Producing renewable fuels and milk from corn and cows
Thin sillage from the ethanol process, glycerol from the biodiesel and manure from the cows will all be fed back into the energy island for electricity production. The electricity will be used in the fuel production as well as dairy production. Distillers grain and germ cakes from the fuel processes will feed the cows and waste from the power plant will be composted. Overall they anticipate an energy efficiency efficiency ratio of 10:1 for the ethanol compared to 1.2:1 for a conventional dry mill corn ethanol process and cost savings of up to $0.35 a gallon for ethanol.
When the plant goes into production in fall 2008 it should be turning 576,000 tons of corn annually into 54 million gallons of ethanol, 5 million gallons of biodiesel, an 110,000 tons of animal feed. The facility will also capture carbon dioxide to recycle into dry ice, cooling and beverage carbonation. The only thing they don't seem to have a plan for is capturing the methane from the cows for extra electric generation. XL Dairy is also working a proprietary algae biodiesel process which could also be used to consume CO2 from the other processes as well as expand fuel and feed production.
[Source: XL Dairy Group via GreenCarCongress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Howard Lee Harkness 2:12PM (5/15/2007)
Ethanol is a mediocre fuel. Corn is a lousy feedstock for ethanol, and it is sub-optimal animal feed (for health, anyway). Grass-fed beef (http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/grass_fed_beef.htm) is not only healthier, but better-tasting.
Butanol would be greatly preferred over ethanol.
Algae biodiesel (assuming lack of government coercion, which unfortunately may not be a good assumption) will be the liquid fuel of choice in the near future -- but battery/electric may be the overall fuel of choice. I fully expect my next personal vehicle (in about 6 years) to be an EV.
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66coronet 12:45PM (5/16/2007)
EV is good for vehicles that has it's limits. A hybrid takes the EV out of those limits.
Even though alcohol provides poor fuel consumption. It's clean burning. For business that run vehicles in a building. You have a choice of propaine, alcohol, biodiesel or hydrogen to power the equipment.
It's just up to the market place to deside what is affordable and what they choose to use.
At least a alcohol blend fuel can be used in any FFV vehicle.
As for making electric power. How about solar cells on top of the roof for those cows? How about solar cells through out the fields that cows graze on. It would shade the ground maybe enough to keep moisture in the ground to make grass grow to graze on.
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