n last week’s Energy Trends Insider (ETI) I explained Why Sugarcane Bagasse is the Most Promising Pathway for Cellulosic Ethanol.
In addition, I answered a reader’s question about Ethanol’s Role in Rising Gas Prices and whether that increases the chances of a partial waiver this year of the Renewable Fuel Standard. As we have done previously, we would like to share a story from ETI with regular readers of this column. Interested readers can find more information on the newsletter and subscribe for free at Energy Trends Insider.
Why Sugarcane Bagasse is the Most Promising Pathway for Cellulosic EthanolThe history of cellulosic ethanol is a lot longer than most people probably realize. In 1819, French chemist Henri Braconnot discovered how to break cellulose down into component sugars by treating biomass with sulfuric acid. Once sugars are released from cellulose, the solution can be fermented to ethanol in processes that are very similar to those used to produce corn ethanol or sugar cane ethanol. Regardless of the way the sugars are released, processes that produce ethanol from cellulosic sugars are collectively categorized as cellulosic ethanol.
The Germans first commercialized cellulosic ethanol production from wood in 1898. The technology was commercialized in the U.S. in 1910, when Standard Alcohol Company built a cellulosic ethanol plant in South Carolina to convert lumber mill waste into ethanol. Standard Alcohol later built a second plant in Louisiana. Each plant was capable of producing over 5,000 gallons of ethanol per day from wood waste, and both were in production for several years before being idled for economic reasons.
If it makes a good rum, I’m for it. Otherwise, it’s just more food for fuel foolishness.
Seems another not-ready-for-prime-time process, though somewhat less so than corn-to-ethanol. Both rely on price supports with current technology.
Hard to see any biomass options that can survive the economic realities now. This is attractive enough for continued research though.
Let’s let all of these ferment a bit longer technologically….
Biomass as a source of a fuel suffers from unavoidable logistic problems. It must be gathered, transported, prepared, processed, purified in procedured that are all energy-intensive, increasing the cost-benefit ratio beyond that of fossil fuels. Gas and can be gathered by the hundreds of barrels using mechanisms (wells) that stay in one place and which need very little maintenance and almost no human labor after the initial set-up. Transport uses pipelines instread of trucks (and drivers, loaders, unloaders, depots, etc.)
Preparation doesn’t need to worry about screening out pebbles, logs, dead critters, wet leaves, etc. Processing is a simple distillation instead of hydrolysis, separation, fermentation, another separation, and THEN distillation.
What the heck is bagasse?
I looked it up. Bagasse is the fiber that is leftover from the crushing of the sugar cane.
It is currently burned to provide energy for operating the mill. Processing it for ethanol instead is a game.
You’re right on the money. Here in Oz if they have excess they use it to generate power which then gets extra subsidies as renewable energy.
Turning bagass into ethanol means they’d have to burn coal or gas to supply the energy to boil down the liquor. So all you would be doing is turning coal or gas indirectly into ethanol with very poor efficiency just so you could burn it in a car.
Of course you could just use gasoline or gas in the car and do better on the net CO2 emissions, but no that would be ‘way too sensible.