New Study Breaks Link Between Land Use, Biofuels

[Bill USA]

http://domesticfuel.com/2011/05/16/new-study-breaks-link-between-land-use-biofuels/

In a http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V22-52VG272-9&_user=10165769&_coverDate=05%2F13%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=&_origin=&_zone=rslt_list_item&_cdi=5690&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=1&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10165769&md5=c6b18b40e18edfc3b84a47a13f350cea&searchtype=a">new study released today by Michigan State University (MSU), biofuel production in the United States through 2007, “probably has not induced any indirect land use change.” The report was conducted by Seungdo Kim and Bruce Dale, both MSU scientists, and the results will be published in the next issue of the Journal of Biomass and Bioenergy. ILUC is the theory that any acre used in the production of feedstocks for biofuels in the U.S. results in a new acre coming into food or feed production somewhere else in the world.

Dale and Kim empirically tested whether indirect land use change (ILUC) occurred through 2007 as a result of the expansion of the U.S. biofuels industry, spurred in part by the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) that calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended in fuel supplies by 2022. The researcher’s derived their conclusion after studying historical data on U.S. croplands, commodity grain exports to specific regions and land use trends in these geographical regions.

The authors write, “Biofuel production in the United States up through the end of 2007 in all probability has not induced indirect land use change. There are two feasible dependent conclusions that might be drawn from this interpretation: 1) crop intensification may have absorbed the effects of expanding US biofuel production or 2) the effects of US biofuel production expansion may be simply negligible, and not resolvable within the accuracy of the data.”

In response to the study, Renewable Fuels President and CEO Bob Dinneen stated, “Solving America’s energy crisis must rely on the best available science. Since its inception, the notion indirect land use change has been deeply flawed and repeatedly disputed. It is refreshing to see academia using real-world data and actual market behaviors to challenge the hypothetical results and ‘what if’ scenarios that have so far dominated the ILUC discussion.”
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[GliderGuider]

1. The EROI remains too low for biofuels to be more than marginal players.

When a biofuel is produced with an EROI of 5:1 wake me up and tell me. Until then, biofuels are tantamount to trying to run a steel mill on AA batteries.

[Bill USA]

2. LOL. check ethanol wholesale prices in paper...$.40 below gasoline's, and this is before any

excise tax credit is enjoyed (by the blender..not the ethanol producer).

http://www.usda.gov/oce/reports/energy/2008Ethanol_June_final.pdf">allowing for heat used to produce byproducts, the energy ratio is between 1.9 and 2.3 - 2008 Energy Balance for the Corn Ethanol Industry, USDA


a real world evaluatiion of gasoline's Energy balance (fossil energy consumed to produce one unit of energy in the fuel) results in a Net Energy Balance of .81 to 1 .. http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/354.pdf#page=4"> Michael Wang, Argonne National Laboratory

[GliderGuider]

3. Still doesn't cut it.

It doesn't matter how many subsidies it has, or how many byproducts are brought inside the system boundary. If the net energy is less than 5:1 it won't keep our lights on. It will remain a niche product.

http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/4712

The efficiency of energy production is measured by Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI). The chart shows the distribution of energy used to produce energy (red) and energy available for society (blue) for different values of ERoEI. If all the energy produced is used to produce more energy then the ERoEI = 1 and there is no net energy available to power society - doctors, teachers, soldiers, children, elderly, holidays and food.

The legacy deposits of oil, gas and coal have likely had ERoEI values >100 and thus in the past we have not had to worry about ERoEI. However, now that these deposits are being depleted and must be replaced by new deposits or alternative energy sources it is essential that these new sources have ERoEI sufficiently high to power society. In terms of ERoEI, wind power is a useful energy source. Synthetic fuel from tar sands scrape by whilst temperate latitude ethanol is not a viable source of energy. CCS and Hydrogen should not really appear on this chart since neither produce any energy but actually consume large amounts of energy. It is extraordinary that when confronted with energy decline, our national governments have made so many bad choices that will lead society off the energy cliff if these misguided policies are not abandoned.

It doesn't matter how many logic pretzels you twist - if any energy source returns less than 5:1 it's a curiosity, not a solution.

[Bill USA]

4. energy return vs input for gasoline .81 to 1. Argonne National Laboratory

... I just now saw this. Needed to mention real world statistic of energy output vs energy input, so we are talking the same metric. Ethanol's energy output vs energy input is now http://www.usda.gov/oce/reports/energy/2008Ethanol_June_final.pdf#page=6">1.9:1 to 2.3:1 or 2.3 to 2.8 times that of gasoline's.


http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/347.pdf#page=6">1.23 mil BTUs fossil energy input to get 1 mil BTUs of energy as gasoline

[4dsc]

5. Debunked long ago

http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2006/04/08/energy-balance-for-ethanol-better-than-for-gasoline/

Happy reading.

[Bill USA]

6. Rapier has "debunked" Wang, Shappouri, Dale, Farrell.... LOL! what utter BULLSHIT.

Well, I guess it's worth a try, huh?

Rapier formerly employed as a Process Engineering Team Leader at ConocoPhillips, as of Oct 2009 indicates he works for a concern known as http://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-rapier/5/7ab/10a">Merica International LLC which is described as
http://www.manta.com/c/mtdmbq9/merica-international-llc"> ...a private company categorized under Personal Holding Companies, Except Banks. Our records show it was established in 2009 and incorporated in Hawaii. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $240,000 and employs a staff of approximately 4." ...staff of 4, hm-m-m-m-m.

.....Merica described as holding company "for a variety of companies,... including Forest Solutions, a forest management group, SunFuels Hawaii, a synthetic biodiesel provider, a yet-to-be-named company that will develop a biomass trading platform"

... sounds like they're positioning themselves to be a trading company or supplier/intermediary of biomass. ...don't know how much you can do with four people.


... But to say he has 'debunked' various studies on corn based ethanol is LAUGHABLE. Writing a blog does not constitute scientific evidence. Actually the empirical evidence is overwhelming that the ethanol from corn process yields more energy in the Ethanol fuel than is consumed to produce it. Nobody, who wants to be taken seriously, claims otherwise.


Let's take a look at what the findings are of some of the actual, legitimate studies:


Farrell (et al)(Science Jan, 2006) http://rael.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/EBAMM/FarrellEthanolScience012706.pdf">"Ethanol can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals" this meta-analysis reviewed several 'high' profile studies (and articles - i.e. 'desk studies' by T. Patzek, formerly of Shell Oil, and Pimentel, retired professor of entomology) that they concluded confirmed the energy in the ethanol fuel produced is GREATER THAN the amount of energy consumed to produce it. The report on the findings of this study appeared in the Journal Science in Jan. 2006.


U.S. Dept of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, Michael Wang, 2005: Energy yield for ethanol production: 1.55 units of energy in the fuel for every unit of energy consumed in producing the fuel.


Dale & Kim, MSU, "Allocation Procedure in Ethanol Production System from Corn Grain' (International Journal of Life-Cycle Assessments, Jan. 2002). Ethanol production yields 1.76 units of energy in the fuel for each unit of energy consumed in making the ethanol.


http://www.usda.gov/oce/reports/energy/2008Ethanol_June_final.pdf">2008 Energy Balance for the Corn Ethanol Industry - USDA - Shapouri, Gallagher, Nefstead, Schwartz a industry survey showing Energy Balance for the Industry in 2008 of (1.9 : 1) to (2.3 : 1).

http://www.chems.msu.edu/people/profile/bdale"> Faculty Profiles: Bruce Dale, Ph. D.
Research Biography

Biochemical engineering; bioremediation, biomass conversion;
biobased industrial products, value-added agriculture, life cycle assessments;
industrial ecology; ecological engineering.
Utilization of cellulose and other renewable resources,
rate limiting processes in biological systems,
modeling of integrated economic/environmental systems.

http://www.everythingbiomass.org/Members/CurrentMembers/BruceDalePhD/tabid/165/Default.aspx">Bruce Dale, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering Professor Dale is Professor of Chemical Engineering and former Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. He received his bachelors degree (summa cum laude) in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona (Tucson) in 1976 and the masters degree from that same university in 1976. Dr. Dale then studied under Professor George T. Tsao at Purdue University, receiving his Ph. D. degree in 1979.

http://www.egr.msu.edu/news/2010/08/20/bruce-dale-tapped-twice-bioenergy-expertise">Bruce Dale Tapped Twice for Bioenergy Expertise Adding to numerous honors received over the past 30-plus years of his career, Bruce Dale, MSU chemical engineering and materials professor and internationally known leader in exploring alternatives to fossil fuels, was recently asked to lend his expertise to two high-level efforts aimed at advancing renewable energy technologies.

Dale was invited to serve as an expert reviewer for the draft International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources, an 11-chapter document that addresses various renewable energy technologies and their contributions to lessening the effects of climate change. Dale, who was one of eight reviewers to submit comments on the bioenergy chapter (Ch. 2), found the report’s findings in this area quite favorable.

Michael Wang, Ph.D. Environmental Sciences, Univ. Calif, Davis. Created the http://www.energy.gov/discovery/to_your_cars_tailpipe.html">GREET Model (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation) which is used by over 14,000 registered users worldwide, in Business, Academia and Government.

https://blogs.anl.gov/expertsguide/michael-wang/">Michael Wang
Michael Wang is the manager of the Systems Assessment Section of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne. Dr. Wang’s research areas include the evaluation of energy and environmental impacts of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuels, the assessment of market potentials of new vehicle and fuel technologies, and the projection of transportation development in emerging economies such as China.

Dr. Wang has developed Argonne’s GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) software model for life-cycle analysis of advanced vehicle technologies and transportation fuels. As of summer 2010, GREET has more than 14,000 registered users worldwide. With the GREET model, Dr. Wang has done extensive research in life-cycle analyses of petroleum fuels, biofuels, hydrogen, electricity and advanced vehicle technologies such as hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery-powered electric vehicles, and fuel-cell vehicles.

Dr. Wang’s research and the GREET model have been used by governmental agencies in North America, Asia, and Europe to develop transportation fuel policies such as low-carbon fuel standards and vehicle greenhouse gas emission regulations.

In addition to his work in the United States, Dr. Wang has collaborated with governmental agencies, automotive companies, energy companies, universities, and research institutions in China, Japan, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and Europe.

... I guess in keeping with the principles of disinformation, one must keep repeating the Big Lie so some will think "well, it must be true" (cf. Joseph Goebbels).