Using agricultural waste, instead of food crops, to make biofuels and bioplastics is a subject that's been discussed often in Design News' comment boards. One of the biggest -- and also one of the first -- commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the world is targeted for completion next year by DuPont, and it will make cellulosic ethanol from corn stalks and leaves.
The corn stalks and leaves that will serve as feedstock are known as corn stover.
DuPont has recruited more than 500 local farmers near the site of its Nevada, Iowa facility, where it recently broke ground, to provide this material. The facility, which the company expects to complete in 2014, will generate 30 million gallons per year.
Next year DuPont plans to complete one of the first and biggest commercial-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the world, which will make biofuel from corn stalks and leaves at this Nevada, Iowa construction site. (Source: DuPont)
DuPont, which is involved in agricultural science as well as plastics, has been testing and optimizing its biofuel production process and technology in a Tennessee pilot plant, but the effort began more than 10 years ago. "Nearly a decade ago, DuPont set out to develop innovative technology that would result in low capital and low-cost cellulosic ethanol production," said James C. Collins, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences, in a press release. "By leveraging DuPont Pioneer corn production expertise and designing an integrated technology platform, we've built an affordable and sustainable entry point into this new industry."
In planning the process and the facility, DuPont has worked closely with the state of Iowa, Iowa State University, and growers to make renewable fuels a commercial reality, Collins said. As a state, Iowa leads the US in renewable fuel production, said its governor, Terry Branstad, at the groundbreaking ceremony.
DuPont estimates it will need 375,000 dry tons per year of corn stover to meet the annual goal of 30 million gallons. That will require corn stalks and leaves to be harvested from about 190,000 acres. To supply those quantities, DuPont will contract with more than 500 local farmers to gather, store, and deliver the corn residue. Although growers often leave a little stover on the field as a mulch to protect against erosion, there's a lot more than they need and disposing of it is a big headache. It interferes with corn planting and maintenance, pulls nitrogen out of the soil that could be used by crops, and can house insects and diseases that damage corn plants.
In addition to corn waste, DuPont is working on adapting its process to other feedstocks, such as switchgrass. Currently, the company is processing switchgrass in its testing facility near Knoxville, Tenn., which it owns jointly with the University of Tennessee. DuPont says several local businesses and academic institutions are interested in using the resulting biofuel to reduce some of the energy they get from burning coal.
We've written before about the need for finding usable biofuel feedstocks that don't use food crops and also don't grow non-food crops on land that could be growing food, even if it isn't used for that now. We've also reported on converting non-recycled plastic trash and other waste that would otherwise go into landfills into fuel. But I haven't seen a company and a research project on this scale that set out to do a high-quality job of making fuel from the huge amounts of agricultural waste. DuPont is a company with a lot of resources and a stated dedication to sustainability. They've spent a lot of time, effort, and research dollars on this project, and have done the homework needed to make it succeed. The proof will be in the product, but meanwhile, I say kudos and more power to them.
I don't believe anything from the federal government. Too many professional liers (politicians) there and DuPont is another one of those big chemical companies looking out for their bottom line. In this case, I'm sure DuPont intends to make a tidy profit from their biofuel project, so any claims they make supporing it should be taken for propaganda. I believe what I see with my own eyes or in this case my dad's.
Here are a few sources of good information:
Corn Stover to Sustain Soil Organic Carbon Further Constrains Biomass Supply
The collection of comments have made for interesting reading. I love the fact that a lot of the ideas are coming from different directions and points-of-view, but the exchange has been kept civil.
Very interesting is the real world experiment set up by NiteOwl's father. Regardless of the actual cause for the difference in crop yields (nitrogen, nitrogen depletion, erosion or no), I love the fact that he set the experiment up and had the patience and commitment to sacrifice a growing season to test a deduction. He was obviously onto something as he has successfully improved his yields. Kudos to him for his powers of observation, deduction and curiosity.
It would be an interesting follow-up to test the soil from the two types of fields to see what the real chemical difference are. This would eliminate the off-site hypothesizing and references to questionable reports, a point that both Ann and NiteOwl seem to agree on. That common point is of course, that data and reports provided by large companies (or entities since NiteOwl included the government) are largely suspect and most likely skewed for an ulterior motive. (I think most of us can most likely agree with this point.)
While the goal of using waste corn products, leaves and stover, is admirable I wonder what the economics are like. It has been shown that ethanol costs more to make than it supplies in energy. Will this project produce the same result?
About those people and countries that disagree with Nite Owl... they are more than happy to see the U.S. produce surplus grain for the simple reason that we GIVE IT AWAY or sell it under the market because it's politically popular. If those countries that can't learn how to feed themselves want U.S. farmers to produce corn for food, then they should do the right thing and get out the checkbook or learn to farm. Farming isn't a hobby and it isn't much fun when the fruits of the labor [and monumental ever-growing risk] are given away... causing the markets to be kept artificially low. Why do we do it then? Simple... because it is politically correct to keep food prices depressed. Not a happy concept for the farmer.
If you take the 1970 cost of an acre of land [a few hundred bucks], a 100 horsepower tractor [$10K] and a gallon of fuel [perhaps 14-16% of today's price] and then look at the same values recently... Land at $7000, the tractor at $135K, and the fuel at over 3 bucks... THEN look at the historical price of corn per bushel... it is only in the last few years that an American Farmer has "gotten a raise" while the rest of the country with little or no investment or risk gets a raise almost every year. Farmers have the right to market their crops as they see fit... PERIOD. If DuPont offers them an affordable plan, so be it.
The world does not have a food supply problem. Globally,we overproduce EVERY YEAR. What we have is a distribution problem. And no amount of handwringing over the idea of food-for-fuel will fix that issue. Farmers, in general, are sick and tired of being the pawn in the international food chess game.
You don't believe anything from the Fed. Gov't? Would that include government funded research? For example, would you reject a doctoral thesis or scientific paper which was, at least in part, paid for by a Federal agency such as DOD, EPA, NSF. etc? If so, then is any scientist who accepts government money ipso facto dishonest and corrupt?
I do share your skepticism over statements by DuPont unless they have passed through a peer reviewed journal.
My post was not intended to offend anyone except those who are beyond caring. To clarify my statement, I don't believe any public statements and/or publications produced by the government. Those have all been put through the pollitical propaganda machine. Any valuable information that goes through there has lost it's credibility by the time it's published. That does not necessarily include studies that were funded in whole or in part by the government. I don't trust single sources of information, especially statistical studies. Single sources and statistical studies are indicators that additional research, real research, should be considered. By themselves, they are not proof or at best they are very limited proof.
In college, I briefly worked in a university research lab, which depended on donations and grants for funding. I participated in the colating and processing of data collected and preparation of documents for publication in journals and preparation of materials for presentation at conferences. Based on this experience, I know how statistical data is molded to support a goal. When the data is totally unsupportive, the research goal is adjusted to a new angle that can be supported or the experiment is redone with slightly different parameters and the unsupportive data is buried. That process continues until you have a goal and data to support it or you run out of funding. The lab I worked in started out doing good, valuable research, but later when the research failed to produce findings significant enough to warrant further research it became a case of publish or die.
Thank you for the clarification. Your story describing what amounts to fudging statistical data is distressing. May I ask in what field or area of science this was happening? I know that in my areas of physics and engineering, the editors and reviewers would be expected to nail such monkey-business.
I am sure your father's experiment took all possible precautions against biased results and used only the best practices in analyzing results. Again, has he published?
It was medical research. Nothing life threatening. In fact they were trying to find a way to help improve the quality of life for people with a very common health problem. I'm not sure if they were successful.
My father chose not to publish anything, but did provide the information to other local farmers. My dad was a do-it-yourselfer and he was a very private person. He built what may have been the first pull-type corn planter with fold-up wings. I remember a few factory reps dropping by to take pictures of it. Later, he would smile when he saw the shiny new factory planters with fold-up wings.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
It has often been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. This spring, the state's wind power is setting energy generation records and solar energy generation is expected to rise sharply during the second half of 2013.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 4
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
4 
