Range Fuels (ex-Kergy) will open wood-waste-using cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia
Range Fuels, Inc., known until just the other day as Kergy, Inc., will build a cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia to turn wood waste into the biofuel. Range Fuels says its proprietary cellulosic ethanol technology can turn wood chips, agricultural wastes, grasses, cornstalks, hog manure, municipal garbage, sawdust or paper pulp (whew) into ethanol. Without using enzymes, the K2 system first turns the biomass into a synthetic gas and then into ethanol. This new plant will be funded by Vinod Khosla's Khosla Ventures (Range Fuels itself is privately owned by Khosla Ventures) and can potentially create one million gallons of ethanol a year, along with and 70 new jobs. Khosla recently said at a Reuters Global Biofuels Summit that he thinks cellulosic fuel prices could sink to $1 per gallon within 10 years, and that would make them very attractive at the pump.
This cellulosic ethanol plant is a big step forward, since most ethanol plants in America use corn or soy as the biomass feedstock. Turning a waste product into fuel seems like a no-brainer. I'm not entirely sure if this waste is lumber industry by-product or things like fallen branches. The former seems much more likely, but the company's announcement reads, "Wood waste from the state's millions of acres of indigenous Georgia Pine will be the main source of biomass for the ethanol production." So, what does that mean exactly?
[Source: Range Fuels, Inc.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 2:55PM (2/08/2007)
Using waste for energy is definitely a "no-brainer." I know that we need both ethanol and biodiesel to displace petroleum NOW. Thinking of the future, I have 2 Questions...
1) How much NET energy do we get from the final cellulose ethanol product from forest to road? Is it positive like algae biodiesel or negative like corn ethanol?
2) Is it more efficient to turn wood waste into ethanol and burn it in to fuel our cars, or should we just burn it onsite to produce electricity to power our electric cars and use something else like algae biodiesel as the “rang-extender” fuel?
Ideas anyone?
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Tim 3:35PM (2/08/2007)
What Is The Real Cost Of Corn Ethanol?
By Ronald R. Cooke
EV World's contributing cultural economist takes a sobering look at the ethics of an ethanol future. http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?page=article&storyid=1188
It’s not pretty!
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Jimmy 9:08AM (2/09/2007)
"most ethanol plants in America use corn or soy as the biomass feedstock"
I'm only aware of soy meal to ethanol research at a University level. I think most all current ethanol plants in North America use corn, sorghum or wheat as feedstock. Of course, almost every crop you can imagine is being researched as a potential feedstock.
Khosla is a true pioneer and cellulosic ethanol production from biomass is the most promising alternative fuel.
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Tim 9:52AM (2/09/2007)
Here’s some more information about the impressive Mr. Khosla. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinod_Khosla
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MikeW 1:31AM (2/12/2007)
All this use of corn for ethanol production has raised the price of tortillas in mexico, and they are pissed.
Maybe that will unite the country in deposing Calderon
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