Florida spends big on biotech

Hello --

Want to know what Florida should do if it 'really wanted to break new scientifically based energy ground? Even if you don't -- take a look at this -- I only need about $12 million for the 30,000 acre project described below!

I've been actively pursuing renewable energy since 1979 -- even doing sustainable things when I directed the FSU Institute for Future -- just "ahead of my time" -- but didn't belong in Chemistry -- my colleagues thought -- and how wrong they were. Anyway - this is a copy of a recent email sent on a request for more information as to what I'm involved in:

There is a special need for relatively expensive farm harvester as an example, the Claas Harvester, as shown on one of our web pages. The economy of scale is very large as a result of this and several other farm related costs. I've tried small and it's time for the next stage.

My Florida preference, as a start, is to use some 30,000 acres of reclaimed clay settling lands in Polk County, FL. Our rental there is $10/acre-yr. We have shown that we can do all the planting, from seed, then to harvest with shredding and delivery to digestor -- here's where I'll go no further. On clay in Polk County we can get leucaena at 25 ton-dry/acre-yr with each dry-ton providing 7.4 MCF equivalents -- 7.4 million BTU per dry-ton/yr.

At today's delivered to pipeline in FL price -- $6/MCF -- the gas is worth $33.3 million. Each dry-ton produces 1.5 wet-ton of compost -- worth at a minimum $15/ton yielding, annually, $16.9 million and, since Florida does not have indigenous CO2 -- food grade @ $40/ton -- and there is a need for 500 ton/day -- the CO2 yield is roughly 1/3 ton per dry ton of feedstock -- or $10 million annually. As you well know, there are many costs inherently included in the overall circumstance -- but I'm very confident that methane can be produced at less than $2/MCF.

And there is at a minimum 250,000 acres of phosphate related, not valuable by existing measures, in the Polk County region of Florida. It's the best place to start as the land, by real measure, is worthless.

My problem then is size and to convince the right organization to make the proper investment. Our best potential, and I've tried, is Cargill -- but they're as tough to deal with as they come.

Best, Dick
Dick Glick, PhD
President
Corporation For Future Resources
1909 Chowkeebin Court
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Phone: 850-942-2022

Fax: 850-942-1967
Email: dglickd@pipeline.com
URL: LINK
LINK


Corporation for Future Resources (CFR) ￂﾖ Florida Biomass Renewable Projects



CFR introduces the concept of ￂﾑGreen Preservesￂﾒ ￂﾖ agriculture devoted to the production of plant substances, that without burning, contribute to Floridaￂﾒs overall environment needs, including efficient, generalized, energy production and use. By definition, ￂﾑGreen Preservesￂﾒ must be differentiated from ￂﾑGreen Reservesￂﾒ the latter being ￂﾑgreen space left untouched overtimeￂﾒ, ￂﾑGreen Preservesￂﾒ involve:

1. Rapidly growing ￂﾑGreensￂﾒ

a. ￂﾑGreen Solarￂﾒ reduces heat by photosynthetic conversion of light into plant substance

b. Net absorb carbon dioxide ￂﾖ

c. Transpiration increases water movement and lowers temperature as net evaporation is an endothermic process ￂﾖ

d. Plants assist in cleaning air particulates by capturing and retaining pollutants

e. Appropriate ￂﾑGreensￂﾒ prevent water runoff

2. Preserve ￂﾑGreen Spaceￂﾒ

a. Define acceptable regions of development

b. Require developers to include, not necessarily contingent, ￂﾑGreen Preservesￂﾒ to balance effects of development

i. Afford improved environmental conditions for regions of development

ii. Modulate climate and effects of climatic disasters



Below, is an example of the use of bio-renewables, grown specifically for energy and other renewable purposes that underscore that ￂﾓFlorida Renewables Resourcesￂﾔ are substantially different than those found elsewhere in the U.S. Although renewable ￂﾑnatural gasￂﾒ is featured, additional energy considerations involving the energy content of compost-fertilizer, the energy cost of transporting liquid carbon dioxide, etc., should be added to the overall energy efficiency equation.



As an example of a CFR Biomass Renewable Project proven to be possible in Florida ￂﾖ specifically agri-renewals agriculture -- Facts:

1. CFRￂﾒs agricultural interests are in phosphate lands in Polk County Florida

a. There are approximately 250,000 acres in this category

b. These lands ￂﾖ in very large majority can not be used for other than

i. Agricultural purposes

ii. Than crops specifically grown to not require an exact harvest time

1. The crop of interest satisfying this harvest consideration have been studied by CFR

2. The study includes; planting, growing, harvesting-processing and transporting the crop

2. CFRￂﾒs proprietary conversion technology is a subset of:

a. Methanogenic anaerobic fermentation ￂﾖ producing biogas ￂﾖ a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide

i. Generally this process is used on waste materials

ii. There may be a many as ten million examples of the technology on micro-scale in Asia (China, India, Nepal, etc.)

iii. There are reported to be 3,000 examples of manure conversion systems in Germany and more such small scale systems in Europe and North America including the U. S.

iv. There are numerous examples of the technology in waste water treatment plants throughout the world

v. There are numerous examples of the technology at relatively large scale in waste related plants, mostly in Europe

vi. Landfill gas production is an example of the process

vii. The process occurs whenever biomass is found ￂﾖ say at a soil depth of 8 inches ￂﾖ under anaerobic conditions ￂﾖ fermentation of rice straw is a very large contributor to this process

viii. The process occurs under anaerobic conditions in swamps

ix. As an interesting example in Florida, Tropicana in Bradenton uses an interesting variant of the process ￂﾖ appropriate for ￂﾖ sugar water solutions ￂﾖ the ￂﾑBacardi Processￂﾒ ￂﾖ to produce the energy used in their glass manufacturing



CFRￂﾒs technology energy production will be contrasted with the production of petroleum in Florida, consider:

1. A 2001 report indicated that Florida produces 13,000 barrels of petroleum per day

a. At 5.6 million BTU/barrel

b. Floridaￂﾒs production of oil contains (raw)

i. 5.6 x 13,000 = 72,800 million BTU

ii. The energy equivalent of 72,800 MCF of natural gas

2. CFRￂﾒs equivalent energy production on Polk County phosphate lands can be achieved on use of 150,000 acres of the 250,000 acres under the following conditions (as a general reference see: www.CorpFutRes.com):

a. Leucaena (a giant, leguminous member of the mimosa family) is the agri-renewables resource

b. CFRￂﾒs planting, growing, harvesting-processing strategy is employed

c. Anaerobic fermentation is used as the conversion method to produce daily

i. 72,960 MCF of methane

ii. 2784 ton of carbon dioxide

iii. 6480 ton of compost-fertilizer (60% solids)

iv. Neither gases nor liquids are emitted to the environment

3. Under July 2003 market conditions, the value of the methane is equivalent to the valued of the daily production of petroleum

a. There is a market in Florida for at least 500 ton of the carbon dioxide ￂﾖ liquid and food grade ￂﾖ minimum market price @ $40/ton fob ￂﾖ the market could substantially increase if supercritical carbon dioxide were to become the universal standard for dry cleaning purposes

b. There is a market for all of the compost-fertilizer ￂﾖ minimum market price @ $15/ton fob

c. Significant carbon credits can be sold ￂﾖ carbon dioxide sequestered from compost and net of atmospheric extraction in excess of 3.65 million tons annually + roots that might increase this total by at least 20%.

4. CFRￂﾒs estimate of overall capital costs returned in 7 months ￂﾖ including overall O & M.



In summary, CFRￂﾒs ￂﾑGreen Preserveￂﾒ:



1. Provides an inexpensive, reliable supply of methane (natural gas) for direct use or the production of electricity or other energy uses.

2. Availability of local labor force encourages industrial development and economic growth.

3. Use of locally produced renewable, clean burning fuel reduces import of expensive fossil fuels.

4. Provides new jobs through facility operations and maintenance and through increased utilization of agricultural land.

5. Provides increased agricultural revenues through long-term plantings for feedstock, increased revenue per acre for existing plantings, and recovery and sale of harvest residues.

6. Better utilizes available crop residues to minimize adverse environmental impact of burning of waste or crop harvest residues

7. Reduces the greenhouse effects of methane released into the atmosphere by decomposition of tilled crops

8. Generates natural soil amendment anaerobic fertilizer-compost high in slow-released nitrogen that retards soil moisture evaporation, provides natural herbicide qualities and can be used repeatedly on crops with no adverse effects

9. Reduces or eliminates the use of other fertilizers by partial or complete substitution of anaerobic compost as well as reducing the cost per acre to fertilize crops

10. Reduces harmful environmental runoff effects associated with continued use of chemical fertilizers through the compostￂﾒs ability to localize and minimize the amounts of required plant nutrients

11. Provides, with nominal capital investment, a significant quantity of locally produced carbon dioxide for beverages, food processing or other industry applications



Although Florida farmland acreage has diminished over the past 20 years of so, (see, below), there may be as much as ￂﾽ of Floridaￂﾒs farmlands available to be set aside as ￂﾑGreen Preservesￂﾒ or land to produce 2.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day or 0.885 trillion cubic feet per year ￂﾖ 14 % of the natural gas available in the Gulf of Mexico.



Census of Agriculture Florida Land in Farms (acres)

(LINK

1997
1992
1987
1982

10,454,217
10,766,077
11,194,090
12,814,216