Spring 2001
U.S. Department of Energy
Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Energy Crops Forum was published periodically by the Bioenergy
Feedstock Development Program, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC., for the U.S. Department of
Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.
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Table of Contents
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In October, 2000, the Department of Energy (DOE) established a National
Bioenergy Center to create new economic opportunities for farmers, enhance U.S.
Energy Security, and help manage the impact of energy on the environment. The
Center will partner with industry to achieve cost and performance goals to make
bioenergy competitive globally; provide strategic guidance, direction and
coordination to assure the best use of national laboratory and university
research capabilities; facilitate strategic partnerships to overcome market and
institutional barriers; perform world-class research; and be the focal point of
bioenergy analysis, information, education, and outreach.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, and the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will form the core of this
"virtual center." The efforts of the Center will support the multi-agency
Bioenergy Initiative as well as core programs in biomass power and
biofuels production.
A major goal will be to form strategic partnerships with other federal
laboratories and universities to expand the amount and quality of expertise
available to industry for helping to make bioenergy globally competitive. The
first of several partnership meetings was held April 11-12, 2001, in Golden,
Colorado. The report of this meeting will be published on Bioenergy
Initiative's website.
ORNL's primary contribution to the center is to supply expertise on biomass
feedstock research, analysis, and engineering systems. This expertise will be
drawn both from ORNL staff and the many collaborators of the Bioenergy
Feedstock Development Programs (BFDP).
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ORNL provides technical leadership in feedstock research through two tightly
integrated programs: Biopower Feedstock Development Program and Biofuels
Feedstock Development Program. These programs perform research, development,
and analysis to establish that biomass supply systems can be environmentally
beneficial and commercially viable. They emphasize developing new, sustainable
energy resources based on solar energy captured by living plants. The research,
which is supported by funds from the DOE's Office of Transportation
Technologies and Office of Power Technologies, is carried out in partnership
with universities, other government agencies, and the private sector. A status
report, Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program Status Report,
ORNL/TM-2000/292, and detailed project summaries are available online on
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/.
The successful development of new supplies of biomass for bioenergy requires a
unique level of cooperation among researchers and institutions in the energy,
agricultural, forestry, and environmental sectors. The Bioenergy Feedstock
Development Programs at ORNL provide a mechanism for focusing and integrating
the efforts of this diverse group of stakeholders. Recognizing that each has
different goals, the feedstock development programs conduct operations in a way
that integrates and advances objectives for energy, agriculture, forestry, and
the environment. ORNL places a strong emphasis on ensuring that information
from its research and analysis is available to these stakeholders and that the
information is current, accurate, and understandable.
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Solicitations in two areas will be released in April or May, 2001. The largest
solicitation will be for switchgrass research. The new work will build on
previous research but will focus on regions that show the most promise in the
United States. The solicitation rquests proposals for breeding, management,
biotechnology and large-scale crop production. The second solicitation is
asking for paper studies concerning the potential alternative energy crops and
supply systems. The solicitations will be announced on the Bioenergy
Information Network and several other web locations. Announcements will
also be sent to potential bidders.
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Jerry Tuskan, research leader
Developing wood energy crops for the regions of the United States where land
availability and climate are favorable for the establishment of biomass-based
energy systems is the primary goal of this task. The research strategy is
designed to maximize economic returns, reduce environmental impacts, and
establish sustainable biomass supply systems by optimizing per-unit-area
productivity for members of the Populus and Salix genera over
a substantially large portion of the United States. Productivity increases are
being achieved through a combination of traditional breeding, advanced
silviculture, molecular genetics, and crop protection.
Research on wood energy crops is organized into comprehensive regional crop
development consortia. Each includes a tree breeding program supported by
research ranging from silvicultural trials and insect and disease evaluations
to basic physiology studies and biotechnology applications. This integration
has been very effective in promoting efficient exchange of information and
plant materials among researchers within and across regions.
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Sandy McLaughlin, research leader
This task is working to develop herbaceous energy crops that can be economically
produced on a wide variety of sites and incorporated into conventional farming
operations. These energy crops must be environmentally acceptable and
convertible into specific energy products. A model crop system has been
developed focusing primarily on switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a
native perennial warm-season grass that is both highly productive and well
suited to diverse agricultural sites.
The research strategy has been to use screening studies to identify promising
species and varieties and to develop effective production practices. Breeding
programs and cropping systems research are then used to further improve
production potential. Current switchgrass research includes breeding and
physiological studies and larger scale trials to develop improved cropping
systems.
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Marie Walsh, research leader
BFDP and collaborators are conducting biomass resource and economic analysis
needed by policymakers, the private sector, and others interested in the
development of biomass energy systems. Alone and in partnerships with other
government agencies and collaborators, several models and databases are being
developed or modified at different scales. For example, the Biomass Resource
Database contains state-level estimates, prices, and quantities of forest,
mill, and agricultural residues, urban wood wastes, and energy crops whereas
BIOCOST estimates regional switchgrass, poplar, and willow production costs.
Other models evaluate alternative herbaceous material collection, transport,
storage, and handling options or the economic potential for, and impact of
energy crop production. Evaluations of the Conservation Reserve Program as an
energy crop source (with the U.S. Department of Agriculture), use of
short-rotation woody crops as a fiber crop (with the U.S. Forest Service),
estimation of the potential for biomass co-firing, and estimation of
macroeconomic impacts of establishing a corn stover to ethanol industry in the
Midwest have been recently completed.
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Virginia Tolbert, research leader
The projects in this task are compiling data to demonstrate that biomass crops
can be established, managed, and harvested in an environmentally acceptable
manner. Research focuses on three critical areas -- water quality, soil
sustainability, and biodiversity. Information from this initial research can be
used by project developers who must address specific concerns and meet local,
state, and national environmental regulations.
Water quality, including non-point source pollution from agricultural practices,
is an increasing concern to both regulators and the public. Soil sustainability
is of major concern to crop producers, potential users of energy crops, and
environmental groups that take a long-term view of environmental issues.
Biodiversity, particularly wildlife diversity, is a major environmental issue
because of the continued loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. Data
specific to energy crops and relevant to these environmental concerns must be
available to ensure that these concerns can be addressed and will not become
roadblocks to the commercialization of bioenergy systems.
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Mark Downing, research leader
The goal of this task is to document and quantify bioenergy feedstock production
practices, productivities, and costs under operational conditions. Data
collected by this task become input to the Integrated Analysis and Systems
Engineering tasks, and operational issues that arise help establish research
priorities for the biomass crop development tasks. The task also provides
technical support on feedstock production and supply issues to cost-shared
projects developing and demonstrating a range of bioenergy technologies.
Another significant element is communicating information on energy crop
technologies to the bioenergy project development community, equipment
developers, and others requiring specific information based on operational
experience.
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Shahab Sokhansanj, research leader
The near-term objective of the task is to ensure cost-competitiveness of
biofuels. Research will be directed towards understanding the impacts of
collection, storage, and transportation on biomass feedstock availability. The
overall goal is to establish safe and sustainable supply systems in support of
the entire biobased industry. The task will support multidisciplinary platforms
that require engineering expertise in systems optimization and scale-up
technologies.
Current research is focused on efficient handling of crop residue (straw and
stover) for biofuels and harvesting and treatment of energy crops (grasses and
woody crop) for biopower. Research topics include development of moisture
relations for corn stover, data on physical characteristics of grasses, and
storage stability of corn stover and switchgrass. The results will provide
critical data for optimizing machinery and systems for the entire feedstock
supply chain.
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Bob Perlack, research leader
The goal of this task is to expand the use of urban and industrial wastes,
agricultural residues, logging residues, and other forest residues, such as
those from forest fire risk areas, for use in the production of energy and
biobased products. This task directly supports the Integrated Analysis and
Systems Engineering tasks with the development of analytical methods and
analyses.
Specific activities include the development of a method for estimating the
availability and costs of utilizing agricultural, forest, urban, and industrial
residues for biopower production; the estimation of the quantity, costs,
characteristics, and environmental risks and benefits of using specific
residues; the initiation of a study to evaluate residue handling and processing
costs as well as determining the impact of any quality constraints necessary
for various biopower applications; and the identification of regulatory and
infrastructure barriers to greater utilization of these feedstocks. The task
specifically seeks cooperation and development of partnerships with biopower
producers.
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Fifth International Biomass Conference of the Americas, Orlando, Florida,
September 17-21, 2001. Papers and posters, September 18-20; optional technical
tours, September 21.
Sponsoring Organizations: U.S. Department of Energy (Offices of Power, Fuels,
and Industrial, Technologies), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural
Resources Canada, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Preliminary Topics
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•Biomass resources - advances in biomass production, residues availability,
soil sustainability, and related environmental topics
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•Bioenergy products - advances in conversion for a wide range of bioenergy
products
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•Integrating emerging technologies with conventional energy systems - exploring
synergisms
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•Biobased products - advances in production of commodities, intermediate
products, fine and specialty chemicals, and natural fibers and derivatives
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•Biomass refineries: the link between biobased and bioenergy products -
food/forest products refineries; emerging refineries based on sugars, syn gas,
and new fractionation technologies
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•Environmental and ecological impacts of bioenergy and biobased products -
includes life cycle analysis and impact assessment methodologies
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•Public/private partnerships - examples of success stories
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•Social acceptability of bioenergy and biobased products - international,
regional, national, and local approaches and methodologies
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•Policies for market development - federal, state, and local programs; policy
framework development to accelerate penetration; and incorporation of
externalities
For additional information: Fifth International Biomass Conference of the
Americas, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Attention: Dee Scheaffer, 1617
Cole Boulevard, MS-1613, Golden, Colorado, USA 80401- 3393, Fax: 303-275-2905.
Information about the conference can be found online at
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/bioam/
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