biomass remains a very good candidate to generate the energy needed for transportation in an affordable, clean and efficient manner - be it H2 or electricity (see below). Biomass energy can even yield radical "negative emissions" when it is coupled to carbon capture and storage, and thus actively remove CO2 from the past from the atmosphere - something only biomass is capable of.

Jean-Jacques Chanaron, Research Director within the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Chief Scientific Advisor at the Grenoble School of Management and Julius Teske at Grenoble, question strongly whether the current acceptance of hybrid vehicle technology particularly in the USA is in any way environmentally sustainable.

The researchers have analyzed the spread of this technology including the non-financial drivers for its adoption. They point out that most manufacturers are rapidly integrating hybrid electric vehicles into their technology portfolio, despite the absence of significant profitability.

They add that the misinformed craze for hybrid vehicles especially in the USA, and increasingly in Japan and Europe, and potentially in China, could represent a red light for more innovative technologies, such as viable fuel-cell cars that can use sustainably sourced fuels, such as hydrogen. They concur with earlier studies that suggest that hydrogen fuel cells will not be marketable in high volumes before at least 2025. This could, however, be too late for some models of climate change and emissions reduction. They also point out that even fuel cell technology has its drawbacks and much of the marketing surrounding its potential has emerged only from the hydrogen lobby itself.

There is a general convergence of strategies towards promoting hybrid vehicles as the mid-term solution to very low-emission and high-mileage vehicles. This is largely due to Toyota's strategy of learning the technology, while building up its own "quasi-standard", thanks to its high-quality and reliability reputation and its high market share on the North American market. - Jean-Jacques Chanaron & Julius Teske

But they say that such a convergence is based more on customer perception triggered by very clever marketing and communication campaigns than on pure rational scientific arguments and may result in the need for any manufacturer operating in the USA to have a hybrid electric vehicle in its model range in order to survive.

Moreover, political pressures also play a significant part. The three major US manufacturers - GM, Ford, and Chrysler - recently urged President Bush to financially and politically support a national technological solution for hybrids; this was independent of the currently dominant solutions initiated by Toyota. The researchers concede that "the quest for low emission, clean, and high-mileage vehicles is on its way and should be at the top of the manufacturers' agenda". However, they suggest that the technology, marketing, and public perception leads to one overriding problem: is a hybrid strategy sustainable in the long run? Chanaron and Teske think not:

energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: biohydrogen :: bio-electricity :: renewable :: mobility :: hybrid electric vehicle :: fuel cell :: electric vehicle ::

The complexity and high cost of the hybrid technology is also playing against itself, they say: "There is a huge strategic dilemma for the key players of the automotive industry where a mistake in technology decision-making might turn even a big player into a take-over candidate. The next five years will provide industry observers with more accurate trends and success or failure factors."

Biopact notes that no matter which vehicle technology is most sustainable over the long run, bioenergy is in all cases the most economically viable, and in many cases the most environmentally friendly way to produce automotive energy.

When hydrogen is chosen as the fuel for fuel cell cars, the cleanest, most efficient and most affordable way to produce the gas is by converting biomass through gasification. This is the conclusion of a very large EU-funded well-to-wheel study of over 70 different propulsion technologies and energy pathways for the future. Of more than 30 different H2 production pathways - from electrolysis on the the basis of nuclear or wind power to steam reforming of natural gas - biohydrogen used in fuel cells and made from the gasification of biomass, is the cleanest and gives most mileage per amount of energy invested (previous post; graph, click to enlarge).

When pure electric cars are to be the future, then again bio-electricity is the clear winner amongst all sources of energy, over the medium to long term. According to the recent EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan, biomass based electricity is expected to become the cheapest form of electricity - even beating coal (previous post; table, click to enlarge).

Moreover, both biomass and biohydrogen production allow for the implementation of radical carbon-negative energy concepts. Bio-electricity and biohydrogen can be completely decarbonised by coupling their production to carbon capture and storage (CCS). When this is done, an energy carrier yielding "negative emissions" is obtained. Only fuels and energy carriers made from biomass can become carbon-negative, all other renewables remain fundamentally carbon positive.

The difference is staggering: over their lifecycle, renewables like wind or solar contribute between +30 and +100 gCO2eq per kWh of electricity. Bioenergy coupled to CCS yields up to -1000 gCO2 per kWh (that is: minus, "negative" emissions).

The bizarre aspect of such radical forms of carbon-negative bioenergy is that the more you use of it (in this case in your electric or hydrogen car), the more CO2 you take out of the atmosphere. The more you drive, the more you save the planet (previous post). Clearly, when it comes to mitigating climate change, carbon-negative biomass based transportation energy is the way forward.

The only issue with biomass is the fact that it is such a versatile primary energy resource. It can be transformed into a large range of products - from bioproducts and green platform chemicals to liquid, gaseous or solid biofuels - and used in a variety of applications - from producing heat to acting as a carbon sink - that it remains to be seen which utilization pathway is most efficient. Transforming biomass into an energy carrier for future cars might not be the most optimal use, because other services and products might be more cost-effective, better at mitigating climate change, or more energy efficient.

References:
Jean-Jacques Chanaron and Julius Teske, "Hybrid vehicles: a temporary step", International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2007 - Vol. 7, No.4 pp. 268 - 288, DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2007.017061

Eurekalert: The trouble with hybrids - Hybrid electric vehicles not as green as they are painted - February 7, 2008.

Biopact: The strange world of carbon-negative bioenergy: the more you drive your car, the more you tackle climate change - October 29, 2007

Biopact: Commission presents European Strategic Energy Technology Plan: towards a low carbon future - November 23, 2007

Biopact: Hydrogen out, compressed biogas in - October 01, 2006

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BC Hydro issues Bioenergy Call for Power to advance renewable electricity production

BC Hydro, British Columbia's main hydropower utility and one of Canada's largest electricity producers, has released the first phase of its two-phase Bioenergy Call for Power with a request for proposals that will utilize forest-based biomass, including sawmill residues, logging debris and other residual wood for power production. The call comes a week after British Columbia launched a highly ambitious Bioenergy Strategy that aims to make the province electricity self-sufficient with biomass (previous post).

The Bioenergy Call will help B.C. achieve its target for zero net greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen our long-term competitiveness and diversify rural economies. - Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

The Bioenergy Call will consist of two phases: the first phase will be a competitive request for proposals open to projects that are immediately viable and do not need new tenure from the Ministry of Forests and Range, with a goal of having electricity purchase agreements signed by fall of 2008.

The second phase will be launched by July 2008, after the ongoing biomass inventory and forest tenure analysis is completed by the Ministry of Forests and Range.

This first phase will promote investment in new technology and take advantage of underutilized wood residue, said Rich Coleman, Minister of Forests and Range. Under this phase, BC Hydro targets approximately 1,000 GWh/year of firm energy to be procured.

For phase I, BC Hydro will consider projects that meet the following eligibility requirements [*.pdf]:

• Fuel Type: Forest-based Biomass, including mill solid wood residues (hog fuel, sawdust, chips and/or chunks), pulp mill residues (hog fuel and black liquor), roadside and landing residues, and biomass derived from standing timber, without access to new timber harvesting tenure.
• Location: Projects to be located in British Columbia, excluding Fort Nelson and other areas of the Province from which BC Hydro would be required to transmit energy through another out-of-province jurisdiction to the Lower Mainland.
• Technology: Projects must use “proven” generation technologies. Nuclear technology is not eligible. “Proven” technologies are generation technologies, which are readily available in commercial markets and in commercial use (not demonstration use only), as evidenced by at least three generation plants (which need not be owned or operated by the Proponent) generating electrical energy for a period of not less than three years, to a standard of reliability generally required by good utility practice and the terms of the EPA.
• Clean: Entire output from the Project must qualify as “clean energy” in accordance with guidelines to be published by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

The Bioenergy Call for Power is a key component of the provincial government's Bioenergy Strategy, released last week, and the BC Energy Plan. It is intended to help address the effect