Executive Summary:
There are many methods for creating biofuels and renewable energy sources for growing or struggling economies, but few viable solutions offer low carbon emissions with the least possible negative impact on the environment. Years of research reveal that the biofuel industry is a promising catalyst for job creation, income generation, and a greener lifestyle. Palm oil, sugar, and corn used for biofuels remain the dominant industries but do not constitute a sustainable source for replenishing the fuel market. Biomass from pig manure using digesters is a promising revolution, provided it is integrated into a biosystem that generates income and multiple benefits. Emerging technologies show that it is possible to start with municipal waste and then separate the carbon from the hydrogen molecules to produce pure carbon and pure hydrogen, making it an ideal option for a clean fuel. Technological breakthroughs in the field of syngas are also proving to be sustainable options for the future, while simultaneously turning a cost into revenue. The only carbon-neutral fuel is tree turpentine, commercially implemented in Las Gaviotas, Colombia.
Keywords: biofuels, carbon emissions, palm oil, pig manure, digester, hydrogen, syngas, cost-to-revenue conversion, autopoiesis, turpentine, diesel and gasoline engines.
Water as an energy source: Las Gaviotas
I was inspired when I first landed in 1984 in Las Gaviotas, that remote corner of Colombia's Vichada region, part of the Orinoco River basin. Mario Calderón Rivera was then the president of the Colombian chapter of the Club of Rome, and he invited visiting Club members to witness the creation of a new development paradigm: the regeneration of the rainforest. Surprisingly, most of those present acknowledged the wonderful ideas and enthusiasm of Paolo Lugari, the project's initiator, but most believed the proposals would never come to fruition. Even though only a few trees remained at the start of this attempt to replant the savanna with the forest that once existed, I was impressed by the power generation in the middle of nowhere; a single meter of water generated 60 kWh in a landscape that appeared flat to the untrained eye.
Paolo Lugari: The quest for forest regeneration and clean drinking water
Paolo Lugari, who never graduated from high school but was homeschooled by his father, has a few clear principles in mind: in the tropics, you find solutions from the tropics. He prefers working with an enthusiastic apprentice to having a team led by a depressed Nobel laureate. He has surrounded himself with a large number of enthusiastic apprentices, and I certainly felt like an apprentice on each of my dozens of visits to Las Gaviotas, each time eager to learn more from this wonderful mind whom Gabriel García Márquez (the Colombian Nobel laureate in Literature, 1982) described as "the man who invented the world." He was, along with Felipe González, the former Spanish Prime Minister, among the early supporters of this revolutionary initiative that changed the rules of reforestation and socio-economic development. The proposal for forest regeneration was clear: gastrointestinal illnesses could only be resolved if the population had access to clean drinking water. Sustainable drinking water production depends on modifying the soil's pH, which can only be achieved if and when the land is covered with trees. The only tree that could serve as a pioneer species was the Caribbean pine (Pinus caribbaea). Paolo and his team decided to start planting pines. This allowed them to understand how systems could address health problems while simultaneously generating forests, producing clean drinking water, and sequestering carbon dioxide. This initiative required energy, so the first step was to create a power line to supply electricity to the community. The only renewable resource was water, and that's where I learned that sometimes you have to listen to the experts and work with the pragmatists.
At the time, few people thought that a one-meter drop of water would be enough to generate electricity, but this micro-hydropower plant is still operational more than 30 years later. It was this experience that motivated me to pay attention to the need for energy, but it also taught me that energy is not an end in itself, but a means to an end: water, housing, and health are clearly more important, but are only viable if electricity is available.
Use of vegetable and palm oils for biofuels
The design of the detergent factory in Belgium aimed for low energy consumption. Living in a comfort zone like Europe, I wasn't yet keen on achieving complete self-sufficiency. However, I had my first experience recycling used vegetable oil from restaurants as fuel for cars. In 1992, all the diesel cars belonging to my detergent company in Belgium were running on 100% vegetable oil until our leasing company found out through the media and informed us that they were going to void the car warranties. Since the cars were running fine, I started to wonder what the problem was. I learned that people have a strong aversion to risk, and this experience set me on the path to the world of biofuels. While we were pouring the filtered frying oil from the restaurant into the gas tank, I learned about transesterification and the creation of some byproducts like glycerin.
Since being confronted, in the fall of 1993, with the harsh reality of palm oil and the growth in its consumption that led to the destruction of the rainforest, the natural habitat of the orangutan in Kalimantan, I have become very sensitive to the burgeoning enthusiasm that palm oil could also serve as a source of biofuel. Palm oil was not a sustainable source of biodegradable detergents, and therefore it was not a sustainable source of renewable fuel either. That is why I was receptive to the approach of financing institutions regarding possible new avenues for biofuel production. When Peter Goldmark, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, learned about our ZERI programs in Africa, including the mushroom cultivation initiatives in Zimbabwe, we were invited to cooperate in planting Jatropha curcas, also known as hibiscus. We explored the possibilities and discovered that the oilseed fruit was an easily accessible local source of fuel.
At the Fourth World Zero Emissions Congress, held in Namibia in 1998, we organized a special session on biofuels with the participation of scientists from Africa and Latin America, and an opening address by Paolo Lugari. Professor Osmund Mwandemele, then Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Namibia, chaired the session. This was the first time the ZERI network, with over 150 participants, had discussed biofuels within a systems framework. Professor Lucio Brusch, president of ZERI Brazil, shed light on emerging research into algae-based biofuels that had been initiated as part of the algae-based nutrition program. Meeting participants agreed that the top priority was combating malnutrition, fighting gastrointestinal diseases, and ensuring access to clean drinking water. A byproduct of these initiatives was biofuel, and the design of the process of combining water, food, and fuel would make all the results both competitive and self-sustaining. We discussed these biofuel developments with Paolo and wondered if the native palm species of Vichada, known as Moriche or Mauritia flexuosa, could serve as a biofuel source instead of palm oil. The Moriche tree could be planted within the nascent forest as a native species, allowing us to test how its oil, which would not compete with food or land, could contribute to biodiesel production. I discussed this matter with the ZERI Japan office, and we decided to raise the necessary funds to undertake the additional planting under the leadership of Mr. Yusuke Saraya, President of ZERI Japan, and Ms. Miyako Yoshino, Director of ZERI Education Japan. Paolo Lugari came to Japan and gave a lecture at the United Nations University, which prompted the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to administer the funds. In 2000, Paolo received an offer from Professor Bernard Amadei, the founder of Engineers Without Borders in Colorado (USA), to come and build a biodiesel plant. Professor Amadei had attended my courses and lectures in Santa Fe, New Mexico, organized by Lynda Taylor and Robert Haspel, who for a decade directed the ZERI programs in that part of the United States. Las Gaviotas made room in their center in Bogotá, and the first downtown biodiesel plant in Colombia (and probably in Latin America) was operational within two weeks.
Transesterification of biomass into fuel
The conversion of biofuels into diesel requires transesterification with methanol (CH3OH) as the reaction agent and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as the catalyst, which together create biodiesel with glycerol as a byproduct. Paolo Lugari and General Motors agreed to test its effects on their car engines. While this process was underway, I continued to search the world for other renewable energy sources that would offer significantly better carbon footprints.
After learning about Professor George Chan's digesters and the scaling up of biogas plants that Professor Li Kangmin witnessed in China, I decided to visit some of the world's largest fermentation plants. Biomass, in this case pig manure, was being converted into methane gas. I learned the details of fermenting solids through anaerobic processes and found that using excrement made more sense than what we were considering in Colombia with palm oil, even the local palm variety. The size and output were extraordinary, and the three digesters processed over 10,000 m³ of manure from 20,000 pigs, making it a very efficient operation.
The scaling-up experience in China clearly showed that transesterification has a certain logic, but it still requires too many external inputs that are not readily and locally available. Biogas production from pig manure started from a different premise: transforming waste into fuel. This is not a single objective but rather a cascade of nutrients and energy. The manure from the digester is an ideal source of nutrients for algae, which leads to the cultivation of fish feed. We learned our lessons, and the palm oil biodiesel project in Colombia continues to operate without the transesterification process, and its use is now limited to food. The oil is simply purified and then sold on the local market as cooking oil. It was time to go beyond the limits of what we knew.
Biogas yield of biodigesters
We set out to explore new possibilities and consulted dozens of our scientists. It was Anders Wijkman, former UNDP policy director and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who directed us to Linköping University in Sweden and the work of Professor Jörgen Ejlertsson, a researcher at the university's Centre for Water and Environment Studies. He had doubled the biogas yield of biodigesters through a few simple measures, and then doubled it again. What seemed like magic to some was fundamental science to others. It was clear that methanogenic microorganisms need access to metals like nickel to thrive. His insights, along with excellent applied research in paper and pulp mills, opened up a new avenue for Jörgen Ejlertsson and his team, leading them to develop a new business model.
Swedish researchers at Linköping University laid the groundwork for a new company: Scandinavian Biogas in Stockholm. Former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson is the chairman of this private company. Their fermentation technology could be considered revolutionary, as it combines sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants with solid municipal waste. It's a simple yet sophisticated mixing technique that has been described as "smart chemistry." The nutrients for the microorganisms are precisely measured and timed. This leads to an increase in methane production of at least fourfold.
Even though theoretical and laboratory studies were completed, the real-world test was carried out in Ulsan, South Korea, where the operation has scaled from pilot to full industrial production since 2008, with high profit margins. Applying this logic to a wastewater treatment plant has changed my perspective ever since. Indeed, if biodigesters located at wastewater treatment plants can receive solid organic waste that is now diverted from landfills or incinerators, then we can increase production, which will reduce the burden on landfills and generate revenue. The amount of revenue generated is so positive that it allows us to shift from a cost-based to a revenue-based model. Instead of cities contracting with licensed companies to treat water at fixed costs over a long period, private companies can obtain the right to treat water and pay the city a fee based on the revenue they generate. How many cities wouldn't want to switch to this model? There are nearly 10,000 biodigesters in Germany, and almost none of them are profitable, relying primarily on subsidies to balance the budget. In Korea, one facility generated revenue and created jobs from the very beginning of its operation.
Using waste to generate income
The Korean experience sparked extensive research into how waste can be considered a source of revenue. However, the implementation of this revenue-generating strategy for municipalities has been delayed due to past decisions. Cities have been keen to enter into fixed-cost agreements, knowing that the amount of liquid and solid waste will only increase. The drawback of this strategy is that cities are bound by long-term contracts that cannot be canceled in the short term. This means that the opportunities offered by Scandinavian Biogas will only materialize in the coming decade. This case demonstrates once again that it is not enough to simply "improve business as usual," but rather to consolidate activities in order to reap the benefits of reduced taxes and increased access to renewable energy. At the World Congress held in Tokyo in 2004 on the occasion of our 10th anniversary, we debated the fact that privatization is not a guarantee of sustainability or profitability, but these types of public-private partnerships demonstrate that it is time to change the economic model of long-term contracts for wastewater treatment.
Hydrogen as a clean energy source
I was pleased to learn directly from the Ulsan facilities and from Swedish expertise in smart chemistry applied to municipal solid waste management and urban wastewater treatment plants. This shaped my view of methane and the possibilities of processing it not as just another biofuel, but rather as a chemical feedstock. It was SK Chemicals, Korea's largest chemical company, and Professor Phil Risby who demonstrated that methane is an excellent energy source, beyond simply burning the gas. Thanks to new technologies developed by Dr. Risby through spin-off companies like GasPlas at the University of East Anglia (UK), including vortexing and microwaves, it is possible to separate carbon from hydrogen molecules and produce pure carbon and pure hydrogen. If we are looking for a clean fuel, hydrogen is undoubtedly an ideal option. And if it's produced from biogas generated by waste, the fuel has a solid carbon footprint.
After another inspection of the Montfort Boys Town Integrated Biosystem in April 2007 and the biodigesters operating there, I decided to make an exploratory stop in New Zealand and check out the latest technological developments in this beautiful country. Even though it's a small, rather isolated nation, it has a unique approach to innovation.
Black smoke as a fuel source: New biofuels derived from synthesis gas
In Auckland, I met, among others, Sir Stephen Tindall, an entrepreneur who founded the retail chain "The Warehouse." Sir Stephen had stepped down from running his company and created an investment vehicle called K1W1, which focuses on investing in local technologies in the biotechnology and environmental sectors. As we discussed a portfolio of initiatives, Sir Stephen alluded to a unique, biology-inspired technology that would transform "black smoke into fuel." Of course, it was too early for him to elaborate, but while most people would consider this magic, I knew all too well that he had identified a major opportunity to create a new generation of biofuels for the future. I followed my intuition, and black smoke has remained on my radar ever since. It was through this discovery that I met Dr. Sean Simpson. Born in England but clearly a Kiwi by adoption, he was drawn to New Zealand after a career in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland and a research program on cell structures at the University of Tsukuba (Japan), to study ethanol production from wood. While the program was promising and aligned with the overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, his attention was diverted by the unique microorganisms that thrive in the intestines of rabbits.
The creative path branched out in many directions and culminated in a new fermentation process that is perhaps the oldest on Earth; a process that converts syngas (a mixture of CO, CO2, and H₂) into ethanol and a few other byproducts. Research has confirmed that syngas provides a remarkable basis for fermentation into biofuels with efficiency levels that exceed the norm. Just as Jörgen Ejlertsson had found a way to increase methane by a factor of four, Sean Simpson emulates the logic of fermentation to produce gases rich in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Clearly, these are the kinds of greenhouse gases we have in excess, and the proposed solution would not only change the rules of the game, but redefine competitiveness and provide an excellent example of creative disruption.
On a return visit to New Zealand in 2011, LanzaTech was firmly established and locally funded. Sir Stephen's investment fund had acted as a "fund of funds," providing capital and mobilizing others to do the same. Everyone at LanzaTech was eager to prepare for the industrial trial with Baosteel in China. The results were very encouraging: the black smoke emitted by the steel mill was converted into 100,000 gallons of ethanol.
It was clear to everyone around the table that the successful industrial-scale demonstration amounted to the advent of a new paradigm for biofuels: polluting black smoke and greenhouse gases transformed into fuel. Just as deep-sea hydrothermal vents are a source of life, food, and energy, emissions from steel mills, petrochemical plants, and waste treatment facilities could be transformed into revenue streams providing renewable energy at a competitive cost. It wasn't long before strategic sustainability investors, such as Vinod Khosla, invested $100 million, followed by a significant $60 million stake from the Japanese group Mitsui.
Moving away from biogas produced from corn
Converting smoke into fuel and proving it works is very appealing, and I'm astonished by the limited number of experts in this field who are aware of it. Even worse, just as with Scandinavian biogas, it's surprising that policymakers are completely ignoring these opportunities. LanzaTech was hiding in New Zealand, and the executives decided to relocate to where the market is. They set up their new headquarters in Chicago (USA), where the old-storied chimneys and commercial hub of the biofuel market were heavily controlled by ADM and Cargill, the American leaders in the traditional biofuel world.
The difference is that these companies produce ethanol from corn with billions in taxpayer subsidies. When we compare this production strategy with the solution proposed by LanzaTech, we see that creating biofuels from corn has become pointless. Such a fundamental breakthrough attracts others. Interestingly, none of the major biofuel conglomerates were willing to take the plunge, and the field was left to a few entrepreneurs and venture capital funds. Even in the emerging field of biofuels, technological and institutional lock-ins have prevented the faster implementation of other innovations.
A competitor that emerged in Europe in 2012 is a team comprised of Dr. Michelle Gradley and Dr. Brian Rudd, who left Novacta to create BioSyntha. While Novacta continues to focus on therapeutic products, BioSyntha concentrates on developing proprietary fermentation systems from renewable raw materials. Creating another innovative way to convert syngas into ethanol is a key part of their agenda. LanzaTech and BioSyntha have patented microorganisms, but with millions of modifications available, it wouldn't be too difficult to find microbes that no one has seen before.
Syngas and ethanol technologies
The interest shown by Japanese, Chinese, and Indian partners in syngas-to-ethanol conversion technologies is remarkable. Europeans and North Americans, on the other hand, are reluctant observers, with a few exceptions, of course. LanzaTech has launched a joint venture with the Shougang Steel Group to commercialize the technology in China.
It has been encouraging to see, during dozens of visits to China in recent years, that this approach to greenhouse gases is not wishful thinking or a facade. China is serious about cleaning up its situation by converting emissions into revenue and renewable energy sources rather than increasing production costs through the introduction of expensive scrubbers and the imposition of high additional taxes. The "cap and trade" logic envisioned by the Kyoto Protocol is now clearly secondary to this new biofuel logic. New Zealand, Chinese and British initiatives to convert smoke into fuel continue their promising path to market.
Breakthroughs in biofuels: Beyond sugar and corn
Colombian entrepreneurs like Carlos Ardila Lulle have followed Brazil's example and begun investing in fermenting ethanol from sugar, which has become the norm in Latin America since sugar barons realized that this natural sweetener had lost its appeal. Thanks to Oscar Ayala, our Blue Economy Coordinator in Cali, Colombia, I visited these sugar mills and was surprised to see the massive water consumption. Every liter of ethanol requires ten liters of water, which is unsustainable. We discussed with investors the possibility of using the water to irrigate sugarcane plantations, but it was clear we couldn't go much further than formulating a few ideas. The quest for sustainable fuels must go beyond sugar and corn, requiring bolder initiatives that can lead to a paradigm shift.
The most significant breakthrough in biofuels we've seen in recent years has occurred in Las Gaviotas. The biodiesel plant in Bogotá ceased operations less than three years after its construction, but a new idea allowed Las Gaviotas to be a pioneer once again. Planting 8,000 hectares of pine trees provided a continuous income from resin. Tree felling proved to be one of the best job creators, and local processing yielded high-quality rosin and pure turpentine. The rosin was sold on the Colombian market at competitive prices despite strong competition from China, but the turpentine failed to find a buyer.
Turpentine as fuel
I remember my Honda Europe Foundation scholarship, which allowed me to spend time at Honda's Tokyo offices in 1981. I had the unique opportunity to meet Mr. Shoichiro Honda on numerous occasions, as he was the president of the Belgian-Japanese Friendship Society. As a recent graduate, I was eager to learn from this icon of the automotive industry. Mr. Honda explained that he had started selling motorcycles with a contract to supply turpentine as fuel. Fuel was scarce after World War II, and the only way to succeed in selling motorized vehicles was to offer a fuel supply contract. No one could guarantee gasoline imports, but with 70% of Japan covered in forests, pine trees were harvested for their resin, providing a renewable fuel source in the form of turpentine. I had almost forgotten about this story until Paolo Lugari explained the need to transform fuel sources for tractors, motorcycles, and backup generators. He had decided to convert turpentine into fuel, just as Mr. Honda had done 70 years earlier. This process requires no chemical reaction but rather purification by decantation. It's a simple concept that only requires patience for the impurities to settle to the bottom of the tanks. The laws of physics would prevail, and chemistry would no longer be necessary. The principle of the blue economy, which prioritizes physics, gave us the opportunity to demonstrate that turpentine, extracted from a tree at a rate of one gram per day, provides a remarkable additional income for the forester who already sells water and rosin, while simultaneously generating topsoil, enhancing biodiversity, and sequestering carbon dioxide.
We struggled to contain our excitement but agreed to keep this breakthrough under wraps until we were certain there would be no unintended or unforeseen consequences. There were no surprises, and since 2013, visitors have been able to ride turpentine-powered motorcycles, tractors have been working fields that smell like a pine forest, and diesel generators have been humming all night without a drop of oil being used. The key figure is one drop per day per tree. This represents a potential of 8,000 liters per day, but it is limited to 2,000 liters per day because not all the trees are harvested. Considering that a liter of fuel costs US$3 to land in this remote region of the world, this represents a potential revenue of over US$2 million per year.
Fuel substitution as a source of income
First, generating income through fuel substitution is a solid monetary income. It is not simply a matter of replacing one product with another, but rather of circulating money back into the local economy that previously flowed out, thereby increasing the value of the forest. While Las Gaviotas initially aimed to eliminate gastrointestinal illnesses by creating local water sources through forest regeneration, it has now clearly embarked on autopoietic development¹ where constant innovation leads to continuous improvement of operations. It is remarkable that the inhabitants of this part of the world, where government excels by its absence, have managed to transition from refugee status to that of members of the middle class. The remarkable observation is that diesel and gasoline engines can run on turpentine. The prerequisite is that the turpentine fuel be highly purified and that all particles down to 3 microns have been removed. Las Gaviotas and the entire team are very aware of the game-changing nature of this. If forest regeneration provides a fuel that sequesters more carbon dioxide in its system than it emits, then we have a zero-emission society that can successfully create sustainability with biofuels that do good. We are clearly shifting from the idea of doing less harm to doing more good.
Nothing will appear if someone searches for this breakthrough online, as it remains low-key for now. It is important to conduct further tests and trials, and to study the resilience of these findings as well as engine wear. For now, diesel and gasoline engines running on Gaviotas fuel from trees are cleaner than any others. We still need to gain experience so that when close friends want to see the results for themselves, we can always arrange a visit.
Bhutan's potential: Income from tree harvesting
While production was already operational in June 2012, the Bhutanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho, decided to return home with his Rio+20 colleagues via Las Gaviotas. Forests cover 70% of Bhutan's territory, but the nation had ceased logging because the practice damaged the trees and Indian competition left little room for profit.
As a result, the forests were left to decay.
When the minister realized the opportunity presented by this tropical pine forest, and given Bhutan's increasing fuel imports, the option of restarting logging seemed promising. We agreed to cooperate, and Paolo Lugari was ready to share his expertise, starting with a trial production of turpentine from Bhutanese resin. Then the government lost the elections, and the new prime minister wanted nothing to do with logging. He was adamant that electric cars be equipped with batteries to promote mobility through renewable energy. Unfortunately, we have no way of producing motors or batteries powerful enough to power electric cars on the peaks of the Himalayas.
We were fascinated by the figures concerning Bhutan: the country could produce 50,000 liters of pure turpentine per day by harvesting 10% of its pine trees and utilizing at least 20 local processing facilities. This translates to revenue of nearly $60 million per year, the same amount Bhutan spends annually on imported oil. This is an opportunity to transform imports into revenue and jobs. Bhutan's biofuel industry would become the largest job creator within a decade, easily generating 40,000 to 50,000 direct and indirect jobs. We haven't had the opportunity to compile more detailed figures for other countries, but the message is clear: biofuels will represent a major growth opportunity in the energy market, provided we move beyond the logic of corn-based ethanol. Mr. Parks Mpho Thau, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, is keenly aware of this opportunity. He has decided to convert public transport to biofuels, and with 70,000 hectares of mining land unsuitable for human consumption, the introduction of biofuels, along the lines of Gaviotas and Bhutan, could be an option that regenerates arable land and replaces oil while generating thousands of jobs.
The best options in terms of sustainability
While sugarcane and vegetable oils from corn and palm remain a priority for the public and the investment community, breakthroughs in synthetic gas from heavy industry and forest management will offer the greatest sustainability. These breakthroughs will grow the local economy and provide the resilience it urgently needs in the wake of the next financial crisis. It may be surprising to learn that the most polluting industries and forest preservation offer the most solidly proven game changer. Carbon-neutral biofuel production is within reach.
We have tracked the $230 million in investments in these groundbreaking initiatives (Lanzatech, Scandinavian Biogas, BioSyntha) and know that capital is ready to flow into these types of projects. The job creation potential is impressive. While the technology companies behind the turnaround generated only 260 jobs as know-how and engineering firms, indirect job creation through the projects reached 2,400 employees—roughly ten times more. As we say at the end of my fables, “…and this is just the beginning.”
Gunter's Fables Translation
The business of biofuels is translated into fable #63 entitled “Rabbit Fuel”, dedicated to Sean Simpson, and fable #41 entitled “Fuel from the Tree” dedicated to Paolo Lugari. They inspired the creation of this cluster already back in 1984 with my first visit to Las Gaviotas in Colombia, and my discussions with Stephen Tindall in 2007.
Documentation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xogJew_nlko
