Biomass Program Overview

Office of the Biomass Program

DOE/EE/OBPBiomass Program

Overview and Products R&D

Western Regional Sun Grant Initiative

Dr. Todd WerpyPNNL/DOE

August 16, 2004


Mission of OBP

“The mission of OBP is to partner with U.S. industry to foster research and development on advanced technologies that will transform our abundant biomass resources into clean, affordable, and domestically-produced biofuels, biopower and high-value products. The result will be improved economic development, expanded energy supply options, and increased energy security”


Program Goals

2005: Demonstrate an integrated process for fuels production from biomass

2007: Complete technology development necessary to enable start-up demonstration of a biorefinery producing fuels, chemicals, and power

2010: Help U.S. industry to establish the first large-scale integrated biorefinery based on agricultural residues

Develop biorefinery-related technologies to the point that they are cost and performance competitive and are used by the nation’s transportation, energy, chemical, and power industries to meet their market objectives


Strategy: Remove

Technical Barriers

Thermo-Chemical Platform

Sugar Platform

Biomass

CO, H2, Bio-oils

Sugar Feedstocks & Lignin Residues

Advanced Biomass Process R&D

Technology Validation and Systems Integration “The Integrated

Biorefinery”

Fuels, Chemicals, Materials, Heat & Power

Mixed Sugars

Syngas, Pyrolysis-oils


Program Strategy

• Analysis is used to identify major cost barrier areas in each element of the program

• Research is dedicated to overcoming these barriers and reducing the cost of each process as well as the final integrated biorefinery

• Program is driven by private public partnerships to ensure integrity of the program

• Regular reviews are undertaken to ensure progress and fiduciary responsibility

• Program is based on both near term and long R&D objectives


Program Structure

$6MM $5MM$16.9 MM

$20 MM $21.7 MM

Congressional Mandates - $41MM


Biomass Program Funding

• Three-fold increase in earmarks since 2000

• EWD Earmarks have grown from 18% to over 47% of the total funding

• Real decline in the available funds used in support planned R&D

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

$60

$70

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

FY00 FY 01 FY 02 FY 03 FY 04

13 18 39 30 41

81 94

74 6180

Earmarks

Total Funds for Planned R&D

Legend

Earmarks and Total FundingMillions of Dollars per Year


Building the Bio-refinery

• Maximize the value from the existing infrastructure

• Bring lignocellulosics into those existing facilities

• Build stand alone lignocellulosic facilities


An Example of a Grains Bio-refinery

Corn Wet Mill

starch corn oilcorn gluten

mealcorn gluten

feed

food & industrial starches

hydrolysis

glucose

fuelethanol

high fructosecorn syrup

fermentation

sorbitol

• foodstuffs• pharma .

polyols isosorbide

hydrogenation

other citric acid lysine

xanthan gumsitaconic acid

& other fermentation

products

industrial oils

lactic acid

PLApolymers

•resins & plasticsapplications

•polyesters•surfactants•pharmaceuticals

deicerssolventscoatings

glycerolfood oilsfeed oils

Corn Wet Mill

starch corn oilcorn gluten

mealcorn gluten

feed

food & industrial starches

hydrolysis

glucose

fuelethanol

high fructosecorn syrup

fermentation

sorbitol

foodstuffspharma . polyols isosorbide

hydrogenation

Othersweeteners

citric acid lysine

xanthan gumsitaconic acid

& other fermentation

products

industrial oils

lactic acid

PLApolymers

resins & plasticsapplications

polyesterssurfactantspharmaceuticals

deicerssolventscoatings

glycerolfood oilsfeed oils

PhytochemicalsC-5 Products

Xylitol & polyols

Bio-dieselDi-acidsEpoxidesDiolsDiacidsPolymersVinyl Monomer

Other ProductsOf Fermentation


Building the BiorefineryCurrent PortfolioBiomass

Feedstock

Starch Cellulose LigninHemi-Cellulose Oil

IndustrialStarches

Protein

XyloseArabinose

Glucose

LiquidFuels (EtOH)

Lactic AcidPLA

XylitolArabinitol

SuccinicAcid

ItaconicAcid

PG and EG1,3-PDO

Esters Isosorbide

PG and EG

3-HP(Acrylic Acid)

LiquidFuels (EtOH)

Polyols Pyrolyis OilGasification

AnimalFeed


Current Status of Ethanol Dry Mills

• Economics can be difficult– Current ethanol facilities are limited to

only two products, ethanol and DDG– Economics are highly dependent of value

of the co-product DDG– Significant energy costs are associated

with the drying of DDG– Markets for DDG are not always

favorable and will deteriorate as additional ethanol facilities come on line


Strategies for Creating Additional Value• Modify dry mills to include a quick steeping

process that allows germ recovery• Add an intermediate filtration process to

recovery non-starch derived sugars (hemicellulose)

• Develop new fermentations for utilization of five carbon sugars (itaconic acid, succinic acid, etc)

• Develop new chemistry to produce value added products from hemi-cellulose (sugar alcohols, polyols)

• Include an energy component-gasify “DDG or modified DDG” to produce fuel gas


Current Ethanol Process

Corn Dry Grind Liquefaction Scarification

FermentationPrimary

DistillationDistillationRectifier

MolecularSieves

Centrifuge

Triple EffectEvaporator

DDGDryer

DDGAnimal Feed Ethanol

Solids

50%EtOH

95%EtOH

100%EtOH

Liquids

Water Recycle

Solids


The Holistic Ethanol Facility

Corn Quick Steep Scarification

Filtration Fermentation EthanolRecovery

MolecularSieves

“Fiber” HydrolysisNew DDG

Animal FeedEthanol

StarchEtOH 95%

EtOH100%EtOH

GermSeparation

Fermentation

CatalyticConversions

Gasification

Fuel/PowerEG, PG

Glycerol, Etc

ItaconicSuccinic, Etc

Oil


The New Ethanol Bio-Refinery

• Build a bio-refinery based on creating the maximum value from each component associated with the feedstock

• Includes a fuel component, energy component, and value added products component

• Will allow for expansion of ethanol utilization based on solid economics

• Energy independence for the facilities could be critical to financial stability

• Be the model to build future lignocellulosic facilities


Chemicals and Materials Analysis

• Used the current petrochemical refinery as a model• Surveyed over 350 chemical/material opportunities• Reduced initial 350 to 30• Reduced 30 to 12 based primarily on the following:

– Economic considerations– Technical considerations– Building block strategies



C5

Itaconic acid

Furfural

Levulinic acid

Glutamic acid

Xylonic acid

Xylitol/Arabitol

Methyl succinate derivatives (see above), unsaturated esters

Many furan derivatives

-aminolevulinate, 2-Methyl THF, 1,4-diols, esters, succinate

EG, PG, glycerol, lactate, hydroxy furans, sugar acids

Amino diols, glutaric acid,substituted pyrrolidones

Lactones, esters

5-Carbon Building Blocks


OHOH

O

CH2 OO

CH3

OHOH

CH3

O O

CH3

NH2

NH2

CH3

NH2

NH2

CH2

O

O

NO

CH3

CH3

N

H

CH3

Itaconic acid3-Methyl THF

2-Methyl-1,4-BDO

3- & 4-Methyl-GBL 2-Methyl-1,4-butaneiamine

Itaconic diamide

3- & 4-Methyl NMPAnd other pyrrolidones

3-MethylpyrrolidineStyrene-butadiene copolymers

Itaconic Acid


Chemicals and Materials

‘Top Ten” Analysis

• Mapping the potential for chemicals and materials from platform outputs

• ChemicalsFutureDiagram.ppt

• Future activities will include working with industry to identify areas of needed R&D– Includes solicitations– Includes core R&D activities


Value-Added BuildingBlocks Derived From Sugars

Building Blocks

1,4 succinic, fumaric and malic acids

2,5 furan dicarboxylic acid

3 hydroxy propionic acid

aspartic acid

glucaric acid

glutamic acid

itaconic acid

levulinic acid

3-hydroxybutyrolactone

glycerol

sorbitol

xylitol/arabinitol


Key Technology Hurdlesfor Products

• Fuels– Improved fermentation of five carbon

sugars– More robust fermentations that

withstand the impurities from pretreatment

– Mixed fermentations– Fermentation rates



• Chemicals and Materials– Fermentations

• Reduce the cost of both aerobic and anaerobic fermentations

• Robustness of fermentations needs to be improved

• Increase productivity of organisms• New engineering solution for aerobic

fermentations


Productivity Vs. Cost

1520253035404550

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0

Productivity g/L-hr

Co

st-

Cen

ts/P

ou

nd

Succinic Acid

Succinic Acid Cost Vs. Glucose Cost

2022242628303234

4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

Glucose Cost Cents/Pound

Co

st-

Cen

ts/P

ou

nd

Succinic Acid

Succinic Acid Cost Vs. Yield From Glucose

2022242628303234

50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

%Yield from Glucose

Co

st-C

ents

/Po

un

d

Succinic Acid

Succinic Acid Cost Vs. Final Titer

22232425262728

80 100 120 140 160

Final Titer-g/L

Co

st-

Cen

ts/P

ou

nd

Succinic Acid



• Chemicals and Materials– Catalysis

• More selective catalysts are required• Aqueous phase catalysis • Catalyst robustness-improved resistance to

fouling• Overall rates need to be improved



• Combined Heat and Power– Integration is key driver– How does excess power get transferred

to the existing grid system


On the DOE Horizon

• Major solicitations in FY04– University led solicitation for

fundamental research—up to 5 million dollars

– Industry led solicitation for products—up to 10 million dollars

• Major planned solicitations for FY05– Focused on a forest products biorefinery– Funding level TBD