The Pyrolysis-Bioenergy-Biochar Pathway to Carbon Negative Energy David Laird, Sotirios Archontoulis, Robert Brown, Mark Wright, Dermot Hayes Agronomy, Mechanical Engineering, Economics Iowa State University
Need for Carbon Negative Economy. IPCC Fifth Assessment report considered various Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and their impact on atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and temperature change relative to 1861-1880 base line. The only scenarios that keep global average temperature increases below 2 C require the net removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere by 2100. IPPC 2014 Synthesis Report; https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/syr_ar5_final_full_wcover.pdf
Carbon- Negative Energy Pyrolysis-Bioenergy- Biochar Platform Market and indirect land use analysis: Assess global biochar impact on food, markets, & GHG emissions Technoeconomic and LCA analysis of pyrolysis plants Economic analysis of PBBP three case studies Use APSIM biochar module to predict crop yield, GHG, water quality response to biochar for three case studies Incubations: Rate constants for biochar-soil processes Build APSIM Biochar module Field studies: Validation & calibration of crop response to biochar Literature review
Agricultural Production System Simulator Why APSIM? APSIM has become one of the world s foremost farming systems model with over 3,000 licensed users across 100 countries Publications each year Data from Web of Science Citations each year Open source code Free to download http://www.apsim.info/ Holzworth et al. 2014. Environmental Modeling & Software 62: 327-350
Landscape Field Pedon
Archontoulis et al. 2016 APSIM - Biochar
System Plots Large plots, 0.34 Ha Split plot design 0) Control 1)Biochar (20.8 Mg/Ha) Switchgrass High diversity polyculture Low diversity polyculture Continuous NT corn
Rotation Plots Long term Rotation plots 5 Cropping Rotations (1) continuous corn (2) corn, soy, corn, soy, corn, soy (3) corn, soy, triticale/soy, corn, soy, triticale /soy (4) corn, corn corn/sg*, SG, SG, SG (5)continuous SG *SG = switchgrass 6 Treatments (year of rotation) 3 Biochar treatments(control, 1, 2, 3, & 4 years old) 4 Replicates 216 total plots
Soil Microcosms Fresh and Field Aged Biochar have Different Impacts on Soil Bulk Density, Water capacity, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and Nitrate Leaching Shuang Huang, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China David A. Laird, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
APSIM - Biochar Soil Organic C Soil bulk density Grain yield Soil water content Soil ph Stover yield Validation Archontoulis et al. 2016: Rogovska et al. 2013
APSIM - Biochar Test 2 Field study in Colombia (Major et al., 2010) Biochar applied in Fall of 2002 and much of the response comes from the liming value of biochar (ph improvement) Validation Archontoulis et al.
Miguez et al. APSIM - Biochar Test 3 - Measured vs predicted soil moisture levels
Engineering Fast Pyrolysis Biomass SF 1 Condenser SF 2 ESP SF 3 Condenser SF 4 ESP Pyrolyzer Gas Cyclones Biomass Feeder Fluidizing Gas Heavy Ends Light Ends Noncondensable gas Recovery of Bio-Oil as Stage Fractions Temperature-Controlled Condensers and Electrostatic Precipitators Brown et al. Char
Engineering Bio-Oil Fractionation Enables Py Refineries Pyrolyzer Product Recovery Lignocellulosic Biomass Heavy Ends Light Ends Biochar Phenolic Oil Sugars Acetate Transportation Fuels Boiler Fuels Bio-asphalt Carbon Fibers Fermentation or Refining to Fuels and Chemicals Bio- Cement Brown et al. Pollard et al. (2012) Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 93, 129-138.
Engineering ISU Pyrolysis Research Focuses on Recovery of Chemicals From Bio-Oil 1/4 tpd pyrolyzer with fractionating bio-oil recovery system at ISU s BioCentury Research Farm Product Red Oak Bio-Oil Compositio n (wt%) Biochar 13 Phenolic Oil 21 Sugars/Anhydro Sugars 8 Carboxylic Acids 5 Light Oxygenates 8 Water 22 Brown et al. Non-condensable Gases * No pretreatments employed 23
Wright et al. Technoeconomic Analysis Process flow diagram of biochar and biofuel production pathway. Process flow diagram of the biochar & bio-power production pathway.
Wright et al. Technoeconomic Analysis Minimum Biochar Product Selling Price (MPSP) needed to achieve a 10% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).
Hayes et al. Economic modeling Macroeconomic Variables Policy Parameters World Agricultural Production CARD-FAPRI Model Country Agricultural Production Livestock Herd Size Cropland Allocation Livestock Herd Size Cropland and Pasture Allocation Agricultural Production GreenAgSim Model Land-Use Change Emissions from Agricultural Production Emissions from Land-Use Change
C negative ethanol? Net CO 2 emissions per MJ of bioenergy. Assuming corn production with grain used for ethanol and stover used for biofuel production via fast pyrolysis with biochar application to soil Yield improvements due to biochar cause a negative indirect land use effect. Kauffman, N., Dumortier, J., Hayes, D. J., Brown, R. C., & Laird, D. A. (2014). Producing energy while sequestering carbon? The relationship between biochar and agricultural productivity. Biomass and Bioenergy, 63, 167-176. Hayes et al.
Demonstration of Ultra-Low Carbon Emissions Partnership with Easy Energy Systems (EES) and Stine Seed Company to commercialize Modular Energy Processing Systems (MEPS) based on ISU pyrolysis technology Demonstrate 50 tpd pyrolyzer Co-fire Lignocol TM and coal at Iowa State University power plant Sugar fermented to butanol by EES Biochar used as soil amendment and carbon sequestration agent ISU Power Plant Biochar Application Pilot plant used to design pyrolysis-based 50 tpd MEPS Lignocol TM from bio-oil
Thanks! Robert Brown Pierce Fleming Natalia Rogovska Cathi Bonin Rivka Fidel Sotirios Archontoulis Ken Moore Debbie Aller Dermot Hayes Shuang Huang Ajay Nair Chumki Banik Samuel Rathke Andy Lenssen Michael Lawrinenko Santanu Bakshi Andres Basso Fernando Miguez Isaiah Huber Emily Heaton Catherine Brewer Jill Euken Vincent Avormyo Nataliya Apanovich Ryan Smith Lysle Whitmer Brandon Carpenter Global Climate and Energy Project No. 60413992-112883-A USDA, NIFA, AFRI Grant no. 2011-68005-30411 ICM INC (biochar supply)