by Robert Kozak, President, Atlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc.; Board Member, Advanced Biofuels USA 

Title IX Implementation: Overall Goals  

First and foremost I urge whichever Administration takes office in January to honor the intent of Title IX legislation, to assure that the mandatory funding levels defined in Title IX are not held up in Congress, and any additional funds that require appropriation (Section 9012) are quickly provided.  

The overall goal of Title IX should be to develop an American Advanced Biofuels industry that is sustainable both environmentally and economically. This is, I believe, the intent of the legislation. 

To that end, biorefinery and biomass crop assistance programs should both be focused exclusively on only advanced biofuel projects and should not be used to support earlier generations of biofuel production. Furthermore, project selection criteria should focus on sustainability over immediate availability of technology. USDA should realize that most, if not all, sustainable advanced biofuel technologies are not commercially available today (2008). There are many very good, innovative technologies, conversion systems, and crops, at the lab level. Properly implemented Title IX programs, especially in these times of virtually non-existent early-stage credit, would go a long way to getting these technologies to market and would provide the start to an American Advanced Biofuels industry that could provide both long-term energy security and long-term rural economic growth. 

Section 9003 Biorefinery Assistance 

With the limited funds available, this program should only be used for Advanced or 3^rd generation biofuels which is the legislative intent of this section 

By way of definition: 

1^st generation biofuels are corn-to-ethanol and soybean biodiesel. Both of these are in wide-spread commercial production. 

2^nd generation biofuel is cellulosic ethanol. DOE has provided funding for a number of commercial-scale demonstration plants. In addition, General Motors has provided funding for two cellulosic ethanol companies, Coskata and Mascoma. 

3^rd generation (or True Advanced Biofuel) technologies include: advanced hemicelluloses/lignin conversion processes, either to intermediates (sugar cocktails) or final fuels, and aqueous reforming “green gasoline” processes. 3^rd generation biofuels include; bio-jetfuels, advanced biosynthetic diesel fuels, biogasoline, and fuel cell liquid electron carriers. 

Selection Criteria 

Criteria used to select candidate projects should be focused on encouraging innovation within the limited funding provided. They should include the following. 

• Don’t be afraid that some funded projects may fail. The purpose of this section is to find cutting-edge solutions. Many state technology programs realize that not all technologies are going to “hit home runs” and accept that risk.  USDA should follow this philosophy. Remember that low-risk selection criteria result in non-innovative technologies. 
• Co-ops and innovative feedstocks should be given high rankings, as the bill language states.
• Pilot-Scale Plants rather than larger sized biorefineries should be funded. $340 million is not much funding. With smaller scale pilot plants, more ideas can reach the commercial stage with the limited money available. Again, innovations, not overall production levels, are needed at this stage of Advanced Biofuel development.
• Multiple stage, decentralized/centralized hybrid biorefineries as well as other concepts should be included as well as the conventional integrated biorefinery design. At this stage of development, selecting only one type of biorefinery design would close the door on needed innovation.
• Something we often forget in biofuel discussions is that the cost of transporting biomass and biofuel is usually a primary profit/loss decision point in crop selection and biorefinery design. The goal of Section 9003 should therefore be to find innovative solutions that can reduce overall system transportation costs while also maximizing biorefinery efficiency and producing maximum amounts of advanced biofuels.  

Questions in Farm Bill Wording of Section 2003 

What is a Demonstration-Scale project?  Where does that fit in the engineering continuum of Pilot/Prototype/Commercial? 

What is a Large Scale market? In transportation fuels, all markets tend to be large. 

Section 9005 Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels 

Selection Criteria 

• As in Section 9003, funding should be limited to 3^rd generation biofuels.
• Production of National Defense fuels, i.e., jet and turbine fuels, should be considered as selection criteria.
• Production of biofuels with equivalent energy to existing gasoline, diesel, or jetfuel should be given high priority.
• Biofuel intermediates as well as finished products  should be eligible for Section 9005 funding. These would include “sugar cocktails” that are used to produce biogasoline or bio-jetfuel, or oil intermediates for advanced biosynthetic diesel.  

Section 9011 Biomass Crop Assistance Program 

In keeping with the overall goal of developing an environmentally as well as economically sustainable Advanced Biofuel industry, Section 9011 should provide funding for only sustainable energy or dual use crops. Therefore, before this program is initiated, USDA/ARS should conduct a study of available and near-term future crops to determine eligibility.  While this may slightly delay the implementation of this section, it is crucially important that high nutrient input or ecologically unfit crops are not included for funding. This study could be done under the language in this section that outlines selection criteria. Specific crop criteria to be developed should include: 

• Ecological fitness of crops to specific environments,
• Regional/ecological criteria,
• High per acre yields with low fertilizer inputs,
• Ease of harvesting,
• Availability of seed crop, and
• Availability of biomass conversion processes. Section 9011 language: “2) assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass conversion facility”  

Developing these criteria within the ARS system would solve the chicken-and egg issue between crops and biorefineries that is created by some of the language in this section such as letters of commitment, etc. More important, such a study would produce objective, science-based criteria for crop-selection which would help assure the long-term health of rural biofuel economies. 

Section 9012 Forest Biomass for Energy 

Selection Criteria 

Many of the selection criteria recommended for Section 9003 apply for Section 9012 as well. These include: 

• Don’t be afraid that some funded projects may fail.
• Funding should be limited to 3^rd generation biofuels.
• Pilot-Scale Plants rather than larger sized biorefineries should be funded.
• Innovative biorefinery concepts should be accepted.
• Innovative solutions that reduce overall system transportation costs while also maximizing biorefinery efficiency and producing maximum amounts of advanced biofuels should be a primary selection criteria.

In addition, program emphasis should be given to reactivating mothballed pulp-and-paper plants. In every region of the country, there are pulp-and paper plants closed because of the move to importing most of our paper from China and other countries. These plants present a significant opportunity for creating a forest based advanced biofuels industry at relatively low cost. Not only are they located near underutilized forest resources, they already have the infrastructure needed to build a biofuels biorefinery and in most cases these plants have been updated to meet EPA air and water regulations. Furthermore, they are located in rural communities needing economic revitalization because of their closure.  

Focusing Section 9012 prototype projects in these facilities could not only develop a forest based advanced biofuels industry very quickly and at lower than expected costs, but it would also provide a way to provide long-term economic growth for many rural communities that are now suffering through high unemployment and the outward migration of much of their younger people.

 

 

 

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