Renewable fuels company KiOR has left the development stage and entered scaled-up production of its biofuel based on non-food biomass. The company announced this advance last month during its third quarter earnings report.
Operations at KiOR's Columbus, Miss. commercial advanced biofuel facility have begun, producing "a high-quality oil that is in line with our specifications for upgrading into cellulosic gasoline and diesel," said Fred Cannon, KiOR's president and chief executive officer, in a press release. "More importantly, we believe the high quality of the oil from the Columbus facility validates KiOR's proprietary biomass fluid catalytic cracking, or BFCC, technology at commercial scale."
KiOR has left the development stage and entered scaled-up production of its biofuel based on non-food biomass, prepared at its commercial, advanced biofuel facility in Columbus, Miss.
(Source: Ken Childress)
Biofuels have been in the news a lot lately. As we've reported, the first civil jet flying on 100-percent non-food biofuel took off in Canada recently, the European Commission tightened limits on food-based transportation biofuels, and a small Pacific Nation went 100-percent renewable on coconut-based biofuel and solar panels.
KiOR's Columbus plant will produce 500 bone-dry tons of sustainably harvested woody biomass per day. That biomass will be based primarily on Southern Yellow Pine, which is a low-cost, locally abundant, and price-stable feedstock in the southeastern US.
At full operational capacity, the plant is expected to produce about 11 million gallons per year of cellulosic gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil blendstocks that are virtually identical to their fossil fuel-based counterparts. These fuels can be transported using existing distribution networks, and when blended with fossil-fuel based fuels, can be used in today's vehicles. The plant's entire fuel output is already spoken for: Fuel offtake agreements are in place with Hunt Refining, Chevron, Weyerhaueser joint venture Catchlight Energy, and FedEx Corporate Services.
KiOR's commercial advanced biofuel process is a two-step proprietary technology platform that uses standard refining equipment. It combines proprietary catalysts with a process based on the oil refining industry's existing standard Fluid Catalytic Cracking technology, in place for more than 60 years. Compared to most biofuel production processes, the company says this Biomass Fluid Catalytic Cracking (BFCC) process cuts operating and capital costs. (You can watch an animation of the process here.)
The BFCC process can accommodate a wide variety of feedstocks, including pulp logs, logging residue, urban wood waste, agricultural residue such as cornstalks, and crops that are grown specifically for feedstocks like switchgrass or sorghum. KiOR intends to use feedstocks based on wood and agricultural waste, rather than feedstocks based on food crops, or on non-food crops grown on land that could be used for food production.
This non-food crop focus is a key factor in ensuring that biofuels are really sustainable, and, unfortunately, one that's still not as common as it might be among biofuels producers. This crop is also one that doesn't require additional water, and that KiOR believes will produce more stable fuel prices than food-based biofuels.
Cannon said the company is working on its next-generation catalyst platform. When implemented at its full scale commercial facility, a plant to be constructed in Natchez, Miss. that will have three times the capacity of the Columbus operation, this new process will produce 72 gallons for every bone-dry ton of biomass.
KiOR also believes the new catalyst platform can reduce the amount of coke that the process generates by up to 25 percent. This "would enhance the capital efficiency of our commercial facilities by giving us the ability to process up to 25 percent more feedstock without significant additional capital," Cannon said.
alexrover, thanks for your comments. There are, in fact, efforts to produce biofuel from animal wastes, either their feces or their fat. I'm working on some reports about those sources.
I really like the idea of generation of bio fuel from the animal or human waste. It's one of the greatest help to the nature. Such activities helps to stop exhausting the natural resources.
Greg I can't say whether KiOR is receiving tax credits, or any other form of funding assistance. But even if they were, I'm not sure I see what the point is. As we've discussed in comments to several different posts about alternative energy, it's not reasonable to expect a new energy source, without the same huge, established, existing infrastructure as the current energy source, to be competitive with it price-wise. It will take time, and outside funding assistance will help speed that process.
Ann, I may have mistakenly assumed that this company was receiving government funding and grants to keep its operations profitable during the initial phase of operations. However, from your post, it sounds to me that maybe this type of process can be profitable without government assistance, (correct?). Perhaps the only extra assistance they are receiving would be in the form of special 'green' tax credits? If so, this would be a nice step forward.
Greg, I agree about the benefits of using waste to generate biofuel. Can you tell us more about what you mean? For example, which government subsidies do you have in mind?
I am really happy to see biofuel being generated from waste products rather than from primary sources.
Ann, did you get a sense if this business is profitable by itself or if government subsidies are still needed to keep this business in the black?
Biofuels derived from food crops have contributed to, not caused single-handedly, food shortages in some parts of the globe, although the bigger problem has been not shortages but prices shooting up. That's the reality. The reality is also that many countries and regions, for example Europe, are moving away from the use of food crops for biofuels, and focusing on wastes of various kinds instead (municipal garbage or food crop wastes), or growing non-food crops that don't compete. Regarding fuels, there's no reason to modify an engine: this isn't already used cooking oil going into your converted VW bug (which on its own is a perfectly good idea--we've got them around here). Previously, they were blended with various proportions of petro-based fuel, for reasons of performance only. But the 100% non-blended stuff is quite new--not available widely yet.
I was shocked when I saw direct biofuel/regular fuel blends used in commuter jets and military aircraft with no modification of the engines. Even more shocking was the 100% substitutions.
It's comforting to know that when gasoline, and other consumer fuels, run out or become too expensive, there is a direct replacement.
However, is this type of product really causing global food shortages?
I agree, reusing garbage may be the best way to go for alternative fuels. More and more biofuels are being developed that don't interfere with food sources, as DN has covered lately: those links are given at the end of this article.
Biofuels have been a really popular government sink hole lately with $1+ per gallon subsidy. It has caused food shortages worldwide and the farms around my home are filled with this worthless corn and soybean. The GMO aspect destroys our bee population and polutes our gardens with the blowover.
But garbage fuel I like! Keep thinking of ways to utilize our fantastic garbage resource!
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