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Fuel For The Future - Ethanol
We depend heavily on gasoline to fuel our most common and essential day-to-day operations. But now the cost to import foreign oil is at an historic high, and the need for viable alternatives has increased at top-speed.
O’Brien & Gere is helping supply momentum by partnering with Northeast Biofuels, LLC on a proactive, multi-phased permitting, design, and construction program. The program: Convert a former brewery into one of the largest ethanol plants in the nation, and the first plant in the Northeast.
Ethanol – or ethyl alcohol – is most commonly known as the chemical compound used to produce alcoholic beverages, but other uses include fueling automobiles, either alone or mixed with gasoline. It can be blended with gasoline to reduce reliance on petroleum fuels and to mitigate air pollution. Two mixtures — E10 and E85, which contain 10% and 85% ethanol, respectively — exist today in the U.S.
Fuel Oxygenate. More and more, ethanol is being added to gasoline to allow it to burn more efficiently. In this scenario, ethanol replaces methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE), a chemical that many states have banned due to its tendency to dissolve and spread into ground water. Bioethanol. Recent years have seen a growing national interest in bioethanol, or ethanol derived from crops. Bioethanol offers a potentially sustainable energy resource, and may provide more long-term environmental and economic benefits compared to gasoline. It is obtained from the starch in crops, most commonly maize (corn). Northeast Biofuels, LLC plans to produce ethanol for utilities and energy purveyors. And to ensure the success of its operations, Northeast Biofuels, LLC has enlisted the 360º capabilities of O’Brien & Gere.
360º Support from O’Brien & Gere
In addition to permitting activities, O’Brien & Gere provided engineering and an in-depth evaluation of multiple plant powering options for the facility. The economic benefits of reusing existing coal boilers was compared to other options, such as natural gas. The final recommendation: recover the energy generated by natural gas-fed thermal oxidizers present at the facility, and use it to provide the required steam-load to the plant. This novel arrangement alleviated potential regulatory issues associated with the use of coal, and also lowered facility emissions to below major source thresholds — ultimately cutting half the time required for permitting.
O’Brien & Gere also evaluated the facility’s wastewater treatment plant to assess whether it needed modification or enhancement in order to meet the wastewater discharge regulations. Based on the results, O’Brien & Gere sought and obtained a State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit from the NYSDEC, ensuring that Northeast Biofuels, LLC could discharge the wastewater generated during ethanol production. With permitting efforts complete, O’Brien & Gere began providing engineering services to support plant construction. The O’Brien & Gere team will support the effort by providing comprehensive site/civil and structural engineering assistance. The new plant should be fully constructed within the year, with operations to begin in Fall 2007.
A Collaborative Effort Reaps Real Rewards
O’Brien & Gere partnered with a diverse range of firms, industries, and community leaders to take the ethanol plant project from an innovative, ambitious concept to a precedent-setting reality. The result of these partnerships: a stronger community and a re-energized local economy. The new plant will require approximately 75 employees, and create more than 1,000 job opportunities in transportation, agriculture, service, and other supporting industries. In addition, the increased demand for grain — the foundation of bioethanol production — will invigorate agricultural output from the Northeast, as the plant will require 40 million bushels each year to operate.
Long-term Benefits
From an economic standpoint, this initiative is exciting — one way to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. And from an environmental standpoint, ethanol represents an important step in managing and reducing air pollution. O’Brien & Gere has played a vital role bringing this initiative to life – evidence that O’Brien & Gere’s 360º project delivery method reaps real value not only for our clients, but for our communities and the nation.
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