Advanced BioFuels USA

by Susan van Dyk, Emile van Zyl, Brett Pletschke (International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39)  This short contribution provides some perspectives on opportunities for biofuel production on the African continent. Africa has a large land base, with only 27% of its arable land currently utilised. High level assessments, such as by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2017, carried out to estimate the potential for biofuel production based on lignocellulosic feedstocks, are favorable. IRENA’s 2017 report, is entitled “Biofuels potential in Sub-Saharan Africa,” and, to paraphrase, it estimates the amounts of feedstocks that could be grown, collected and converted to liquid biofuels across Africa. Its main focus is on lignocellulosic feedstocks that could be grown in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable fashion, without conflicting with food supplies or causing land use change that could release carbon into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. This report concludes that “considerable sustainable resource potential exists for liquid biofuels in sub-Saharan Africa.” Three approaches to expanding biomass feedstocks hold particular promise. One is to collect more of the available residues from food crops and forest products. Another is to plant high-yielding trees and grasses on land made available through more intensive cultivation of farmland, achieving yields beyond those needed to supply projected food needs. A third approach is to plant bioenergy crops on land freed up by reduced waste and losses in the food chain, which can obviate the need to grow food no longer lost or wasted.

However, most of the advanced technologies for biofuel production from lignocellulosic feedstocks have not reached commercial scale and many are still in relatively early stages of development. Although the report acknowledges “limited technological readiness” in the majority of African countries, South Africa is excluded from this concern as it already has implemented advanced technologies; presumably, this refers to the ability to use gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis to produce liquid fuels from coal. Thus, the report seems to assume that gasification-FT technology used for coal feedstocks can easily be transferred to the making of biofuels from biomass feedstocks, notwithstanding the fact that it has not yet reached commercial scale based on lignocellulosic biomass due to the added complexity introduced by such feedstocks.

The report also posits that, “African countries all have a fair amount of experience with refining conventional biofuels from starch- and sugar-based feedstocks. This should facilitate their adoption of lignocellulosic processes that are being demonstrated elsewhere. Meanwhile, they can develop lignocellulosic feedstocks to supply industrial process heat and power.” (IRENA, 2017). This is clearly an overly optimistic vision that indicates a lack of understanding of the difficulty of developing and proving out advanced technologies to the point they are mature as well as the challenge of raising the capital investment required to construct such production facilities. It also seems to ignore the large role played by traditional bioenergy (woodfired cooking) and the resulting competition for lignocellulosic feedstocks.

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We believe Africa presents unique circumstances and considerations which have to be taken into account when discussing biofuel development opportunities on this continent.

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Some of the key points we to consider include:

• Lignocellulosic based biofuels are not yet at commercial scale and many will still take years to develop in industrialised countries, let alone in developing countries. …

• Much of Africa still relies on traditional bioenergy, i.e., using lignocellulosic biomass for cooking and heating. …

• One of the key drivers for biofuel development in Africa is rural development and job creation. In this context, a food AND fuel approach could play a role in development of agriculture with potential waste products (such as molasses) useful as feedstocks for biofuel production. …

• Sugarcane production is highly energy efficient and sugarcane ethanol can deliver significant emission reductions. …

• Beyond transportation fuels, Africa needs cleaner and more efficient bioenergy solutions to reduce local pollution, which could include products such as ethanol gels for cooking purposes.

• Biofuel solutions that have worked in other developed countries are not necessarily suitable for direct transfer into the African context. Rather, the unique characteristics of the African context have to be considered.

• Africa might be a suitable place for producing feedstocks that can be exported for biofuel production elsewhere. But this is unlikely to be an efficient route to rural development, job creation, food and energy security and sustainability on the continent (Lynd and Woods, 2011).   READ MORE / MORE / MORE

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