Can dead wood be used to make carbon-negative fuel?

Transcription

1 Can dead wood be used to make carbon-negative fuel? League of Women Voters of Moscow, Idaho April 23, 2014 Research supporting the conversion of insectkilled timber to liquid biofuels and biochar Jay O Laughlin, Ph.D. Director, Policy Analysis Group Mark Coleman, Ph.D. Director, Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative Can dead wood be used to make carbon-negative fuel? League of Women Voters of Moscow, Idaho April 23, 2014 Research supporting the conversion of insectkilled timber to liquid biofuels and biochar Jay O Laughlin, Ph.D. Director, Policy Analysis Group Mark Coleman, Ph.D. Director, Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 1

2 X X Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 2

3 BANR & Biochar March 23, 2014 X Infestations of pine and spruce bark beetles have led to widespread tree death in coniferous forests across the Rocky Mountains over the past decade, with ~42 million acres of U.S. forests impacted since Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 3

4 USDA Invests in Research to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees into Renewable Energy WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2013 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it has awarded nearly $10 million to a consortium of academic, industry and government organizations led by Colorado State University (CSU) and their partners to research using insect-killed trees in the Rockies as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 4

5 BANR will bring together scientists, educators, and extension specialists from universities and government agencies across the region to work with the industry and develop a comprehensive program addressing the major challenges limiting feedstock development, production, logistics and utilization of insect-killed trees for the production of biofuels and biochar. Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 5

6 Beetle-killed biomass is typically located far from urban industrial centers in relatively inaccessible areas with challenging topography, and transportation costs have been a key barrier to more widespread productive utilization of this vast resource. Cool Planet Energy Systems recent advances in modular thermochemical conversion technologies enable the production of advanced liquid biofuel feedstocks and biochar co-products on-site deep within stands of beetle-killed timber, bypassing these fundamental logistical constraints. Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 6

7 Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 7

8 There are still significant technical and knowledge barriers that must be explored before such systems can be widely deployed in an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable manner. BANR focuses on 5 major task areas... Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 8

9 Beetle-killed wood as a bioenergy resource no cultivation, no food-versus-fuel concerns, and may have a highly favorable carbon balance compared to other forestry feedstocks. Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 9

10 Conclusions ISEA Task Force Report Uncompensated social benefits exceed the value of energy production rural employment, improved forest conditions, avoided costs of wildfire suppression and post-fire rehabilitation, improved air quality, and reduced fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions. Conclusions ISEA Task Force Report These benefits support government investment in wood bioenergy as a proven, costeffective technology for homegrown, reliable baseload energy. Such support will be necessary in the short term to overcome the high cost and low reliability barriers [of forest biomass feedstocks] that currently exist. The payoff in the long-term will be increased energy security. Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 10

11 Forest management opportunity to address these challenging issues: Restoring forest health, wildfire resiliency, and wildlife habitat Revitalizing western rural communities [jobs] Finding renewable energy alternatives O O Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 11

12 Biochar amendments enhance soil quality Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 12

13 Using Sugar Cane Bagasse to Produce Char in Haiti. Porous structure and extremely high surface area strongly adsorptive Increases nutrient and water holding capacity Lower bulk density eases root growth Lowers acidity Improves microbial habitat Builds soil organic matter Decay resistant soil carbon pool Potential to store atmospheric carbon dioxide Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 13

14 Char can improve plant growth primrose Compost Compost +10% char botanic.co.uk/featured blogs/john walker/the carbon conundrum Char is made by heating biomass without oxygen Backyard to industrial scale harcoal/?album=2&gallery=5 Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 14

15 Bio oil Syngas Bio char Biochar is equivalent to native charcoal in forest ecosystems Char is common in fire adapted ecosystems Fire suppression decreases charcoal inputs Biomass removal decreases the likelihood of fire occurring Applying char as a co product of pyrolysis removes wildfire hazard and retains soil ecosystem function Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 15

16 What s old is new terra preta Mann, C.C Science 321: Char has long residence time in soil Carbon sequestration potential Stable aromatic ring structure Decay resistant Natural carbon capture and storage approach Potential for biochar to decrease human caused carbon emissions by 12 % Year AD Year AD Whitlock & Larsen Charcoal is used to date ancient fires Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 16

17 Could we apply char to forest and store carbon without environmental impacts? Poplar grown with various biochar proportions McElligott & Coleman (unpublished) University of Idaho 0% 33% 67% 100% Tree and forest soil responses to char 2009 Regional Smoke Management Meeting Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 17

18 Forest Biochar Applications Field Study Sites Tree growth response 0.6 Swift Creek Diameter Increment (in / yr) Control Keep Biomass Biochar Biochar Fert Fert Biochar Biochar & Fert Fert Control Keep Biomass Char Char Char Char Fertilizer Fertilizer Char Char Char Fertilizer Fertilizer Fertilizer Char Char Fertilizer Fertilizer Neutral to positive effects of char Fertilizer enhances growth, but no added benefit with char Slash effect rivals that of fertilizer Short term responses 0.0 Coleman, Page-Dumroese et al unpublished Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 18

19 BANR Biochar Team Biochar s influence on forest soils Ability of biochar to rehabilitate scars left from burning of forest harvest residues Enhancing peach production through improved root growth Extending water availability for dry land wheat Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 19

20 Bitterroot Bandits 2010 Jay O'Laughlin & Mark Coleman 20