| WELCOME TO THE CARBOHYDRATE ECONOMY ELECTRONIC BULLETIN |
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| The Carbohydrate Economy Electronic Bulletin reports on the growth of a new industry based on plant matter-derived industrial products, and on the growth of farmer-owned manufacturing enterprises. The Bulletin contains information on new technologies, policies, products and businesses involved in this rapidly emerging industrial sector.
For more information on the carbohydrate economy, including access to our database of over 200 plant matter-based product manufacturers, news headlines, reports and events, visit the Carbohydrate Economy Clearinghouse web site at http://www.carbohydrateeconomy.org
This Bulletin is published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a 25 year old non profit research and educational organization that promotes economic development that minimizes environmental damage and maximizes the benefit to the host community.
Please send all comments, questions, news submissions, and requests to be added or removed from the email list to info@ilsr.org |
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Agricultural Fibers
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| FIRST NORTH AMERICAN BAGASSE-TO-PARTICLEBOARD PLANT OPENS |
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| North America’s first bagasse-to-particleboard plant is up and running in New Iberia, Louisiana. Acadia Board Company will use 50,000 tons of bagasse, the residue remaining after sugar cane has been processed, to manufacture 18 million square feet of particleboard on a 3/4-inch basis. The first board was produced on January 14, and the facility will ramp up to full commercial production in April.
The board is called DuraCane, and will be targeted for use in furniture and flooring applications. It is bonded with MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), a formaldehyde-free resin. According to Acadia Board, it is also lighter in weight and more moisture resistant than standard particleboard alternatives.
Acadia Board receives its bagasse from the nearby Cajun Sugar Cooperative, a 200-member farmer-owned cooperative that processes 1.2 million tons of cane annually.
For more information, contact Alan Boyd of Acadia Board at 318-367-8542 or duracane@bellsouth.net. Also see the Fall 1999 issue of The Carbohydrate Economy newsletter, which features Acadia Board as a company on the cutting edge. |
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| CRANE AND COMPANY LAUNCHES ITS CONTINUUM LINE OF TREE-FREE PAPERS |
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| After conducting a successful product evaluation pilot project involving participation from ten printing firms across the country, Crane & Company, Inc. has launched its Continuum(TM) line of tree-free papers. Manufactured at its Dalton, MA plant, these papers are made from various blends of kenaf (a fiber crop grown in warmer states such as Texas), industrial hemp, flax, cotton and recycled United States currency. These paper varieties are designed to meet specialty applications such as letterhead, directories, folders, business cards and promotional materials.
For more information contact Sam Smith of Crane and Company Inc. at 413-684-6495. |
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Biobased Chemicals
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| HIGH PLAINS CORPORATION PLANS TO PRODUCE GLYCEROL |
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| High Plains Corporation, the nation’s seventh-largest ethanol producer, is pursuing plans to incorporate glycerol extraction into its ethanol production process. The company hopes to engineer and install equipment at its Colwich, KS ethanol plant that would extract glycerol from the whole stillage co-product of the ethanol production process. Glycerol production would not reduce the amount of ethanol generated, but rather it would reduce only the volume of distillers solubles now produced. Market prices for glycerol are reportedly between $.50 and $.65 per pound. The stillage by-product sells for only $.015 to $.045 per pound.
The Colwich plant, with an annual capacity of 18-20 million gallons of ethanol, could produce 10 million pounds of glycerol per year. The overall U.S. market for glycerol is estimated to be 400 million pounds per year. The project is anticipated to be operational by early 2001.
Glycerol is primarily used in the personal health care industry as a component of shampoos, lotions, etc. In addition to this growing market, it has a number of other applications including food processing and the manufacture of synthetic resins, urethanes, and other industrial products.
For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.highplainscorp.com or email Christopher Standlee of High Plains at cstandlee@highplainscorp.com |
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| TERRESOLVE TECHNOLOGIES: 30 VEGETABLE OIL-BASED PRODUCTS IN 4 YEARS |
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| Four-year-old Terresolve Technologies, an Ohio-based company, has made quite a mark in the plant-based product industry. In this short period of time, Terresolve has developed and now manufactures over thirty varieties of vegetable oil-based lubricants, hydraulic fluids and engine oils under its EnviroLogic™ product label. Made primarily from soy and canola oils, Terresolve’s products are used by chainsaw operators, piledriving equipment contractors, golf course maintenance crews and a plethora of two-cycle engine product operators.
Terresolve targets its product pricing to compete with top tier petroleum-based products, which are usually 50% higher than average market price. Currently Terresolve products are sold through distributors and from the company directly. Within a year, Mark Miller, CEO, plans to have Terresolve products on retail shelves.
For further help with distribution, Terresolve is hoping to develop partnerships with farmer-owned cooperatives, especially those that have the capability to mix vegetable oils on site. Interested parties should contact Mark Miller, Terresolve Technologies, 35585 G Curtis Blvd., Eastlake, OH 44095. Phone: 800-661-3558, email: memiller@terresolve.com, http://www.terresolve.com
For more detailed information, check out the upcoming issue of The Carbohydrate Economy which features Terresolve Technologies as a company on the cutting edge. |
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Biofuels and Bioenergy
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| BREWERY BECOMES HOME TO 15TH ETHANOL PLANT IN MINNESOTA |
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| Early next month, Gopher State Ethanol, America's first urban ethanol facility, will open for business. Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this new ethanol facility will operate at an annual capacity of 15 million gallons. According to Jack Lee, company president, the raw material of choice is corn, not barley like one would expect from a brewery. Lee intends to purchase the corn from nearby farmer-owned cooperatives.
In addition to fuel grade ethanol, Lee plans to process 120 tons/day of liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) which will be marketed through MG Industries.
For more information, contact Jack Lee by email at jlee@grainbelt.com |
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| COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN: FUTURE SITE TO 40 MILLION GALLON ETHANOL PLANT |
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| Pacific Rim Ethanol announced plans to begin constructing a 40 million gallon capacity ethanol facility later this year and expect to be operating by year-end 2001. Taking a preliminary glance, this ethanol plant is unique because of its selection of raw materials and co- products. Using barley and wheat grain instead of corn, this plant will produce industrial and beverage grade alcohol, vital wheat gluten (used by bakeries) and of course fuel grade ethanol.
The plant will be located in Moses Lake situated in the Columbia River Basin between Seattle, Portland and Spokane. This location allows access to an inexpensive power source generated from hydro-dams and is in close proximity to large cattle and dairy operations -- to market animal feed, a co-product of Pacific Rim's Ethanol production process. Pacific Rim Ethanol recently received an agreement from Ritzville Warehouse Co., a 1100 member farmer-owned grain cooperative to invest in this $122 million venture.
For more information, contact Doug MacKenzie at 509-624-8251. |
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| THE MTBE FUEL OXYGENATE DEBATE CONTINUES |
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| Want to stay up-to-date with the latest news centered around the debate over whether to phase out the use of the fuel oxygenate, methyl tertiary- butyl ether (MTBE)? Log-on to the following Web sites to hear from groups that represent different perspectives of this controversial issue.
Oxybusters, the anti-MTBE nationwide grass-roots group, organized in the mid-1990s to eliminate EPA's oxygenate mandate (an amendment to the Clean Air Act) and to promote the use of clean fuels. http://www.oxybusters.com
The pro-MTBE group, Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) is an international trade association established to advance the use of oxygenated fuel additives. http://www.ofa.net
For the latest federal MTBE policy news and information, visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site. To easily access information at this site, use the search function and type in "MTBE". http://www.epa.gov
ILSR's Carbohydrate Economy Clearinghouse provides MTBE related news headlines and resources. http://www.carbohydrateeconomy.org |
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| U.S. ETHANOL INDUSTRY SETS PRODUCTION RECORDS |
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| In January, the U.S. ethanol industry set an all time high production record. According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the ethanol industry produced over 107,000 barrels per day during January, which exceeds the previous record of 106,000 barrels per day set in October 1999. Enough ethanol was produced in January (139 million gallons) to oxygenate 2.4 billion gallons of reformulated gasoline (RFG) or 77% of the RFG sold that month.
Over four consecutive months, October 1999 through January 2000, the ethanol industry has produced in excess of 100,000 barrels/day, setting another production record. The combination of record high pump prices for gasoline and record low corn prices most likely contributed to the ethanol industry's recent production accomplishment.
For more information, contact Monte Shaw of RFA at 202-289-3835. |
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| ETHANOL OFFERS CALIFORNIA A LOW COST ALTERNATIVE TO MTBE |
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| With record-high fuel prices and the urgency to replace the fuel oxygenate methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in some regions of the U.S. -- the renewable fuel, ethanol, is spending extra time in the spot light.
Earlier this month the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), national trade association for the ethanol industry, announced that California consumers could save from two to five cents per gallon for every gallon purchased of ethanol blended gasoline. In a recent press release, Eric Vaughn, President of RFA states that there could be enough ethanol in Californina to replace MTBE by July 4th and further, California consumers could save $450 million dollars annually.
For more information, contact Monte Shaw of RFA at 202-289-3835. |
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Plant-Based Product Procurement
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| UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CLEANS HOUSE AND MAKES COMMITMENT TO BUY PLANT-BASED CUSTODIAL PRODUCTS |
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| Not long ago, the storing of hazardous chemicals turned heads at the University of Minnesota. In fall 1998, the university’s Facilities Management Division realized that empty and partly filled cleaning product containers were piling up in over 900 janitors’ closets. Safety technician Jason Simpson saw disturbing signs. With custodians cleaning 11 million square feet every day, the container pile-up represented not just a logistical disposal problem but an ongoing employee health threat and a long-term danger to the environment.
In a groundbreaking review by one of the nation's largest land grant universities, Clayton Handt, Environmental Health Specialist and his colleagues organized the Material Review Board to do a top-to-bottom evaluation of the division’s cleaning products. By winter, the board heard confounding and alarming findings. It learned that Facilities Management purchases nearly 500 different products, many of which were redundant and contained chemicals listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's toxic chemical hit list, the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).
In an effort to consolidate the number of custodial products purchased and reduce exposure to toxic chemicals, the Facilities Management team eliminated 70% of their product inventory and put in place a plan to phase out its present reliance on the old highly toxic products by 2005, the year its janitorial staff will switch entirely to plant-based (bio-based) products.
For more details on the University's effort to use less toxic custodial products, check out the upcoming "News From the Field" section of The Carbohydrate Economy. |
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Plant-Based Plastics
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| CARGILL-DOW PARTNERSHIP PRODUCES PLASTICS FROM PLANTS |
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| A partnership of Cargill Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. announced in January that it will begin manufacturing a biodegradable plastic from renewable resources -- plants. The plastic, called polylactide (PLA), is made by linking lactic acid molecules derived from corn dextrose into chains which can be used in a wide variety of packaging and fiber applications. Marketed under the name NatureWorks(TM), polylactide converted into fiber is used to make clothing, upholstery, carpet, filtration media and other products.
The Cargill-Dow partnership has invested over $300 million to build a plastic manufacturing plant in Blair, NE which is expected to produce 300 million pounds of PLA annually. The plant is scheduled to be up and running by year end 2001. The partnership also has the capacity to produce 9 million pounds of PLA annually at its Minnetonka, MN plant and plans to double this figure by next year.
For more information, visit Cargill-Dow's web site at http://www.cdpoly.com/products/ |
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