Take a walk down your street, or almost any street in America. What you will find are "stick-built" houses made mostly from softwoods. An important softwood is the pine tree, which is very commonly used in construction. The reason pine is often selected is because it grows very quickly and grows well in many areas. The needles also tend to keep other types of trees and vegetation from sprouting up, which works well in the plantations where the trees are grown and harvested. Many of these same attributes are being looked at for producing biofuels. As cellulosic biofuels are being developed, it is also important to consider where to get the biomass from, which is why an in-depth study of the conifer tree is being undertaken. Researchers plan to to sequence and catalog conifer genes so that they can pick out the woods which are best suited for particular purposes, including biofuels. According to Jeffrey Dean, professor of forest biotechnology in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, "Loblolly pine is a primary target for this research project because of its current commercial importance in the southeastern United States, as well as its potential for providing biomass to future biofuels markets." Later, other species such as the coastal redwood will be added. Which will come first, the technology to cheaply create the cellulosic biofuels or the finding of the perfect biomass source?

[Source: University of Georgia]

Finding a way to reduce the cost of effectively and cheaply producing fuels from biomass waste is what some consider something of a "holy grail" when it comes to biofuels. If there was a fuel that was cheaper than petroleum-based fuel that people could put in their tanks which would not have any negative effects on their vehicle, people would buy it, regardless of whether they care about the environment. Researchers at the University of Georgia are working on just such a fuel. In their early tests, they have shown that a new, as yet unnamed, fuel can be used in standard diesel engines, or in a blend with other biodiesels or petroleum diesels. The team of researchers is using small wood pellets which are heated up in the absence of oxygen to create an oil and a charcoal product, both of which could possibly have a positive economic impact. If that were the case, the team of researchers say that this new fuel could actually be carbon negative, which is a third possible benefit to this new fuel source. Good stuff indeed from those Bulldogs!

[Source: University of Georgia]

From soy we can produce about 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre whereas peanuts can yield as much as 123 gallons on the same amount of land. So why then does the U.S. generate the majority of its biodiesel from soy? The answer lies within the value of peanut oil on the global market. It's more valuable than soy which makes the conversion to biodiesel an unattractive option.

According to Farm Press, researchers at the University of Georgia are working to fix this problem. They see the answer in a peanut variety that would be grown specifically for biodiesel production. Their primary goals are that they be non-edible, high in oil and cheaper to grow than a conventional peanut. If they can meet these requirements, they would not have to compete with the world market and biodiesel will be one step closer to becoming what Phillip Badger, president of General Bioenergy, calls a part of the "silver buckshot" solution alongside ethanol.

[Source: Farm Press via Renewable Energy Access]

The University of Georgia has been quite busy finding new ways to develop alternative fuel. We've already seen an effort to turn watermelons into biomass. Now UGA scientists are studying the possibility that poultry litter can be converted into a bio-fuel.

Poultry litter is mostly manure mixed with bedding materials such as wood shavings. Each chicken at the state's poultry farms, which make up a $4 billion business in Georgia, leaves about 2.5 pounds of litter. By separating the poultry litter into fine and course materials, different agriculture needs can be met. The fine litter is turned into fertilizer while the course, energy-rich materials are heated to created char and bio-oil. The latter can be further refined into a diesel-like fuel to power farm equipment.

Experts say the chicken-litter fuel could save 283 million gallons of fossil fuel.

Related:

• Local alternative fuel groups, shameless plug division

[Source: Southeast Farm Press]

Related:
Biodiesel, ethanol, SVO and chicken droppings

It's unfortunate that the 2006 Southeastern Biodiesel Conference is starting today at the University of Georgia in Athens, since I'm currently up in Michigan and cannot report on the event directly. I'll keep looking online for news, and perhaps I'll be able to speak to some of the participants later in the week. For now, I just wanted to mention that the conference is geared towards folks who want to brew biodiesel in the backyard as well as mega-producers. Speakers will present sessions on the chemistry of biodiesel, biodiesel quality control and conference participants will tour the UGA biorefinery.

In slightly related news, the university is planning to run its campus bus system on B20, but hasn't made the switch yet. Also, I wrote an article about the biofuel movement in Athens last fall for the local altweekly, which you can read here.

[Source: University of Georgia]

Athens, Georgia is arguably best known for its music scene and the University of Georgia football team. Thankfully, there’s plenty going on that isn’t as well known, including an alternative fuel group. The Athens Alternative Fuel Coalition, which this author profiled last fall in the local newspaper, the Flagpole, works to promote both biodiesel and ethanol in the town. Some members of the group make their own biodiesel, and one member has gone so far as to get the license he needed to make his own ethanol in a still. The university has been working for many years to develop better ways of making biofuel from easily available local resources, such a peanut shells, in a large-scale biorefinery. Students at the university are pushing the school to use biodiesel in the campus busses, and have met with some success.

This is but one example of campus activist groups devoted to alternative fuels... surely there must be lots of these types of groups working under the media’s radar all over the world. Promoting biofuels is done by both governments and huge agribusiness concerns, as well as citizen action groups. In Athens' case, they work together. If you know of any other local biofuel groups with a presence on the web or would like to be mentioned on Autoblog Green, drop us a line.

[Source: Flagpole]