Transcript GBE Ethanol Plant - National Association of County

Environmental Impacts of
an Ethanol Plant in the
Missouri Ozarks
for
2007 NACAA AM/PIC
Grand Rapids, MI
July 17, 2007
by
Bob Schultheis
Natural Resource Engineering Specialist
Why the Rush for Ethanol?
 $3 per gallon gasoline
 Demand for greater energy security
 Concern over relying on oil imports from
politically volatile regions
– Those opposing ethanol are branded as
“unpatriotic” or “supporting terrorism”
 Growing worries about CO2 contributing to
“global warming”
– Methane & nitrogen oxides (NOx) are much
bigger contributors
 Income for grain farmers & petroleum
companies
2
Basics of Ethanol Production
 Ethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting
grain and other carbohydrates
 This is an old process which traditionally
has been used to produce ethanol for use
as a beverage
 97% of U.S. ethanol
is made from corn
3
Ethanol Conversion Factors
 Corn – dry mill = 2.75 gallons/bu = 98.21 gal/ton
(4.2 T/ac. = 150 bu./ac. = 410 gal./ac.)
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Corn – wet mill =
Grain sorghum =
Wheat
=
Barley
=
Sugarcane
2.65 gallons/bu =
2.70 gallons/bu =
2.80 gallons/bu =
1.40 gallons/bu =
=
94.64 gal/ton
96.43 gal/ton
93.33 gal/ton
58.33 gal/ton
19.50 gal/ton
(35 T/ac. = 680 gal./ac.)

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Sugar beets
Molasses
Raw sugar
Refined sugar
= 24.80 gal/ton
= 69.40 gal/ton
= 135.40 gal/ton
= 141.00 gal/ton
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Wet Milling Process
Germ
Corn
Bran
Gluten
Corn Oil
Starch
Ethanol
HFCS
Steepwater
solubles
Corn Gluten Meal
Germ
Meal
Corn Germ Meal
Corn Gluten
Feed
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Dry Milling Process
Stillage
Corn
Ethanol
Thin Stillage
Wet Distillers
Grain
Condensed
Distillers Solubles
Wet Distillers Grain
with Solubles
DDGS
A bushel of corn will
produce ~2.75 gallons
of Ethanol, 17 lbs of CO2
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and 17 lbs of DDGS
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Environmental Considerations
of Ethanol Production
1
 More acreage being put into corn
– Marginal land has lower yields & generally has
higher erosion rates
 Sediment concern in water ways
 Nitrogen use for corn production
– Marginal ground doesn’t utilize fertilizer as well
causing higher potential for nutrient runoff and
leaching
– U.S. nitrogen sources = Russia, Trinidad & Tobago
– Made from foreign oil & natural gas
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Environmental Considerations
of Ethanol Production
2
 Atrazine runoff concerns
– Whether in water or attached to soil, atrazine use
for weed control has higher potential to runoff into
water bodies
– If not wisely managed in targeted watersheds,
it may be banned in all watersheds
 Water demand
– Growing the corn = 1450 gallons per 1 gal. ethanol
(600,000 gal./ac./season ÷ 150 bu./ac. ÷ 2.75 gal./bu.)
– Making ethanol = 3-5 gallons per 1 gal. ethanol
 Air emissions of the ethanol plants
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Environmental Considerations
of Ethanol Production
3
 High P, K and S content of DDGs as feed
 Ethanol cannot be transported by pipeline
– Truck fuel use & air emissions to transport it
 Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has not
issued safety approval for E85 pumps
 Is U.S. ethanol
replacing foreign oil
or domestic oil?
10
Economic Considerations
of Ethanol Production
 $.51/gallon federal excise tax credit
– 5.1 cents/gallon for 10% blend
– Government tax incentives used since 1978 to
make ethanol competitive with gasoline
 $.54/gallon federal tariff on imported ethanol
 States may also offer incentives
– Missouri = $.20/gallon producer
tax credit on first 12.5 million
gallons
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Economic Considerations
of Ethanol Use
 E10 = negligible MPG loss
– 3% less energy per gallon than gasoline +
2.5 points higher octane rating
 E85 = 15-20% MPG loss, depending on
driving habits and terrain
– 27% less energy per gallon than gasoline +
13 points higher octane rating
 Only select vehicles can burn E85
– Flex-Fuel Vehicles or FFVs built mostly after 1999
– Corrosion-resistant stainless steel gas tanks and
Teflon-lined fuel lines
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U.S. Gasoline Usage, 1986-06
160
Billion Gallons
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
0
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Ethanol Production, 1980-06
6.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
Source: Renewable Fuels Association
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
0.0
1980
Billion Gallons
5.0
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Gas & Ethanol Production, 1986-06
160
ethanol
gasoline
Billion Gallons
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
0
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U.S. Gasoline Usage
 Mandating 10% ethanol in all gasoline would
require that nearly half of the U.S. corn crop
be processed into ethanol
 If all U.S. corn were made into ethanol, it
would produce 31 billion gallons per year
 To replace all U.S. gasoline would require
78.6 billion bushels of corn annually
Source: FAPRI 2006
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Webster County
Groundwater Impact Committee
(Appointed 8/23/06 by County Commission, dissolved 11/18/06)
Bob Schultheis - Natural resource engineering specialist
Marshfield, MO (Committee Chair)
Larry Alberty - Fordland area businessman
Fordland, MO
Karen Asher - Seymour area farmer
Seymour, MO
Joe Blaine - Soil scientist
Seymour, MO
Joyce Noland - District technician, Webster County SWCD
Marshfield, MO
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Proposed Gulfstream
Bioflex Energy ethanol
plant site is in James River
Basin Watershed of
southwest Missouri 18
Map source: www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/watersheds/info/ws-11010002.htm
Equivalent Residential Demand
880 GPM water = 21,000 persons @ 60 GPD
10,000 KwH = 5,100 houses @ 1400 KwH per month
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Webster County Demographics
 7th fastest growing in population in Missouri
– 35,500+ people in 2006
 12th lowest (out of 114 counties) in per capita
income
 Pasture-based livestock production
– 2nd in Missouri for dairy cows
– 5th in Missouri for hay production
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Almost no grain production
No planning and zoning regulations
Second-highest elevation in the state
Residents rely entirely on drilled wells for water
– Groundwater recharged by precipitation
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Geology of Missouri
21
Geology of SW Missouri
22
Geology of
Webster
County
1495 ft.
Marshfield
“Top of the
Ozarks”
Starting point
for 5 rivers in
Missouri
1675 ft.
1525 ft.
Seymour
Rogersville
23
Geology of Ethanol Plant Site
24
Karst Regions of the U.S.
25
Pollution Risk Areas
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“Losing streams” leak water underground in
unpredictable directions with little or no filtering
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Sinkholes are direct conduits for
surface water to travel underground
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Solution
Channel
30
Proposed site: NE¼ of Section 15, Township
28N, Range 19W in Webster County, MO
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Soils are wet-natured due to a restrictive layer
approximately two feet below the surface.
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Gulfstream Bioflex Energy, LLC
 New corporation located in Mt. Vernon, MO
 Privately owned; not a farmer cooperative
 One of partners is in the petroleum trucking
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business
No previous experience with ethanol
Building contractor expertise is community
buildings & Branson theaters
First engineering firm quit because they were
not getting paid
Conflicting information from the partners
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GBE Reasons for Site Selection
 Yes
– Lay of the land
– Proximity to a natural gas pipeline
– Easy access to railroad & four-lane highway
– Can ship corn cheaper than shipping ethanol
– 90% of grain arrive by rail, 10% by truck
 No
– Large livestock industry in southern Missouri
– “Planning and zoning never came to mind”
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GBE Ethanol Plant Estimates
1
Inputs
194
3,500
2.70
4.84
17.0
24
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10,000
rail cars per week (data from GBE)
bushels per rail car
gallons of ethanol per bushel
gallons of water per gallon of ethanol
pounds of DDGs per bushel of grain
hours per day of operations
weeks of operation per year
KwH electrical demand, if no gas used
(data from GBE)
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GBE Ethanol Plant Estimates
2
Outputs
97,000
825
261,900
1,833,300
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1,267,600
880
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bushels of grain processed per day
tons of DDGs produced per day
GPD of ethanol produced
gallons of ethanol produced per week
(data from GBE)
rail cars per week @ 24,000 gal. each
GPD of water required per day
GPM of water (data from GBE)
acre-inches of water per day (if irrigated)
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Water Law in Missouri
 Riparian water doctrine
– Landowners are allowed to take all the water they
want as long as they leave a reasonable amount
for everyone else
– “Reasonable” is determined by decision of lawsuit
filed in circuit court
 “Citizens for Groundwater Protection” sued to
stop GBE
– Circuit court ruled in favor of GBE
– Case is currently being appealed
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Possible well locations to give
2000-foot separation distance
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Static water table
Cone of depression
Initial cone of depression
Existing wells
Long-term cone of depression
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High-capacity well
What Happens to Discharge Water?
 Unclear from GBE how much water will be
discharged
 880 GPM = 47 acre-inches per day
 Soils will hold total of 3.5-5.0 inches of water
 Annual precipitation and evaporation are
nearly equal
 Rest must be discharged to drainage-ways or
irrigated
 How much will recycling concentrate the
discharge water? What’s in it?
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Equivalent Conversions
 880 GPM water = 21,000 persons @ 60 GPD
= 3,520-unit housing development
@ 6 people per house
= 808 acres @ 10,000 sq.ft. per lot
 10,000 KwH = 5,100 houses @ 1,400 KwH per month
 825 tons DDGs/day = 550,000 head of cattle
@ 3 lbs. fed per day
= 3,790 acres of feedlot
@ 300 sq.ft. per animal
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Other Considerations
 Noise from hammermills & dryers
 Light pollution
 Odor
 Air emissions
– EPA rule change on 4/12/07 increased allowable
levels from 100 tons/year to 250 tons/year)
 Safety from explosion and fire
 Traffic on Highway 60 and railroad
46
Property is in two school districts
and two fire districts
47
Predominant wind direction for
April-September is from SSE to NNW
48
Will the Jobs Help the County?
 200-300 outside workers during construction
 35-45 employees @$35,000+/year
= $2.1 million annual payroll
–
–
–
–
Rail car loading/unloading
Scale operators for weighing trucks
Laboratory personnel
Clerical workers
 Will all employees live in Webster County
and buy here?
 No revenue to county government due to
11/05 property tax levy rollback for sales tax
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Summary – Big Picture Questions
 Is ethanol from corn sustainable?
 Does it reduce energy needs from
foreign sources?
 Would the site pass an environmental
impact study?
 Are natural resources
available to support a plant
without damaging others?
 Can the plant be converted
to cellulosic ethanol?
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For More Information, Contact:
Click on Ethanol Plant Development link at
www.jrbp.missouristate.edu
Paul Ipock
Webster County Presiding Commissioner
Courthouse, 1st Floor
Marshfield, MO 65706
417-859-4250 (Mondays or Tuesdays)
417-859-2223 (County Clerk)
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Questions???
Robert A. (Bob) Schultheis
Natural Resource Engineering Specialist
Webster County Extension Center
800 S. Marshall St.
Marshfield, MO 65706
Voice: 417-859-2044
Fax: 417-468-2086
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: extension.missouri.edu/webster
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