The bioeconomy at work: Toyota's i-Unit made from kenaf-reinforced bioplastic

As part of the Plasticity – 100 Years of Making Plastics exhibition, held at the Science Museum in London, bioplastics, biocomposites and biopolymers are presented as the future of plastics.

Full of revolutionary technology, Toyota's i-Unit concept is used as an example of a new form of green mobility. The exhibited vehicle uses plant-based materials instead of oil-based plastics and metals. Biopolymers and bioplastics made from sugarcane and maize used in the i-Unit are reinforced with plant fibers from the African kenaf plant. The fibers are held together by lignin, a natural polymer found in wood.

The car industry has been one of the biggest users of plant-based plastics (overview). These green alternatives can be made from a large variety of feedstocks, as long as they contain sugar, starch or oil. So far sugarcane, castor beans, maize, sago, cassava, palm oil, soy beans and sweet potatos have been used for the production of bioplastics (see our overview of research on tropical feedstocks for biopolymers). They often have properties that make them more performant and robust than their petroleum-based 'rivals' (earlier post, here and here). As well as using plastics made from plants, car designers are employing plant fibers to strengthen plastics, replacing conventional carbon fibre or glass reinforcement.

Plastics reinforced with plant fibers are much lighter than traditional composites, so the cars are much more energy efficient to drive. The carbon footprint of these materials is lower as well and they are renewable. Sometimes, they are fully biodegradable.

Toyota's i-Unit offers a radically green form of mobility. Its compact size enables the passenger to move among other people in an upright position in low speed mode, whereas a low center of gravity ensures stable handling when the vehicle reclines in high speed mode. The device is powered by li-ion batteries. If the electricity these batteries store were to be obtained from renewables such as biomass, the vehicle would become almost entirely green and carbon-neutral [entry ends here].
biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: oil :: plastics :: bioplastics :: biomass :: natural fibers :: kenaf :: biocomposites :: biopolymers :: biodegradable :: bioeconomy ::

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UPM and Andritz/Carbona team up to develop synthetic biofuels

Global forestry company UPM, international technology group Andritz and its associated company Carbona intend to co-operate [*.pdf] on the development of the technology for biomass gasification and synthetic gas purification. Gasification technology is required for the production of so-called 'synthetic biofuels', also known as second-generation biodiesel, or biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuels. To obtain such fuels, biomass is gasified after which the syngas is purified and fed to a Fischer-Tropsch liquefaction plant. During the Fischer-Tropsch process carbon monoxide and hydrogen are combined in a catalytic reaction which converts them into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms (diagram, click to enlarge).

The companies plan to start the joint BTL project based on Carbona's gasification technology at the Gas Technology Institute’s pilot plant located close to Chicago in the United States. Laboratory testing and modification of GTI's test plant would start in July. The institute has equipment which can be applied for synthetic gas production under conditions similar to commercial scale plants.

Estimated total costs of the piloting are €5 to 10/US$6.7 to 13.4 million. Pilot testing is expected to be finished by the end of 2008. The co-operation also covers the design and supply of a commercial scale biomass gasification plant. UPM announced in October 2006 that it will strongly increase its stake in second generation biodiesel in the next few years and prepares to become a significant producer of renewable biofuels. The main raw material used in UPM's biodiesel production will be wood based biomass:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: wood :: gasification :: Fischer-Tropsch :: synthetic biofuels :: biomass-to-liquids ::

The company is already known for making efficient use of biomass in production of paper and wood products as well as in energy generation. Locating biodiesel production plants adjacent to existing UPM pulp or paper mills would further enhance the company's ability to utilise the wood raw material efficiently.

Andritz has a comprehensive product portfolio for biomass starting from wood handling equipment, dryers and pellet machines to fluid bed boilers and gasifiers for lime kilns. Recent addition of Carbona’s special gasification technology enables further gasification applications to complement the product family.

UPM is one of the world’s leading forest products groups. The Group's sales in 2006 were EUR 10 billion, and it has about 28,000 employees. UPM's main products include printing papers, self-adhesive label materials and wood products. The company has production plants in 15 countries and its main market areas are Europe and North America.

Andritz Group develops high-tech production systems and industrial process solutions for various standard and highly specialized products. The Group has approximately 10,400 employees and runs 35 production/service facilities and over 120 affiliates and distribution firms around the world. The Group focuses on five Business Areas: Pulp and Paper, Rolling Mills and Strip Processing Lines, Environment and Process, Feed and Biofuel and Hydro Power.

Carbona is a privately owned technology based company started in 1996. It is specialised in the development and commercialisation of biomass gasification processes. For the time being it has offices in Finland and USA. Carbona has worked in close co-operation with Gas Technology Institute throughout its existence.

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is a non-profit research & development organization with nearly 250-person staff based in Des Plaines, Illinois. The organization performs contract research, development and demonstration projects as well as plans and manages technology development programmes for the gas industry and other energy clients.

Image: Bundles of logging residues. During the last 10 years UPM invested more than €500 million on biomass based energy and energy efficiency. These bundles of logging residues are being incinerated for energy in one of UPM's many renewable biomass fired power plants. UPM sees biodiesel production as a natural continuation in making efficient use of the wood raw material.

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Biofuels, palm oil and youth empowerment in Nigeria's volatile Delta State

The socio-economic situation in Nigeria's volatile delta region is tragic: the abundance of oil and gas has brougth immense wealth to a small corrupt elite and Western energy companies, whereas the vast mass of ordinary citizens has become impoverished. An economic crisis fueled by demographic changes (rapid population growth, urbanisation, the abandonment of agriculture) has triggered an enviromental crisis which makes things worse. Especially the younger generation of Delta inhabitants has become totally disillusioned and tilts towards using violence to express its frustration over this state of affairs.

Felix Ayanruoh, writing for the Vanguard, thinks biofuels may offer an opportunity to turn this situation around, by involving the youth in their production. Biofuels can bring local employment, income security and local energy independence. Ayanruoh refers to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, governor-elect, who recently said that his mission for Delta State is "To use our human and natural resources to launch an era of rapid and sustainable social and economic development that will transform us into the most peaceful and industrialized state in Nigeria...". Biofuels development is seen as one of the strongest opportunities to achieve the above stated mission, especially when they are based on palm oil, the industry of which has entirely collapsed. Green fuels could revive this once thriving agro-economic sector.

Ayanruoh makes some good points that are close to our own view on how biofuels may contribute to socio-economic development in the South. In a crisis region like the Niger Delta, local economic development is the absolute priority, and locally available natural resources, if kept in the hands of the communities who own them, can make an important contribution to this aim. With permission, we reprint parts of his essay:

The emerging market in biofuel is another opportunity to transform Delta State into a more peaceful and industrialized state. Delta State has one of the largest untapped palm oil potentials in the world. The export of palm kernels began in 1832 and by 1911, British West Africa alone exported 157,000 tonnes of which about 75 per cent came from Nigeria - the region encompassing Delta State being the major producer. As of today, palm oil production in our state has been ignored by the relentless focus on crude oil. The total output has fallen drastically, denying the state billions of dollars in potential revenue. Palm trees proliferate throughout the state with well known production centers in such towns as Ajagbodudu, Agbarho, and Otegbo, for example. The revitalization of this production sector is, therefore, well within reach.

One of the problems facing the Niger-Delta region today is youth restiveness, notes Ayanruoh:

It is therefore incumbent on the Uduaghan administration to address this problem by developing and improving palm oil production as a means of empowering our youths and at the same time, achieving his mission of transforming Delta State into a more peaceful and industrialized state.
At a symposium about youth restiveness organized by the Concerned Deltans, at the Petroleum Training Institute Effurun, in Delta State, the youth leaders in attendance stressed the need for vocational training in the area of farming among other trades. The past is clear enough and offers a framework for the future. There is the need for partnership among the state, business, labour, youth, and communal organizations, emphasizing human and technical development of palm oil production.

In conjunction with other vast natural resources of Delta State, the advancement of palm oil production will be of seminal importance to the overall development of the state, says Ayanruoh:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: poverty alleviation :: social development :: Nigeria :: Delta State ::

He concludes that this initiative will drive revenue growth as a result of exports, increase employment for our youths, and generate electrical energy to power local industries and biofuels for transport.

Even though Ayanruoh is right about the potential palm oil holds for his State, there are a huge number of barriers that must be overcome: from the creation of a safe investment climate and the requirement for good governance to the question of ownership, labor rights and participation, to the need for investments in infrastructures and biofuel processing facilities. It is not enough to have a natural resource at hand. Its exploitation can just as well strengthen the injustices one is trying to overcome. The palm oil industry in this part of Africa has its roots in a colonial plantation system, and the risk exists that these old traditions based on a fundamental logic of inequality (producers/land owners versus powerless plantation laborers) are revived. Biofuel production based on palm oil can only succeed over the long term if smallholders are given enough means to participate in the sector.

With this in mind, the Biopact has been cooperating with a local NGO to study the feasibility of creating a cottage ethanol industry based on the exploitation of Nipah fruticans, a sugar rich palm that has colonised much of the Delta. Even though many problems arise that limit the potential of such a project, the small-scale approach to biofuel production based on local ownership is worth pursueing at the expense of potential profits, because the social advantages of employment creation, political stability and youth empowerment far outweigh mere commercial gain (earlier post).

The most important point to remember is that local farming communities in the South are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that biofuels offer them an unprecedented opportunity at diversifying their crop portfolio and to tap a new, lucrative and rapidly globalising market. Whether biofuels are used locally to replace fossil fuels or exported to bring in foreign currency is of lesser importance. The fact remains that the South has the social, economic and agronomic conditions that give it a competitive advantage over the North when it comes to green fuel production. The wealthy countries should look into strengthening this industry in the South, which offers a unique chance to alleviate poverty and to spur social development.

Image: armed Ijaw militants in the Niger Delta.

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Biofuels and renewables 'Country Attractiveness Indices' for Q1 2007

Ernst & Young recently released its Q1 2007 Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices [*.pdf], a series of indices that rank countries on their commercial attractiveness with regards to alternative energy growth and development. These indices provide yardsticks for investors who want to know which markets offer the best near and long term alternative energy growth prospects.

The indices provide scores for national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies. They take a generic view and different sponsor/financier requirements will clearly affect how countries are rated. Moreover, the indices were compiled from a purely commercial point of view, keeping in line with the current status quo of the globalised economy.

In the case of the Biofuels Country Attractiveness Indices, they say nothing about trade injustices or the politics of subsidies, which are so crucial for a debate about the potential drawbacks of biofuels. Neither do they keep in mind the efficiency of the biofuels in question or their effectiveness at mitigating climate change. The economy and its investors do not automatically mind the social and environmental sustainability of their ventures.

The Biofuels Country Attractiveness Indices rank the attractiveness of the top 15 global markets for investment in biologically derived renewable fuels incorporating both ethanol, and biodiesel. The Q1 2007 edition includes individual scores for bioethanol, biodiesel, and infrastructure, plus a combined score making up the All Biofuels Index.

As such, the Index may be handy for investors, but for policy makers, environmentalists or energy analysts they are of less use. The top 15 stack up as follows on the All Biofuels Index (click to enlarge):

Referring to the recent investment boom in biofuels, the report says that:

Growing optimism in the sector has not been lost on investors who are showing an appetite to take advantage of the growth potential and capital requirement of the market with over US$400m invested in 2006 and analysts predicting a compound annual growth rate for the industry of 30% in the medium term.

Biodiesel
Germany tops the Biodiesel Index with a long history of governmental and financial support for the industry but its score would have been higher were it not for last year’s reduction in excise tax incentives, in favour of blending targets, leading to concerns that the market is reaching overcapacity.

France is in second place with an established biodiesel industry currently supported by excise tax exemptions, but with EU blending targets to be met in the future. For example, Diester has announced an expansion programme for four plants ranging from 100,000 to 250,000 tonnes per annum (ktpa) by 2008.

The United States and Brazil both benefit from high diesel demand and the necessary arable land to grow feedstocks such as soy. EU markets that are large fossil fuel consumers such as Spain, where Grupo Natura have just inaugurated a 105ktpa plant and the UK with AIM listed producers D1 Oils and Biofuels Corporation, benefit most in the Index. Below them are the smaller economies – Sweden with its attractive offtake regimes; Italy with established biodiesel production and Austria whose industry grew up very much in line with Germany’s. Canada has some regulatory support and is located next to the large US market:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: investors :: infrastructure :: renewables :: wind :: solar ::

Biodiesel demand in China is expected to rise significantly in the future and ChinaAgri, who floated on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this quarter, and CNOOC are both investing in capacity. However, regulatory support has been inconsistent and relatively little foreign investment has been attracted. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have strong listed plantation investors such as Golden Hope and PTAsianAgri who produce biodiesel, and the regulatory regimes are now recognising this potential. Ethical concerns continue over agronomy practises in the region however. India has the potential to grow the high yielding feedstock jatropha and a large domestic fuel market but little biodiesel production at present.

Ethanol
Brazil and the US are joint top of the Ethanol Index (click to enlarge). Brazil enjoys a high yielding feedstock, sugar cane, high blending targets, various tax incentives, and a large production capacity. This is attracting foreign investment such as from AIM listed vehicles Infinity Bio-energy and Clean Energy Brazil. The US produced more ethanol that Brazil for the first time during 2006. Investment in the US is flowing from developers such as NYSE listed Aventine Renewables as well as through global corporations entering the business such as Virgin Fuels with their investment in Cilion and joint venture with NTR’s Bioverda. In addition, the Federal grants for second generation, or cellulosic, ethanol have encouraged the market. High corn prices are expected to soften following record levels of planting this season by US farmers.

Europe continues to be a relatively modest producer of ethanol with its largest producer, Germany, producing just a fraction of the United States’ production during 2006. Belgium's score suffers due to its low gasoline consumption and Italy's as a result of its low installed capacity. Q1 2007 alone has seen the financial close of the 400 milllion liters per year Ensus plant in the UK, Raffinerie Tirlemontoise’s 300 million liters/year plant in Belgium and Abengoa’s 200 million liters per year French facility.

Australia sits in the top ten thanks to some state level mandatory blending legislation and availability of the high yielding feedstock sugarcane. China too is piloting cellulosic technology due to a lack of grain. Investment today is at both ends of the value chain from state-owned grain trader COFCO and the nation’s largest oil producer CNPC. India produces significant levels of ethanol and will need to satisfy high future oil demands. Other South East Asian economies, such as Thailand and the Philippines, are implementing blending targets and should benefit from their proximity to China, India, South Korea and Japan for export purposes.

Biofuels Infrastructure Index
The Biofuels Infrastructure Index is an assessment by country of the general regulatory infrastructure for biofuels. On a weighted basis, the index considers:

• Market regulatory risk – 29%: The score in this category depends on how strongly the general regulatory, political and economic environment in the respective market encourages the production, distribution and use of biofuels
• Supporting infrastructure – 42%: A market with sufficient arable land available to cultivate, an established and widespread distribution network and R&D activity will score well
• Access to finance – 29%: Markets with a sound financial industry, proven financial track record of financing biofuels projects, listed companies operating in the biofuels sector and strong appetite by foreign and domestic investors score highly

Fuel Specific Indices
This comprises two indices providing fuel specific assessments for each country, namely ethanol and biodiesel. Some markets may appear in one of these Fuel Specific Indices but not in the All Biofuels Index since certain markets have a particular bias toward one fuel type but not the other (hence the combined score is reduced). Each of the indices consider, on a weighted basis, the following:

• Offtake incentives – 25%: This includes the level of mandatory blending targets, tax breaks on fuel excise duty and tax credits awarded to biofuels producers
• Tax climate – 8%: Countries that create a favourable tax climate such as enhanced capital allowances or corporation tax holidays will score highly
• Grants and soft loans – 8%: Comprises grants and soft loans for investment in biofuels production
• Current installed base – 11%: Existing production capacity installed in a country
• Domestic market growth potential – 15%: Gasoline/petrol or diesel consumption of a country is used to determine the ultimate growth potential for alternative fuels
• Export potential – 15%: A market’s score is determined by its geographical location and any free trade agreements it is a party to
• Feedstock – 10%: Takes into account the energy yield, sustainability and price volatility of a country’s main biofuels feedstocks
• Project size – 8%: Large projects provide economies of scale which facilitates project development

Wind, Solar, Biomass
The All Renewables Index which includes onshore and offshore wind, solar and biomass looks as follows (click to enlarge):

More information:
Ernst & Young, Renewable Energy Group: Q1 2007 Biofuels Country Attractiveness Indices [*.pdf] - May 2007.

Ernst & Young, Renewable Energy Group: Q1 2007 Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices [*.pdf] - May 2007.

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