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Harnessing Full Potential of Plant Biotechnology for Biofuels
Controlling the cost of the feedstock for biofuel production is essential to make economic sense of producing renewable fuels, writes TheBioenergySite Senior Editor, Chris Harris.In ethanol production, it is the feedstock that contributes the greatest proportion of the cost, whether it is corn, corn stover or other sources.
Speaking at the recent Next Generation Biofuels Markets conference in Amsterdam, Ian Jepson Head of Biofuels R&D at Syngenta said that crop feedstock accounts for between 50 and 85 per cent of traditional renewable fuels costs and he added that as pressure on crop prices and land availability increases it is becoming more and more critical to ensure improved yields.
He said that cellulosic ethanol from existing agricultural sources such as corn stover or cobs, holds tremendous potential but he added that it will not happen overnight.
And he said that it is necessary to find more and better feedstock from existing crops to maintain the momentum of renewable fuels.
He said that at Syngenta, the company had adopted a three phase approach to achieving efficient and sustainable renewable fuels. He said the company was looking at action and research and development today in the medium term of three to five years and then beyond five years.
At present the target is to maximise yields and decrease pressure on key feedstocks by use of best genetics, optimising the starch content of the crop and protecting the yield and easing crop production and availability.
In the medium term he said the company will be innovating within the existing industry through tailored crops, and the development and use of corn amylase and tropical sugar beet and well and developing changed in the processing side.
In the longer term, they will be looking to help make cellulosic conversion a reality through "self processing crops", by developing crops that have a high cellulose protein content.
He said that today, getting the maximum yield and decreasing the pressure on key feedstocks could be achieved by delivering next-generation traits.
He said there is a drive to have increased yield improvement and this is achieved through crop protection chemistry, seed treatment, molecular breeding and developing insect tolerance and drought tolerance and by making a better use of nitrogen.
He showed that compared to historical annual yield increases of two per cent the research at Syngenta had shown potential increased yields of between three and four per cent - ahead of USDA predictions.
Another crop that offers global possibilities is tropical sugar beat, grown between 30° North and 30° South.
Compared to sugar cane the crop uses between a third and half the water and it will grow in saline or alkaline soils and on a cost basis is competitive with sugar cane.
Dr Jepson said that in these areas, which are largely developing countries, the crop provides an additional cash crop and helps to improve farmers' incomes.
In the medium term, research and development had to make better use of first generation biofuel crops by getting greater ethanol output "per acre" and a more sustainable production. Improving the alpha amylase content in the corn and making the most of it in the feedstock needed by the ethanol plant.
He said the a six month trial by Syngenta had managed to potentially increase the output per acre through processing flexibility together with reduced use of chemicals and water and energy use.
In the longer term research has been turning to the cellulases in the leaves of maize, which could make cellulosic ethanol a viable reality. High levels of cellulose are found in corn leaves and, Dr Jepson said that Syngenta has extracted cellulose from multiple crops, including exocellulases and endocellulases, betaglucosidases and hemicellulases.
In turning the theory and the research in to practicality they needed to extract commercially relevant levels of cellulose from the leaves of the crops. He said there were major challenges including the cost of managing the project and the logistics of it as well as the capital cost of equipment.
However, the process could see cellulosic ethanol produced at a cost of between $1.8 and $3 a gallon and with integrated and collaborative practices this could be reduced down to between $1.25 and $1.5 a gallon.
November 2008
