Ethanol CO2 By-Product Is Critically Important to Merchant CO2 Industry

by Sam A. Rushing (Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd./Biofuels Digest) ... CO2 by-product sources from ethanol dominate the source – map v. other source types, where next in line include sources from ammonia and natural /pipeline facilities. I am pleased to see that new sources continue to arise from existing corn and grain-based fermentation sources; given the almost absolute absence of other available CO2 industry feedstocks. For example, over the last year or two, new merchant CO2 sources from ethanol have developed in the U.S west / northwest.

CO2 from fermentation, is felt will thrive, despite politics. That being the case, it is felt since the lion’s share of CO2 plants are in the Midwest, the industry and political clout is in favor of legislation favoring the RFS. Many of the nation’s ethanol plants, which tally over 200 such operations, are supporting the RFS; and most of the possible CO2 sources from ethanol are untapped, however highly concentrated in a super-saturated Midwestern region. The US ethanol – based sources number over approximately 40 locations now.

Other source types, such as ammonia, reformer, natural, other chemical, are highly unavailable to the gas companies, since most of the existing locations have already been tapped for the CO2 by-product or product (the latter from natural and pipeline operations, not by-product).

As a product of cheap natural gas made available from fracking and horizontal drilling, several proposed and planned new ammonia and ethylene oxide operations were announced over the last few years. From these announcements and plans, only a few viable projects have been consummated. Thus, the challenge to bring more world class ammonia plants online and more successful ethylene oxide projects forward has not occurred, as the developers hoped.

The relatively recent northern California and Oregon CO2 source additions are logical, in terms of regions which need the product, and have CO2 market growth opportunities. Other ethanol sources have considered selling their CO2 product to the markets in other regions, and in some cases, where existing sources are a considerable distance away, and merchant market prices are high, the interest by most of the gas companies has been rather impressive. Ethanol is well thought of as a secure, long term source of product. Most of this discussion surrounds grain – based fermentation, where much of growth in the future we hope will come from cellulosic ethanol and advanced biofuels projects.

As I have written many times in the past, the industry is constantly evolving, via the use of new and improved applications for the product. For example, the applications which have a ‘green’ take, including photosynthesis enhancement, blast cleaning, supercritical extraction, concrete sequestration; and those which are not fully scaled up, such as developing platforms whereby CO2 is said to become the basis of future biofuel production opportunities; and replacement material for hydrocarbons in the plastics industry; both cases require a carbon rich base, where perhaps someday this will be rather common place, and a truly substantial means of sequestering and recycling carbon.

Beyond organic market growth, the addition of new and improved applications can lead to a significant amount of growth. I have witnessed very significant boons in the CO2 industry over the years, for example, when CO2 usage in frac work, as an ‘energized fluid’, the demand exploded, during an oil and gas boon of the past (of course this market has become very small since the explosion of hydraulic fracturing). Also, when the poultry industry became more familiar with all the applications for the commodity, this market grew almost geometrically over a pervious term, as the demand for a cheaper form of protein became very popular. READ MORE