Paper Mills, Biofuels, & The Biorefinery:What’s the Deal? What’s the Status?

What Are the Implications for YOUR Career?

Dr. Med ByrdTAPPI-PIMA Student Summit

January 15-17, 2011

Bioenergy ProgramDepartment of Forest Biomaterials

Bioenergy Projects -- ~ $1.5

million/year• Bioethanol Pilot Plant

• Wood-to-Ethanol Research Consortium

• Value Prior to Pulping (VPP)

• Ethanol from Transgenic Hardwoods

• Ethanol from Coastal Bermuda Grass

• Enhancing Wood Penetration for More Efficient Hydrolysis and Optimized Saccharification

• Opportunities with Dissolved Wood for the Forest Biorefinery

• Validation of Therminator Syngas Cleanup

• Advanced Technology for Low Cost Ethanol from Engineered Cellulosic Biomass

• Economics and Feasibility of North Carolina Biomass Conversion

• Producing Ethanol from Biomass by Extracting Value Prior to Extraction

• Low Cost Conversion of Industrial Sludges to Ethanol

• Integrated Torrefaction-Gasification for the Production of Biofuels

• Economic Analysis of Pine Biomass Varieties for Ethanol Production

• Life Cycle Analysis for the Production of Transportation Fuels

• Fast Pyrolysis of Forestry Biomass

Outline

• “Bio” 101

• Biofuels Explained

• “Ethanol 101”

• Implications for the paper industry

• What’s the current state?

• What does it mean for your career?

The New “Bio” World

• Biomaterials – Plant- or biomass-derived materials that displace those made from petrochemicals or non-renewable resources

– Fibers; films; structures; composites

• Biofuels – Plant- or biomass-derived fuels intended to reduce fossil fuel use

– Fuel for direct combustion or energy generation

– Liquid transportation fuels

The New “Bio” World

• Biomaterials – Plant- or biomass-derived materials that displace those made from petrochemicals or non-renewable resources

– Fibers; films; structures; composites

• Biofuels – Plant- or biomass-derived fuels intended to reduce fossil fuel use

– Fuel for direct combustion or energy generation

– Liquid transportation fuels

The Biorefinery

NREL

The Biorefinery

NREL

Why So Much InterestIn Liquid Fuels?

• The bulk of US energy consumption comes from transportation fuels

• Liquid bio-fuels can be transported

• Can be put into automobiles

• Worth $$$$$$

Types of Liquid Bio-Fuels

• Ethanol

• Bio-diesel

• Fisher-Tropsch liquids (liquids from gases)

Types of Liquid Bio-Fuels

• Ethanol

• Bio-diesel

• Fisher-Tropsch liquids (liquids from gases)

Not relevant for wood biomass…is madefrom fats or oils

Ethanol – C2H6O

• A critically-important biofuel

• Produced naturally from yeast- or bacteria-based fermentation of sugars

• A liquid at room temperature -- easily transportable

• Can be burned in most petro-based equipment

Ethanol Production -- General

C6H12O6 2C2H6O + 2CO2

Glucose Ethanol CarbonDioxide

yeast orbacteria

“Sugar” – from corn, grain, sugar cane juice, etc.

Fermentation

What About Biomass?

• Biomass (like wood) is made up of a lot of CELLULOSE

• Cellulose = polymer of glucose

• Must first break cellulose down into glucose sugar prior to fermentation

• Hemicelluloses are are also made up of sugars

Biomass To Ethanol

Sacchari-fication Fermentation Distillation

Ethanol

Yeast or Bacteria

Simple

Sugars

Cellulosic

Biomass

Acid Enzymes

Biomass To Ethanol

Sacchari-fication Fermentation Distillation

Ethanol

Yeast or Bacteria

Simple

Sugars

Cellulosic

Biomass

Acid Enzymes

The Challenge

• Enzymes are large molecules

• Difficult to access cellulose

– Raw material often has small pores

– Crystalline structure very tight

– Lignin is enmeshed around the cellulose

• Some type of intensive pretreatment is required

to “open up” the cellulose structure

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Cellulase

Cellulose

Substrate

The Challenge

• Enzymes are large molecules

• Difficult to access cellulose

– Raw material often has small pores

– Crystalline structure very tight

– Lignin is enmeshed around the cellulose

• Some type of intensive pretreatment is

required to “open up” the cellulose structure

Biomass To Ethanol

Sacchari-fication Fermentation Distillation

Ethanol

Yeast or Bacteria

Simple

Sugars

Cellulosic

Biomass

Enzymes

Pretreatment

Biomass To Ethanol

Sacchari-fication Fermentation Distillation

Ethanol

Yeast or Bacteria

Simple

Sugars

Cellulosic

Biomass

Enzymes

Pretreatment Pulp Mill????

Implications for the Paper Industry

Two Main Opportunities

• Enhance the profitability of a mill by producing liquid fuels in addition to paper

• “Re-purpose” a mill for the production of liquid fuels

Standard Kraft Mill

WOOD

PulpingPaper-

making

Chemical

RecoveryBoiler

Spent

Chemicals

Hemi-

Cellulose +

Lignin

Steam

Electricity

Cellulose $ Paper

Regenerated

Chemicals

Modification #1 – Added Value

PulpingPaper-

making

Chemical

RecoveryBoiler

Spent

Chemicals

Lignin

Steam

Electricity

Cellulose $ Paper

Regenerated

Chemicals

HemicelluloseExtraction

Wood

Sacchari-fication

Fermentation$ EthanolHemicellulose

VPP – “Value Prior to Pulping”

PulpingPaper-

making

Chemical

RecoveryBoiler

Spent

Chemicals

Lignin

Steam

Electricity

Cellulose $ Paper

Regenerated

Chemicals

HemicelluloseExtraction

Wood

Sacchari-fication

Fermentation$ EthanolHemicellulose

Modification #2 – Added Value

PulpingPaper-

making

Chemical

RecoveryBoiler

Spent

Chemicals

Lignin

Steam

Electricity

Cellulose $ Paper

Regenerated

Chemicals

HemicelluloseExtraction

Wood

Sacchari-fication

Fermentation$ EthanolHemicellulose

Modification #3 – “Re-purposing”

Pulping

Chemical

RecoveryBoiler

Spent

Chemicals

Hemicellulose &

Lignin

Steam

Electricity

$ Energy

Chemicals

Wood

Sacchari-fication

Fermentation$ Ethanol

Cellulose

Why Repurpose An Existing Pulp

Mill?

• A supply chain to grow, harvest, and deliver biomass is already in place.

• When kraft mills are permanently closed, significant equipment assets are left behind, such as woodyard, digesters, evaporators, power and waste treatment plants.

• Moreover, kraft mill closures typically require environmental remediation and demolition costs in excess of $US 10 Million.

Why Repurpose An Existing Pulp

Mill?

• Much of the process equipment in a repurposed

kraft mill has little technology risk.

• Since pulp is not being produced for

papermaking, undebarked chips and significant

levels of harvest residues may be used as raw

material.

Challenges

• Capital costs

• Enzyme costs

• Pretreatment of Wood

Challenges

• Capital costs

• Enzyme costs

• Pretreatment of Wood

Possible Pretreatments for a

Repurposed Mill

• Prehydrolysis

• Sodium Carbonate

• Green liquor

• Prehydrolysis/green liquor

Summary – Laboratory Trials

Pretreatment Sugar Recovery

Prehydrolysis 45%

Sodium Carbonate 50%

Green Liquor 80%

Prehydrolysis-Green Liquor 74%

Summary – Laboratory Trials

Pretreatment Sugar Recovery

Prehydrolysis 45%

Sodium Carbonate 50%

Green Liquor 80%

Prehydrolysis-Green Liquor 74%

Green Liquor = Na2CO3 + Na2S

Summary – Laboratory Trials

Pretreatment Sugar Recovery

Prehydrolysis 45%

Sodium Carbonate 50%

Green Liquor 80%

Prehydrolysis-Green Liquor 74%

Incredible Potential!

Financial Results – Mixed Southern HardwoodAll Financial Poor to Mediocre – GL Repurpose Best

Financial Results – Mixed Southern HardwoodAll Financial Poor to Mediocre – GL Repurpose Best

Model Base Case Mill

39

Causticizing

Clarification

Calcining

Cooking

Recovery Evaporation

WBL

SBL

Storage

Storage

Bleaching

Chips

WBL

Causticizing

Modified Mill

40

Clarification

Calcining

Cooking

Recovery Evaporation

WBL

SBL

Enzyme 2

Enzyme 1

Bleaching

O2 Delig

Sugars /Lignin

Biomass

WBL

Wash Press

So…What’s The Status?

Value Prior to Pulping

• Lots of interest across the industry – and by the US government

• Consortium has been formed by several companies, DOE, universities

• At least one mill doing basic trials

• Rumors of other mills moving in that direction

Mill Repurposing

• At least two shut-down mills in the US have been evaluated for ethanol re-purposing

• Preliminary analysis is positive

• Business/commercial issues have prevented implementation at this time

Other….

• A handful of pulp and paper companies experimenting with some type of biofuel or biomaterial modification to an existing facility

– Black liquor gasification

– Extraction of value-added components, such as from black liquor or wood

What Are the Implications…For YOUR Career?

Alternative Jobs Are Out There

• Enzyme companies

• Startup ethanol companies

• R&D Organizations

Pulp & Paper Manufacturing

• You may find your “normal” process engineering job at a mill to involve biofuels or biomaterials

• You may find yourself at a mill slated for re-purposing

Advice for the Future

• Educate Yourself!

• Take risks…but be aware of the risks

• THERE ARE RISKS!

Thank You!Questions?