Search for alternative fuels drives research in Duplin

• Providing Leadership in the Discovery of New Energy Sources (PPT)

By Jason King
Assistant Communications Director

Corn is not the crop of choice at Williamsondale Farm, a 611-acre N.C. State University agricultural research farm in Duplin County that houses Cooperative Extension's Renewal Energy Project.

More than 30 species of crops are grown on the farm, and the university is conducting more than 10 research projects on 170 acres of farmland. It is there that NCSU is leading the charge for so-called "advanced biofuels," or fuel that is derived from something other than corn.

According to Dr. Matt Veal, an assistant professor and extension specialist with N.C. State University Cooperative Extension who presented at the NCACC's April 15 district meeting in Duplin County, there is a dire need to diversify from ethanol, the primary source of biofuel. Currently, 97 percent of ethanol is derived from corn, and 25 percent of corn crop goes to ethanol, Veal said. Federal policy won't allow that to continue.

The 2005 U.S. Energy Policy Act mandated that 7.5 billion gallons of gasoline be displaced with ethanol by 2012 – something that was accomplished within two years – and capped ethanol production at 15 billion gallons in 2015. Meanwhile, the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) that became law in early 2008 required that 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels be produced annually by 2022.

Working with a variety of feedstock and technology, NCSU researchers are pushing toward the production of advanced biofuels.

"We work a lot with feedstock development to come up with new crops," Veal said. "We don't want to compete with corn – we want to come up with new crops that aren't going to compete with something on the table.

"That's what all our efforts are going into right now, and that's what will help North Carolina become a player in the ethanol market."

Some of the new crops researchers are experimenting with include sweet sorghum, which can produce up to two-and-a-half times the amount of ethanol per acre than that of corn, and high starch content sweet potatoes.

"You wouldn't want to eat it," Veal said of the potato. "It would probably be the worst thing you've ever put in your mouth. But it's cheap to produce and provides a year-round supply of feedstock we can use to make ethanol."

While the majority of the 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels are expected to come from cellulosic material, which is derived from plant sources such as grasses and trees, Veal said those sources are not currently producing ethanol at an economically feasible rate.

According to Veal, NCSU is engaged in multiple efforts to help communities meet their needs related to bioenergy, and can perform an infrastructure analysis – looking at road networks, zoning, access to railroads or water, farm locations – to determine the best spots in a county or region to locate bio-refineries and plants and what types of plants could be supported in a county.

With the state's economy taking a hit in production of tobacco and cotton, Veal explained, growing crops that could be used to produce biofuels represents a good way to make up for the loss.

"If you have some material you think would be a good bioenergy feedstock we can work with you to find a process to turn it into something useful," he added.

Veal also said he sees a big opportunity for counties in converting municipal waste resources to bioenergy through anaerobic digestion, a process used to collect biogas from landfill or municipal sewer system. The gasses can be scrubbed to produce a pure stream of CO2, which can be piped into a greenhouse and increase crop yields by 10 percent to 15 percent.

For more information, contact Veal at (919) 515-6764 or mwveal@ncsu.edu.