Biomass Energy in the 21st Century - Gob€¦ · Biomass Energy in the 21st Century A PRESENTATION BY: Keith Thomsen, DrEnv, PE, BCEE Asst. Director – Center for Bioproducts and

Biomass Energy in the 21st Century

A PRESENTATION BY:

Keith Thomsen, DrEnv, PE, BCEE

Asst. Director – Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy

Washington State University TriCities, Richland, WA

2

Biomass Agenda

• Bioenergy Overview

• Biomass Resources

• Creating Energy from Biomass

• Biomass Economics

• Biomass Environmental Issues

• Promise of Bioenergy

• Ethanol Production

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BioEnergy Overview

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Global Energy 2010

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Renewable Energy Use

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Carbon Cycle

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Commercial Carbon Cycle

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US Energy Cropland

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/energy/renewable/map_bioenergy_image.html

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Biomass Resources In

Ecuador

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Biomass Basic Data

Boyle, Renewable Energy, Oxford University Press (2004)

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Solar Energy Conversion


1 hectare = ~2.5 acres

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Bioenergy Technologies


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Biomass Resources

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Types of Biomass

Biomass Resources

• Energy Crops

– Woody crops

– Agricultural crops

• Waste Products

– Wood residues

– Temperate crop

wastes

– Tropical crop wastes

– Animal wastes

– Municipal Solid Waste

(MSW)

– Commercial and

industrial wastes

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http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/bio_resources.html

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Corn

http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/corn.html

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Soybeans

http://agproducts.unl.edu/

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Sorghum

http://www.okfarmbureau.org/press_pass/galleries/grainSorghum/

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Sugar Cane Bagasse

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/photos.html

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Switchgrass


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Hybrid Poplar


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Corn Stover


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Wood Chips & Sawdust

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/photos.html http://www.energytrust.org/RR/bio/

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Biomass-to-Energy Plant

Truck unloading wood chips that will fuel

the Tracy Biomass Plant, Tracy, California.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/biomass/biomass.html

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Municipal Solid Waste

http://www.eeingeorgia.org/eic/images/landfill.jpg

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Creating Energy

from Biomass

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Bioenergy Conversion


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Biomass Direct

Combustion


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Heat Energy Content


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MSW Power Plant


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Composition of MSW

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Integrated Waste Plant


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Landfill Gas


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Integrated Biorefinery

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Sugar Platform

1. Convert biomass to sugar or other fermentation feedstock

2. Ferment biomass intermediates using biocatalysts

• Microorganisms including yeast and bacteria;

3. Process fermentation product

• Yield fuel-grade ethanol and other fuels, chemicals, heat and/or electricity

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Thermochemical Platform

• Direct Combustion

• Gasification

• Pyrolysis

• Hydrothermal Liquefaction

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Gasification

• Biomass heated with no oxygen

• Gasifies to mixture of CO and H2

– Called “Syngas” for synthetic gas

• Mixes easily with oxygen

• Burned in turbines to generate electricity

– Like natural gas

• Can easily be converted to other fuels,

chemicals, and valuable materials

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Biomass Gasifier

• 200 tons of wood

chips daily

• Forest thinnings;

wood pallets

• Converted to gas at

~1850 ºF

• Combined cycle gas

turbine

• 8MW power output McNeil Generating Station

biomass gasifier – 8MW

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Pyrolysis

• Heat bio-material under pressure

– 500-1300 ºC (900-2400 ºF)

– 50-150 atmospheres

– Carefully controlled air supply

• Up to 75% of biomass converted to liquid

• Tested for use in engines, turbines, boilers

• Currently experimental

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Pyrolysis Schmatic

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pyrolysis.html

Hydrothermal Liquefaction

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Anaerobic Digestion

• Decompose biomass with microorganisms

– Closed tanks known as anaerobic digesters

– Produces methane (natural gas) and CO2

• Methane-rich biogas can be used as fuel

or as a base chemical for biobased

products.

• Used in animal feedlots, and elsewhere

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/other_platforms.html

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Carbon Rich Platform

• Natural plant oils such as soybean, corn, palm,

and canola oils

– In wide use today for food and chemical applications

• Transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fat

produces fatty acid methyl ester

– Commonly known as biodiesel.

• Biodiesel an important commercial air-emission

reducing additive / substitute for diesel fuel

– could be platform chemical for biorefineries.

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BioFuels

• Ethanol – Created by fermentation of starches/sugars

– US capacity of 1.8 billion gals/yr (2005)

– Active research on cellulosic fermentation

• Biodiesel – Organic oils combined with alcohols

– Creates ethyl or methyl esters

• SynGas Biofuels – Syngas (H2 & CO) converted to methanol, or liquid fuel similar

to diesel

• Advanced Biofuels – Jetfuel

– Other fuels

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Biodiesel Bus

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Plant Products Platform

• Selective breeding and genetic engineering

• Develop plant strains that produce greater amounts of desirable feedstocks or chemicals

• Even compounds that the plant does not naturally produce

• Get the biorefining done in the biological plant rather than the industrial plant.

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Biomass

Economics

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Economic Issues

• Sustainable Development

– Move toward sustainable energy production

• Energy Security

– Reduce dependence on imported oil

• Rural Economic Growth

– Provide new crops/markets for rural business

• Land Use

– Better balance of land use

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Landfill Gas Costs

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Switchgrass Economics

Tons Per

Acre

Total

Variable

Cost Per

Acre

Total Fixed

Cost Per

Acre

Total Cost

Per Acre

Ethanol Min

Price per

Gallon

2 $131.00 $66.50 $197.50 $2.47

3 $87.33 $44.33 $131.67 $1.65

4 $65.50 $33.25 $98.75 $1.23

5 $52.40 $26.60 $79.00 $0.99

6 $43.67 $22.17 $65.83 $0.82

7 $37.43 $19.00 $56.43 $0.71

8 $32.75 $16.63 $49.38 $0.62

9 $29.11 $14.78 $43.89 $0.55

10 $26.20 $13.30 $39.50 $0.49

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Energy Crop Potential

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Environmental

Impacts

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Environmental Issues

• Air Quality – Reduce NOx and SO2 emissions

• Global Climate Change – Low/no net increase in CO2

• Soil Conservation – Soil erosion control, nutrient retention, carbon

sequestration, and stabilization of riverbanks.

• Water Conservation – Better retention of water in watersheds

• Biodiversity and Habitat – Positive and negative changes

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Heat and CO2 Content

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Net Life Cycle Emissions

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Crop Erosion Rates

SRWC = Short Rotation Woody Crops

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Biocide Requirements

Short Rotation

Woody Crops

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Promise of

Bioenergy

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Biomass Infrastructure

• Biomass Production Improvements

– Genetics, breeding, remote sensing, GIS,

analytic and evaluation techniques

• Biomass Material Handling

– Storage, handling, conveying, size reduction,

cleaning, drying, feeding systems, systems

• Biomass Logistics and Infrastructure

– Harvesting, collecting, storing, transporting,

other biomass supply chain elements

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Multiple benefits would accrue:

Benefits of Bioenergy

• Rural American farmers producing these fuel crops would see $5 billion of increased profits per year.

• Consumers would see future pump savings of $20 billion per year on fuel costs.

• Society would see CO2

emissions reduced by 6.2 billion tons per year, equal to 80% of U.S. transportation-related CO2 emissions in 2002.

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Growing US Energy

• 2004 assessment by the National Energy Commission concluded that a vigorous effort to develop cellulosic biofuels between now and 2015 could:

– Produce the first billion gallons at costs approaching those of gasoline and diesel.

– Establish the capacity to produce biofuels at very competitive pump prices equivalent to roughly 8 million barrels of oil per day (122 billion gallons per year) by 2025.

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TODAY & BUSINESS AS USUAL 30 million hectares soy

NEXT DECADE & FUTURE 30 million hectares switchgrass

Switchgrass 1 to 3x protein productivity + 5 to 10 x mass productivity of soybeans

animal

protein

feed

oils animal

protein

feed

Cellulose

hydrolyzed into

30 billion

gallons ethanol

oils

US Grows its Gas

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Fuel Efficiency vs. Land

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Bioenergy Forecasts

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One Scenario

Semi-Efficient, Ambitious Renewable Energy Scenario

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Ethanol Production

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Ethanol Yields

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Ethanol Production Plant

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Ethanol Production

• Corn kernels are ground in a hammermill to expose the starch

• The ground grain is mixed with water, cooked briefly and enzymes are added to convert the starch to sugar using a chemical reaction called hydrolysis.

• Yeast is added to ferment the sugars to ethanol.

• The ethanol is separated from the mixture by distillation and the water is removed from the mixture using dehydration

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Ethanol Production

• Energy content about 2/3 of gasoline

– So E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline) will

cause your gas mileage to decrease 3-4%

• Takes energy to create ethanol from

starchy sugars

– Positive net energy balance

– Energy output/input = 1.67

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In comparison, US consumed

an 140,000 million gallons of

gasoline in 2004

Ethanol Consumption

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US Ethanol Facilities

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Ethanol by State

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Ethanol Fuel Use 2003

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Federal Reformulated Gasoline

• Required year round in high pollution metro areas (e.g. L.A., San Diego, Dallas,

Houston, Washington, D.C.)

Federal Winter Oxygenated Fuel

• Required during winter in selected high pollution metro areas (e.g. Denver, Phoenix,

Las Vegas)

Ethanol Use by Market

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MTBE

• MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether)

– A chemical compound that is manufactured by the

chemical reaction of methanol and isobutylene

– Used almost exclusively a fuel additive in gasoline

– It is one of a group of chemicals commonly known as

"oxygenates" because they raise the oxygen content

of gasoline.

– At room temperature, MTBE is a volatile, flammable

and colorless liquid that dissolves rather easily in

water.

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MTBE

• Oxygen helps gasoline burn more completely, reducing tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles

• Oxygen dilutes or displaces gasoline components such as aromatics (e.g., benzene) and sulfur

• Oxygen optimizes the oxidation during combustion.

• Most refiners have chosen to use MTBE over other oxygenates primarily for its blending characteristics and for economic reasons

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MTBE and

The Clean Air Act

• The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAA) require

the use of oxygenated gasoline in areas with unhealthy

levels of air pollution

– The CAA does not specifically require MTBE. Refiners may

choose to use other oxygenates, such as ethanol

– Winter Oxyfuel Program: Originally implemented in 1992, the

CAA requires oxygenated fuel during the cold months in cities

that have elevated levels of carbon monoxide

– Year-round Reformulated Gasoline Program: Since 1995, the

CAA requires reformulated gasoline (RFG) year-round in cities

with the worst ground-level ozone (smog).

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels.htm




http://www.epa.gov/otaq/rfg.htm



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MTBE and

Groundwater Pollution

• MTBE has the potential to occur in high concentrations in groundwater

• Some MTBE has appeared in drinking water wells throughout the U.S

• Highly water soluble – Not easily absorbed into soil

– Resists biodegradation

• Travels far from leak sources, – Hazard on a regional scale.

• Some states are banning MTBE

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State MTBE Bans

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Corn Use for Ethanol

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Corn Use by Segment

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Sorghum Use by Segment

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Energy Policy Act of 2005

• Small Producer Biodiesel and Ethanol Credit – 10 cent per gallon tax credit

– Up to 15 million gallons annually per producer

– Expires year end 2008

• Fueling stations – 30% credit for cost of installing clean-fuel vehicle

refueling equipment

– $30,000 maximum

– e.g. E85 • 85% Ethanol, 15% gasoline

• GM pushing their E85 vehicles as an alternative to hybrids

• Seven SUV/Trucks, two sedans

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• The Renewable Fuel Standard – Requires use of 7.5 billion gallons of biofuels by 2012

• includes ethanol and biodiesel

– Up from 3.4 billion gallons in 2004

• All refiners required to abide by targets – Credit trading mechanism in place

• For example, refiners in states with little or no ethanol production may buy credits from refiners in states with excess production

• Increased costs across the nation

• Decrease oil imports by 2.1%

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Cellulosic Ethanol

• Ethanol produced from agricultural

residues, woody biomass, fibers,

municipal solid waste, switchgrass

• Process converts lignocellulosic feedstock

(LCF) into component sugars, which are

then fermented to ethanol

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Cellulosic Ethanol


• Minimum 250 million gallons/year by 2012

• Incentive grants for facility construction

– 2006: $500 million

– 2007: $800 million

– 2008: $400 million

• Other research grants/production

incentives

– 2006 – 2010: $485 million

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Ethanol


• Presidental Directive

– Reduce our “addiction to oil”

• Replace 75% of U.S. oil imports from the

Middle East by 2025

– But that’s just 4.3 million barrels/day

– Total consumption of 26.1 million barrels/day

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U.S. Petroleum Supply

2004

8.6

1.86.2

3.3

2.6

Domestic Oil

Domestic Ethanol

Western Hemisphere

Europe/Africa

Persian Gulf

2025

5.1

5.3

6.7

3.2

5.8

Domestic Oil

Domestic Ethanol

Western Hemisphere

Europe/Africa

Persian Gulf

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Ethanol


• Brazil produces ethanol at $25/oil equivalent barrel – Adjusted price taking into account energy differences

between ethanol and oil

– Compare $25/barrel to current oil price of $60+/barrel

• Largest commercial application of biomass energy in the world – Sugar cane used a feedstock

• Domestic automakers building flex-fuel vehicles

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Promoting Bioenergy

• Why not import ethanol from Brazil?

• The U.S. imposes a $22/barrel import tariff on Brazilian ethanol

• So, are the ethanol subsidies in the EPAct05 just a payoff to the agricultural lobby?

• Or, are we attempting to build a domestic ethanol industry by subsidizing its early efforts?

• How best to promote bioenergy?

Questions?

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Documents

Biomass Energy in the 21st Century - Gob€¦ · Biomass Energy in the 21st Century A PRESENTATION BY: Keith Thomsen, DrEnv, PE, BCEE Asst. Director – Center for Bioproducts and