In the address, Bush unveiled his proposal for a 35 billion-gallon alternative fuels standard (AFS), which broadens the scope of the current renewable fuels standard (RFS) that was signed into law as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The AFS is part of a plan expected to displace 20 percent of U.S. gasoline consumption in the next 10 years.
DuPont described its three-part biofuels strategy in a release on the day Bush visited the company’s Wilmington, Del., headquarters. The strategy includes improving existing ethanol production through differentiated seed and chemical products, and developing and supplying new technologies for cellulose conversion and next-generation biofuels.
Dean Oestreich, DuPont’s vice president and president of DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., said the company will be able to double per-acre ethanol output in 10 years through increased corn yield, cellulosic ethanol production and improved ethanol production efficiencies.
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Through biotechnology, Pioneer has already developed several seed traits—such as drought and insect resistance—resulting in increased corn and ethanol production yield. “The Pioneer IndustrySelect program identifies hybrids with higher ethanol yield potential and helps ethanol products attain the hybrids they need to get higher ethanol yields per acre,” Oestreich said.
DuPont is also working on cellulose-to-ethanol technology. It received a $38 million matching grant partnership with the U.S. DOE, and is partnering with Deere & Company, Michigan State University, Diversa and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The group is working on developing hybrid seeds to improve cellulose conversion, equipment needed to harvest cellulose and how the industry will ensure sustainable farming practices.
Thirdly, DuPont is working on a “next-generation” biofuel. In June 2006, DuPont and BP announced that they are developing biobutanol, which has lower vapor pressure compared to fuel ethanol. It is also tolerant to water contamination in fuel blends, facilitating its use in existing gasoline supply and distribution channels, according to DuPont. “Developing biobutanol, which has properties that are closer to gasoline, will help to accelerate the adoption of biofuels in the transportation fuels industry,” said John Ranieri, DuPont Biofuels vice president and general manager.
At the June announcement, DuPont and BP said they planned on producing butanol by the end of 2007 in a UK-based facility. The companies also said that butanol production is possible at existing corn-based fuel ethanol facilities.
Butanol was specifically mentioned as part of Bush’s AFS in a pre-State of the Union address briefing released by the White House Office of Communications.
Dave Nilles is Online Editor for Ethanol Producer Magazine. Reach him at dnilles@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 373-0636.
Posted: 10:11 a.m. CST Monday, January 29, 2007
