Biomass cultivation: options and perspectives

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Biomass cultivationoptions and perspectives
Pita Verweij (with contributions from André
Faaij and Iris Lewandowski) Dept. of Science,
Technology and Society Copernicus Institute
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Why biomass?
Dutch energy policy Target of 10 of national
energy demand to be fulfilled by renewable
resources by the year 2010 Contribution by
bioenergy 40 of the total renewable energy
target Biomass and waste contribute over 50 PJ
in 2000 towards 120-150 PJ in 2020. EU policy
5,75 of petrol and diesel consumption to be
replaced by biofuels in 2010
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Why biomass?

• Renewable
• Versatile
• Low(er) cost
• Potential
• external
• benefits()

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Future worlds energy supply(combined with 80
reduction of GHG-emissions)
Courtesy of IIASA
Courtesy of Shell
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Biomass feedstock categories

• organic wastes (wet - dry streams)
• agricultural residues
• forestry residues
• dung
• dedicated fuel supply systems energy farming,
  multi-output crops, multi-functional land-use
  systems...

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Bio-energy potentials on a global scale (17
studies)
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The potential of biomass energy under four
scenarios. Part B Exploration of regional and
global cost- -supply curves

• Monique Hoogwijk
• PhD thesis RIVM and UU-STS
• PhD thesis download www.chem.uu.nl/nws

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Biomass energy, integrated approach
Land-use / primary prod.
Harvest
Processing
End-use
Surface
Land for food/feed crops
Food/feed harvest
Food processing
1.5 Gha
Food consumption
2
4
Animal production
Pasture land
3.5 Gha
5
7
Land for forestry/fibre production
Forest harvest
Material production
Material consumption
4.0 Gha
3
8
6
Secondary residues
Primary residues
Tertiary residues
Land for energy crops
Energy crop harvest
Energy conversion
Energy consumption
1
4.2 Gha
Other land
Losses
Source van den Broek, 2000
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Exploration of the ranges

• Present agricultual area
• High population growth
• Meat intensive diet
• Low food production development
• High demand for competing options (e.g.
  bio-materials, sinks).
• High demand for agricultural land
• High supply of residues
• Barely any potential (0)

• Present agricultural area
• Low popultion growth
• Meat extensive diet
• High food production development
• Low demand for competing options (e.g.
  bio-materials, sinks)
• Low demand for agricltural land
• Low supply of residues
• Very high potential (1100 EJ per year)

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Scenario approach SRES scenarios
Material/economic
A2
A1
Food trade low Technology development
low Population 2100 15.1 Billion GDP world 2100
243 trillion 95 y -1
Food trade maximal Technology development
high Population 2100 7.1 Billion GDP world 2100
529 trillion 95 y -1
Global
Regional
B1
B2
Food trade high Technology development
high Population 2100 7.1 Billion GDP world
2100 328 trillion 95 y -1
Food trade very low Technology development
low Population 2100 10.4 Billion GDP world
2100 235 trillion 95 y -1
Social/Environment
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Methodology geographical potential
IMAGE 2.2
Primary driving forces (Scenario)
Energy system
Atmospheric Ocean System
Agricultural Economy
Land cover
Terrestrial vegetation
Simulation land-use dynamics
Available area
Rain fed energy crop productivity
Land-claim exclusion factor
Technological change management factor
Geographical potential
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Assumed available area

• Abandoned agricultural land surplus, unsuitable
  due to climate change
• Low-productive land productivity below 5 of
  theoretical maximum
• Rest land remaining no productive land mainly
  savannah, steppe, grassland
• No biomass plantationms in bioreserves, forest or
  agricultural land, or tundra!

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Land-use pattern changes
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A1 2000
15
A2 2050
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Concluding remarks (1)

• The future global geographical potential of
  biomass energy (2100) can be about 20 (A2) to
  100 (B1) of the future energy demand
• At a regional level the Former USSR, China and
  South America have the highest geographical
  potential
• Europe cannot fulfil its total future energy
  demand with energy crops
• Potentially interesting regions for exporting
  biomass from energy crops are Oceania, the
  Former USSR, East and West Africa and South
  America

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Concluding remarks (2)

• About 40 to 70 of the present energy consumption
  may be produced at costs below 2 GJ-1 by 2050
  (present upper limit of cost of coal).
• Interesting regions because of their low
  production cost and significant potentials are
  the Former USSR, Oceania, East and Western Africa
  and East Asia.
• Such low costs presume significant land
  productivity improvements over time and cost
  reductions due to learning and capital-labour
  substitution.
• The present world electricity consumption may be
  generated in 2050 at costs between 0.04 0.045
  kWh-1 in A1 and B1 and below 0.05 kWh-1 in A2
  and B2.

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Key bioenergy utilisation routes
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Current feasible biomass production performance
data for various types of crops and conditions
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Key matters for, perennial, crop development and
improvement

• Perennials are new kid on the block compared to
  conventional food crops.
• Improvement of yields and lowering costs.
• Development of dedicated biomass production
  systems for specific contexts.
• Conventional breeding not exhausted genetic
  modification possibilities seem very large.
• Short term mapping genetic variety, early
  screening, development planting material.

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Miscanthus - different genotypes
C4 photosynthetic pathway
Miscanthus sacchariflorus
Miscanthus x giganteus
Miscanthus sinensis hybrid
Miscanthus sinensis
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BioPUShIntegrated Strategies for Identifying
Optimal Bio-energy Production
UtilisationSystemsAndre Faaij, Iris
LewandowskiCopernicus Institute - Dept. Science,
Technology SocietyUtrecht University
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Background of the project
Biomass - renewable sustainable energy - CO2
substitution - high potentials - more expensive
than fossil energy - requires large land
resources - requires optimised production and
utilisation systems
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Aim of BioPUSh
Identification of biomass systems that will
result in cheaper biomass energy and more
efficient land use
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Elements of improved biomass systems
Multiple product crops crops that produce more
than one product of which one product is used as
energy source
Cascade use of biomass harvested biomass is
first used as a high quality resosuce for the
production of non-energy products and later on in
the life cycle used for lower quality products
Multiple land use land use aimed at the
generation of more than one type of product
and/or service

• multifunctional multi-product bio-energy systems

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Aim of BioPUSh
Identification of biomass systems that will
result in cheaper biomass energy and more
efficient land use
- identification of promising multifunctional
multi-product bio-energy systems and modelling of
costs, energetic performance and carbon balance.
- economic interactions between large-scale
application of multifunctional multi-product
bio-energy systems, the prices of land and
competition with conventional agricultural
products.
- network and process strategies for innovation,
diffusion and implementation in multifunctional
multi-product bio-energy systems barriers and
carriers that influence introduction.
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Key matters for perennial crop development and
improvement

• Optimizing water and nutrient use efficiencies
• Modifying characteristics (e.g. conversion
  properties).
• Creation of hybrids
• Enhancing production of certain crop components
  (multi-product crops).
• Development and optimization of crops for
  specific conditions (phyto-remediation, poor
  soils).
• Crop development of perennials is inherently
  slow, while still much is to be learned...

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Production of fuels from biomass
() Current production cost gasoline and diesel
range between 4-7 U/GJ longer term
projections give estimates of roughly 5-11 U/GJ.
Transportation fuel retail prices including
taxation can vary between 20 50 U/GJ.
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Production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic
biomass

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Key biomass options for the longer term

• Advanced (transport) fuels (FT, MeOH, H2, EtOH)
  from lignocellulosic biomass at large scale.
• Advanced power generation.
• Perennial crops, multicropping residues,
  wastes...
• Biomaterials, biochemicals, cascading of biomass
  flows
• Biorefinery concept

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Perspectives for bioenergy (I).

• Upper limits of bio-energy potentials reach far
  major contribution to global energy supply
  possible..
• Strong interactions between food/energy/materials
  economic drivers however poorly understood.
  Efficiency of food production key element
  biotechnology (/-)
• Technology can dramatically improve
  competitiveness and efficiency advanced options
  (power, fuels) with large scale utilization.
• Optimal utilization? Transportation fuels, power
  and biomaterials compete.

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Perspectives for bioenergy (II)

• Bio-energy has to compete with other key options
  and amongst eachother economics and efficiency
  are essential for successful implementation.
• Perennial crops and advanced large scale use
  backbone, but, characteristics of each situation
  and region should be considered.
• Biotechnology could play an important role in
  crop development and improvement (e.g. ethanol
  production from ligno-cellulosic biomass)
• Biotechnology application in bio-refinery,
  digestion, specialties, algae utilization etc.

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Potential of Biomassin Germany
Source Konrad Scheffer, University of Kassel /
Witzenhausen
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Potential of available biomass in Germany (PJ)
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rest 11
wheat 24
set-aside 10
rape 9
barley 18
other grains 14
maize 14
Arable land use in Germany at present
Arable land use in Germany in future
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• low input of fertilizers by almost closed
  nutrient cycles
• low leaching of nitrate
• no soil erosion
• no herbicides
• no insecticides and fungicides
• low-emission combustibles

Cultivation and use of biomass
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Summer culture (second crop) maize sunflower suga
r sorghum sudangrass hemp mustard phacelia oil
radish vetches peas
Plants in double-cropping-system
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ripeness
kernels in milky stage
14
harvest
12
harvest
cereals
10
winter peas
maize
rape etc.
sunflower
8
sweet sorghum
t dm/ha
hemp etc.
6
4
2
0
march
april
may
june
july
aug.
sept.
oct.
The double-cropping system
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Mixture of cereals
40
Mixture of rye and winter peas
41
Mixture of rape and weeds
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Hemp
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Direct seed of maize and sunflowers
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second crop maize and sunflowers
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second crop maize for use as energy
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Harvest of green cereals
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Ensiling
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Storage of biomass
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drying
solid fuel
combined heat and power plant
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• energy plants can in principle be produced with
  low environmental impact
• production of energy plants has the potential to
  increase biodiversity relative to current
  agricultural practices
• the use of wet and ensiled biomass leads to an
  additional income for farmers farmers are no
  longer producers of raw material only