Industrial Partnerships

Zero Pollution Feeders and Biofuels Project

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: Nebraska Energy Office, P.O. Box 95085, Lincoln, NE 68509

Principal Investigator: Larry Pierce, 402.471.3362, lpearce@mail.state.ne.us

Contract Number: ACL-9-29026-01

Contract Period: 03/99–09/99

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $35,000

Objective: Recently, the Administration announced a cooperative effort to implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Clean Water Act rules for large livestock operations. The stated objective of the rules is to protect citizens’ health and the environment by preventing water contamination from animal wastes, while preserving the economic strength of the important livestock industry.

This project evaluates the feasibility of integrating a dry-milling biomass and grain ethanol-production facility into a commercial livestock operation. The following benefits are anticipated: domestic energy security, reduced reliability on imported petroleum, improved local economics through creating jobs, and significantly reduced pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. This integrated operation is a long-term sustainable approach that is expected to lower production costs of both food and fuel, return a reasonable profit, and improve environmental standards.

Approach/Background:The Subcontractor will produce a preliminary design for the Zero Pollution Feeders and Biofuels Project, to confirm the feasibility of cost effectively integrating the various components in a continuous-flow scheme. Subcontractor shall assess the commercial feasibility of this integration at a 25,000-head cattle feedlot in Mead, NE.

Status/Accomplishments: This project was completed in December 1999. The proposed agricomplex will produce food, fuel, and a cleaner environment. The integrated system of operations virtually eliminates the need for fuel and energy from hydrocarbon sources. All of the facility’s energy needs are provided by biomass and recovery of energy by anaerobic digestion of cow manure.

The unique production facility will displace 400,000 tons of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide equivalents, 850,000 equivalent barrels of crude oil, and 550 million cubic feet of natural gas per day—all derived from biomass.

Publications and Presentations: None

Summary Date: March 2000

Commercial Potential for Ethanol Production from Wood Residue in Montana and Idaho

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: Montana State University and National Aeronautics and Space Administration–Montana State University TechLink, 900 Technology Blvd., Suite A, Bozeman, MT 59718

Principal Investigator:Dan Swanson, 406.994.7736, dss@montana.edu

Contract Number: ACG-8-18030-01

Contract Period: 03/98–12/98

Contract Funding:

FY 1998: $28,000

FY 1999: $25,100

Objective: The specific objective of this project is to begin developing a promising biomass-to-ethanol business opportunity by (1) partnering with relevant stakeholders, and (2) taking advantage of new technologies and feedstocks for ethanol conversion in the western MT and Idaho region. The ultimate goal of the project is to help create high value-added jobs in the region, a cleaner environment, and spin-off opportunities in related industries.

Approach/Background: Montana State University with support from the NREL completed in 1996–1997 an assessment of potential feedstocks for biomass-to-ethanol conversion. The study examined the availability and cost in Montana (MT) of sugar crops and grain crops, as well as cellulosic feedstocks including straw, perennial grasses, poplar trees, and residues from forests, industry and agriculture. The study concluded that although well-known feedstocks such as wheat and barley remain economically promising, fine wood residues (such as sawdust from lumber milling) offer both an economic and environmental opportunity for the region. Montana produces some 650,000 dry tons of fine wood residues annually, of which about 25 percent is landfilled, given away, or used internally for hogfuel. The remainder is sold cheaply, at prices of $2–$7/dry ton. Transportation costs are low, averaging $4/dry ton in a 100-mile radius.

Total feedstock costs (including transportation) are estimated in the range of $6–$11/dry ton, well below the government target of $35/dry ton for cellulosic feedstocks. Using one-fifth of the state’s available feedstock at a conversion yield of 80 gal/ton, several sites in MT could collect residues within a 100-mile radius to support an ethanol plant capable of producing more than 10 million gal/year. Some sawmills produce enough fine residues to support a conversion plant of 3–5 million gal on their own, potentially eliminating the need for transportation of the wood wastes.

Status/Accomplishments: This project was completed in March 1999. There are 1.8 million dry tons of sawdust, planer shavings, and bark produced annually in the western MT–ID region. Although the wood residue-to-ethanol commercial opportunity in this region appears attractive from a feedstock perspective, finding the right combination of all factors that favor ethanol production will not be easy. Ethanol production requires investors capable of raising significant debt capital, able to adopt new technologies (hydrolysis and fermentation), and and who want to create an opportunity in the transportation fuels market. This opportunity favors an investor who could control or predict wood residue supply. Wood residue supply is expected to decline as a result of forest access issues and improved milling technology that produces less wood waste.

Publications and Presentations:

1. Swanson, D. March 16, 1999. Commercial potential for ethanol production from wood residue in Montana and Idaho, final report. National Aeronautics and Space Admin-istration–Montana State University TechLink.
2. Fuels from farms and forests: a technical bulletin for biomass conversion to ethanol, Technical Bulletin. National Aeronautics and Space Administration–Montana State University TechLink. March 1999.

Summary Date: March 2000

Completion of Ethanol Plant Engineering Activities

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: Masada Resource Group, LLC, 950 22nd Street N., Suite 850, Birmingham, AL 35203

Principal Investigator: Ted Berglund, 205.320.1888, tberglund@masada.com

Contract Number: ACO-9-29064-01

Contract Period: 05/99–09/99

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $495,000

Objective: The objective of this project is to complete the necessary equipment testing and engineering design studies needed for financing of Masada’s biomass-to-ethanol demonstration facility in Middletown, NY This project will contribute to the commercialization of Masada’s OxyNol™process. The OxyNol™ process uses low-pressure concentrated acid hydrolysis to convert cellulosic biomass to fuel grade ethanol and other valuable chemicals.

Approach/Background:Masada’s project in Middletown, NY, is nearing financial closure. However, additional engineering and design studies are required to answer key technical questions about the conversion of the cellulosic fraction of municipal solid waste to ethanol.

Results of previous pilot testing have established the need for additional testing and a revised design for the facility. The remaining issues concern the acid–sugar separation and its effects on the downstream process areas such as acid and sugar concentration.

Status/Accomplishments: This project is complete. All equipment and engineering design issues related to financing of this project have been successfully resolved.

Publications and Presentations: None

Summary Date: March 2000

BCI/NREL Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393, http://www.nrel.gov

Principal Investigator: Dan Schell, (303) 384-6869, dan_schell@nrel.gov

Contract Number: N/A

Contract Period: 9 07/98–09/99

Contract Funding:

FY 1998: $248,386

FY 1999: $415,640 (Does not include in-kind support and funds from Participant)

Objective: A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was signed on July 16, 1998 between BC International (BCI) and NREL. BCI was founded in 1992 to commercialize technology for the conversion of biomass waste into ethanol using technology developed at the University of Florida. The purpose of this CRADA was to validate hydrolysis conditions for the conversion of rice straw, bagasse, and softwoods to fermentable sugars; verify performance of BCI’s recombi-nant fermentative microorganism; and support BCI’s efforts to commercialize biomass-to-ethanol technology.

Approach/Background: The CRADA work focused on two major areas: (1) pretreatment and two-stage hydrolysis of biomass to produce fermentable sugars, and (2) testing of BCI’s fermentative microorganism. Dilute-acid pre-treatment of bagasse was conducted in a 4-L steam gun in NREL’s pilot plant pretreatment laboratory. The CRADA scope of work was modified in April 1999 to include work on two-stage acid hydrolysis of rice straw that was also conducted in the 4-L steam gun.

Fermentation work at NREL using BCI’s recombinant microorganisms at both the bench and pilot scale. The pilot-scale work used equipment in NREL’s Process Development Unit, a 1 t/d integrated pilot plant for converting biomass to ethanol. The CRADA work supports BCI’s efforts to retrofit its ethanol production facility in Jennings, LA, and collaborative efforts to convert California feedstocks (rice straw and softwoods) to ethanol.

Status/Accomplishments: Pretreatment work with bagasse began in July 1998 and was followed by pretreatment work with rice straw that ended in April 1999. Shortly thereafter, we conducted two-stage acid hydrolysis work on rice straw that ended in September 1999. Both efforts successfully demonstrated conversion of these feedstocks to fermentable sugars.

The fermentation work began in July 1998 and continued until September 1999. Experiments were performed with bagasse hydrolysates in shake flasks and in fermentors of up to 160 L capacity. This effort produced substantial information and insight into the performance of BCI’s recombinant microorganism.

Publications and Presentations: None

Summary Date: March 2000

Biomass Conversion R&D Project

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: MBI International, P.O. Box 27609 3900 Collins Road, Lansing, MI 48909-0609

Principal Investigator: Doug Rivers, 517.336.4617, rivers@mbi.com

Contract Number: XXE-9-29058-01

Contract Period: 07/99–05/00

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $3,000,000

Objective: To evaluate process technologies that could increase biomass conversion, evaluate the conversion corn fiber to ethanol, evaluate the performance of biobased polymers, and evaluate lignins in cofiring experiments.

Approach/Background: The FIBEX process (fiber extrusion) will be applied to corn fiber to define the optimal operation parameters for pretreatment of the material. Also, secondary ethanologens will be studied for direct microbial conversion. Biobased polymers will be tested for biofouling resistance, and lignins will be tested for characteristics during combustion.

Status/Accomplishments: The cost of building a small-scale extruder was deemed too high for the project; therefore a lower-tier subcontractor will retrofit an existing extruder to accomplish the experimental procedures for FIBEX extraction of corn fiber. The screw on the extruder will be redesigned to accomodate the different types of biomass to be tested. Continuous cellulase production using Cl. thermocellum as a secondary ethanologen has been conducted in the presence and absence of reduced neutral red.

Antiseptic coatings have been developed from biopolymers and are being tested at the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University. The Energy and Environmental Research Center is currently conducting lignin cofiring tests with various lignins obtained from different biomass conversion processes.

Publications and Presentations:

1. A quarterly report was presented to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in December 1999.

Summary Date: March 2000

Development and Communication of Corn Stover Collection and Conversion Processes

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: Chief Executive Assistance, Inc., 3211 Trefoil Drive Charlotte, NC 28226

Principal Investigator: J. Hettenhaus, 704.541.9508, jrhetten@ceassist.com

Contract Number: EXL-8-18082-01 9-29039-01

Contract Period:09/98–09/99

Contract Funding:

FY 1998: $162,250

FY 1999: 123,000

Objective:

1. Develop the route for commercialization of agricultural residues, particularly corn stover-to-fuels and other value-added products;
2. communicate the needs and benefits to potential producers, enzyme suppliers, agricultural equipment manufacturers, those who process agricultural products, environmentalists, and others affected; and
3. assist NREL in setting priorities for use of its resources.

Approach/Background: A cellulase enzyme assessment showed that costs could readily be reduced to a tenth of current costs, from $0.50 to $0.05/gal of ethanol, by applying existing biotechnology tools. Such work would require about 100 full-time-equivalent years. However, there were no customers.

Potential-customer analysis showed processing 30% of the corn stover in the corn-belt, 77 million tons, results in a $450 million enzyme market with 70% manufacturing margins—the second largest WW enzyme market. We undertook to communicate this opportunity to corn growers, the existing enzyme suppliers, corn processors, and others key for its realization.

Status/Accomplishments: Sustainable collection, storage, and logistical investigation showed 150 million dry tons are available at $25–$50/ton, the equivalent of 12–15 billion gal of ethanol. More than 50,000 acres of corn stover have been baled and delivered within a 50-mile radius at less than $36/acre. Collection and sale of the stover for processing adds more than $4 billion to the corn growers’ income.

Collecting the excess stover can be environmentally beneficial. Processing just 30% of the corn stover to ethanol can mitigate greenhouse gas by more than 60–97 million metric tons C/year, 12%–20% of the United States’ share under the Kyoto commitment.

Today, the excess decomposes on the surface, and most of the carbon goes into the atmosphere. Just 11%–19% of the carbon in the surface stover contributes to the formation of soil organic matter, whereas roots contribute 32%– 44% of their carbon to the soil matter (according to studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service [USDA ARS] National Soil Tilth Laboratory).

More than 80% of the stover is tilled under to remove surface material. Excess stover on the surface can sharply reduce crop yields, especially on poorly drained soilsand in cooler-than-normal growing seasons, because it promotes lower soil temperature in the spring. Lower terperatures hinder plant germination and emergence. Cold soil temperatures associated with residue coverage are often given as the primary reason for tilling.

The benefits of reducing tillage—increased soil organic matter and reduced erosion—have been widely reported. Plowing can promote a carbon deficit in the soil. Plowing exposes soil carbon to oxidation, increasing organic carbon loss with the release of CO₂. USDA ARS studies show no difference in soil carbon when silage and corn were harvested over a 30-year period using identical cultivation practices. Both soils contained the same soil carbon although all the stover was tilled under in the plot where the corn was harvested.

Publications and Presentations:

1. Hettenhaus, J., D. Glassner and T. Schechinger. 1998. Corn stover potential for ethanol production. Bioenergy’98—Expanding Bioen-ergy Partnerships. Proceedings of the Eighth Biennial Conference. Edited by Don Weichert. Vol I & II. Great Lakes Regional Biomass Ener-gy Program, Madison, WI. Oct. 4–8 [1988].
2. Hettenhaus, J., D. Glassner, and T. Schechinger. 1999. Corn stover potential: Recasting the corn sweetener industry. In Perspectives on New Crops and New Uses. Edited by J. Janick. American Society for Horticultural Science Press, Alexandria, VA.
3. Hettenhaus, J., D. Glassner, and T. Schechinger. Transgenic plant expression choices. In Cash Crop Component of Surface Residue? Global AgBioTech Progress. Edited by Lynn Savage. Drug and Market Development Publications, Southborough, MA.

Summary Date: February 2000

Building a Bridge to the Corn-Ethanol Industry: Vogelbusch U.SA., Inc., Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc.

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393, http://www.nrel.gov and Vogelbusch U.S.A., Inc., 10810 Old Katy Road, Suite 107, Houston, TX 77043, and Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc., East Highway #6, Rt. 2, Box 488, Hastings, NE 68902-0488

Principal Investigator: Gunter Brodl, 713.461.7374, vbusa@email.msn.com

Contract Number: ZXE-9-18080-01

Contract Period: 01/99–01/00

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $125,984

Objective: To determine the feasibility of integrating a biomass conversion facility into the existing Chief Ethanol Fuels plant in Hastings, Nebraska. This facility would hydrolyze biomass to sugars and ferment the resulting C5 and C6 sugars to fuel alcohol as the main product. A by-product of the process would be lignin which would be incinerated and used to generate steam and electricity. The steam and electricity would then be used in the process to reduce the cost of utilities.

Approach/Background: The site-specific business potential of producing ethanol from biomass at the Chief facility was evaluated. The biomass conversion process was integrated into the existing grain-processing infrastructure. The potential to take advantage of the grain-processing infrastructure in place at the Chief plant site and also the existing ethanol transport infrastructure for product delivery was investigated.

We evaluated the economic and tech-nical feasibility of integrating the NREL- developed biomass conversion process into the existing Chief facility and discussed sugges-tions for further research and development.

Status/Accomplishments: The project, under current market and technical conditions, does not generate a positive return on investment because of the following factors:

The capital cost for the proposed facility is over $6/annual anhydrous gallon of alcohol produced vs. $1.50 to $1.80/annual anhydrous gallon of alcohol produced for current dry grain milling fuel alcohol facilities of similar capacities.

The cash operating cost, using corn stover as the feedstock to the NREL provided technology, is approximately $2.00/gallon of denatured alcohol vs. $0.90/gallon of denatured alcohol for current stand-alone dry milling alcohol facilities of similar capacity using corn at $2.10/bushel.

The major factors contributing to the very high capital and production costs are the complex and difficult pretreatment process, expensive incineration and turbogeneration equipment, the cellulase enzyme cost and the corn stover feedstock cost.

In order to break even and begin generating a positive cash flow, the following improvements are needed:

• reduction in capital expenditure of 50%
• reduction in overall chemical cost of $0.20/gallon
• improvement in alcohol yield of 20%
• reduction in feedstock cost (collection and transport) of $10/dry short ton
• capital loan obtained at the prime lending rate (approximately 8.5%)

Publications and Presentations: None

Summary Date: January 2000

Bridge to the Corn Ethanol Industry: Purdue University

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393, http://www.nrel.gov

Principal Investigator: Michael Ladisch, 765.494.7022, ladisch@ecn.purdue.edu

Contract Number: ZXE-9-18080-02

Contract Period: 02/99–02/00

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $139,544

Objective:

1. to provide Williams Energy Services the opportunity to explore the business potential provided by converting biomass to sugars, through hydrolysis and fermentation, to products such as ethanol;
2. to take advantage of the infrastructure at Williams Energy Services ethanol plant by investigating the colocation of biomass conversion facilities at existing plant site; and
3. to obtain feedback from Purdue University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Williams Energy Services to guide the research and development activities for biomass conversion commercialization..

Approach/Background: A three-way cooperative effort was initiated between Purdue University, Pekin Energy (now Williams Energy Services [Mr. Gary Welch]), and the Department of Agriculture National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (Dr. Rod Bothast). This effort has performed preliminary tests of new technology for pretreating the corn fiber by pressure cooking it in water, followed by hydrolysis and pentose fermentation. The cooperative research demonstrated the viability of fiber pretreatment through pilot plant runs, and the fermentability of the resulting hexoses and pentoses to ethanol by a recombinant microorganism. Equipment design and process economics were specified for an enzyme-based hydrolysis process using the throughputs associated with a wet-milling plant that currently is based on a design rate of 108 million gal ethanol/year or 120,000 bu corn/day.

Status/Accomplishments: The draft report was received January 31, 2000 and is currently under review. It is anticipated that any modifications required for the production of a final report will be completed by February 29, 2000.

Publications and Presentations: None

Summary Date: February 2000

Front Range Forest Health Partnership

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393, http://www.nrel.gov

Principal Investigator: Paula Volkin, 303.499.6132, volkin@aol.com

Contract Number: CXL-7-17411-01

Contract Period: 02/97–10/97

Contract Funding:

Fy 1998: $54,400

FY 1999: $650,100

Objective: Determine the feasibility of a biomass -to-ethanol plant sited on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, whose primary feedstock was to be forest thinnings and waste wood.

Approach/Background: The Front Range Forest Health Partnership is an alliance of individuals, citizen groups, federal, state, private, and nonprofit organizations that formed to promote restoration of forest health and reduce fire risks. The partnership promotes selective thinning to restore forest health and supports commercially beneficial end uses for wood waste materials generated along the Front Range. The study is divided into several phases with ‘go–no go’ decision points at the conclusion of each phase.

Status/Accomplishments: The study was completed. A biomass ethanol plant located at a Coors Brewing Company site in Golden, CO, may be viable if the feedstock cost can be kept below $25/bdt. Because of the higher capital cost of a facility in Las Animas, CO, that site does not appear to be competitive.

As part of this feasibility study, a siting study identified potential sites for an ethanol plant in the Front Range area. The Coors site ranked highest because of its steam supply and because Coors, in cooperation with Merrick Engineering and Total Petroleum, currently operates Colorado’s largest ethanol-producing facility.

Although the preliminary findings look promising, Forest Health Partnership members have identified challenges to this project:

• Securing a steady supply of wood materials from forested lands is difficult.
• Transportation costs are high (42% of total costs) from forested areas to the Denver metropolitan area.
• Current U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service timber-sale contract procedures do not lend to stewardship and ecosystem restoration projects (although this is slowly changing).
• There are insufficient funds and incentives to selectively thin the forests on public and private lands.
• Many mountain home owners deny fire risks and do not take the necessary steps to thin vegetation around their homes.
• The types of woods generated in an urban environment need to be identified because the ethanol technology for hardwoods may be different than that for softwoods.
• Urban areas do not have enough storage areas for wood.
• Local government budgets prohibit new hauling program development and manpower.
• Government roles, subsidies, and incentives are uncertain and change.
• Capital and investor confidence are lacking; new types of contractor arrangements and risk sharing are needed.
• The profits required by forest feedstock suppliers do not match ethanol price realities.

On the basis of results of this study, an ethanol facility that uses wood wastes is feasible.

Publications and Presentations:

1. Volkin, P. 1998. Front Range Forest Health Partnership Phase I Feasibility Study. NREL/SR-580-23805. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
2. Wiselogel A.E. 1998. Phase I Feasibility Study Results for the Front Range Forest Health Partnership. Bioenergy’98—Expanding Bioenergy Partnerships. Proceedings of the Eighth Biennial Conference. Edited by Don Weichert. Vol I & II. Great Lakes Regional Biomass Energy Program, Madison, WI. Oct. 4–8 [1988]. p.1160–1169.
3. Wiselogel, A.E., P. Volkin, S. Haase, J. Whittier, and R. Dettmann. 1997. Front Range Feasibility Study. Proceedings, Third Biomass Conference of the Americas—Making a Business from Biomass in Energy, Environment, Chemicals, Fibers and Materials. Edited by R.P. Overend and E. Chornet. Pergamon/Elsevier Science, Oxford, U.K. p. 47–56.

Summary Date: February 2000

Building a Bridge to the Corn Ethanol Industry : NYSTEC

Research Funded by: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fuels Development through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Project Manager: Robert Wooley 303.384.6825, Robert_Wooley@nrel.gov

Performing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393, http://www.nrel.gov

Principal Investigator: K. Thiesen, 315.334.7826, theisen@nystec.com and A. Hartman, 315.334.7845, Hartman@nystec.com

Contract Number: ZXE-9-18080-05

Contract Period: 02/99–03/00

Contract Funding:

FY 1999: $150,000

Objective: The objective was to determine the engineering and economic feasibility of ethanol production within New York State.

Approach/Background: Historically, most ethanol produced in the United States has been produced from corn. NREL has done extensive work over the past few years to develop the lignocellulosic biomass-to-ethanol process. By use of this technical process, many agricultural products or food-processing-waste products can be used to produce ethanol.

Although ethanol is not currently being produced in New York State, the diverse agricultural and forestry industries there present a wide range of potential feedstocks for ethanol production. Under this subcontract, the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) Alternative Fuel Technology Center (AFTC) evaluated NREL’s lignocellulosic-to-biomass technology against the New York State feedstock supply. Along with its subcontractor, Raytheon Engineers and Constructors, NYSTEC/AFTC assessed the engineering and economic feasibility of using this technology to produce fuel ethanol in New York State.

NYSTEC/AFTC pursued a five-phase approach to determining the engineering and economic feasibility of New York ethanol production. Phase 1 assessed the feedstock quantities and composition available and potentially available in New York. Phase 2 examined an existing grain-processing operation, established process-related requirements, and specified the island of processing equipment for an ethanol facility, including initial capital and operating costs. Phase 3 refined the initial capital and operating costs through site-specific placement of the ethanol facility to include all direct and indirect costs. Phase 4 prepared an initial twenty-year pro forma for the envisioned facility. Phase 5 identified and varied the values of 20 sensitivity-analysis parameters to determine the economic feasibility of the ethanol facility under varying conditions.

Status/Accomplishments: NYSTEC/AFTC and Raytheon Engineers and Constructors made two changes to the NREL ethanol plant configuration. The first was to engineer a biomass feedstock-handling front end to accommodate the proposed bales of straw, hay, or corn stover biomass. This new front end replaced the wood-chip front end in the NREL-provided architecture. The second involved the re-engineering of the main fermentation tanks to state-of-the-art sizes of 1,267,000 gallons each, reducing the number of tanks required.

NYSTEC/AFTC is preparing the final report for this effort.

Publications and Presentations:

1. New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation. (March 2000, in preparation). Building a bridge to the corn ethanol industry, final report.

Summary Date: February 2000