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Range Fuels
Biomass to energy: Range Fuels’ technology gives new meaning to ‘flower power’
The funny thing about progress is it’s often times met with resistance. It takes us humans a while to wrap our minds around change and to break free of established ways of thinking and doing, but eventually, we come around. For instance, it took a while, but electricity is no longer thought of a quasi-magical force that could revitalize the likes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is fortunately widely accepted as a form of energy superior to the candle. That example is pertinent because it shows how far our use of technology has come and how much further it can take us.
We are currently experiencing a similar technological zeitgeist, a changing of the guard from old energy sources to new. At present, most of our energy is derived from fossil sources (coal, oil, natural gas) and nuclear sources. Fossil fuels are non-renewable and are becoming an increasingly costly endeavour for countries to import, financially and otherwise. Compound that with what those energies cost, and it’s all the more fortuitous that Range Fuels is ushering in the new generation of energy technology.
In 2008, David Aldous, former senior executive of Royal Dutch Shell, took up the position of President and CEO of Range Fuels. Aldous is a very well known and respected figure in the energy industry, who transferred his 28 years of energy experience to the production and advancement of biomass energy—the production of low carbon biofuels and clean, renewable energy using organic material made from plants or animals. Range Fuels’ focus is on emerging clean energy technologies that convert non-food biomass into low carbon biofuels. The company is unique in that it can convert all of the biomass into biofuels, not just some, thus improving the company’s product yields.
First: a basic overview of the technology. Range Fuels uses a two step thermo-chemical process to produce low carbon biofuels—cellulosic ethanol and methanol, specifically, and clean renewable power. The process is fairly simple (to those scientifically minded). In the first step, heat, pressure and steam are used to convert the biomass into a gas, which is then processed into a synthesis gas that is run over a catalyst bed that converts the synthesis gas to cellulosic biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol and methanol. Recovered energy from the first step is used to produce clean power.
The biofuels can be made from an ostensible never ending list of sources. As Aldous himself explains it, “Thermo- chemical processes take various kinds of renewable biomass, whether it is wood waste, municipal solid waste, corn stover (the non food part of the corn) or sugar cane... if you had enough olive pits, you could convert that biomass into a synthesis gas, which we then run over a catalyst bed and make methanol and ethanol products.”
Negative carbon footprint
While cellulosic ethanol and methanol may not be household words yet, ‘low carbon’ already is. Not only are the biofuels low carbon, but the process used to make them is carbon neutral, meaning it does not cause harmful pollution to the environment to produce.
“We have a negative carbon footprint, says Aldous, “which means we actually offset carbon, more than a 100 per cent reduction.” That in itself is revolutionary.
Range Fuels’ first commercial cellulosic biofuels plant is the Soperton Plant in Georgia, U.S. Soperton’s $100 million dollar phase one is now mechanically complete, and is expected to begin production of cellulosic biofuels in June 2010, which is right around the corner.
“We are very excited to get our first commercial fuels and to begin selling those fuels into the marketplace,” says Aldous.
Ethanol blends for motor vehicles
Range Fuels’ cellulosic methanol will go into a number of applications; however, the future for cellulosic biofuels will be in the replacement of motor vehicle gasoline. The company is watching U.S. mandates overseeing the production of renewable fuels that are currently being revised by the federal government very closely.
Ethanol has been blended with gasoline for years now in a fuel typically called E10 (which is made with 10 percent ethanol). E15 could soon become the new norm if, as industry experts predict, the U.S. increases the “blend wall”, or ratio of ethanol to gasoline.
There is a great debate surrounding the blend wall. Says Aldous, “As an experienced fuel engineer, there is, in my mind, no scientific basis for the blend wall. It is a political blend wall that is put there by the interests of the auto companies and oil companies. We believe that the blend wall can go significantly higher, and I personally believe that.”
The ethanol produced by Range Fuels can go directly into any motor gasoline in a blend so effectively these mandates will have to make room for cellulosic ethanol into the motor gasoline pool. “Effectively, our product can go right into gasoline in some percentage. You could debate 10 per cent or 20 per cent,” says Aldous, “it will work.” And for consumers who already own a flex fuel vehicle, it can already run completely off ethanol today.
The environmental consequences of this technology cannot be overestimated. The EPA estimated that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard program mandating increased use of renewable fuels will reduce GHG emissions from transportation by an equivalent 160 million tons of CO2 annually.
Energy, environment, economy
For a world that is going to double its energy demands between today and 2050, Range Fuels’ commercial production of cellulosic biofuels could not have come too soon. Aldous is happy to be part of the solution to this pressing global issue of increasing energy demand. For the U.S., a country that imports 65 per cent of its oil from foreign sources, some of which are hostile, the use of renewable fuels would all but eliminate this dependency. And for all nations, the production of renewable fuels is a great opportunity to create economic growth and jobs.
The next five years will see the Soperton Plant completed to its full permitted capacity and producing significant amounts of cellulosic biofuels, and higher ethanol blends in motor vehicle gasoline. “We are already working on additional sites in the Southeast using woody biomass, and are looking at other sites domestically and internationally. In the next five to ten years I would like to see us have several plants up or in the process of being constructed and moving towards providing clean renewable fuels,” says Aldous.
When asked how it feels to be on the precipice of such an exciting and emerging technology, Aldous acknowledged it is personally very rewarding to be in an energetic field where one can really make a difference in issues critical to the world. The environmental benefits will grow alongside Range Fuels’ growth, which is not something many companies can boast. RangeFuels is a leading energy company not hesitant to be a leader of the new guard.
The funny thing about progress is it’s often times met with resistance. It takes us humans a while to wrap our minds around change and to break free of established ways of thinking and doing, but eventually, we come around. For instance, it took a while, but electricity is no longer thought of a quasi-magical force that could revitalize the likes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is fortunately widely accepted as a form of energy superior to the candle. That example is pertinent because it shows how far our use of technology has come and how much further it can take us.
We are currently experiencing a similar technological zeitgeist, a changing of the guard from old energy sources to new. At present, most of our energy is derived from fossil sources (coal, oil, natural gas) and nuclear sources. Fossil fuels are non-renewable and are becoming an increasingly costly endeavour for countries to import, financially and otherwise. Compound that with what those energies cost, and it’s all the more fortuitous that Range Fuels is ushering in the new generation of energy technology.
In 2008, David Aldous, former senior executive of Royal Dutch Shell, took up the position of President and CEO of Range Fuels. Aldous is a very well known and respected figure in the energy industry, who transferred his 28 years of energy experience to the production and advancement of biomass energy—the production of low carbon biofuels and clean, renewable energy using organic material made from plants or animals. Range Fuels’ focus is on emerging clean energy technologies that convert non-food biomass into low carbon biofuels. The company is unique in that it can convert all of the biomass into biofuels, not just some, thus improving the company’s product yields.
First: a basic overview of the technology. Range Fuels uses a two step thermo-chemical process to produce low carbon biofuels—cellulosic ethanol and methanol, specifically, and clean renewable power. The process is fairly simple (to those scientifically minded). In the first step, heat, pressure and steam are used to convert the biomass into a gas, which is then processed into a synthesis gas that is run over a catalyst bed that converts the synthesis gas to cellulosic biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol and methanol. Recovered energy from the first step is used to produce clean power.
The biofuels can be made from an ostensible never ending list of sources. As Aldous himself explains it, “Thermo- chemical processes take various kinds of renewable biomass, whether it is wood waste, municipal solid waste, corn stover (the non food part of the corn) or sugar cane... if you had enough olive pits, you could convert that biomass into a synthesis gas, which we then run over a catalyst bed and make methanol and ethanol products.”
Negative carbon footprint
While cellulosic ethanol and methanol may not be household words yet, ‘low carbon’ already is. Not only are the biofuels low carbon, but the process used to make them is carbon neutral, meaning it does not cause harmful pollution to the environment to produce.
“We have a negative carbon footprint, says Aldous, “which means we actually offset carbon, more than a 100 per cent reduction.” That in itself is revolutionary.
Range Fuels’ first commercial cellulosic biofuels plant is the Soperton Plant in Georgia, U.S. Soperton’s $100 million dollar phase one is now mechanically complete, and is expected to begin production of cellulosic biofuels in June 2010, which is right around the corner.
“We are very excited to get our first commercial fuels and to begin selling those fuels into the marketplace,” says Aldous.
Ethanol blends for motor vehicles
Range Fuels’ cellulosic methanol will go into a number of applications; however, the future for cellulosic biofuels will be in the replacement of motor vehicle gasoline. The company is watching U.S. mandates overseeing the production of renewable fuels that are currently being revised by the federal government very closely.
Ethanol has been blended with gasoline for years now in a fuel typically called E10 (which is made with 10 percent ethanol). E15 could soon become the new norm if, as industry experts predict, the U.S. increases the “blend wall”, or ratio of ethanol to gasoline.
There is a great debate surrounding the blend wall. Says Aldous, “As an experienced fuel engineer, there is, in my mind, no scientific basis for the blend wall. It is a political blend wall that is put there by the interests of the auto companies and oil companies. We believe that the blend wall can go significantly higher, and I personally believe that.”
The ethanol produced by Range Fuels can go directly into any motor gasoline in a blend so effectively these mandates will have to make room for cellulosic ethanol into the motor gasoline pool. “Effectively, our product can go right into gasoline in some percentage. You could debate 10 per cent or 20 per cent,” says Aldous, “it will work.” And for consumers who already own a flex fuel vehicle, it can already run completely off ethanol today.
The environmental consequences of this technology cannot be overestimated. The EPA estimated that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard program mandating increased use of renewable fuels will reduce GHG emissions from transportation by an equivalent 160 million tons of CO2 annually.
Energy, environment, economy
For a world that is going to double its energy demands between today and 2050, Range Fuels’ commercial production of cellulosic biofuels could not have come too soon. Aldous is happy to be part of the solution to this pressing global issue of increasing energy demand. For the U.S., a country that imports 65 per cent of its oil from foreign sources, some of which are hostile, the use of renewable fuels would all but eliminate this dependency. And for all nations, the production of renewable fuels is a great opportunity to create economic growth and jobs.
The next five years will see the Soperton Plant completed to its full permitted capacity and producing significant amounts of cellulosic biofuels, and higher ethanol blends in motor vehicle gasoline. “We are already working on additional sites in the Southeast using woody biomass, and are looking at other sites domestically and internationally. In the next five to ten years I would like to see us have several plants up or in the process of being constructed and moving towards providing clean renewable fuels,” says Aldous.
When asked how it feels to be on the precipice of such an exciting and emerging technology, Aldous acknowledged it is personally very rewarding to be in an energetic field where one can really make a difference in issues critical to the world. The environmental benefits will grow alongside Range Fuels’ growth, which is not something many companies can boast. RangeFuels is a leading energy company not hesitant to be a leader of the new guard.
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