Pine beetle kill problem could yield fuel source

FORT COLLINS – Untold numbers of dead pine trees now cover the mountainsides of western Colorado, and the bugs that killed them are finding their way onto the Front Range.

While that’s a scary and depressing prospect, given the heightened wildfire danger associated with the trees killed by the voracious pine beetle, some are viewing the situation as an opportunity to turn a huge problem into a possible new fuel source.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy said it would provide $30 million to help build Colorado’s first cellulosic ethanol plant that would be able to convert the beetle-killed pines into vehicle fuel. Two Canadian firms – Suncor and Lignol – have pledged to build the $88 million plant based on technology already proven in British Columbia.

Plans call for a facility that would process 100 tons of wood each day to produce two million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year, to be built at a still-undecided location, possibly Commerce City.

That could go a long way in helping move alternative fuels forward from the current dominant corn-based ethanol that, while a boon to corn farmers across the nation, suffers from the “food-versus-fuel” argument and the realization that simply not enough corn could be planted to make a serious dent in the nation’s fuel appetite.

That’s where cellulosic ethanol comes into the energy picture.

Unlike corn ethanol, which is made from the starch squeezed from corn kernels, cellulosic ethanol can be made from non-food material such as corn stalks, cobs, wood and switchgrass, a tall weedy plant that grows wild in roadside ditches and meadows across North America.

Next national fuel?

Cellulosic ethanol is viewed by many as the next step on the road to a non-gasoline-based national fuel supply, but technological obstacles still remain before it can take over from corn or other grain-based ethanol. And Colorado State University is aiming to be in the thick of the research to overcome those obstacles.

CSU is tackling clean and renewable energy research on a variety of fronts across several college disciplines. Currently, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is searching for a new faculty professor with expertise in alternative energy production, including the production of cellulosic fuels. Allan Kirkpatrick, head of the department, said the person who is eventually hired won’t necessarily have a specialty in cellulosic fuel but will likely be able to help advance research in that area.

“My long view is that corn-based ethanol is really a transition fuel as we move to the cellulosic (fuels),” Kirkpatrick said. “I think it’s part of the heritage of CSU to tackle these kinds of important issues.”

University collaborators

CSU is being joined in that effort by the University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden in what’s called the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, or C2B2, formed last year. Other partners include Dow Chemical, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell and General Motors.

Much research remains to be done in figuring out the most effective fermentation process to be used for each of the various possible fuel sources. But Ken Reardon, CSU professor of chemical and biological engineering, said CSU and C2B2 will definitely be in the cellulosic fuel hunt.

“Cellulosic is going to be the key – much more than cornstarch – for ethanol,” he said. “This is all very, very new but it’s picking up rapidly and some of that is happening at CSU.”

Reardon points out that as cellulosic ethanol advances other non-research issues must also be faced, such as whether to use corn stalks and cobs for cellulosic fuel or if farmers should continue their practice of plowing them back into their fields after harvest to naturally enrich their soil.

And if beetle-killed trees are going to be harvested for fuel, how do you remove them without harming the environment by building new logging roads?

“These processes have to be not just economically viable but environmentally sustainable as well,” he said.

Steve Porter covers agribusiness and energy for the Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at 970-221-5400, ext. 225, or at sporter@ncbr.com.

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