University of Georgia's Ryan Adolphson Speaks of Partnership with Bio-Lipidos de Puerto Rico
Sees Bio-Lipiods Algae Oil as a Good Solution to PREPA's Energy Dilemma
In this edition of Algae Economy, Engineering professor Ryan Adolphson, Director of Engineering Outreach Service, Biomass Processing Programs for the University of Georgia, speaks about UGA’s partnership with Bio-Lipidos de Puerto Rico (BLPR), about some of the challenges prevalent in the emerging biomass energy industry, and offers his perspective on possible solutions to Puerto Rico’s energy challenges.
During a non-stop, four-day marathon visit in August, Ryan Adolphson met with BLPR’s Jorge Gaskins and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Executive Director Miguel Cordero, visited the 320 acre Eureka site in Dorado, and was given a tour through the Arecibo, Palo Seco, San Juan, and Guayama power generating plants.
Adolphson’s visit acted as a catalyst that prompted Director Cordero to ask PREPA’s top level engineers to meet Gaskins and Adolphson in an unprecedented meeting geared towards enabling and accelerating BLPR’s production of algae oil for use in PREPA’s boilers. First Gaskins gave a presentation on BLPR’s capabilities and then Adolphson gave a presentation on his analysis of Puerto Rico’s situation and how algae oil may be a perfect solution to Puerto Rico becoming energy self-sufficient. After the presentations there was a question and answer period, and final details of an upcoming boiler trial were discussed.
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In the Beginning
When asked how the University of Georgia connected with Bio-Lipidos, Adolphson was succinct. “Originally, Stan Geller introduced us to Bio-Lipidos several months ago, and we have been in close contact with Jorge Gaskins (BLPR’s co-founder) since then. What intrigued me most about Bio-Lipidos was the fact that they had so much infrastructure in place, that so much of the work needed to start the business had already been done. It was a project that had everything ‘ready to go’ even before we came into contact with them, as opposed to many of the projects that come to us who are not so far advanced, so I saw its immediate potential.”
In a fitting coincidence, it turns out there are strong correlations between the state of Georgia and Puerto Rico when it comes to power generation. “I liken Georgia to an energy island,” explained Adolphson, “in the sense that we import 96% of the energy we consume. We don’t have petroleum resources in our state, so we generate electricity by importing petroleum, coal and natural gas, and we have a small amount of nuclear and hydro.” Most of the energy generated from biomass is from the extensive forests that cover the state, and is used to power the paper mills. The Puerto Rico Power Authority runs 90% of its boilers on bunker #6, 10% on diesel fuel, so Georgia and Puerto Rico are similar in that way.
Adolphson made a clear-eyed analysis of Puerto Rico’s energy situation, and discussed why algae oil may just be the best solution for PREPA in renewable fuels.
“Puerto Rico is in a challenging position regarding its energy needs because you rely so heavily on petroleum imports. Not just because you have to import your fuels and that money does not stay in your local economy, but because so much of it is for petroleum based products, which is in such a volatile market. Last year you were paying 31-37 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, so it’s not just bad for the transportation sector and individual car owner, but the price volatility also affects all businesses and all homes on the island. From my perspective, it puts Puerto Rico in a position that demands you look very seriously for a petroleum replacement, because the price of oil is only going to keep going up. It is imperative you find a new source of fuel to power your generating plants, and I think algae oil may just be the solution. With algae oil, you do not have to change any of your existing infrastructure.”
After seeing PREPA's facilities, Adolphson was confident that the algae oil would meet all of their requirements. The question became which kind of fuel PREPA wanted to test. After speaking with Cordero, it became clear that the Director was more interested in replacing their diesel inventory than the cheaper Bunker C fuel. BLPR had been working on the assumption it would sell its Pure Algae Oil (PAO) as a replacement to Bunker C fuel, as opposed to having to refine the PAO into Bio-diesel. But UGA has ample expertise with biorefineries, and was able to alert Gaskins as to the location of an existing biorefinery that is being sold at distressed prices, so the move towards making bio-diesel is well on its way to becoming a reality. “All PREPA machines we are looking at use either # 6 or # 2 diesel in engines that power multiple types of boilers. The fuel that BLPR ends up making must simply meet the standards of the fuel they currently use, and that is achievable.” The trial requires approximately 10,000 gallons of fuel to garner all the data that PREPA needs.
So what does Adolphson see as the challenges that lay ahead for BLPR? “With any new fuel there is going to be glitches. In theory the performance of the algae oil should be identical to bunker or diesel fuel, but since this has never been tried this at this scale, we are breaking new ground here, and we have to be prepared for every contingency. There are a number of facilities around the world that are producing algae oil at really large scale, so we know it can be done, and I am confident that it can be done in BLPR’s Eureka site. I am also sure that the algae oil will be able to perform as well as the bunker or the diesel fuels. So I really don’t see any major challenges in integrating BLPR’s fuel into PREPA’s infrastructure. That is why am looking forward to this trial. PREPA has to buy fuel from renewable sources whether it’s this fuel or fuel from some other operation in order to follow the new regulations. So they are more than happy to try algae oil made locally because they see the potential benefits in the use of this fuel, and they know that most challenges have been overcome or can be overcome handily.”
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The Three Pillars
Adolphson has sketched out a path to success which he calls The Three Pillars: Environmental Safety, Economic Development and Energy Security. According to Adolphson, in order to succeed in the new economy, all three factors have to be addressed. “First we must consider the environmental impact of what we do. Renewable energy has none of the toxicity of fossil fuels and is usually found closer to home, avoiding long-distance hauling. Using something that is renewable, produces no waste and consumes CO2 is a win-win-win situation.”
“The second pillar is economic development. It’s important to disseminate the developing technology of algae farming in particular and biomass technologies in general, because they are going to bring development to places that have been neglected up to now. Biomass farms must be located outside major metro areas, so these technologies should be a growth factor for rural economic development. In addition, with algae oil you have many different product lines, so many different businesses can stem from it.”
“The third pillar is energy security. For Georgia or Puerto Rico or any other place that relies on outside sources for energy, energy security is important because we need to keep everyone working and living comfortably; going without energy for any length of time is not an option or businesses start to collapse. We cannot continue to import energy feedstocks from countries that do not like us. For Puerto Rico there is the added stressor of lying right in the path of hurricanes, which could interrupt petroleum imports, so being able to provide those resources at home is an important security factor.”
How do we move from a fossil fuel economy to an algae based economy?
Adolphson recommends funding basic and applied research in biomass conversion technologies that include pre-commercial demonstrations, and helping projects at near- commercial or commercial scale become viable. He stresses education, in the form of training a new workforce for the “Bio-Based” industry as well as public education and outreach because this is an emerging technology that the community is going to have to learn about, and industry has to adapt to. Lastly, he mentioned public policy.
“ I often talk about being an advocate of free markets, so what I am about to say is uncharacteristic of me, but we need to influence public policy in order to have a level playing field for this new industry. I am generally not in favor of subsidies, and I like a technology that can stand on its own, but this might be an opportunity for a conscientious government to insert itself into an industry until the businesses are up and running.”
“There is such dominance by Big Oil in the petroleum industry, that small alternate fuel companies like Bio-Lipidos will need the government’s help and protection. The biomass sector is so new, and its scale so small at these early stages, that policy can play an important role in assisting in the development of new industries.”
“These technologies are truly as good as people claim. But if I owned Exxon Mobil, I would be more interested in safeguarding my profits than allowing a small start-up to eat into my market. Exxon just announced they are investing $600 million in algae oil development. Small companies cannot compete with that. So we have to protect David from Goliath, at least until David can get onto the playing field.”
“There is smart policy that can be made to achieve these goals and industry leaders like BLPR are going to have to work with policy makers to educate them on how to craft policy that actually helps the industry. That is going to have to be an integral part of the work they do.”
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The Opportunity
This is an unprecedented opportunity for Puerto Rico to make the most of its natural resources and lead the world in energy self-sufficiency. “If Bio-Lipidos does what they say they will, which I’m confident they can,” added Adolphson, “it will be the first industrial use of biomass for commercial power production in this hemisphere. That is possible because Puerto Rico has so many things going for it.”
“Logistically it is achievable because the island is small so the fuel is close to the end user; it has the right climate for production with plenty of sun and sea water; the market already exists for petroleum based products, and there’s consensus that petroleum products must be replaced with renewable sources; and finally, little or no modifications are needed for boiler applications.”
“Eureka has an annual production capacity potential of up to 2 million gallons, so it can help the AEE reach its short-term goal of 15% fuel from renewable sources,” continued Adolphson. “The benefits of having a local renewable source of fuel include cost savings, environmental benefits in the form of emissions reduction and a carbon negative process, and national pride in leading the world in green energy.”
