Liquid Biomass Fuels
Corn Products | Soybean Products | Waste Fat & Grease | Cotton Residue | Links
Corn is the major feedstock for ethanol manufactured in the United States. In 1990, The Regional Assessment of Non-Forestry Related Biomass Resources, identified non-forestry biomass and residues in the southeast region. The main objective of the study was to develop a comprehensive inventory at the county level. South Carolina produces 4.5 percent of the Southeast's non-forestry biomass, including over half million tons of corn per year. This low level of corn production makes South Carolina what is known as a "corn deficit state." Therefore, it may be more beneficial for South Carolina to focus on other energy crops that can be used to produce ethanol, such as switchgrass and cotton gin trash.
Beginning in 1985, the Wateree Correctional Institute had an ethanol facility capable of producing 250,000 gallons of fuel per year. The $450,000 facility has since closed. The purpose of the Wateree Correctional Institute ethanol project was "to demonstrate to farmers and other agribusiness interests the value and viability of ethanol production." The facility processed 100,000 bushels of corn per year into ethanol fuel using standard fermentation and distillation processes. The distiller's grain, a protein-rich byproduct of the process, was used to feed the prison's farm animals, leaving no disposable waste. The operation was closed in 1987 for political reasons. While it was in operation during the mid-1980s, the facility's main difficulty was finding a market for its ethanol because gasoline was cheap and demand for ethanol was low. However, in today's marketplace, there is much more demand for ethanol fuel, so a similar facility would not likely run into that challenge.
Soybeans are often used as a feedstock for the production of biodiesel fuel. According to Bioenergy in the Southeast: Status, Opportunities and Challenges, given an average of 30- to 40-bushel-per-acre yields, 46-62 gallons of biodiesel fuel can be produced from one acre of soybeans. According to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture Website, 530,000 acres of soybeans were harvested in South Carolina in 2004, with a yield of 29 bushels per acre.
Carolina Biofuels, a new division of the Taylors, South Carolina-based company Carolina Polymers, rolled out their first load of biodiesel made from soybeans in March 2006. Their manufacturing facilities are currently in full operation, and are expected to produce 10 million gallons of biodiesel fuel by summer 2006, with production projected to grow to over 30 million gallons annually. A large percentage of the fuel produced at Carolina Biofuels will be sold to the Spinx Company, an upstate petroleum marketer committed to providing South Carolina's drivers with alternative fuels. Carolina Biofuels supports South Carolina industry by using locally-grown soybeans to make their fuel, and as production ramps up, they will create 20-30 jobs in the Taylors area.
Yellow grease (waste cooking grease), brown grease (waste trap grease) and rendered animal fat can be used as feedstocks for production of biodiesel fuel. To date, there has been no comprehensive study of the availability of brown grease or animal renderings in South Carolina, but the SC Energy Office has compiled a list of yellow grease collectors and estimated the amount of available yellow grease in the report, An Assessment of the Restaurant Grease Collection and Rendering Industry in South Carolina. The study reports that the food service and hospitality industry produce between eight and twenty-seven million gallons of yellow grease per year.
In 2006, Southeast BioDiesel plans to build a new biodiesel production facilities in the region that will make biodiesel fuel from yellow grease. They plan to locate at the former US Naval Base in North Charleston. Southeast BioDiesel will contract with several yellow grease collection companies for their primary feedstock. Southeast BioDiesel will refine the yellow grease into biodiesel fuel and glycerin, a byproduct of the process by which biodiesel is produced.
Studies have been performed to determine the usefulness of cottonseed processing wastes in the creation of sugars, which can be distilled into ethanol through a process called concentrated acid hydrolysis. Due to the elevated cost of disposing of cotton gin trash (CGT) and cottonseed waste treated with sulphuric acid, a common step in the ginning process, sale of this waste to an ethanol plant is likely to be appealing to cotton farmers.
Because South Carolina is one of the 14 major cotton-producing states in the nation, harvesting 420,000 bales in 2005, CGT and cottonseed wastes are plentiful here. However, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture notes that CGT and cottonseed wastes produced in South Carolina are used in the manufacturing sector. Thus, although cotton waste is abundant in South Carolina, waste may not be readily available for use in ethanol production and transportation is a limiting factor.
For more information about liquid biomass fuel please visit the following websites:
- 2006 Fuel Ethanol Industry Directory
- American Coalition for Ethanol
- E85 Fuel
- Ethanol Research
- Governor's Ethanol Coalition
- National Biodiesel Board
- Palmetto Clean Fuels Coalition
- Renewable Fuels Coalition
- US Department of Agriculture BioFuels
- US Department of Energy Alternative Fuels
- US Department of Energy Liquid BioFuels
- Willie Nelson BioDiesel
