Corn Stover: Colloquies Explore

Key Resource for Cellulosic

Fuels and Chemicals

made recently in technology for hydrolyzing and fermenting both cellulose and hemicellulose to create an

inexpensive-feedstock sugar platform to produce

ethanol and other valuable chemicals from cellulosic

materials such as corn stover. 

An Iogen Corporation biomass-to-ethanol demonstration plant in Ottawa, Ontario, will produce ethanol

from corn stover, wheat straw, and switchgrass. Scheduled to start up in the next few months, the Iogen plant

is generating considerable excitement. Its success will be

a big step in moving cellulosic ethanol from something

expected in the future to a very real technology that is

here today.

Because DOE sees stover as a strategic resource for

making fuels and chemicals, its Biofuels Program sponsored a series of colloquies in early 2000 to help identify

key issues to consider in facilitating development of

corn stover processing for conversion to ethanol. The

four colloquies each brought together representatives 

of the various stakeholder industries that would be

involved in corn stover processing. Taking advantage 

of the stakeholders expertise, the discussions went

through all phases of the production process to identify

As biomass processing expands beyond just making

ethanol for fuel oxygenate from high-value corn kernels,

what better resource is there to turn to for cellulosic biomass than the corn stalks, husks, and cobs known as

corn stover from which the kernels are taken? Most

corn stover is now plowed under, but a significant portion could be easily removed without reducing nutritive

or organic value contributions to the soil. Removing

stover would actually improve the nutrient balance

reducing the need for chemical fertilizer use. Potential

corn stover supplies are plentiful near existing corn-toethanol refineries. 

With help from U.S. Department of Energy national

laboratories, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, universities, and private industry, great strides have been

continued on page 2

page 1

Corn stover has all the right virtues to be a first

major feedstock for cellulosic ethanol.

NREL/PIX 04391, 02268, 06017

Volume 3, Number 1 Spring/Summer 2000
concerns, opportunities, and key progress needed.

Stakeholders included:

ï Biomass suppliers

ï Life science companies

ï Agri-pulp suppliers

ï Process engineers

ï Chemical processors

ï Fuel ethanol producers

ï Corn refiners

ï Agriculture machinery manufacturers

ï Enzyme suppliers.

To avoid limitations on discussion because of competition concerns, each colloquy had only one representative per stakeholder sector. In addition to 7 to 10

stakeholder participants, the colloquies included spectators from the USDA and DOE and its laboratories and

from members of the environmental, grower, financial,

or economic development communities. The four colloquies were: February 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; February

16 in Bloomington, Illinois; February 23 in Lincoln,

Nebraska; and March 8 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The

report on the colloquies will be available on the Biofuels

Web site http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/ by early

August 2000.

Colloquy participants were pleased to be asked their

opinions and several commented that they were surprised by how much interest in stover processing there

was from the other stakeholder sectors. Indeed, all of

the sectors appeared ready to proceed. Growers see an

opportunity to become more profitable without government subsidy. Process engineering companies see

expanded markets that they could serve well. Estimates

of stover that could be made available without nutrient

loss or erosion concern are sufficient to support a very

large industry. Several companies appeared eager to bring

the next plants on line if Iogenís venture is successful. 

Experience may be necessary to determine whether

new collection equipment should be developed. Growers

said that they needed specially designed equipment and

that this would significantly reduce collection costs.

Equipment manufacturers said that they were reluctant

to invest in new equipment design until the existence

and size of the market is proven. They said they feel

that existing equipment models should be adequate and

suggested that equipment now sold in Europe for forage collection may be suitable. Comments from colloquy

participants suggest that the biggest hurdles for a stoverto-ethanol industry are cost-effective enzyme production

and keeping the cost of collection and processing cost

low enough to achieve a marketable product price. On

the other hand, enzyme producers were excited by the

prospect of an enzyme market second only to detergents. 

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste.

Corn Stover: Colloquies Explore Key Resource (continued)

continued on page 4

page 2

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a

one-year, $7-million subcontract to Genencor International

for research into developing less expensive enzymes that will

reduce the cost of converting plant material into fermentable

sugarsóand remove a key barrier to development of a corn

stover-to-bioethanol industry as identified by the recent DOE colloquies.

Cheaper enzymes could lead to ìbiorefineries,î producing fuels, chemicals,

and other materials from renewable biomass, including agricultural and forestry

residues. These enzymes are needed to

unlock the carbon in plants, as oil refineries today unlock the

carbon in petroleum, to produce a wide variety of products. 

The potential of bioenergy is huge. President Clintonís

Bioenergy Initiative, announced in August 1999, calls for

tripling the use of bio-based products and bioenergy in the

next decade. This could create billions of dollars in new

income for farmers and rural America. At the same time, it

would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by tens of millions

of tons of carbon equivalent.

The Genencor research will build from DOEís development of a body of technology for using certain enzymes to

convert wood chips, corn stalks, and other biomass ìwasteî

to ethanol. Genencor, headquartered in Palo Alto, California,

is a top supplier of enzymes (biocatalysts) for the cleaning,

grain processing, and textile industries. 

According to a DOE analysis, if the

enzymes needed to convert biomass to

ethanol can be bought for less than 10

cents per gallon of ethanol produced, the

cost of making ethanol could drop as

low as 75 cents a gallonóclose to competitive with the current cost of producing a gallon of gasoline. Genencorís research plan suggests a way to reduce the

cost of these enzymes to about 5 cents per gallon of ethanol

produced.

Research into low-cost enzymes and bringing the cost of

ethanol to around 75 cents a gallon are among the primary

technology goals announced by DOE in November, 1999,

when Assistant Secretary Dan Reicher outlined the departmentís Bioenergy Initiative plan of action.

Genencor Subcontract Could Reduce Enzyme and Therefore Bioethanol Cost

Genencorís research plan suggests a way to reduce the cost

of enzymes to about 5 cents

per gallon of ethanol produced.
page 3

Following up on seven highly successful state workshops during 1999, the 2000 Ethanol Workshop Series

will bring workshops to an additional eight states to

help catalyze efforts to promote bioethanol production

and to develop new markets for

ethanol as the industry grows. Jointly

sponsored by the U.S. Department of

Energy Biofuels Program and its

Regional Biomass Energy Program, the

workshops seek to help expand the

role of both corn ethanol and cellulosic

ethanol in the economies of the particular states. 

The full-day workshops are tailored

to the individual states, with agendas

and invitees selected by local organizing committees. Typically, however,

they will cover the current status of

ethanol production in the state during

the morning, highlighting issues such

as impacts on air quality and groundwater and the availability of feedstock

material. The afternoon sessions generally start with a focus on the opportunities for producing ethanol from

cellulosic material such as stover and

other agricultural residue rather than

corn kernels. All of the workshops

focused on actions needed, assigned

responsibility for those actions, and set

up steering committees to coordinate

them.

Regional Biomass Energy Program

Co-Managers Michael Voorhies and

Ann Hegnauer both remarked that

they were ìvery impressed with the success of the

workshops. Word is getting out about them and important progress is coming from them.î As an example,

recent Wisconsin passage of legislation for ethanol production tax credits can be almost directly attributed to

actions taken following the 1999 Wisconsin workshop

and two states have already set up follow-up workshops. With regard to planning for cellulosic ethanol

production, Voorhies said, ìthe workshops are playing a

critical roleóidentifying resources, locations, and barriers to overcome now, rather than waiting for the technology to be ready.î

Attendees typically include a mix of about 50 policy

makers, growers, economic development program managers, energy and environmental officials, existing

ethanol producers, and other stakeholders. Presenters

might be drawn from the state economic development,

energy, and environmental program managers along

with technical experts on ethanol production and cellulosic ethanol technology. 

The first workshop of the year 2000

program was held in Portland, Oregon

in April, 2000, for both Washington

and Oregon. Timber residue and wheat

straw were identified as the key

resources and internal use and shipment to California as the key markets.

Pinpointed actions identified and

assigned included work with the state

legislatures and selection of best plant

locations. At the May Ohio workshop

in Columbus, corn starch and corn

stover were identified as the key

resources and internal use and shipment to the Northeast as the key markets. Virtually everyone at the June

Colorado workshop signed up to work

on future activity.

The remaining 2000 workshops are:

ï Michigan (Lansing, August 15ófollow-up to 1999 workshop)

ï Alaska (Ketchikan, August 29ófollow-up to 1999 workshop)

ï Indiana (Indianapolis, September 12)

ï New York (Albany, September 14)

ï Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, September 19)

ï South Carolina (Columbia, September 21)

ï Texas (Austin, September 27).

The Ethanol Workshops are organized for DOE by

consultants Bryan & Bryan Inc. of Cotopaxi, Colorado.

A Web site they set up for the workshop program

(http://www.bbiethanol.com/doe.htm) includes agendas and registration forms for upcoming workshops. Or

call the Regional Biomass Energy Program at 202-586-

8014 to ask about an already scheduled workshop or to

set one up for your state.

State Workshops 

Advance DOE-Ethanol 

and RBEP Goals

The Ethanol Workshop Series has featured many inspiring speakers. Pictured

from top to bottom are Eric Vaughn of

the Renewable Fuels Association, Ralph

Groschen of the Minnesota Department

of Agriculture, and Joe Haines of the

Ohio Department of Agriculture. 

Photos courtesy of Bryan & Bryan Inc., NREL/PIX 02781, 02782, 02783
NONPROFIT

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 258

Golden, Colorado

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

National Alternative Fuels Hotline

1617 Cole Blvd, MS: 1633

Golden, CO 80401 

page 4

DOE/GO-102000-1095 Past issues and other related information are available on the Biofuels Program Web site http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/

Produced for the National Biofuels Program, Office of Fuels Development, U.S. Department of Energy,

1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-1121. 

The colloquies reiterated the immediate opportunity at dry-mill

ethanol plants for additional processing of distillersí dry grains (DDG).

Extracting sugars from the cellulosic material in DDG can increase

ethanol production by 6%, providing an excellent opportunity to gain

experience processing cellulosic material on a small scale without major

investment or process redesign. The colloquies also affirmed potential

substantial cost savings and environmental benefits from using fiber

from corn stover as ìagri-pulpî to substitute for hardwood pulp in

paper manufacture.

DOE Ethanol Program Manager Gerson Santos-Leon said, ìWe see

four main questions as to whether a strong corn stover-to-ethanol

industry can develop.

1) What conditions are necessary for growers to collect the stover?

2) What conditions are necessary for stover to be stored and delivered?

3) Can the process for producing ethanol from stover be economic?

4) Are there adequate markets for the ethanol?

The colloquies helped confirm positive answers to the first two questions. There seems to be good consensus that a price of $25 to $50 per

ton for stover could generate very large quantities of stover within 50

miles of a processing plant. The colloquies also made it clear that

demonstration of economic processing is the key step at this time, so a

lot of eyes are on the Iogen project. With regard to the last question, policy issues such as how California and New York replace MTBE, possible

changes to the Clean Air Act oxygenate requirement, and the fate of the

proposed renewable fuel mandate may be overriding factors. However,

the colloquies did warn us that we need to consider local markets.

Regional surpluses can develop even with a good overall market, so coproducts will become increasingly important considerations.î

Corn Stover: Colloquies Explore Key Resource (continued)

Sixth Diesel Emissions Reduction Workshop

August 20-24, 2000 San Diego, CA

Contact: Andreene Witt 865-241-6217

The 3rd Annual Ag Fiber Technology Showcase

October 4-6, 2000 Memphis, TN

Contact: AgroTech Communications, Inc. 901-309-1668

Short-Rotation Woody Crops Operations 

Working Group, Third Biennial Conference 

www.esf.edu/outreach/conted/conferences/woodycrops.htm

October 10-13, 2000 Syracuse, NY 

Contact: ESF Continuing Education 315-470-6891 

New Crops/New Uses Joint Annual Meeting

October 15-17, 2000, St. Louis, MO 

Contact: Rob Myers 573-449-8638

9th Biennial Bioenergy ConferenceóBioenergy 2000 

October 15-19, 2000, Buffalo, NY

Contact: Christine Caffo 202-624-8464 

23rd Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels 

and Chemicals 

May 6-9, 2001, Breckenridge, CO

http://www.nrel.gov/biotech_symposium/ or Liz Willson

303-384-7750

Upcoming

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and Events