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| Purdue receives cellulosic ethanol research funding |
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By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — While U.S. farmers prepare to plant nearly 15 percent more acres of corn this spring, Purdue researchers look at ways to improve the production of ethanol from materials other than corn such as grasses, cornstalks or wood chips.
“We need to look at ways to make more ethanol per acre, that’s where cellulose comes in,” said Mike Ladisch, director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering at Purdue University. “Grasses, wheat straw, wood chips, corn-stalks, sugarcane baggas (stalks of sugarcane) or poplar trees, which grow very fast can all be used to produce ethanol.”
To amplify research in this area, Purdue University recently accepted a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to pursue a study on developing and improving yeasts to convert cellulosic (biomass) material to ethanol.
The research team, Ladisch, Nancy Hoe, Mira Sedleak and Nate Mosier will work in cooperation with industry to improve yeast, making it “robust” and “industry strength” in the fermentation of cellulosic material to ethanol.
“Cellulosic ethanol is on the horizon and yeast is a very important part of that, Ladisch said.
“Grains such as corn contain only glucose, cellulosic materials such as grasses contain xylose and glucose,” said Ladisch.
“We need to develop a yeast to ferment both types of sugars, thus enhancing the yield of ethanol from both. This work is important because it holds the potential to increase the yield of ethanol from these materials (grasses, straw, wood chips, etc.).”
National attention
In addition to receiving a federal grant, Ladisch said Purdue has seen significant national attention on its research in this area.
“Dr Nancy Hoe, sat next to the First Lady at the State of the Union address in Washington D.C. this year, while the president announced his goals for cellulosic ethanol research in the U.S.”
Ladisch and the team at the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering in West Lafayette also recently welcomed USDA Secretary Mike Johanns for an extensive tour of their research facilities.
“We have done a lot of work in this area,” he said. “The transition of corn to ethanol requires us to look at producing a large quantity of fuel. Right now, we (United States) are currently producing 5-6 billion gallons of ethanol from corn a year, in 5-10 years we are estimating 12-15 billion gallons of ethanol be produced. Eventually we will max out and want to look at other ways to produce ethanol.”
Ladisch said that over time, cellulosic materials have the potential to provide more ethanol per acre and offer a greater energy yield than corn.
The three-year study continues from previous research in cellulosic ethanol conducted by Nancy Hoe and her colleagues at Purdue. Ladisch anticipates an “industry strength” yeast to be ready at the conclusion of the study.
After concluding the study in 2010, Ladisch predicts that “time wise, Indiana could see a cellulosic ethanol plant be built in five years and it could be sooner than that.” Currently, there are no cellulosic ethanol plants in Indiana and none are planned at this time, according to Eric Burch, communications director for the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development.
Opportunity for producers
And for producers, Ladisch indicates an opportunity for additional income. But rather than converting traditional cropland to ground used for cellulosic ethanol, Ladisch said that cellulosic material such as grasses will be grown on ground not suitable for cropland production, such as pasture, strip-mines or forest lands.
“It’s a different type of ag land,” he confirmed. “There’s a lot of it out there and (cellulosic ethanol) provides (producers or landowners) an incentive to better manage lands.”
In addition to the Purdue grant, four other projects received funding, adding up to just over $24 million. The four other recipients include: Cargill Incorporated to receive up to $4.4 million, Celunol Corporation to receive up to $5.3 million, E.I.
Dupont de Nemours & Company to receive up to $3.7 million and Mascoma Corporation to receive up to $4.9 million. DOE indicated that negotiations with the selected companies will begin immediately to determine final project plans and funding levels.
In this particular grant, Purdue is the only university-awarded project. Ladisch added that they will be working closely with an unnamed industry group to complete the research. At this time, the industry partner has not been officially named.
According to DOE this research will further President Bush’s goals of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012 and, along with increased automobile fuel efficiency, reduce America’s gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.
“These projects will play a critical role in furthering our knowledge of how we can produce cellulosic ethanol cost-effectively, “said DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner. “Ultimately, success in producing cost-competitive cellulosic ethanol could be a key to breaking our nation’s addition to oil. By relying on American farmers and ingenuity for fuel, we will enhance our nation’s energy and economic security.”
This farm news was published in the April 11, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 4/11/2007 |
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