Needs for Real Time Process Monitoring for the Algal Biofuels Industry

José OlivaresBiofuels Program Lead

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Executive Director, NAABBDonald Danforth Plant Science Center

Presentation to the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry,May 3, 2010 Meeting

Slide 1

LA-UR 10-02848

Annual GHG Emissions – US Only(Tg CO2 equivalent, 2006)

Coal fueled electricity

Naturalgas fueled electricity

All other fossil fuels electricity

Gasoline automobiles

Gasoline light duty trucks

All other gasoline

Diesel medium and heavy trucks

Diesel rail

All otherdiesel

Jet fuel aircraft

Industrial NG combustion

Industrial petroleum

combustion

Industrial coal

combustion

ResidentialNG

combustion

CommercialNG combustion

Residentialpetroleum

combustion

Commercialpetroleumcombustion

Fossil fuel combustion in US Territories

CO2 from all sources except fossil fuel combustion

CH4 N2O

HFCs, PFCs, and SF6

U.S. 2008 Transportation Fuel StatsGasoline (cars & trucks)

Diesel (on-road, rail)

Aviation (jet fuel)

25 bgy

140 bgy

43 bgy

US Focus

Cellulosic EthanolRD&D

AdvancedBiofuels

R&D

Technoeconomic AnalysisResource

Analysis/Allocation

Sustainability Analysis & LCA

BiopowerBiomass

Intermediates

Algal Biofuels

R&D

EISA Mandated Biofuel Production Targets

Slide 4

EISA defines Cellulosic Biofuel as “renewable fuel derived from any cellulose, hemicellulose, or lignin that is derived from renewable biomass and that has lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions…that are at least 60 percent less than baseline lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.” The EPA interprets this to include cellulosic-based diesel fuel.

EISA defines Advanced Biofuel as “renewable fuel, other than ethanol derived from corn starch, that has lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions…that are at least 50 percent lessthan baseline lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.” This includes biomass-based diesel, cellulosic biofuels, and other advanced fuels such as sugarcane-based ethanol

Biomass Market Trends

5

A shift is occurring from an ethanol centric biofuels strategy to a more holistic use of biomass within the entire energy sector. • US market largely rejected E85; E10 can be achieved with corn-based ethanol; likely to see

approval of E15 maybe E20. • Renewed interest in Biopower.• Regional nature of biomass requires regional solutions and the economics demand optimizing

the choice between fuels/chemicals/power within the energy sector.

As energy companies have entered the biomass arena the use of infrastructure becomes increasingly important for production and distribution of higher energy density fuels and chemicals.• Liquid fuels for heavy trucking, rail and aviation remain even with plug-in hybrids.• Infrastructure is not set up for boutique fuels—need fungible diesel, jet and gasoline.

Algae is moving through a period of intense excitement • Science base is needed to temper the excitement while offering approaches to the challenges

offering unique approaches for aquatic and marine systems.

Serious questions on sustainability and CO2 mitigation have arisen. • DOE labs are in unique position to address questions and offer science-based solutions.

Aim: Use Current infrastructure to Produce and Transport Biofuels

6

Biomass Finished Fuels and Blendstocks

Existing Refinery Infrastructure

Atm

osph

eric

and

Vacu

um D

istil

latio

n GasL NaphthaH NaphthaLGOVGOAtm. Res.Vac. Res.

GasolineJet FuelDiesel Fuel

CrudeOil

Drop-In Fuels

InsertionPoint #1

InsertionPoint #3

InsertionPoint #2

Tank farmTermina

l

Reform

FCC

Alky/Poly

HT/HC

Coker

Refinery-Ready Intermediates

Refining: • 750 refineries• 85M BBL of crude refined daily

• 50M BBL transport fuels

Research Strategies

– National Renewable Energy Lab & Pacific Northwest National Lab–Albemarle Corp., Amyris Biotechnologies, Argonne National Laboratory, BP Products NA, CatchlightEnergy, Colorado School of Mines, Iowa State University, Los Alamos National Lab, Pall Corp., RTI International, Tesoro Companies, University of California, Davis, UOP, Virent Energy Systems, Washington State University

Biomass Attributes that Impact Cost and Performance

Slide 8

• BTU Content• Lignin Content• S, Cl, N Content• Ash Content/Composition

• Moisture Content• Particle Size/Shape• Material Density• Thermal Conductivity

• Heat Capacity• Porosity• Permeability• Fines

Richard Hess, INL, Biomass 2010

Feedstock Fuel Properties

Slide 9

Camsizer™Digital Image Processing SystemParticle Size Distribution and Particle Shape

Impact of Moisture in Feedstock Supply and Gasification Systems

Foss NIR Spectrometer- carbohydrate screening- feedstock classification using PCA• Selective tissue staining- cellulose and lignin content

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)– Performs real-time, elemental analyses with no sample preparation• Allows analyses of inorganic components

Richard hess, INL, Biomass 2010

Algae has potential advantages over corn, cellulosic materials, and other crops as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels

Gallons of Oil per Acre per Year

Corn 18

Soybeans 48

Safflower 83

Sunflower 102

Rapeseed 127

Oil Palm 635

Micro Algae 1000 - 7000

• High biomass productivity potential• Oil feedstock for higher energy-content fuels• Can avoid competition with agricultural

lands and water for food & feed production• Can use non-fresh water, resulting in reduced

pressure on limited fresh water resources• Captures CO2 and recycles carbon for fuels and co-products

Land Needed for Biofuel to Replace 50% of Current Petroleum Diesel using oil from:

CornSoybeanAlgae

The Promise of Algae-Based Biofuels

Figure courtesy of Sandia National Laboratory

Development and Commercialization Value Chain

Slide 11

Not Just A Kids Dream !!!

Slide 13

Alexandra Viszolay, 12 Leonardo Viszolay, 9Santa Fe, NM

Phenotypic and Genotypic Analysis

Slide 14

Proteomic and Metabolic Analysis

Slide 15

Cultivation – Productivity, Environment, Nutrients, Water

Slide 16

Real-time In-situ Monitoring (JA Thomasson, TAMU) Alupoaei, Biosensors & Bioelectronics,2003

A side by side comparison of classification performance with IsoData Algorithm on TreesPanel A: the original image; 

Panel B: Classification Panel is overlaid on the original imageGreen: Healthy trees; Blue: Stressed or Dead trees (some are bushes, or small trees)

A  B 

New global monitoring system is being developed at LANL

Harvesting and Extraction

Slide 18

NAABB will develop cost-effective and energy efficient harvesting and lipid extraction technologies

Harvesting technologies Acoustic focusing (LANL)Hybrid capacitive deionization/electro deionization (CDI/EDI) (TAMU)Membranes and flocculants (PNNL)

Extraction Technologies Acoustic technologies (LANL)Mesoporous nanomaterials (MNM) (Catilin)Amphiphilic solvents (TAMU)

• Sedimentation, filtration, dried air flocculation

• Centrifugation alone 15% solids• Centrifugation and drying >90%• Belt filter press - 30%• Attached growth systems - surfaces• Bioharvesting

Conversion to Fuels

Slide 19

Fuel properties characterizationCSU Engine Lab, UOP,

Pyrox-type dual fluid-bed gasification plant with 4 dry-tons per day capacity

Biomass Attributes that Impact Cost and Performance

Slide 20

• BTU Content• Lignin Content• S, Cl, N Content• Ash Content/Composition

• Moisture Content• Particle Size/Shape• Material Density• Thermal Conductivity

• Heat Capacity• Porosity• Permeability• Fines

Richard Hess, INL, Biomass 2010

Animal and Mari-culture Industry

Slide 21

Amino acid contentDigestibility coefficientBiological valueNet protein utilizationProtein efficiency ratio

peptides, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins,pigments, minerals and other valuable trace elements

Summary

Slide 22

Persistent monitoring of all process

Process monitoring at all levels

Feedback control systems

High efficiency

High productivity

Low Energy

Low Environmental Impact