Economic and Environmental Analysis for Corn Stover and Switchgrass Supply Logistics

Kaliyan, Nalladurai; Morey, R. Vance; Tiffany, Douglas G.

doi:10.1007/s12155-015-9609-y

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The sugar production cost was highly sensitive to changes in fungal pretreatment time, glucose yield, and bulk density ( Figure 6 [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99]). Variations in the fungal pretreatment time between 7 and 60 days, which are the minimum and maximum values reported in the fungal pretreatment literature used as a data source (Section 2.1.1), produced the greatest change on the sugar production cost for perennial grasses, corn stover, and agricultural residues ( Figure 6).…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Bottlenecks of the Fungal Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Vasco‐Correa

Shah

2019

Fermentation

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Fungal pretreatment is a biological process that uses rotting fungi to reduce the recalcitrance and enhance the enzymatic digestibility of lignocellulosic feedstocks at low temperature, without added chemicals and wastewater generation. Thus, it has been presumed to be low cost. However, fungal pretreatment requires longer incubation times and generates lower yields than traditional pretreatments. Thus, this study assesses the techno-economic feasibility of a fungal pretreatment facility for the production of fermentable sugars for a 75,700 m 3 (20 million gallons) per year cellulosic bioethanol plant. Four feedstocks were evaluated: perennial grasses, corn stover, agricultural residues other than corn stover, and hardwood. The lowest estimated sugars production cost ($1.6/kg) was obtained from corn stover, and was 4-15 times as much as previous estimates for conventional pretreatment technologies. The facility-related cost was the major contributor (46-51%) to the sugar production cost, mainly because of the requirement of large equipment in high quantities, due to process bottlenecks such as low sugar yields, low feedstock bulk density, long fungal pretreatment times, and sterilization requirements. At the current state of the technology, fungal pretreatment at biorefinery scale does not appear to be economically feasible, and considerable process improvements are still required to achieve product cost targets.Fermentation 2019, 5, 30 2 of 23 of water [5]. Additionally, most commercially available pretreatments, such as dilute acid and liquid hot water pretreatment, require an additional detoxification step, because their severe conditions promote the generation of compounds derived from lignocellulose, such as furans, weak acids and aromatic compounds, which could inhibit fermentative microorganisms, such as yeast and bacteria [6].A series of alternative methods have been proposed to reduce the severity of the conditions required for biomass fractionation and pretreatment. Use of extrusion, microwaves, ultrasound, or pulse electric field has shown to improve the biomass pretreatment process and allowed for the use of milder pretreatment conditions [7]. Biomass pretreatment with aqueous organic solvents (organosolv) [8,9], ozone (ozonolysis) [10], ionic liquids [11,12], or deep eutectic solvents [13] has shown promising results in biomass fractionation [14,15]. However, concerns about the costs, handling, and recovery of the chemicals present limitations in their large-scale applicability [14,16].Fungal pretreatment is as an alternative to conventional pretreatments that is performed at 25-30 • C, atmospheric pressure, in solid-state with low water use, and without added chemicals that can be corrosive and would need disposal or recovery [17]. Fungal pretreatment is generally performed using wood-rotting fungi, such as white-, brown-, or soft-rot fungi, due to their ability to modify the components of the lignocellulosic biomass. Brown-rot fungi mainly degrade cellulose and hemicellulose, with little modificati...

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Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Bottlenecks of the Fungal Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Vasco‐Correa

Shah

2019

Fermentation

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“…Reducing the overall number of bales supplied to a biorefinery impacts all post‐baling operations of the supply chain, as well as reducing the unit handling and transportation requirements. Innovation in baler design capable of applying greater pressure over the extended duration, selecting twine that can restrain bale rebounding, and better operator training can potentially help increase bale density from current baseline value of 167 to 192 kg m −3 , which is within the range reported by different studies 45–48 . With this increment in bale density, the overall average supply‐chain cost, EUR, and GHGE can be reduced by an additional $7.1/t, 0.8% and 4.1 kg‐CO 2 e/t, respectively, which makes it one of the major contributor for cost, energy use and emissions reductions among different supply chain parameters.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

Near‐term practical strategies to improve the life cycle techno‐economics, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of corn stover supply system for biobased industries

Shah

Manandhar

Darr

2021

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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Corn stover is predominantly used as the feedstock in the cellulosic biorefineries of the Midwestern USA; however, there are several opportunities to improve the performance of its supply chain. Thus, there is a need to optimize the corn stover supply system for the overall sustainability of the corn stover‐based industries. This paper presents three practical strategies that could be implemented in the near term to improve the performance of the corn stover supply chain. The first strategy involves reducing the corn stover collection area, which entails improving producers’ participation through enhanced knowledge transfer related to this industry, improving harvest ratio of biomass, and reducing dry matter loss during biomass handling and storage. The second strategy involves reducing the overall bale supply quantity, which primarily entails increasing bale density. The final suggested strategy involves reducing quantities of in‐field machinery, which is possible through improving the efficiency of field machinery, including windrowers, balers, and stackers, and increasing their harvest durations. By successfully implementing these strategies, the overall cost associated with the supply of corn stover, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced, on an average, by 34–35% from the current average benchmarks of $95.9/metric ton (t), 11% and greenhouse gas emissions is 58.4 kg CO2e/t, respectively. This can contribute toward creating a cost‐effective logistics system that is also environmentally sustainable. This will be critical for the long‐term success of the biorefineries using corn stover as the primary feedstock. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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“…They report other estimates of farm‐gate breakeven prices ranging from $45 to 62 per ton in Tennessee, $55 per ton in Oklahoma, and $40 to 90 per ton in Illinois. Other comparable estimates are those for Tennessee at about $50 per ton, for Massachusetts starting at about $90 per ton, for Nebraska starting at about $75 per ton, and for an unspecified area in the Midwest an estimate of $66 per ton. Khanna, et al .…”

Section: Previous Research On Farmer Willingness To Supply Switchgrassmentioning

confidence: 87%

Biomass from marginal cropland: willingness of North Central US farmers to produce switchgrass on their least productive fields

Perrin

Fulginiti

Alhassan

2017

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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If the US mandates for the use of cellulosic biofuels are ultimately enforced, cellulosic feedstock will be demanded. Native switchgrass is a cellulosic feedstock that has been of substantial interest for this purpose because it is widely grown across the USA, it can be grown on marginal cropland and thus compete minimally with food supplies, it has a low carbon footprint, and in many ways, it is a sustainable source of energy. The purpose of the research reported here is to quantify the potential willingness of producers across 358 counties in a 10‐state area in North Central USA to produce this biomass. We conducted a contingent valuation survey of randomly selected farm operators in this area. From the more than 1100 responses, we found that the mean reservation price at which respondents were willing to supply switchgrass from their least productive field is a return of about $228 per acre, which translates to about $82 per dry ton. Respondents were somewhat less willing to lease out their land for this purpose, requiring an additional $3.50 per dry ton to be willing to lease. In sub‐regions of counties grouped by opportunity cost, mean reservation prices are equivalent to $75 per ton, $82 per ton, and $99 per ton, very close in the first two subregions to the Department of Energy goal of $84 per dry ton delivered to the biorefinery. Thus, prospects appear favorable that substantial fractions of farmers would be willing to supply switchgrass in this area, particularly in the sub‐areas with lower land costs. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Economic and Environmental Analysis for Corn Stover and Switchgrass Supply Logistics

Cited by 17 publications

References 29 publications

Techno-Economic Bottlenecks of the Fungal Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Techno-Economic Bottlenecks of the Fungal Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Near‐term practical strategies to improve the life cycle techno‐economics, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of corn stover supply system for biobased industries

Biomass from marginal cropland: willingness of North Central US farmers to produce switchgrass on their least productive fields

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