UPLBRDE News Service

The quest for clean, renewable and affordable energy sources has cultivated a growing global demand for biofuels, with more and more countries turning towards biofuel production and use. But the burning issue nowadays is no longer the advent of biofuels but seemingly how it has fueled debates among different sectors and polarized many into the boon
and bane camps.

Criticisms leveled against biofuels certainly abound. Issues like the sustainability of biofuel production and the ever controversial food vs. fuel debate, to name a few, are far too serious to be ignored. To be fair, these problems mainly concern the so-called “first generation biofuels” or biofuels that are produced from food-based feedstocks, like corn and wheat (for ethanol) and soybean (for biodiesel). Fortunately, rapidly evolving research and development has given rise to newer and better biofuel technologies

One of the forerunners of this new generation of biofuels is cellulosic ethanol, a different form of ethanol. Already being produced on a large-scale in many demonstration plants in the
United States, Canada and Europe, cellulosic ethanol has unique attributes and advantages over standard ethanol that makes it an ideal candidate as a “fuel of the future.” But what makes it even more compelling is that the technology could very well be adapted in the Philippines and can actually be developed and harnessed in the very enclaves of the University.

Rising to the challenge

The recent surges in the price of petroleum-based fuels have intensified the need to use biofuels in many countries including the Philippines. The legislation of Republic Act 9637 or
Biofuels Act of 2006 has also revived interest in biofuel research and production, especially ethanol.

Ethanol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, is the most common biofuel in the world. There is a constant high demand for it as a gasoline replacement and supplement. Ethanol is produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches.

But there has been considerable debate as well about how useful ethanol fuel will be in replacing fossil fuels in vehicles. Concerns relate to the large amount of arable land required for crops, as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production – all of which put a damper on ethanol’s standing as the biofuel of choice. The need to look for better alternatives – or at least better fuel feedstock - has become imperative.

UPLB, which is widely regarded to be at the forefront of biofuels research and development in the country, is expected to provide solutions and further advance the biofuels movement.

BIOTECH’s Ethanol Team

If there is one institution in the University that has the capability to lead and contribute towards accomplishing the task, it would be none other than the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology or BIOTECH. The Institute has pioneered several researches on biofuel and ethanol production in the past, dating back to the first energy crisis in
the ‘80s and has consistently shown that it has the capacity and ability to deliver concrete results. It was during this period that BIOTECH developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae HBY3, a high ethanol-yielding yeast strain from molasses. To date, this strain is still being used as an industrial alcohol fermenting strain by many distilleries in the Philippines. This successful endeavor strengthened the bond of trust between the UPLB academe and the local alcohol industry, and led to more collaborative activities in support for the developmentof the local alcohol industry.

With the new wave of challenges in bioenergy, BIOTECH is ready to take on these challenges, with its resident multidisciplinary “Ethanol Team.” The “Ethanol Team” is an assembly of experts in their respective fields, and was recently named as the best research group specializing in ethanol R&D in the land by local ethanol distilleries and the Center for Alcoholic Research and Development. The team is composed of microbiologists Dr. Jessica F. Simbahan and Ms. Irene C. Pajares; food science and fermentation technologist Dr. Francisco
B. Elegado; chemists Dr. Ernesto J. del Rosario, Dr. Veronica Migo, Dr. Lorelle C. Trinidad, Virgie Alcantara, and Lorenzo M. Fabro; soil specialist and agronomist Dr. Ma. Lourdes Q. Sison; economist Ronnie V. Violanta; chemical engineers Dr. Catalino G. Alfafara, Dr. Rex B. Demafelis, and Engr. Meynard M. Tengco, and agricultural engineer Dr. Delfin Suministrado, all from the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology.

The team is on the cusp of a most ambitious undertaking that could very well alter the local biofuels landscape. They have recently developed a comprehensive research program  proposal, entitled “Fuel Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Feedstocks” that aims to provide the research and development back-up for the large scale production of ethanol in
the Philippines using cellulosic materials. With its breadth and scope, the program stands unique in the country, according to program leader Dr. Fidel Rey P. Nayve, Jr.

Cellulosic Ethanol 101

But why cellulosic ethanol? What is it exactly and what’s so special about it? Cellulosic ethanol is biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants. It is technically known as lignocellulosic ethanol since it is produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that is the main component of wood, straw, and much of the structure of plants. Lignocellulose is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

Cellulosic ethanol is classified as a second-generation biofuel, that is, biofuels that make use of the residualnon-food part of crops, non-food crops such as grasses, and industrial waste such as wood chips, skin and pulp. These materials do not divert food away from animals or an already malnourished human population. They were developed to address the important limitations of first generation biofuels, like starch and sugar-based ethanol, which are now seen as threats to food and biodiversity, not cost-competitive enough compared to fossil fuels, and are more harmful to the environment.

According to Dr. Nayve, cellulosic ethanol is widely seen as the only resource which satisfies the qualities of an ideal biofuel feedstock for ethanol due to a number of unique advantages over traditional sugar or starch-based bioethanol. First, it does not compete with food resources. Since cellulose cannot be digested by humans, the production of
cellulose does not compete with the production of food. In comparison, sugar and starch-based ethanol, which are produced from a variety of food crops, require vast agricultural lands and input for production.

Secondly, raw materials for cellulosic ethanol is plentiful. Cellulose is contained in nearly every natural, freegrowing plant, tree, and bush all over the world, all growing with little to no
agricultural effort or cost at all. And since cellulose is the main component of plants, the whole plant can be harvested. Moreover, even marginal land could be planted with cellulose-producing crops. It is, in fact, abundant enough to keep up with increasing energy demands of tropical developing countries such as ours.

“The Philippines has plenty of agricultural residues such as rice straw, rice hulls, sugarcane bagasse, corn stover and corn cobs as well as potential energy crops like cogon grass and
talahib,” says Dr. Nayve. Like wild flora, these cellulosic biomass require little agricultural inputs and are robust during cultivation.

Third, cellulosic ethanol production may also help reduce volumes of solid waste. Reduction of the disposal of solid waste through cellulosic ethanol conversion would reduce solid waste disposal costs. The raw material to produce cellulosic ethanol is not only free, it has actually a “negative cost” — i.e., ethanol producers can actually get paid to take it away.

Finally, cellulosic ethanol could be a factor in the mitigation of climate change. According to U.S. Department of Energy studies, one of the advantages of cellulosic ethanol is that it reducesgreenhouse gas emissions by as much as 85% over reformulated gasoline. Because of these reasons, the use of lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock for ethanol production has been identified as the “way of the future” for ethanolbased fuels. Even the International Energy Agency acknowledges that “cellulosic ethanol could allow ethanol fuels to play a much bigger role in the future than previously thought.” But even the most promising of biofuels has a patent weakness. The biggest disadvantage, for now at least, is that production costs for the processing of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol is still significantly more than the production cost of grain ethanol and is therefore not yet suitable for commercial production. According to Dr. Nayve, this can be attributed to some processing  bottlenecks which the BIOTECH ethanol team hopes to overcome through active research and development.

Pioneers among peers

Although cellulosic ethanol research and production is not exactly a cuttingedge technology, it is only fairly recently that the potentials of cellulosic ethanolhave been explored due to renewed interests in finding alternative biofuel feedstocks. In the past, researches on cellulosic ethanol production in the Philippines have mostly been done by government institutions like the Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (ITDI-DOST), Central Luzon State University or CLSU, UP Diliman and
BIOTECH-UPLB.

But BIOTECH has a distinct advantage among its peers. Its technical experiences, research breakthroughs and organizational edge with local alcohol producers give it the highest  likelihood of success in initiating cellulose ethanol production development in the Philippines. At present, it has already in its care several microorganisms that can be used to process grass, wood and agricultural by-products into ethanol. And it’s just a matter of identifying which materials can be suitable for ethanol production and developing and optimizing the organisms’ capability to ferment the materials into ethanol.

The technology for processing lignocellulosic feedstock is still in the final stages of commercialization. But with proper funding and support, the prospects of mature technology for cellulosic ethanol could be possible “within the next five to 10 years,” says Dr. Nayve.

The Program Proper

The Fuel Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Feedstocks program is composed of six separate yet interconnected projects. The program aims to assess potential feedstocks for
ethanol production; develop microbial isolates capable of degrading and utilizing lignocellulosic substrates and possessing desirable fermentation properties; increase process efficiency, decrease production costs, and assess and mitigate potential environmental impacts of production. Information generated from this research will be used for techno-economic and environmental assessment of cellulosic ethanol production.

The six project components that make up the program include:

1. Assessment of Selected Lignocellulosic Residues and Non-Traditional Crops as Potential Feedstocks for Fuel Ethanol Production;
2. Evaluation and Optimization Pre-treatment Methods for Locally Available and Promising Lignocellulosic Feedstocks for Fuel Ethanol Production;
3. Development of Microorganisms Capable of Utilizing Lignocellulosic Hydrolysates for Fuel Ethanol Production;
4. Optimization of Saccharification, Fermentation and Purification Processes for Pilot Scale Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Materials;
5. Treatment Technologies for Waste Streams from Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production; and
6. Techno-Economics and Environmental Assessment of Cellulosic Ethanol Production.

The program, which is expected to run for five years, also aims to strengthen and enhance capacity building of the Institute by upgrading laboratory facilities in UPLB. The strengthened capability of BIOTECH would enable it to become a lead center for research and services for the promotion of cellulosic ethanol technology in the Philippines.

Of course, when all of that will become a reality would have to depend on how soon the program will commence. The program has already secured funding worth P10 million in research funds from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through its Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development
Grants-in-Aid (PCASTRD-GIA). And while the approval of the Memorandum of Agreement is still being processed at this time, the ethanol team is primed and eager to hit the ground running.

Dr. Nayve and his team believe that the Philippines has a competitive edge in riding this new wave of biofuel technology – an edge that is worth exploring and putting all efforts into. And with hard work, diligence and perhaps with the right stroke of luck, they just might very well find the “way of the future” for ethanol-based biofuels.