Research Reveals New Biofuels Link (A Two-fer!)

ethanolproducer.com ^ | 11/01/2007 | Anduin Kirkbride McElroy

[Red Badger]

Crude glycerin is a low-value byproduct of the growing biodiesel industry. But one company, Glycos Biotechnologies Inc., sees potential for the product as a feedstock for ethanol production.

Last year, a way to connect the ethanol and biodiesel industries was revealed when it was determined that biodiesel could be a value-added product for ethanol plants through corn oil extraction technology. This year, researchers at Rice University in Houston have discovered yet another link. This new concept is centered on a technology that converts glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production, into ethanol.

Ramon Gonzalez and Syed Shams Yazdani have identified the metabolic processes and conditions that allow a known strain of Escherichia coli to convert glycerin into ethanol through an anaerobic fermentation process. Gonzalez is currently the William Akers assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice University, and Yazdani is a postdoctoral research associate.

In a comparison of feedstock and operating costs, Gonzalez found that ethanol from glycerol is 39 cents cheaper to produce than ethanol from corn. Feedstock costs per gallon were 53 cents for corn, versus 30 cents for glycerol. Per gallon operating costs were 52 cents for corn and just 36 cents for glycerol (see table above). "The main reason for the difference in costs is that there is no preprocessing," Gonzalez says. In feedstock operations, the corn must be ground and cooked, and the sugar extracted. "It is a process that is both capital and process intensive," Gonzalez says. "You need to work all the way from the corn grain until you get sugar, and then you start fermentation." Meanwhile, glycerin doesn't require those steps because it comes preprocessed. This means no enzymes to buy and less equipment.

[Red Badger]

Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.....

If you want ON or OFF the DIESEL ”KnOcK” LIST just FReepmail me.....

This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days.....

[Red Badger]

Ping!...

[camle]

the more corn used for ethanol, the less there is to feed the hungry.

[Uncle Chip]

You can either eat your food or burn it. Most reasonable people prefer to eat it.

[Red Badger]

Corn is very low in nutritional value as compared to other things you could grow. Soybeans or even regular type beans would be much more beneficial, nutritionally, to feeding the masses........

[GourmetDan]

"the more corn used for ethanol, the less there is to feed the hungry."

The hungry cows like it quite well. I'm sure people could too. Some guys make a living trucking DDG from ethanol plants to feedlots. Nice, high-protein feed. A little wet.

Nothing lost but some starch and sugars.

[Squawk 8888]

You can either eat your food or burn it.

That explains my sister's cooking.

[RSmithOpt]

What about drink it?

[camle]

uh huh, and the more acerage dedicated to growing corn means less for other foods. in either event there will be more price increases in basic foods all over the world.

[Uncle Chip]

What about drink it?

Dis still is not better that eating it, IMHO. Hiccup!

[RSmithOpt]

I want it my way: Eat some, the drive some, the drink some.

[Red Badger]

Algae and municipal wastes would be better for biodiesel production than use of food crops and acreage..............

[camle]

I wholeheartedly agree, however the current trend is to use food plants for biofuels...

[Uncle Chip]

I want it my way: Eat some, the drive some, the drink some.

The trifecta. It's now considered corny to just eat it.

[Red Badger]

With biodiesel, food can be “used” after the fact, i.e., municipal wastes...............

[camle]

funny i don’t see a lot of effort being expended in using municipal wastes for biofuel - what I do see is using freshly harvested veggies.

I agree that this would probably be the smart thing to do, but I don’t thienk that it is beign done on any scale approaching that of corn.

[RSmithOpt]

Let's not forget cornbread and milk.

Then, if agreeing with the need for cornbread too, that would make it a corny quandary?

[Uncle Chip]

Algae and municipal wastes would be better for biodiesel production than use of food crops and acreage..............

or perhaps even this:

In the Southern United States, where the plant has been introduced with devastating environmental consequences,[10] kudzu is used to make soaps, lotions, jelly, and compost.[11][12] It has even been suggested that kudzu may become a valuable asset for the production of cellulosic ethanol [wikipedia].

[Red Badger]

I don’t thienk that it is beign done on any scale approaching that of corn.

Reason: subsidies

Farmers and their families vote and AgCorps give money to campaigns as do their employees.

Sewage treatment plants, don't usually vote, except in Chicago............

[Balding_Eagle]

the more corn used for ethanol, the less there is to feed the hungry.

America is a food rich nation because we are capitalists. The rest of the world is too stupid to learn this valuable lesson, even though it's been in their face for more than a century.

As a result of their stupidity, they are always one crop away from starvation.

There's a price for stupidity, it's called starvation.

Let the stupid people starve to death.

While they are starving, let's gourge ourselves on the fruit of our labors.

Let's eat 'organic' foods, which require twice as much land to produce a low quality food, but a food that is much sought after. Let's BURN a lot of our food.

AND, for everyone, let's enjoy the most abundant, most varied, highest quality food in the entire history of the world!

Truly, we feast as gods!