United States Department of Transportation
i
Transportation infrastructure implications of development of a cellulose ethanol industry for Indiana.
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2010-10-15
[PDF-2.03 MB]
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Abstract:The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act calls for the US to produce 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 of which no more than 15 billion would come from corn and 1 billion of biodiesel. Thus, the legislation envisions moving from no cellulose ethanol production today to as much as 20 billion gallons by 2022.
In this research project, we estimate the transport system impacts of different levels of cellulose production in Indiana. A scenario approach is used for the transport of cellulosic materials to central plants. Transporting cellulose materials to a central processing plant requires more bulk material than for a corn ethanol plant. We use an integer programming model to locate and size cellulosic plants in Indiana. This model optimizes plant location given the potential cellulosic production from corn stover and other cellulosic inputs in each part of the state. Cellulose supply curves are developed for each sub‐region in the state. We introduce different scenarios of cellulose development to compare with the base case of no cellulosic ethanol production.
The growth of the ethanol industry could be a major mechanism for rural economic development, especially in Region V. Cellulosic ethanol will provide the opportunity for farmers to sell agricultural waste such as corn stover, in addition to growing dedicated energy crops on less desirable land. The emergence of this cellulose‐based ethanol industry will create a number of new transportation needs in Region V, along with new business opportunities for transportation firms.
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