As seeding time is quickly approaching, producers will be planning which crops to plant. One crop some producers may want to consider is camelina. Dan Kusalik with the Great Plains Camelina Company says camelina is used for a number of different bio-fuels. “Camelina is an oil-seed crop that we use for bio-fuel, bio-diesel jet fuel production.”Camelina can be planted in the winter, too. As long as the soil conditions allow us to take that drill and put the seed a quarter inch into the ground we could do it. Right now they’re just under the 25,000 acre mark on the prairies.
Archive for February, 2009
Camelina – An Oil-Seed Crop For Different Bio-fuels
February 27th, 2009
GE Energy, Nexterra Partner for Biomass Power Systems for Jenbacher Engine
February 24th, 2009After two years of collaboration Vancouver-based Nexterra Energy, developer of biomass gasification systems, has partnered with GE Energy to create modular biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants of between 2 and 10 megawatts in size. Nexterra has optimized its system to work with GE’s Jenbacher high-efficiency gas engines. Specifically, it has upgraded the syngas that comes out of its system so that it meets the fuel specifications of the Jenbacher engine.
“We believe the combination of biomass gasification and internal combustion engines is a breakthrough for biomass power generation,” said Prady Iyyanki, CEO of GE’s Jenbacher division.
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FDA Approves Camelina Meal for Broiler Feed
February 19th, 2009Great Plains-The Camelina Company announces that camelina meal will be available for use as broiler chicken feed.The Food and Drug Administration last week approved camelina in rations for broiler chickens and with this action the FDA allows Great Plains to state that camelina has GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”) status.
While high in protein and vitamin E, camelina is also a great source for omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial in weight gain for the chickens. Further, the meat from chickens will contain the omega-3s, making it healthier for human consumption. Camelina already is used in feed mixtures for beef cattle and pigs.
Camelina As An Efficient Biofuel Source
February 19th, 2009Great Plain, the “world’s largest Camelina producer” claim that it’s ‘virtually’ 100% efficient and a sustainable, low-input, biofuel feedstock that can help to combat rising emissions while also adding to food production and crop yields. It seems that the crop may boast a number of key advantages as a biofuel source since:
* It doesn’t interfere with food production because it can be harvested and processed for fuel production and any remainder can be used as high quality animal feed, as well as fiberboard and glycerin;
* It can be grown on marginal land, needing very little water, even in cold northerly states like Montana and even Canada;
* It is an excellent rotational crop that has been shown to boost the yield of subsequent crops such as wheat by up to 15%.
Camelina is already widely grown throughout the U.S. and Canada for fuel and cattle feed. To date, several crushing partners have already teamed up with Great Plains to produce more than 10 million road miles of camelina biodiesel. Moreover, by 2012, the company plans to raise production to 100 million gallons a year.
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Great Plains-The Camelina Company Makes Camelina Biodiesel A Reality
February 19th, 2009There’s a new player fueling the alternative energy market and it’s picking up speed as fossil fuels continue to fall short. Camelina, an oilseed crop in the same family as mustard, is currently being grown throughout the United States and Canada and crushed to produce biodiesel by Great Plains-The Camelina Company.
With several crushing partners in North America, Great Plains has produced more than 10 million road miles of camelina biodiesel to date, and plans to boost production to 100 million gallons by the year 2012.
Camelina offers a solution for reaching this biodiesel production goal by providing a sustainable, low-input biofuel feedstock option that does not interfere with food production. Camelina is virtually 100 percent efficient. It can be harvested and crushed for oil and the remaining parts can be used to produce high quality omega-3 rich animal feed, fiberboard and glycerin.
Kudzu Could be the Next Biofuel
February 19th, 2009Some researchers estimate that kudzu could produce 2.2 to 5.3 tons of carbohydrate per acre. This translates to 270 gallons of ethanol per acre, comparable to the ethanol yield of corn of 210 to 320 gallons per acre. In other terms, 900 to 2500 liters of ethanol can be produced per hectare of kudzu, compared to 2000 to 3000 liters per hectare of corn.
Kudzu is the kind of stock the U.S. needs to be working with because it is a weed, not an essential food crop in our human food supply. Kudzu needs nothing to grow – no planting, no fertilizer, no irrigation. The deep tap root of the kudzu vine can help hold the soil in place and allows the plant to prosper during dry spells, as opposed to corn, whose growth is dependent on sufficient rain fall and irrigation water.
At present, even if equipment were available that could harvest the kudzu roots, a large fraction of kudzu vines blanket steep hillsides and would be difficult to access. Some experts estimate that about one-third of kudzu plants in the US would be harvestable. If so, they calculate that kudzu could offer about 8 percent of the 2006 U.S. bioethanol supply. However, if existing corn ethanol manufacturing plants could be used to process kudzu, too, then the approach might be economical sooner. Kudzu is not tied to the commodities markets, so the price would not fluctuate as much.
Chinese Tallow – An Ideal Energy Crop For Biodiesel
February 19th, 2009In many respects, the tallow tree offers the ideal energy crop for biodiesel production along the gulf coast. It thrives in wet areas that cannot be farmed profitably with conventional crops. It has few insect pests and diseases and is tolerant of salt, prolonged flooding and occasional freezing temperatures. It has low nutrient and other management requirements. These characteristics as well as the tallow tree’s exceptional ability to produce high-quality vegetable oil underscore its commercial potential as a low-input, high-return biodiesel crop.
Tallow seeds contain 45-60 percent vegetable oil, about two to three times the amount found in an equivalent weight of soybeans. Yields average 12,500 pounds of seeds per acre containing 2,300 pounds of stillingia oil, 2,500 pounds of wax, 1,400 pounds of protein concentrate, 982 pounds of fibrous coat and 4,000 pounds of shell (endocarp). Per acre, these oil yields are 15 times more than soybeans, 10 times more than sunflower or safflower, seven times more than peanuts and five times more than rape seed. Annual commercial production averages about 645 gallons – the equivalent of 15.4 barrels of oil per acre. Some experts cite figures as high as 970 gallons or 23.1 barrels of oil per acre.
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Approval Rating for Kudzu Ethanol Soars
February 19th, 2009Just recently on the Discovery Channel website, there was an article about using kudzu for making ethanol. This article gave another Approval for Kudzu as a Potential Biofuel and could be part of the biofuel solution to making America less dependent on oil.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rowan Sage of the University of Toronto gathered samples of kudzu from different locations in the Southeastern United States at different times of the year to measure the carbohydrate content of the various parts on the plant including leaves, stems, vines and roots.
Based on estimates completed by these researchers, kudzu could produce 2.2-3.5 tons of carbohydrate per acre or about 270 gallons per acre of ethanol. Corn will produce approximately 210-310 gallons of ethanol per acre. Sage commented in the article that “kudzu will not completely solve anybody’s energy crisis. but it certainly would be a useful supplement.”
Story of Kudzu
February 19th, 2009Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of kudzu captured the imagination of American gardeners who used the plant for ornamental purposes.
Florida nursery operators, Charles and Lillie Pleas, discovered that animals would eat the plant and promoted its use for forage in the 1920s. Their Glen Arden Nursery in Chipley sold kudzu plants through the mail. A historical marker there proudly proclaims “Kudzu Developed Here.”
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.
Chinese Tallow Tree: A Great New Biodiesel Feedstock?
February 19th, 2009Biodiesel Magazine reports on a new potential biodiesel feedstock, the Chinese tallow tree. It is said to be a potential algae-as-feedstock rival if yield reports of 1,000 gallons of oil per acre are true. Although it is known as an invasive nuisance tree, it does have potential for oil extraction from both its seeds and its woody biomass. The tallow tree holds great promise in its oil-for-biodiesel content, so research is underway on how to use this plant to its fullest ability. Time will tell which view wins in this debated tree’s usefulness.
