Feedstock Engineering

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Feedstock Engineering

• Shahab Sokhansanj
• Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Telephone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• sokhansanjs_at_ornl.gov
• November 9, 2001

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STRATEGIC GOALS
I. Near term 2005 II. Mid range 2010 III.
Long term 2015
Improving the existing collection, densification,
and transportation technologies
Innovative single step harvesting, whole crop
utilization and transportation concepts
Full integration of feedstock supply systems and
bioconversion processes.
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I.Improving the existing collection,
densification, and transportation technologies
Feedstock characterization quantity and quality
Operational parameter - rate of work,
reliability, timeliness Densification
compacting, cubing Moisture control and
management drying and safe storage Systems
modeling and optimization
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II. Improving existing collection,
densification, and transportation technologies

• Develop an integrated system that harvests the
  whole plant and fractionates it into its valuable
  components grain, stalk, cobs, and leaves.
• Applies adequate residue to the soil for
  productivity and conservation precision farming
• Process the valuable components for storage and
  transport to conversion facilities.

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III. Full integration of feedstock supply
systems and bioconversion processes.

• Corn stover is pre-treated at the farm level, the
  substrate (in a slurry form) is transported to a
  central conversion plant
• the dairy model, the crude oil model
• Paradigm shift

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CURRENT PROJECTS

• Moisture control
• University of Tennessee, Lester Pordesimo
• To determine the drying rate of corn stover cob,
  leaf, husk, and stalk in the field and by
  artificial drying
• Field characterization of corn stover
• University of Kentucky, Mike Montrose, Sam
  McNeil, Scott Shearer, Tim Stombaugh,
• To quantify the amount and quality of corn stover
  that can be collected using the existing
  collection equipment

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HIGH TEMPERATURE DRYING RATE
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BIOMASS ESTIMATION
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DRYING RATE IN THE FIELD BEFORE HARVEST
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CURRENT PROJECTS

• Innovation in corn stover harvesting
• CEA and University of Wisconsin, Jim Hettenhaus
  and Kevin Shinners
• To evaluate innovative corn stover collection
  techniques and recommend feasible technologies
• Harvest, handling and densification for
  commercial processing of biomass feedstock
• Iowa State University, Graeme Quick
• To design and build one pass combine harvester
  for corn grain and stover at any moisture content

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CURRENT PROJECTS

• Sensitivity analysis on the cost of stover
  collection
• BFDP ORNL , Anthony Turhollow, Robert Perlack,
  Shahab Sokhansanj
• To quantify the magnitude of change in the
  collection cost of stover due to change in
  operational variables (yield, density, hours of
  operation, speed)
• Application analysis of commercial forage
  processing to feedstock processing for bioenergy
  
• BFDP ORNL, Anthony Turhollow, Robert Perlack,
  Mark Downing, Shahab Sokhansanj
• To investigate the current logistics of
  harvesting and processing operations for high
  density forage products as potential models for
  feedstock supply logistics

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Sensitivity of collection (windrow, bale, load,
transport for 5 miles, stack) costs to
operational variables
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Yield Map 36 acres
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Grid Data of Stover DistributionStover to grain
mass ratio 11
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PLANNED PROJECTS

• Densification technologies
• RFP
• To develop innovative technologies (sceince and
  engineering) for low cost densification of
  biomass
• Operational research data and modeling
• RFP
• to develop engineering management data
  (performance, service, timeliness) for field
  operations and for off the field operations
  applied to feedstock handling

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PLANNED PROJECTS

• Measure of Performance for Engineering Projects
  (Feedstock)
• BFDP ORNL/NREL, Shahab Sokhansanj
• To develop indicators and baseline on which the
  progress in feedstock supply projects can be
  measured on an annual basis
• Bio-feedstock and equipment industry
• BFDP ORNL, Shahab Sokhansanj
• To development of a paper on the impact of
  feedstock collection and delivery system on
  manufacturing and related industries