World's Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Here’s my colleague Jon LeSage’s current edition of his publication “Green Auto Market,” which features an article on the opening of the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, expected to produce about 30 million gallons per year from corncobs, husks and stalks, harvested within a 30-mile radius of the site (in Iowa, where there is a huge amount of these materials).
My question I just emailed to him:
Hi, Jon. Insofar as the plant is centrally located vis-a-vis the feedstock, I’m thinking that the overall eco-footprint on this is pretty good. Is that true?
That seems to be how they’re getting support for participation in California’s low carbon fuel standard program. Corn ethanol is being set aside in support over the food vs. fuel fight and the impact on the environment. Cellulosic and algae-based seemed to be gaining the most support as advanced biofuels under EPA and CARB standards. Cellulosic is coming mainly from waste.
Yes, I understand that it’s more politically feasible. But that doesn’t mean it has an appreciable advantage over gasoline, especially in turns of scalability. 30 million gallons per year is about 1/4000 of the US gasoline consumption.
No, it’s only a splash in the water. Incentives have to stay strong, but that can only last so long. Reaching scalability has to happen, which electric vehicles are seeing. Norway had about 12% of its new vehicle sales in EVs last year with generous government incentives. The charging infrastructure is strong, and the vehicle selection is attractive to shoppers – with the VW e-Golf and Renault Zoe doing well along with the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S.
I have to laugh when I hear that people are still buying VWs. I wouldn’t take another one if it were given to me.
I would take one if it were given to me. But then, I am not going to burn the same fuel everybody else does in it.
Knowing you, I’m sure that’s true. You probably have six or eight different ways of making biodiesel, if I’m guessing correctly.
For readers who don’t know Brian, he is the ultimate cleantech do-it-yourselfer.
Craig It seems that your answer is not at all addressing the fact that Jon has raised.May be VW has gone wild by tampering but will that have a impact on the future of the EV . For me still the barrier on EV is governments who are not having any policy to popularize EV including setting up public charging stations .
Well I have two ways to do it with materials I have around the house here and I helped another guy build a third method at his house some years ago. What I am really looking to do though is put a “hot oil” kit in it and just burn straight waste vegetable oil and bypass all the chemicals, processing and waste product. Just filter out the bits and into the tank it goes.
We are doing some work for Sunoco and my coworker drives his vegetable oil burner every time he has to go there.
So unfortunately, it seems that Comcast has decided to discontinue all personal web pages permanently without notice as of right now so my website is gone.
It did need some updating but it had a lot of really great stuff and pictures of all my projects on it.
I am currently in search of a new home for my website. Preferably free.
Amazingly enough, with all that is going on with the VW catastrophe, I still have not been able to find a suitable used one for sale. It’s like finding hen’s teeth. People get their hands on them and just won’t let go until they turn to dust.
Are you referring to cars that have already been converted for biodiesel?