Sustainable Woody Biomass for Bioenergy, Biofuels and Bioproducts T. Volk Sustainable Use of Renewable Energy Syracuse, NY, November 6, 2008 Colleagues and Collaborators • SUNY - ESF – – – – Dr. Thomas Amidon - Dr. Lawrence Abrahamson - Dr. Kim Cameron Phil Castellano - Doug Daley - Michael Kelleher Dr. Valerie Luzadis - Dr. Lawrence Smart - Dr. Arthur Stipanovic Dr. Ed White Graduate Students - Thomas Buchholz - Jaconette Mirck - Godfrey Ofezu - Amos Quaye - Michelle Serapiglia – numerous undergraduate students • Academic Partners and Collaborators – – – – – – Agrifood and Biosciences Institute Cornell University Middlebury College SUNY Delhi University of Guelph University of Saskatchewan - Canadian Forest Service - Michigan State University - Montreal Botanical Gardens - University of Connecticut - University of Minnesota • Industrial Partners – Agricultural Development Services - AgroEnergie – Case New Holland - Catalyst Renewables – Honeywell International - Mesa Engineering © The Research Foundation of SUNY - Antares Inc. -Double A Willow - O’Brien and Gere Overview • Woody biomass at the national level • Amounts of woody biomass from forests • • • and willow biomass crops Willow biomass crops as one of multiple source of woody biomass Benefits of willow biomass crops Commercialization of willow biomass crops © The Research Foundation of SUNY Renewable Energy in the U.S. 85% of our primary energy comes from fossil fuels { © The Research Foundation of SUNY (EIA 2007) National Biomass Supply © The Research Foundation of SUNY • Assessment of • whether land resources in the US could sustainably produce over 1 billion tons of biomass Enough biomass to replace about 30% of the country’s petroleum consumption National Biomass Supply • Over 1.3 billion dry tons 377 (Perlack et al. 2005) © The Research Foundation of SUNY annually from forest and agricultural land that is currently not being utilized – 368 million odt from forests – 998 million odt from agricultural land – 377 odt projected to come from perennial energy crops Woody Biomass Feedstocks Large quantities of wood residues from primary and secondary wood product manufacturers are available © The Research Foundation of SUNY Low value wood from forests can be harvested sustainably Willow biomass crops can be grown on under utilized open land NY’s Forest Resources • 18.5 million acres of forest land • 15.4 million acres of timberland New York State Land Cover - • Only 2 pulp mills in NY, down from Miles 0 Legend 15 30 60 90 – 774 million tons of standing biomass – Annual growth 3X greater than harvest 120 15 in the mid 1980s N YS La nd Co ver W ate r F orest 19 ,55 7,15 5 a c. P asture/Ha y 6 ,03 3,5 72 a c. R ow Cro ps 1,6 94 ,2 29 ac. © The Research Foundation of SUNY Map Create d for th e Willow Biom ass Project Dat e: Ju n e 14, 2005 – Limited markets for low value trees – Results in poor forest management, especially high grading • Bioenergy/bioproducts markets can – support sustainable management – improve the economic viability of rural communities Woody Biomass From NY’S Forests Net annual growth (~2.5%) © The Research Foundation of SUNY ~ 774 millon odt Current standing biomass in merchantable growing stock Amount Available for Bioenergy and Biofuels (Current removals + Bioenergy harvest) is less than 75 % of the Net Annual Growth Woody Biomass From NY’S Forests Comparison of Various Proportions of All Live Merchantable Biomass Considered for Availability in Relation to Net Growth 120 Resultant Biomass Thousands odt 100 Volume of Removals From Growing-stock 80 60 Total of Resultant Biomass and Removals From Growing-stock Annual Net Growth of Growing-stock 40 20 0 0.0150 © The Research Foundation of SUNY 0.0100 0.0075 0.0050 Proportion Considered 0.0025 © The Research Foundation of SUNY ©The Research Foundation of SUNY 2008 Socio-economic Potential • Amount of technically available biomass resource will vary due to a range of socioeconomic factors: – Perceptions and assessments of sustainability – Market prices for other energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas) – Prices for biomass for other uses (i.e. pulp logs, saw logs, pellets, firewood, mulch) – Landowners management objectives – Incentives and policies that support renewable energy © The Research Foundation of SUNY NY’s Agricultural Resources • Long term decline in agriculture in NY Total Cropland (1,000 acres) 6000 – Loss of ~ 1 million acres of active cropland in past 25 years – Currently 1.5 to 2 million acres of marginal farmland in NY 5000 4000 3000 • Willow biomass crops could 2000 1000 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 © The Research Foundation of SUNY 1990 1995 2000 2005 • be an alternative crop for farmers and landowners Produces environmental and rural development benefits in addition to bioenergy and/or bioproducts © The Research Foundation of SUNY Timber land within 25 miles of Syracuse • Over 584,000 acres of • forest cover Remove forest land: – – – – preserves excessive slope small parcels classified wetlands • Result is 400,000 acres of • • (Castellan et al. 2008) timberland Potential production of over 245,000 odt of woody biomass per year from timberlands Enough woody biomass for 35-60 Mwe © The Research Foundation of SUNY Agricultural land within 25 miles of Syracuse • Over 440,000 acres of • agricultural land cover Remove land: – – – – not classified for agriculture excessive slopes wetlands small parcels • Over 167,000 acres • • (Castellan et al. 2008) remaining On 10% of this land (16,700 acres) can produce 83,500 odt/yr Enough woody biomass for 10 - 20 Mwe Why Willow? • High biomass production • • • • Three-year old willow in Tully, NY © The Research Foundation of SUNY • potential Produces uniform feedstock Easily established with unrooted cuttings Resprouts vigorously after each harvest Limited insect and pest problems Wide range of genetic variability Previous and Current Willow Trials Previous biomass sites Current biomass sites Phytoremediation sites Living Snowfence sites Riparian buffer sites © The Research Foundation of SUNY Willow Biomass Production Cycle Three-year old after coppice Site Preparation Planting Harvesting One-year old after coppice Coppice First year growth © The Research Foundation of SUNY Early spring after coppicing Three Year Old Willow Biomass Crops ¾Willow yields are typically 4 odt/acre/yr in the first rotation and 5 odt/ac/yr in subsequent rotations © The Research Foundation of SUNY Global Carbon Cycles Natural Gas 1 0.40 100 % Carbon Closure 1J (Assumes 0.25 t/ha-yr increase in soil carbon) 11-16 J 55 J Feedstock Production (62%) Transportation (12%) (Mann and Spath 1997, Heller et al. 2003) © The Research Foundation of SUNY Power Plant Construction (26%) Net CO2 Emissions: 0% Corn Ethanol 1 1.67 Wildlife and Biodiversity Benefits • Mixtures of species Different growth stages of willow biomass crops create diversity across the landscape © The Research Foundation of SUNY and ages create structural and functional diversity across the landscape • In a region will have all three stages of growth at any point in time • Harvest occurs during the dormant season Bird Diversity in Willow © The Research Foundation of SUNY Andre Dhondt – Laboratory of Ornithology Cornell University Peter Wrege – Cornell University Bird Diversity in SRWC • SRWC provide good • • • Comparison of species diversity in SRWC and other habitats based on breeding bird survey data (Dhondt et al. 2001) © The Research Foundation of SUNY foraging and breeding habitat for a diversity of birds 57 different species regularly used SRWC 28 species were found to breed in SRWC plots Diversity in SRWC was not significantly different from breeding bird survey data from – old fields – intact eastern deciduous forest Challenges to Commercialization of Willow • The people factor – Misperceptions about biomass and willow – Different opinions about the concept of sustainability • Economics of the systems – High up front establishment cost – Yields and low prices for biomass – High harvesting costs • Infrastructure to support willow deployment – Large amount of planting stock (typical planting density is 5,800 plants acre-1) – Equipment for planting and harvesting – Lack of experience and understanding for large scale implementation – Need for consistent and ongoing R&D and policy support for energy crops © The Research Foundation of SUNY Commercial Planting Stock Production • Double A Willow, Fredonia NY • has established about 100 acres of willow nursery beds planted since 2005 Planting stock for biomass crops and for other applications – 5 million cuttings in 2007/08 – Projected production of 15 million cuttings in 2008/09 – 30 million in 2010 Shrub willows in nursery beds at Double A Vineyards, Fredonia, NY (www.doubleawillow.com). © The Research Foundation of SUNY • Cost of cutting production has already been significantly reduced SUNY ESF Willow Breeding Program © The Research Foundation of SUNY • A 20% increase in yield will • • • reduce the cost of delivered willow biomass by 13% Breeding program started in 1995 with collections from across the Northeast and Midwest U.S. Since 1998, more than 600 crosses attempted Initial breeding efforts are providing yield increases of 20 – 40% Harvester Development • Dormant season, single pass • • • New CNH Short-Rotation Coppice header being tested in the UK in March 2008 © The Research Foundation of SUNY • cut and chip harvesting system based on New Holland (NH) forage harvester Trials over the past two years with a NH forage harvester and specially designed cutting head CNH is developing a new Short-Rotation-Coppice (SRC) header Initial field trials were run in the UK in March 2008 Field trials planned for the US, UK, Belgium and Germany in the winter of 2008/2009 Commercial Plantings Established by Catalyst Renewables in 2008 © The Research Foundation of SUNY Market Developments Combined Heat and Power Biorefinery Co-firing © The Research Foundation of SUNY Gasification Small Scale Heat Now is the Time for Action © The Research Foundation of SUNY • “The stone age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” – Sheikh Zaki Yamani, former oil minister for Saudi Arabia • "We must be the change we wish to see." ~M. Ghandi © The Research Foundation of SUNY Acknowledgements ¾ USDA CSREES ¾ USDA Rural Development ¾ NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) ¾ Honeywell International ¾NYS Dept. Agriculture and Markets ¾ NYSTAR