Biofuels Journal - January/February 2008 - (Page 139)

Ethanol from Glycerin Additional Use Found for Biodiesel Co-product tion gas hydrogen, and appropriate medium composition. “The method is much easier than using corn, sugarcane or other biomass that must be broken down to extract the sugars that are then converted to ethanol,” Gonzalez said. “In the case of glycerin, you don’t need to do that preprocessing, making ethanol about 40% cheaper to produce.” One gallon of glycerin, he added, can produce one gallon of ethanol. Production in 2008 Ramon Gonzlez, left, and Syed Shams Yazdani in their Rice University labotatory. The oil fraction of corn separated prior to the distillation of ethanol can be efficiently made into biodiesel fuel. Researchers at Rice University, Houston, TX, have now discovered a way to produce ethanol from glycerin, the major co-product of biodiesel production. Ramon Gonzalez, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and research associate Syed Shams Yazdani (713-348-4893), have developed a process that uses a non-pathogenic strain of E. coli and anaerobic fermentation to convert glycerin into ethanol. Gonzalez and Yazdani said the purpose of their research was to convert crude glycerin into higher value products as a means of improving the economic viability of the biofuels industry. “The tremendous growth of the biofuels industry created a glycerol sur- plus that has resulted in a 10-fold decrease in crude glycerol prices over the past two years,” Gonzalez said. According to the National Biodiesel Board, the biodiesel industry produced 25 million pounds of glycerin in 2006 and an estimated 50 million pounds in 2007, and the amount grows with every new gallon of biodiesel produced. As a result, the market price for glycerin has fallen from 80 cents per pound two years ago to five cents or less recently, according to market reports. Right Environment The Rice researchers have formed Glycol Biotechnology, located in Houston, with funding from the venture capital firm DFJMercury, Houston, TX. A pilot plant producing ethanol from glycerol is expected to be up and running in 2008. Gonzalez said the company aims to form partnerships with others already in the biodiesel, ethanol and glycerin industries. Gonzalez said the process could be located with either an ethanol or biodiesel plant. Frank Zaworski, associate editor “The use of anaerobic fermentation to convert abundant and low-priced glycerol streams into higher value products represents a promising route to achieve economic viability in the biofuels industry.” - Ramon Gonzalez, Rice University Gonzalez and Yazdani were able to coax E. coli to produce ethanol from glycerol by providing the bacteria with a proper environment. The environment that works, they discovered, has an acidic pH, a low accumulation of the fermenta- JAN/FEB 08 | BFJ 139

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Biofuels Journal - January/February 2008 Contents Biofuels Safety Lockout/Tagout Managing Safety Ethanol Incidents Hot Work Safety Arresting Falls Firefighting Foam Confined Spaces Natural Fiber Clothing LifeLine Foods - St. Joseph, MO Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana A New Energy Era POET - Portland, IN Company Profile, OPW State Ethanol Promotion State Report: Nebraska Anti-Lignin Beetles Sequential Extraction Developing Energy Crops Stover Logistics Cellulosic Ground Covers DDGS to Feed Fish Miscanthus: Energy Crop Webinar Series Launched New Fractionation Process Tropical Maize Ethanol Synthetic Fuel High Starch Corn Testing Abengoa's Cellulosic Ethanol Plans Credits and Incentives POET Cob Harvest High Oil Corn SunOpta Steam Explosion Process Enough Water? Ethanol Water Use Seth Snyder, Argonne National Laboratory Continuous Fermentation ACE Blend Study Wood Waste Ethanol Fodder Beet Ethanol Monthly Ethanol Production Ethanol Terminal Wood Feedstock Carbon Credits Bio Motor Oil Ethanol Bacteria Ethanol Pipeline Ethanol Plant Construction - Canada Cellulosic Ethanol Plants Under Consideration Cellulosic Ethanol Plants Construction Map In the Pipeline Ethanol Blending History Ethanol World Calendar Profile: Zabler, Pine Lake Corn Processors Industry News Western Dubuque Biodiesel - Farley, IA Profile: Winkel, Central Iowa Energy Biodiesel Construction List Biodiesel Plants Under Construction Map Wet vs. Dry Biomass Storage Book Review Green Earth Fuels - Houston, TX Biodiesel News Alternative Feedstocks Glycerol as Feed EPA Requires Standards Mustard Biodiesel Sun Grant Initiatives Biodiesel Jet Glycerol Alternatives Platts Advanced Biofuels Seminar Cellulosic Heating Oil Glycerine Used for Ethanol Blackmer Fremont Industries Biomass Association DOE Grants $7.7 Million for Biofuels Aecometric Corp. Civacon Viking Pump, Inc. SimplexGrinnell ICM Inc. Applied Milling Systems Ad Index

Biofuels Journal - January/February 2008

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