by Nathanael Greene (Natural Resources Defense Council Representative) Greene begins by making the point that “long-term environmental imperatives” need to be applied at a global level, and that bioenergy must be an integral part of a sustainable future. Bioenergy needs to be launched as environmentally sustainable as well as efficient. Greene
Biomass2010
by Amy Ehlers (Biotechnology Industry Organization) The group BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization) is a trade association which is located in Washington D.C. and has over 1,200 member companies in both the U.S. and 31 other countries. Their industrial biotechnology member companies mainly work with advanced technologies to make biofuels and other
by Brent Yacobucci (Congressional Research Service) The CRS (Congressional research Service) is a “nonpartisan, analytical, research and reference arm of the Library of Congress”. In this presentation, CRS specialist in energy and environmental policy Brent Yacobucci covers how climate change and cap-and-trade legislation discussed in the 111th Congress would affect
by Dr. Maureen McCann (Professor, Purdue University) Dr. McCann begins by describing the different plant cell wall architectures belonging to various types of feedstock. She shows how different processing methods can be utilized to more efficiently process biomass into biofuel. By building this knowledge base, biofuel production methods can be
by David Hoyt (Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Hoyt first provides an overview of EMSL and their mission to integrate experimental and computational resources with innovative technologies to support the biofuel industry. Focusing on the characterization of catalysts and nano-particle absorption effectiveness, Hoyt describes
by Jane Fisher (Senior Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Fisher first provides a general overview of the biofuel production process, identifying key areas for potential cost reductions through R&D and commercial scale production. Fisher focuses on the development of equipment and process options and configurations that will bridge the gap
by Blake Simmons (Vice-President, Deconstruction Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute) Simmons provides an overview of Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBI) and their research associated with converting cellulosic biomass to biofuel. He describes the challenges of the various steps involved in current technologies for breaking down biomass so that the cellulose is accessible
by Dr. Jose A Olivares (Executive Director, The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bio-Products Los Alamos National Laboratory) Dr. Olivares first provides an overview of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bio-Products organization. Olivares discusses the organization’s involvement with developing technologies at multiple processing stages to improve the
by Dr. Timothy Donohue (Director, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Professor of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison) Dr. Donohue first provides an overview of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Donohue moves on to discuss the research project involved with improving the sustainability of cellulosic biofuel cropping systems. He presents and
by Dr. Mark Davis (BioEnergy Science Center, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Dr. Davis discusses a multidisciplinary approach to overcoming the current inability to access sugars in lignocellulosic biomass. By quickly identifying key genes in biomass composition, high throughput and high resolution cell wall characterization methods can make
by Liz Moore (Project Officer, Biomass Program, Golden Field Office, U.S. Department of Energy) Moore begins with a breakdown of the cost structure describing the manufacturing process of ethanol from feedstock. She shows how each step in the manufacturing process is an incremental cost added to the final cost of
by Dr. Christopher Wright (Research Engineer, Idaho National Laboratory) Dr. Wright’s presentation describes his current project on the creation of a mobile unit to preprocess bales of cellulosic feedstock into a form that can be utilized by a fuel production facility. He shows how large a role feedstock logistics plays in the
by Dr. Theodore Wegner (Assistant Director, Forest Products Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service) Dr. Wegner begins with an interesting profile of the demand for advanced biofuels, and the different pathways to produce biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks. He shows the distribution of forestland in America, and focuses on the means and
by Dr. J. Richard Hess (Biomass Program Technology Manager, Idaho National Laboratory) Dr. Hess details the biomass attributes that impact the nature of and cost of feedstock preparation, biochemical conversion, and thermochemcal conversion, along with general flow diagrams for each process. Their research confirms the importance of feedstock logistics to the
by Dr. Barbara Wells (President and Chief Executive Officer, Arborgen) Arborgen is an industry leader in tree production and improvement, and is well situated in the market to meet the heightened demand for woody biomass to be turned into advanced biofuels (along with other wood products) in the near future. Dr.
Anna Rath (Vice President of Commercial Development, Ceres, Inc.) Ceres is a seed company that uses advanced biotechnology to develop and distribute energy crop seeds. Rath discusses reasons for their commercial development being slower than planned, but Ceres still anticipates several commercial scale facilities in 2012. Their difficulties, aside from the
by Dr. Neal Gutterson (President and Chief Executive Officer, Mendel Biotechnologies, Inc.) Dr. Gutterson details the activities of Mendel Biotechnologies relevant to the advanced biofuels business space. Mendel developed Miscanthus x giganteus, a custom, sterile, weed-resistant variation of miscanthus. Currently, Mendel is working on implementation techniques of this crop, and developing relationships
by Dr. Miles Palmer (Founder, Palmer Labs) Dr. Palmer analyzes the capital and operating expenses for commercial algae production, with a variety of considerations. His analysis shows facilities larger than 400 acres can be profitable, with high internal rate of return for algae production on 1000 acre facilities. READ MORE
by Dr. Timothy Volk (Research Associate, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry) Dr. Volk proposes a cycle for growing and harvesting willow trees for use in advanced biofuel production. The amount of usable biomass per acre is very high in woody biomass crops, and with careful site preparation and strategy, it
by Dr. Kelly Tiller (President and Chief Executive Officer, Genera Energy, LLC) Dr. Tiller details the large commitment the state of Tennessee has made to biofuels research. Genera Energy, a research firm owned by the University of Tennessee, has worked with switchgrass grown on contract farms around their home base of Vonore,
by Bob Matousek (Manager of Plant and Harvesting Research and Development, Agco Corporation) Mr. Matousek’s presentation discusses techniques for collecting corn crop residues into solid bales that can be transported to fuel production facilities. He details research performed on equipment to collect, stack, and store bales at high-moisture conditions. The
by Foster Agblevor (Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)) Agblevor discusses the development of pyrolysis techniques for lignocellulosic biomass at relatively low temperatures to form stable pyrolysis oils. The process equipment is detailed, along with materials, methods, and results and analysis from the pyrolysis of substrates like
by Dion Vlachos (Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor, University of Delaware / Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC)) Vlachos’ research focuses on the development of heterogeneous catalysts to facilitate the thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels. The presentation describes research conducted at the University of Massachusetts on catalytic fast pyrolysis, which has
by Dr. Thomas D. Foust (Executive Director of the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, National Renewable Energy Laboratory) The DOE created the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC) to help develop cost-effective technologies to develop advanced “drop-in” biofuels compatible with our current infrastructure, with a three-year, $46 million budget. Fitting renewable fuels into
by Philippe Schild (Programme Officer, Directorate General Research, European Commission) In his presentation, Schild summarizes the mandated standards for biofuels in the EU, and ongoing programs to help meet these initiatives. Renewable fuel production research forms a substantial portion of the EU’s €2.3 billion 2007-2013 energy research budget (FP7). Sustainability
by Stephen del Cardayre (Vice President of Research and Development, LS9) LS9 has focused efforts on the development of a renewable biodiesel that will eventually be cost-competitive with petroleum without subsidies. Del Cardayre details the microbial techniques LS9 employs to turn a variety of renewable feedstocks into immiscible (and thus easily
by John Bøgild Hansen (Senior Scientist, Haldor Topsøe A/S) Topsøe is a Danish company that develops catalysts and process technology for gas-to-liquid conversions. Hansen details Topsøe’s integrated conversion of synthesis gas to gasoline, which was developed to improve petroleum refining operations. By producing dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol in a single
by Terry Marker (Bioenergy Initiatives Manager, Gas Technology Institute) Fuels derived from lignocellulosic biomass have the potential to fill a significant portion of the demand for transportation fuels, but simple pyrolysis of biomass requires expensive conversion to usable fuels from pyrolysis oil. The Gas Technology Institute is working on an integrated
by Andras Marton, Ph.D. (Project Analyst, Independent Project Analysis, Inc.) Independent Project Analysis (IPA) functions as a consultant on process industry projects around the world, and utilizes its experience to provide advice to new technology startups. In the biofuels business, strategies for achieving the lowest costs often require novel technologies at
by Tyler Ames (Chief Science & Technology Officer, Butamax) Butamax, a product of a joint research program between DuPont and BP, is working to commercialize biobutanol. Biobutanol can be made from several feedstocks, has excellent fuel properties, and is compatible with our current infrastructure. Butamax hopes to use butanol in blends
by Dan Burciaga (President & CEO, TRI) Burciaga discusses TRI’s proprietary steam reforming gasification system, and its applicability to the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and renewable power. TRI’s biorefineries are feedstock-flexible, controlled to maximize thermal efficiency, scalable, and potentially self-powered. The platform’s flexibility allows it to respond to market changes in
by Kirk Apt (Chief Research Scientist, Martek) Martek extracts sugars from cost-effective sources like lignocellulosic biomass or sugar cane. They employ a proprietary microorganism to biochemically convert the sugars into lipids or oils, which can be upgraded into usable hydrocarbon fuels (like FAME, fatty acid methyl ester). This microorganism is heterotrophic,
by Dr. Eric Toone (Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, U.S. Department of Energy) Dr. Toone described the role and mission of ARPA-E, the process related to ARPA-E’s first Financial Opportunity Announcement (FOA1), project selection and awards at the Biomass 2010 Conference March 30, 2010. The presentation includes a chart of the FOA