The Future of Biofuels in Alabama

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The Future of Biofuels in Alabama
Larry Fillmer Executive Director AU Natural
Resources Management Development Institute July
2008
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A Vision for Alabamas Bioeconomy

• Economic development based on biorefining
• Technologies and business models are emerging
  that can help invigorate Alabamas established
  natural resource-based industries as well as
  create new bioproduct opportunities
• Market value of existing agricultural and forest
  commodities maintained
• Market creation for biomass resources that are
  currently underutilized
• Economic growth will create vibrant,
  self-sustaining communities across Alabama while
  meeting needs for energy and sustainable
  products

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Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts

• The Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts is
  working to implement integrated sustainable
  farming and forest production systems to provide
  the feedstocks for a biorefining industry
• The results include successfully integrated food,
  fiber, and forest production systems that create
  a variety of value-added products.
• Specific opportunities
• Alabama has 22 million acres of forestland in
  sustainable production today
• 14.6 million tons of unused forest residue and
  unmerchantable timber are generated each year in
  Alabama

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Developing Alabamas Bioeconomy

• Nearly 2 billion gallons of biomass-derived
  liquid fuel could be produced from Alabamas
  residual forest biomass
• An additional 15 million tons of biomass could be
  produced from dedicated agricultural energy crops
  to provide an additional 2 billion gallons of
  liquid fuels annually
• 25 million gallons per year of ethanol can be
  produced from the sludge generated by Alabamas
  pulp and paper mills
• 130 million gallons per year of liquid fuel can
  be generated from Alabamas municipal wood waste
• Select municipalities can produce enough
  biodiesel to offset up to 50 of their fleet fuel
  use.

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Challenges for Developing Alabamas Bioeconomy
depend on

• Application of sustainable practices for
  production of biomass feedstocks
• Development and implementation of cost effective
  systems to produce, harvest, process, and
  transport biomass feedstocks
• Advancement of core technologies dealing with the
  separation, purification, and conversion of
  biomass components to a range of products and
• Public acceptance and development of appropriate
  legislative policies that foster a bioeconomy

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Achieving the Vision

• The Center is focusing efforts on three major
  areas of need to help achieve this vision
• State of the art educational programs producing
  graduates able to advance a new bioeconomy
• Cooperative RD and extension programs leading to
  demonstration and commercialization projects
• Highly coordinated infrastructure of RD and
  extension facilities

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Auburn Signature Efforts

• Biomass feedstock production logistics
• Biomass harvesting, handling, densification,
  transportation
• Biofuel production
• Pretreatment and fermentation methods for
  cellulosic biomass to ethanol
• Biomass gasification and gas-to-liquids processes
  to produce synthetic diesel fuel, gasoline, and
  aviation fuel
• Biofuel testing and certification
• Energy Partners Program - small-scale systems
  for use by farms, businesses, and municipalities
• Biodiesel production
• Gasification / heat and power generation

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Bioenergy and Bioproducts Lab

• Development underway for a new campus laboratory
  to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration and
  innovation
• Laboratory will include facilities for
• Feedstock processing and analysis
• Fractionation
• Fermentation and distillation
• Gasification, gas cleanup, gas-to-liquids
• Transesterification
• Fuel testing and certification

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Mobile Biomass Gasification Unit

• Co-sponsored by Alabama Power
• Demonstrates concepts for generating electrical
  power and heat
• Utilizes renewable and carbon neutral biomass
  feedstocks found
• in industry throughout Alabama

• Poultry production
• Forest products manufacturing
• Municipal green wastes

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Auburn Energy Partners

• Program to assist farms, businesses, and
  municipalities to implement small-scale,
  appropriate energy systems
• Biodiesel production
• Combined heat/power generation

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By the year 2025

• An expanded bioenecomy in Alabama founded on
  sutainable, integrated food-fiber-fuel farming
  systems resulting in
• 2.5 billion gallons per year of liquid fuel
  produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks
• 15 million tons per year of biomass for power
  generation
• 15 new biorefineries specializing in liquid fuel
  productions from sources such as municipal solid
  waste, urban wood waste, and other regionally
  appropriate energy crops
• Bioeconomy linked with the states other
  manufacturing sectors and
• 5000 new jobs

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Auburn UniversityNatural Resources Management
Development Institute
An Institute of Local and Global Consequence
An Institute of Local and Global Consequence