Innovation in Biofuels and Bioproducts

Targets:

Ethanol

Bioethanol accounts for ~90% of the world’s biofuel with biodiesel (produced mainly in EU) accounting for the rest. Between 2000 and 2007, global biofuel production tripled with 90% of production concentrated in the US (45%), Brazil (35%), and the EU (10%). However, despite such growth in biofuels this still accounts for less than 3% of the global transportation fuel supply and significant continued growth is required to meet governmental targets of up to 30% by 2030.

Continued growth is chiefly dependent on high fossil fuel prices and low-cost feedstocks from crop plants. The most important factor for the feedstock supply market is achieving the highest sustainable ethanol yields per acre. For example, Brazilian sugarcane produces 660 gallons per acre; US corn produces 400 gal/acre, whilst EU rapeseed produces 100 gal/acre. Although the world’s bioethanol is currently based on conversion of sugar or the sugar-polymer, starch, next generation cellulosic bioethanol production could raise ethanol yields to more than 1,000 gallons per acre, significantly reducing land requirements.

In Europe, the key bioethanol feedstock crops are wheat and sugarbeet, whilst the US is concentrated on corn and Brazil on sugarcane. The US and EU share a common government target of ten-fold growth in biofuel production. Furthermore, most of this growth is expected to be realized through a common technical target of increased use of cereal crop (corn and wheat) and perennial crop (miscanthus and switchgrass) residues for cellulosic ethanol production. Collectively these global market opportunities create significant opportunities for developing improvements in cereal crops (corn and wheat) that already exist in the marketplace. Such improvements will require major strategic partnerships between academia and industry.

Bioethanol production is undergoing considerable growth driven by the global climate of energy diversification, legislation, public perception and advancing technology. Certain high yielding biomass crops are grown specifically for biofuel production. These crops include sugar cane in Brazil; corn, switchgrass, and soybeans, primarily in the US; sorghum and cassava in China; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet primarily in Europe; palm oil and miscanthus in South-East Asia; and jatropha in India. Hemp has also been shown to work as a biofuel.

 

 

Conversion of Corn to Ethanol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“First-generation” biofuels refer to biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology. “Second-generation” biofuel production is based on waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, wood, and special-energy-or-biomass crops (e.g. Miscanthus). “Third generation” biofuel, includes biofuels from algae. Whilst first generation biofuel production competes with food/feed production and raises concerns about “food vs fuel”, second and third generation biofuels do not compete directly with food/feed production.