By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

RICHMOND, Ky. — The debate on how to connect farming and the creation of alternative energy continues, as price concerns abound over the use of corn for ethanol and conservation concerns arise with the use of crop residues.

A new partnership between Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and General Atomics (GA), a leader in energy research and defense manufacturing, could help in finding the right combinations of crops and lead the state to the front of the pack in biofuel production. The project will essentially create the EKU Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT), where researchers will examine the potential for a cellulose-derived biodiesel industry.

Cellulose is an organic compound found in plants, some of which are composed of high amounts, such as cotton which has a cellulose content of 90 percent. The idea is to find the right types of biomass with cellulose that could be used to create biofuel efficiently through the growth and use of algae, as well as defining a plan to start up the industry.

Dr. Bruce Pratt, chair of EKU’s Department of Agriculture, said there are a number of different sources the research will look at, which include corn fodder, wheat stubble, switchgrass and wood products such as wood chips, sawdust and bark.

“We’ll take a number of different sources of biomass that are high in cellulose and digest that cellulose with an enzyme that will release the sugars in them. We’ll take those sugars and use them as a heat source for algae and grow it in vats,” said Pratt. “The algae will be fed the sugars and other nutrients they need to grow and multiply.”

Pratt added these specialized strains of algae have a high oil content, some as much as 60 percent of their body mass. The algae are harvested and the oil is extracted and can then be converted in biodiesel.

While that may sound relatively simple, it will take extensive research to find just the right crops and the right processing technique to make the idea a reality. Kentucky has a diverse farming environment but what grows well in the east may not in the west so a variety of plant sources may be the key to project success, said Pratt.

He also said the project will work to minimize the impact on both the livestock industry and the human food chain. Ethanol from corn is a good idea but with as much as one-third of the nation’s corn crop going into the production of fuel, livestock farmers have been bearing the brunt of the rise in corn prices.

Pratt feels the project will also be beneficial to the environment. “Realistically, we will probably be pulling more carbon out of the environment, causing less to go into the atmosphere.” he said.
EKU will identify and develop baseline agricultural and economic data, while GA will take the lead in designing a processing facility and establishing an economic model for the processing plant, to be used for guiding the developmental work.

A pilot facility is planned for Clark County. Over the long term, Pratt feels a probable time frame for this project from the beginning stage to normal production could take between five and seven years, with the possibility of producing 50 million gallons a year.
That will cost money, of course, and the project got off to a good start thanks to $4 million of funding contained in House Resolution 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009, which became law on Sept. 30, 2008. Kentucky U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-6th District) was instrumental in obtaining the funds and was on hand for the formal announcement of the project last month at the state capitol.
“I am thrilled that I was able to secure $4 million of federal money to make alternative fuel production in Kentucky a reality – creating jobs and giving Kentucky, especially Eastern Kentucky University, the opportunity to be a national leader in the field,” he said.
That press conference also included Gov. Steve Beshear and EKU President Doug Whitlock.

“It is vital that we examine innovative, long-term solutions to the energy issues we face. Due in part to our fertile farms, Kentucky has the ability to greatly contribute to the research and development of alternative fuel sources. I am pleased that General Atomics sees as much potential in our state as President Whitlock and I do,” Beshear said.

Whitlock said the project is important to Kentucky’s farmers looking for cash crops to replace tobacco, as well as making Kentucky a leader in emerging technology.

“Alternative fuels are going to be a real focus of the Obama administration and for Kentucky, this is a chance to be on the front cutting-edge of a technology that holds a good deal of promise as a source of alternative energy,” he said. “It’s also exciting for Kentucky farmers. Tobacco is still around, but it’s not the king of agriculture that it once was, so this is an opportunity for life after tobacco. “I have every confidence that the results are going to be positive.”