Biomass & CHP

Opportunity for NC

Sierra Club Forum

November 14, 2009

Alex Hobbs, PhD, PE

NC Solar Center
www.ncsc.ncsu.edu

Advancing Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Economy

Living within our energy budget

Carbon production cycle based on agricultural biomass for

production of hydrocarbon based energy and products
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 Energy from the Sun
An sustainable supply of energy
for the next few billion years
&
nuclear energy we all support

Diameter = 1.39 x 106 km One billionth of the Sun’s radiation

Weight = 2 x 1030 kg actually reaches Earth
178,000 Terawatts
Where 1 tera is 1012
E = mc2
Diameter = 12,700 km
The Sun destroys
4 x 109 kg/s of mass 32’ ≈ .53° Earth
and releases energy at
the rate of Surface solarization = 1000 W/m2
3.8 x 1026 J/s.

150 x 106 km

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NC’s most widely deployed solar collector
Woody Biomass
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Sunlight →
 (CH2O)6 + 6 O2
nutrients

Solar Powered
Biomass

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Long View of Climate Change
• Venus, Earth &
Mars were 96%
CO2 originally
• Carbon has been
sequestered into
the earth’s crust
for 3+ billion
years
• With current
growth in fossil
fuel usage we will
release all fuel
grade carbon to
the atmosphere in
~ 200 years
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World carbon balance

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 Avoided Biomass Decomposition
100 kg biomass (bone dry) Natural decomposition
46%
(50.6 kg carbon)
54%
of
landfilled mulched

46 kg biomass 54 kg biomass
100 kg of biomass:
lignin and 50%
of the non-lignin (23.3 kg carbon) (27.3 kg carbon)
resistant to
degradation degradation of 90% 10%
111.7 kg CO2 + 6.5 kg
50% of cellulose
& hemicellulose
aerobic
decomposition
anaerobic CH4
15.2 kg carbon
90.0 kg CO2
(24.6 kg carbon)
3.6 kg CH4
(2.7 kg carbon)
= 248.2 kg CO2-
8.1 kg carbon
equiv
50% to 50% to
CO anaerobic
2 decomposition CH4
If 100 kg biomass were
14.8 kg CO2
(4.05 kg carbon)
5.4 kg CH4
(4.05 kg carbon) to completely
90% not
oxidized by 10% oxidized
decompose aerobically
soil microbes by soil
microbes 1.5 kg CO2 or combusted: 185.4
4.9 kg CH4
(3.65 kg carbon)
(0.4 kg carbon)
kg CO2
40.5% captured
and combusted
59.5% released
as CH4 GHG effect reduced by
5.4 kg CO2 2.9 kg CH4
62.8 kg per 100 kg of
(1.5 kg carbon) (2.2 kg carbon)
biomass

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Life Cycle CO2 and Energy Balance
for a Direct-Fired Biomass System

Net greenhouse gas emissions

-410 g CO2 equivalent/kWh
1,204

Avoided Carbon
Emissions Electricity
1.0
1,627 Out
10 3 28.4
Fossil
Energy Landfill and Transportation Construction Power Plant
In Mulching Operation

Direct-Fired Biomass Residue System

134% carbon closure
Mann and Spath (1997). NREL/TP-430-
23076
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Environmental Advantage of
Biomass Based Energy
Production

NREL LCA studies by Mann & Spath

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Wood Biomass to Electricity
45 MWe Craven County Wood Energy (CCWE)
Operating since 1990 at 95% availability

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NC Wood vs. Coal Emissions
2078

12 CO2 11.85
SO2
10 NOx
PM10
8 PM2.5

6
lbs/MWh 5.22
4

2.89
2
0.0089 0.076 0.67

0
CCWE NC Coal Avg
Plant comparison air emissions 2003

Wade Bennett NC GreenPower presentation

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 Biomass R&D Act of 2000

Management Harvesting

Environmental sustainability
Source: Martin Holmer

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 Let’s focus on
Southeastern energy
issues
In the Southeast what types of
reasonable “solutions” may be
provided through policy and
technology changes?

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Southeast has relatively cheap power
Risk of dying from coal fired power plant caused particulates

Source: Clean Air Task Force

Advancing Renewable Energy for a http://poweringthesouth.org
Sustainable Economy
 NC and GA – two of most
inefficient energy economies in
the U.S.
Electricity Consum ption per Person 1960-2001
NC
15000
North Carolina = 1,100 kWh/month FL
U.S. Average = 800 kWh/month GA
13000 California = 500 kWh/month
PA

CA
11000
WI

US avg
9000

7000
per person

5000
annual kilowatt hours

3000
1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005
Year
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration. 2006

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World’s 50 largest GHG producers

World’s largest emitters –

9 of 50 are southeast U.S. states
Georgia
22nd in World

Florida North Carolina Virginia

17th in World 24th in World 31st in World

Source: Pew Climate Center presentation to NC Climate Change Commission, 2006

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 Consider CHP for efficiently
using biomass for power
production
• Promote distributed generation using
available “opportunity” fuels
• Utilize waste heat from the natural
inefficiency of power generation
• Strive to reduce carbon emissions to the
atmosphere
• Support the process to establish policies
that allow change to occur

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Efficiency Benefits of CHP

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Efficiency gains translate
to emission reductions

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 NC REPS Definition of
Biomass
The NCUC decided not to expand the definition
of biomass specified in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-
133.8(a)(8): “agricultural waste, animal waste,
wood waste, spent pulping liquors,
combustible residues, combustible liquids,
combustible gases, energy crops, or landfill
methane; or waste heat derived from a
renewable energy resource.” Further
determination of what constitutes a qualifying
biomass resource may be made on a case-by-
case basis

http://dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=NC09R&re=1&ee=1

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 Wood residues

The conversion of
woody biomass to
energy in the NC
poses a unique
opportunity to
address three issues:
•Restoration of forest
health
•GHG reduction by
using renewable
energy alternatives
•Provide economic
development in rural
communities

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 Total Biomass Thermal Fuel Value
199x1012 Btu/yr 6650 Mwt 1662 Mwe

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There is a significant proportion of the 10% NC
REPS available from gleaning logging residues.

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Biomass harvests can reduce site preparation costs.

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Biomass markets can make management of poor quality
stands profitable by making pre-commercial thinnings into
commercial thinnings.

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 Woody Biomass “Practices”
There are different opinions
Practice Industry Extension Environmentalist
Best Approve Approve Approve
Management
Practices for
Water Quality
Harvest Dislike any sort Supports Written Contract Pre harvest notification
Notification of pre or post approved by NC Registered
harvest Forester to verify that BMPs
announcement were followed,
or opening to documentation to pass up
government the commercial chain to
regulation or state regulators. This is sort
oversight of a back door to post
harvest notification
Minimum Nope No consensus opinion 30 ft2/acre for thinning,
Residual Stand 8 live 5” diameter
for Thinning, trees/acre no harvest of
Residue Left at advanced regeneration,
Final Harvest 2 brush piles per acre

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 Do we have some
questions?
Alex Hobbs
NC Solar Center
www.ncsc.ncsu.edu

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 EPA CHP technology
catalog
• www.epa.gov/chp/basic/catalog.html

• Good introduction to
power technology
options and heat
recovery
• Coverage of several
efficiency
measurements and
where they best apply

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 EPA Biomass Publication
• CHP applications for low
Btu fuels
• Provides a good review
of everything from stoker
boilers to gasification for
powering renewable CHP
• www.epa.gov/combdhpp/documents/biomass_ch

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Energy Conversion Technologies
Energy Products and Processes for Woody Biomass

Bio-Power Electricity or Combined Heat and

Process Heat Power (CHP)

Hot Gas or Steam Direct Combustion Turbines

Torrefaction Torrefied Wood

300ºC Bio-Char
Simple Acids & Logging Residue,
Sugars Enzymes Waste Wood,
Tops & Branches Pyrolitic Conversion

Hydrolysis
Pyrolysis 400ºC Bio-Oil

Alcohols Fermentation & Gasification Syngas (CO H2 CH4)

Distillation 500ºC Alcohol, Fischer-
Tropsch Liquids

Bio-Fuels & Bio-Products

Chris Hopkins-NCSU

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 NC Biomass Council
Estimated 277 trillion Btu’s
or 81billion kWthr of
biomass resource in NC

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/ncsc/bioenergy/docs

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 Notes on Biomass
Availability for the EMC
Chris Hopkins
Outreach Associate,
Forestry Extension

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 Components of Biomass
Available for Energy and
Fuels in NC
• Forest harvest residues
• Pulpwood
• Agricultural Residues (corn and
wheat stover)
• Hay
• Biofuels crops (perhaps on pasture
land)

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Current Forest Productivity
• TPO for NC 2007 data indicate we are
generating about
– 12 million green tons of logging residue and
– 11.5 million other removals,
– 25% more than enough to satisfy the 17.6
million tons of forest residue (55% of the RPS
total need) from the full implementation of the
RPS

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 Prospective Forest
Productivity
• We could approximately increase our
harvestable annual yield by a factor
of 5.25
• If all timberland stands were managed on a
50 year rotation and
• Growth rates matched those of the top 25%
of existing hardwood and softwood stands.

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Advancing Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Economy
 Pulpwood
• Most NC pulp mills not currently
operating at full capacity
• Nationally we are using less paper each
year (1-2%)
• NC TPO indicates about
– 10 million tons of pulpwood produced
annually
– 1.5 million tons of fiber for composite
products

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 Agricultural Residues
• USDA figures from the last ten years
indicate:
• Corn stover and wheat straw are the main
sources of potential agricultural residues in
NC.
• Corn stover is about 74% of the agricultural
residues (0.659 million BDT) and wheat
straw is the bulk of the remainder (0.238
million BDT)
• Hay is not a residue product, but may be
available for use (1.589 million tons)

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 Biofuels on Pasture and
Hay Land
• Hay is typically grown on fallow
agricultural land while pastures are
usually less productive.
• Hay represents about 716,000 acres,
while pasture is about 3,000,000
acres.
• Biofuels production such as
switchgrass on pasture lands would
likely be relatively low compared to
typical ranges (4-9 BDT/acre)
• 4 BDT/acre used in this analysis.

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 Regions for Analysis of the
Biopower/Biofuels Resources

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Requirments for Biofuels and
Biopower Production
• Biopower was assumed to require 8.8 million
BDT annually at full RPS implementation or
1.466 million BDT from each region.
• Biofuels production is proposed to be
600,000,000 gallons annually
– Assume 80 gallons of fuel per BDT of biomass.
– 7,500,000 BDT required statewide,
– 1,250,000 BDT from each region
• Biopower and Biofuels production is assumed
to be equally shared among regions.

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 Constraints and
Improvements of Biomass
Availability
• Availability describes participation in
biomass markets, assumed to be 90% for all
biomass sources in this analysis
• Recovery is the technical ability to bring
available biomass to market
– 75 % from recent experience with the logging
industry
– 60% from agriculture literature
– 100% for hay and biofuels crops
• Yield gain describes increase in production
foreseen under improved management
scenarios (2 is considered a conservative
forestry increase, i.e., 100% increase)
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 Biomass vs. Biofuels and
Biopower
• Red indicates regional biopower goal not met.
• Yellow indicates biopower goal met, partial
fulfillment of biofuels goal.
• Green indicates both goals met.
• Numbers in table are cumulative over
– Logging residue,
– Other forest residue,
– Pulpwood ,
– Agriculture residue
– Hay
– Switchgrass

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 Base Case: Current Productivity, Recovery and
Logging Other Forest Pulpwood Crop Hay Pasture to
AvailabilityResidues Residues Residue Switchgrass

Availability 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

Recovery 0.75 0.75 1 0.6 1 1

Yield Gain 1 1 1 1 1 1

Total 0.675 0.675 0.9 0.54 0.9 0.9

Regions

Cumulative Sum of Biomass 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sources

Logging Residues 521,996 589,281 801,593 1,124,893 607,084 422,309

Other Forest Residues 1,057,529 1,182,391 1,570,654 2,180,129 1,142,855 804,977

Pulpwood 1,670,130 1,841,674 2,361,622 3,222,692 1,610,893 1,158,497

Crop Residue 1,686,060 1,927,704 2,415,237 3,393,891 1,810,264 1,439,461

Hay 1,923,458 2,470,064 2,695,526 3,551,121 2,014,530 1,448,090

Pasture to Switchgrass 3,778,922 6,604,488 5,353,583 5,104,002 2,085,936 2,041,960

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 Improved Forest Production Scenario with
Current
Logging
Residues
Recovery and Availability
Other Forest Pulpwood Crop Residue
Residues
Hay Pasture to
Switchgrass

Availability 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

Recovery 0.75 0.75 1 0.6 1 1

Yield Gain 2 2 2 1 1 1

Total 1.35 1.35 1.8 0.54 0.9 0.9

Regions

Cumulative Sum of Biomass 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sources

Logging Residues 1,043,992 1,178,562 1,603,186 2,249,786 1,214,167 844,617

Other Forest Residues 2,115,059 2,364,782 3,141,308 4,360,258 2,285,711 1,609,955

Pulpwood 3,340,260 3,683,349 4,723,244 6,445,384 3,221,786 2,316,994

Crop Residue 3,356,190 3,769,379 4,776,860 6,616,583 3,421,157 2,597,958

Hay 3,593,588 4,311,739 5,057,148 6,773,813 3,625,423 2,606,587

Pasture to Switchgrass 5,449,052 8,446,163 7,715,205 8,326,694 3,696,830 3,200,457

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 Results
• Satisfying biofuels and biopower
mandates are achievable with
modest and achievable increases
in forest production alone in most
regions.
• Region 6 is probably too small and
isolated to be considered
independently.

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 How Achievable is a Doubling
of Forest Productivity?
• CAPAG Forest Management Option
• Goal: by 2020 double the productivity of 50% of
NC timberland for high value products and claim
these products and energy as carbon offsets.
• Enhance funding of the Forest Development
Program (NC DENR)
– ~$230 million for 10 years
– Discounted cost of about $260/acre in program
• 10% of the budget reserved for forestry
extension

Chris Hopkins
Advancing Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Economy
 Forest Industry Health
• Financial motivation for forest landowners is
not to produce biomass product,
• Motivation is to produce a high value solid
wood product, biomass is a co-product (so
is pulpwood).
• Forest residue energy relies on health of the
solid wood product market

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