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At least 145 records · Page 8

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2017

Conversion of cellulose rich municipal solid waste blends using ionic liquids: feedstock convertibility and process scale-up

For this study, sixteen cellulose rich municipal solid waste (MSW) blends were developed and screened using an acid-assisted ionic liquid (IL) deconstruction process. Corn stover and switchgrass were chosen to represent herbaceous feedstocks; non-recyclable paper (NRP) and grass clippings (GC) collected from households were chosen as MSW candidates given their abundance in municipal waste streams. The most promising MSW blend: corn stover/non-recyclable paper (CS/NRP) at 80/20 ratio was identified in milliliter-scale screening based on the sugar yield, feedstock cost, and availability. A successful scale-up (600-fold) of the IL-acidolysis process on the identified CS/NRP blend has been achieved. The sugar and lignin streams were recovered and characterized. Mass and material energy flows of the optimized process were presented. Feedstock cost for MSW blends was also discussed. Results suggest the promising potential of using MSW as a feedstock blending agent for biorefineries while maintaining sufficient performance and low feedstock cost. The bench scale (6 L) study is an essential step in demonstrating the scalability of this IL technology.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Hydrologic and water quality impacts of biofuel feedstock production in the Ohio River Basin

Abstract This study addresses the uncertainties related to potential changes in land use and management and associated impacts on hydrology and water quality resulting from increased production of biofuel from the conventional and cellulosic feedstock. The Soil Water Assessment Tool ( SWAT ) was used to assess the impacts on regional and field scale evapotranspiration, soil moisture content, stream flow, sediment, and nutrient loadings in the Ohio River Basin. The model incorporates spatially and temporally detailed hydrologic, climate and agricultural practice data that are pertinent to simulate biofuel feedstock production, watershed hydrology and water quality. Three future biofuel production scenarios in the region were considered, including a feedstock projection from the DOE Billion‐Ton (BT2) Study, a change in corn rotations to continuous corn, and harvest of 50% corn stover. The impacts were evaluated on the basis of relative changes in hydrology and water quality from historical baseline and future business‐as‐usual conditions of the basin. The overall impact on water quality is an order of magnitude higher than the impact on hydrology. For all the three future scenarios, the sub‐basin results indicated an overall increase in annual evapotranspiration of up to 6%, a decrease in runoff up to 10% and minimal change in soil moisture. The sediment and phosphorous loading at both regional and field levels increased considerably (up to 40–90%) for all the biofuel feedstock scenario considered, while the nitrogen loading increased up to 45% in some regions under the BT2 Study scenario, decreased up to 10% when corn are grown continuously instead of in rotations, and changed minimally when 50% of the stover are harvested. Field level analyses revealed significant variability in hydrology and water quality impacts that can further be used to identify suitable locations for the feedstock productions without causing major impacts on water quantity and quality.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Devices and methods for performing shear-assisted extrusion, extrusion feedstocks, extrusion processes, and methods for preparing metal sheets

Devices and methods for performing shear-assisted extrusion processes for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock material are provided. The processes can use a device having a scroll face having an inner diameter portion bounded by an outer diameter portion, and a member extending from the inner diameter portion beyond a surface of the outer diameter portion.Extrusion feedstocks and extrusion processes are provided for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock. The processes can include providing a feedstock having at least two different materials and engaging the materials with one another within a feedstock container.Methods for preparing metal sheets are provided that can include preparing a metal tube via shear assisted processing and extrusion; opening the metal tube to form a sheet having a first thickness; and rolling the sheet to a second thickness that is less than the first thickness.

Whalen, Scott A.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Extrusion processes for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock

Whalen, Scott A.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Process-based cost estimation framework for assessing economic viability of environmentally and socially sustainable rare earth element feedstocks

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are critical raw material inputs that are required to enable the energy transition. Constraints on the U.S. supply of conventional REE feedstocks and the desire to diversify U.S. reliance on foreign supply chains have motivated the pursuit of REE recovery from unconventional feedstocks including waste products. Recovery of REEs from unconventional sources is also motivated by environmental and social considerations, including the potential to offset new mining activity and subsidize the remediation of REE-containing wastes from coal, natural gas, and other mineral extraction activities. Sourcing REEs from unconventional feedstocks would reduce supply chain constraints and minimize the environmental impacts of REE extraction, but current processes to exploit these feedstocks have uncertain technical and economic performance and the processes have not been demonstrated at scale. This work aims to reduce uncertainty in evaluating the performance of new REE production pathways. A database of operating and capital expenses for REE recovery and establish consistent process unit costs for common stages in the conventional supply chain are developed. Market prices are used to develop well-defined methods for determining product values for a diverse set of products that can be generated (e.g. oxalates, alloys, end-use products such as magnets) but are not typically considered in technoeconomic analyses. Finally, to provide insight on the effects of economies of scale and feedstock purity on capital and operating costs, process unit level cost functions relating total costs per kilogram of REE produced are reported. These tools can be applied to assess and facilitate scale-up of REE production from diverse sources of REEs.

Fritz, Alison↗

DOE OSTI2017

Optimizing biomass feedstock blends with respect to cost, supply, and quality for catalyzed and uncatalyzed fast pyrolysis applications

Here, biomass cost, quality and quantity are important parameters to consider when choosing feedstocks and locations for biorefineries. Biomass cost is dependent upon type, location, quantities available in a given area and logistics costs as well the quality needed for the biorefinery. Biomass quality depends upon type, growth conditions, weather, harvesting methods, storage conditions as well as any preprocessing methods used to improve quality. Biomass quantity depends heavily on location as well as growth conditions, weather, harvesting methods and storage conditions. This study examines how all three of these parameters affect the biomass mixture that is needed in a biomass depot or biorefinery to achieve the lowest cost with the highest quality and at the quantities needed for biorefinery operation. Four biomass depots were proposed in South Carolina that would each process the predominant type of biomass available in that area and each produce 200,000 tons of feedstock per year. These depots would then feed a centrally located 800,000 ton biorefinery that would convert the feedstocks to pyrolysis oil using either catalyzed or uncatalyzed fast pyrolysis. The four depots each needed to produce different blends of biomass based upon the quantities available to them but still meet the minimum quality requirements for the biorefinery. Costs were minimized by using waste biomass resources such as construction and demolition waste, logging residues and forest residuals. Depending upon the quality specification required by the biorefinery, it was necessary to utilize preprocessing methods such as air classification and acid leaching to upgrade biomass quality. In the case of uncatalyzed fast pyrolysis, all four depots could produce biomass blends that were lower cost than the the preferred pyrolysis feedstock, clean pine, and meet quality and quantity specifications. For catalyzed fast pyrolysis, three of the four depots were able to produce blends that met both quality and quantity specifications at minimum cost. The fourth depot would not be able to produce a blend meeting specifications without increasing the supply radius for the depot.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Biotechnological solutions for critical mineral recovery from unconventional feedstocks

Secure and sustainable metal recovery from unconventional feedstocks is needed to meet the mineral demands of energy, defense, and electronic technologies. Here, we highlight the potential to leverage nature’s ability to extract and differentiate metal ions in biotechnologies that could become the next generation of mining and refining. We describe bulk and trace processes and then discuss the advances and opportunities of two key bioprocesses: microbially mediated solubilization of metal ions from solid matrices (termed ‘bioleaching’) and bio-based separation of solubilized ions via selective adsorption to proteins. Both biotechnologies have advantages such as reduced energy input for leaching low-grade feedstocks and reduced organic solvent demand for separating ions with similar physiochemical properties but require more development for industrial scale recovery from unconventional feedstocks. Innovation in biological science and engineering may bring timely solutions to key challenges toward recovering critical minerals from unconventional feedstocks.

organic↗

DOE OSTI2019

Life Cycle Analysis of Decentralized Preprocessing Systems for Fast Pyrolysis Biorefineries with Blended Feedstocks in the Southeastern United States

Blending biomass feedstock is an enticing approach to mitigate supply chain risks that are common challenges for large-scale biomass utilization. Understanding the potential environmental benefits of biofuels produced from blended biomass and identifying driving parameters are critical for the supply chain design. Herein, a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis model for fast pyrolysis biorefineries converting blended feedstocks (pine residues and switchgrass) with traditional centralized and alternative decentralized preprocessing sites, so-called depots, is explained. Different scenarios are developed to investigate the impacts of parameters such as feedstock blending ratios, biorefinery and depot capacities, preprocessing technologies, and allocation methods. The life-cycle energy consumption and global warming potential (GWP) of biofuel production with depots vary between 0.7–1.1 MJ MJ -1 and 43.2–76.6 g CO 2 eq. MJ -1 , respectively. The results are driven by biorefinery processes and depot preprocesses. A decentralized design reduces the energy consumption of the biorefinery but increases the overall life-cycle energy and GWP. Such increases can be significantly mitigated by increasing switchgrass content as the energy consumption at the depot is driven largely by the higher moisture content of pine feedstocks. Allocation methods have a further impact on the results but do not change the major trends and overall conclusions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Fractional condensation of pyrolysis vapors produced from Nordic feedstocks in cyclone pyrolysis

Pyrolysis oil is a complex mixture of different chemical compounds with a wide range of molecular weights and boiling points. Due to its complexity, an efficient fractionation of the oil may be a more promising approach of producing liquid fuels and chemicals than treating the whole oil. In this work a sampling system based on fractional condensation was attached to a cyclone pyrolysis pilot plant to enable separation of the produced pyrolysis vapors into five oil fractions. The sampling system was composed of cyclonic condensers and coalescing filters arranged in series. Our objective was to characterize the oil fractions produced from three different Nordic feedstocks and suggest possible applications. The oil fractions were thoroughly characterized using several analytical techniques including water content; elemental composition; heating value, and chemical compound group analysis using solvent fractionation, quantitative 13 C NMR and 1 H NMR and GC x GC - TOFMS. The results show that the oil fractions significantly differ from each other both in chemical and physical properties. The first fractions and the fraction composed of aerosols were highly viscous and contained larger energy-rich compounds of mainly lignin-derived material. The middle fraction contained medium-size compounds with relatively high concentration of water, sugars, alcohols, hydrocarbonyls and acids and finally the last fraction contained smaller molecules such as water, aldehydes, ketones and acids. But, the properties of the respective fractions seem independent on the studied feedstock types, i.e. the respective fractions produced from different feedstock are rather similar. Furthermore, this promotes the possibility to vary the feedstock depending on availability while retaining the oil properties. Possible applications of the five fractions vary from oil for combustion and extraction of the pyrolytic lignin in the early fractions to extraction of sugars from the early and middle fractions, and extraction of acids and aldehydes in the later fractions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Towards the applications of mechanophore incorporated feedstocks for additive manufacturing

The ability to additively-manufacture mechanically responsive molecules, known as mechanophores (MPs), that are incorporated into polymer feedstocks provides opportunities for self-healing, real-time damage detection, and improvements in quality assurance and control capabilities to several industries (wind energy technology, building and construction, etc.) who are adopting additive manufacturing (AM). However, before the applications are realized and industrially adopted, further research and development regarding MP-incorporated AM feedstock availability, production scale-up, and processability and printability is needed. Here, the goal of this review is to bridge the gap between the bench top and real world applications of AM of MPs by identifying high impact application spaces and highlighting the challenges that need to be overcome for widespread adoption. The state-of-the-art of AM of MP-incorporated feedstocks is reviewed, followed by a discussion of potential future applications, current challenges, and research areas that work toward commercialization of AM of MP-incorporated feedstocks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Feedstock design for quality biomaterials

Feedstock design is crucial for lignocellulosic biomass use. Current strategies for feedstock design cannot be readily applied to improve the quality of biomass-based materials, limiting the sustainability and economics of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Recent studies have advanced the understanding of biomass structure–property relationships and discovered several characteristics, such as molecular weight, uniformity, linkage profile, and functional groups, that are critical for manufacturing diverse quality biomaterials. Further, these discoveries call for fundamentally different strategies for feedstock development. Such strategies need to rediscover the roles of monolignol biosynthesis enzymes and leverage lignin polymerization enzymes to achieve precise control of lignin molecular structure. These innovations could transform biomass into feedstock for high-quality biomaterials, addressing essential environmental challenges and empowering the bioeconomy.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Dynamic Life-Cycle Analysis of Fast Pyrolysis Biorefineries: Impacts of Feedstock Moisture Content and Particle Size

The commercialization of biorefineries has been met with significant obstacles due to the technical difficulties of handling solid biomass feedstocks, which are highly variable in physical properties and chemical compositions. An understanding of the principles of unit operations along the supply chain is key to the success of the biofuel industry. This study applies a dynamic life-cycle analysis (DLCA) methodology by developing quantitative relationships between the inputs and outputs for each unit operation based on scientific understanding of the causal effects. Using the DLCA, we assessed system sustainability of drop-in fuel production from fast pyrolysis of pine residues followed by hydro-processing. Life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated for 4641 runs involving two key feedstock parameters: moisture content after field drying and particle size of the feed to pyrolyzer. Moisture contents varied between 25% and 35%, while particle sizes varied between 0.5 and 5 mm in these runs. The life-cycle GHG emissions of these cases vary from 22 to 40 g/MJ. Close examination of each unit operation's contribution to the total GHG emissions reveals that low moisture content after field drying produces savings in energy consumption during feedstock transportation and on-site drying. However, although small particle size leads to overall higher fuel yield, it also requires a significant amount of energy for feedstock size reduction and fuel production. The energy penalty outweighs the benefit of increased fuel yields, especially when fine particles (<1 mm) are used for pyrolysis; thus, small particle size leads to increased GHG emissions overall. The results highlight the trade-offs between the energy demand for preprocessing and the conversion yields, which can be addressed with DLCA.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Development and use of bioenergy feedstocks for semi-arid and arid lands

Here we report that global climate change is predicted to increase heat, drought, and soil-drying conditions, and thereby increase crop sensitivity to water vapour pressure deficit, resulting in productivity losses. Increasing competition between agricultural freshwater use and municipal or industrial uses suggest that crops with greater heat and drought durability and greater water-use efficiency will be crucial for sustainable biomass production systems in the future. Agave (Agavaceae) and Opuntia (Cactaceae) represent highly water-use efficient bioenergy crops that could diversify bioenergy feedstock supply yet preserve or expand feedstock production into semi-arid, abandoned, or degraded agricultural lands, and reclaim drylands. Agave and Opuntia are crassulacean acid metabolism species that can achieve high water-use efficiencies and grow in water-limited areas with insufficient precipitation to support traditional C 3 or C 4 bioenergy crops. Both Agave and Opuntia have the potential to produce above-ground biomass rivalling that of C 3 and C 4 crops under optimal growing conditions. The low lignin and high amorphous cellulose contents of Agave and Opuntia lignocellulosic biomass will be less recalcitrant to deconstruction than traditional feedstocks, as confirmed by pretreatments that improve saccharification of Agave. Refined environmental productivity indices and geographical information systems modelling have provided estimates of Agave and Opuntia biomass productivity and terrestrial sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 ; however, the accuracy of such modelling efforts can be improved through the expansion of field trials in diverse geographical settings. Lastly, we note that life cycle analysis indicates that Agave would have productivity, life cycle energy, and greenhouse gas balances comparable or superior to those of traditional bioenergy feedstocks, but would be far more water-use efficient.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Rapid analysis of composition and reactivity in cellulosic biomass feedstocks with near-infrared spectroscopy

Obtaining accurate chemical composition and reactivity (measures of carbohydrate release and yield) information for biomass feedstocks in a timely manner is necessary for the commercialization of biofuels. Our objective was to use near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and partial least squares (PLS) multivariate analysis to develop calibration models to predict the feedstock composition and the release and yield of soluble carbohydrates generated by a bench-scale dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis assay. Major feedstocks included in the calibration models are corn stover, sorghum, switchgrass, perennial cool season grasses, rice straw, and miscanthus. Here are the results: We present individual model statistics to demonstrate model performance and validation samples to more accurately measure predictive quality of the models. The PLS-2 model for composition predicts glucan, xylan, lignin, and ash (wt%) with uncertainties similar to primary measurement methods. A PLS-2 model was developed to predict glucose and xylose release following pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. An additional PLS-2 model was developed to predict glucan and xylan yield. PLS-1 models were developed to predict the sum of glucose/glucan and xylose/xylan for release and yield (grams per gram). The release and yield models have higher uncertainties than the primary methods used to develop the models. In conclusion, it is possible to build effective multispecies feedstock models for composition, as well as carbohydrate release and yield. The model for composition is useful for predicting glucan, xylan, lignin, and ash with good uncertainties. The release and yield models have higher uncertainties; however, these models are useful for rapidly screening sample populations to identify unusual samples.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

A miniaturized feedstocks-to-fuels pipeline for screening the efficiency of deconstruction and microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass

Sustainably grown biomass is a promising alternative to produce fuels and chemicals and reduce the dependency on fossil energy sources. However, the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and bioproducts often requires extensive testing of components and reaction conditions used in the pretreatment, saccharification, and bioconversion steps. This restriction can result in a significant and unwieldy number of combinations of biomass types, solvents, microbial strains, and operational parameters that need to be characterized, turning these efforts into a daunting and time-consuming task. Here we developed a high-throughput feedstocks-to-fuels screening platform to address these challenges. The result is a miniaturized semi-automated platform that leverages the capabilities of a solid handling robot, a liquid handling robot, analytical instruments, and a centralized data repository, adapted to operate as an ionic-liquid-based biomass conversion pipeline. The pipeline was tested by using sorghum as feedstock, the biocompatible ionic liquid cholinium phosphate as pretreatment solvent, a “one-pot” process configuration that does not require ionic liquid removal after pretreatment, and an engineered strain of the yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides that produces the jet-fuel precursor bisabolene as a conversion microbe. By the simultaneous processing of 48 samples, we show that this configuration and reaction conditions result in sugar yields (~70%) and bisabolene titers (~1500 mg/L) that are comparable to the efficiencies observed at larger scales but require only a fraction of the time. We expect that this Feedstocks-to-Fuels pipeline will become an effective tool to screen thousands of bioenergy crop and feedstock samples and assist process optimization efforts and the development of predictive deconstruction approaches.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Sun Grant Initiative Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership Competitive Grants Program

The Sun Grant Initiative partnered with the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2008 to create the Regional Biomass Feedstock Partnership Competitive Grants Program. The overall goal of this project was to utilize congressionally directed funds to leverage the North Central Regional Sun Grant’s Competitive Grant program at South Dakota State University (SDSU) to address key issues and research gaps related to development of the bioeconomy. Specific objectives of this program were to: 1. Identify research projects through a Regional Competitive Grants program that were relevant to the sustainable production, harvest, transport, delivery, and processing/conversion of cost-competitive, domestically grown biomass. 2. Build local expertise and capacity at the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center at SDSU through an internal selection of key bioenergy research projects. To achieve these, three nationwide Request for Applications (RFA) were developed: one each in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Internal, capacity building projects at SDSU were also selected during each one of these RFAs. In 2013 and 2015, two additional Proof of Concept RFAs were developed for internal SDSU projects. Priority areas for each RFA were 1) Biomass feedstock logistics including biomass harvesting, handling, transportation, storage, and densification; 2) Sustainable biomass feedstock production systems including biomass crop development, production, and life-cycle analysis; 3) Biomass production systems that optimize biomass feedstock yield and economic return across a diverse landscape while minimizing negative effects on the environment and food/feed production; and 4) Promotion of knowledge-based economic development in science and technology and to advance commercialization of inventions that meet the mission of the Sun Grant Initiative. A total of 33 projects were selected for funding through this program. Final reports for each of these diverse projects are included in this summary report. Projects funded under this award have contributed significantly to and advanced the bioeconomy body of knowledge. Specifically, no fewer than 109 peer-reviewed publications, 2 patents, 4 invention disclosures, 5 book chapters, 30 conference papers, 224 professional presentations, 31 outreach publications, and 1 website have been generated. This contribution to the scientific community (peer-reviewed literature, presentations, etc.) and to the public (outreach publications, websites, etc.) has been significant. In addition, a number of projects funded through this award included significant industry involvement and support both in terms of funding (both in-kind and direct) and input. Key industry stakeholders included AGCO, Alliant Energy, Applied Nanofilms, Archer Daniels Midland, ConocoPhillips, DuPont-Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol, EcoSun Prairie Farm, Federal Machine Co., Hawkeye Renewables, John Deere, Mendel, SD Innovation Partners, and Thermo-Ag.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Cornerstone Resources Feedstock Characterization and Conversion Assessment of Treated MSW Materials (CRADA Closeout Final Report)

Cornerstone Resources has developed a proprietary advanced preprocessing technology, the BurCell® System, for production of a high quality organic biomass feedstock from numerous waste resources. While suitable for a variety of feedstock, the focus of development for the BurCell® System has been thus far municipal solid waste (MSW). In MSW, the system technology is able to capture non-recyclable waste paper, cardboard, and organic materials, homogenize these materials and allow for separation of the non-organic fraction. The resulting homogenized organic material typically represents in excess of 50% of the raw MSW feed. The recently released Billion Ton Study now includes MSW as a feedstock resource showing it to be one of the lowest cost and most widely distributed biomass resources available; however, acknowledging the concerns with the potential physical and chemical variability of an MSW based feedstock stream. The focus on MSW has also been driven by MSW being a resource with a clear, well understood and mature supply-chain. Treating MSW in the BurCell® System will make that source of biomass substantially more accessible. To further promote the use of this MSW derived biomass and beneficially exploit the use of the BurCell® System for processing of biomass for Bioenergy production facilities, more detailed lab data is now required.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Woody Feedstocks 2020 State of Technology Report

The U.S. Department of Energy promotes production of advanced liquid transportation fuels from lignocellulosic biomass by funding fundamental and applied research that advances the state of technology (SOT). As part of its involvement with this overall mission, Idaho National Laboratory completes annual SOT reports for nth-plant biomass feedstock logistics. The purpose of the SOTs is to provide the status of feedstock supply system technology development for biomass to biofuels, based on actual data and experimental results relative to technical targets and cost goals from specific design cases. The 2020 Woody Feedstock SOT is separated into three separate pathways that utilize woody feedstocks: indirect liquefaction (IDL), catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP), and algal-blend hydrothermal liquefaction (AHTL).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗