38 results on '"Erin Searcy"'
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2. 2019 Annual Report for LDRD
- Author
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Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Environmental science ,Forestry ,Annual report - Published
- 2020
3. Optimal blending management of biomass resources used for biochemical conversion
- Author
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Quang A. Nguyen, Erin Searcy, Damon Hartley, Mohammad S. Roni, and David N. Thompson
- Subjects
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,020209 energy ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Environmental science ,Biomass ,Bioengineering ,02 engineering and technology ,Biomass fuels ,010501 environmental sciences ,Raw material ,Pulp and paper industry ,01 natural sciences ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Published
- 2018
4. LDRD project summaries- Projects ending in fiscal year 2018
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Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Fiscal year ,Finance ,business.industry ,Political science ,business - Published
- 2019
5. Strategic supply system design - a holistic evaluation of operational and production cost for a biorefinery supply chain
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Erin Searcy, Patrick Lamers, Jacob J. Jacobson, Christopher J. Scarlata, Eric C. D. Tan, and Kara G. Cafferty
- Subjects
Cost–benefit analysis ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Total cost ,business.industry ,Supply chain ,Financial risk ,Bioengineering ,Raw material ,Environmental economics ,Biorefinery ,Agricultural economics ,Renewable energy ,Business ,Biorefining - Abstract
Pioneer cellulosic biorefineries across the United States rely on a conventional feedstock supply system based on one-year contracts with local growers, who harvest, locally store, and deliver feedstock in low-density format to the conversion facility. While the conventional system is designed for high biomass yield areas, pilot scale operations have experienced feedstock supply shortages and price volatilities due to reduced harvests and competition from other industries. Regional supply dependency and the inability to actively manage feedstock stability and quality, provide operational risks to the biorefinery, which translate into higher investment risk. The advanced feedstock supply system based on a network of depots can mitigate many of these risks and enable wider supply system benefits. This paper compares the two concepts from a system-level perspective beyond mere logistic costs. It shows that while processing operations at the depot increase feedstock supply costs initially, they enable wider system benefits including supply risk reduction (leading to lower interest rates on loans), industry scale-up, conversion yield improvements, and reduced handling equipment and storage costs at the biorefinery. When translating these benefits into cost reductions per liter of gasoline equivalent (LGE), we find that total cost reductions between –$0.46 to –$0.21 per LGE for biochemical and –$0.32 to –$0.12 per LGE for thermochemical conversion pathways are possible. Naturally, these system level benefits will differ between individual actors along the feedstock supply chain. Further research is required with respect to depot sizing, location, and ownership structures. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Published
- 2015
6. Estimating the variable cost for high-volume and long-haul transportation of densified biomass and biofuel
- Author
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Erin Searcy, Sandra D. Eksioglu, Mohammad S. Roni, and Jacob J. Jacobson
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Engineering ,Waste management ,Cost estimate ,business.industry ,Waybill ,Fossil fuel ,Biomass ,Transportation ,Variable cost ,Biofuel ,Bioenergy ,business ,Unit cost ,General Environmental Science ,Civil and Structural Engineering - Abstract
This article analyzes rail transportation costs of products that have similar physical properties as densified biomass and biofuel. The results of this cost analysis are useful to understand the relationship and quantify the impact of a number of factors on rail transportation costs of denisfied biomass and biofuel. These results will be beneficial and help evaluate the economic feasibility of high-volume and long-haul transportation of biomass and biofuel. High-volume and long-haul rail transportation of biomass is a viable transportation option for biofuel plants, and for coal plants which consider biomass co-firing. Using rail optimizes costs, and optimizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to transportation. Increasing bioenergy production would consequently result in lower GHG emissions due to displacing fossil fuels. To estimate rail transportation costs we use the carload waybill data, provided by Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Board for products such as grain and liquid type commodities for 2009 and 2011. We used regression analysis to quantify the relationship between variable transportation unit cost ($/ton) and car type, shipment size, rail movement type, commodity type, etc. The results indicate that: (a) transportation costs for liquid is $2.26/ton–$5.45/ton higher than grain type commodity; (b) transportation costs in 2011 were $1.68/ton–$5.59/ton higher than 2009; (c) transportation costs for single car shipments are $3.6/ton–$6.68/ton higher than transportation costs for multiple car shipments of grains; (d) transportation costs for multiple car shipments are $8.9/ton and $17.15/ton higher than transportation costs for unit train shipments of grains.
- Published
- 2014
7. Investigation of thermochemical biorefinery sizing and environmental sustainability impacts for conventional supply system and distributed pre-processing supply system designs
- Author
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Craig C. Brandt, Kara G. Cafferty, Yi-Wen Chiu, Abhijit Dutta, Jacob J. Jacobson, May M. Wu, Andrew M Argo, David J. Muth, Amy Schwab, Eric C. D. Tan, Erin Searcy, Matthew Langholtz, and Laurence Eaton
- Subjects
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,Biomass ,Bioengineering ,Environmental economics ,Raw material ,Biorefinery ,Agricultural economics ,Refinery ,Renewable energy ,Biofuel ,Sustainability ,Production (economics) ,Environmental science ,business - Abstract
The 2011 US Billion-Ton Update estimates that by 2030 there will be enough agricultural and forest resources to sustainably provide at least one billion dry tons of biomass annually, enough to displace approximately 30% of the country's current petroleum consumption. A portion of these resources are inaccessible at current cost targets with conventional feedstock supply systems because of their remoteness or low yields. Reliable analyses and projections of US biofuels production depend on assumptions about the supply system and biorefinery capacity, which, in turn, depend upon economic value, feedstock logistics, and sustainability. A cross-functional team has examined combinations of advances in feedstock supply systems and biorefinery capacities with rigorous design information, improved crop yield and agronomic practices, and improved estimates of sustainable biomass availability. A previous report on biochemical refinery capacity noted that under advanced feedstock logistic supply systems that include depots and pre-processing operations there are cost advantages that support larger biorefineries up to 10 000 DMT/day facilities compared to the smaller 2000 DMT/day facilities. This report focuses on analyzing conventional versus advanced depot biomass supply systems for a thermochemical conversion and refinery sizing based on woody biomass. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the economies of scalemore » enabled by advanced logistics offsets much of the added logistics costs from additional depot processing and transportation, resulting in a small overall increase to the minimum ethanol selling price compared to the conventional logistic supply system. While the overall costs do increase slightly for the advanced logistic supply systems, the ability to mitigate moisture and ash in the system will improve the storage and conversion processes. In addition, being able to draw on feedstocks from further distances will decrease the risk of biomass supply to the conversion facility.« less
- Published
- 2014
8. Uncertainties in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Advanced Biomass Feedstock Logistics Supply Chains in Kansas
- Author
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Erin Searcy, Kara G. Cafferty, Sabrina Spatari, and Long Nguyen
- Subjects
Engineering ,Control and Optimization ,Supply chain ,Energy Engineering and Power Technology ,Biomass ,Raw material ,lcsh:Technology ,jel:Q40 ,jel:Q ,jel:Q43 ,jel:Q42 ,jel:Q41 ,jel:Q48 ,jel:Q47 ,life cycle assessment (LCA) ,lignocellulosic ethanol LCA ,greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ,biomass supply chains ,uncertainty in biofuel LCA ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Engineering (miscellaneous) ,Life-cycle assessment ,jel:Q49 ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,lcsh:T ,Environmental engineering ,jel:Q0 ,Biorefinery ,jel:Q4 ,Cellulosic ethanol ,Biofuel ,Greenhouse gas ,business ,Energy (miscellaneous) - Abstract
To meet Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) cellulosic biofuel mandates, the United States will require an annual domestic supply of about 242 million Mg of biomass by 2022. To improve the feedstock logistics of lignocellulosic biofuels in order to access available biomass resources from areas with varying yields, commodity systems have been proposed and designed to deliver quality-controlled biomass feedstocks at preprocessing “depots”. Preprocessing depots densify and stabilize the biomass prior to long-distance transport and delivery to centralized biorefineries. The logistics of biomass commodity supply chains could introduce spatially variable environmental impacts into the biofuel life cycle due to needing to harvest, move, and preprocess biomass from multiple distances that have variable spatial density. This study examines the uncertainty in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of corn stover logistics within a bio-ethanol supply chain in the state of Kansas, where sustainable biomass supply varies spatially. Two scenarios were evaluated each having a different number of depots of varying capacity and location within Kansas relative to a central commodity-receiving biorefinery to test GHG emissions uncertainty. The first scenario sited four preprocessing depots evenly across the state of Kansas but within the vicinity of counties having high biomass supply density. The second scenario located five depots based on the shortest depot-to-biorefinery rail distance and biomass availability. The logistics supply chain consists of corn stover harvest, collection and storage, feedstock transport from field to biomass preprocessing depot, preprocessing depot operations, and commodity transport from the biomass preprocessing depot to the biorefinery. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the spatial uncertainty in the feedstock logistics gate-to-gate sequence. Within the logistics supply chain GHG emissions are most sensitive to the transport of the densified biomass, which introduces the highest variability (0.2–13 g CO 2 e/MJ) to life cycle GHG emissions. Moreover, depending upon the biomass availability and its spatial density and surrounding transportation infrastructure (road and rail), logistics can increase the variability in life cycle environmental impacts for lignocellulosic biofuels. Within Kansas, life cycle GHG emissions could range from 24 g CO 2 e/MJ to 41 g CO 2 e/MJ depending upon the location, size and number of preprocessing depots constructed. However, this range can be minimized through optimizing the siting of preprocessing depots where ample rail infrastructure exists to supply biomass commodity to a regional biorefinery supply system.
- Published
- 2014
9. A supply chain network design model for biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants
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Krishna C. Jha, Erin Searcy, Sandra D. Eksioglu, and Mohammad S. Roni
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Engineering ,Supply chain management ,Linear programming ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Supply chain ,Biomass ,Transportation ,Coal fired ,Power (physics) ,Coal ,Supply chain network ,Business and International Management ,business ,Process engineering ,Civil and Structural Engineering - Abstract
We propose a framework for designing the supply chain network for biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants. This framework is inspired by existing practices with products with similar physical characteristics to biomass. We present a hub-and-spoke supply chain network design model for long-haul delivery of biomass. This model is a mixed integer linear program solved using benders decomposition algorithm. Numerical analysis indicates that 100 million tons of biomass are located within 75 miles from a coal plant and could be delivered at $8.53/dry-ton; 60 million tons of biomass are located beyond 75 miles and could be delivered at $36/dry-ton.
- Published
- 2014
10. Developing the Global Bioeconomy : Technical, Market, and Environmental Lessons From Bioenergy
- Author
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Patrick Lamers, Erin Searcy, J. Richard Hess, Heinz Stichnothe, Patrick Lamers, Erin Searcy, J. Richard Hess, and Heinz Stichnothe
- Subjects
- Biomass energy--Economic aspects
- Abstract
Developing the Global Bioeconomy: Technical, Market, and Environmental Lessons from Bioenergy brings together expertise from three IEA-Bioenergy subtasks on pyrolysis, international trade, and biorefineries to review the bioenergy sector and draw useful lessons for the full deployment of the bioeconomy. Despite the vast amount of politically driven strategies, there is little understanding on how current markets will transition towards a global bioeconomy. The question is not only how the bioeconomy can be developed, but also how it can be developed sustainably in terms of economic and environmental concerns. To answer this question, this book's expert chapter authors seek to identify the types of biorefineries that are expected to be implemented and the types of feedstock that may be used. They also provide historical analysis of the developments of biopower and biofuel markets, integration opportunities into existing supply chains, and the conditions that would need to be created and enhanced to achieve a global biomass trade system that could support a global bioeconomy. As expectations that a future bioeconomy will rely on a series of tradable commodities, this book provides a central accounting of the state of the discussion in a multidisciplinary approach that is ideal for research and academic experts, and analysts in all areas of the bioenergy, biofuels, and bioeconomy sectors, as well as those interested in energy policy and economics. - Examines the lessons learned by the bioenergy industry and how they can be applied to the full development of the bioeconomy - Explores different transition strategies and how the current fossil based and future bio-based economy are intertwined - Reviews the status of current biomass conversion pathways - Presents an historical analysis of the developments of biopower and biofuel markets, integration opportunities into existing supply chains, and the conditions that would need to be created and enhanced to achieve a global biomass trade system
- Published
- 2016
11. An integrated two-stage anaerobic digestion and biofuel production process to reduce life cycle GHG emissions from US dairies
- Author
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Armando G. McDonald, Aurelio Briones, Erin Searcy, Kevin P. Feris, Erik R. Coats, Maxine Prior, Timothy S. Magnuson, and D. S. Shrestha
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Manure management ,education.field_of_study ,Waste management ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,Population ,Bioengineering ,Biotechnology ,Anaerobic digestion ,Biogas ,Biofuel ,Bioenergy ,Anaerobic lagoon ,Environmental science ,education ,business ,Life-cycle assessment - Abstract
Over 9 million dairy cows generate an estimated 226 billion kg of wet manure annually in the USA. To help mitigate dairy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the degradation of this organic-rich waste, manure can be processed via anaerobic digestion (AD) to methane and ultimately electricity. This potential value of AD has generated high-level dairy-industry support for broad-scale technology deployment; however, on-the-ground AD realization has been impeded by process stability/reliability concerns and poor economics. Considering these challenges but recognizing that AD represents a fundamentally sound manure-management approach, an interdisciplinary research team has completed proof-of-concept investigations on an integrated process that will concurrently improve manure management economics and reduce dairy GHG emissions. The integrated processes center on a two-stage fermentation/AD system that can generate methane quantity/quality comparable to conventional single-stage AD. Molecular level investigations confirm that the AD is highly enriched with a unique and synergistic microbial population which yielded a more resilient and stable process. Beyond AD, algae grown on nitrogen/phosphorus-rich AD supernatant in a photobioreactor yielded biomass concentrations approaching 1.0 g L–1; despite an apparent growth lag/inhibition associated with excess organic acids and ammonia, algae growth was significant. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) demonstrated that the two-stage AD configuration coupled with algae production can reduce GHG emissions by approximately 60% as compared with a traditional anaerobic lagoon. The end result is a manure-management platform that can increase US dairy viability and sustainability. Ongoing investigations are aimed at process refinement with an ultimate commercialization goal. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- Published
- 2013
12. Cost analysis for high-volume and long-haul transportation of densified biomass feedstock
- Author
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Sandra D. Eksioglu, Daniela Gonzales, and Erin Searcy
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Truck ,Engineering ,Waste management ,Cost–benefit analysis ,business.industry ,Supply chain ,Biomass ,Transportation ,Management Science and Operations Research ,Biorefinery ,Biofuel ,Woodchips ,Train ,business ,Civil and Structural Engineering - Abstract
Using densified biomass to produce biofuels has the potential to reduce the cost of delivering biomass to biorefineries. Densified biomass has physical properties similar to grain, and therefore, the transportation system in support of delivering densified biomass to a biorenery is expected to emulate the current grain transportation system. By analyzing transportation costs for products like grain and woodchips, this paper identifies the main factors that impact the delivery cost of densified biomass and quantifies those factors’ impact on transportation costs. This paper provides a transportation-cost analysis which will aid the design and management of biofuel supply chains. This evaluation is very important because the expensive logistics and transportation costs are one of the major barriers slowing development in this industry. Regression analysis indicates that transportation costs for densified biomass will be impacted by transportation distance, volume shipped, transportation mode used, and shipment destination, just to name a few. Since biomass production is concentrated in the Midwestern United States, a biorefinery’s shipments will probably come from that region. For shipments from the Midwest to the Southeast US, barge transportation, if available, is the least expensive transportation mode. If barge is not available, then unit trains are the least expensive mode for distances longer than 161 km (100 miles). For shipments from the Midwest to the West US, unit trains are the least expensive transportation mode for distances over 338 km (210 miles). For shorter distances, truck is the least expensive transportation mode for densified biomass.
- Published
- 2013
13. Dynamic analysis of policy drivers for bioenergy commodity markets
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Erin Searcy, Jacob J. Jacobson, and Robert Jeffers
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Bioenergy markets ,Natural resource economics ,business.industry ,Renewable Fuel Standard ,Modeling and simulation ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Agricultural economics ,Renewable energy ,General Energy ,Energy(all) ,Biofuel ,Dominance (economics) ,Bioenergy ,Market price ,Economics ,Energy economics ,business ,Energy source - Abstract
Biomass is increasingly being considered as a feedstock to provide a clean and renewable source of energy in the form of both liquid fuels and electric power. In the United States, the biofuels and biopower industries are regulated by different policies and have different drivers, which impact the maximum price the industries are willing to pay for biomass. This article describes a dynamic computer simulation model that analyzes future behavior of bioenergy feedstock markets given policy and technical options. The model simulates the long-term dynamics of these markets by treating advanced biomass feedstocks as a commodity and projecting the total demand of each industry, as well as the market price over time. The model is used for an analysis of the United States bioenergy feedstock market that projects supply, demand, and market price given three independent buyers: domestic biopower, domestic biofuels, and foreign exports. With base-case assumptions, the biofuels industry is able to dominate the market and meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for advanced biofuels. Further analyses suggest that United States bioenergy studies should include estimates of export demand in their projections, and that GHG-limiting policy would partially shield both industries from export dominance.
- Published
- 2013
14. ASSERT FY16 Analysis of Feedstock Companion Markets
- Author
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Patrick Lamers, Jason Hansen, Jacob J. Jacobson, Thuy Nguyen, Shyam Nair, Erin Searcy, and J. Richard Hess
- Published
- 2016
15. 2016 Billion-Ton Report: Advancing Domestic Resources for a Thriving Bioeconomy, Volume 1: Economic Availability of Feedstocks
- Author
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Craig C. Brandt, Maggie R. Davis, Brian Davison, Laurence M. Eaton, Rebecca Ann Efroymson, Michael R. Hilliard, Keith Kline, Matthew H. Langholtz, Aaron Myers, Shahabaddine Sokhansanj, Timothy J. Theiss, Anthony F. Turhollow, Jr, Erin Webb, Ian Bonner, Garold Gresham, J. Richard Hess, Patrick Lamers, Erin Searcy, Karen L. Abt, Marilyn A. Buford, Dennis P. Dykstra, Patrick D. Miles, Prakash Nepal, James H. Perdue, Kenneth E. Skog, David W. Archer, Harry S. Baumes, P. Daniel Cassidy, Kelly Novak, Rob Mitchell, Nicolas Andre, Burton C. English, Chad Hellwinckel, Lixia He Lambert, Jessica McCord, Timothy G. Rials, Robert C. Abt, Bryce J. Stokes, Art Wiselogel, Daniel Adams, Brandi Boykin, Jen Caul, Alaina Gallagher, Jared Largen, Megan Lucas, Borys Mar, Alicia Moulton, Kelsey Satalino, Garrett Shields, Vance Owens, Leonard R. Johnson, Chris Daly, Michael Halbleib, Jonathan Rogers, Ryan Davis, Anelia Milbrandt, Nathan Brown, Kristin C. Lewis, Andre Coleman, Corinne Drennan, Mark Wigmosta, Tim Volk, Susan Schoenung, and Wade Salverson
- Subjects
Engineering ,Volume (thermodynamics) ,Waste management ,Natural resource economics ,business.industry ,Thriving ,Ton ,Raw material ,business - Published
- 2016
16. Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Indirect Liquefaction of Blended Biomass to Produce High Octane Gasoline
- Author
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Hao Cai, Mary J. Biddy, Christina E. Canter, Damon Hartley, Lesley J. Snowden-Swan, Erin Searcy, Michael Talmadge, Eric C. D. Tan, and Jennifer B. Dunn
- Subjects
Engineering ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Pulpwood ,Biomass ,Octane rating ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Liquefaction ,Gasoline ,Raw material ,business ,Renewable energy - Abstract
This report describes the SCSA of the production of renewable high octane gasoline (HOG) via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of lignocellulosic biomass. This SCSA was developed for both the 2015 SOT (Hartley et al., 2015; ANL, 2016; DOE, 2016) and the 2017 design case for feedstock logistics (INL, 2014) and for both the 2015 SOT (Tan et al., 2015a) and the 2022 target case for HOG production via IDL (Tan et al., 2015b). The design includes advancements that are likely and targeted to be achieved by 2017 for the feedstock logistics and 2022 for the IDL conversion process. In the SCSA, the 2015 SOT case for the conversion process, as modeled in Tan et al. (2015b), uses the 2015 SOT feedstock blend of pulpwood, wood residue, and construction and demolition waste (C&D). Moreover, the 2022 design case for the conversion process, as described in Tan et al. (2015a), uses the 2017 design case blend of pulpwood, wood residue, switchgrass, and C&D. The performance characteristics of this blend are consistent with those of a single woody feedstock (e.g., pine or poplar). We also examined the influence of using a single feedstock type on SCSA results for the design case. These single feedstockmore » scenarios could be viewed as bounding SCSA results given that the different components of the feedstock blend have varying energy and material demands for production and logistics.« less
- Published
- 2016
17. Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Fast Pyrolysis and Hydrotreating Bio-Oil to Produce Hydrocarbon Fuels
- Author
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Jennifer B. Dunn, Lesley J. Snowden-Swan, Hao Cai, Eric C. D. Tan, Sue Jones, Erin Searcy, Damon Hartley, and Felix K. Adom
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Engineering ,Waste management ,Biofuel ,business.industry ,Bioenergy ,Bioproducts ,Supply chain sustainability ,Production (economics) ,Renewable fuels ,Raw material ,National laboratory ,business - Abstract
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO) aims at developing and deploying technologies to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts and biopower through public and private partnerships (DOE, 2015). BETO and its national laboratory teams conduct in-depth techno-economic assessments (TEA) of technologies to produce biofuels. These assessments evaluate feedstock production, logistics of transporting the feedstock, and conversion of the feedstock to biofuel. There are two general types of TEAs. A design case is a TEA that outlines a target case for a particular biofuel pathway. It enables identification of data gaps and research and development needs, and provides goals and targets against which technology progress is assessed. On the other hand, a state of technology (SOT) analysis assesses progress within and across relevant technology areas based on actual experimental results relative to technical targets and cost goals from design cases, and includes technical, economic, and environmental criteria as available.
- Published
- 2016
18. Transition Strategies
- Author
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J. R. Hess, Patrick Lamers, and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Transport engineering ,Market structure ,Engineering ,Resource (biology) ,business.industry ,Bioenergy ,Commodity ,Biomass ,Biorefining ,Raw material ,Environmental economics ,business ,Vertical integration - Abstract
A variety of feedstock types will be needed to grow the bioeconomy. Respective logistics and market structures will be needed to cope with the spatial, temporal, and compositional variability of these feedstocks. At present, pilot-scale cellulosic biorefineries rely on vertically integrated supply systems designed to support traditional agricultural and forestry industries. The vision of the future feedstock supply system is a network of distributed biomass processing centers (depots) and centralized terminals. This introduces methods to increase feedstock volume while decreasing price and quality supply uncertainties. Depots are located close to the resource, while shipping and blending terminals are located in strategic logistical hubs with access to high bulk transportation systems. The system emulates the current grain commodity supply system, which manages crop diversity at the point of harvest and at the storage elevator, allowing subsequent supply system infrastructure to be similar for all resources. The initiation of depot (pilot) operations is seen as a strategic stepping stone to transition to this logistic system. A fundamental part of initiating (pilot-) depot operations is to establish the value proposition to the biomass grower, as biomass becomes available to the market place only through mobilization. A feedstock supply industry independently mobilizing biomass by producing value-add merchandisable intermediates creates a market push that will derisk and accelerate the deployment of bioenergy technologies. Companion markets can help mobilize biomass without biorefineries. That is, depots produce value-added intermediates that are fully fungible in both a companion and the biorefining market. To achieve this, a separation between feedstock supply and conversion industry may be necessary.
- Published
- 2016
19. Commodity-Scale Biomass Trade and Integration with Other Supply Chains
- Author
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Patrick Lamers, M. Wild, T. Ranta, J. Heinimö, B. Hektor, M. Deutmeyer, Erin Searcy, and Erik Trømborg
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Engineering ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Supply chain ,Scale (chemistry) ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Commodity ,Biomass ,Environmental economics ,Raw material ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Petroleum industry ,Pyrolysis oil ,Quality (business) ,business ,media_common - Abstract
A global bioeconomy requires adequate logistical infrastructure to support trade of biomass feedstock and intermediates. An integration of biomass trade streams with existing supply chain infrastructure, originally constructed for other goods, presents an opportunity to efficiently enable such growth. This chapter examines to what extent existing logistical infrastructure can be used and/or shared with biomass trade streams via specific case studies. It identifies how biomass trade is already or could be integrated into existing supply chains handling infrastructure, and for what kind of biomass specifications a dedicated infrastructure is needed. It finds that the existing solids handling infrastructure is well suited to integrate biomass intermediates such as conventional or torrefied pellets. Liquids with a higher energy density than solids, for example, pyrolysis oil, could potentially realize many opportunities to leverage infrastructure designed for the petroleum industry, and may even enable leveraging home heating infrastructure, for example, in the US northeast, preventing costly modifications. However, high oxygen levels render pyrolysis oil corrosive, requiring investments in stainless steel or other more durable handling equipment. Biomethane injection into natural gas grids is already a common technology in most of Europe, but major hurdles remain, including high production costs, pipeline access, and the lack of quality standards.
- Published
- 2016
20. Biography
- Author
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Patrick Lamers, Erin Searcy, J. Richard Hess, and Heinz Stichnothe
- Published
- 2016
21. Techno-economics for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol by indirect gasification and mixed alcohol synthesis
- Author
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Abhijit Dutta, Groenendijk Peter E, David G. Barton, Christopher T. Wright, Jesse E. Hensley, M. Worley, Daniela Ferrari, Brien A. Stears, J. Richard Hess, Erin Searcy, Doug Dudgeon, and Michael Talmadge
- Subjects
Engineering ,Environmental Engineering ,Waste management ,Cost estimate ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,General Chemical Engineering ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Biomass ,Process design ,Electricity generation ,Bioenergy ,Environmental Chemistry ,Ethanol fuel ,business ,Waste Management and Disposal ,General Environmental Science ,Water Science and Technology ,Syngas - Abstract
This techno-economic study investigates the production of ethanol and a higher alcohols coproduct by conversion of lignocelluosic biomass to syngas via indirect gasification followed by gas-to-liquids synthesis over a precommercial heterogeneous catalyst. The design specifies a processing capacity of 2,205 dry U.S. tons (2,000 dry metric tonnes) of woody biomass per day and incorporates 2012 research targets from NREL and other sources for technologies that will facilitate the future commercial production of cost-competitive ethanol. Major processes include indirect steam gasification, syngas cleanup, and catalytic synthesis of mixed alcohols, and ancillary processes include feed handling and drying, alcohol separation, steam and power generation, cooling water, and other operations support utilities. The design and analysis is based on research at NREL, other national laboratories, and The Dow Chemical Company, and it incorporates commercial technologies, process modeling using Aspen Plus software, equipment cost estimation, and discounted cash flow analysis. The design considers the economics of ethanol production assuming successful achievement of internal research targets and nth-plant costs and financing. The design yields 83.8 gallons of ethanol and 10.1 gallons of higher-molecular-weight alcohols per U.S. ton of biomass feedstock. A rigorous sensitivity analysis captures uncertainties in costs and plant performance. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2012
- Published
- 2012
22. Impact of Screening on Behavior during Storage and Cost of Ground Small-Diameter Pine Trees: A Case Study
- Author
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Kevin L. Kenney, Allison E. Ray, Mark E. Delwiche, Erin Searcy, and D. Brad Blackwelder
- Subjects
Pinus contorta ,Moisture ,Waste management ,biology ,Forestry ,Wood ash ,Plant Science ,Drum ,Pulp and paper industry ,biology.organism_classification ,Grinding ,Pulverizer ,Environmental science ,General Materials Science ,Pile ,Water content - Abstract
Whole comminuted trees are known to self-heat and undergo quality changes during storage. Trommel screening after grinding is a process that removes fines from the screened material and removes a large proportion of high-ash, high-nutrient material. In this study, the trade-off between an increase in preprocessing cost from trommel screening and an increase in quality of the screened material was examined. Fresh lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) was comminuted using a drum grinder with a 10-cm screen, and the resulting material was distributed into separate fines and overs piles. A third pile of unscreened material, the unsorted pile, was also examined. The three piles exhibited different characteristics during a 6-week storage period. The overs pile was much slower to heat. The overs pile reached a maximum temperature of 56.8°C, which was lower than the maximum reached by the other two piles (65.9°C and 63.4°C for the unsorted and fines, respectively). The overs also cooled faster and dried to a more unifo...
- Published
- 2011
23. Should straw/stover be turned into syndiesel or ethanol?
- Author
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Peter C. Flynn and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Chemistry ,Biomass ,Forestry ,Straw ,Pulp and paper industry ,Liquid fuel ,Corn stover ,Agronomy ,Biofuel ,Bioenergy ,Ethanol fuel ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,Stover - Abstract
Straw and corn stover can be used to produce ethanol by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, or syndiesel by oxygen gasification and Fischer Tropsch (FT) reaction. FT has a higher processing cost and a higher energy yield of liquid transportation fuel. We analyze the cost of produced liquid fuel as a function of the field cost of biomass. At 80 $ t−1 (dry basis) a crossover point is reached. Below this value, the cost of producing energy as ethanol is lower; above this value, FT syndiesel is lower. However, the crossover point occurs at a very high field cost of biomass, more than 5.50 $ GJ−1, and ethanol plants are less capital intense than FT and hence have a smaller economic size. For both reasons ethanol is likely to be the preferred processing alternative.
- Published
- 2010
24. Feedstock handling and processing effects on biochemical conversion to biofuels
- Author
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Nick Nagle, Daniel Inman, Erin Searcy, Allison E. Ray, and Jacob J. Jacobson
- Subjects
Waste management ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,Supply chain ,Bioengineering ,Oil consumption ,Raw material ,complex mixtures ,Biotechnology ,Biofuel ,Cellulosic ethanol ,Greenhouse gas ,Environmental science ,Production (economics) ,business ,Biomass composition - Abstract
Abating the dependence of the United States on foreign oil by reducing oil consumption and increasing biofuels usage will have far-reaching global effects. These include reduced greenhouse gas emissions and an increased demand for biofuel feedstocks. To support this increased demand, cellulosic feedstock production and conversion to biofuels (e.g. ethanol, butanol) is being aggressively researched. Thus far, research has primarily focused on optimizing feedstock production and ethanol conversion, with less attention given to the feedstock supply chain required to meet cost, quality, and quantity goals. This supply chain comprises a series of unit operations from feedstock harvest to feeding the conversion process. Our objectives in this review are (i) to summarize the peer-reviewed literature on harvest-to-reactor throat variables affecting feedstock composition and conversion to ethanol; (ii) to identify knowledge gaps; and (iii) to recommend future steps.
- Published
- 2010
25. A criterion for selecting renewable energy processes
- Author
-
Peter C. Flynn and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,Combined cycle ,Biomass ,Forestry ,Combustion ,Renewable energy ,law.invention ,Bioenergy ,Biofuel ,law ,Environmental science ,Ethanol fuel ,Carbon credit ,Process engineering ,business ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Agronomy and Crop Science - Abstract
We propose that minimum incremental cost per unit of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, in essence the carbon credit required to economically sustain a renewable energy plant, is the most appropriate social criterion for choosing from a myriad of alternatives. The application of this criterion is illustrated for four processing alternatives for straw/corn stover: production of power by direct combustion and biomass integrated gasification and combined cycle (BIGCC), and production of transportation fuel via lignocellulosic ethanol and Fischer Tropsch (FT) syndiesel. Ethanol requires a lower carbon credit than FT, and direct combustion a lower credit than BIGCC. For comparing processes that make a different form of end use energy, in this study ethanol vs. electrical power via direct combustion, the lowest carbon credit depends on the relative values of the two energy forms. When power is 70$ MW h−1, ethanol production has a lower required carbon credit at oil prices greater than 600$ t−1 (80$ bbl−1).
- Published
- 2010
26. Processing of Straw/Corn Stover: Comparison of Life Cycle Emissions
- Author
-
Peter C. Flynn and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Engineering ,Corn stover ,Waste management ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Bioenergy ,Biofuel ,business.industry ,Fossil fuel ,Biomass ,Ethanol fuel ,business ,Life-cycle assessment ,Renewable energy - Abstract
The LCA emissions from four renewable energy routes that convert straw/corn stover into usable energy are examined. The conversion options studied are ethanol by fermentation, syndiesel by oxygen gasification followed by Fischer Tropsch synthesis, and electricity by either direct combustion or biomass integrated gasification and combined cycle (BIGCC). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of these four options are evaluated, drawing on a range of studies, and compared to the conventional technology they would replace in a western North American setting. The net avoided GHG emissions for the four energy conversion processes calculated relative to a “business as usual” case are 830 g CO2e/kWh for direct combustion, 839 g CO2e/kWh for BIGCC, 2,060 g CO2e/L for ethanol production, and 2,440 g CO2e/L for FT synthesis of syndiesel. The largest impact on avoided emissions arises from substitution of biomass for fossil fuel. Relative to this, the impact of emissions from processing of fossil fuel, e.g., refining of...
- Published
- 2008
27. The Impact of Biomass Availability and Processing Cost on Optimum Size and Processing Technology Selection
- Author
-
Peter C. Flynn and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Canada ,Energy-Generating Resources ,Ethanol ,Factor cost ,Combined cycle ,Biomass ,Bioengineering ,Fischer–Tropsch process ,General Medicine ,Pulp and paper industry ,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ,Biochemistry ,law.invention ,Economies of scale ,law ,Production (economics) ,Environmental science ,Capital cost ,Ethanol fuel ,Molecular Biology ,Biotechnology - Abstract
Biomass processing plants have a trade-off between two competing cost factors: as size increases, the economy of scale reduces per unit processing cost, while a longer biomass transportation distance increases the delivered cost of biomass. The competition between these cost factors leads to an optimum size at which the cost of energy produced from biomass is minimized. Four processing options are evaluated: power production via direct combustion and via biomass integrated gasification and combined cycle (BIGCC), ethanol production via fermentation, and syndiesel via Fischer Tropsch. The optimum size is calculated as a function of biomass gross yield (the biomass available to the processing plant from the total surrounding area) and processing cost (capital recovery and operating costs). Higher biomass gross yield and higher processing cost each lead to a higher optimum size. For most cases, a small relaxation in the objective of minimum cost, 3%, leads to a halving of plant size. Direct combustion and BIGCC each produce power, with BIGCC having a higher capital cost and conversion efficiency. When the delivered cost of biomass is high, BIGCC produces power at a lower cost than direct combustion. The crossover point at which this occurs is calculated as a function of the purchase cost of biomass and the biomass gross yield.
- Published
- 2008
28. The relative cost of biomass energy transport
- Author
-
Emad Ghafoori, Peter C. Flynn, Erin Searcy, and Amit Kumar
- Subjects
Quality Control ,Marginal cost ,Canada ,Energy-Generating Resources ,Power transmission ,Power station ,Environmental engineering ,Biomass ,Transportation ,Bioengineering ,General Medicine ,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ,Biochemistry ,Variable cost ,Pipeline transport ,Models, Economic ,Costs and Cost Analysis ,Environmental science ,Computer Simulation ,Electric power ,Fixed cost ,Molecular Biology ,Biotechnology - Abstract
Logistics cost, the cost of moving feedstock or products, is a key component of the overall cost of recovering energy from biomass. In this study, we calculate for small- and large-project sizes, the relative cost of transportation by truck, rail, ship, and pipeline for three biomass feedstocks, by truck and pipeline for ethanol, and by transmission line for electrical power. Distance fixed costs (loading and unloading) and distance variable costs (transport, including power losses during transmission), are calculated for each biomass type and mode of transportation. Costs are normalized to a common basis of a giga Joules of biomass. The relative cost of moving products vs feedstock is an approximate measure of the incentive for location of biomass processing at the source of biomass, rather than at the point of ultimate consumption of produced energy. In general, the cost of transporting biomass is more than the cost of transporting its energy products. The gap in cost for transporting biomass vs power is significantly higher than the incremental cost of building and operating a power plant remote from a transmission grid. The cost of power transmission and ethanol transport by pipeline is highly dependent on scale of project. Transport of ethanol by truck has a lower cost than by pipeline up to capacities of 1800 t/d. The high cost of transshipment to a ship precludes shipping from being an economical mode of transport for distances less than 800 km (woodchips) and 1500 km (baled agricultural residues).
- Published
- 2007
29. Logistics, Costs, and GHG Impacts of Utility Scale Cofiring with 20% Biomass
- Author
-
Richard A. Wood, Susanne B. Jones, Tyler L. Westover, Corrie Nichol, Kara G. Cafferty, Erin Searcy, James E. Cabe, Jonathan L. Male, Richard D. Boardman, Lesley J. Snowden-Swan, George G. Muntean, Mark D. Bearden, Corinne Drennan, and Sarah H. Widder
- Subjects
Pulverized coal-fired boiler ,business.industry ,Greenhouse gas ,Environmental engineering ,Economics ,Biomass ,Production (economics) ,Coal ,Heat of combustion ,Cofiring ,business ,Renewable energy - Abstract
This report presents the results of an evaluation of utility-scale biomass cofiring in large pulverized coal power plants. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the cost and greenhouse gas reduction benefits of substituting relatively high volumes of biomass in coal. Two scenarios for cofiring up to 20% biomass with coal (on a lower heating value basis) are presented; (1) woody biomass in central Alabama where Southern Pine is currently produced for the wood products and paper industries, and (2) purpose-grown switchgrass in the Ohio River Valley. These examples are representative of regions where renewable biomass growth rates are high in correspondence with major U.S. heartland power production. While these scenarios may provide a realistic reference for comparing the relative benefits of using a high volume of biomass for power production, this evaluation is not intended to be an analysis of policies concerning renewable portfolio standards or the optimal use of biomass for energy production in the U.S.
- Published
- 2014
30. Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Three Biofuel Pathways
- Author
-
Sue Jones, Erin Searcy, Jennifer B. Dunn, Eric C. D. Tan, Abhijit Dutta, Mary J. Biddy, Kara G. Cafferty, Michael Wang, Lesley J. Snowden-Swan, Michael Johnson, Jacob J. Jacobson, Zhichao Wang, and Daniel Inman
- Subjects
Engineering ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Natural resource economics ,Biofuel ,Supply chain sustainability ,business - Published
- 2013
31. Optimization of Biomass Transport and Logistics
- Author
-
Erin Searcy, Michael Wild, Ric Hoefnagels, Michael Deutmeyer, Tapio Ranta, Lars Nikolaisen, David J. Muth, Jaya Shankar Tumuluru, Leslie Ovard, Erik Trømborg, and J. Richard Hess
- Subjects
Corn stover ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Bioenergy ,Fossil fuel ,Environmental science ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Biomass ,Energy mix ,Raw material ,business ,Renewable energy - Abstract
Global demand for lignocellulosic biomass is growing, driven by a desire to increase the contribution of renewable energy to the world energy mix. A barrier to the expansion of this industry is that biomass is not always geographically where it needs to be, nor does it have the characteristics required for efficient handling, storage, and conversion, due to low energy density compared to fossil fuels. Technologies exist that can create a more standardized feedstock for conversion processes and decrease handling and transport costs; however, the cost associated with those operations often results in a feedstock that is too expensive. The disconnect between quantity of feedstock needed to meet bioenergy production goals, the quality required by the conversion processes, and the cost bioenergy producers are able to pay creates a need for new and improved technologies that potentially remove barriers associated with biomass use.
- Published
- 2013
32. CBTL Design Case Summary Conventional Feedstock Supply System - Woody
- Author
-
Erin Searcy and Christopher T. Wright
- Subjects
Engineering ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Slash (logging) ,Biomass ,Production (economics) ,Coal ,Raw material ,business - Abstract
A conventional woody feedstock design has been developed that represents supply system technologies, costs, and logistics that are achievable today for supplying woody biomass as a blendstock with coal for energy production. Efforts are made to identify bottlenecks and optimize the efficiency and capacities of this supply system, within the constraints and consideration of existing local feedstock supplies, equipment, and permitting requirements. The feedstock supply system logistics operations encompass all of the activities necessary to move woody biomass from the production location to the conversion reactor ready for blending and insertion. This supply system includes operations that are currently available such that costs and logistics are reasonable and reliable. The system modeled for this research project includes the use of the slash stream since it is a more conservative analysis and represents the material actually used in the experimental part of the project.
- Published
- 2012
33. CBTL Design Case Summary Conventional Feedstock Supply System - Herbaceous
- Author
-
Christopher T. Wright and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Engineering ,Corn stover ,Waste management ,business.industry ,Herbaceous biomass ,Biomass ,Production (economics) ,Coal ,Biomass fuels ,Raw material ,business - Abstract
A conventional bale feedstock design has been established that represents supply system technologies, costs, and logistics that are achievable today for supplying herbaceous feedstocks as a blendstock with coal for energy production. Efforts are made to identify bottlenecks and optimize the efficiency and capacities of this supply system, within the constraints of existing local feedstock supplies, equipment, and permitting requirements. The feedstock supply system logistics operations encompass all of the activities necessary to move herbaceous biomass feedstock from the production location to the conversion reactor ready for blending and insertion. This supply system includes operations that are currently available such that costs and logistics are reasonable and reliable. The system modeled for this research project includes the uses of field-dried corn stover or switchgrass as a feedstock to annually supply an 800,000 DM ton conversion facility.
- Published
- 2012
34. Process Design and Economics for Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol: Thermochemical Pathway by Indirect Gasification and Mixed Alcohol Synthesis
- Author
-
Brien A. Stears, D. Dudgeon, J. R. Hess, Daniela Ferrari, David G. Barton, Christopher T. Wright, M. Worley, P. Groendijk, Abhijit Dutta, Michael Talmadge, Jesse E. Hensley, and Erin Searcy
- Subjects
Waste management ,Bioenergy ,Cellulosic ethanol ,Economics ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Biomass ,Ethanol fuel ,Raw material ,Gasoline ,Tonne - Abstract
This design report describes an up-to-date benchmark thermochemical conversion process that incorporates the latest research from NREL and other sources. Building on a design report published in 2007, NREL and its subcontractor Harris Group Inc. performed a complete review of the process design and economic model for a biomass-to-ethanol process via indirect gasification. The conceptual design presented herein considers the economics of ethanol production, assuming the achievement of internal research targets for 2012 and nth-plant costs and financing. The design features a processing capacity of 2,205 U.S. tons (2,000 metric tonnes) of dry biomass per day and an ethanol yield of 83.8 gallons per dry U.S. ton of feedstock. The ethanol selling price corresponding to this design is $2.05 per gallon in 2007 dollars, assuming a 30-year plant life and 40% equity financing with a 10% internal rate of return and the remaining 60% debt financed at 8% interest. This ethanol selling price corresponds to a gasoline equivalent price of $3.11 per gallon based on the relative volumetric energy contents of ethanol and gasoline.
- Published
- 2011
35. Process Design and Economics for Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol
- Author
-
Daniela Ferrari, David G. Barton, Christopher T. Wright, Michael Talmadge, Abhijit Dutta, D. Dudgeon, J. R. Hess, Erin Searcy, M. Worley, Jesse E. Hensley, Groenendijk Peter E, and Brien A. Stears
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_compound ,Biomass to liquid ,Ethanol ,Waste management ,chemistry ,Bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels ,Environmental science ,Lignocellulosic biomass ,Process design - Published
- 2011
36. Agriculture and Land Use Issues
- Author
-
David J. Muth, Thomas H. Ulrich, J. Richard Hess, Leslie Ovard, Douglas L. Karlen, Erin Searcy, Richard G. Nelson, and Jacob J. Jacobson
- Subjects
Land use ,Agriculture ,business.industry ,Agroforestry ,Environmental science ,business - Published
- 2010
37. The Relative Cost of Biomass Energy Transport
- Author
-
Erin Searcy, Peter Flynn, Emad Ghafoori, and Amit Kumar
- Published
- 2007
38. The relative cost of biomass energy transport.
- Author
-
Erin Searcy, Peter Flynn, Emad Ghafoori, and Amit Kumar
- Abstract
Abstract  Logistics cost, the cost of moving feedstock or products, is a key component of the overall cost of recovering energy from biomass. In this study, we calculate for small- and large-project sizes, the relative cost of transportation by truck, rail, ship, and pipeline for three biomass feedstocks, by truck and pipeline for ethanol, and by transmission line for electrical power. Distance fixed costs (loading and unloading) and distance variable costs (transport, including power losses during transmission), are calculated for each biomass type and mode of transportation. Costs are normalized to a common basis of a giga Joules of biomass. The relative cost of moving products vs feedstock is an approximate measure of the incentive for location of biomass processing at the source of biomass, rather than at the point of ultimate consumption of produced energy. In general, the cost of transporting biomass is more than the cost of transporting its energy products. The gap in cost for transporting biomass vs power is significantly higher than the incremental cost of building and operating a power plant remote from a transmission grid. The cost of power transmission and ethanol transport by pipeline is highly dependent on scale of project. Transport of ethanol by truck has a lower cost than by pipeline up to capacities of 1800 t/d. The high cost of transshipment to a ship precludes shipping from being an economical mode of transport for distances less than 800 km (woodchips) and 1500 km (baled agricultural residues). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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