Characterizing Biomass Within the Supply Chain Getting the right information at the right time Advanced Bioeconomy Feedstocks Conference June 10, 2015 William A Smith, Ian Bonner, Lynn Wendt, & Garold L Gresham—Idaho National Laboratory Energy Systems & Technologies

Biomass Feedstock Supply Logistics Resources: Regionally, temporally, and compositionally diverse with low energy density Herbaceous residues harvested seasonally Conversion occurs year- round Feedstock: Available supply, suitable composition, predictable performance in supply chain and within conversion processes Storage of native herbaceous biomass is necessary for first- generation biorefineries, co-firing applications, and future feedstock formulation operations

What Are You Buying? Biomass, BTUs, Glucan, Xylan, Water, Soil, Sand? How much is it worth? How much represents “product”? How much will it cost to convert? What can you or the producer do to collect, preserve, and deliver quality feedstock?

Raw Feedstocks are Variable Spatial & Temporal Variations – Composition: carbohydrates, lignin, ash – Moisture: “native” & atmospheric – Contaminants: soil, rocks, weeds, “trash” Anatomical Fractions – Cut height/lower vs upper stalk, leaves – Bark, limbs, tops, leaves Harvest Practices – When, where, and how? Storage – Where? How? How long?

Sampling is Required Sampling relies on statistical methods (how many/how big?) and can only tell you what you have at that time – Results of sampling are a function of history: Where, when, and how was it harvested, stored, and transported? – Results represent a single point in time: What comes out of harvest may not be what comes out of storage or what’s delivered to the biorefinery. – Results are only as “good” as your sampling methods.

Analyses Are Costly Most analyses require sample preparation – Drying, grinding, and splitting (sub-sampling) are usually necessary. Results take time to acquire and analyze – Even “simple” moisture measurements take minutes to hours. – Composition can take 2 weeks and require hours of labor. Analytical equipment, lab space, & skilled staff add operational expense

What you need to know and when… Focus on key operations and exchange points

Harvesting and Collection Soil contamination & ash – Variability of samples Sample more of the bale – X-ray radiography 6% 12%

Storage—Moisture & Dry Matter Loss High storage moisture leads to biodegradation DML measurements are simple but error prone Storage conditions vary Time… Laboratory storage reactors: – Control moisture, airflow, and temperature – Measure CO 2 for DML – Reaches extent of degradation in ~1/3 the time compared to field

Storage Stability is a Feedstock Property Rate & extent of corn stover degradation are proportional to moisture content… …And, internal temperature from self-heating is a good indirect measure of dry matter loss over time.

Feedstock Composition NREL—Laboratory NIRS of prepared feedstocks – Corn stover, mixed herbaceous, sorghum, & pre-treated materials – Complete compositional characterization BALES—NIRS research in baled corn stover – Preliminary models for moisture, glucan, and ash Courtesy of Bonnie Hames & BALES

NIRS Bale Probe Shows Impacts of Storage Saturated layer 3”-4” Enrichment in ash and glucan – Consistent with HC loss Results for bale in 10 minutes Moisture Profile New Bale Moisture Profile Stored Bale Glucan and Ash % Dry Weight Stored Bale Courtesy of Bonnie Hames & BALES

What Are Our Near-Term Options IR – Temperature, self-heating, & fire NIRS – Moisture, composition Conductivity – Moisture Microwave – Moisture X-ray Radiography – Foreign matter, ash Hyperspectral Imaging – Moisture, composition Prompt Gamma Neutron Analysis – Elemental analysis, heating value “Electronic Nose” – Multiple sensor array for various compounds – Detect degradation or fire Acoustics – i.e. grain loss sensors for detecting foreign matter

Questions?