Sustainable Biodiesel Summit 2011 March 5, 2011 Randall von Wedel, Ph.D. BioSolar Group / CytoCulture RvWedel@gmail.com Dan Chellemi, Ph.D. Jerry Johnson, Field Supervisor USDA Horticultural Laboratory Fort Pierce, FL
Biodiesel: Growing demand drives the need for producing feedstock in Florida Utilities FPL along with their contractors Transit Broward, Miami-Dade, PalmTrans Trains Tri-Rail Regional Military Bases Airport shuttle buses Fort Lauderdale School buses Manatee County Theme parks DisneyWorld, Universal Marine Cruise ships, charter boats, taxis Agriculture tractors, trucks, water pumps
Market drivers for Biodiesel EPAct compliance credits for large fleets Reduced particulate emissions & street level exhaust pollution public takes notice GHG reduction by life cycle analysis Renewable agricultural fuel grown in US Potential to be grown and produced in FL Easy to use with no change in infrastructure Currently B20 with new RIN values is cheaper.
South Florida B20 Fleet Storage Tank
Need for sustainable feedstock in FL Recycled cooking oil now generating biodiesel in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville, etc. Importing poultry fat, palm oil for interim Commercial agricultural feedstock struggling Prospective oil seed crops Annuals that can be rotated with food crops Perennials that require less input, more yield Oil seed trees are long term commitments
Strained Agriculture in FL Competition from Central, South America Citrus industry is losing 5-15% of tree orchards/year Climate changes: hard freezes, longer winters Legacy infestation with citrus canker since 1900 s Additional more aggressive infection with Greening bacteria that arrest fruit development, drop off tree To date, no cure for infections; Trees being destroyed Farmers used to sell off land for housing & profit Leaving land fallow results in expensive clearing < 1 yr Cattle range land generates $80 per acre per year Over 70,000 acres of abandoned citrus Treasure Coast
Challenges for Oil Seed Crop in FL Sandy soil with low nutrient, H2O retention High input costs for fertilizers, fumigants Strong sun, hot temps vs. cold winters limit the crops that tolerate the seasons Heavy rains then near-drought conditions Pest pressure: root rot, nematodes, insects Row crop land is valuable: high income High risk of storms, hail, freeze, inundation
Inputs vs. Yield Agronomics Oil seed crops, like all agriculture, need to balance input with output, not max. yield Primary inputs for oil seed farming (*70%) FUEL FERTILIZER FUMIGANTS Requires more research to optimize crops Less tilling. Use cover crops to add nutrient Lower risk for farmer; integrate with food Find good markets for both meal and oil
Integrating biodiesel oil seed crops into FL food crop systems Oil seed crops as rotation cover-crops between food crops instead of weed fallow Improve soil fertility, add organic matter Interrupt pest cycles, esp. soil-borne insects and reduce need for herbicides, pesticides Combine with summer cover-crops to restore nitrogen to soil in rainy season Revenues: oil for biodiesel, meal for feed
USDA Sunflower Test Plot Research Dwarf sunflower (Helianthus annuus) grown in 5-acre test plots 2007-2009 Rotated with tomato crops in Ft. Pierce 100-day crop planted October or February Seep irrigation, conventional tilling, harvest Documented input, pest pressure, yields Replanted Fall 2010 but crop lost to freeze
USDA Dr. Dan Chellemi with sunflower
USDA Sunflower test plot in FL
A conventional table header reel for tests
Combine header Sunflower extensions bolt onto the knife guard
35-ft seed trailer
Seed-drying trailer air duct/false floor
Seed drying bin & warm air blowers to dry seed to 8-10% moisture
Conventional seed cleaning unit
USDA sunflower test plot results Good yield, high productivity: 1,700 lbs seed/acre 90 gal oil/acre Some pest pressure noted Dwarf sunflower resisted wind, hail Tolerant to FL weather fall & spring High quality oil for biodiesel feedstock High protein meal for animal feed INPUT costs remain high vs. output
High Quality Biodiesel from sunflower oil grown by USDA in FL test plots
Biodiesel Quality Status Report for USDA Sunflower Biodiesel 2008 Parameter Tested ASTM limit Result Total Glycerin 0.24% 0.087% Free Glycerin 0.020% 0.00% KF Moisture (ppm) - 731 Total Acid No. (mg/g) 0.5 0.11-0.40 Oxidation Stability (hr) 3 1.26
Agronomics of Sunflower in FL Production costs are high in FL, up to $550 per acre, (not including land, equipment purchase, seed transport, drying, crushing, and processing to fuel) Outputs: crop yields an est. $250/acre for meal/silage and $200/acre for oil (2010) Generally, 60-70% of the cost of the crop is the fuel, fertilizer and fumigants all derived from petroleum Crushing would cost up to $1 per gallon, equivalent to the Federal Tax Credit of $1/gallon, so net zero cost Tolling costs to make biodiesel from oil: $0.90/gal, but would come down with larger scale
2010-2011 USDA Research in FL Phase 1: Demonstrate Cropping Systems Rotations to improve soil nutrient & organic matter Cover crops to reduce weed pressure Rotations to interrupt pest cycles Combined strategies to improve food and fuel crops Approach: Focus first on Nutrients & Pest Pressure Phase 2: Longer term optimize nutrient, planting densities, move toward No-Till practices, lower costs
2011 Update on FL Field Trials USDA Field experiment on rotating cropping system : Aeschynomene-Sunflower-Camelina N-fixing summer legume (Aeschynomene americana) planted in rainy season (Vetch family) as cover crop Dwarf Sunflower planted in the Fall as oil seed crop Camelina planted in Spring as second oil seed crop Randomized field trial test blocks compared: Aeschynomene cultivation + half dose KBH fertilizer Aeschynomene cultivation + full dose KBH fertilizer Un-cultivated controls: half & full dose KBH fertilizer
FL Field Report: March 2011 Summer Aeschynomene legume cultivated 67-87 d Received light dose liquid fertilizer at planting Mowed and disked under as green manure Control fallow plots sprayed to control weeds Dwarf Sunflowerplanted Oct 22; thrived in Fall with conventional seep irrigation & pest control Anticipated 2000 lbs per acre yield by January, but Dec 7 hard freeze (27 deg F) killed sunflower crop
Sunflower crop 3 months after freeze
Camelina looks promising Camelina ( Suneson ) flourished in Aeschynomene legume-cultivated areas disked under last summer, treated either with half or full dose KBH fertilzer No significant differences for half & full fertilizer Pest pressure mild so far: Root knot nematode and white powder fungus A few aphids also observed Crop heights lower than expected; flowering early Plant density variations didn t affect crop height Anticipating harvest at 85-90 days (April)
Camelina test plots
Camelina treatment blocks varied
+/-prior Aeschynomene legume planting
Camelina test plots (pre-cultivated with Aeschynomenelegume)
Camelina Root knot nematodes
White powder fungus on Camelina
Canola experimental crop in FL Separate protocol, observations only: pest pressure Received half dose of liquid KBH fertilizer, conventional irrigation but no insecticide spray Planted late January along with 3 other varieties of Camelina (two from Europe, one new variety) Canola appears to be a Pest Magnet, significant pest pressure by nematodes, aphids, and green worms Concerned that pests could spread to other fields Other growers are growing Canola in SE Florida
Canola test plots FL
Canola observational planting
Insect infestation of Canola
Chia Tropical oil seed crop Salvia hispanicastaple food and medicinal crop in the Americas prior to Spaniards; high in Omega-3 Planted for observations of pest pressures Cultivated in sandy soil with half dose KBH fertilizer Normal irrigation, no insecticide spray Robust growth, even in high planting densities Little pest pressure noted so far Tropical crop, for spring planting, not winter
Chia test plots
March 16-17 Workshop in FL: Creating a Sustainable Regional Biodiesel Industry Education / Outreach to Growers, Distributors and Fleets in South Florida. Prior workshop 2009 Co-sponsored by UF, USDA, SBA and NBF with additional support from Florida Power & Light Day 1: USDA Horticultural Lab presentations on production, processing and crushing of oil seed; demand for biodiesel in FL fleets; Sustainability then Tour USDA camelina, canola and chia test plots Day 2: At Greenwave Biodiesel, focus on production technology, tour of plant and FPL B20 hybrid truck
Greenwave Biodiesel in Ft. Lauderdale
Sustainable beneficial biodiesel crops Lower GHG emissions & with little or no competition with food production.including: Perennial plants grown on degraded lands abandoned from agricultural use minimizes competition with food crops + minimizes direct/indirect land-clearing, long term carbon debt and biodiversity loss Double crops rotated between food crop seasons, to improve soil & interrupt pest cycles (e.g., sunflower) Longer term, oil seed trees grown sustainably on abandoned citrus land & mechanically harvested
Sustainable farming principles for FL Minimize habitat destruction and GHG emissions caused by clearing land; favor abandoned farm and grazing lands to avoid GHG release and erosion Introduce nitrogen-fixing cover crops in rainy season to reduce chemical fertilizer load for N & P Drip irrigation and controlled water use as feasible, eventually access wastewater treatment plant effluent Capture run off & mitigate loss of nutrients to canals Use crop rotation to reduce pesticides and herbicides associated with conventional fallow rotation Build organic material in soil with crop residues Run tractors, harvesters and trucks on biodiesel fuel
Infrastructure needs for biodiesel Crushers: moderate sized, regionally located Seed drying & bin storage infrastructure Organized cooperatives of oil seed growers Grant funding & cost sharing to fund coop projects What IS available already: Biodiesel production plants: Ft. Lauderdale, Dade Orlando, others announced or under construction with over 25 million gallons combined capacities Regional biodiesel distributors and blenders Land and farmers to grow oil seed crop (rotations) Interim sustainable feedstock: recycled oils, animal fat
Next steps: research & scale up USDA Oil seed field tests; Workshops Horticultural Laboratory & Florida universities Develop regional infrastructure for drying, crushing and processing oil seed Integrate oil seed farming with food crop horticultural production in area - optimize Collaborate with local biodiesel producers Store & deliver high quality B20 to FL fleets