pp Biofuel Industry Direction Krissek Dec2007

Slide1 : December, 2007 Greg Krissek Director, Government Affairs Direction of the Fuel Ethanol Industry – including Water Use


Overview of Discussion : Ethanol Production Process Description Fuel Grade Ethanol Industry Overview Water Perspective and Ethanol Specifics Moving Forward Overview of Discussion


Slide3 : Feedstock in, ethanol and DGS out


Grain Based Fermentation : Grain Based Fermentation Maize based (corn kernel) ~95% of US industry ferments corn kernels Other potentials Grain sorghum (milo) Small grains (wheat, barley, rye, triticale) “Typical” new dry grind plant today Ethanol: 2.8 gal/bushel corn 96 gallons per dry ton DDGS: 18 lbs/bushel corn CO2 capture where economics allow > 98%+ up time Emissions below 100 tpy (NOx, VOC, PM, CO, SOx) Higher focus on DDG quality Fuel ethanol produced exclusively by fermentation Plant consumption per gallon ethanol 32,000 BTU 0.75 kW electrical input 3 to 4 gallons water Majority of water needed for cooling


Typical Site Location : Typical Site Location Ethanol plants are located “by the grain” Generally near small communities Typically City Water not available for supply Typically City’s POTW not available for discharge waters Infrastructure and/or capacity of the POTW is not enough Source: www.ksgrains.com


US Ethanol Production : US Ethanol Production As of November 2007 Approximately 7.0 billion gallons ethanol annually capacity in US. Approximately 6.5 billion gallon additional capacity under construction Over 300% increase since Year 2000 In 2006, approximately 17% of corn produced went to ethanol production Source: Renewable Fuels Association Ethanol industry experiencing significant growth


Kansas Ethanol Production : Kansas Ethanol Production As of December 2007 State of Kansas: Current ethanol production capacity at approximately 370 MMgal/yr ~4.0% of total US production In 2008, expected production is approximately 490+ MMgal/yr ~4.7% of total US projected production Source: Renewable Fuels Association Ethanol industry, including Kansas plants, experiencing significant growth


Kansas Update : Kansas Update


Water Use in Production : 62,600 gallons to produce a ton of steel 39,090 gallons are needed to manufacture a new car, including tires 28,100 gallons to process a ton of beet sugar to make processed sugar 1,500 gallons to process a barrel of beer Water Use in Production Source: USGS/USEPA


More Perspective : More Perspective The average home uses 107,000 gallons of water per year 24 gallons of water needed to produce one pound of plastic 101 gallons of water needed to produce one pound of cotton 300 million gallons are needed to produce a single day’s supply of U.S. newsprint 150 gallons to produce the average size Sunday newspaper 684,000 gallons per acre per year for a golf course Source: USGS/USEPA/NEB


Water and Oil Refining : Water and Oil Refining Estimates on water requirements for oil production vary widely USGS estimates 1,851 gallons of water are required to extract, transport and refine a barrel of oil (lifecycle) NREL estimates 65 to 90 gallons of water required per barrel of oil Conservative estimates show the water requirement for a gallon of gasoline (2 to 2.5 gallons [NREL]) is similar to that of ethanol (3 gallons) Sources: NREL, USGS


Water statistics : Water statistics Ethanol industry as a whole 3-5 gallons of water required per gallon of ethanol produced Average water use declined from 5.8:1 in 1998 to 4.2:1 in 2005 (Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy-October 2006) ~1/3 of water is used for process water Remaining 2/3 used in utility systems with ~ 90% of that used in the cooling tower Source: msn.com Largest water usage occurs in the cooling tower


Overview of Primary Water Needs : Overview of Primary Water Needs Water Supply Must provide sustainable quantity and quality of water Sources include wells, surface water, grey water (municipal wastewater) Wastewater Permitting Capital & Operating Costs For Water Treatment


Water Supply-Quality : Water Supply-Quality Performance Related Issues: Ethanol production High concentrations of sulfates, chlorides, silica, and/or hardness will have negative impact on production efficiency (heat transfer) through corrosion and scaling in boiler and cooling tower Supply water must protect assets and performance The better the water quality in the cooling tower, the less water required


Water Supply-Quality (cont’d) : Water Supply-Quality (cont’d) Permitting related issues Poor source water quality results in poor wastewater quality and therefore poses difficulty with respect to wastewater permitting Quality of water coming into plant may exceed wastewater permit limits straight from the source Supply water will affect wastewater discharge permitting Poor water quality equates to permitting difficulty and higher project costs


Water Supply-Quantity : Water Supply-Quantity Sufficient water supply needed over the plant’s operating life Quantity needs to be sustainable Quantities needed 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year A 50 MMgal/yr plant at 3-5 gallons water per gallon of ethanol produced Equates to ~150 – 250 MMgal/yr water Water Supply MUST BE sustainable


Water Supply-Quantity (cont’d) : Water Supply-Quantity (cont’d) Tapping into a limited resource Pumping water must be properly managed to minimize impact to existing uses. A long-term aquifer sustainability evaluation and groundwater chemistry assessment should be completed to limit impacts. Balancing act - in some locales the ethanol plant is the largest user of water 100 MGY ethanol plant uses 2x-3x water quantity of town with population of 700 Town with population of 10,000 uses 2x-3x water quantity of 100 MGY ethanol plant Improper water management is a costly mistake both environmentally and economically


Wastewater Permitting : Wastewater Permitting All water (at ICM designed plants) used within the process is either recycled or leaves the plant as moisture content in distiller’s grains and solubles (DGS) or evaporated. All wastewater at ICM plants is non-process wastewater Process Wastewater is NOT Discharged at ICM Designed Plants


Wastewater Permitting (cont’d) : Wastewater Permitting (cont’d) Cooling Tower Blowdown Water lost to evaporation Evaporation = more highly concentrated water Concentration cycles of water in the cooling tower is heavily dependent on wastewater permit limits All wastewater at ICM plants is non-process wastewater Typical Wastewater Streams (cont’d) (ICM Design)


Capital and Operating Costs : Capital and Operating Costs Dependent on water quality Varies depending on proposed discharge point (surface water, irrigation, or municipal treatment) Some treatment technologies exist that could improve water quality, but treatment options are often not economically viable to the plant Examples: Cold lime softening, Zero Liquid Discharge Water quality has a large impact on a project’s viability and costs


Moving Forward : Moving Forward Research and Development Ongoing research to increase process efficiency will lead to reduced water usage Grey water (municipal/industrial wastewater) use New water treatment technologies Permitting earlier in the site development process


SummarySummary : The ethanol industry is experiencing significant growth. Water is becoming one of the most important factors in ethanol plant construction and expansion. Increased growth = increase demand for: Sustainable water quality and quantity Solutions to water issues Summary Summary


Slide24 : Thank you Questions ?