Biorefinery Development Using Multiple Feedstocks

1. Biorefinery Development Using Multiple Feedstocks March 19, 2009 Integrated Biorefinery Platform Donal F. Day LSU Agricultural Center DE-FG36-08GO8851 (initiated 07/01/2008) This presentation does not contain any proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted information

2. The LSU Agricultural Center is conducting an extensive effort, centered around the Audubon Sugar Institute, to bring biofuels to Louisiana, based on raw sugar mills as the industrial nuclei. • Biological Engineering • Food Science • Ag Economics • Extension • Audubon Sugar Inst. • Sugar Station • Southeast • This project builds upon previous awards. • This program has been funded and recognized by the DOE

3. Overview Barriers Timeline • Project start 07/01/2008 • Project end 12/31/09 • Percent complete 40% • Barriers addressed • Inadequate Supply Chain • Cost of Production • Process Integration Budget Partners • Total project funding $1,230,000 • DOE share $984,000 • Contractor share $246,000 • Funding received in FY08 $984,000 • Funding for FY09 $0 • Interactions/ collaborations MBI International, Inc. • Project management D.F. Day, PI Stage • R&D Laboratory to Pilot

4. Vision- A Biorefinery based around a Raw Sugar Mill Goal: open opportunity for existing sugar mills to become biorefineries that produce: By-Products (bioplastic) Electricity Sugar Ethanol

5. Partial Supply Chain (vision) Feedstocks Transport/harvest Processing Sweet Sorghum Energy Cane $5.00/ton Bagasse Miscanthus

6. Technical difficulties! ? • Louisiana sugar mills operate only three months of the year • As wagonloads of crops are delivered to a processing facility, can the producer and processor rapidly value the convertible ligno-cellulosic content? • How long is it practical to stockpile feedstocks? • What preparation is required prior to pre-treatment? • What about the waste?

7. 1. Louisiana sugar mills operate only three months of the yearAgricultural crops are seasonal, not available year –round Approach Alternative grassy feedstocks, with differing harvest times may Extend processing season to 9 months, requiring minimum storage of feedstocks. ? Are these viable feedstocks March June Sept Dec Jan

8. Are these Viable Feedstocks? A. Can these feedstocks be handled within normal milling operations? B. What is the partition of sugars (simple and complex) between juice and biomass? C. Can the biomass residues be used as fuel? D. How does each biomass react to alkaline pretreatment?

9. B. Crop Partition(biomass) • Energy cane- nd • Miscanthus- nd • Bagasse*- 200 lbs/ton of sugarcane • Sweet Sorghum* – 200 lbs/ton of s. sorghum • *wet basis 50% moisture

10. Sweet Sorghum Partition for Bio-ethanol Sweet sorghum Seed heads (7.5%)* Stalk (73.7%) Leaves (18.9%) Milling Grains (2.3%) Juice (56.8%) Bagasse (16.9%) Pretreatment Hydrolysis/Fermentation Distillation Bio-ethanol % in total (wet basis)

11. Juice Compositions • * Milled three times by a pilot scale mill located at ASI, no imbibition. • * *Data from ASI 2007 Juice Survey • *** n=9

12. Ethanol Conversion from fermentable sugar (sweet sorghum)

13. Biomass Chemical Composition (g/100 g dry matter)

14. Bio-ethanol Yields &Fermentable Sugars from 1 kg Crop *Dry basis ** Wet basis

15. Ethanol yields/ ton crop(wet basis)

16. C. Can the biomass be used as fuel? • Cane sugar mills are biomass powered. Combustion analysis needs be conducted on each “bagasse” from each crop, as it would be obtained after passing through a milling tandem. Approach • Bomb calorimetry and moisture analysis will be used to determine the BTU value of each biomass. • Not complete

17. D. How does each biomass react to alkaline pretreatment? Approach • For each biomass; dilute ammonia pretreat (under conditions determined for bagasse), enzyme hydrolyze and ferment • For each biomass; determine optimum AFEX (MBI), enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation conditions

18. Bagasse response to alkaline pretreatment % enzymatic cellulose conversion

19. 2. How can the producer and processor rapidly value the convertible ligno-cellulosic content? Approach Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) is used in Australia to monitor sugar content in sugarcane as it is delivered to the mill. Can this be used to value not only sugars but cellulose in a crop? A spectra-cane NIR is available and will be used. Spectra-will be calibrated against NIST procedures for each biomass and HPLC for sugars. Spectra obtained for energy cane, composition analysis underway

20. 3. How do these materials store? Feedstock Loss On Storage

21. 4. What is the preparation prior to pre-treatment?

22. 5. What about the waste? • Approach: Using an anaerobic digester, treat wastes from pretreatment and fermentation to determine if methane is a viable by-product. • In progress

23. Biomass Progress Juice Sweet sorghum Energy Cane Miscanthus

24. Future Work- sorghum • The NIR data on sorghum is incomplete due to disruption by Hurricane Gustav, it will have to be completed this season • Given results with sorghum grains it is possible that grain sorghum, should be considered as a biofuel crop. This will be investigated.

25. Future work-energy cane, Miscanthus • The proposed research components of this grant are yet to be completed. Energy cane research is on going. Miscanthus work cannot start until April when crops are available. • Upon completion of this program an economic analysis must be conducted.

26. Success Factors and Challenges • The current conditions in Louisiana are favorable for raw sugar mills to expand their product line, with mills opting to put in electricity generation. This opens the window for longer operating seasons where significant revenue can be generated by operating in peak electric utilization periods (June-Sept in Louisiana). Which means the mills must operate through this period, with ethanol production becoming a means to keep the factory operating. • The major challenges is to demonstrate profitability of this approach to both farmer and miller.

27. Summary • An integrated approach is necessary to convince all stakeholders that biofuel production at the raw sugar mill is both feasible and profitable.