Next Year, Biomass Energy!

“We’re not talking about something that’s going to happen in five years, in 10 years – it’s going to happen next year,” said Joe Skurla, the joint venture’s chief executive officer. _Bioenergy

Skurla is referring to a new partnership between Dupont / Genencor and the University of Tennessee. The venture aims to start bringing energy from biomass to the market in 2010 using switchgrass and non-food plant waste left over from maize.

Another focus for bringing biomass energy to market in 2010 is in the state of Oregon. The Oregon approach uses state tax credits to assist local and regional bioenergy efforts.

South Korea is pursuing a large-scale "bioenergy from forest biomass" project with a twist -- the "forests" involved are forests of seaweed off the Korean coast.

The plan calls for 35 000 hectares of seaweed forest to be created in waters in the east and south coasts and near Jeju Island that can produce up to 1.56bn liters of ethanol per year by 2020...The total is equivalent to 13.7 per cent of the country's predicted gasoline supply in the cited year, which could reach 11.4bn litres. _PowerEngineering

A new biomass gasification plant in Iowa aims to produce ammonia for the fertiliser market.

The process involves a pressurized oxygen-blown biomass gasifier operating in an expanding bed fluidized mode. The company’s patent-pending HarvestGas system gasifies biomass into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and is optimized to minimize the formation of methane. After the gas stream is cleaned, the carbon monoxide portion is shifted to maximize hydrogen. The hydrogen is purified and catalytically reacted with nitrogen to make ammonia. The plant includes an air separation system to provide oxygen for the gasifier and pure nitrogen for ammonia synthesis. _Biomass

Gasification of biomass can be used to produce a wide array of high-value chemicals. By turning crop stubble into fertiliser to grow more crops, the Iowa project aims at sustainability in food production. Expect more such clever uses of biomass in the future.