Advanced BioFuels USA

by Maija Sihvonen* (Advanced Biofuels USA) The 23rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE) held in Vienna 1-4 June was a massive event with nearly 1300 participants from 76 countries and some 800 presentations. The event consisted of multiple parallel events, including oral presentations, workshops and poster exhibitions.

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In biomass production, one of the central themes still remains the issue of food versus energy production. Presenters agreed that competing uses of biomass are increasing. Even the use of forest residues is often complicated because of the fragmented ownership. The emphasis in presented research projects was on second and third generation solutions, although the use of sugar cane, for example, was not dismissed completely either.

The use of biomass increased to 6% by 2012 in the European Union countries, and is now slightly over 10% in the renewable energy sector. EU’s target for 2030 in climate and energy policies is a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 and at least 27% share of renewables in energy production. Yet, as long as fossil fuel prices and subsidiaries available for biomass remain low, the targets seem difficult to reach. On the positive side, however, the field is steadily growing and in 2012 about 500,000 jobs related to bioenergy were created in the EU.

The EU also funds several programs to promote the use of renewables. Andreas Uihlein from the European Commission introduced the NER 300 program, one of the world’s largest programs for supporting innovative low-carbon technology. The idea is to generate a support community network for bioenergy projects, facilitate communication of achievements and support transition to large-scale deployment of innovative renewable energy sources.

Energy from waste: fuel from yeast and cooking oil

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The way forward is to widen the concept of biomass and find non-conventional biomass production solutions. For example, Nathalie Devriendt presented a Belgian project where the researchers studied the possibility to use roadside cuttings as a source for biofuels in West Flanders. The main challenges were how to control the biomass quality, transport costs and energy consumption, and to find optimal pretreatment methods.

Aquatic biomass was among the main themes in the conference. It is estimated that seaweed has energy potential up to 350 PJ and algae could be cultivated in open systems such as open ponds or closed systems such as tubes and flat panels. Companies are also piloting the commercial potential of growing micro algae on buildings: for example, Algosource Technologies is experimenting with algae production on a 200 m² biofacade.

Interest in producing oil from yeast has also increased from 2011 onwards. Eleni Karamenou from the University of Manchester presented her study group’s results in producing microbial oil from waste glycerol. The advantages of the process are that yeast grows fast and is able to consume a variety of substrates, including waste. For now, the challenge for large-scale applications is the high cost of cultivation and equipment.

The present target for biofuels with renewable content is 15% by 2030 and 25% by 2050. At the moment lignocellulosic biomass is seen as the most feasible option due to its availability and low price, but research on other options is in progress.

Marco Buffi from the University of Florence presented a project where filtered used cooking oil was used to produce aviation fuel. The best ratio was achieved with approximately 64% bio oil, although the resulting mixture still needs further upgrading. Producing biodiesel in municipal wastewater treatment is also a viable option although still restricted by the fact that EU regulation on waste processing is rather strict.

The future of biomass 

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World’s energy production still consists 80% of fossils and the share of renewable sources is 18%. The global challenge is that biomass is located mostly in developing countries: 45% in Asia and 26% in Africa with substantial potential in India and Brazil. Utilization of biomass is thus also a logistical problem.

According to Andre Faaij from the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute of Groeningen, 300 EJ energy deployment will be needed in the 2^nd half of the century. He stated that biomass resources could suffice to meet the needs if agriculture modernizes fast enough so that less land is needed for growing food.

The key is to combine biomass production with productive agriculture and livestock. From the perspective of climate change, the situation looks challenging: to reach the emission reduction target we already need negative emissions, as Faaij pointed out. Thus, biomass can remain one option, but in fact, several methods need to be combined.

What should be done to promote the use of biomass in the future? In the closing session it was concluded that feedstock flexibility needs to be increased, clear strategies and policies on EU and national levels on market introduction and penetration are required and support for developing countries are necessary to help them to create sustainable value chains for biomass production.

* Advanced Biofuels USA contributor, Maija Sihvonen, a technical writer and student of energy technology at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, aims for a career specializing in renewable energy and politics.