biofuels

NREL and Colombian oil firm processing sugar cane residue and palm oil into biofuel

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US is working with Ecopetrol, the largest oil company in Colombia, to process the residue from sugar cane and palm oil harvesting into fuel ethanol for blending with gasoline.
NREL and Colombian oil firm processing sugar cane residue and palm oil into biofuel

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NREL and Ecopetrol aims to optimize the conversion process for bagasse (the material left over after the sugars are removed from the sugar cane) and to analyze the economic case for commercial production of biofuel from these materials.

The CRADA will also include some limited study on palm rachis -- the material left over after palm oil production.

The $2.3 million, 18-month project is being funded by Ecopetrol, which turned to NREL for its expertise on conversion of biomass, its compositional analysis and techno-economic analysis capabilities, and NREL’s unique facilities.

NREL has a pilot plant at its Golden, Colo., campus that has conversion capabilities from lab scale to pilot scale, processing up to one ton per day of biomass – everything from corn stover to switchgrass and poplar trees.

Colombia has an abundance of biomass in the form of sugar cane. The rainfall patterns in the region near the Pacific Coast where the sugar is grown for the biofuels industry allows the crop to be harvested all year round, but there’s not much room for expansion.

Sugar cane also is grown farther east, but because of incessant rain from April to August, it can only be harvested eight months a year. The plant spoils quickly if the sugars aren’t squeezed out. But the bagasse – the leftovers that comprise a majority of the plants’ mass and give it rigidity and structure – can be stacked and stored for a long time after the juice is removed and washed out of the green grass stalk.

 

That bagasse currently is burned to produce steam that drives turbines for electricity, but Ecopetrol is hoping to get more value out of it than that.

The hope is that commercial conversion facilities and employees can be kept busy all year round by processing the bagasse during the rainy season when it’s too wet to get to the fields and harvest the sugar cane. It’s more challenging to break down the cellulose in the bagasse than the sugar-rich juice, but if the conversion process is successful, the bagasse can be processed into a biofuel.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic the plan will work, said Rick Elander, Biochemical Conversion Manager at NREL’s National Bioenergy Center.

For one thing, Elander explained, Ecopetrol already has in place a commercial facility for converting sugarcane juice into fuel-grade ethanol. The fermentation and distillation equipment at that facility could also be used to hydrolyze the bagasse and ferment the resulting sugar into additional ethanol, increasing the output of the facility and enabling year-round operations.

 It would only have to add the pretreatment process and tweak the “knobs and dials” to optimize the operation, he said. That’s an area of expertise at NREL – breaking down the feedstock so it’s ready for enzymes.

 “Nature makes it much more difficult to break those bonds that give the plant rigidity and strength,” Elander said. “But we know how to liberate those sugars and we’re working on doing it as quickly and cheaply as we can.”

“This can be a great opportunity to leverage off infrastructure that’s already bought and paid for, which would otherwise be sitting there idle,” he added. “It will take a little additional investment by Ecopetrol on the front end.

Elander said NREL is helping Ecopetrol determine if the performance they’re getting from the available lignocellulosic feedstocks is going to make economic sense.

On paper, you could make a pretty good case for it because they’re not starting from scratch." he said. "They have a facility and infrastructure in place and they have that captive bagasse feedstock that is already at the facility.”

For additional information:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Est
www.example.com/
jonny john
This one is good. Keep up the good work I also visit here: and I get lot of information.
letitgolyrics.net
Streak assembled movements utilize almost no memory and transfer speed, without trading off on the quality and components of the recreations.
Galaxy S7 tips
I'm just writing to make you be aware of of the really good experience our child went through reading your webblog. She learned too many details, most notably how it is like to possess a wonderful coaching style to let the others with no trouble learn some problematic topics. You actually did more than people's desires. Many thanks for offering those productive, dependable, revealing and unique thoughts on the topic to Mary. Galaxy S7 tips
fitin
I have been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thank you, I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your web site? fitin
Dubai City Tour
Somebody essentially lend a hand to make seriously articles I would state. That is the very first time I frequented your web page and to this point? I amazed with the analysis you made to make this particular submit amazing. Great task! Desert Safari Dubai Desert Safari
Adamhazel07
I am unable to read articles online very often, but I'm glad I did today. This is very well written and your points are well-expressed. Please, don't ever stop writing. Witch Hazel For Acne
bodiekenneth
The career of a locksmith differs from other professions whereas the former Bellevue Locksmith is given three choices as soon as he is certified.
lukas
you have deliverd us such a great knowledge.I am very great full to you. locksmith bellevue washington
Baterías con premio en la gran feria europea del almacenamiento de energía
El jurado de la feria ees (la gran feria europea de las baterías y los sistemas acumuladores de energía) ya ha seleccionado los productos y soluciones innovadoras que aspiran, como finalistas, al gran premio ees 2021. Independientemente de cuál o cuáles sean las candidaturas ganadoras, la sola inclusión en este exquisito grupo VIP constituye todo un éxito para las empresas. A continuación, los diez finalistas 2021 de los ees Award (ees es una de las cuatro ferias que integran el gran evento anual europeo del sector de la energía, The smarter E).