River Bluffs Strategies
Integration of Bio-
Refineries with
Anaerobic Digestion
Facilities
Bret Healy, River Bluffs Strategies bjhealy928@yahoo.com
605-216-1825
US RFS Carve Outs
Only 15 bgy can come from cornstarch
1 bgy must come from biomass biodiesel
advanced biofuel – must reduce GHG
50%
United States Renewable Fuel Standard 2012
Total
15.2 billion gallons/year
Corn: 13.2 billion gallons/year
Biodiesel: 1 billion gallons/year
Cellulosic: 0.5 billion gallons/year
Other Advanced: 0.5 billion gallons/year
United States Renewable Fuel Standard 2015
Total
20.5 billion gallons/year
Corn: 15 billion gallons/year
Biodiesel: 1 billion gallons/year
Cellulosic: 3 billion gallons/year
Other Advanced: 1.5 billion gallons/year
United States Renewable Fuel Standard 2019
Total
28 billion gallons/year
Corn: 15 billion gallons/year
Biodiesel: 1 billion gallons/year
Cellulosic: 8.5 billion gallons/year
Other Advanced: 3.5 billion gallons/year
United States Renewable Fuel Standard 2022
Total
36 billion gallons/year
Corn: 15 billion gallons/year
Biodiesel: 1 billion gallons/year
Cellulosic: 16 billion gallons/year
Other Advanced: 4 billion gallons/year
Sorghum Niche in RFS
• Starch from Grain Sorghum may qualify as an advanced biofuel (if 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions)
• Replacing natural gas in renewable fuel manufacturing will be necessary to achieve the
50% reduction needed
• Animal waste may represent a novel approach to replacing natural gas in ethanol manufacturing
• Other bio-wastes may also fit this role
Needed Components
Ruminant livestock feeding
Source of manure for anaerobic digestion (AD)
Robust demand for wet distiller’s grains
Viable AD technology
Alternative Starch Crop production, current and potential
Grain sorghum
Barley
Feed wheat, oats, millet
Pathway to Advanced Biofuel status – current NODA published in Federal Register
Geographic outline
Montana (eastern)
N Dakota (southwestern), S Dakota
(central), Nebraska (western)
Kansas (central and western)
Colorado (eastern)
Panhandle of Texas, Oklahoma
New Mexico (northeastern)
Existing ETOH Bio-refineries
State
Montana
#
0
MGY-nameplate
0
North Dakota 6 358
South Dakota 15 1,016
Nebraska
Kansas
Colorado
Texas
26 1,544
13 492
4
4
125
250
