George Philippidis Investigates Uruguay's Bioenergy Potential
By Leigh Miller
While wind power may be one of Uruguay’s best bets for future alternative energy production, the country could start right away making ethanol from sugarcane and biodiesel from animal fat or soybeans, according to George Philippidis, a bioenergy expert who visited Montevideo, Sept. 15-17.
Dr. Philippidis, associate director of the Applied Research Center and co-director of the Energy Business Forum at Florida International University in Miami, was invited by the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo to investigate alternative energy projects in Uruguay.
He said that Uruguay’s wind power is probably one of its greatest assets for developing an alternative to petroleum-based energy. But harnessing wind power is unpredictable – if the wind does not blow, no power can be produced. Plus, the windiest time of the day is typically at night, which is when the least electricity is needed to power homes and businesses, he noted.
So, harvesting sugarcane to make ethanol and using soybeans and animal fat to make biodiesel offer great potential for Uruguay’s alternative energy production, Dr. Philippidis said. “These are projects that Uruguay could do today with the right government policies and investment from the private sector,” he said.
In the future, ethanol in Uruguay could be made from bagasse (leftover sugarcane fiber), wood waste from forest products, sweet sorghum or switch grass, while biodiesel could possibly be produced from algae or jatropha (a drought and pest resistant plant), he added.
Most biofuel produced in Uruguay would likely be used as fuel for vehicles, rather than for other energy uses, Dr. Philippidis said, noting that biodiesel would be preferable to ethanol because the country consumes two and a half times more diesel than gasoline. Uruguay currently uses 300 million liters of gasoline per year. To supplement this with ethanol, the country would need one small plant to produce 30 million liters of E10 (gasoline that contains 10% ethanol) and several plants to produce E85 (gasoline with 85% ethanol), Dr. Philippidis estimated. Feedstocks used to produce the ethanol could include sugarcane and sweet sorghum. In terms of diesel, Uruguay already uses 800 million liters per year. To convert this to biodiesel, he said that the country would need one medium-sized plant to produce 160 million liters of B20 (diesel made with 20% biodiesel) and several plants to make 680 million liters of B85 (diesel with 85% biodiesel). This biodiesel could be produced from soybeans, vegetable oil and animal fat, he said. Fuels that contain 10% ethanol or 20% biodiesel can be used in exiting vehicles in Uruguay.
Existing sugar or corn mills in Uruguay could be converted to make biofuels from sugar, corn, algae and other biomass, as well as electricity and food products, Dr. Philippidis suggested. Pulp and paper mills already operating in Uruguay could also produce biofuels from algae and woody biomass, in addition to paper, wood pellets and electricity, he added.
Some investment in biofuel production has already begun in Uruguay, with the state-owned petroleum company, ANCAP, building an ethanol plant that will use sugarcane inputs. And the national power company, UTE, is requesting bids to buy wind, solar and biomass power from local and foreign producers. The majority of Uruguay’s energy needs, however, including industrial and residential electricity, are currently supplied by hydroelectric power.
For biofuel production to really take off in Uruguay, Dr. Philippidis said that the government needs to implement a comprehensive, long-term bioenergy policy that includes incentives for private investors. Incentives are also needed to encourage Uruguayan consumers to purchase flex-fuel cars, which can use either petroleum-based fuel or biofuel. Uruguay could consider importing flex-fuel vehicles from neighboring Brazil, which currently has 6 million such vehicles, he suggested. Some 6.8 million flex-fuel vehicles are operating in the United States.
Dr. Philippidis and the Applied Research Center are assisting the U.S. Department of Energy, in cooperation with the Brazilian government, to conduct biofuel feasibility studies in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti and St. Kitts and Nevis. This project, which could be extended to other countries in the Americas, is part of a broader bioenergy cooperation agreement between the U.S. and Brazil aimed at fostering alternative energy production in these countries. The hope is to create jobs and wealth in these countries, which could reduce poverty and emigration in the region, Dr. Philippidis noted.
While media and the petroleum industry have linked rising global food prices to biofuel production, Dr. Philippidis dismissed such fears as unfounded. He blamed increasing food prices, instead, on the high cost of oil, which is needed to make fertilizers and to transport food products. Significant increases in meat consumption worldwide have also caused animal feed prices to skyrocket. China, for example, has more than doubled its per capita meat consumption and quadrupled its grain consumption since 1995.
“The price of rice has increased significantly, but how much rice is used for biofuel? Zero,” Dr. Philippidis said. “Plus, U.S. exports of biofuel increased last year, but so did its exports of corn. So, there is no relationship; it’s just a misperception.”
He added, however, that the alternative energy industry needs to move away from using any food crops for biofuel because of the negative perception it has generated. Next-generation bioenergy technology will use waste materials, such as residual fibers, instead, he noted.
While Dr. Philippidis was in Montevideo, he gave a presentation at ANCAP, met with LATU (Uruguay’s national technological laboratory) and INIA (the national agriculture research institute) and attended a U.S. Embassy-sponsored luncheon, among other activities.
For more information, visit the Applied Research Center’s website at www.arc.fiu.edu.
Dr. Philippidis, associate director of the Applied Research Center and co-director of the Energy Business Forum at Florida International University in Miami, was invited by the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo to investigate alternative energy projects in Uruguay.
He said that Uruguay’s wind power is probably one of its greatest assets for developing an alternative to petroleum-based energy. But harnessing wind power is unpredictable – if the wind does not blow, no power can be produced. Plus, the windiest time of the day is typically at night, which is when the least electricity is needed to power homes and businesses, he noted.
So, harvesting sugarcane to make ethanol and using soybeans and animal fat to make biodiesel offer great potential for Uruguay’s alternative energy production, Dr. Philippidis said. “These are projects that Uruguay could do today with the right government policies and investment from the private sector,” he said.
In the future, ethanol in Uruguay could be made from bagasse (leftover sugarcane fiber), wood waste from forest products, sweet sorghum or switch grass, while biodiesel could possibly be produced from algae or jatropha (a drought and pest resistant plant), he added.
Most biofuel produced in Uruguay would likely be used as fuel for vehicles, rather than for other energy uses, Dr. Philippidis said, noting that biodiesel would be preferable to ethanol because the country consumes two and a half times more diesel than gasoline. Uruguay currently uses 300 million liters of gasoline per year. To supplement this with ethanol, the country would need one small plant to produce 30 million liters of E10 (gasoline that contains 10% ethanol) and several plants to produce E85 (gasoline with 85% ethanol), Dr. Philippidis estimated. Feedstocks used to produce the ethanol could include sugarcane and sweet sorghum. In terms of diesel, Uruguay already uses 800 million liters per year. To convert this to biodiesel, he said that the country would need one medium-sized plant to produce 160 million liters of B20 (diesel made with 20% biodiesel) and several plants to make 680 million liters of B85 (diesel with 85% biodiesel). This biodiesel could be produced from soybeans, vegetable oil and animal fat, he said. Fuels that contain 10% ethanol or 20% biodiesel can be used in exiting vehicles in Uruguay.
Existing sugar or corn mills in Uruguay could be converted to make biofuels from sugar, corn, algae and other biomass, as well as electricity and food products, Dr. Philippidis suggested. Pulp and paper mills already operating in Uruguay could also produce biofuels from algae and woody biomass, in addition to paper, wood pellets and electricity, he added.
Some investment in biofuel production has already begun in Uruguay, with the state-owned petroleum company, ANCAP, building an ethanol plant that will use sugarcane inputs. And the national power company, UTE, is requesting bids to buy wind, solar and biomass power from local and foreign producers. The majority of Uruguay’s energy needs, however, including industrial and residential electricity, are currently supplied by hydroelectric power.
For biofuel production to really take off in Uruguay, Dr. Philippidis said that the government needs to implement a comprehensive, long-term bioenergy policy that includes incentives for private investors. Incentives are also needed to encourage Uruguayan consumers to purchase flex-fuel cars, which can use either petroleum-based fuel or biofuel. Uruguay could consider importing flex-fuel vehicles from neighboring Brazil, which currently has 6 million such vehicles, he suggested. Some 6.8 million flex-fuel vehicles are operating in the United States.
Dr. Philippidis and the Applied Research Center are assisting the U.S. Department of Energy, in cooperation with the Brazilian government, to conduct biofuel feasibility studies in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti and St. Kitts and Nevis. This project, which could be extended to other countries in the Americas, is part of a broader bioenergy cooperation agreement between the U.S. and Brazil aimed at fostering alternative energy production in these countries. The hope is to create jobs and wealth in these countries, which could reduce poverty and emigration in the region, Dr. Philippidis noted.
While media and the petroleum industry have linked rising global food prices to biofuel production, Dr. Philippidis dismissed such fears as unfounded. He blamed increasing food prices, instead, on the high cost of oil, which is needed to make fertilizers and to transport food products. Significant increases in meat consumption worldwide have also caused animal feed prices to skyrocket. China, for example, has more than doubled its per capita meat consumption and quadrupled its grain consumption since 1995.
“The price of rice has increased significantly, but how much rice is used for biofuel? Zero,” Dr. Philippidis said. “Plus, U.S. exports of biofuel increased last year, but so did its exports of corn. So, there is no relationship; it’s just a misperception.”
He added, however, that the alternative energy industry needs to move away from using any food crops for biofuel because of the negative perception it has generated. Next-generation bioenergy technology will use waste materials, such as residual fibers, instead, he noted.
While Dr. Philippidis was in Montevideo, he gave a presentation at ANCAP, met with LATU (Uruguay’s national technological laboratory) and INIA (the national agriculture research institute) and attended a U.S. Embassy-sponsored luncheon, among other activities.
For more information, visit the Applied Research Center’s website at www.arc.fiu.edu.
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