Legislation may revive biofuel industry
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New federal legislation passed last week will allow both biodiesel and ethanol to be included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon emission standards, which could renew some interest in the fuels.
These new standards could restart the industry, allowing it to complete further research and find more efficient means of production.
One of these research facilities is the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals, located at Iowa State.
“The center’s focus is to replace the chemicals in diesel and everything else crude oil is used for,” said Brent Shanks, the center’s director and a professor of chemical and biological engineering.
Shanks said the field of chemical engineering grew from the petroleum industry, trying to find catalysts that convert hydrocarbons into fuel. Biological engineering focused on using enzymes or microbiological cells to create fuel. The center brings both fields together, to hopefully stream and accelerate research, into biodiesel creation.
Biodiesel is in fact not far from mass-produced fuel — it is available today and usually combined with regular diesel fuel.
These first-generation fuels are from oils such as soybean or waste oils from the food industry, Shanks said.
One of the problems with first-generation biofuels is that they use the same resources as food production.
This creates a problem of where to use the crops and could cause an increase in food prices. In the future, if these fuels were heavily relied on it would put immense strain on the agriculture industry, Shanks said.
The center’s research, though, is now focused toward second-generation fuels. The difference between first- and second-generation biodiesel is first-generation fuels are derived from the seed of the plant where the most energy is stored.
Second-generation fuels look to obtain fuel from the lower energy content of the rest of the plant, he said.
Shanks further explained that one of the goals of second-generation fuels is for the majority of it to be derived from waste products. Also, these fuels need to fit into current infrastructure of fuel distribution because modification of the system would put huge costs on the changeover. These costs could greatly reduce the interest in the biofuels.
The research going on at the center will take 10 years from beginning to end to get to market.
The current research will hopefully be close to market within the next four to five years. Shanks also said that it will be very important for the center’s partner companies to further the research forward.
These new standards could restart the industry, allowing it to complete further research and find more efficient means of production.
One of these research facilities is the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals, located at Iowa State.
“The center’s focus is to replace the chemicals in diesel and everything else crude oil is used for,” said Brent Shanks, the center’s director and a professor of chemical and biological engineering.
Shanks said the field of chemical engineering grew from the petroleum industry, trying to find catalysts that convert hydrocarbons into fuel. Biological engineering focused on using enzymes or microbiological cells to create fuel. The center brings both fields together, to hopefully stream and accelerate research, into biodiesel creation.
Biodiesel is in fact not far from mass-produced fuel — it is available today and usually combined with regular diesel fuel.
These first-generation fuels are from oils such as soybean or waste oils from the food industry, Shanks said.
One of the problems with first-generation biofuels is that they use the same resources as food production.
This creates a problem of where to use the crops and could cause an increase in food prices. In the future, if these fuels were heavily relied on it would put immense strain on the agriculture industry, Shanks said.
The center’s research, though, is now focused toward second-generation fuels. The difference between first- and second-generation biodiesel is first-generation fuels are derived from the seed of the plant where the most energy is stored.
Second-generation fuels look to obtain fuel from the lower energy content of the rest of the plant, he said.
Shanks further explained that one of the goals of second-generation fuels is for the majority of it to be derived from waste products. Also, these fuels need to fit into current infrastructure of fuel distribution because modification of the system would put huge costs on the changeover. These costs could greatly reduce the interest in the biofuels.
The research going on at the center will take 10 years from beginning to end to get to market.
The current research will hopefully be close to market within the next four to five years. Shanks also said that it will be very important for the center’s partner companies to further the research forward.
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