U.N. Climate Change Conference Considers Ancient Soil Replenishment Technique in Battle against Global Warming

Former inhabitants of the Amazon Basin enriched their fields with charred organic materials-biochar-and transformed one of the earth's most infertile soils into one of the most productive. These early conservationists disappeared 500 years ago, but centuries later, their soil is still rich in organic matter and nutrients. Now, scientists, environmental groups and policymakers forging the next world climate agreement see biochar not only as an important tool for replenishing soils, but as a powerful tool for combating global warming.

Christoph Steiner, a University of Georgia research scientist in the Faculty of Engineering, was a major contributor to the biochar proposal that was submitted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification last week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference meeting in Poland. The new climate change agreement will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

"The potential of biochar lies in its ability to sequester-capture and store-huge amounts of carbon while also displacing fossil fuel energy, effectively doubling its carbon impact," said Steiner, a soil scientist whose research in the Amazon Basin originally focused on the use of biochar as a soil amendment. At UGA's Biorefinery and Carbon Cycling Program, he now investigates the global potential of biochar to sequester carbon. He also serves as a consultant to the UNCCD, a sister program to the climate change convention.

Steiner explained that almost any kind of organic material-peanut shells, pine chips and even poultry litter-can be burned in air-tight conditions, a process called pyrolysis. The byproducts are biochar, a highly porous charcoal that helps soil retain nutrients and water, and gases and heat that can be used as energy.

But because the carbon in biochar so effectively resists degradation, it also can sequester carbon in soils for hundreds to thousands of years, effectively making it a permanent "sink"-a natural system that soaks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Soils containing biochar made by ancient Amazon people still contain up to 70 times more carbon than surrounding soils and have a higher nutrient content. Steiner said scientists estimate biochar from agriculture and forestry residues can potentially sequester billions of tons of carbon in the world's soils.

Biochar also avoids the disadvantages of other bioenergy technologies that deplete soil organic matter, said Steiner.

"Removing crop residues for bioenergy production reduces the organic matter accumulating on agricultural fields and thus the soil organic carbon pool, which depends on constant input of decomposing plant material. In contrast, pyrolysis with biochar carbon sequestration produces renewable energy, sequesters CO2 and cycles nutrients back into agricultural fields."

"This unique system ideally utilizes waste biomass, and thus does not compete with food production," said Steiner. Currently most waste biomass decomposes or is burned in the field. Both processes release carbon dioxide stored in the plant biomass-for no other use than getting rid of it. Biochar can capture up to 50 percent of the carbon stored in biomass and establishes a significant carbon sink, as long as renewable resources are used and biochar is used as a soil amendment.

To address our world's climate change dilemma, said Steiner, "We need a carbon sink in addition to greater energy efficiency and renewable energy. Acceptance of the UNCCD proposal in Poland is a first step to make carbon trading based on biochar a reality.

"This has not only consequences for mitigating climate change, but also for agricultural sustainability, and could provide a strong incentive to reduce deforestation, especially in the tropics."

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Georgia Power Seeks Approval for Coal Plant Conversion to Biomass

PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power today asked the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) for approval to convert coal-fueled Plant Mitchell to renewable wood biomass.

Upon conversion, Plant Mitchell - near Albany - would be capable of producing 96 megawatts of renewable energy - or enough electricity to power 60,000 homes. The plant would have lower emissions, and would be one of the largest wood biomass plants in the United States. It would also have lower fuel and operating costs when compared to continued operation using coal, thereby making the plant more cost-effective for customers.

Surplus wood fuel for Plant Mitchell would come from suppliers operating within an approximately 100-mile radius of the plant.

"Georgia Power is taking an important step toward continued diversification of its fuel sources and making renewable energy more affordable for customers," said Mike Garrett, Georgia Power president and CEO. "By converting Plant Mitchell to biomass, we hope to not only help grow the renewable resource base in Georgia but also to expand the market for renewable energy credits, which ultimately will foster additional renewable energy development."

Renewable energy credits are created when a renewable energy facility generates electricity or uses renewable fuel. The PSC is expected to rule on the proposal to convert Plant Mitchell to biomass by spring of 2009. Retrofit construction would begin by spring of 2011 and the biomass plant would likely begin operations in June 2012.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates well below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.

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UGA Gets $2.5 Million in Grants to Study Plants to Make Biofuels

University of Georgia researchers were recently awarded two grants totaling $2.5 million to help find better ways to produce biofuels from switchgrass and sunflowers.

UGA was one of eight universities to receive grants from a program jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program aims to accelerate research in biomass genomics and further the use of cellulosic plant material for bioenergy and biofuels.

“Developing cost-effective means of producing cellulosic biofuels on a national scale poses major scientific challenges,” said Raymond Orbach, a DOE undersecretary. “These grants will help in developing the type of transformational breakthroughs needed in basic science to make this happen.

“The USDA is committed to fostering a sustainable domestic biofuels industry at home in rural America,” said Gale Buchanan, a USDA undersecretary. “These grants will broaden the sources of energy from many crops as well as improve the efficiency and options among renewable fuels.”

The UGA grants were awarded to scientists in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Steven Knapp, CAES professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, Jeff Dean and Joe Nairn, UGA researchers, Mark Davis, DOE researcher, and Laura Marek, USDA researcher, received $1.2 million to study the genomics of sunflower.

“Certain wild species of sunflower produce woody stems and high biomass yields, often reaching heights of 18 to 21 feet,” Knapp said. “Our grant focuses on understanding genetic mechanisms underlying wood production and biomass accumulation in sunflower.”

In addition, Knapp is working with Mark Davis at the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado to study the biofuel properties of sunflower.

“They will be providing us with state-of-the-art chemical measurements which are needed to identify genetic factors affecting wood formation and cellulosic biomass accumulation,” Knapp said.

Jeffrey Bennetzen, the Norman and Doris Giles/Georgia Research Alliance professor of molecular genetics in Franklin College, received the second grant for $1.295 million. It will fund a cooperative project with Katrien Devos, a CAES professor of crop and soil science and plant biology. They hope to develop genetic and genomic tools to study foxtail millet, a close relative of switchgrass.

Switchgrass is an excellent source of biomass for producing ethanol. Unlike corn, which is used now to make most U.S. ethanol, switchgrass is a perennial that grows on poor soil with little water, fertilizer or pesticides.

“Ethanol from switchgrass is a very different story from ethanol from maize grain,” Bennetzen said. “Ethanol from maize grain requires large inputs and produces no net carbon capture to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Switchgrass captures carbon dioxide very effectively and will not lead to increased food costs because it does not take acreage away from food production.”

But switchgrass has limitations, he said. Researchers need to find more efficient ways to convert lignocellulose—the material that makes up wood, leaves, stems—into ethanol.

Learning more about foxtail millet, he said, will help. It’s easier to study than switchgrass.

“Once the foxtail millet genome is sequenced, we will be able to quickly find the genes involved in making lignocellulose in foxtail millet, and this will make them easy to find in switchgrass as well,” Bennetzen said.“We can then study these genes and find ways to improve this performance so that switchgrass is easier to convert to ethanol.”

Improving this process is part of another project at UGA called the BioEnergy Science Center.

“For the average Georgian, the outcome of the research in this project will be less expensive liquid fuels, less dependence on foreign oil, lower food costs and less release of carbon dioxide into the environment,” Bennetzen said. “We won’t see these outcomes in the next year or two, but there is every reason to believe that they will come into effect over the next five to 10 years.”

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Southern Forest Industry Braces for Bioenergy

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emerging biomass markets will significantly strengthen demand for wood fiber in the South, driving prices higher for forest products as the United States turns to alternative fuels for energy, according to a study released Monday by Forest2Market.

The new demand will be fueled by wood-burning power companies that produce and sell electricity to public utilities, as well as an increasing amount of wood pellets that are exported to European energy markets. The development of new facilities that turn biomass into cellulosic ethanol for transportation fuel will also impact the forest products industry.

As a result, demand for wood fiber from these emerging markets is expected to climb from 2 million tons in 2008 to at least 13.5 million tons in 2020, according to Forest2Market, a provider of pricing information and analysis for forest products. However, the estimate is conservative, and it could be adjusted higher as more companies announce plans to build biomass facilities.

The new study, “Quantifying Forest Biomass Resources in the U.S. South,” is the first to analyze the impact of bioenergy markets on the forest products industry. The report quantifies the industry’s changing landscape, looking specifically at the effects of forest biomass on wood fiber supplies, demand and prices.

“The pace of the development of bioenergy markets and the resource requirements to feed them will disrupt the entire southern wood fiber market,” said Pete Stewart, president and founder of Forest2Market. “It will be much steeper and more disruptive than that of the OSB market over the last 15 years. We recommend that forest products companies begin planning for the future by establishing stronger relationships with their suppliers and creating more efficient transportation lines.”

Faced with rising oil prices, an international push for clean energy projects and a continued focus on reducing carbon emissions, federal and state governments have spent millions on biomass research and development. As a result, new energy markets are emerging that rely on southern forests for resources.

The primary supply for the growing demand is pulpwood and wood chips, and prices for pulpwood and chips are expected to rise. Secondary sources include construction and demolition debris, as well as leftover woody biomass from harvesting operations, such as tree limbs.

“We were beginning to see the effects of new energy markets in the delivered prices for pulpwood, chips and wood fuel in some areas in the South,” Stewart said. “We thought it was time to take a closer look, using the breadth and depth of our data, to determine what the competitive landscape for wood fiber might look like in 10 or 15 years.”

The study is based on Forest2Market’s unique database of transaction-level information gathered from millions of shipments to mills throughout the South. The study will help lay the groundwork for strategic decision making that traditional forest products and new bioenergy companies will need to survive in the future.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Forest2Market has developed sophisticated analytical tools to accurately forecast timber prices in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest. The company’s delivered price benchmark product is used by industry professionals to set timber prices for contracts, supply agreements and bids. The price information is more accurate because it is based on transaction-level data – not surveys. For more information, visit www.forest2market.com.

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New UGA Biomass Technology Dramatically Increases Ethanol Yield from Grasses and Yard Waste

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass—and even yard waste.

“Producing ethanol from renewable biomass sources such as grasses is desirable because they are potentially available in large quantities,” said Joy Peterson, professor of microbiology and chair of UGA’s Bioenergy Task Force. “Optimizing the breakdown of the plant fibers is critical to production of liquid transportation fuel via fermentation.” Peterson developed the new technology with former UGA microbiology student Sarah Kate Brandon, and Mark Eiteman, professor of biological and agricultural engineering.

The new technology features a fast, mild, acid-free pretreatment process that increases by at least 10 times the amount of simple sugars released from inexpensive biomass for conversion to ethanol. The technology effectively eliminates the use of expensive and environmentally unsafe chemicals currently used to pretreat biomass.

The technology is available for licensing from the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., which has filed a patent application.

Inexpensive waste products—including corn stover or bagasse, the waste from corn and sugar cane harvests, fast-growing weeds—and non-food crops grown for biofuel, such as switchgrass, Napiergrass and Bermudagrass, are widely viewed as the best sustainable resources for ethanol made from biofuels.

“Using non-food crops that can be grown on marginal lands, like grasses, and fibrous waste streams like corn stover, is important because of the ongoing food-versus-fuel debate,” said Peterson. “When agricultural crops, such as corn or potatoes, are grown for biofuels production, the cost of the starting material may fluctuate greatly because of competing demands for food and feed. The trade-off with using a biomass like grasses is that grasses are harder to break apart than corn or potatoes, and the cost of making the same fuel, like ethanol, rises.”

Developing an efficient, cost-effective process to convert the fibrous stalks, leaves, and blades of plant wastes into simple sugars is the biggest challenge to bio-based ethanol production. Thick, complex plant cell walls are highly resistant to efforts to break them down.

Currently, woody biomass requires soaking under high pressure and temperatures in expensive, environmentally aggressive bases or acids before it is subjected to enzymes that digest it, producing simple sugars. The harsh pretreatment solutions subsequently must be removed and disposed of safely. They also cause formation of side products that can slow down the conversion of the sugars into ethanol.

In contrast, the environmentally friendly UGA technology eliminates the expense of harsh pretreatment chemicals and their disposal, and the formation of side products is minimal.

“The new technology has commercial application for the biomass industry, including producers of sugar cane, corn, switchgrass, Napiergrass and other woody biomass crops,” said Gennaro Gama, UGARF technology manager responsible for licensing this technology. “It may also help renewable energy and biofermentation companies—and local governments.

“By allowing for the use of myriad raw materials, this technology allows more options for ethanol facilities trying to meet nearby demand by using locally available, inexpensive starting materials,” he added. “This would greatly reduce the costs and carbon footprint associated with the delivery of raw materials to fermentation facilities and the subsequent delivery of ethanol to points of sale. Local production of ethanol may also protect specific areas against speculative fluctuations in fuel prices.

“It’s easy to imagine that this easy-to-use, inexpensive technology could be used by local governments, alone or in partnership with entrepreneurs, to meet local demand for ethanol, possibly using yard waste as a substrate,” he said.

Forbes Ranks Georgia as Third Best State for Alternative Energy from Biomass

Forbes Magazine has tapped Georgia as the third best state in the nation for alternative energy from biomass. Also this week, cable news and business channel CNBC ranked Georgia in the top ten and second in the Southeast in its annual rankings of “America’s Top States for Business.”

According to a recent Forbes article entitled “America's Best Places For Alternative Energy,” the abundance of biomass in Georgia’s Bioenergy Corridor ranks third in the nation as a potential source of renewable energy. The article referenced the amount of privately owned forest in Georgia, more than any other state in the country, as a reason for the state’s ranking. Forbes also cited that “roughly 50 million tons of the state's own timber end up in the state's wood-products manufacturing plants every year” and the industry “returns nearly half of it in the form of primary mill wood debris.” Only Iowa and North Dakota ranked higher. Rounding out the top five were Mississippi and North Carolina.

“Georgia’s wealth of natural resources combined with our research institutions and a strong business climate create an ideal environment for the development of renewable energy,” said Governor Perdue. “We appreciate Forbes’ recognition of our ability to develop alternative energy sources.”

Georgia’s Energy Innovation Center (EIC), housed at the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), draws on the state's vast resources to expand and strengthen Georgia's bioenergy industry. The EIC recruits and promotes industries focused on producing energy from clean and renewable sources. Georgia boasts an abundance of renewable natural resources such as pine trees and agricultural products, along with waste streams from agriculture and industrial processes, available as feedstocks for an expanding renewable energy industry. Companies concentrating on every aspect of energy development will find a streamlined and pro-active business environment in Georgia.

Georgia is at the forefront of the nation’s development of cellulosic ethanol, a non-food feedstock for the production of ethanol from pine and other wood residuals. Range Fuels broke ground on the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Soperton on November 6, 2007. The facility is expected to be operational in 2009. In addition, the state’s research institutions including the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia and the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center are providing R&D in support of cellulosic ethanol and other renewable energy alternatives.

The Bioenergy Corridor represents an extensive network of bioenergy-related businesses and organizations located throughout the state: Atlanta and Rome to the north; Columbus to the west; Albany, Valdosta and Brunswick to the south; and Athens, Augusta and Savannah to the east. The Bioenergy Corridor’s northern region encompasses research and development, academic, and public and private partnerships. Manufacturing facilities are primarily situated in the mid-to-south region, where a majority of commercial pine forests and current commercial forestry infrastructure are located.

This week, the financial network CNBC ranked Georgia in the top 10 in “America’s Top States for Business.” Coming in at number 8, the Peach State received high marks for its strong workforce, excellent transportation network and affordable cost of living. Georgia received the second highest ranking in the Southeast, behind only North Carolina, which came in at number 6.

Each year, CNBC compiles rankings for all 50 states in 10 categories such as workforce, transportation, cost of doing business and others. The combined scores in those 10 categories are then used to generate an overall ranking.

“Georgia’s high ranking in America’s Top States for Business shows that CNBC appreciates our state’s selling points,” said Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “We market Georgia every day by showcasing our well-trained workforce, unmatched transportation network and a cost of living that is welcoming to families.”

The state’s access to capital, business friendliness, cost of doing business, technology and innovation and overall economy also placed Georgia above average. According to its Web site, CNBC used publicly available data to score all 50 states on 40 different measures of competitiveness, which are separated into ten broad categories. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.cnbc.com/id/25447603.