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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
provides technical leadership for the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) 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.
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 does have 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. |
Model Wood Energy CropsThe goal of this task is to develop model 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. 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 U.S. 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. |
Model Herbaceous Energy CropsThe goal of this task is 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 for herbaceous energy crops has been to use screening studies to identify the most promising species and varieties and to develop effective production practices. The promising species and varieties are then moved into a research program to further improve production potential. Current switchgrass research includes breeding and physiological studies and larger scale trials to develop improved cropping systems. |
Environmental SustainabilityThe goal of the Environmental Sustainability research is to develop 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 to 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. |
Integrated AnalysisThe Integrated Analysis task conducts biomass resource and economic analysis needed by policy makers, the private sector, and others interested in the development of biomass energy systmes. Activities include the development and maintenance of (1) internet available databases (ORECCL for county level energy crop yields, and Biomass Resource Database for state level estimates prices and quantities of forest, mill, and agricultural residues, urban wood wastes, and energy crops), (2) economic models available upon request (BIOCOST to estimate regional switchgrass, poplar, and willow production costs and a logistics model under development to evaluate alternative herbaceous material collection, transport, storage, and handling options), and (3) development and use of in-house economic models (POLYSYS to evaluate the economic potential for, and impact of energy crop production, and ORIBAS, a GIS-model to evaluate transport costs and site facilities based on minimum delivered feedstock prices given feedstock distribution, price and facility demand. Recent policy analysis includes evaluation of the Conservation Reserve Program as an energy crop source (with U.S. Department of Agriculture), use of short rotation woody crops as a fiber crop (with the Forest Service), estimate of the potential for biomass co-firing, and estimate of macroeconomic impacts of establishing a corn stover to ethanol industry in the Midwest. |
Operational Support and EvaluationThe goal of the Operational Support and Evaluation 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. |
Systems EngineeringThe Systems Engineering task supports and conducts research on collection, storage and transportation of biomass feedstocks. The near term objective of the Task is to ensure cost competitiveness of biofuels. The overall goal is to establish safe and sustainable supply systems in support of the entire bio-based industry. The task initiates fundamental engineering research, supports field trials and plays an active role in product specific initiatives. Research on physical and chemical characterization of biomass for the design and operation of handling equipment requires careful laboratory experiments. The work in the field is focused on testing and validation of improved or innovative concepts for storage and handling systems. The Task also supports 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 bio-power. 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. |
Residues Information ResearchThe goal of the Residues 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 and Operational Support tasks. 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. |
Current Research Collaborators
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