“Ethanol…..and Beyond” Food and Inflation: Truth & Consequences GIC and University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business Memphis, Tennessee February 8, 2012
The Challenge of Replacing Fossil Feedstocks
3 barrels of oil produces the energy equivalent of one human worklife.*
*Source: Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, US DOE 1 Bbl oil = 5,800,000 BTU’s 1 Bbl oil = 23,200 hours human work
The Petrochemical Economy Source: DOE/USDA Top Value-Added Chemicals Vol. I, 2004
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Fossil Feedstocks are Finite Resources Feedstock
Renewal time
Oil gas, coal (Fossil)
200 million years
Trees
5-80+ years
Shrubs
1-5 years
Grasses
1 year
Agricultural Crops
3 months – 1 year
Algae
1 Month
Source: Amidon, Tom, et al. Industrial Biotechnology, 2(2):113-120, 2006
What can replace Fossil Feedstocks? Major Biomass Feedstocks Feedstock Oils Starch Sugar Lignocellulose
Key Chemical Component(s) Plant oils: triglycerides Sugar polymers (polysaccharides) Sucrose, glucose, fructose Lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose
Crop Examples Soybeans, Canola, Sunflowers, Algae Corn, Barley, Grain sorghum Sweet sorghum, sugar beets, sugar cane Wood, crop residues, switchgrass
Source: Regional Strategy for Biobased Products in the Mississippi Delta (Battelle 2009) Memphis Bioworks Foundation, report at www.agbioworks.org
The Bioeconomy Source: DOE/USDA Top Value-Added Chemicals Vol. I, 2004
Sugar is the “New Oil� Novel fermentation technologies moving to commercialization
Leading Chemicals from Sugar Bioisoprene, Butadiene
1,3-Propanediol
Genencor/Goodyear, Amyris/Michelin
DuPont/Tate & Lyle (Loudon, TN)
Ethylene Glycol Coca-Cola “Plant Bottle”
Succinic Acid Myriant (Lake Providence, LA) BioAmber/Mitsui, DSM/Roquette, BASF/Purac
Butanol, Isobutanol Gevo (Silsbee, TX), Cobalt BP/DuPont, Tetravitae/Eastman
BioDimensions is developing Industrial Sugar Crops • Sweet Sorghum – – – –
Single crop per year in TN 4 month season w/ hybrids Rotation w/ winter wheat Low inputs, drought tolerant
Sweet sorghum harvesting, Whiteville, TN, 2011
• Sugarbeets – – – –
Winter crop option in mid-South Storage for off-season processing Successful introduction & trials Sugar yield equal to sorghum
Sugarbeets, Whiteville, TN, 2010
Sweet Sorghum as a Biorefinery Feedstock Component
Composition
Possible Downstream Products
Juice
C6 Sugars
Fuels, chemicals, spirits
Bagasse
Lignocellulose
Feed, cellulosic sugars/fuels, fuel pellets, materials
Seed
Starch
Specialty feeds, sugar products
Some Parting Thoughts • Fossil feedstocks have a huge advantage for liquid fuel & chemicals production • Ultimately fossil feedstocks are finite & cause other problems • Development of alternative sustainable feedstocks takes time and money (think decades and Trillions) • First generation technologies are always flawed • New technologies and products must ultimately be tested and improved in the marketplace, not the laboratory
BioDimensions pilot-scale Biorefinery; Whiteville, TN
Thank You!