biofuels - a comparative study of brazil and the united states
TRANSCRIPT
Biofuels: A Comparative Study of Brazil and the United States
August 2015
Renan Neves Micha
Intern, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)
Under the supervision of and edited by
Peter Meisen
President, Global Energy Network Institute (GENI)
www.geni.org (619) 595-‐0139
1
Abstract
According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists,
anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions clearly have been altering the
mechanics of the climate system in the last centuries. Due primarily to CO2 levels
never seen before, this new dynamic is changing some atmospheric and ocean
variables, making them warmer and the latter more acidic, melting glaciers and
raising sea levels. The use of fossil fuels, cement production and flaring are big
concerns worldwide and represent more than 90% of current CO2 emissions. Another
important concern for countries living in a petroleum-based life is the dependence, in
financial or supply security, on foreign oil. Biofuels have been seen as an alternative
for dealing with global warming and the dependence on oil through reducing the use
of fossil fuels. The U.S. has been the major biofuel producer since 2007 when its
numbers exceeded the Brazilian historic volumes. On the other side, Brazil used to
lead the industry thanks to the glorious stages of the Pro-Alcohol program (1973-1986
and early 2003). Its creation took place as a result of the economic impacts of the first
Oil crisis when the price of oil quadrupled. The American boost in production started
in 2005 when the first Renewable Fuel Standard edition begun to drive the country to
lead the world. Simply put, this program created annually increasing volume targets
to the nation transportation fuel. It was released as part of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 and expanded in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Biofuels,
so far, are primarily produced from crop-based sources as corn in the U.S. and
sugarcane in Brazil. Despite of their quality, sugarcane has greater energy balance
and saves more GHG than corn comparing their energy balance and lifecycle analysis,
if land change is disregarded. Impacts on food prices as well as land, water and other
resources use raises concerns on resources security and have shifted the U.S. and
Brazilian attention towards next generation biofuels. This work goes deep on the
comparison between the main countries so far in the biofuels industry and shows the
great potential of algae and cellulose as the next generation biofuels.
2
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 1
1.INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 5
1.1. CURRENT CO2 CONCENTRATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE .............................. 5
1.2. ENERGY SECURITY .................................................................................................. 8
1.3. SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................... 10
2. THE BRIEF HISTORY OF BIOFUELS IN THE TWO COUNTRIES ................. 11
3.BOFUELS: BIOALCOHOL AND BIODIESEL ..................................................... 11
3.1. BIOALCOHOL ......................................................................................................... 14
3.2. BIODIESEL ............................................................................................................. 14
4 – CONVENTIONAL PROCEDURES ..................................................................... 17
4.1. ETHANOL FROM SUGARCANE AND CORN ................................................................ 17
4.2. BIODIESEL FROM ANIMAL FAT OR SOYBEAN .......................................................... 18
4.2.1. PRETREATMENT .................................................................................................. 20
4.2.2. TRANSESTERIFICATION ....................................................................................... 20
5. BIOFUELS PROGRAMS ....................................................................................... 20
5.1. PRO-ALCOHOL ....................................................................................................... 21
5.2. WHY THE PRODUCTION STOPPED AFTER THE WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS? ............... 22
5.3. THE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION ....................................... 23
5.4. RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD ............................................................................... 23
5.4.1. RFS2: IMPACTS .................................................................................................. 20
5.4.2. RENEWABLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER ............................................................... 20
6. CURRENT BIOFUEL ISSUES .............................................................................. 28
7. ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES ....................... 30
7.1. ETHANOL FROM SECOND GENERATION SOURCES ................................................... 30
7.2. CELLULOSIC ETHANOL ........................................................................................... 31
7.3. ALGAE FOR BIOFUEL .............................................................................................. 32
8. KEYPOINTS ........................................................................................................... 34
3
List of Figures
Figure 1. Population growth, mean temperature increase and CO2 emissions. ............................... 5
Figure 2. Land-Ocean Temperature variation. ........................................................................................... 6
Figure 3. Atmospheric CO2 dissolution and Seawater pH decrease. .................................................. 7
Figure 4.Increase in CO2 emissions. .............................................................................................................. 7
Figure 6. Historic oil prices and its political conflicts. ............................................................................ 9
Figure 7. Predictions about the peak oil in some countries and U.S. states. ................................. 10
Figure 8. Production of Biofuels (only ethanol) over the years ......................................................... 12
Figure 9. Major feedstocks used for biodiesel production (2012) .................................................... 15
Figure 10. Biodiesel sources for biodiesel production in Brazil ....................................................... 15
Figure 11. First generation operational procedure ................................................................................. 17
Figure 12. Corn process to produce fuel alcohol .................................................................................... 18
Figure 13. Biodiesel production from oils and fats. .............................................................................. 19
Figure 14. Possible routes for glycerin as raw material ....................................................................... 19
Figure 15. Transesterification process ....................................................................................................... 20
Figure 16. Comparison between sugar prices and ethanol production ............................................ 22
Figure 17. Biofuels production and targets after 2013 ......................................................................... 24
Figure 18. Use of corn for fuel production related to the price of corn .......................................... 25
Figure 19. Charge about the issues between corn and food prices ................................................... 26
Figure 20. Ethanol production and gasoline imports for the U.S ...................................................... 26
Figure 21. Market for the RIN’s prices ...................................................................................................... 27
Figure 22. Blend Wall for the alcohol blend ............................................................................................ 28
Figure 23. Emission reduction for different sources ............................................................................. 29
Figure 24. Lifecycle analysis considering land-use change ................................................................ 29
Figure 26. GHG emissions for transportation fuels ............................................................................... 31
Figure 27. Comparison in emissions between different alcohol origins ......................................... 32
4
List of Tables
Table 1. Properties of gasoline and bioethanol ....................................................................................... 14
Table 2. Comparison between biodiesel sources .................................................................................... 16
Table 3. Comparison between different sources of biodiesel production ...................................... 33
5
1.Introduction
1.1. Current CO2 concentration and Climate Change
Increasing CO2 emissions have been considered a major threat to the environment so
far. Coming from higher urbanization rates and population growth, it is pressuring the
natural resources and requiring an accelerated industrial activity. The modern world
society is built over the necessity of burning fossil fuels, which is the main CO2
emitter for this generation — 91% of the CO2 emissions is due to fossil fuel use,
flaring and cement production. The figure 1 shows how the curves of population
growth, CO2 emissions and average global temperatures fit well1.
FIGURE 1. POPULATION GROWTH, MEAN TEMPERATURE INCREASE AND CO2 EMISSIONS2
On the flip side, the atmosphere is the main receptor —50% of the total
emissions— of GHG, while the oceans absorb roughly a quarter of it. Lands, trees and
the soil, keep the remaining part 1.
The greenhouse effect is intensified as the carbon dioxide concentration in the
atmosphere increase. The mean global temperature and the emissions are compared in
figure 1. As a consequence of high CO2 levels and ocean temperatures, the dissolution
of this gas increases and risks are created to the coral reefs. They cannot survive to the
combination of high acidity and warmer temperatures. The marine life could be 1 CO2now.org. 2015. <http://co2now.org/> - accessed on august 27th, 2015.
2 World Bank, Earth Policy Institute and Goddard Institute for Space Studies- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
1860.00 1880.00 1900.00 1920.00 1940.00 1960.00 1980.00 2000.00 2020.00 2040.00
0.00
5000.00
10000.00
15000.00
13.00
13.50
14.00
14.50
15.00
1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040
Annual relation between carbon emissions (million tons), mean temperature (C) and population growth
(million people)
Average Temperature Carbon emissions Population growth
6
irreversibly changed. Figure 2 illustrates the increasing heat in the oceans and land. It
is worthy to mention that the oceans regulate the climate and the weather and it can
provoke unpredicted events3.
FIGURE 2. LAND-OCEAN TEMPERATURE VARIATION4
The observed change in acidity can be analyzed in the figure 3. According to
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the pH has already fell 0.1
unit and it is expected to decrease 0.3-0.4 units at the end of the century5.
3 Harrabin, R., How climate change will acidify the oceans, BBCnews. Acessed on august 2015 <http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26746039>.
4 J. Hansen et al., Global Surface Temperature Change, Reviews of Geophysics, v 48, issue 4, 2010.
5 Grossman, E., Northwest Oyster Die-offs Show Ocean Acidification Has Arrived. Environment 360, 2011 report. <http://e360.yale.edu/feature/northwest_oyster_die-offs_show_ocean_acidification_has_arrived/2466/>
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FIGURE 3. ATMOSPHERIC CO2 DISSOLUTION AND SEAWATER PH DECREASE5
401.30 ppm is the most updated CO2 level so far (on 10:54 pm. August 26,
2015) measured by the Mauna Loa Observatory by July 2015. This concentration has
never been seen in the human history and can be associated to the human activity. The
number lies 51.30 ppm above the upper safety limit (350 ppm) advocated by the
founder of 350.org, McKebinn. His main idea is to avoid irreversible changes on the
climate and make the current unsafe concentration go back to this level in order to
stabilize climate events for the next generations. From the data: the world has
exceeded this number in 1988 1,6.
FIGURE 4.INCREASE IN CO2 EMISSIONS
SOURCE: MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY – HAWAII
More molecules of CO2 can modify the water cycle. Higher temperatures
mean increasing evaporation rates in many places. This creates more air moisture and 6 http://350.org/
300.00
320.00
340.00
360.00
380.00
400.00
420.00
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
CO2 emissions (ppm)
CO2 emissions
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soil evaporation, opposite sides of the same coin that can cause a higher frequency of
floods in one end and severe droughts in the other end7,8. Also, the sea level is rising
influenced by glaciers melting on higher rates and it is threating coastal cities7.
In Brazil, land use change (deforestation) and energy use are the main CO2
sources. The first is the major source. The good news is it was reduced 47.72% from
2005 to 2010 due to amazon forests conservation. It is 11.62% higher than the
Brazilian target defined by the Millennium Development Goals by 2020. The energy
sector, on the other hand, has increased its emissions by 32% according to the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics9. According to Brian Clark Howard,
from National Geographic website at his article Brazil Leads World in Reducing
Carbon Emissions by Slashing Deforestation the reduction can be compared to three
times the effect of removing all the U.S. cars on the roads. Recently, the current
president of the Brazilian Republic, Dilma Roussef, has committed to enhance the
progress in forest conservation in a bilateral commit with the American president
Barack Obama10.
1.2. Energy Security
Uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price (IEA)11. The
creation of a domestic energy market goes toward the direction stated in the definition
of Energy Security. It also helps to stop the fear of depleting oil reserves. Biofuels are
renewable sources and a strong tool for achieving the energy security as a new energy
market. Two points to keep in mind about Energy Security are the oil prices and Peak
Oil.
7 Hirabayashi, Y. et al., Global flood risk under climate change, Nature climate change. 3, 816-821, 2013.
8 Climate change indicators, Environmental Protection Agency. Full report. Accessed on august 2015.
9 Sustainable development indicators 2010. Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
10 Goldenberg, S., Roberts, D., and Agencies., Brazil announces massive reforestation and renewable energy plan with US. The Guardian. June 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/30/brazil-us-reforestation-forests-renewable-energy> Accessed on august 27th, 2015.
11 International Energy Agency. Topic: Enegry Security. <http://www.iea.org/topics/energysecurity/> accessed on august 27th, 2015.
9
The historical prices created by OPEC are overly risky and speak by itself
against one’s energy security if you are not an OPEC’s country. As one can see,
several political events have influenced the oil prices over the last decades. The first
oil crisis, the Oil Embargo in 1973, has quadrupled the oil prices from around U$3 to
U$12 dollars. The second crisis occurred with the Iranian revolution and has raised
the price to U$39.50 in 12 months12. Near the world economic crisis, the prices have
hiked up and so far it is stabilized in roughly U$ 42.65 — WTI crude oil – Nymex
(figure 4)13. The best biofuels phases coincide with the high oil prices and the periods
of high concern with climate change, after Kyoto protocol.
FIGURE 5. HISTORIC OIL PRICES AND ITS POLITICAL CONFLICTS
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
Peak Oil is understood as the idea that the oil production reaches a maximum
point until it starts to decrease to zero. Some specialists say the peak oil has already
happened in between 2005-2006 and other say it is going to happen in the first years
of the 21st century14. The 2004 U.S. government predictions for the peak oil in some
countries and some U.S. states can be observed in the figure 715.
12 US department of state – OFFICE of the HISTORIAN, MILESTONES: 1969-1976. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo> accessed on august 27th, 2015.
13 Bloomberg. Markets: Energy & Oil: Crude Oil & Natural Gas. Accessed at 4:21pm on august 27th, 2015.
14 Bardi, U., Peak oil: The four stages of a new idea. 5th workshop on Advances, Innovation and Visions in Energy and Energy-related Environmental and Socio-Economic Issues. V. 34, issue 3, 323-326, 2009.
15 Industry Database, 2003 (IHS), OGJ, 9 feb 2004 (Jan-Nov, 2003).
10
FIGURE 6. PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE PEAK OIL IN SOME COUNTRIES AND U.S. STATES
SOURCE: INDUSTRY DATABASE15
1.3. Summary of chapter 1
The intensive use of fossil fuels is creating a huge problem to the environment
through the increasing concentration of CO2 in the air and oceans. Oil-based
economies have been suffering the consequences of OPEC’s regulation on oil prices.
Also, the threat of peak oil is a fear that serves as another driving force to the use of
alternative energy.
Biofuels are economic alternatives to overcome the abusive prices set by
OPEC and the problem of depleting the reserves of oil. The market has been created
in the two countries as a consequence of effective and strong policies. The driving
force for Brazil was the economy while for the U.S., the concern of climate change
and energy security.
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2. The brief history of biofuels in the two countries
The Brazilian economy was living the so-called “Economic Miracle” when it was
strongly impacted by the Oil Embargo. Highly dependent on oil importations, it had
to think in some alternative to overcome the new “salty” prices. So, in 1975 the
government launched the Alcohol National Program, the so-called Pro-Alcohol, at its
commercial stage, which aimed at changing partial or totally the amount of gasoline
used in the cars. Later, in the 80s, alcohol-driven cars were manufactured. Blends
between alcohol and gasoline were incentivized during the whole program. After the
two first oil crisis, the program succeeded and the production increased from 1975
and 1986. The alcohol penetration in the transportation sector was so high that in
1987 the demands for gasoline and alcohol were the same. With the stabilization of
the oil prices, after 1986, the production slowed down and coupled with lower
incentives for the use of alcohol —the blend mix for alcohol was one of the few
kept—, the production slowed down16.
During the 2000s the Brazilian production growth was retaken in 2003 on Luis
Inácio Lula da Silva’s mandate and the National Program for Biodiesel Production
was created. In the United States, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the RFS,
which required renewable volumes to be producer for the transportation sector, and
the American production has grown in a rate never seen before. In the Energy
Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the U.S. government has updated the
first RFS edition (RFS1) into the RFS2 with more ambitious targets and the main
focus being on cellulosic biofuels. Increasing volume target are set until the capacity
gets 16 billion gallon yearly by 202217.
So far, the U.S. is the world leader in Bioethanol and Biodiesel production.
The second producer is Brazil. Germany, France and Italy are important biodiesel
16 Michellon, E., Breve descricao do pro-alcool e perspectivas futuras para o etanol produzido no Brasil. “a brief description of pro-alcohol and future perspectives for the brazilian produced ethanol”, XLVI congress of Rural Sociology, Administration and Economy Brazilian Society. 2008. < http://www.sober.org.br/palestra/9/574.pdf>
17 Udal, T., Leveling the Clean Energy Playing Field, 2011, Tom Udal page <http://www.tomudall.senate.gov/?p=blog&id=924>.
12
markets as well as Argentina in South America, according to the Energy International
Agency database18.
In 2004, the Brazilian government created the National Plan of Biodiesel
production and came from no production to the second position in the world Biodiesel
production rank19.
Finally, after the economic crisis, the high prices of sugar in the international
market, bad weather for the crops, restricting policies for the fuels prices and lack of
investments, the Brazilian production stopped to grow again.
FIGURE 7. PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELS (ONLY ETHANOL) OVER THE YEARS
SOURCE: WANG ET AL, 2012
Figure 8 shows a comparison between historical alcohol supplies in the two countries.
18 <http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/index.cfm> 19 Statista. The world's biggest biodiesel producers in 2014, by country (in billion liters). 2014. <http://www.statista.com/statistics/271472/biodiesel-production-in-selected-countries/>
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3. Biofuels: Bioalcohol and Biodiesel
3.1. Bioalcohol
An alcohol with 2 carbons and a group (-OH) attached to it and a hundred percent
Mixable with water due to the presence of the hydroxyl group. In Brazil, flexfuel cars
are designed to receive any proportion between hydrated alcohol and gasoline. The
regular gasoline contain up to 27.5% of anhydrous alcohol. In the U.S., the gasoline
contains 10% of anhydrous ethanol. Companies like Toyota do not recommend the
use of blends upper than E10 in its vehicles20.
Ethanol can be made from sugar (sugarcane juice), cellulose (plant walls),
starch (corn) and wheat. Comparing to gasoline, it has lower energy per liter (~65%)
and higher octane number RON and MON (IEA). Its cleaner, enhance engine’s
performance and reduce emissions of HC and CO21. EIA statistics says 12.73 pounds
of CO2 are produced when each gallons of ethanol is burnt. 18.64 pounds are released
when E10 is burnt and 19.64 pounds when for gallon of gasoline22.
Flex fuel cars in Brazil are designed to know the exact proportion of alcohol
and gasoline in the engine and can run without any change in the engine. In gasoline
cars manufactured before 1990, the carburetor should be slightly modified to avoid
the separation of phases that occur when alcohol absorb water. For blends up to 85%,
U.S. flex fuel vehicles are able to run and for more than 85% only the Brazilian flex
20 smarterfuelfuture.org., could your next fill-up damage your engine, 2015, <http://smarterfuelfuture.org/blog/details/could-your-next-fill-up-damage-your-engine>.
21 Koc, Mustafa et al, The effects of ethanol–unleaded gasoline blends on engine performance and exhaust emissions in a spark-ignition engine. v. 34, issue 10, 2009, 2101–2106.
22 EIA website. Frequented asked questions: How much carbon dioxide is produced by burning gasoline and diesel fuel? <http://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/08-14-multiplefiles/DOE%202012.pdf>
14
fuel cars can operate23. Some other properties between gas ethanol are displayed in
the table below24.
TABLE 1. PROPERTIES OF GASOLINE AND BIOETHANOL
SOURCE: BRAZILIAN ENTITIES BNDES AND CGES25
Parameter Unit Gasoline Bioethanol
Lower calorific value kJ/kg 43.500 28.225
kJ/l 32.180 22.350
Density Kg/l 0,72 – 0,78 0,792
RON (Research Octane Number) – 90 – 100 102 – 130
MON (Motor Octane Number) – 80 – 92 89 – 96
Latent heat of vaporization kJ/kg 330 – 400 842 – 930
Air/fuel ratio stoichiometric 14,5 9,0
Vapor pressure kPa 40 – 65 15 – 17
Ignition temperature degree C 220 420
Water solubility volume % ~ 0 100
3.2. Biodiesel
Biodiesel is commonly a mono-alkyl fatty acid ester prepared out of vegetal oil from
several sources like Soybean Oil, Canola Oil and Palm Oil. Blends higher than B20
could provoke problems to the engine. Plus, they are more expensive and can reduce
the energy content of the fuel26. So far, it is mostly made from Soybean.
23 Yüksel, Fikret and Yüksel, Bedri. The use of ethanol–gasoline blend as a fuel in an SI engine. v. 29, issue 7, 2004, 1181–1191.
24 Colorado State University. Alcohol for motor fuels. Fact sheet no 5.010. 2014.
25Sugarcane-based bioethanol: energy for sustainable development / coordination BNDES and CGEE – Rio de Janeiro: BNDES, 2008.
26 Jääskeläinen, H., Biodiesel Standards and Properties. <https://www.dieselnet.com/tech/fuel_biodiesel_std.php>. 2009.
15
The pie chart in the figure 9 shows the U.S. production in 2013. From it, more
than half of the American Supply comes from Soybean. Another crop-based feedstock
(Palm, Canola and Corn) can also be used as well as animal fat-based (tallow and
poultry) and recycled greases (yellow and white)27.
FIGURE 8. MAJOR FEEDSTOCKS USED FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION (2012)26
The Brazilian production is mainly Soybean and Animal fat27.
FIGURE 9. BIODIESEL SOURCES FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL27
Animal fat or wasted oil require additional treatment to participate in the
reaction to produce the biofuel. Water or free fatty acids are substances that can favor
saponification reactions during the procedure28. This is going to be detailed ahead.
27 Energy Information Admisnitration
28 Phan, Ahn. Biodiesel Production from waste cooking oil. Fuel. V. 87, 3490-3496, 2008.
80%
14%
3% 3%
Biodiesel Sources -‐ Brazil
soybean oil bovine fat cottonseed oil other raw materials
16
Algae are the most studied source of biodiesel so far due to possibility to
combine wastewater treatment with the low use of land and high productivity. The
major problem is the price per gallon yet. Other sources of vegetable oil as Jatropha
Curcas, Coconut Oil and Palm Oil have been investigated as biodiesel source due to
its high productivity30.
This is displayed in the table 2 from the American Oil Chemists Society.
Algae productivity can be as high as 307 times the Soybean production using land
lower than 1% of than it. Comparing to the same conventional source, Palm Oil has
13.34 times the production per hectare. Coconut and Canola also has greater
performance but corn is better as ethanol source rather than biodiesel30.
TABLE 2. COMPARISON BETWEEN BIODIESEL SOURCES
SOURCE: AMERICAN OIL CHEMISTS SOCIETY29
Crop Oil Yield (L/ha) Land Area needed (M ha) % of existing US crop área
Corn 172 1,540 846
Soybean 446 594 326
Canola 1,190 223 122
Jatropha 1,892 140 77
Coconut 2,689 99 54
Oil Palm 5,950 45 24
Microalgaeb 136,900 2 1.1
Microalgaec 58,700 4.5 2.5
a. for meeting of all transport fuel needs fo the U.S. M ha, million hectares
b.70% oil by weight in biomass
c.30% oil by weight in biomass
29 American Oil Chemists Society. <http://www.aocs.org/index.cfm>. accessed on august 27th, 2015.
17
4 – Conventional procedures
4.1. Ethanol from sugarcane and corn
Most of the current production comes from sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the U.S.A.
The first is the world leader in sugarcane production. The American land cannot grow
sugarcane30.
The alcohol is distillated after the sugarcane juice is extracted from the
grinded cane and fermented by the yeast. This juice is rich in sugar (18.9-22%) and is
used as a meal for the yeast to have its energy and liberate alcohol and CO2. The
operation is highly efficient. It uses the sugarcane trash (obtained after juice
extraction) to generate heat for other processes in the same plant and for producing
energy for both the plant and the grid. 1 ton of sugarcane can generate 85 liters of
alcohol31,32. The Energy balance for the process is 8.9.
The process is observed in figure 11.
FIGURE 10. FIRST GENERATION OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE30
30 Sugarcane.org 31The International Renewable Energy Agency 32 Shell.com
18
On the U.S. side, the corn is first grinded to better expose the starch. Then it
goes to an enzymatic breakdown where the starch is converted into simple sugars.
Since it the route is similar with fermentation and distillation34.
FIGURE 11. CORN PROCESS TO PRODUCE FUEL ALCOHOL
SOURCE: SYNGENTA33
This is the Syngenta procedure found on its webpage where the production of alcohol
is shown in a scheme. Amylases are the enzymes used to break down the starch in this
case.
4.2. Biodiesel from animal fat or soybean
Transesterification is the common procedure to make biodiesel out of vegetable oil or
animal fat. It involves homogeneous catalysts (usually sodium hydroxide or
methoxide) and alcohol as reactants, methanol or ethanol. As a byproduct, glycerin is
produced in the reaction and can be used in many different new routes34. After
procedure the product is dried off and sold to the market.
33 <http://www.hielscher.com/biodiesel_processing_efficiency.htm>
34 Diaz-Alvarez, A. and Cadierno, V., Glycerol: A promising Green Solvent and Reducing Agent for Metal-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation Reactions and Nanoparticles Formation, Applied Science, V. 3, issue 1, 2013.
19
FIGURE 12. BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM OILS AND FATS
SOURCE: HIELSCHER–ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY
FIGURE 13. POSSIBLE ROUTES FOR GLYCERIN AS RAW MATERIAL35
35 Farnetti, E. et al. A novel glycerol valorization route: chemoselective dehydrogenation catalyzed by iridium derivatives. Green Chem., 2009,11, 704-709.
20
4.2.1. PRETREATMENT
Ideally, the vegetable oil must participate in the reaction free from fatty acids or
water. Their presence could lead to saponification reactions, which complicates the
separation of glycerin and biodiesel in the end. Often, wasted oils contain more fatty
acid and therefore need to be more intensively processed.
4.2.2. Transesterification
In conventional routes, the reaction takes place in a batch or continuous reactor with
homogeneous catalysis. Sodium Hydroxide or Sodium Methoxide is usually used in
this reaction. Na is then recovered in different forms after the reaction. Water or free
fatty acids favor saponification reactions. In general, methanol is used in excess to
reach a high degree of conversion. In average, 45 degrees is a good temperature for
good yield36,37
FIGURE 14 - TRANSESTERIFICATION PROCESS38
36 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
37 Bournay et al, New heterogeneous process for biodiesel production: A way to improve the quality and the value of the crude glycerin produced by biodiesel plants. Catalysis Today. V. 106, 190–192, 2005.
38 impergam.sk
21
5. Biofuels Programs 5.1. Pro-alcohol
Brazil was living the so-called “economic miracle” importing most of its oil in the
early 70s when the oil prices went from roughly US$3 to US$12. The devastating
impact on the economy has driven the government to create a national program for
fostering the use of alcohol in the vehicles. This program had five main stages.
Since 1975 to 1979, new annex distillation plants were built at the existing
sugar plants. Anhydrous alcohol was the product. The production increased from 600
million to 3.4 billion liters annually in this phase. Hydrated and total alcohol grew
more than 600% in production. 13 new distilleries were created.
In the 80s, alcohol-driven cars were manufactured, which later would
represent 76% of the fleet. There had been incentives for using this cars and the
production of hydrated alcohol. In this step, the production raised from 2.6 million to
7.3 million liters of alcohol (hydrated + anhydrous). Distilleries came from 14 to 73
units in this step of the program.
In 2003, the concerns on climate change have motivated the program to be
retaken by Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. Since then, the production accelerated again
until the economic crisis of 2009 that made the production stop.
Finally, better sugar prices, prioritization of economic policy over energy
policy, bad plantation yields, mechanization of the plantation, and lack of investments
to renew the plantations slowed down the production once more39.
39 Filho, A.A.V. and Ramos, P., Proálcool e evidências de concentração na produção e processamento de cana-de-açucar. Informações Econômicas, SP, v.36, n.7, jul. 2006.
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5.2. Why the production stopped after the world economic crisis?
In Brazil, the same plant that produces sugar is responsible for the production of
ethanol. When the price of sugar in the international market is more profitable
compared to the alcohol price, it makes more sense to produce ethanol. That was one
of the main reasons that made the ethanol production fall after the economic crisis due
to the hike in the sugar prices.
The chart below compares the price of the commodity to the Brazilian
production. From the curves, while the prices increase the production stabilizes.
(figure 16)
FIGURE 15 - COMPARISON BETWEEN SUGAR PRICES AND ETHANOL PRODUCTION39
Brazil controls the prices of gasoline and diesel as an economic policy, to control the
inflation. This creates an artificial competition between the concurrent fuels. So when
the market says it is favorable to buy alcohol over gasoline, the Brazilian government
takes the costs and maintains the fossil fuel consumption. This policy is a barrier once
there is no free concurrence in the market. It makes it unpredictable for decision
makers or stakeholders to invest. Also, the taxes for the biofuel does not make it
appealing to the consumer. It is cost effective (the price of alcohol is less than 70%
the price of gasoline) to run on hydrated alcohol only in a few cities close to the
production such as Sao Paulo40. The disacceleration in the production can also be
40 Monthly report from national oil and biofuels Brazilian agency.
0
200
400
600
800
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Year
World ReYined Sugar Price (USD per ton)
Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol Production (thousand barrels)
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explained by the bad conditions that did not favor the sugarcane plantations after 2009
and the mechanization of them which reduced the amount of sugarcane produced per
hectare. Finally, the investments were reduced worldwide after the economic crisis.
5.3. The National Program for Biodiesel Production
The biodiesel program began in 2004 when the president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva
created it. It fisrt started with the experience of two years without official mandates to
test the product in the market and then started the legislation from 2006 with a 2%
mandate for the blend mix. The program gradually increased the mandatory content in
the blend mix until the last increase in November of 2014 which increased the blend
mix to 7%.
The program included incentives for producers to purchase its raw materials
from small farmers. This is the so-called "Familiar Agriculture". The way it works is
that the producer buys the vegetable oil from small farmers and acquires the stamp
"Social Fuel" by doing so. With this stamp, he gets rights to compete in bid auctions
offered by the National Agency of Petroleum and Biofuels for the available national
demand. Results of the program have shown their strength to develop these kind of
economies and generate a source of income for small farmers. Since the program
began, the installed capacity has increased substantially, however, the market absorbs
only part of this capacity as long as the limit is defined by the demand (a function of
the blend mix). This limit is similar to the so-called "Blend Wall" which the
Americans deal with41.
5.4. Renewable Fuel Standard
A program that creates volume targets for the biofuels production, the RFS was part
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and has driven the country’s advances in this market
in the last decade. In its first edition, the main target was to reach the production of
7.5 billion gallons of biofuels by 2012. In 2007, the RFS was updated and started to
require new volumes, the type of source, and established new criteria for the use of
the sources with lower limits in GHG reductions.
41 Rodrigues, R.A., A Política do Governo Federal para os Biocombustíveis e o Contexto Intenacional. Public Policies and Governmental Administration Magazine. V. 14, n. 1, 2015.
24
The main focus now is to increase cellulosic capacity by 2022 (16 billion
gallons). The new targets as well as the new requirements for the use of each source
are displayed in figure 17. From the 36 billion gallons to be annually produced by
2022, sixteen must come from cellulosic materials such as wood, corn stalks, corn
leaves, and grass. 4 billion gallons have to come from “other sources” like sugarcane
(imports). One billion must come from the regular biomass-based sources. The nested
diagram below illustrates the volume requirements and how they can work. For
instance, if 1 extra cellulosic gallon is produced it can substitute the corn ethanol
target. However, the opposite is not accepted.
The volume is increased until it reaches the capacity limit and maintains
production at that particular value. Currently, these volumes are to be changed
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has the tools to control
the volume targets. New volumes will be set by the end of this year for 2014, and
2015 targets.42
FIGURE 16. BIOFUELS PRODUCTION AND TARGETS AFTER 2013
SOURCE: SIA-PARTNERS: ENERGY OUTLOOK
42 Regulatory announcement, EPA Proposes 2014 Renewable Fuel Standards, 2015 Biomass-Based Diesel Volume, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, 2013.
25
5.4.1. RFS2: Impacts
40% of the corn production was intended for fuel consumption in 2013. This had a
positive impact on the economy for corn farmers since the increase in demand raised
the price from 2.13 dollars to $ 7 a bushel43. However, farmers that use corn in its
production chain were negatively impacted by these prices. For example, those who
use corn as feed for cattle, dairy, poultry, and hogs have seen their production costs
rise. Also, those who use corn as a regular part of their diet suffered these impacts,
especially those who cannot afford the higher prices (vets4energy.com: renewable
fuel standard44).
The chart below illustrates the hike on the corn prices with the increasing use
on biofuel production.
FIGURE 17. USE OF CORN FOR FUEL PRODUCTION RELATED TO THE PRICE OF CORN
SOURCE: MYGOVCOST.ORG
Figure 19 is a cartoon that represent the overall criticism of corn use for ethanol
production.
43 National Corn Growers Association. Renewable fuel standard assessment - White paper. Accessed on august 27th, 2015.
44 vets4energy.com: renewable fuel standard. Accessed on august 27th, 2015.
26
FIGURE 18 - CHARGE ABOUT THE ISSUES BETWEEN CORN AND FOOD PRICES45
The chart below, figure 20, shows how the net imports for gasoline were affected
after the RFS. It strongly reduced after the startpoint of the RFS, which represents less
costs for importing this type of fuel.
FIGURE 19 - ETHANOL PRODUCTION AND GASOLINE IMPORTS FOR THE U.S
SOURCE: ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
45 wordpress.com, Food vs fuel, <https://kevinschulke.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/food-versus-fuel/>. Accessed on August, 2015.
27
5.4.2. Renewable Identification Number
Renewable Identification Number (RIN) is a tool for the government to control and
encourage the use of biofuels in the United States. These are 38-digit code numbers
associated to each produced ethanol batch and sold to the blenders. Once it is sold, the
RIN is now free and can be sold at the RIN’s market. Figure 21 shows the prices of
RINs according to the years. Fuel producers have a certain amount of required RINs
and they can either buy it in the market for RINs or associated with the batches. Table
4 illustrates the value of RIN for the various types of biofuels defined by the RFS.
FIGURE 20 - MARKET FOR THE RIN’S PRICES
SOURCE: CREDIT SUISSE/BLOOMBERG
The Blend wall is another obstacle to the biofuels market and refers to the inability of
it to absorb the alcohol production because of the blend mix limit. Figure 22
illustrates the blend wall barrier.
28
FIGURE 21 - BLEND WALL FOR THE ALCOHOL BLEND
SOURCE: RENEWABLES FUELS ASSOCIATION
6. Current biofuels issues
Increasing demand for the basic law of supply and demand has an impact on the
prices. A major problem associated to the use of corn as a fuel source was the rising
corn prices. Some societies are overly dependent on corn for their basic diet. So, poor
people would be the most affected by the price of oil.
Ethanol production process from sugarcane reduces emissions of greenhouse
gases by up to 80% on a lifecycle analysis. Using corn, this number falls to roughly
20% (figure 23). What this analysis does not consider, however, is the amount of
GHG emitted when the scale-up of production to the level of total demand of the
population. In this case, the use of renewable fuels, including soy biodiesel, begins to
emit more GHG compared to fossil fuels (figure 24). Moreover, the cultivation of
these crops is water-intensive and requires fertilizers and N-pesticides which reduce
soil quality.
29
FIGURE 22 - EMISSION REDUCTION FOR DIFFERENT SOURCES
SOURCE: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
FIGURE 23 - LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS CONSIDERING LAND-USE CHANGE46
Lifecycle (figures 23 and 24) analysis refers to the balance of carbon dioxide
emissions throughout the production chain of a fuel. In the case of biofuels, the so-
called well-to-wheels analysis means the emissions of harvesting, logistics, and the
burning of the fuel in the engine. The results are compared to a similar analysis for
the equivalent fossil fuel. The potential CO2 reductions were shared in the last section
and show clearly the environmental advantages of using sources such as cellulose or
sugarcane instead of corn to produce ethanol. For biodiesel, the environmental gain
by using conventional or next generation sources are up to 88.5%. It is important to
46 Takle, E. and Hofstrand, Don., Global Warming – More on Bio-fuels. Iowa State University. 2008. <https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/articles/others/TakJune08.html>
30
find a source that is less land-intensive, while land use change can make the use of
biofuels worse for the environment.
7. Ethanol production from alternative sources
7.1. Ethanol from second generation sources
The main goal behind the RFS policy is to foster the use of cellulosic sources. As a
consequence of its targets, there must have 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol
going to the transportation sector every year since 2022. Today, there is one opened
plant in the state of Iowa (POET-DSM Project Liberty) that processes 770 tons/day of
corn stover and other two under development (Kansas and 30-million liter per
year/Dupont in Iowa and 25-million liter per year/Abengoa in Kansas)- EIA— into
ethanol. In Brazil, the first second-generation ethanol plant was implemented by
GranBio in Alagoas. The process is integrated and reduces losses. The costs per liter
are 0.4 cents for 1st generation alcohol and 0.9 cents for the 2nd generation fuel47.
Some incentives were created by the EISA to foster cellulosic ethanol. Tax
credits higher than the ones for corn ethanol 1.01 dollars per gallon compared to 0.45
cents per gallon) and funding for new cellulosic plants to profitability are examples.
47 biofueldigest.com
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7.2. Cellulosic ethanol Cleaning land to increase biofuels capacity can make the CO2 emissions higher than
fossil fuels. Richard Smalley, who was awarded with a nobel prize in chemistry,
ranked energy and water as the main challenges for 2050. Cellulosic ethanol can
reduce the use of water and land by fostering the use of plants that are not water and
land-intensive as switch grass, sugarcane bagasse, corn stalks and leaves42. The
chance to integrate first and second generation processes are appealing. An integrated
plant was built in 2014 in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. The cost per volume is still
higher if compared to the use of juice: 0.91cents per liter and 0.49 cents per liter . The
expensive step is the enzymatic hydrolysis, which use an expensive enzyme. New
studies should be conducted in order to reduce the cost of breaking the cellulose into
sugar.
The comparison between GHG emissions from the two sources can be
observed below. The reduction and thus the potential for cellulose are clear48.
FIGURE 24 - GHG EMISSIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION FUELS41
48 Alternative Fuels Data Center-Ethanol Vehicle Emissions. <http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/flexible_fuel_emissions.html>. Accessed on august 27th, 2015.
32
The figure below illustrates the environmental benefits by using different types of
ethanol with different sources42.
FIGURE 25 - COMPARISON IN EMISSIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT ALCOHOL ORIGINS49
7.3. Algae for biofuel
The production of biofuels from algae sources is a hot topic in Biofuels. Many papers
have been released about its use to fulfill the U.S. transportation sector. The main
points are its versatility, high oil content, fast growth, low need for land, and
resilience to grow in different environments50.
49 Wang, Michael et al, Well-to-wheels energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of ethanol from corn, sugarcane and cellulosic biomass for US use. Environmental Research Letters 7, 2012.
50 Oilgae.com. Where does algae grow? – Algae Growth Environments. Accessed on august 27th, 2015. < http://www.oilgae.com/algae/sources/sources.html>
33
They can be used to make bioalcohol, biodiesel, biogas, and biohydrogen51,52. It is a
promising source for alcohol production53. However, it still has greater costs when
compared to conventional sources. The costs can get up to $3.67/lb54.
Some algae characteristics such as productivity, water use, production costs, and yield
to biodiesel are compared in table 3. From the table, it is clear that the cost per liter of
fuel of the mean microalgae is a hundred times higher than the current source. Algae
do not need much water too grow if compared to conventional sources45. The lower
requirements for land is noticeable and it is a major issue in the market. Another
valuable point is the potential to clean wastewater during its growth. A big obstacle
today, though, is the growth of predator species which could be avoided by genetic
engineering to reduce these costs55.
TABLE 3 - COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT SOURCES OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION45
51 Jones CS and Mayfield SP. Algae biofuels: versatility for the future of bioenergy. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. 23(3):346-51. 2012.
52 González-Delgado et al. Microalgae based biorefinery issues to consider. CT&F Ciencia, Tecnología y Futuro. V. 4, No. 4, 5-21, 2011.
53 Chaudhary, Lalitesh et al., Algae as a Feedstock for Bioethanol Production: New Entrance in Biofuel World. International Journal of ChemTech Research. V.6, No. 2, 1381-1389, 2014.
54 Richardson, J.W., Outlaw, J.L., & Allison, M., The economics of microalgae oil, AgBioForum, 13(2), 119-130, 2010. Available on <http://www.agbioforum.org>.
55 Azeredo, V.B.S.de., Produção de biodiesel a partir do cultivo de microalgas: estimativa de custos e perspectivas para o Brasil. Master dissertation. Coppe-Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. 2012.
34
In an economic feasibility study, Vinícius de Borges Salles Azevedo considers
that the major costs of production are biomass growth and recovery. They have great
potential to be comparable or lower to the conventional methods in the future in terms
of costs. Co-product selling represents another alternative to further reduce the costs.
8. Key points of this work
• Biofuels have been a great tool for combating climate change and promoting
energy security. By growing the country’s national energy market and raising
GDP by so, helping the economy of small farmers, and reducing the GHG
emissions, it is helping to develop a sustainable future.
• The history of biofuels in Brazil and in the world started after the great impact
of the Oil Embargo in its economy. With effective policies, the pro-alcohol
program, created in 1975 to deal with the 4 times higher oil prices, had three
successful stages that matched with the times of high oil values (1973-1986)
and increasing concerns about climate change (2003-2009).
• In the US, the production has hiked to a rate never seen before after the
creation of the Renewable Fuel Standard, in 2005. After 10 years, this
program has created 15 billion gallons yearly of capacity of corn ethanol. The
program was updated in 2007 and is now focusing and pushing the production
of cellulosic ethanol. Also, it has established minimum requirements for GHG
emissions in each type.
• The capacity for biodiesel or bioalcohol has to move from crop-based as Soy,
Corn and Sugarcane, which are water and land-intensive, to the next
generation biofuels such as algae or cellulose in order to deal with issues as
the rise on corn prices, greenhouse emissions from land use change and water
use. The latter are questioning the sustainability of biofuels.
• The next generation of this greener fuels represent an appealing future once
they are versatile (many biofuels can be produced from algae), requires lower
amounts of natural resources such water or land to grow and does not compete
35
with food crops. A big effort is in place for trying to reduce the costs per
pound or per liter of algae or cellulosic renewable fuels. They are the big
barriers for the implementation of these fuels
• Main issues for the production process of algae are the cost for infrastructure
and the appearance of predator species during its growth. Costs can be cut
dealing with genetic engineering or reducing the costs for photo-bioreactors
(PBRs). For cellulose, the main issue is to reduce the cost of breaking the
cellulose into sugars. The current enzyme used in the process is expensive.
• Brazil has a great opportunity to increase its blend mix requirement for
biodiesel as long as more than 50% of the Brazilian’s biodiesel plants capacity
is unused.
• Investments on R&D have been released in the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 in the US. In Brazil, universities make the job of
growing the expertise by master and doctorate programs. It is an important
action to make the costs lower until it makes economic sense as every new
technology works.