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AGRICULTURE-
February 2004 A New Burst of Energy
Leaders in Western Kentucky have known that winning the bid for the new plant would be an uphill battle since 2002, when USEC funded a pilot project at Piketon that used new fuel-production technology involving the latest high-tech centrifugal processes instead of the more expensive and antiquated filtration techniques at Paducah, a facility the company has rented from the federal government since 1996. Elizabeth Stuckle, a spokeswoman for U.S. Enrichment, said the Piketon facility will operate with less waste, lower electricity demands and about 700 fewer employees than Paducah. For those who track the energy industry in the Commonwealth, the inevitable loss of nuclear-fuel production here marks a tragic milestone. But in a state where coal is still king in terms of the energy equation, numerous bright spots are shining in the 21st century. At the University of Kentucky, initiatives are under way to develop new fuel products that are more environmentally friendly, such as the work being done at the University of Kentucky’s Clean Fuels Group at the Center for Applied Energy Research. There, research is steering the Commonwealth towards the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels and premium fuels are being developed from coal waste and sawdust. And the same week as the Paducah press conference, more than 160 of the Commonwealth’s best and brightest gathered in Frankfort to learn about and discuss a highly promising new energy product: biodiesel. Called the fastest-growing alternative fuel in the United States today, biodiesel is produced from soybeans or recycled vegetable oil. Besides setting the stage for discussions about policy and perspectives related to biodiesel, the gathering provided an opportunity for key players to realize the potential for growth in all areas related to the alternative fuel’s production and utilization statewide. “The use of biodiesel in Kentucky has increased 1,100 percent since 2002,” said Melissa Howell, executive director of the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition. “With the potential for new production facilities as well as storage and distribution centers in the state, Kentucky really is poised to be a national leader in the use of the fuel. Most important, the discussion of this fuel now has evolved from a discussion about alternative fuels to a new means of economic development in the Bluegrass State.” The alternative fuel, which typically is blended with petroleum diesel in batches from five percent to 35 percent, also appears to be an answer to federal demands for cleaner, less toxic fuels nationwide. A recent federal mandate for lower sulfur levels in petroleum diesel makes biodiesel “blends” more attractive for the refining industry, especially since use of the alternative fuel helps re-infuse lubricants lost in the lower sulfur fuel. Biodiesel blends also produce a cleaner exhaust, making it a preferred fuel choice as cleaner air standards are racheted up nationwide. “Europe is about 20 years ahead of the United States in the development of biodiesel,” noted Hart Moore, head of the biodiesel division for Griffin Industries, a Cold Spring company that is one of the nation’s largest rendering firms. “Originally, Europe’s production of the fuel came about as a result of needing new markets for the producers of rape seed, which is used to make canola oil. We really benefited from Europe’s expertise; ultimately, biodiesel was a very good fit for Griffin.” Founded in 1943, Griffin Industries now operates in about 30 states and abroad. The Northern Kentucky firm started out collecting animal waste products and rendering the materials to reusable products such as feed supplements. As biodiesel fuel was analyzed at Griffin, researchers saw applications for recycling products such as peanut oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats. Griffin’s biodiesel production facility in Butler, now running seven days a week, remains the Commonwealth’s only biodiesel producer. The firm transforms recycled products as well as soybeans for the final product. However, three pilot programs have been launched in the state, providing seed money for feasibility studies that should help expand the production in Kentucky. Current end-users in the Commonwealth have universally praised the fuel for its diverse properties. To date, nine Kentucky school districts run more than 600 buses on biodiesel. Mammoth Cave National Park uses biodiesel in all its heavy equipment and lawn tractors as well as the two ferry boats that traverse the Green River on park property. The Fort Knox military reservation uses biodiesel in its fleet of non-tactical diesel vehicles. The University of Kentucky and Murray State University use biodiesel in their vehicle fleets, and the East Kentucky Power Cooperative plans to use more than 25,000 gallons of biodiesel in its fleet of trucks. Ron Switzer, superintendent of Mammoth Cave National Park, noted that biodiesel was a good fit for the park’s strategic plan for environmental leadership. “Mammoth Cave is one of the most polluted parks in the country,” he said, noting that the tremendous amount of automobile traffic from at least a couple million visitors each year. Seeking to ensure that activities by park personnel didn’t add to the problem, an initiative was formed several years ago to create a fleet that was alternative-fuel capable. At first, that meant purchasing a fleet with vehicles that could run on ethanol. “And then we noticed that these vehicles also were biodiesel-capable, so we began looking around to see what kind of availability there was for that fuel,” Switzer said. The result: Mammoth Cave is the first entity in the Department of Natural Resources that has its own biodiesel dispensing station. The park’s fleet and other vehicles are 100 percent biodiesel capable, and the air quality in the park is improving. “It has been a win-win situation,” Switzer said. The mines entered into programs to improve air quality following a 2001 study by the Mine Safety and Health Administration that ultimately called for a reduction of workers’ exposure to petroleum diesel particulate matter by last June. In 2002, a partnership between the mining company, the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition, the Kentucky Division of Energy, the Kentucky Soybean Council and Griffin Industries provided funding for a test on yellow grease biodiesel and soydiesel in Carmeuse’s underground mine equipment. The results were dramatic. Miners experienced better smells, better visibility and clearer nasal passages when biodiesel was in use. “The Carmeuse mines successes have placed interest in biodiesel at a new level across the country,” Howell said. “They have set an industry standard nationwide that is truly remarkable.” Meanwhile, Kentucky is gaining new kudos for its commitment to the biodiesel initiatives. The key to continued success and growth, Howell said, is getting government leaders to provide incentives to use the powerful alternative fuel. “Yes, it’s a little more expensive than petroleum diesel,” she said. “But if Congress and the state legislature will provide tax breaks for using this fuel, I think you will really see its use take off. We’re primed to move here in Kentucky.”
Dennis O'Connor is a staff writer for The Lane Report.
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Copyright 1996-2004, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content
is copyright 2004, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
In many ways, the atomic age in the Commonwealth ended Jan. 12, 2004. That’s the day the United States Enrichment Corp. (USEC) announced its decision to build a new, $1.5 billion nuclear reactor-fuel plant in Piketon, Ohio. The Bethesda, Md.-based company’s decision spelled the end of a half-century of nuclear-fuel production in Kentucky at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which now is scheduled to shut its doors in 2010.
Biodiesel also promises potential dividends for Kentucky farmers willing to switch to or expand their soybean crops. A recent report from Murray State University predicts that if all diesel vehicles in Kentucky switched to a five-percent blend of biodiesel produced from soybeans, the income from the Commonwealth’s annual soybean crop could increase by $160 million per year.
The news gets even better when learning of one of the most innovative applications of biodiesel in the Bluegrass State. The Carmeuse Lime Mines in Maysville and Butler, two of the country’s largest such operations, run more than 150 pieces of underground equipment on biodiesel and currently are the largest single users of biodiesel in Kentucky.