Tons
Biomass Feedstock Least Cost Formulation Christopher T. Wright, PhD
www.inl.gov
Manager, Biofuels & Renewable Energy Technology Department Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels Conference April 29, 2014
INL/CON-14-31581
Our Platform Today
Products Made from a Barrel of Crude Oil (Gallons) (2009)
• Replacing the whole barrel – US spends $1billion/day on oil imports – Reducing dependence on foreign oil requires replacing the whole barrel • Feedstock costs represent up to one-third current biofuel production costs Feedstock Cost Challenge
Feedstock Quality Challenge
200 180 160
Feedstock Business Break point to Achieve Going Concern
40 20 0
INL/CON-14-31581
Stover Bales – IBR
60
Straw Bales – Dong Energy
80
Wood Chips – US
100
Grass Pellets – ShowMe Energy
120
Wood Pellets – Rotterdam
$/dry metric ton
140
Temporal changes in %Moisture
Feedstock Break Point to Achieve $3/gal Target
2
Feedstock Quality Challenge Moisture
• Conversion specs (vertical lines) for biochem (BC) and thermochem (TC) quality assumptions
N=339
• Distributions represent variability in biomass properties relative to spec • Distributions likely greater if broader range of resources are considered Ash
INL/CON-14-31581
Sugars
3
Impact of Variability
BC 59%
• Moisture costs include storage, grinding, drying… • Ash costs include disposal, equipment wear, pretreatment capacity, product yield… • Sugar costs include pretreatment capacity, product yield… BC 7% BC 20%
INL/CON-14-31581
4
Solutions to Variability • Challenge: Developing cost effective solutions to variability
BioChem Spec: 7% Corn Stover
• Solution: A graded approach
140
– Preprocessing Technologies
100
• Multiple sources of same feedstock • Different feedstocks
Frequency
Wheat
Chemical Separations
120
80 60 40
Best Management Practices
20 0 1
• Amendments
Miscanthus
Mechanical Preconversion Formulation/Blending
160
– Best Management Practices
– Blending
Example: Ash Content
ThermoChem Spec: 1%
3
5
7
9
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 >39
-20
%Ash
INL/CON-14-31581
5
Least-Cost Formulation Example $80 per dry ton target Farmgate Cost Curves for Multiple Feedstocks 1800 1600
800 (x1000) Tons = 350(stover) +310(wheatstraw) +140(switchgrass
Tons (x1000)
1400 1200 1000
Switchgrass
800
Wheatstraw
600
Cornstover
400 200 0 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
$/Dry Ton
INL/CON-14-31581
6
Resource Competition
• Consider all costs not just access or farmgate costs • Delivered Feedstock Cost Includes
Farm Gate Cost ($/Dry Ton)
• How can switchgrass compete with corn stover?
90
– Conversion Performance Approximately 300,000 tons of switchgrass can be accessed at a lower delivered cost than corn stover INL/CON-14-31581
60 50 Corn Stover Switchgrass
40 30 1000
2000 Tons (x1000)
3000
4000
88 Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
– Dockage Fees
70
0
– Grower Payment/Farmgate Cost – Logistics Costs
80
86 84 82 80 Switchgras s
78 76 250
350
450
550 650 Tons (x 1000)
750
850
950 7
• Least-Cost Blend: 65/35 blend of corn stover and switchgrass, ~$81/ton • Still does not meet $80 target
Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
Blended Feedstock Cost
88 Corn Stover, Switchgrass Blend Switchgrass Corn Stover
86 84 82 80 78 76 250
• 60/35/5 blend of corn stover, switchgrass, and MSW (C&D)
450
550 650 750 Tons (x 1000)
850
950
81.5 Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
• 5% MSW needed to hit $80/ton
350
81.0 80.5 80.0 79.5 79.0 0
INL/CON-14-31581
2
4 6 % MSW
8
10 8
Total Least Cost Formulation with Blended Feedstock
Delivered Feedstock Cost ($/Dry ton)
• 65/35/5 blend of corn stover, switchgrass, and MSW (C&D) 88.0 Corn Stover, Switchgrass, MSW Blend Switchgrass Corn Stover Corn Stover, Switchgrass Blend
86.0 84.0 82.0 80.0 78.0 76.0 200
INL/CON-14-31581
300
400
500
600 700 Tons (x 1000)
800
900
1000 9
Total Feedstock Cost and Quality Cost Element Formulation Contribution
Single-Pass Multi-Pass Municipal Corn Stover Corn Stover Switchgrass Solid Waste
35%
25%
35%
Blend
5%
–
Grower payment/access cost
27.20
27.20
29.80
18.00
27.70
Harvest and collection ($/dry T)
10.50
19.20
15.40
–
13.90
Transportation ($/dry T)
8.70
8.30
7.20
18.00
8.60
Preprocessing ($/dry T)
23.40
23.40
19.70
19.70
21.90
Storage ($/dry T)
6.50
6.50
5.50
4.50
6.10
Handling ($/dry T)
1.90
1.90
1.90
1.90
1.90
78.30
86.60
79.60
62.10
80.00
3.5
7
4
10
4.9
9
9
9
9
9
64
57
57
57
59
Total Delivered Feedstock Cost ($/dry T)
Delivered Feedstock Specifications* Ash content (wt. %) Moisture content (%, wet basis) Carbohydrate content (wt. %)
*Corn stover and switchgrass composition data were obtained from the INL Biomass Library. INL/CON-14-31581
10
Thank-you
INL/CON-14-31581
11
www.inl.gov
Manager, Biofuels & Renewable Energy Technology Department Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels Conference April 29, 2014
INL/CON-14-31581
Our Platform Today
Products Made from a Barrel of Crude Oil (Gallons) (2009)
• Replacing the whole barrel – US spends $1billion/day on oil imports – Reducing dependence on foreign oil requires replacing the whole barrel • Feedstock costs represent up to one-third current biofuel production costs Feedstock Cost Challenge
Feedstock Quality Challenge
200 180 160
Feedstock Business Break point to Achieve Going Concern
40 20 0
INL/CON-14-31581
Stover Bales – IBR
60
Straw Bales – Dong Energy
80
Wood Chips – US
100
Grass Pellets – ShowMe Energy
120
Wood Pellets – Rotterdam
$/dry metric ton
140
Temporal changes in %Moisture
Feedstock Break Point to Achieve $3/gal Target
2
Feedstock Quality Challenge Moisture
• Conversion specs (vertical lines) for biochem (BC) and thermochem (TC) quality assumptions
N=339
• Distributions represent variability in biomass properties relative to spec • Distributions likely greater if broader range of resources are considered Ash
INL/CON-14-31581
Sugars
3
Impact of Variability
BC 59%
• Moisture costs include storage, grinding, drying… • Ash costs include disposal, equipment wear, pretreatment capacity, product yield… • Sugar costs include pretreatment capacity, product yield… BC 7% BC 20%
INL/CON-14-31581
4
Solutions to Variability • Challenge: Developing cost effective solutions to variability
BioChem Spec: 7% Corn Stover
• Solution: A graded approach
140
– Preprocessing Technologies
100
• Multiple sources of same feedstock • Different feedstocks
Frequency
Wheat
Chemical Separations
120
80 60 40
Best Management Practices
20 0 1
• Amendments
Miscanthus
Mechanical Preconversion Formulation/Blending
160
– Best Management Practices
– Blending
Example: Ash Content
ThermoChem Spec: 1%
3
5
7
9
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 >39
-20
%Ash
INL/CON-14-31581
5
Least-Cost Formulation Example $80 per dry ton target Farmgate Cost Curves for Multiple Feedstocks 1800 1600
800 (x1000) Tons = 350(stover) +310(wheatstraw) +140(switchgrass
Tons (x1000)
1400 1200 1000
Switchgrass
800
Wheatstraw
600
Cornstover
400 200 0 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
$/Dry Ton
INL/CON-14-31581
6
Resource Competition
• Consider all costs not just access or farmgate costs • Delivered Feedstock Cost Includes
Farm Gate Cost ($/Dry Ton)
• How can switchgrass compete with corn stover?
90
– Conversion Performance Approximately 300,000 tons of switchgrass can be accessed at a lower delivered cost than corn stover INL/CON-14-31581
60 50 Corn Stover Switchgrass
40 30 1000
2000 Tons (x1000)
3000
4000
88 Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
– Dockage Fees
70
0
– Grower Payment/Farmgate Cost – Logistics Costs
80
86 84 82 80 Switchgras s
78 76 250
350
450
550 650 Tons (x 1000)
750
850
950 7
• Least-Cost Blend: 65/35 blend of corn stover and switchgrass, ~$81/ton • Still does not meet $80 target
Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
Blended Feedstock Cost
88 Corn Stover, Switchgrass Blend Switchgrass Corn Stover
86 84 82 80 78 76 250
• 60/35/5 blend of corn stover, switchgrass, and MSW (C&D)
450
550 650 750 Tons (x 1000)
850
950
81.5 Delivered Cost ($/Dry ton)
• 5% MSW needed to hit $80/ton
350
81.0 80.5 80.0 79.5 79.0 0
INL/CON-14-31581
2
4 6 % MSW
8
10 8
Total Least Cost Formulation with Blended Feedstock
Delivered Feedstock Cost ($/Dry ton)
• 65/35/5 blend of corn stover, switchgrass, and MSW (C&D) 88.0 Corn Stover, Switchgrass, MSW Blend Switchgrass Corn Stover Corn Stover, Switchgrass Blend
86.0 84.0 82.0 80.0 78.0 76.0 200
INL/CON-14-31581
300
400
500
600 700 Tons (x 1000)
800
900
1000 9
Total Feedstock Cost and Quality Cost Element Formulation Contribution
Single-Pass Multi-Pass Municipal Corn Stover Corn Stover Switchgrass Solid Waste
35%
25%
35%
Blend
5%
–
Grower payment/access cost
27.20
27.20
29.80
18.00
27.70
Harvest and collection ($/dry T)
10.50
19.20
15.40
–
13.90
Transportation ($/dry T)
8.70
8.30
7.20
18.00
8.60
Preprocessing ($/dry T)
23.40
23.40
19.70
19.70
21.90
Storage ($/dry T)
6.50
6.50
5.50
4.50
6.10
Handling ($/dry T)
1.90
1.90
1.90
1.90
1.90
78.30
86.60
79.60
62.10
80.00
3.5
7
4
10
4.9
9
9
9
9
9
64
57
57
57
59
Total Delivered Feedstock Cost ($/dry T)
Delivered Feedstock Specifications* Ash content (wt. %) Moisture content (%, wet basis) Carbohydrate content (wt. %)
*Corn stover and switchgrass composition data were obtained from the INL Biomass Library. INL/CON-14-31581
10
Thank-you
INL/CON-14-31581
11
