Energy/Bio-Based
CIFT provides the following services for agri-businesses:
Alternate Energy Sources
CIFT serves as a clearinghouse of trusted information associated with the production of energy-producing crops. Such crops, suitable to local growing conditions, represent marketing and income enhancement opportunities for agribusinesses. Additional collaboration among industry and academia has resulted in an effort to establish the Energy Crop Study, where alternative crops will be examined for their potential to generate energy or renewable fuels.
CIFT also partners with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, as well as dairies, food processors, poultry operations, feed lots and others, to study the suitability and feasibility of anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste products.
The Green Products Center (GPC) is a collaborative effort among several partnering organizations to provide the resources, technical assistance and business expertise to regional entrepreneurs or established manufacturers who currently produce, or plan to produce, green or biobased products.
Value-Added Enhancements
Traditional crops are driven by price – making operational efficiency and economies of scale critical to profitability. Specialty crops offer co-ops of producers an opportunity to produce higher value crops on a smaller scale.
CIFT's expert network of business advisors and food-based businesses utilizes industry knowledge and current technology to explore new methods for generating revenue for producers. Concepts are evaluated based on potential for near-term success, low barriers to market entry, specific market potential for products, and tangible benefits such as jobs created and income generated. CIFT conducts feasibility studies and market research on concepts that most closely demonstrate these qualities.
Waste to Energy Research Center
One of the more significant and far reaching CIFT initiatives has been the establishment of a permanent program dedicated to the development of technology to produce energy from food and agricultural waste products. In cooperation with Dr. Floyd Schanbacher, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, CIFT has constructed several pilot scale anaerobic digesters that are being used to evaluate different operating conditions for producing biogas, which contains up to 70 percent methane, from animal waste, vegetable processing waste, meat processing waste, crop residues, and other agricultural waste streams, either individually or in combinations.
The technologies and techniques developed and validated by the Center will position Ohio as a leader in addressing environmental issues that affect the rural-urban interface. In doing so, it will become known as a leader in developing technologies that will enable agriculture and population to co-exist and prosper in adjacent communities. At the same time, it will lower operating costs for agricultural based businesses by producing needed energy.
As Dr. Schanbacher states, “The next generation of digester technology has the potential to help preserve Ohio’s agricultural heritage by removing environmental challenges and lowering energy costs, two of the most serious problems facing producers. The CIFT program has been the catalyst that has enabled us to put this program together.”
A number of other companies with Ohio connections are involved in the development of the technologies in the program. Rockwell Automation (Mayfield Heights) has supplied their expertise in control systems to the program, as well as control hardware. Chemineer, Inc. (Dayton) has provided material handling equipment for mixing and stirring the waste products. Finally, Leader Engineering Fabrication (Napoleon) provided design and fabrication expertise to the digesters. Each of these companies will benefit from the research results from the program as they apply to their own businesses, amplifying the economic benefit to Ohio.
Major Ohio food processors such as Frito-Lay, Campbell Soup Company, Cooper Foods, and Sandridge Foods have used the system or expressed interest in doing so. Several large Ohio agricultural producers have also participated in the program. The ultimate research objective is to demonstrate and promote the technical and economic feasibility of enhancing rural income through advanced processes of extracting energy from waste products.
Northwest Ohio Energy Crop Center
The mission of the Northwest Ohio Energy Crop Center is the identification and evaluation of opportunities to involve regional growers, processors and other entrepreneurs in biofuel production. This includes analyzing the potential role of a new crop and justifying further development. Several factors require evaluation, including the unique attributes of crop varieties, optimum growing conditions and economic returns. These factors must be investigated on test plots and production equipment in northwest Ohio.
To this end, the Northwest Ohio Energy Crop Center has identified two potential agricultural commodities, algae and camelina, that could be grown and harvested as biodiesel feed stocks in northwest Ohio.
Algae
Many experts believe that, in the future, both salt and fresh water algae will be a major source of oils for diesel fuel. Certain species of algae have long been known to be productive sources of the oils that can be converted into biofuels. Research performed by the U.S. Department of Energy several years ago demonstrated that some algal varieties contained much higher energy potential than soybeans or other crops that are commonly grown for biofuels production. The rapidly shifting energy economics may make another look at algae for energy worthwhile.
A number of entities in northwest Ohio, including CIFT, University of Toledo (UT), UT Lake Erie Center, Ambiol Flex Fuels, and Red Lion Bio-Energy, share this belief. They have formed a group to evaluate whether the production and harvest of algae, along with the extraction and processing of the lipids it contains, can be performed economically in northwest Ohio.
CIFT and the University of Toledo initiated a research program through a photo bio-reactor to determine whether algae from Lake Erie can be a technically and commercially viable energy source for northwest Ohio. The focus is to identify areas that require additional research and development efforts. This study is looking at all phases of the algae and oil production operation, including growth, harvesting, and oil extraction. This includes:
• Algal species that occur naturally in the Great Lakes region, and those that can be cultivated and harvested
• Production ponds and facility designs that promote the growth of the best candidate species
• Processing methods.
The researchers in the project include University of Toledo chemical engineering professors Drs. Sasidhar Varanasi and Constance Schall, as well as Dr. Scott Heckathorn, professor of plant science and Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, professor of limnology at the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center in Oregon, Ohio.
The study will build on a U. S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) program that examined using algae as a source of lipids, known as triacylglycerols, or TAGs, for biodiesel production. The project was discontinued in 1999. In its final report it was noted that, "... we project costs for biodiesel (from algae) which are two times higher than current petroleum diesel fuel costs." As noted by Dr. Schall, the cost of diesel fuel was $1.04 per gallon in the year the report was publish. Today, the cost of diesel fuel makes it attractive to investigate algae as a source for biodiesel.
Dr. Schall also notes, "Another advantage to our approach is that we will study the use of 'contaminant native' algal species. These are the species that are likely to take over any algal growth facility in northwest Ohio. Fortunately for us, several of these native species are excellent candidates for biodiesel production."
Camelina
Camelina Sativa, a member of the Brassicaceae family, is an oilseed crop. The plant is an annual and is grown extensively in Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. It is extremely cold tolerant and has the potential to generate significant amounts of oil. The oil content of the camelina seed can range from 29-39 percent providing an attractive alternative to traditional soybeans. The nutritional content of camelina meal in very favorable and high in essential nutrients and the protein content appears to be comparable to soybean meal.
Due to its short growing season (90 days) and, under favorable weather conditions, it has the potential for double-cropping. Camelina has been added, in rotation with continuous spring wheat production systems on land unsuitable for corn or soybeans.
Camelina can be grown with relatively low input costs and flourish on marginal land. The nitrogen input for camelina is as much as 50 percent less than canola, thereby presenting favorable economic returns.
These attributes lead many to believe that camelina can conceivably be successfully and economically grown in Ohio in rotation with corn and soybeans.
To determine the feasibility of growing camelina in northwest Ohio, CIFT has organized a working group that includes American Ag Fuels from Defiance, Ohio, The Ohio State University Extension Service in Defiance County, the Northwest Ohio Agricultural and Research and Development Center and several regional grower groups.
In cooperation with its partners, CIFT is growing camelina test plots throughout Ohio. CIFT has engaged processing facilities to extract oil and testing laboratories and biofuels producers to evaluate its use as a feed stock for biodiesel and as a food grade oil.
Two different camelina varieties are being evaluated to assess susceptibility to weather conditions and evaluate the shattering potential witnessed in Montana. Researching winter varieties will also be conducted for comparative analysis. Additionally, adjustable nitrogen rates, planting dates and seeding rates are being analyzed.
Harvesting, storage and transport methods are also being studied. Camelina's small seed size requires special precautions. Combines need to be adjusted and storage facilities and transport equipment will require modifications to prevent seed loss.
The research conducted by CIFT and industry partners will discover the unique agronomic traits associated with this particular oilseed crop and make significant strides in the potential identification of another crop with energy capabilities for local growers.
Additional challenges need to be met. For example, camelina meal has yet to receive USDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) certification. This limits its use as a feed stock for any livestock intended for slaughter. Further research is underway to advance the certification process.
Renewable Fuels
Biodiesel and ethanol pose valuable alternatives to traditional fuel sources while supporting local production capacity. Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources containing no petroleum, and it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. This renewable fuel can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. It is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Additionally, ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling starch crops that have been converted into simple sugars. Ethanol is most commonly used to increase octane and improve the emissions quality of gasoline.