140211_Tomorrows biorefineries-ODONOHUE

Insight into
BIOCORE’s results
INTRODUCTION TO BIOCORE
BIOCORE IN A NUTSHELL
● BIOCORE is an advanced
biorefinery process
● Uses a variety of lignocellulosic
biomass feedstocks
• NO1st generation sucrose-, starchbased or oleaginous feedstocks were
considered
● Produces a variety of products,
from chemicals to food ingredients
• Optimize process and product
integration
● Maximizes the use of biomass,
water and utilities
• Uses all major components to best of
ability
3
CHALLENGES IN THE BIOCORE PROJECT
● Develop and test technologies
● Biomass cracking, or pretreatment, technologies
● Biotechnologies
● Chemistry
● Show how different biomass components can produce commercial
products
● Fuel, chemicals, polymers, materials, food/feed ingredients
● Explore how biorefineries can perform in real environments
● Case study approach rolled out in 5 regions
● Propose new process design methods
● Explore unit operation integration and product synergies
● Perform an extensive sustainability analysis of the concept
● Determine sustainability of the biomass to products value chain, exploring
several product portfolios
THE BIOCORE BIOREFINERY
Regional territory
Power
Biomass
Biorefinery
Conditioning
CHP
Pretreatment/fractionation
Fuel
Residues
Water
Xylose
Inputs
Glucose
Lignin
Fertilizer
Manufacturing
Conversion
Xylose-based
product 1
Glucose-based
product 1
Lignin-based
product 1
Xylose-based
product 2
Glucose-based
product 2
Lignin-based
product 2
Xylose-based
product n
Glucose-based
product n
Lignin-based
product n
THE ORGANOSOLV PROCESS
+H2O
+Peracids/H2O2
+H2O2/NaOH
A FEW BOUNDARY CONDITIONS IN BIOCORE
● To better study the BIOCORE concept and provide
simulations the following assumptions were made
● The ‘fictional’ timeframe for the deployment of BIOCORE biorefineries
is 2015
● The investment payback period is 15 years, so 2025 is a pertinent
milestone
● BIOCORE biorefineries will operate using 150,000 tonnes (dry
weight) biomass per annum
● BIOCORE biorefinery feedstocks are cereal straws or hardwoods,
including short rotation coppice poplar
● BIOCORE lignin will command a market price of €1000 per tonne
CASE STUDIES IN BIOCORE
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES
Rice
Hardwood
Wheat and barley
Maize, wheat, barley
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES
Policy frameworks
Transport and logistics
Local social impacts
and stakeholder
interest
Local environmental impacts
Local biomass availability and uses
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: BIOMASS SUPPLY
● Biomass is available, but……………..
● Theoretical availability does not necessarily reflect local realities
• Appetite to sell, variable soil requirements
● Availability is likely to be reduced
• Increased competitive uses, new less intensive farming methods
etc
• Punjab possesses large biomass resources
Our findings supply a strong case in EU for
feedstock flexible biorefineries
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: TRANSPORT AND
LOGISTICS
● Transport and storage are major cost
factors in biomass price
● Transport and storage could represent up to 77%
(India) of final biomass procurement cost
● Canals and railways can reduce cost by at least
10%
● Storage is particularly an issue for annual crops
• In India storage is a major weak point at the present
The findings underline the need for
consistent regional development policy
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
● Advanced biorefineries will have both negative and
positive local impacts
● All scenarios predict an increase in Man’s pressure on the
environment, with intensification of production systems (there is no
free lunch!)
● Some scenarios indicate advantages
• Improved groundwater quality and biodiversity
(if cereal production is replaced by SRC poplar)
• End of in-field straw burning in India
Many negative impacts can be mitigated by good
practice – clear policy and guidelines required
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: STAKEHOLDER VIEWS
● Biorefining is a good opportunity to drive
local development
● New qualified jobs, rural development, add
value to local products before export
● Not in my backyard
• Woody biomass is also used in fireplaces
• Biorefining will drive excessive biomass
extraction and jeopardize livelihoods (e.g. by
lowering soil organic carbon levels)
● Any plans for biorefineries should involve
stakeholders and take account of their
needs and (financial) aspirations
BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: STAKEHOLDER VIEWS
● Biorefineries can help to substitute fossil resources
● Probably better to make chemicals than (just) making fuels
● Multiproduct portfolios are perceived as being better than
fuel/energy only facilities
• although CHP units are a step in the right direction and ethanol for fuel is
welcome (India)
Stakeholder opinion supports using biomass, first
for materials and chemicals, then fuels and energy
LESSONS FROM PROCESS DESIGN
PROCESS DESIGN APPROACH
● Synthesis stage
● Which products and
feedstocks to select
● Targeting stage
● Scope to integrate and save
● Process development
● Process flowsheeting and
process integration
BIOCORE used systems technology to set up
high-throughput analysis
PROCESS DESIGN: SPECIFIC CHALLENGES
Variety of feedstocks
Local deployment model
Three intermediates
(C6, C5, lignin)
>60 different products
and chemistries
New products
BIOCORE assessed single and integrated
paths
PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS
● Biorefineries present specific process challenges
● e.g. Water-energy integration important for biochemical processes
● No simple methods to screen complex product
portfolios
● In BIOCORE promising value chains were screened on efficiency
and carbon footprint criteria
● No short-cut costing models
● Available models are for oil and gas industries
● Many uncertain markets for biochemicals
PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS
● Integration of product manufacture is highly beneficial in terms of
energy savings
● 65-85% for increasing product portfolios
● Strong incentives for combining biomass fractionation with downstream
conversions
● Large scope for novel processes
Intermediates
Manufacturing
PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS
● Integration of product manufacture is high beneficial in terms of
energy savings
● 65-85% for increasing product portfolios
● Strong incentives for combining biomass fractionation with downstream
conversions
● Large scope for novel processes
Biorefinery
Biomass
Manufacturing
ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF VALUE CHAINS
SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENTS
PU elastomer coatings
Rigid PU foams
Bio-ethanol for fuel or
PVC
Biobased phenol-formaldehyde resins
wood panels
Itaconic acid for alkyd coatings
ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMICS
● Environment (global/regional
impacts)
● Climate change, ozone depletion,
respiratory inorganics (PM10),
photochemical ozone formation,
acidification, aquatic
eutrophication, resource depletion:
non-renewable energy
● Environment (local impacts)
● human beings, fauna and flora;
biodiversity
● soil, water, air, climate and the
landscape
● material assets and the cultural
heritage
● the interaction between the above
● Economics
● Market analysis
• Green premium
● CAPEX
• Correlation between rated power
and fixed capital investment
● OPEX
• Raw materials, utilities, operating
labour, plant overhead costs,
maintenance and repairs,
operating supplies, laboratory
charges, patents and royalities,
administration costs, depreciation,
etc
● Economic performance
ECONOMICS
● CAPEX is €120-160 Mn
● for 150 kt capacity
● A few biorefinery schemes are able to generate profits
• Especially in India at 500 kt scale
● There is very limited scope to achieve an internal rate of return of
25%
● When dimensioned for 150 kt and using currently available data
● 25% IRR target could be reached for many portfolios if
products receive modest subsidies or green premiums
● Less than those currently applied to ethanol
Economics shows that modest subsidies for biobased
chemicals could be sufficient to launch advanced
biorefineries
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES
● Energy use in the biomass refining process is high
● This is clearly a target for further process optimization
● Some product portfolios provide benefits (e.g. GHG
savings)
● Others are not favourable
● The best products are those that conserve biomass
functionality
● Limit mass loss and energy exchange in biomass to product
conversion
● Ethanol does not provide favourable results
These findings suggest that the sustainable use of
biomass involves preserving intrinsic structures and
functions
CONCLUSIONS
● BIOCORE has supplied a variety of
advancements for the study of biorefineries
● Chemical technologies and biotechnologies
● New process design methods
● Extensive and ambitious sustainability analyses
• New method for social sustainability
• Integrated analyses
CONCLUSIONS
● Building on the CIMV process, BIOCORE has revealed
how an advanced biorefinery can work
● BIOCORE has supplied a paradigm for advanced biorefineries
• A multitude of results has shown how a variety of chemicals and polymers
can be made from glucose, hemicelluloses and lignins
● BIOCORE has revealed the promise of the CIMV
process
● Powerful technology that displays feedstock flexibility
● Production of valuable biomass intermediates
• refutes the adage ‘you can make everything with lignin except money’
CONCLUSIONS
● BIOCORE indicates that advanced biorefining can be
sustainable
● Further improvements will be gained through scale up
(e.g. 250 kt)
● Advanced biorefineries will need to favour integration,
linking the production of biomass intermediates to the
manufacture of commercial products (e.g. chemicals) on
one site
• An incentive for industrial symbiosis
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
● Integrate the land use change question into a wider
framework
● Some LUC will be beneficial in restoring groundwater quality
and biodiversity (e.g. the case of food crops on poor soil)
● Take into account the construction of biorefinery facilities in
rural areas
● Better inform the general public about LUC and its
consequences for Europe
• e.g. biggest source of LUC in EU is land artificialization and this is
still rampant
Reconsider LUC using a more systemic approach
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
● Biorefineries will benefit from well-developed transport
and logistics infrastructures
● The presence of waterways and railways is a clear advantage
● Extensive storage facilities will be required for large
biorefineries
Integrate the needs of biorefineries into regional planning
policy
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
● In a biomass-constrained Europe, competition for
biomass will be ferocious
● Subsidies are promoting the development of CHP units and
liquid fuels biorefineries
● Biomass is the only renewable energy source that is also a
source of carbon
● Promoting the use of biomass for the manufacture of more
valuable products might get the bioeconomy moving
Define a level playing field for all biomass uses
Warm thanks to all who took part in BIOCORE
and
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
to the European Commssion for funding the work
Grant number FP7-241566