Large renewable energy and biochemical consulting firms like Lee Enterprises Consulting have ethanol and cellulosic ethanol specialists willing to serve as ethanol expert witnesses in related claims, litigation, arbitration and mediations, or to help attorneys evaluate their biodiesel case. Although expert witness work is only a small part of what they do, most of these…
Is butanol a versatile renewable? Despite the common myth, biomass upgrading is a challenging science. Not only do the practitioners have to break down the complex biomass mixtures efficiently, but they must also contend with numerous other equally (and often times more) important considerations such as low oil prices (per barrel), process safety, waste streams,…
Isobutanol: A New Product from Revamped Ethanol Plants? (The following article was written in 2016. Since the publication date BP and DuPont joint venture, Butamax, has started to produce Isobutanol from the Nesika Energy, LLC ethanol plant in Kansas. At 500,000 gallons per year the plant adds to the renewable butanol production from Gevo (rated…
(Note: This is was written in 2016 and may contain information that is now out of date). In thinking about algae, I am reminded of my visit some years ago to a platinum mine in South Africa. About a mile underground at the end of the maze of tunnels at the ‘minefront’ they excavate about…
Torrefied biomass is available, efficient, CO2 neutral and economic, and likely the best solid biomass on the market. Torrefaction is a thermal pre-treatment technology used to upgrade lignocellulosic biomass to higher quality and more attractive biofuel. In the torrefaction process, biomass is heated to 250-350°C in a low oxygen atmosphere, so that all moisture is…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened a comment period for the registration of the use of Isobutanol in gasoline. Why is this important? Because since the states banning of the use of MTBE and other ethers in underground tanks, this is the only oxygenate, other than ethanol, allowed to be used in commerce. This…
What does an isobutanol expert or energy consultant do? Isobutanol is a colorless, flammable liquid has a variety of technical and industrial applications. It has historically been used mainly as a solvent in such things as paint solvent, varnish remover, or a chemical extractant in production of organic compounds. Isobutanol is also being used as…
What is Bio Ethanol? Bio Ethanol (bioethanol, ethanol, alcohol) are all used to describe the chemical ethyl alcohol with the formula C2H6O. Ethanol, as it is most commonly known, can be produced by fermentation of sugars (most commonly glucose with the formula C6H12O) by yeast yielding a ratio of approximately 51% ethanol and 49% carbon…