United States Department of Agriculture National Program 213 Research, Education, and BIOENERGY Economics AGRICULTURAL ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT 2008-2012 RESEARCH SERVICE Office of National Programs FEBRUARY 2013 Captions of front page photos, clockwise from upper left: 1. Soil scientist Doug Karlen instructs technician Tanya Ferguson (accompanied by her hearing guide dog) on how to visually assess soil quality impacts of harvesting crop residue as feedstock for bioenergy production. The foreground 1 shows signs of severe soil erosion where about 90 percent of the stover was 2 harvested. Photo by Stephen Ausmus/ARS. 2 2. At Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, chemical engineer Akwasi Boateng (right) and mechanical engineer Neil Goldberg (center) adjust pyrolysis conditions while 4 chemist Charles Mullen loads the reactor with bioenergy feedstock. Photo by Peggy Greg/ARS. 3 3. Dairy scientist Hans Jung examines alfalfa stem sections before and after digestion by rumen bacteria. Genetic modification of nondigestible xylem tissue would make stems better cattle feed and enhance their conversion to ethanol. Photo by Keith Weller/ARS. 4. A column filled with poultry litter-based activated chars is put to the test by chemist Isabel Lima (right) and Bonnie Dillon by letting a solution of copper ion pass through. The solution turns clear as the copper ions are absorbed by the activated chars. Photo by Stephen Ausmus/ARS. National Program 213 Bioenergy ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT 2008-2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND AND GENERAL INFORMATION .......................................................................................... 1 NP 213 Component 1 – FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT Problem Statement 1A .................................................................................................................. 11 Problem Statement 1B .................................................................................................................. 17 NP 213 Component 2 – F EEDSTOCK PRODUCTION Problem Statement 2A .................................................................................................................. 21 Problem Statement 2B .................................................................................................................. 23 Problem Statement 2C .................................................................................................................. 27 NP 213 Component 3 – BIOREFINING SUBCOMPONENT 3A: Biocatalytic Conversion ........................................................................... 29 Problem Statement 3A-1 ............................................................................................................... 29 Problem Statement 3A-2 ............................................................................................................... 38 Problem Statement 3A-3 ............................................................................................................... 39 Problem Statement 3A-4 ............................................................................................................... 41 SUBCOMPONENT 3B: Thermochemical Conversion .................................................................... 43 Problem Statement 3B-1 ............................................................................................................... 43 Problem Statement 3B-2 ............................................................................................................... 43 Problem Statement 3B-3 ............................................................................................................... 44 Problem Statement 3B-4 ............................................................................................................... 44 SUBCOMPONENT 3C: Biodiesel ................................................................................................... 45 Problem Statement 3C-1 ............................................................................................................... 46 Problem Statement 3C-2 ............................................................................................................... 46 Problem Statement 3C-3 ............................................................................................................... 47 Problem Statement 3C-4 ............................................................................................................... 48 Problem Statement 3C-5 ............................................................................................................... 48 SUBCOMPONENT 3D: Process Economics and Life Cycle Analyses ........................................... 49 Problem Statement 3D-1 ............................................................................................................... 49 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................................. APPENDIX 1 – Research Projects in National Program 213 ............................................................ APPENDIX 2 – Publications by Research Project ............................................................................. APPENDIX 3 – Selected Supporting Information and Documentation .............................................. i The National Program 213 Action Plan 2008-2012 Components and Problem Statements Component 1: Feedstock Development PROBLEM STATEMENT 1A: Breeding and evaluation of new germplasm PROBLEM STATEMENT 1B: Biological and molecular basis of plant traits Component 2: Feedstock Production PROBLEM STATEMENT 2A: Accurate information at different levels of scale to help plan for future bioenergy production needs in ways that maintain the integrity of U.S. agriculture. PROBLEM STATEMENT 2B: Greater amounts of biomass feedstocks are needed to achieve U.S. goals for replacing transportation fuels with renewable sources. This increase will require greater production from each acre of land used, and new kinds of production systems for the next generations of feedstocks that compliment food, feed, and fiber production. PROBLEM STATEMENT 2C: Strategies are needed to use conversion co-products from agricultural-based energy production on farms to reduce the need for purchased inputs for crop production systems. Component 3: Biorefining SUBCOMPONE NT 3A: Biocatalytic Conversion PROBLEM STATEMENT 3A-1: Cost-effective conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to ethanol or butanol. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3A-2: Biological production of hydrogen and methane from lignocellulosic feedstocks. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3A-3: New and improved processes for biocatalytic conversion of starches and sugars to ethanol or butanol. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3A-4: Biorefinery co-products. ii SUBC OM PONE NT 3B: T hermochemical C onversion PROBLEM STATEMENT 3B-1: Managing biomass feedstocks for thermochemical processing. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3B-2: On-farm production of heat and/or power. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3B-3: Commercially viable thermochemical processes for producing liquid fuels from agricultural feedstocks. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3B-4: Biorefinery co-products. SUBCOMPONENT 3C: B iodiesel PROBLEM STATEMENT 3C-1: Increasing feedstock (fatty acid) availability. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3C-2: Biodiesel production processes. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3C-3: Improving the inherent performance of fatty acid esters as fuels. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3C-4: Biodiesel fuel quality assurance. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3C-5: Biodiesel co-products. SUBCOMPONENT 3D: Process E conomics and L ife C ycle Analyses PROBLEM STATEMENT 3D-1: Estimating process costs and externalized costs. iii [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] iv United States Department of Agriculture Research, Education, and Economics AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE National Program 213 Bioenergy ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT 2008-2012 BACKGROUND AND GENERAL INFORMATION U.S. agriculture is expected to provide a significant portion of the nation's future energy requirements. Broadly interpreted, bioenergy encompasses agriculture in its entirety as a summation of energy transformations within the global carbon cycle. The USDA Agricultural Research Service implicitly recognizes this; therefore, the Bioenergy National Program (NP 213) serves as the organizational structure where planning, coordinating, and executing research for the conversion of plant and animal inputs into biofuels and other products takes place. In helping to optimize the development and the production of those feedstocks and the processes of their biorefinement, NP 213 research focuses on strengthening rural economies, providing increased supplies of renewable transportation fuel, enhancing energy security, and improving the U.S. balance of trade. A strong emphasis is made on distributed scale production of bioenergy from both pre-collected material that would otherwise be considered waste, and diverse, regionally appropriate feedstocks that can be used for the commercial production of energy and transportation fuels. The 5 years covered by this report has been a period of change in the bioenergy landscape, as well as changes in national policy on bioenergy. In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) set out the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS-2), establishing a 36-billion gallon biofuel target by 2022, expanding the need for new sources of raw materials and new, more efficient production methods. In 2008, the Biomass Research and Development Board released its National Biofuels Action Plan for achieving RFS-2, and in 2009, the President