ISUISU BioBioeconomy

Initiative

Jill Euken jeuken@iastate.edu

Impacts already……

Current Status - Ethanol

Source: RFA

1-24-08

Typical Grain Ethanol Plant

CO2Starch

Enzymes

Fermenter

Cooker

Grain

Milling

Distillation

Ethanol

WaterStarch Sugar

Dried Distillers Grains and Solubles(DDGs)

Dried Distillers Grains and Solubles(DDGs)

EthanolEthanol

ISU Extension “Conversations”96 counties, 950 respondents, March ‘2007

Optimism• Jobs

• Livestock expansion

• Improving infrastructure

• Iowa pride

• Increased tax base

• Economic development Value adding Rural revitalization

• Potential for keeping young people in Iowa

Concerns• Increased land costs, input costs, and risk

• Water quality and quantity

• Loss of wetlands and habitat

• Quality of life issues degraded by industrial growth

• Strains on physical infrastructure

• Food versus feed versus fuel

• More consolidation in farming due to higher land prices

“Biggest change for agriculture since the plow”

Facts and FiguresDecember, 2007- 7.3 billion gal/year- 2.5 billion bu. corn/year

In 2008- another 6 billion gal/year comes online- will require additional 2 billion bu/yr Total corn requirement for U.S. ethanol by end of 2008 will be 4.5 billion bu/year

2008 corn supply may not be sufficient to meet food,export, feed, and ethanol demands; corn prices may rise to the point that ethanol production is reduced by 10-15%*

Chris Hurt, Purdue University

Prediction:…….we ain’t seen nothin

yet…….

2007 Energy Bill Mandates36 Billion gallon of ethanol by 2022

21 Billion gallon must come from cellulose

Billion gallons

0

12

24

36

2000 2008 2016 2022

Biomass-based

Total

Corn-based

Source: U.S. DOE

The HUGE Challenge Before Us

• It took 30 years to reach 6 billion gallons per year of grain-based ethanol fuel (using technology known for millennia)

• The new biofuels mandate requires production of 21 billion gallons per year of advanced biofuels within 15 years (and no commercial plants currently exist) 30 years 15 years

6 billion gallons

21 billion gallons

Where will biomass come from?

DOE 1.3 Billion Ton Study*

*Could supply 66% of U.S. transportation fuel

How do we “jump start” the cellulose industry?

2007 DOE Biorefinery Awards=$385M

Source: R. Wisner, ISU

November, 2006

$76 M

$33 M

$40 M

$80 M

$80 M

$80 M

Feedstocks- corn stover- Wheat straw- Milo stubble- Yard/wood waste- landfill waste- Barley straw- Energycane

What is a feasible timeline for this transition?

Advanced Corn-to-Biofuel Biorefineries

Corn starch

Corn starch

and bran

Corn starch,

bran, and cobs

Corn starch,

bran, cobsand stover

Corn starch, bran, cobs, stover, and dedicated cellulosic

crops

Today 2010 2012 2015 2020

Vision

Source: Larry Johnson, ISU

Forest12.8%

Urban waste2.9%

Manure4.1%

Grains5.2%

Crop residues7.6%

Soy6.2%

Wheat straw6.1%Corn stover

19.9%

Perennial crops35.2%

From: Billion Ton Vision, DOE & USDA 2005

US Biomass inventory = 1.3 billion tons*

*Could supply 66% of U.S. transportation fuel

Current Sustainable Availability ofCellulosic Biomass from Agricultural Lands

75 mdt/year

6 mdt/year

11 mdt/year

6 mdt/year

21 mdt/year*

* Oil seeds, soybeans, sugar crops, root crops

Source: http://feedstockreview.ornl.gov/pdf/billion_ton_vision.pdf

Feedstocks Used in Attaining the Goal Timing and Feedstocks for 25 X ’25

How will the biomass be converted into fuels?

Three approaches to advanced biofuels

• Biologically (enzyme) based cellulosic ethanol

• Thermally based biofuels (including ethanol)

• Hybrid processing (includes both biological and thermal steps)

Source: R.C. Brown, ISU

“Next Generation” Biofuels

• corn bran• corn cobs• corn stover• dedicated energy crops

“If any one step on the value chain does not work, the entire value chain does not work.”

Agricultural & Bioenergy/Bioproduct Value Chain

Source: Jill Euken and Joe Colletti, ISU

Germplasm Cultivation Harvest Storage

Ceres

Syngenta

Monsanto

Pioneer/DuPont

Canavialis

Dow

Processing

Novozymes

Genencor

Poet

ICM

Iogen

Verasun

ConocoPhillips

Lack of focus on economic & environmental drivers

Additional research needed

Integrated Systems Approach

Transport

The first “Advanced” Biofuels Project in Iowa: Project LIBERTY

• Converting Emmetsburg, IA plant to an integrated biorefinery

• Over $300 million capital investment

• Will produce 125 million gallons of ethanol

– 25 million from cellulosic feedstock

• Cellulosic feedstocks are cobs and corn fiber

• Multiple synergies with corn and cellulose model

Why cobs?• Consistency

• Farmer willingness

• One pass harvest capability

• Higher ethanol yield

• Greater bulk density

• Proven feedstock

• Logical first step

Based on information supplied by POET 29

Simplified LIBERTY DiagramEthanol

Fractionation

Grain Corn

Corn Germ

Endosperm

CO2

Fermentation

Distillation

Centrifuge& Dry

Pre-treat Hydrolysis &Ethanol Fermentation

Distill

Corn Cobs

Bran

Ethanol

Co-product stream processed into energy

for the ethanol production processes

and drying DDGs

Water VA Chemicals

and modifiedDDGs

Project LIBERTY Delivers:

• 11% more ethanol from a bushel of corn

• 27% more ethanol from an acre of corn

• Significant reduction in fossil fuel consumption

• Replicable model for multiple plants

ISU visit to Hurley SD

Stover/cob removal concerns

• How to “value”• Risk• Soil organic matter• Moisture infiltration• Lime needs• Long term soil quality parameters.

2007 Harvest Objectives

To understand impact to the farmer:– economics– equipment– processes– storage – transportation– capital– logistics – speed– labor

2007 Cob Harvest

• Harvested 4,000 acres of cobs in South Dakota • Tested multiple harvest methods• Collaborating with major equipment

manufacturers• Conducting over 60 storage experiments

Cob Caddy, Ihnen farm

8010 and Cob Caddy

Cob Caddy Harvest

Cob Caddy

On-Field Storage

Cob handling

9860 CCM harvest

Corn cob mix

Corn cob mix

Feterl cob screener

Cob storage experiments

• 60 experiments• Hybrids• Moisture• Storage/retrieval/

delivery

Looking Ahead to “Third Generation”

Bioprocessing…..harvesting stover……

Biomass Harvest Logistics

Harvest equipment

N, P, and K Nutrient Replacement costs:

Harvest Scenario

Nitrogen Phosphates Potassium Total

Lb/ac $/ac Lb/ac $/ac Lb/ac $/ac $/ac

high-cut top 30.6 11.16 3.4 2.34 30.5 9.75 23.34

high-cut bottom 12.3 4.53 0.9 0.62 29.9 9.55 14.69

low cut 42.0 15.46 3.7 2.52 38.9 12.42 30.40

normal cut 37.5 13.78 3.6 2.45 30.6 9.77 26.01aAverage for fertilizer N, P, and K at Walton, NE, Kelly, IA and Boone, IA in March 2006.Nitrogen cost $0.328 lb-1

Phosphate cost $0.615 lb-1

Potassium cost $0.284 lb-1

Iowa State University Research

N, P, and K Nutrient Replacement Costs:

Source: Stuart Birrell, ISU

New Cropping Systems Could Provide Biomass

Feedstocks and Environmental Protection

• Using double-crop sequences

• Using herbaceous and woody perennials

• Recycling nutrients between biorefineries and crop fields

Focus on Iowa: A 2006 Corn Grower Survey…

Survey data collected post harvest 2006. Corn Price at time of survey ≈ $3.40/ Bushel

Source: John Tyndall, ISU

Map from NASS, 2004

Survey: Regionally Stratified Random Sample

12 3

4

Farmer Knowledge of Corn Stover Market

How knowledgeable are farmers about harvesting & marketing of corn stover?

• 41% are “not knowledgeable at all”

• 28% were “a little knowledgeable”

• 20% feel “somewhat knowledgeable ”.

• Only 4% feel “very informed”.

Interestingly, 6% of the respondents were harvesting & selling corn stover in 2006 (mostly in W and NC Iowa).

Therefore by and large Iowa’s farmers are still in the learning phase of this potential market.

(n = 602)

Source: John Tyndall, ISU

• increase in capital investment • additional managerial knowledge • a well-developed support infrastructure.

Farmers believe that harvesting stover will require:

Source: John Tyndall, ISU

Farmer Interest in Supplying Stover, 2006

(n= 602)

Source: John Tyndall, ISU

New Century Farm at Iowa State University

• The first-in-the-nation integrated research and demonstration farm devoted to biomass production, processing and utilization

• Will be a model for American biorenewable energy and bioproducts development

Crop Production, Harvest, Storage & Transportation Research

Harvest

Storage

Production

EnsureProducer Profitability

+Sustainable Supply

For Biorefineries

2008 Growing the Bioeconomy Conference

September 8-9

SAVE THE DATE

Jill EukenDeputy Director, ISU Bioeconomy Institute

Project Manager, Biobased Products, ISU Extension/CIRAS53020 Hitchcock Ave

Lewis, IA 51544Phone: 712-769-2600

Email: jeuken@iastate.edu