Hawai‘i Energy and Environmental Technologies (HEET) Initiative Office of Naval Research Grant Award Number N0014-10-1-0310 TASK 4 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS 4.7 Alternative Biofuels Development: Production, Harvesting, and Handling Assessment Prepared by: GreenEra LLC Prepared for: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute April 2014 2250 Kalakaua Avenue, Suite 319 * Honolulu, Hawaii 96815 Deliverable 6: Report for Activity 3 – Production, Harvesting, and Handling Project No. 660079 – Biofuels Assessment Purchase Order No. Z952555 GreenEra LLC FEIN: 27-1749416 Submitted by: GreenEra LLC Submitted to: Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Submitted April 4, 2014 Biofuels Assessment (Project No. 660079) Activity 3 - Production, Harvesting and Handling Assessment Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 11 3.0 Executive Summary...................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.1 Biofuels Assessment; Activities 1 through 5, Final Report ............................. 20 3.1.2 Background - Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company ............................ 22 3.2 Activity 3 – Production, Harvesting, and Handling Assessment .................................. 24 3.2.1 Objective ........................................................................................................... 24 3.2.2 Process .............................................................................................................. 24 3.2.3 Background ....................................................................................................... 25 3.3 Crop Option #1: Two-year Sugarcane, Burned for Harvest ........................................ 29 3.3.1 Field Preparation ............................................................................................... 29 3.3.1.1 Field Preparation Process .................................................................... 29 3.3.1.2 Field Preparation Costs ....................................................................... 31 3.3.2 Crop Establishment and Irrigation .................................................................... 32 3.3.2.1 Planting the Crop ................................................................................. 32 3.3.2.2 Ratoon-Crop Establishment ................................................................ 35 3.3.2.3 Irrigation .............................................................................................. 35 3.3.2.4 Cost of Planting the Crop .................................................................... 37 3.3.3 Crop Maintenance ............................................................................................. 37 3.3.3.1 Fertilizer Application .......................................................................... 38 3.3.3.2 Weed Control ...................................................................................... 38 3.3.3.3 Pesticide Application .......................................................................... 38 3.3.4 Harvesting and Sucrose Recovery .................................................................... 39 3.3.4.1 Harvesting ........................................................................................... 39 3.3.4.2 Benchmarking HC&S Harvesting Cost............................................... 43 3.3.4.3 Benchmarking HC&S Recovered Sugar Yield and Derived Crop Yields .................................................................................................. 44 3.3.4.4 Sugar Recovery for Current Harvest and Milling System .................. 48 3.3.5 Benchmarking Productivity at HC&S .............................................................. 56 3.3.5.1 Field Productivity ................................................................................ 56 3.3.5.2 Cane Productivity: Mill ...................................................................... 56 3.3.5.3 Cane Productivity: Pre-Harvest .......................................................... 57 3.3.5.4 Harvesting Costs ................................................................................. 59 3.3.6 Agronomic Sustainability of Option #1: Two-Year Sugarcane, Burned for Harvest .............................................................................................................. 65 3-2 Biofuels Assessment (Project No. 660079) Activity 3 - Production, Harvesting and Handling Assessment 3.3.7 Option #1 Summary: Two-Year Sugarcane, Burned for Harvest .................... 66 3.4 Crop Option #2: Two-year Sugarcane, Unburned for Harvest .................................... 68 3.4.1 Production System: Two-Year Unburned Sugarcane ...................................... 68 3.4.2 Defining the Characteristics of Unburned Sugarcane ...................................... 69 3.4.2.1 Hawaiian Data ..................................................................................... 70 3.4.2.2 Other Data ........................................................................................... 70 3.4.3 Harvesting Productivity and Cost ..................................................................... 73 3.4.4 Mill Throughput and Sucrose Recovery ........................................................... 77 3.4.5 Predicting Reductions in Milling Recovery with Increased Trash Levels ....... 80 3.4.6 Strategies to Minimize Losses Associated with Increased Trash Levels ......... 81 3.4.7 Cane Mass and Composition Resulting from Different Strategies ................... 84 3.4.8 Product Recovery .............................................................................................. 85 3.4.9 Agronomic Sustainability of Option #2: Two-year Sugarcane, Unburned for Harvest .............................................................................................................. 88 3.4.10 Option #2 Summary: Two-Year Sugarcane, Unburned for Harvest ............... 88 3.5 Crop Option #3: One-year Sugarcane and Type I Energycane, Mechanically Harvested ...................................................................................................................... 90 3.5.1 Production System: Annual Cropping of Sugarcane ....................................... 91 3.5.2 Overview of a Potential Annual Cropping System in Hawaii .......................... 94 3.5.3 Crop production: Annual Cropping System in Hawaii for Sugarcane and Type I Energycane ..................................................................................................... 96 3.5.4 Rock Removal and Management .................................................................... 100 3.5.4.1 Rock Removal Strategies .................................................................. 101 Rock Removal ................................................................................... 102 Rock Pulverization ............................................................................ 103 3.5.5 Land Preparation and Planting Cost: Annual Cropping of Sugarcane .......... 105 3.5.6 Potential Yields: Annual Cropping of Sugarcane ........................................... 106 3.5.6.1 Estimated Productivity for Annual Harvest Sugarcane Crop............ 108 3.5.6.2 Sucrose Recovery .............................................................................. 110 3.5.7 Harvesting System: Annual Cropping of Sugarcane and Energycane .......... 111 3.5.7.1 Chopper Harvesting of “One-year” Cane (Process Overview) ......... 111 3.5.7.2 Impact of Crop Size and Presentation on Harvesting Losses ........... 112 1) Topping Losses .......................................................................... 114 2) Gathering Losses ....................................................................... 114 3) Basecutter Loses ........................................................................ 115 3-3 Biofuels Assessment (Project No. 660079) Activity 3 - Production, Harvesting and Handling Assessment 4) Pickup Losses ............................................................................ 115 5) Feedtrain Losses ........................................................................ 116 6) Billeting Losses ......................................................................... 116 7) Extraction Losses ....................................................................... 117 3.5.7.3 Summary of Harvesting Losses ........................................................ 118 Post-Harvest Deterioration Losses .................................................... 120 3.5.7.4 Impact of Crop Size and Presentation on Harvester Productivity and Harvesting Cost ................................................................................. 121 In-Field transport ............................................................................... 123 Cost of Harvesting and In-field Transport ........................................ 125 Field-to-Mill Transport ..................................................................... 126 3.5.8 Summary of Sugarcane Harvesting Costs ...................................................... 128 3.5.9 Summary of Harvesting Considerations ......................................................... 129 3.5.9.1 Trash Extraction at the Mill .............................................................. 129 3.5.10 Product