The proposed cellulosic ethanol plant in Vonore, Tn (south and west of Knoxville) is a partnership between the University of Tennessee and DuPont Danisco. In the near term it means that 5,000 acres of switchgrass will have to be grown in the vicinity of the plant in order to produce 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. That's just less than 6,000 barrels in a nation that consumes about 20 million bpd of petroleum. If it works, if the conversion process - getting the sugar out of the biomass - becomes more efficient, and sufficient quantities of switchgrass can be produced in the region... then commercial cellulosic plants or biorefineries - 25 million gallons per year would be built in the next five years. Tennessee would need more than a few in order to produce the goal of 500 million gallons per year by 2022. In short the pilot plant in Vonore is one hundreth the size of the envisioned commercial biorefinery.
Kelly Tiller is the UT economist who has become CEO of Genera Energy, UT's initiative to make breakthroughs in biofuels.
“We know how to do it [i.e. make cellulosic ethanol], but there has to be a more efficient way, and the pilot plant is designed to get us there,” says Kelly Tiller, who has emerged as UT’s point person on the project. Tiller is a 39-year-old assistant professor of agricultural economics who recently gained the impressive title of CEO of Genera Energy, a company UT formed to spearhead its biofuels initiative. More...
No comments:
Post a Comment