Periodic Report Summary 3 - BIOBOOST (Biomass based energy intermediates boosting biofuel production)
Project Context and Objectives:
A large part of renewable energy in Europe is produced from biomass. To increase the share of biomass conversion pathways which are energy efficient, economic and flexible in feedstock are needed. The BioBoost project (Biomass based energy intermediates boosting biofuel production) aims at making a substantial improvement towards increasing the efficiency of the use of biomass and organic residues in the future. The project focuses on de-central conversion of biomass to optimised, high energy density carriers, which can be utilised either directly in small scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants or in large scale applications for the synthesis of transportation fuel and chemicals. Mainly, dry as well as wet residual biomass and wastes are used as feedstock for conversion. Due to their secondary nature, this feedstock has the potential for high environmental sustainability, and in the case of straw, it may even strengthen food production than competing to it. However, perennial, ligno-cellulosic energy crops and forest residues are included as a possibility to compensate the seasonal occurrence of for example straw. These types of biomass are converted by means of fuel flexible thermo-chemical processes such as fast pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to produce stable intermediate energy carriers in the form of bio-oil, -coal or -slurry. These can be utilized separately or in different combinations. For straw, as an example, the energy density of the carrier can be increased by a factor of 10 to 15, enabling economic long range transportation from several regionally distributed conversion plants to few central large scale gasification plants for bio-fuel production.
A logistic model of the supply chain taking into account de-central and central conversion scenarios with different types of energy carriers is set up and validated allowing the determination of costs, the number and location of de-central and central sites. A techno-economic and environmental assessment of the value chains supports the optimisation of products and allows for comparison of the processes under consideration and to other conversion routes. The application of energy carriers is investigated in applications of heat and power production, synthetic fuels & chemicals and as bio-crude for refineries. Coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology thirteen partners from industry, universities and research institutions take part in the collaborative project, contributing to 7 work packages.
The main objectives of the BioBoost project are:
• To identify residual biomass potential in EU-28 and develop supply concepts of for de-central conversion plants (WP1)
• Convert biomass to intermediate energy carriers (WP2)
• Improve the economic performance of the energy carrier by investigating the recovery of high value chemicals and nutrients from conversion processes (WP3).
• Develop a simulation model and optimise biomass and energy carrier logistics (WP4).
• Clarify and test the technical and economic utilization paths of energy carrier (WP5).
• Investigate the techno-economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of bioenergy carrier pathways (WP6).
The BioBoost project has made very good progress in all work packages.
Project Results:
See executive summary with final report
Potential Impact:
Impact towards policy and innovation objectives
Among the innovative technology chains in the European Industrial Bioenergy initiative (EIBI) the “Intermediate bioenergy carriers through techniques such as pyrolysis and torrefaction” is an exact match to the BioBoost project and its three conversion processes. Results of experimental investigations in BioBoost demonstrate a large potential of BioBoost energy carriers in terms of biomass availability, energy efficiency, logistic effort and ease of integration into existing and new value chains enabling an efficient resource utilisation. Energy carrier from Fast Pyrolysis in small de-centralized plants is the first step of KIT’s BtL process for fuel synthesis in a facility of GW-size. The operation of a 2 MW fast pyrolysis pilot plant profits from developed handling methods and practised logistics of the energy carrier. Feedback from the conversion of the energy carrier to a final energy product enables modification of parameters for non-BtL applications. This in turn is required for swift increase of conversion plants in the early phase of market implementation, where power plants are the consumer of all produced energy carriers. In a developed market a central BtL facility of e.g. 5 GW would have a biomass demand of 10 million tons dry mass converted to energy carriers and retrieved from at least 100 de-centralized plants all over Europe. Such a demand would stimulate the energy carrier market and still offer dedicated energy carriers for high value heat & power applications.
The direct impact of energy carriers from hydrothermal carbonisation would allow to utilize the broad spectrum of wet residual biomass and wastes (esp. organic municipal waste) which has still a high potential for commercial utilization e.g. in communal CHP plants for heat and power production.
Energy carriers from catalytic pyrolysis like pyrolysis oil of low oxygen content, produced by catalytic biomass conversion have the impact that Europe may become more energy independent due to this bio-crude. The catalytic pyrolysis technology mimics fluid catalytic cracking which is applied in the order of million tonnes per year in refineries. BioBoost will develop technologies that target the 50 Mtoe environmentally compatible residue and waste biomass from agriculture, communities and industry, which are ready available and offer a high degree of environmental and economic sustainability due to their secondary nature. Residues and wastes are far less exploited than food crops and wood due to unfavourable properties like high ash content and moisture. Bio-waste is literally wasted: It accounts for 30 to 45 % of municipal solid waste across Europe and in 2008, 120 million tons occurred in EU27 (Eurostat). About 24 million tons are actually collected separately and bio-treated to compost. An alternative is hydrothermal carbonisation: Compared to conventional technologies nearly all kind of bio-waste can be used as input materials without pretreatment. Residues and wastes with large water content from food production or sewage treatment but also weed-infested garden waste or citrus fruit peels are difficult to compost, leading to a low reputation of the product which is often given away for free. Impact of BioBoost is the diversion of organic waste to the production of energy carriers.
The feedstock spectrum of the BioBoost energy carrier processes is technically not restricted to residues and wastes. Lignocellulosic energy crops like poplar and willow harvested in short rotation every 3 to 10 years or Miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus) and switchgrass are perennial cultures with an additional potential of at least 100 Mtoe.
The potential of these and some other marginal biomass feedstock are addressed in BioBoost. Subsequently, technical biomass availability is estimated and costs are determined. This unprecedented model is shared via an online geo-portal with scientists, stakeholders, and decision makers. Users may browse the results via the Internet, download the raw data in spatial formats, make further analysis for local or global demands, as well as spatial planning at a local authority, province, or regional level.
Coordinator: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Dr. Nicolaus Dahmen
Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1
76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
Tel: +49 721 608 22596
Fax: +49 721 608 22244
E-mail: Nicolaus.Dahmen@kit.edu
List of Websites:
www.bioboost.eu
A large part of renewable energy in Europe is produced from biomass. To increase the share of biomass conversion pathways which are energy efficient, economic and flexible in feedstock are needed. The BioBoost project (Biomass based energy intermediates boosting biofuel production) aims at making a substantial improvement towards increasing the efficiency of the use of biomass and organic residues in the future. The project focuses on de-central conversion of biomass to optimised, high energy density carriers, which can be utilised either directly in small scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants or in large scale applications for the synthesis of transportation fuel and chemicals. Mainly, dry as well as wet residual biomass and wastes are used as feedstock for conversion. Due to their secondary nature, this feedstock has the potential for high environmental sustainability, and in the case of straw, it may even strengthen food production than competing to it. However, perennial, ligno-cellulosic energy crops and forest residues are included as a possibility to compensate the seasonal occurrence of for example straw. These types of biomass are converted by means of fuel flexible thermo-chemical processes such as fast pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to produce stable intermediate energy carriers in the form of bio-oil, -coal or -slurry. These can be utilized separately or in different combinations. For straw, as an example, the energy density of the carrier can be increased by a factor of 10 to 15, enabling economic long range transportation from several regionally distributed conversion plants to few central large scale gasification plants for bio-fuel production.
A logistic model of the supply chain taking into account de-central and central conversion scenarios with different types of energy carriers is set up and validated allowing the determination of costs, the number and location of de-central and central sites. A techno-economic and environmental assessment of the value chains supports the optimisation of products and allows for comparison of the processes under consideration and to other conversion routes. The application of energy carriers is investigated in applications of heat and power production, synthetic fuels & chemicals and as bio-crude for refineries. Coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology thirteen partners from industry, universities and research institutions take part in the collaborative project, contributing to 7 work packages.
The main objectives of the BioBoost project are:
• To identify residual biomass potential in EU-28 and develop supply concepts of for de-central conversion plants (WP1)
• Convert biomass to intermediate energy carriers (WP2)
• Improve the economic performance of the energy carrier by investigating the recovery of high value chemicals and nutrients from conversion processes (WP3).
• Develop a simulation model and optimise biomass and energy carrier logistics (WP4).
• Clarify and test the technical and economic utilization paths of energy carrier (WP5).
• Investigate the techno-economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of bioenergy carrier pathways (WP6).
The BioBoost project has made very good progress in all work packages.
Project Results:
See executive summary with final report
Potential Impact:
Impact towards policy and innovation objectives
Among the innovative technology chains in the European Industrial Bioenergy initiative (EIBI) the “Intermediate bioenergy carriers through techniques such as pyrolysis and torrefaction” is an exact match to the BioBoost project and its three conversion processes. Results of experimental investigations in BioBoost demonstrate a large potential of BioBoost energy carriers in terms of biomass availability, energy efficiency, logistic effort and ease of integration into existing and new value chains enabling an efficient resource utilisation. Energy carrier from Fast Pyrolysis in small de-centralized plants is the first step of KIT’s BtL process for fuel synthesis in a facility of GW-size. The operation of a 2 MW fast pyrolysis pilot plant profits from developed handling methods and practised logistics of the energy carrier. Feedback from the conversion of the energy carrier to a final energy product enables modification of parameters for non-BtL applications. This in turn is required for swift increase of conversion plants in the early phase of market implementation, where power plants are the consumer of all produced energy carriers. In a developed market a central BtL facility of e.g. 5 GW would have a biomass demand of 10 million tons dry mass converted to energy carriers and retrieved from at least 100 de-centralized plants all over Europe. Such a demand would stimulate the energy carrier market and still offer dedicated energy carriers for high value heat & power applications.
The direct impact of energy carriers from hydrothermal carbonisation would allow to utilize the broad spectrum of wet residual biomass and wastes (esp. organic municipal waste) which has still a high potential for commercial utilization e.g. in communal CHP plants for heat and power production.
Energy carriers from catalytic pyrolysis like pyrolysis oil of low oxygen content, produced by catalytic biomass conversion have the impact that Europe may become more energy independent due to this bio-crude. The catalytic pyrolysis technology mimics fluid catalytic cracking which is applied in the order of million tonnes per year in refineries. BioBoost will develop technologies that target the 50 Mtoe environmentally compatible residue and waste biomass from agriculture, communities and industry, which are ready available and offer a high degree of environmental and economic sustainability due to their secondary nature. Residues and wastes are far less exploited than food crops and wood due to unfavourable properties like high ash content and moisture. Bio-waste is literally wasted: It accounts for 30 to 45 % of municipal solid waste across Europe and in 2008, 120 million tons occurred in EU27 (Eurostat). About 24 million tons are actually collected separately and bio-treated to compost. An alternative is hydrothermal carbonisation: Compared to conventional technologies nearly all kind of bio-waste can be used as input materials without pretreatment. Residues and wastes with large water content from food production or sewage treatment but also weed-infested garden waste or citrus fruit peels are difficult to compost, leading to a low reputation of the product which is often given away for free. Impact of BioBoost is the diversion of organic waste to the production of energy carriers.
The feedstock spectrum of the BioBoost energy carrier processes is technically not restricted to residues and wastes. Lignocellulosic energy crops like poplar and willow harvested in short rotation every 3 to 10 years or Miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus) and switchgrass are perennial cultures with an additional potential of at least 100 Mtoe.
The potential of these and some other marginal biomass feedstock are addressed in BioBoost. Subsequently, technical biomass availability is estimated and costs are determined. This unprecedented model is shared via an online geo-portal with scientists, stakeholders, and decision makers. Users may browse the results via the Internet, download the raw data in spatial formats, make further analysis for local or global demands, as well as spatial planning at a local authority, province, or regional level.
Coordinator: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Dr. Nicolaus Dahmen
Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1
76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
Tel: +49 721 608 22596
Fax: +49 721 608 22244
E-mail: Nicolaus.Dahmen@kit.edu
List of Websites:
www.bioboost.eu
