| Title: | California Energy Commission - Alcohol Fuels From Biomass - An Assessment of Production Technologies |
| Type: |
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| State: | California |
| Program Description: | Alcohol Fuels From Biomass -- Assessment of Production Technologies
In 2006/07, California Energy Commission (CEC) used a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Western Governors’ Association to conduct an assessment of the feasibility of differing processes of producing alcohol from biomass for transportation purposes. The study was conducted by TSS Consultants, and can be found on the web at Alcohol Fuels From Biomass Study. The report assesses the outlook for technologies actively under development for the conversion of cellulosic biomass feedstocks to ethanol or other alcohol fuels. The objectives of the report were to: Review and evaluate various technologies for producing ethanol and other alcohols from cellulosic biomass feedstocks; Review past bioalcohol production technology projects studied or proposed in California. Identify opportunities for new projects involving applications of bioalcohol production technologies using California’s cellulosic biomass resources. Identify remaining regulatory, economic and institutional obstacles to bioalcohol project development and describe state and federal government roles in addressing these challenges. The study includes the results of a survey showing individual profiles of 38 active technology developers around the world. The study evaluated some of the principal technologies under development using what they referred to as the “5E assessment”, which looked at technical validation, energy efficiency, environmental impacts, economic viability, and socio-political effectiveness. The study finds that biomass resources are available nationally from biomass wastes and residues. Drawing from the DOE and USDA “Billion Ton Study” (Perlack 2005), biomass feedstocks can be found in urban biomass waste, agricultural waste, and woody biomass waste from national, state, and private forestlands. Results of the CEC study concluded that “production of ethanol and other alcohol fuels from cellulosic biomass offers a promising means of supplying a significant part of future transportation energy needs using renewable resources.” However, these technologies are not yet commercially available. The report goes on to say, “for those technologies that appear to be promising, demonstration and commercial scale plants need to be built, tested, validated and improved.” The report recommends that government support all promising technology approaches and not mandate a particular conversion technology. The study found that both thermochemical and biochemical process approaches warrant further development. “The thermochemical technology with the highest probability for economic success is an integrated pyrolysis/steam reforming process. Current analysis suggests that a commercial plant utilizing this technology should be able to produce mixed alcohols at a cost of about $1.15/gallon for a 500 BDT/day plant.” “The biochemical conversion processes encompass two primary approaches - acid hydrolysis/fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose, followed by fermentation of the simple sugars are currently estimated to have an ethanol production cost of approximately $2.24/gallon for a 2,205 BDT/day plant. Projected improvements in the biochemical conversion processes have the potential of reducing ethanol production costs below $1.50/gallon for 2,205 BDT/day or larger plants by 2012.” Contact Information For more information on the Alcohol Fuels from Biomass study, contact Frederick Tornatore, TSS Consultants Chief Technical Officer, at 916.638.8811 ext 104 or by email at Fred Tornatore |
The Woody Biomass Utilization Database is a project of the Western Governors' Association
designed to increase awareness of the use of biomass resources for economic development and
environmental sustainability. Program objectives highlighted include biomass energy and
heating activities, education programs, and projects and technologies involving biomass
residue resulting from forest health treatments to reduce wildfire hazard risk.