NRG Dunkirk coal power plant on Lake Erie conducted co-firing tests with 10% wood feedstocks in fall 2002

1
Developing Woody Biomass Resources for
Bioproducts and Bioenergy in the Northeastern and
Midwestern United StatesT.A. Volk, L.P.
Abrahamson, E.H. White, A.J. Stipanovic, T.E.
Amidon, J.P. Nakas State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry,
Syracuse, NY SUNY Center for Sustainable and
Renewable Energy
Closed-Loop Willow Biomass Growth Cycle
Forest Residues
Wood Manufacturing Residues

• Environmental/Rural Development Benefits
• Net Energy ratio of 155 _at_ farm gate
• CO2 neutral feedstock
• Reduced NOx and SOx emissions
• Reduce use of petroleum for chemicals, products
  and fuels
• Bird density diversity similar to natural
  shrub and forest habitat
• Soil microarthropod species density and richness
  similar to old fields
• Soil carbon levels stabilized
• Soil erosion minimized with cover crops
• 75 jobs created for every 10,000 acres of willow
  crops planted

NRG Dunkirk coal power plant on Lake Erie
conducted co-firing tests with 10 wood
feedstocks in fall 2002

• Bioenergy Options
• Cogeneration _at_ 100 heat and power
• Co-firing in existing power company coal
  boilers -Minor modification costs
• -Co-fire wood up to 20 by energy input

Establishment year growth
One-year-old after coppice
Forest residues from timber stand improvement
operations for timber, wildlife, and recreation
can produce 5 to 10 green tons per acre
Harvest after leaf fall.
Large quantities of wood residues from primary
and secondary wood product manufacturers are
available
Three-year-old willow after coppice can produce
30 green tons per acre
Woody or Lignocellulosic Biomass Feedstocks
SUNY-ESF Integrated Modular Wood Biorefinery
Partnership
Module I Bio-Delignification of woody biomass
by Fungi or Recombinant Enzymes (Biopulping)
30 less energy required
Biorefinery process
Energy flow back to
Module IX Thermodepolymerization (TDP)
Exploit high temperature, high-pressure pyrolysis
of woody materials in water to yield medium BTU
fuel gas and chemical feedstocks. (with
Youngstown State University)
McNeil Generating Station wood gasifier of
Burlington Electric Department
Wood thrush nesting in willow
Module IVNREL Clean Fractionation (CF)
Process To compliment I and II, optimize the
organosolv fractionation technology developed at
NREL to isolate cellulose, hemicellulose, and
lignin from biopulped feedstocks. (3 Products)
Partially Delignified Biomass

• Additional Applications Willow Crops
• Riparian buffer zones nutrient management
• Waste water management
• Phytoremediation
• Brownfield restoration
• Alternative landfill covers
• Living snowfences
• Carbon source for manure
• composting

• Gasification - 30 more efficient

Module II Hemicellulose Extraction from wood
feedstocks Exploit the bio-enhanced
accessibility of wood to selectively remove the
hemicellulose fraction using water or aqueous
solvents.
Hemicellulose Utilization a) xylan processing
into biodegradable polymers, blends and
composites, (b) Acid catalyzed conversion of
hemicelluloses for the production of xylitol,
2,3-butanediol and furan polymers Module VI.
Production of Biodegradable Plastics by
exploiting microbial fermentation to yield
biodegradable, thermoplastic polyesters Module
VIII.

• Fuel Cell Technology

Process By-products
Module III Delignification - Oxygen and
Catalytic Based, Sulfur-Free Pulping Separate
and isolate the cellulose and lignin fractions of
wood, after biopulping and hemicellulose removal,
using lower energy and a reduced chemical charge
compared to existing pulping processes that use
sulfur-based compounds.
Cellulose Utilization a) Application of
cellulose fibrils and nanocrystals in new
materials including composites and chiral
separation media, (b) conversion of low fiber
quality cellulose to glucose, ethanol and
hydroxymethyl furfural, (c) papermaking. Module
V
SUNY-ESFs molten carbonate fuel cell initially
fueled by natural gas which will be replaced by
syngas from willow biomass

• Biorefinery Partners
• National Labs University Collaboratorsj
  DOE National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) j
  Syracuse University j USDA Western Regional
  Center j Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Industrial Collaborators j Youngstown State
  University
• j BioFine j Eastman Chemical Company j
  Cornell University
• Research Institutes j Process NMR
  Associates j Granit SA j Institute of Paper
  Science and Technology j Andritz Inc. j
  BioPulping International j Empire State Paper
  Research Institute
• j New Holland j Antares Inc.
• Non-Participation Supportersj New York State
  Energy Research and Development Authority
  (NYSERDA) j American Forest and Paper
  Association Agenda 2020 Chief Technology
  Officer Committee j Rayonier

Sulfur-Free Lignin Utilization Synthesis of
adhesives and thermosetting polymers based on
sulfur-free lignin and the pyrolysis of lignin to
yield organic chemicals and fuel gases. Module
VII
Rural development through commercialization of
willow biomass crops
Acknowledgments This work is conducted with
support from the US Dept. of Energy through the
Biomass Power for Rural Development Program, the
New York State Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA), and the US Dept. of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research Education and
Extension Service (USDA CSREES).
Portfolio of New Bioproducts and Energy Resources
from Wood bio-based chemicals (levulinic acid),
biofuels/biodiesel, biodegradable
plastics/thermoplastic polyesters, composite
materials, thermoset polymers, polymers, ethanol,
adhesives, sulfur-free pulping/paper