BECON demonstrates processes, studies how to foster bio-based economy

By Jeff Caldwell

When most in agriculture look out across a corn field in autumn, shortly before harvest, they often dream of sky-high, bin-busting yields.

But, filling bins and feed bunks is just the beginning for the crop and others. Generations ago, Henry Ford and George Washington Carver were proving this potential. But, as petroleum became a less expensive fuel source, the development of bio-based products was shelved as the less expensive petroleum was utilized instead.

Seventy years later, petroleum is no longer the cheaper alternative. As a result of skyrocketing petroleum costs and a surplus of corn and row crops, a team of scientists and researchers at an Iowa Energy Center facility, in Nevada, Iowa, is in its sixth year of revisiting these decades-old developments and dusting off ways to make bio-based products that can utilize the record number of bushels gleaned from today's row crop fields.

At the Biomass Energy Conversion Facility (BECON), researchers are taking Ford and Carver's developments to new heights. Converting low-value crop byproducts into a reliable energy source and ultimately restoring economic stability and advancement in rural America is the goal of the work underway at BECON, according to Norm Olson, P.E., BECON facility manager.

"The bottom line here is we just try to make these projects work," he says. "We really think there's a huge potential to create a whole new range of products from plant material that we just have out there. The ultimate goal is to improve rural economic development."

The need for

bio-based products

Beginning in the 1920s and for around two decades, researchers like Ford and Carver accomplished a great deal in the area of bio-based product research. When low-cost petroleum became prevalent in the 1940s, however, on a cost basis, it made sense to utilize the import rather than seek ways to make the same products out of domestic crop-based materials.

"Oil came in at such a low price that we couldn't compete at all. Oil had such a stronger magnitude then than it does now," Olson said. "But now, the relative costs for our feedstock has flip-flopped, and corn stalks are lower in cost than petroleum. I think we'll get back to pursuing Henry Ford and George Washington Carver's dreams."

What if petroleum costs, now typically hovering up against $50/barrel, decrease, again making it a more cost-efficient component? Because of changing global demographics, Olson says this may never happen.

"The Chinese are really starting to consume oil. Right now, they consume about two barrels of oil per person per year, and we consume about 28 barrels of oil per person per year. As China becomes more industrialized, they'd like to have our lifestyle. That's what they want," he says. "So, it's going to be a more competitive world as they develop their country and become more industrialized. I don't see that oil prices are going to go down a whole lot."

Compounded with this factor is today's existing and rapidly developing bio-based industries, particularly ethanol. As production increases and more refineries pop up throughout the Midwest, the industry becomes a more attractive option for investors. The result is a stable, potentially hugely profitable industry, one upon which much of our energy needs could depend.

"I'm not in the business of convincing people how to invest their money, but if you look at the rates of return they're getting at ethanol plants out there right now, there are a whole lot of investors in the financial world, not farmers, who are putting money into plants, because their track records are so good," Olson says. "I think it's about as close as you can get to a sure thing right now."

BECON research

methodology, philosophy

Rather than approach each bio-based component, like corn stover and bean straw, as individual elements, Olson says much of the research conducted at BECON, operational since 1999, utilizes a model familiar to the energy generation industry.

"We're looking at a concept we call the biorefinery. Our model is an oil refinery," Olson says. "If you look closely at the oil industry, you'll find they can make hundreds of products from a barrel of oil, anything from pharmaceutical drugs, specialty chemicals, commodity chemicals, plastics, just a whole range of products.

"We think we can steal a lot of those markets and steal the profit potential as well. We're trying to get rid of imported petroleum, but at the same time, improve the ability to make money in agriculture," he says.

Alongside this methodology, another driver for BECON research is the emphasis, or lack thereof, placed on certain areas within the bioproducts industry. With existing concentration paid to corn and soybeans for ethanol and biodiesel, BECON focuses more on areas where less attention is focused.

"We're mainly concentrating on things like corn stalks, bean straw, out-of-condition hay and some of the other lower value stuff out there, because there are a lot of other groups out there working on corn and soybean research," Olson says. "We're trying to get in areas where people aren't already doing a good job in, but areas where we can still make a difference."

Carrying out

bio-based research

The BECON facility encompasses around six acres on which sits a 20,000 square-foot building that houses a set of constantly evolving bio-based production models demonstrating supercritical fluidization, alcohol fermentation, anaerobic digestion, biodiesel refining, thermal gasification and fluidized pyrolysis, a process that produces "biocrude," a liquid similar to crude oil. Each model facility is designed to demonstrate its intended process of utilizing bio-based materials on a small, yet scalable, level.

"The bottom line is we don't just look at fuels. We look at the chemicals and everything else," Olson says. "We like to see all kinds of things. These are the kinds of things we're working on here, to add a little more breadth to the products we can make."

With the array of production models working at BECON, the number of different basic materials that can be utilized for bio-based products stretches well beyond conventional row crops. Even though corn and soybeans are most commonly thought of as bases for the bio-based industry, it boils down to an essential, yet basic, chemical reaction. As a result, a wide array of plant-based inputs can be used, according to Olson.

"It's all about carbon and hydrogen, and how you manipulate those carbon and hydrogen molecules into different products," he says. "We might still work on areas like switchgrass, wood chips, animal waste and manure and other things."

An example

of bio-based potential

Just how much of an effect could the production of bio-based products have on the economy of the Midwest? While exact monetary amounts making their way back to producers is yet to be determined, Olson says research has demonstrated the tremendous overall impact the utilization of plant-based materials for consumer products can have on the economy of the state of Iowa. Specifically, if only half of the state's corn stover was utilized for the manufacturing of a consumer product, like plastic, the effects could be staggering, ultimately making the economy of Iowa one of the greatest powers, not just in the U.S., but the entire world.

"We think we can take a little less than half of the corn stover off the land in Iowa, on average. That adds up to 24 million tons of product per year. Then, let's say we're going to take that and turn it into something that's worth $1.50/pound," Olson says. "If you can turn that 24 million tons of corn stalks and still improve soil quality, being able to take it off no-till fields,we would almost double the state economy, yet still improve the quality of the soil.

"Iowa would turn into one of the world's powers, in terms of economies. And, that's just with corn stalks," he says.

Added value

beyond dollars

The bio-based industry is good financially for investors and manufacturers of the oils, chemicals, plastics and other products that can be made from crop- and plant-based materials, but what about the men and women who grow the components themselves? The responsible establishment of the industry, including how it can most effectively carry value from the consumer market back to the crop producer is another goal of the research and work of BECON. According to Olson, the best way for producers to procure a greater value share in the development of bio-based products is through diversification and longer "chains" of processing.

"When you make ethanol, you put it in the tank, and that's pretty much the end of your value added. If you have something that can be made into a plastic, you can make that into a plastic tank, automobile parts or clothing and textiles," Olson says. "You can take it all the way to the store shelf. There's a longer value chain."

While this can yield a higher return into the producer's pocket, the economic effects do not end with a simple product's transformation through value added. Instead, the industry could reach well into many facets of life in rural America.

"We're trying to create more opportunities for employment. The longer that chain is, the more jobs you have," Olson says. "We're trying to bring this industry along, but it requires many things. It requires the understanding of financing, educational programs, training programs, demonstration, research and testing. We're trying to bring along all of these things in parallel paths, so we can make this industry work with the proper support in the long run."

By doing so, Olson sees Henry Ford's dreams well within the reach of today's burgeoning bio-based industry.

"Henry Ford made an automobile using soy-plastic for the panels. We call it the 'veggie mobile.' He had his suit coat made out of fiber from plant materials," Olson says. "We just need to get back to that model."

Jeff Caldwell can be reached by phone at 515-280-5405, or by e-mail at jcaldwell@mchsi.com.

Date: 1/27/05

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