Carbon Dioxide Sequestration - The Frontier is Now

It seems like a no brainer. But the media doesn't seem to report on it at all. We take our abundant US coal to produce electricity, sequester the CO2 for fuel algae production. Then that algae is turned into fuel oil.

Now you say, "pie in the sky". But that frontier is now. We are poised right today to do all of the above. They are currently building a coal burning carbon sequestration plant right now just outside of Odessa, Texas (actually at Penwell, TX). The Texas Clean Energy Project (TCEP) boasts that it will capture 90% of carbon emissions. At this point they plan on taking the liquefied CO2 to the Permian Basin Oil Fields for enhanced oil recovery. (They are pumping the CO2 into the ground to push more oil up). But how about TCEP get together with Sapphire Energy to produce algae for fuel production? It is a simple process. Take algae, sunlight, and excess CO2. The algae grows at a tremendous rate producing thick green algae sludges. Then the algae is turned into simple oils that are delivered to regular refineries. So there you go. You burn domestic coal and get electricity and more oil than the coal originally burned. "Boot to the OPEC nanahhh!"

West Texas could seize this opportunity to become the ultimate powerhouse of complete energy production. West Texas is already one of the largest producers of wind energy. Then consider the oil and gas production coupled with the potential coal/electric plants that would be producing algae for additional fuels. I believe West Texas could be producing enough power to supply the entire South West Region. "Hello Gov. Perry, there is a wake up call if ever!"

Let's face it... To go green, you gotta be making the green.

Corn Ethanol Con

Here we are two years later after the last big increase in oil prices. This time it is blamed on democratic protests in the Middle East. (My times are a changing!) People have been conditioned this time around. They don't complain as much, not that it hurts just as much to fill up. But two years later and nothing has changed as far as alternate fuels. Ethanol has worked its way into the gasoline supply stream. Is this good or bad? The way ethanol is currently made from corn, it is not. But hopefully in the near future ethanol production will be ramped up from waste fibers; municipal waste, corn leaves, etc.

The following is an excerpt from the NIPCC (Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change). It details the thought that more carbon dioxide may be sequestered by not planting crops on land than trying to grow corn on the same land. Basically, if you let a forest grow on land it will bind more CO2 than trying to grow corn for ethanol.

"Pineiro et al. (2009) introduce their comprehensive study of producing ethanol from corn by noting that "to meet the targets of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year in the United States by 2022), corn production will need to increase by improving yields, substituting other crops with corn, and expanding corn acreage to currently uncultivated land." But does this act of the federal government make any sense or save any dollars?

To find out, the authors evaluated "the effectiveness and economic value of corn- and cellulosic ethanol production for reducing net GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions when produced on lands that were previously under crop production, previously set aside, or remained as native vegetation, comparing them with carbon sequestration rates achieved by conservation programs," such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), through which the U.S. federal government establishes 10-15 year contracts with farmers and pays them to keep land out of production.

The five researchers determined that "carbon releases from the soil after planting corn for ethanol may in some cases completely offset carbon gains attributed to biofuel generation for at least 50 years." In addition, they found that "soil carbon sequestered by setting aside former agricultural land was greater than the carbon credits generated by planting corn for ethanol on the same land for 40 years and had equal or greater economic net present value." And if forests are cleared for corn ethanol production, the outcome is determined to be even worse.

"Considering current ethanol incentives and typical CRP contracts," according to Pineiro et al., "extending current CRP contracts or enrolling new CRP lands appear to be cheaper strategies for sequestering GHG than converting such lands to corn ethanol for at least a century [italics added]."

One lesson to be learned from this fiasco is that government edicts regarding complex scientific issues should not be issued without a thorough consideration of all the pertinent facts, especially those that are hotly debated within the scientific community."

Reference
Pineiro, G., Jobbagy, E.G., Baker, J., Murray, B.C. and Jackson, R.B. 2009. Set-asides can be better climate investment than corn ethanol. Ecological Applications 19: 277-282.

Ethanol from Corn. Good or Bad?

In the environment, as in life, truth is only your perspective. It is difficult to determine what is really good for the environment. I believe this is because of the basic laws of thermodynamics. The use of energy for work results in a more disordered system (pollution). If we use energy then we will cause more disorder. Excuse me for my digression... back to corn.

In the beginning, the corn farmers in the Midwest found a great use for excess corn. Turn corn into ethanol that can be used as fuel. This worked well because corn was in excess and therefore was cheap. The first ethanol plants were build close to the corn fields. Big money was made this way and investment dollars rolled in. These corn farmer associations then advocated how fuel ethanol was good for the environment. Soon after, the government started passing regulations mandating the use of ethanol in fuel.

Ethanol in fuel is fundamentally good. But issues arise when the government requires ethanol. It disrupts the normal supply and demand laws of economics. When corn is cheap, the farmers can turn it into ethanol. When corn is expensive, farmers sell the corn on the open market. Now we are faced with hugely escalating corn prices because farmers are locked into ethanol production.

However, the high price of corn cannot be completely blamed on the ethanol market. Oil has increased and is exerting huge cost increases in all food sources. But corn has shown increases greater than other food sources. And considering that three million acres of prime corn land has been flooded within the last week, expect truly higher prices in food by the end of summer.

A large portion of the scientific community now feels that turning food into ethanol is bad. But in my opinion, food based ethanol is only the first stepping stone to other renewable energy sources. Right now companies across the planet are converting waste cellulose into diesel fuel. A company in Bryan, TX has developed a process to produce gasoline from any cellulosic waste material; cow manure, wood chips, waste paper, municipal waste, etc. On a large scale, they expect the price of renewable gasoline to be around $2.20/gallon. These are not pie in the sky ideas. These engineers have been developing these processes for over fifteen years. And these processes are making gasoline today.

On my last note, I hate paying $4/gallon for fuel. But at least the high prices have made people get off their gas and do something about it.

West Texas Environmental

Premiere issue of West Texas Environmental. This site will cover environmental issues related to permitting and regulations. Feel free to ask any questions related to the environment. I'll try to give the best answer possible.

It can be confusing on who handles what in the state of Texas. I have dealt with the EPA, TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality), Texas Health Department, TxDOT, Texas Railroad Commission, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. In addition to the above, each local City and County Government may have their individual regulations.

Of course the big one in Texas, for the environment, is the TCEQ covering at least 90% of the regulations. The rest of the organizations just don't want to give up their little piece of the pie.

In each posting I will try to cover a small section of a specific regulation or try to give guidelines on how to get something done for the environment. You would be surprised how a single person can help shape our regulations.