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Alternative Fuels Put Waste to Work

Posted on: Saturday, 14 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By beverly fleming

During my recent trip to the Midwest, I was surprised to see medium grade gasoline at a cheaper price than regular gasoline, not to mention the fact that it was less than $2 a gallon.

I was informed that the medium grade contained ethanol, a fuel product derived from plants.

I have long been interested in alternative forms of energy, so when I returned to Florida, I called David Dinkins, St. Johns County Extension Director, to find out if our area -- which has its share of crops -- is involved in the production of other forms of alternative energy production.

Dinkins told me farm-based energy production comes in two forms, plant and animal. Large commercial hog farms, dairies, beef and poultry farms produce enough waste in the form of manure to cause problems with disposal. One way to dispose of the manure is to turn it into methane, a burnable gas. However, Florida actually has few large animal production facilities of this sort, so manure production of fuel wouldn't be an option.

He did tell me there is research going on at the University of Florida on Biomass-to-Ethanol technology. Lonnie Ingram, director at the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, has developed technology in the form of genetically engineered ecoli bacteria that produces fuel from farm wastes, including the leaves, stems and cobs of corn.

"Plants are made of polymers containing different kinds of sugars," Ingram said. "Plant polymers must first be converted to soluble sugars, then these sugars fermented to ethanol. Our organism was the first, and still remains the only organism, that converts all of the different types of sugars in plant biomass to ethanol."

Ingram believes that half of our automotive fuel could be replaced with ethanol, reducing our dependence on imported oil. The ethanol would be produced from renewable agricultural crops and forest wastes, and could be produced for about $1.30 a gallon.

Waste products such as rice hulls, wood bark, and sugarcane residues could be disposed in the production, but other crops such as sugar beets or potatoes as well as corn could be grown in Florida to produce the ethanol with Ingram's process.

Although the nearest large ethanol production site to us would probably be located in Louisiana, the advances in ethanol production could benefit St. Johns County farmers by once again making it profitable to farm.

"Typically, the production of energy crops doesn't even pay for itself," Dinkins said. "We have to find new ways to make agriculture profitable as well as using best management practices to reduce the impact of production."

According to a March 2005 study, agriculture is at a crossroads in Northeast Florida. The area is undergoing some important changes that will shape the community for decades to come. At the heart of this change are population growth and the pressure this growth places on the resources of the region.

Concerned residents from St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler counties met in February to discuss strategies for supporting and protecting agriculture and natural resources in the tri-county agricultural area. A 2005 economic study valued the impact of agriculture and natural resource industries in this area in excess of $1 billion.

Scott Clem, assistant county administrator of operations, said agriculture is one of the two biggest economic engines in the county.

"We are concerned that once residential development comes into an agricultural area, it impacts how the other agriculture owners conduct their practices," Clem said.

New crop development and marketing, including the energy drops for biofuels, may be one of the ways to promote agricultural profitability and sustainability in the area. Continuing research, such as that done by Ingram and other IFAS personnel, will no doubt continue to improve the quality of life for those living in the area.Beverly Fleming is a park naturalist with the St. Johns County Recreation and Parks Department. She can be reached at (904) 284- 9488.

Source: Florida Times Union

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