Biofuels and Bioproducts from Wet and Gaseous Waste Streams: Challenges and Opportunities
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Updated September 2017 Disclaimer The views and opinions summarized in this document do not necessarily reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof, nor does the government or its employees make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. Front cover: Jet: iStock 17461860 Cows: shutterstock 18791644 Power Plant: shutterstock 97115075 Oil drops: adobestock 86516758 Biofuels and Bioproducts from Wet and Gaseous Waste Streams: Challenges and Opportunities January 2017 Updated September 2017 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS Preface An earlier version of this report was published January 10, 2017. This version includes corrections to the inherent energy content of food waste (Table ES-1, Table 2-1, Table 2-2, Table 2-8, and Table 2-9) and to the estimated annual CO2 resource availability (corrected from metric to short tons in Table ES-1 and Table 2-1). A second update was made to this report in September 2017. This version replaces Figure 2-20 to clarify mass flows in metric units for the figure. Additionally, this version revises a statement regarding yellow- grease use and availability in Europe on page 50. This report draws together activities related to wet and gaseous waste feedstocks into a single document. It enables an amplified focus on feedstocks in the relevant technology and potential markets category. Also, this report helps to inform and support ongoing wet and gaseous resource recovery activities in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and in the broader federal space. Historically, the office has identified wet and gaseous waste feedstocks as potentially advantageous, but has not pursued them with a sustained focus. This document seeks to position these waste streams appropriately alongside more traditional feedstocks in BETO efforts. This document is intended as one step in a longer journey, in which BETO can enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of utilizing wet and gaseous wastes. Without prescribing any particular course of action, this report identifies areas of opportunity. It is intended as a useful resource for reference in selecting targets for more rigorous analyses or areas for future research, development, and demonstration investment. Preface II BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS Preface III BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS Acknowledgements This report was developed by Allegheny Science & Technology (AS&T) in support of the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). Mark Philbrick oversaw report development, and Beau Hoffman and Rafael Nieves served as co-authors. Energetics, Inc. provided document production services under the able leadership of Jonathan Rogers. Further credit to Paget Donnelly and Harrison Schwartz of Energetics is in order for their editing and graphics contributions to this report. BETO offers sincere thanks to the following people for providing content, producing data, modeling, and analysis, or providing reviews of this report. This list is incomplete, as many others contributed, but the folks listed below merit special mention: Anelia Milbrandt, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Jonathan Male, Bioenergy Technologies Office, DOE Corinne Drennan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Kristen Johnson, Bioenergy Technologies Office, DOE Cynthia Jenks, Ames Laboratory Mark Elless, Bioenergy Technologies Office, DOE Daniel Fishman, Bioenergy Technologies Office, DOE Meltem Urgun-Demirtas, Argonne National Laboratory Daniel Inman, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Michael Guarnieri, National Renewable Energy Laboratory David Babson, Bioenergy Technologies Office Philip Pienkos, National Renewable Energy Laboratory John Lewis, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Richard Skaggs, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory John Holladay, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Bioenergy Technologies Office, DOE BETO gratefully acknowledges reviewers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture for their valuable comments. BETO also acknowledges the ideas and insights contributed by all the stakeholders who participated in the Report Peer Review Meeting hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO on June 22-23, 2016. The willingness of these experts to share their time and knowledge has helped to define the challenges and opportunities associated with wet and gaseous waste resource recovery feedstocks, markets, and technologies. Special thanks to Aaron Fisher, WERF; Corinne Drennan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Michael Guarnieri, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Derek Griffin, LanzaTech, Inc.; Marc von Keitz, ARPA-E; and Nancy Andrews, Brown and Caldwell; for serving as rapporteurs at the meeting. The complete list of participants is found in Appendix 6.1. The review meeting was planned and executed by the aforementioned authors. Meeting facilitation was conducted by Jonathan Rogers, Paget Donnelly, and Shawna McQueen, all of Energetics Inc. Special thanks to Jill Coughlin of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for her help coordinating the event. Note taking was provided by Beau Hoffman, Allegheny Science & Technology; Brendan Scott, Allegheny Science & Technology; Cindy Gerk, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Jeremiah Wilson, Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, Department of Energy; and Zachary Peterson, BCS Inc. Acknowledgements IV BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS List of Acronyms AD Anaerobic Digestion AFO Animal Feeding Operation AnMBR Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor ARPA-E Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy bcf Billion Cubic Feet BETO Bioenergy Technologies Office BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand bpd Barrels per Day Btu British Thermal Units CAFO Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation cf Cubic Feet CH4 Methane CHP Combined Heat and Power CNG Compressed Natural Gas CO2 Carbon Dioxide CO2e Carbon Dioxide Equivalent COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CONUS Conterminous U.S. CWC Cellulosic Waiver Credit CWNS US EPA's Clean Watersheds Needs Survey DDGS Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles DOE U.S. Department of Energy DRM Dry Methane Reforming EERE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy EIS Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy EOR Enhanced Oil Recovery Operations EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FE DOE Office of Fossil Energy FOGs Fats, Oils, and Greases GGE Gallons Gasoline Equivalent GHG Greenhouse Gas GHGRP EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program GTL Gas to Liquids GWh Gigawatt-Hour H2 Hydrogen List of Acronyms V BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS H2S Hydrogen Sulfide HEFA Hydrogenated Esters and Fatty Acids HHV High Heating Value HRT Hydraulic Retention Time HTC Hydrothermal Carbonization HTL Hydrothermal Liquefaction kg Kilogram kWh Kilowatt-Hour LCA Life Cycle Analyses LCFS Low Carbon Fuel Standard LNG Liquefied Natural Gas m Meter mgd Millions of Gallons per Day MJ Mega Joule MM Million MM GGE Million Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent MMBtu Million British Thermal Units MMO Methane Monooxygenase MMt Million Metric Ton MSW Municipal Solid Waste Mt Metric Ton MW Megawatt MxCs Microbial Electrochemical Cells MYPP Multi-Year Program Plan N Nitrogen NGO Non-governmental organization NH3 Ammonia NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory NSF National Science Foundation P Phosphorus PNG Pipeline Natural Gas PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory POTW Publicly Owned Treatment Works PTC Production Tax Credit R&D Research and Development RD&D Research, Development, and Demonstration REC Renewable Electricity Credit or Renewable Energy Certificate List of Acronyms VI BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS RFS Renewable Fuel Standard RIN Renewable Identification Number RNG Renewable Natural Gas SBIR Small Business Innovation Research scfd Standard Cubic Feet per Day SMR Steam Methane Reforming SRT Solids Retention Time TBtu Trillion British Thermal Units tcf Trillion Cubic Feet TEA Techno-Economic Analyses USDA U. S. Department of Agriculture VSS Volatile Suspended Solids WE&RF Water Environment and Reuse Foundation WEF Water Environment Federation WESyS Waste-to-Energy System Simulation WRRF Water Resource Recovery Facility WTE Waste to Energy WWTP Waste Water Treatment Plant List of Acronyms VII BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS FROM WET AND GASEOUS WASTE STREAMS Executive Summary Historically, the concept of “waste-to-energy” has referred to any of a number of highly mature technologies (e.g. incineration or anaerobic digestion) that decrease waste volumes. Landfill capacity scarcity, coupled with increasingly stringent disposal regulations, is necessitating novel waste management solutions. In particular, the notion that waste streams represent valuable feedstocks for the production of biofuels and bioproducts is gaining currency. These feedstocks include inedible fats and greases, biogas from landfills, dairies, wastewater treatment plants, and the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. Conversion of these feedstocks into renewable natural gas, diesel, and aviation fuels is just beginning to gain market traction. It represents