Future production of biomass for fuels and chemicals. Claus Felby Faculty of Life Sciences University of Copenhagen

Transcription

1 Future production of biomass for fuels and chemicals Claus Felby Faculty of Life Sciences University of Copenhagen

2 Biomass instead of oil? Biomass for energy is our current largest source of renewable energy Biomass can replace oil as a feedstock for the chemical industry According to the IEA biofuels are one of the technologies needed in order to meet the 50% CO 2 reduction in 2050 But! In 2050 we will be 3 billion more people We need to reduce our technology carbon footprint by a factor of 12! Can we use biomass to both feed and fuel 9 billion peole?

3 Biomass is our single most versatile renewable ressource Solid fuels for heat & power Liquid fuels for transportation Gaseous fuels for transportation and heat & power Food and feed Chemicals

4 Biomass is made from sugar and lignin Two types of carbohydrates: Nutritional: Fructose, starch, succrose Structural: Cellulose, hemicellulose Lignin is an aromatic polymer made from just three different molecules Precursor for oil, coal and gas The structural biomass made from cellulose, hemicelulose and lignin is labelled lignocellulose

5 Biomass is made from sugar and lignin Two types of carbohydrates: Nutritional: Fructose, starch, succrose Structural: Cellulose, hemicellulose Lignin is an aromatic polymer made from just three different molecules Precursor for oil, coal and gas The structural biomass made from cellulose, hemicelulose and lignin is labelled lignocellulose

6 A close look at the cellulose and lignin Difference between agricultural and forestry biomass Crops High in salts Contains protein Low in lignin Wood Low in salts High in lignin Before delignification 200 nm Kristensen et al Biotechnol Biofuels :5.

7 Biomass requirements Bulk! Correct composition Homogeneous Stable supply Cost effective Sustainable

8 Today s biomass for energy, - which are the sources? 2007 Global use approximately 2,5 Gton Crops Waste Wood Approximate figures from FAO, USDA

9 Where is the biomass production? Current annual production 130 billion tons, current carbon inventory 2000 Gton

10 How much land is needed to feed 9 billion? Idag dyrker vi afgrøder på et areal der svarer til Sydamerika

11 How much land is needed to feed 9 billion? +meat ++meat +++meat ++++meat +++++meat If Idag the dyrker everybody vi afgrøder eats our på et diet areal we der need svarer three til times Sydamerika our current agricultural area

12 How much land is needed to feed 9 billion? +meat ++meat +++meat ++++meat +++++meat

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14 Multiple use of agriculture: People, livestock and energy People Livestock People Energy Energy Livestock Agricultural crop land use 2008 FAO-stat

15 Skov & Landskab Lignocellulose biorefineries may avoid the food/fuel conflict But if we start replacing food and feed crops with energy crops it will basically be the same problem This really is a question of land use, as land is the ultimate limiting factor, not XX tons of biomass

16 So it really is a question of... Expansion: Increasing the area of arable land Or Intensification: Getting more out of the land we already use

17 Skov & Landskab LUC & iluc Feed by products from 2G bioethanol and agricultural intensification i.e. breeding would basically make the land use debate obsolete Expansion Intensification Conversion from a fossil based transportation sector to a 2G biofuel based by 2100 Melillo et al. (2009) Science

18 New crops or different crops? Breeding for: Higher yield Higher convertability Lower content of salts Tools Molceular breeding Conventional breeding GMO Only incremental changes

19 New crops or different crops? Breeding for: Higher yield Higher convertability Lower content of salts Tools Molceular breeding Conventional breeding GMO Only incremental changes

20 Potential crop yields Yields (t/ha) Crop Record Average Corn Wheat Soybeans Sorghum Oats Barley Potatoes Sugar beets Sugar cane Mean % of record yield Chrispeels and Sadava 2003

21 Example: Adjustment of current agriculture (Uffe Jørgensen DJF) Energy crops on 15% of wheat area More wood from the forest Doubling of straw collection Pasture used for biogas 75% of manure used for biogas Meat and fat waste l for biodiesel Total ca. 6 million tons extra

22 How much agricultural residue is produced today? What could agriculture actually deliver? No modelling just plain data National and international statistics on agriculture and forestry e.g. FAO, Eurostat, USDA Straw, stover etc. was estimated based on the yield of kernel

23 How much agricultural residue is produced today? What could agriculture actually deliver? No modelling just plain data National and international statistics on agriculture and forestry e.g. FAO, Eurostat, USDA Straw, stover etc. was estimated based on the yield of kernel

24 Existing agricultural residue A total of 1.6 Gton cellulose, 0.8 Gton hemicellulose, 0.6 Gton lignin Technical potential only. Figures does not include Africa and Australia A similar amount is present as foretry residues Bentsen & Felby

25 Distribution on regions and countries 3,3 Gt of crop residue is currently produced of which 50% may be removed

26 How to solve the land use, when making food and fuel? Technology New conversion technologies to focus on non-food biomass 2 nd generation biofuels Co-production of feed and energy Biomass production Expansion of cultivated area? More diversified and efficient agricultre and forestry By using the already established system all the infrastructure is in place.

27 Increasing the biomass resource? For more than 10,000 years we have optimised our crops for food and feed

28 Increasing the biomass resource? For more than 10,000 years we have optimised our crops for food and feed

29 Strategies for increasing biomass supply from agriculture Increase biomass yield from existing agricultyre and forestry Select and breed for strains with a higher straw yield Introduce short rotation trees in forest plantations Land use change Optimized livestock production, exploitation of marginal lands and pastures. ->Release of 2 Gha land. Introduce energy crops as part of current agriculture or on marginal lands Willow Miscanthus Switch grass Hkg / ha Viscount Ambition Mariboss JB Asano +20% straw yield at constant grain yield (on a global scale this could feed all airplanes and a large number of the ships with biofuels) Straw Grain Wheat variety

30 A look into the future

31 Why not skip plants and focus on PV s and CO2 fixation driven by electricity? Commercially available photovoltaics is ~15% efficient Plant photosynthesis is on average less than 1% efficient (can be as high as 6%) Photosynthetic microorganisms do better, ~ 4% PV s also need land

32 But! Plants also provide: CO2 fixation (200 billion tonnes/year) Food Feed Biodiversity Water supply Pollination Erosion control A functional and balanced ecosystem!

33 The reactions where the solar energy is converted are very efficient 30-40% of the captured solar energy is converted to chemical energy Key processes to learn and mimic! Amazing potential!

34 Improving the photosynthtic efficiency by advanced molecular biology and breeding Long et al Plant, Cell and Environment

35 Artificial photosynthesis: Ideas: 1. Oxidation of water and conversion of solar energy: Mimic (copy) key principles from Photosystem II 2. Reduction of protons. Mimic the active sites in hydrogenases

36 Blue biomass Algae and cyanobacteria has the potential of 2-4 times more efficient photosynthesis Could provide 100% decoupling of food, bioenergy and biochemicals Only proven in lab-scale We have little experience with large scale production of algae biomass Only low productivity in large scale, yet... Still on the drawing board, but... Artist s conception of growing algae in the desert

37 Algae biomass -charachteristics VERY different from terrestial plants Their cell walls are differetently structured Every species basically has its own carbohydrate Halogenated or sulfonated Non-biodegradable High in structural proteins High in lipids Can be VERY high in salts and inorganics Can be engineered to produce specific organic compounds

38 Conclusions and perspective There is more than enough biomass out there to build an sector for energy and chemicals We could build a MUCH stronger case on sustainability if we focus the technology on exploring existing agriculture and foresty Integration between process technology, agriculture and refinery sector is very important Using land as the limiting factor and minimising land use will improve sustainability and avoid technology pitfalls We have the possibility of building biology and technology relying on existing agriculture, forestry and waste not one extra m 2 of land

39 Thank you for listening Thanks to: - Claus Felby s group at Uni. of Copenhagen - Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation for financial support Thank you for listening