I am honored to be writing my first column for Biomass Magazine focused on the U.S. biogas sector. I have worked on biogas energy systems for the past decade, and it is exciting to finally be at a point where increased interest in this valuable and underutilized technology is starting to build. But make no mistake, there is far more work to be done to fully take advantage of the enormous potential of biogas. Continue reading »
The United States produces enough organic waste to exceed EPA’s volume requirements for advanced biofuels every year for the next decade. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates the use billions of gallons of advanced biofuel every year, from 2.75 billion in 2013 to 21 billion in 2022. The US could potentially produce as much as 29 billion equivalent gallons of biogas made from organic waste each year. This fact sheet uses data from a national assessment of renewable natural gas commissioned by the American Gas Association to document the currently untapped potential of organic waste streatms to supply reneawble energy.
The United States has an enormous amount of untapped potential for collecting biogas from organic waste streams to produce useful forms of energy. Most of the U.S. biogas development in the last 20 years has used dairy manure as a feedstock source. Development has also occurred at wastewater treatment facilities or food processing facilities with a wastewater stream. Continue reading »
Midwestern Ethanol Innovation: Maximizing Process Efficiency and Carbon Reduction
May 20, 2012 in Reports & Whitepapers, Transportation & Fuels
An extension of our work with the MGA Advanced Transportation Fuels Advisory Group, this new white paper provides an overview of opportunities for improving efficiency and environmental performance at corn ethanol plants. Starting with a description of the ethanol production process, we then provide a menu of practices and technologies that can be implemented to reduce energy use, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. We also provide examples of plants that are currently using these practices. While progress on ethanol innovation is being made, there remains a large opportunity for broader adoption of these strategies.
