Comparative review of three approaches to biofuel production from energy crops as feedstock in a developing country

Nikkhah, Amin; Assad, M. El Haj; Rosentrater, Kurt; Ghnimi, Sami; Rosentrater, Kurt; Van Haute, Sam

Comparative review of three approaches to biofuel production from energy crops as feedstock in a developing country

File

2020_RosentraterKurt_ComparativeReview.pdf (902.1 KB)

Date

2020-03-05

Authors

Nikkhah, Amin

Assad, M. El Haj

Rosentrater, Kurt

Ghnimi, Sami

Rosentrater, Kurt

Van Haute, Sam

Authors

Person

Rosentrater, Kurt

Professor

Organizational Units

Organizational Unit

Food Science and Human Nutrition

Organizational Unit

Center for Crops Utilization Research

In the 1980s a crisis existed in American farming—a crisis of overproduction, underutilization, and decreasing international market share for raw commodities. Also, the United States’ growing dependence on imported oil and long-term forecasts for increasing oil prices put America at risk. To address this crisis, Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR) was established in 1984 through a special appropriation from the Iowa legislature. The center was tasked to respond to the urgent need to improve America’s agricultural competitiveness. Four decades later, there are new opportunities to increase demand for Iowa’s crops. Consumer demand is increasing for new healthful food ingredients, biobased alternatives to petroleum-based products, and sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial processes. The rapid advancement of new food processing technologies and industrial biotechnology enable those demands to be met in an economically viable way. While CCUR’s core mission of increasing demand for Iowa crops remains relevant, the center is also taking these opportunities to grow our connection with companies and entrepreneurs to help them to test, troubleshoot, and optimize their ideas in an industrial-friendly setting.

Organizational Unit

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

History
In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

Dates of Existence
1905–present

Historical Names

Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

Related Units

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (parent college)
College of Engineering (parent college)
Department of Industrial Education and Technology, (merged, 2004)

Department

Food Science and Human NutritionCenter for Crops Utilization ResearchAgricultural and Biosystems EngineeringEnvironmental ScienceSustainable AgricultureCenter for Bioplastics and BiocompositesCenter for Crops Utilization Research

Abstract

This study is a comparative evaluation of three approaches to biofuel production from energy crops including biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel to ascertain which one is the most effective and more energy-efficient than the others. Moreover, the potential of biofuel production from the best option was studied. For this purpose, biogas generation from corn silage, bioethanol generation from corn, and biodiesel production from peanuts in Iran (as a case study) were studied. The results revealed that 10,683.36 m3 of biogas, 2.53 m3 of bioethanol and 0.70 m3 of biodiesel could be produced per each hectare of energy crops. The total greenhouse gas emissions for each MJ energy generation of biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel were 0.01, 0.04 and 0.03 kgCO2eq, respectively. Accordingly, the total annual biogas potential from corn silage (as the best option) in Iran is 3953.74 million m3, which is equivalent to 1515.94 million barrels of oil.

Comments

This is a manuscript of an article published as Nikkhah, Amin, M. El Haj Assad, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Sami Ghnimi, and Sam Van Haute. "Comparative review of three approaches to biofuel production from energy crops as feedstock in a developing country." Bioresource Technology Reports (2020): 100412. DOI: 10.1016/j.biteb.2020.100412. Posted with permission.

Copyright

Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2020

Collections

Publications

Full item page