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Agricultural diversity can provide many solutions to energy needs

By: Dr. John Kelly, vice president Erie Innovation and Commercialization, Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association and Board of Directors, The Biotechnology Initiative

National Biotechnology Week is a celebration of life sciences’ contributions to society, showing how new advances are affecting our every day lives. From health to the bioeconomy to the environment, biotechnology and life sciences developments have clearly addressed many of society’s needs. The Biotechnology Initiative (TBI) believes that knowledge is a key driver to technology use, and that education is key to informed decisions about policy.

Energy is a primary driver of the Ontario economy and it is increasingly becoming more and more expensive for consumers to access non-renewable sources. In addition to conventional sources of energy, including hydro-electric dams and nuclear power stations, oil, natural gas and coal have been staples for manufacturing, transportation, home heat, and other energy-demanding components of society. However, excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses generated by these energy sources are negatively contributing to the environment resulting in global warming.

There is an increased need to find other sources of clean energy, and agriculture has been at the forefront of the development of new and innovative technologies. There is no single source solution to the energy crisis that we are currently in. Coupled with efforts for energy conservation and efficiency, the development of viable renewable energy sources will lead to a cleaner, more sustainable energy system. It is through the development of life sciences processes that these methods of producing power have been developed. It is the utilization of energy from various sources that will ultimately reduce consumption of fossil fuels.

Ethanol and Biodiesel – d(e)riving our energy from the farm

Probably the most well know contribution of agriculture to energy yield has been the development of ethanol from corn for use in automobiles. The efficiency of this starch based ethanol has been well debated in the scientific and public literature, and the jury is still out. Canada has produced more than a billion liters of ethanol for fuel, Ontario itself has plants across the province, run by six different companies. This has led others to look to agricultural and forestry sources for the production of ethanol. The manufacture of cellulosic based ethanol, derived from high cellulose based plants, may prove to be much more efficient than that from starch sources. Companies such as Iogen in Ottawa, Verenium in the US and the multinational Danisco Dupont joint venture are racing to bring cellulosic ethanol to the market. A real advantage of cellulosic ethanol is the diversity of renewable feedstock available as the starting material. This renewable resource also offers a great potential to lessen the dependence on fossil fuels.

Fueling vehicles is not limited to ethanol. The development of new biodiesel technologies to fuel truck fleets, municipal busses and other diesel dependant vehicles is an opportunity for agriculture. Biodiesel precursors can be collected from a number of different sources, including spent restaurant grease and oils, co-products from the rendering industry especially oil based plants such as soybeans, canola and palm. Canada has several companies in the biodiesel business, including two in Ontario. Biox Corporation, out of Hamilton, Ontario is a global leader in the development of biodiesel, operates a 60 million litre facility with their own proprietary, Canadian based technology.

Creating biodiesel from agricultural sources however does not have to involve large manufacturing plants. A small Ontario company Energrow is providing clients with the capacity to manufacture biodiesel on site. Using a mechanical screw press expeller, the system produces an oil which can be used as a lubricant, a diesel fuel replacement or even animal feed, with the co-product meal used as a livestock feed supplement.

Biomass – fueling Ontario’s Power Stations

Agricultural feedstock is being used in other ways to generate usable energy. A lot of discussion has surrounded the use of large biomass crops, including misconstrues, switch grass and native bluestem grasses. These are not only being used in cellulosic ethanol production, but also in the co-firing of coal base electricity generating plants. In Ontario, the provincial government has mandated that all coal-fired plants will cease to use coal after 2014. This has provided Ontario Power Generation with a significant challenge on how to replace the power from these stations. Options include new power from other sources, closing the coal-fired plants, or repurposing these power plants to use biomass.

Indeed, Tom Mitchell, president and CEO of OPG reported on September 9, 2009 to the Ontario Standing Committee on Government Agencies that OPG will look at adding new biomass generation systems to “keeps the lights” on. This is already happening in northern Ontario at Atikokan. Their first unit is expected to be ready in 2012 and will likely be fired with wood pellets and possibly some agricultural products. Other plants in Thunder Bay, Lambton, and Nanticoke are also being investigated for conversion to biomass capacity.

Biomass can also be used for firing other, smaller systems to provide heat and electricity. Greenhouse operators have the opportunity to use renewable energy sources to power fruit and vegetable production as well as flower production. Units are also now being developed to provide neighbourhoods with unique, off the main grid, energy sources.

A challenge with biomass as a source of energy, either from cellulosic ethanol production or from combustion in energy generation systems is that biomass needs to be in a concentrated form prior to delivery to the energy plant. This means that bales of cellulosic containing material must be made into a more favourable material prior to use, via a bio-concentration step to create high energy pellets or pucks that can be used more efficiently in systems designed for coal. This creates an additional logistical issue as the bio-concentration and delivery of these pellets will likely require either rail or water transportation.

Biogas – A waste product no more

Biogas is produced through the biological decomposition of organic wastes when placed in anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions. It is a unique renewable energy that can avoid some of the environmental liabilities often associated with generation of gas from landfilling of organic wastes. This gas, if released to the atmosphere untreated, can behave as a greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change. Capturing this biogas for energy generation is environmentally friendly and represents a very significant opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

The development of fermentation technologies for the production of biogas by anaerobic digestion has been well received by agricultural producers. Indeed, dairy producers from across Ontario are using diverse technologies to capture methane for the production of electricity. For example, the Stanton dairy farm north of London, Ontario is one of the largest dairy producers in the province, also making them one of the largest manure sources! This has led them to find solutions to creatively manage the waste product from their cows. By using a large anaerobic digestion power plant, the Stantons have been able to not only power their own operation, but they put power onto the grid, powering approximately 800 homes. An additional benefit is that once the manure is fermented, it becomes a more favourable product for use as a fertilizer.

Using European based technology and the similar concept of producing electricity from methane fermented from manure, the Klaesi farm in Cobden, Ontario uses a bladder or balloon type system, to cover the manure pit. As the manure ferments, the balloon expands filling with methane, once the methane-filled balloon is removed from the pit it can be used to generate electricity powering their farm operations. This may eventually take them off the power grid, and has the potential to add power back to the grid, powering an additional 30 homes. In addition to manure, the Klaesi farm is looking at using organic waste from food scraps and other sources to fuel their system.

Biogas can be generated from many organic sources, including municipal organic waste. In Guelph, the Super Blue Box Recycling Corporation (SUBBCOR) is using municipal waste to create both biogas and an organic peat source. These two revenue streams help offset the costs of processing the municipal waste.

The End Game

While these are exciting times for agricultural producers, it is essential that technologies used in the generation of usable energy are economically viable, favourable to the environment and contribute to the wellbeing of society. Agriculture has a great opportunity to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and imported energy while at the same time providing an avenue for carbon-capture and reduction in greenhouse gas generation. This is something society both needs and wants. It is up to all of us to make informed decisions on the adoption of these technologies.