Agronomy, Mechanical Engineering, Economics

Iowa State University

The Pyrolysis-Bioenergy-Biochar Pathway to Carbon Negative

Energy David Laird, Sotirios Archontoulis, Robert

Brown, Mark Wright, Dermot Hayes

IPCC Fifth Assessment report considered various Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and their impact on atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperature change relative to 1861-1880 base line. The only scenarios that keep global average temperature increases below 2°C require the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2100.

Need for Carbon Negative Economy.

IPPC 2014 Synthesis Report; https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full_wcover.pdf

Carbon-Negative Energy

Literature review

Build APSIM Biochar module

Incubations: Rate constants for biochar-soil processes

Field studies: Validation & calibration of crop response to biochar

Use APSIM biochar module to predict crop yield, GHG, water quality response to biochar for three case studies

Economic analysis of PBBP three case studies

Technoeconomic and LCA analysis of pyrolysis plants

Market and indirect land use analysis: Assess global biochar impact on food, markets, & GHG emissions

Pyrolysis-Bioenergy-Biochar Platform

Why APSIM?

APSIM has become one of the world’s foremost farming systems model with over 3,000 licensed users across 100 countries

Holzworth et al. 2014 . Environmental Modeling & Software 62: 327-350

Open source code Free to download http://www.apsim.info/

Agricultural Production System Simulator

Citations each year Publications each year

Data from Web of Science

Pedon

Landscape

Field

APSIM - Biochar

Archontoulis et al. 2016

Large plots, 0.34 Ha Split plot design 0) Control 1)Biochar (20.8 Mg/Ha)

Low diversity polyculture

Continuous NT corn High diversity polyculture

Switchgrass

System Plots

Long term Rotation plots •5 Cropping Rotations

• (1) continuous corn • (2) corn, soy, corn, soy, corn, soy • (3) corn, soy, triticale/soy, corn, soy, triticale /soy • (4) corn, corn corn/SG*, SG, SG, SG • (5)continuous SG *SG = switchgrass

•6 ‘Treatments’ (year of rotation) •3 Biochar treatments(control, 1, 2, 3, & 4 years old) •4 Replicates •216 total plots

Rotation Plots

Fresh and Field Aged Biochar have Different Impacts on Soil Bulk Density, Water capacity, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and Nitrate Leaching

Shuang Huang, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China David A. Laird, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Soil Microcosms

Archontoulis et al. 2016: Rogovska et al. 2013

Grain yield Soil bulk density

Stover yield Soil pH Soil water content

Soil Organic C

Validation

APSIM - Biochar

Test 2 – Field study in Colombia (Major et al., 2010)

Biochar applied in Fall of 2002 and much of the response comes from the liming value of biochar (pH improvement)

Archontoulis et al.

APSIM - Biochar

Validation

Test 3 - Measured vs predicted soil moisture levels

APSIM - Biochar

Miguez et al.

Recovery of Bio-Oil as Stage Fractions Temperature-Controlled Condensers and Electrostatic Precipitators

Heavy Ends

Char

Biomass

Non-condensable gas

Gas Cyclones Pyrolyzer

Biomass Feeder

Fluidizing Gas

SF 1 Condenser

SF 3 Condenser

SF 4 ESP

Light Ends

SF 2 ESP

Brown et al.

Engineering

Fast Pyrolysis

Bio-Oil Fractionation Enables Py Refineries

Product Recovery

Biochar

Light Ends

Sugars

Fermentation or Refining to Fuels and Chemicals Carbon

Fibers

Bio-Cement

Lignocellulosic Biomass

Acetate

Pyrolyzer

Transportation Fuels

Bio-asphalt

Boiler Fuels

Phenolic Oil

Heavy Ends

Pollard et al. (2012) Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 93, 129-138. Brown et al.

Engineering

ISU Pyrolysis Research Focuses on Recovery of Chemicals From Bio-Oil

1/4 tpd pyrolyzer with fractionating bio-oil recovery system at ISU’s BioCentury Research Farm

Product Red Oak Bio-Oil

Composition

(wt%)

Biochar 13

Phenolic Oil 21

Sugars/Anhydro Sugars

8

Carboxylic Acids 5

Light Oxygenates 8

Water 22

Non-condensable Gases

23

* No pretreatments employed Brown et al.

Engineering

Process flow diagram of biochar and biofuel production pathway.

Process flow diagram of the biochar & bio-power production pathway.

Technoeconomic Analysis

Wright et al.

Minimum Biochar Product Selling Price (MPSP) needed to achieve a 10% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).

Technoeconomic Analysis

Wright et al.

World Agricultural Production

Country Agricultural Production

Livestock Herd Size

Cropland Allocation

Macroeconomic Variables Policy Parameters

Livestock Herd Size

Cropland and Pasture Allocation

Agricultural Production

Land-Use Change

Emissions from Agricultural Production

Emissions from Land-Use Change

CARD-FAPRI Model

GreenAgSim Model

Economic modeling

Hayes et al.

C negative ethanol? Net CO2 emissions per MJ of bioenergy. Assuming corn production with grain used for ethanol and stover used for biofuel production via fast pyrolysis with biochar application to soil

Kauffman, N., Dumortier, J., Hayes, D. J., Brown, R. C., & Laird, D. A. (2014). Producing energy while sequestering carbon? The relationship between biochar and agricultural productivity. Biomass and Bioenergy, 63, 167-176.

Yield improvements due to biochar

cause a negative indirect

land use effect.

Hayes et al.

Partnership with Easy Energy Systems (EES) and Stine Seed Company to commercialize Modular Energy Processing Systems (MEPS) based on ISU pyrolysis technology

Demonstrate 50 tpd pyrolyzer

Co-fire LignocolTM and coal at Iowa State University power plant

Sugar fermented to butanol by EES

Biochar used as soil amendment and carbon sequestration agent

Pilot plant used to design pyrolysis-based 50 tpd MEPS

ISU Power Plant

LignocolTM

from bio-oil

Demonstration of Ultra-Low Carbon Emissions

Biochar Application

Robert Brown Pierce Fleming Natalia Rogovska Cathi Bonin Rivka Fidel Sotirios Archontoulis Ken Moore Debbie Aller Dermot Hayes Shuang Huang Ajay Nair Chumki Banik Samuel Rathke Andy Lenssen Michael Lawrinenko Santanu Bakshi Andres Basso Fernando Miguez Isaiah Huber Emily Heaton Catherine Brewer Jill Euken Vincent Avormyo Nataliya Apanovich Ryan Smith Lysle Whitmer Brandon Carpenter

Thanks!

Global Climate and Energy Project No. 60413992-112883-A USDA, NIFA, AFRI Grant no. 2011-68005-30411 ICM INC (biochar supply)