Sustainable Aviation Fuel Needs Sustainable Agriculture, and SusAg Is Accelerating

October 16, 2023

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by y Mike Sticklen (Lee Enterprise Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... Corn-ethanol’s current average carbon intensity is 50 gCO2e/MJ ethanol which is one-half of gasoline carbon intensity of 100 gCO2e/MJ gasoline. The ethanol industry has committed to net-zero carbon intensity by 2040 and a 50% reduction to 25 gCO2e/MJ ethanol by 2030. Ethanol plants will achieve this reduction primarily through geological sequestration of fermentation CO2 (CCS) and continuous reduction in natural gas and electric power usage.

This is underway currently with CO2 pipelines deep connecting to underground CO2 storage in North Dakota and Illinois and is being incentivized by the IRA 45Q CCS tax credit of $85 per ton CO2 and low-carbon fuel standard carbon credits. The pipelines have some political headwinds, but I think they will get built a bit slower than planned. The benefits to farmers, to ethanol producers and to society are too large to ignore.

Ethanol producers are continuing to reduce their overall GHG footprint with technologies such as membrane dehydration, advanced process control, behind-the-meter renewable power and ethanol and distillers’ corn oil yield improvements. Inside the fence ethanol plant GHG emissions will be reduced from 26 gCO2e/MJ to 16 gCO2e/MJ by 2030.

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The top GHG contributors are nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizers and biomass degradation, fertilizer manufacturing carbon intensity and farming fuel use including drying.

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Continuing to improve crop yields. More bushels on less land reduces indirect land-use, improves farming energy efficiency and reduces fertilizer intensity.
Applying the right fertilizer in the right place, at the right application rate and at the right time (4R’s). Smart-farming practices can enable 4R’s and it reduces farming input cost while reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by up to 50%. N2O GHG effect is 300 times worse than CO2.
Adopting no till or strip-till practices. Requires farmers to change long-established practices while maintaining carbon in the soil and reducing N2O emissions.
Adopting cover crops that fix nitrogen grown in addition to corn and soybean cash crops, resulting in less nitrogen fertilizer use and reduced N2O emissions. This option is not without risk to farmers – with potential adverse effect on other crop yields.
Using renewable “blue or green” nitrogen fertilizer. Blue ammonia is more likely to be widely available via Louisiana ammonia producers geologically sequestering CO2 that is produced with traditional ammonia production. This will reduce the GHG intensity of ammonia that is transported via pipeline to the midwest corn belt. Green ammonia produced via renewable hydrogen from wind and solar power is being helped by the IRA hydrogen production tax credits.
Applying biochar to soil. This has potential to bank CO2 emissions in soil and reduce GHG intensity by 20 gCO2e/MJ, but the biochar supply chain is not established and application to fields are not yet well understood. This magitude is exciting, however it is several years out.

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Sustainably Grown Corn has the Scale Required to Remove sufficient atmospheric carbon to slow-down climate-change

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Today’s crops provide a low-cost and climate-friendly feedstock for producing sustainable starch and oil feedstocks for the production of renewable fuels, chemicals and plastics.

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Efficient row crop growth captures vast amounts of CO2 via photosynthesis using solar energy. When the carbon that is captured in the plants is converted to carbohydrates, oils and proteins, the carbon adds value to society via food, fuel, and other materials. The biogenic carbon that is released during some manufacturing processes such as fermentation, can be captured and stored. A few novel non-fermentation manufacturing processes utilize almost all the carbon. There are no other carbon cycles that can achieve the scale needed to combat GHG build-up in our atmosphere.

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Precision agriculture using satellite-guided planting, fertilizer application and real time crop yields will result in step-change reduction in corn inputs especially nitrogen fertilizer.

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Corn Ethanol plants supply both food and fuel

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Cost Effective Cellulosic Biofuels will require a technology breakthrough

The total cost, including capital charge, for cellulosic ethanol is 50% higher than corn ethanol. Major technology breakthroughs are required to level the playing field. Several premier technology companies have tried the cellulosic feedstock route including DuPont, POET, Abengoa, (Italian producer), and Clariant Romania.

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There are currently over 190 operating ethanol plants in the US and no operating cellulosic ethanol plants. Newcomers such as Verbio and D3MAX are continuing to innovate: Verbio is converting corn stover to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) via digestion, and D3MAX has adapted NREL mild cellulosic hydrolysis technology at Ace Ethanol. In terms of total fuel energy output, these plants are also small. READ MORE

Financial Discounts for Regenerative Ag (AgWeb)

US drive to make green jet fuel with ethanol stalled by CO2 pipeline foes (Reuters)

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Yields tax credits Sustainability soil carbon precision farming/agriculture pipelines NOx (nitrogen oxides) North Dakota markets/sales market forces land use Jetfuel (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)) ILUC (Indirect/Induced Land Use Change) Illinois Hydrogen/Renewable Hydrogen GHG (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) gasoline fertilizer ethanol/bioethanol cover crops corn/maize corn oil/distillers corn oil (DCO) corn ethanol co-products climate smart/conservation agriculture carbon/CO2 sequestration carbon pipeline Carbon Intensity (CI)/Carbon Footprint Carbon Dioxide (CO2) carbon capture and storage (CCS) BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals biochar Aviation Fuel/Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit ammonia alcohol-to-jet (ATJ)/ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) alcohol-to-jet (ATJ)/ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) 45Q Carbon Oxide Sequestration Tax Credit

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