AU Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts demonstrates mobile gasifier for U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions

Friday, May 30, 2008
Auburn University, AL

Steve Taylor demonstrates Mobile Gasifier for Senator Sessions

Earlier today, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions visited the Auburn University campus to participate in a roundtable discussion with faculty and students concerning the current “food vs fuel” debate, and to attend a demonstration of AU’s mobile biomass gasification unit.

In remarks to a small group of trustees, faculty, and students, Sessions praised AU researchers for seeking alternative fuel sources that can be used to meet America’s growing energy needs.

To read more about biofuels from non-food feedstocks, visit our website at www.nrmdi.auburn.edu or check out the highlights from today’s roundtable discussion (below). 

 

Food Versus Fuel: Can we produce biofuels and still feed the world?
A Roundtable Discussion

 

A World in Transition

 

Rising food prices

·         worldwide increases in the price of corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, and beef

·         critics attribute increases to diversion of grains from food supply chain to fuel supply chains

 

Price increases related to a number of factors:

·         escalating oil prices

·         increasing demand for grain-fed meat in India and China

·         speculating on commodity prices by hedge-fund managers

·         continuing drought in critical areas of the U.S. and Australia

·         agricultural policies around the world that limit farm productivity

 

The Next Generation of Biofuels

·         Growth in the biofuels industry contributes only marginally to the global demand for grain

·         Auburn’s programs are focused heavily on commercializing the next generation of biofuels that will come from non-food feedstocks like:

o        forest biomass and non-food dedicated agricultural energy crops, sustainably grown on underutilized and marginal lands not suited for food production.

o        agricultural and forest residues, industrial waste (like paper mill sludge), municipal solid waste, municipal green waste

·         Biofuels produced from non-food feedstocks have minimal direct impact on the price of food

·         Efforts are focused on developing cost effective systems to produce and deliver these underutilized forms of biomass and then convert them to liquid fuels, chemicals, and electrical power

 

Auburn’s vision for an Alabama Bioeconomy

 

·         Alabama has 22 million acres of forestland in sustainable production today

·         14.6 million tons of unused forest residue and unmerchantable timber are generated each year in Alabama

·         Nearly 2 billion gallons of biomass-derived liquid fuel could be produced from Alabama’s residual forest biomass, which is roughly equivalent to one-third of the corn ethanol currently produced nationally

·         An additional 15 million tons of biomass could be produced from dedicated agricultural energy crops to provide an additional 2 billion gallons of liquid fuels annually

·         25 million gallons per year of ethanol can be produced from the sludge generated by Alabama’s pulp and paper mills

·         130 million gallons per year of liquid fuel can be generated from Alabama’s municipal wood waste

·         By using recycled cooking oil, select municipalities can produce enough biodiesel to offset up to 50% of their fleet fuel use

 

Auburn University hosting Sen. Sessions for bioenergy briefing

The AU Natural Resources Management & Development Institute will host U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions at 11:15 a.m. Friday, May 30, for a demonstration and briefing on Auburn’s mobile bioenergy unit, a specially designed vehicle with gasification power generation equipment. The demonstration will take place in the parking lot next to the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. Sessions, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is interested in Auburn’s work to produce synthetic gas and other forms of energy using wood chips, poultry litter and other agricultural and forestry byproducts. Larry Fillmer, institute executive director, and Steve Taylor, director of the institute’s Bioenergy and Bioproducts Center, will update Sessions on how Auburn’s advanced energy technology can help businesses, manufacturers and agricultural operations significantly reduce their energy costs.

Fueling the Future

Yesterday, alternative energy researchers from Auburn University visited Eastwood Christian Academy in Opelika for a biofuels demonstration related to algae.

William White and Donathan Parker covered the event for the Opelika/Auburn News.  Below are excerpts from their story:

On most days the students at Eastwood Christian Academy in Opelika are between first and 12th grades.

Monday morning however, school Headmaster David James was educating a more diverse group of pupils, and the lesson of the day was alternative fuels.

James and several of his colleagues demonstrated a process by which multiple types of biofuels could be extracted from algae (pond scum).

The biofuels derived from a process called transesterification were used to power several vehicles at Eastwood Christian Academy as a laundry list of local and state officials were on hand to observe.

Observe and hopefully become concerned about, if David Bransby has anything to say about it.

“I want to impress upon everyone that we are in a crisis as it pertains to our fuel situation in this country,” said Bransby, a researcher for Auburn University and an expert on alternative fuels who has spoken with President Bush on the topic twice during his administration. “Most people haven’t come to that realization yet.”

“A year ago, we were at $60 a barrel of oil. Friday that price closed at $126 a barrel,” said Bransby. “Gas prices went up significantly after Katrina, but we don’t have Katrina to blame anymore.”

Coupled with the fact that the United States imports nearly 60 percent of the oil it uses from countries with unstable governments around the world, and you have all the components of potential “crisis” in Bransby’s opinion.

“Ethanol fuels made from corn and soy products have done a great job in kicking this industry off, but we can’t carry on in that direction,” Bransby added.

Fellow Auburn University researcher, Ron Putt agrees and has conducted extensive research with chlorella, a species of algae capable of doubling its size in a matter of hours.

“This fast-growing species of algae can produce up to 1,000 gallons of oil per acre per year,”said Putt, a chemical engineering professor at Auburn University. Putt also heads up AU’s algae-growing program. The ability to produce fuels from alternative sources could significantly reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

“My vision is to turn the Southeast into the new OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries),” said Putt.

To read the complete story, visit the O/A News website at www.oanow.com.

 

Phase 1 of new Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory Complete

Phase 1 of the renovations creating the new Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Laboratory has been completed and Phase 2 is currently under construction. Phase 1 provided new ADA and code compliant restrooms, an updated lobby and renovated offices with new furnishings. A new fiber optic cable and wireless network were also installed.

 Phase 2 will complete the new central analytical lab and the fractionation lab. We will also be installing a new chiller, boiler and air handling unit for all the renovated laboratory spaces. A sprinkler and fire alarm system, card readers and an up to date video system for the entire building will be the final touches of this phase of construction. This will add about 2000 square feet of laboratories and is expected to be complete by late July 2008.

Phase 3 of this project is currently on the design boards and provides a 2000 square foot gasification laboratory that is scheduled for completion in late fall of 2008.

Contributed by:

Rebecca S. Cox ‘76
Program Manager, Bioenergy and Bioproducts
Natural Resources Management & Development Institute
Auburn University

 

Wood to Watts: Biomass Gasification

AU researchers show off way to turn wood to watts

Friday, May 16, 2008

WILLIAM THORNTON

News staff writer

Alabama Power and Auburn University are looking for new sources of energy, and they’re finding them in the state’s lush forests.

On Thursday, Auburn University engineers gave Alabama Power Co. executives and employees a peek at the future with a demonstration of its mobile biomass gasification unit, which converts wood chips into power.

Biomass is the name for naturally produced material that can be used as fuel sources, including wood scraps and switchgrass, a tall grass native to the Midwest.

Alabama is estimated to have woody biomass equivalent to 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil, Auburn says. Counting just the residue from commercial logging and other activities, the state produces about 4 million dry tons a year, which equals about 10 percent of the nation’s annual gasoline usage.

At a time when the world economy is straining under crude oil prices of more than $120 a barrel, the project may point a way to convert some of the wood that covers roughly two-thirds of the state into energy.

“This research project is part of a search for answers,” said Alabama Power Co. Chief Executive Charles McCrary.

The biomass demonstration took place across the street from the utility’s Birmingham headquarters on 18th Street. The $250,000 gasification unit sits on wheels and houses a 5-foot steel drum.

“A conveyor belt empties wood chips into the top of the drum. Inside, the wood burns, releasing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen and oxygen. The gases are then filtered into a V6 engine and used to generate electricity,” said Christian Brodbeck, an Auburn research engineer.

The generator consumes about 50 pounds of wood chips per hour. A ton of wood could generate a megawatt.

The unit was built by a Littleton, Co.-based company to Auburn’s specifications, using an undisclosed financial gift from Alabama Power. Auburn engineers have been taking the unit on the road since January to show how the technology can be used.

While Alabama Power employees looked on under umbrellas in a steady rain, the engine powered lights, a monitor and a laptop on about 8 kilowatts of power. The unit can generate up to 25 kilowatts, but the engineers had it running low because of the rain.

“It’s rained every day we’ve had this out for a demonstration,” Brodbeck said.

Steven Taylor, director of Auburn’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts, said the challenge is still finding a way to collect wood residue – including limbs, tree tops and small trees unsuitable for commercial use – and convert it into energy cheaply. In the future, the technology would not only produce energy but also reduce landfill needs.

Stationary Gasification Generator:

Auburn also is building a stationary gasification generator that should have a greater generating capacity and the ability to create a synthetic diesel fuel from biomass.

Alabama Power uses switchgrass and wood chips from the Southeast as part of its renewable energy program, spokesman Michael Sznajderman said. Both residential and commercial customers can subscribe for kilowatt-hour blocks of renewable energy each month.

While participating in the program doesn’t guarantee that a home or business will receive the actual kilowatt hours of energy from renewable sources, it does pay for renewable energy on the power grid. That will help increase the use of such energy, the program’s organizers say.

Still, Alabama Power officials acknowledge that it will be several years before a cost-effective, large-scale application for biomass is found.

“This is the portfolio of the future,” said McCrary. “In the meantime, we’re going to continue to try to make this more efficient and more financially feasible.”

AU’s state-of-the-art biofuel technology displayed at Alabama Power

Today, the AU Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts demonstrated its mobile biomass gasification unit in Birmingham at the corporate offices of Alabama Power.   NBC 13’s Andrew Hayenga was on the scene.  Check out his story about the AU/Alabama Power Partnership on the NBC 13 website. 

ABC 33/40 ’s Melissa Riopka covered the demonstration as well.  Check out her story on Auburn/Alabama Power renewable energy initiative at the ABC 33/40 website.

AU to demonstrate biomass gasification unit May 15 at Alabama Power corporate offices

AUBURN – Auburn University’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will demonstrate AU’s mobile biomass gasification unit on Thursday, May 15, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., near Alabama Power’s corporate offices in Birmingham.The gasifier and power generation unit will be on display in the Alabama Power visitors parking lot at 18th Street and 7th Avenue North, across the street from their corporate headquarters.

Alabama Power and Auburn University are working together to develop cost effective systems to convert renewable biomass to electrical power and help meet Alabama’s energy needs.

Charles McCrary, chairman, president and CEO of Alabama Power, will be on site from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

On hand to answer questions about the gasifier, renewable energy and about the collaboration between Alabama Power and AU will be Steve Taylor, director of the AU Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts and head of the AU Department of Biosystems Engineering; Larry Fillmer, Executive Director of AU’s Natural Resources Management & Development Institute; and representatives from Alabama Power.

For more information on Alabama Power’s sponsorship of the mobile biomass gasification unit, go to

 

 

 

http://www.nrmdi.auburn.edu/SpecialFeatures/trailer.php

USDA Honors Dee River Ranch for Conservation Work

Mike and Annie Dee of Aliceville, Alabama, are winners of NRCS’ 2008 Excellence in Conservation Award. Owners and operators of the Dee River Ranch, this brother and sister team applies both traditional and state-of-the-art conservation techniques to ensure that their operation is profitable and environmentally sound. 

On April 30, 2008, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Gary Mast presented the 2008 Excellence in Conservation Award to Mike and Annie Dee of Dee River Ranch, Aliceville, Alabama.

“True conservation of our natural resources can be achieved only when groups and individuals put their commitment to conservation into action,” said Mast. “Annie and Mike Dee share their knowledge of conservation with communities and individuals across Alabama regularly and with distinction.”

Mike and Annie are very stewardship conscious. Mike says, “As we think of stewardship, we can’t be limited to look at next year’s crops, be it corn, wheat, or cattle. We have to think about the next 10 years. We have to be improving the soil and the environment all the time because we have to produce more from every acre to maintain our livelihood and success. We have to be improving all the time, not just maintaining.”

Brother and sister Mike and Annie Dee have gone the extra mile to ensure that their farming operation is not only profitable but also environmentally sound. They have incorporated conservation practices into their farming operation that have enhanced the productivity of the farm, reduced soil erosion, improved moisture retention in the soil, and provided wildlife habitat.

The award ceremony was held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Convention Center during the national observance of Soil and Water Stewardship Week, April 27 to May 4, 2008. Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, Ron Sparks, and NRCS Assistant State Conservationist, Zona Beaty, joined Deputy Under Secretary Mast in recognizing the leadership, accomplishments and cooperative efforts of Dee River Ranch.
The NRCS Excellence in Conservation Award as a national award is the highest award the agency gives to honor those outside the Federal government for their work in conservation. This annual award recognizes the voluntary contributions of non-governmental individuals, groups, and Tribes through their conservation efforts in areas of technical assistance, programs delivery, technology transfer, outreach, or communication.

To learn more about the Dees, their conservation efforts and their partnership with the Natural Resources Management & Development Institute, check out:

Miles of Stewardship: The Dee River Ranch, a special feature on the NRMDI website.

 

The Grand Challenge

A Competition to Promote Forward-Thinking and Leadership in Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture and Forestry, and Other Institutions of Higher Learning

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in cooperation with the 25x’25 Alliance, has recently announced The Grand Challenge, a competition intended to support academic institutions as they assume leadership in achieving solutions to issues associated with energy supply and consumption. The competition provides an opportunity for agricultural and forestry colleges and other institutions of higher learning to share their vision for how they will contribute to achieving the goal of the 25x’25 Alliance:

“By the year 2025, America’s farms, ranches and forests will provide 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States, while continuing to produce safe, abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber.”

Institutions are presenting their vision of U.S. agriculture and/or forestry’s contribution to the energy economy in 2017, the roles they intend to create for themselves in that environment, and how those roles will contribute to meeting the 25x’25 goal through achievements in four areas:

• Increasing the production of renewable energy and alternative fuels;
• Delivering that energy to consumers;
• Meeting consumer demand; and
• Enhancing sustainability, conservation and energy efficiency

Grand Challenge Sponsors are: The Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the 25x’25 Alliance, a broad alliance of agricultural, energy, environmental, business and labor groups.

Fifteen winners will be invited to present their visions during the REE Bio Energy Awareness Days II in Washington, DC, on June 19 – 22, 2008. Specifically, the winners will have the opportunity to exhibit at the Whitten Building site for BEAD II, June 19 and 20, with a reception honoring them from 3:00 to 5:00 pm on June 20, 2008. These fifteen will include up to two winners from each of the four USDA geographic regions, two winners from the 1890 land-grant colleges, and five ‘at-large’ winners that can be from any eligible college or university. Participants will be judged on the basis of a paper, not to exceed 10 pages, outlining their vision. A team of judges from REE and the 25×25 Alliance will judge these papers.

Together with Alabama A&M University and Tuskeegee University, Auburn University submitted an entry for the Grand Challenge titled, Partnerships: The Pathway to a Vibrant Bioeconomy for Alabama. 

Following is the executive summary:

 

Partnerships: The Pathway to a Vibrant Bioeconomy for Alabama

Executive Summary

Alabama and its alliance of land grant institutions and other research partners are positioned to be national leaders inbioenergy and bioproducts education, research, extension and outreach. Each of the three land-grant universities in Alabama—Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, and Tuskegee University—has a rich past and an exciting future forconducting programs that are directed at utilizing our natural resources for energy and value-added products. This document outlines a comprehensive plan for education, research and development, extension and implementation activities conducted by an alliance composed of these universities with external partners that will lead to the creation of bioenergy and bioproducts that will help Alabama and the nation reach the energy goals outlined by the President and the 25x’25 initiative. The multidisciplinary programs at each of the three land-grant institutions are working in concert in the following major areas: Auburn University emphasizes utilization of biomass resources for conversion to liquid fuels, electrical power, heat, and other higher-value products; Alabama A&M University emphasizes oilseed crop production; and Tuskegee University emphasizes starch crop production. Moreover, two major federal government research units: the USDA ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory and the USDA Forest Service Forest Operations Research Unit of the Southern Research Station; and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and its Center for Alternative Fuels, also are integral research partners in the alliance in the areas of agricultural and forest production systems. This comprehensive plan outlines a vision, guiding principles, program activities, and necessary steps to create a bioeconomy in Alabama that will help meet and exceed the President’s goals for 2017 as well as the goals set out in the 25x’25 initiative by producing as much as 2.5 billion gallons per year of liquid fuels, offsetting as much as 35% of the state’s electrical power needs, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, and creating thousands of jobs for Alabama citizens.

To read Partnerships: The Pathway to a Vibrant Bioeconomy for Alabama in its entirety, click here for full text.

 

Fultondale, Ala: An Auburn Energy Partner

 

 

In the months to come, the City of Fultondale, Alabama will join other municipalities in partnering with the Center of for Bioenergy and Bioproducts at Auburn University to create energy from renewable sources.

Using Auburn University’s Mobile Biomass Gasification Unit, pictured below, the City of Fultondale will work with researchers from AU to turn municipal green waste into energy.  Limbs and branches, normally bound for a local landfill will be used as feedstock for creating a synthesis gas.  That gas will then be used to power a generator that produces electrical energy.

Working together, the City of Fultondale and the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will:

• Conduct an analysis of the city’s feedstock (municipal green waste)
• Determine the amount and type of energy that could be produced
• Test the feedstock in AU’s Mobile Biomass Gasification Unit
• Demonstrate the method for converting feedstock to synthesis gas
• Convert the synthesis gas to electricity

This analysis, testing, and demonstration are the first steps in developing an economically viable means to create clean, green energy from renewable resources and in reducing the amount of space needed for city landfills.

 

 

Biomass Gasification: Technology for Renewable Energy

Gasification:

• A thermochemical process where heat and oxygen break down biomass into a synthesis gas
• Synthesis gas consists of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, etc.

Synthesis gas is used for:

• Powering internal combustion engines
• Powering boilers, furnaces, driers, or chillers
• Powering gas turbines or fuel cells
• Producing liquid fuels  (diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuel)