Biofuel Project Proposed in McFarland Would Bury Carbon from Ag Waste, Produce Alternative to Diesel

May 20, 2021

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by John Cox (Bakersfield.com) An Iowa technology company has proposed a first-of-its-kind bioenergy project in McFarland that's expected to help cut a significant source of local air pollution while also reducing diesel emissions, burying carbon and employing about 50 local residents.

The project spearheaded by Iowa-based technology company Frontline BioEnergy proposes to "gasify" about 300,000 tons per year of nut shells and other local ag waste and turn it into natural gas equivalent to 21 million gallons of gasoline. It would also generate an estimated 125 tons per day of biochar, a versatile byproduct whose uses may include fertilizer.

Known as San Joaquin Renewables LLC, the carbon-negative project is among the first of a growing number of Central Valley bioenergy initiatives that, though opposed by activists leery of any fuel that emits even small amounts of pollution, is seen by state policymakers as a strong alternative to diesel fuel and open burning of ag waste.

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Ag waste has long posed a dilemma for Central Valley agriculture. Burned openly in many cases, it can be burned and converted into electricity. But many of the so-called biomass plants that consumed it have closed in recent years past, leaving some growers to burn it on their own, which emits fine particulates and other harmful materials.

SJR proposes to gasify the biomass using a highly efficient but expensive process that super-heats the waste but doesn't combust it and therefore is considered a much cleaner alternative. What comes out of the process is methane the company hopes to inject into a local natural gas pipeline, plus carbon dioxide that would be stored deep underground and biochar.

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Frontline would license its technology to the project and help operate the plant on an 80-acre former agricultural field that served McFarland's wastewater treatment system. But the company would be only a minority owner of the plant, which he said would be co-owned by local residents and farmers.

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The California Air Resources Board, anxious to phase out ag burning by 2025, recently took a look at the potential for converting biomass into biofuel. It has proposed working with other agencies on promoting such work and, to help pay for it, pursuing funding from state and federal sources. READ MORE