Energy and precious fuels requirements of fuel alcohol production. Volume 2, appendices A and B: Ethanol from grain

Energy currently used in grain production, the effect of ethanol production on agricultural energy consumption, energy credits for ethanol by-products, and land availability and the potential for obtaining ethanol from grain are discussed. Dry milling, wet milling, sensitivity analysis, potential for reduced energy consumption are also discussed

The cost of silage harvest and transport systems for herbaceous crops

Some of the highest yielding herbaceous biomass crops are thick- stemmed species. Their relatively high moisture content necessitates they be handled and stored as silage rather than hay bales or modules. This paper presents estimated costs of harvesting and transporting herbaceous crops as silage. Costs are based on an engineering- economic approach. Equipment costs are estimated by combining per hour costs with the hours required to complete the operation. Harvest includes severing, chopping, and blowing stalks into a wagon or truck

Biofuels Feedstock Development Program annual progress report for 1991

This report provides an overview of the ongoing research funded in 1991 by the Department of Energy's Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP). The BFDP is managed by the Environmental Sciences Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and encompasses the work formerly funded by the Short Rotation Woody Crops Program and the Herbaceous Energy Crops Program. The combined program includes crop development research on both woody and herbaceous energy crop species, cross-cutting energy and environmental analysis and integration, and information management activities. Brief summaries of 26 different program activities are included in the report

U.S. Billion-ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry

The Report, Biomass as Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply (generally referred to as the Billion-Ton Study or 2005 BTS), was an estimate of “potential” biomass within the contiguous United States based on numerous assumptions about current and future inventory and production capacity, availability, and technology. In the 2005 BTS, a strategic analysis was undertaken to determine if U.S. agriculture and forest resources have the capability to potentially produce at least one billion dry tons of biomass annually, in a sustainable manner—enough to displace approximately 30% of the country’s present petroleum consumption. To ensure reasonable confidence in the study results, an effort was made to use relatively conservative assumptions. However, for both agriculture and forestry, the resource potential was not restricted by price. That is, all identified biomass was potentially available, even though some potential feedstock would more than likely be too expensive to actually be economically available. In addition to updating the 2005 study, this report attempts to address a number of its shortcoming

Costs of Producing Biomass from Riparian Buffer Strips

Nutrient runoff from poultry litter applied to agricultural fields in the Delmarva Peninsula contributes to high nutrient loadings in Chesapeake Bay. One potential means of ameliorating this problem is the use of riparian buffer strips. Riparian buffer strips intercept overland flows of water, sediments, nutrients, and pollutants; and ground water flows of nutrients and pollutants. Costs are estimated for three biomass systems grown on buffer strips: willow planted at a density of 15,300 trees/ha (6200 trees/acre); poplar planted at a density of 1345 trees/ha (545 trees/acre); and switchgrass. These costs are estimated for five different scenarios: (1) total economic costs, where everything is costed [cash costs, noncash costs (e.g., depreciation), land rent, labor]; (2) costs with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments (which pays 50% of establishment costs and an annual land rent); (3) costs with enhanced CRP payments (which pays 95% of establishment costs and an annual payment of approximately 170% of land rent for trees and 150% of land rent for grasses); (4) costs when buffer strips are required, but harvest of biomass is not required [costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities (e.g., fertilization), harvest, and transport]; and (5) costs when buffer strips are required. and harvest of biomass is required to remove nutrients (costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities and transport). CRP regulations would have to change to allow harvest. Delivered costs of willow, poplar, and switchgrass [including transportation costs of $0.38/GJ ($0.40/million Btu) for switchgrass and $0.57/GJ ($0.60/million Btu) for willow and poplar] at 11.2 dry Mg/ha-year (5 dry tons/acre-year) for the five cost scenarios listed above are [$/GJ ($million BIN)]: (1) 3.30-5.45 (3.45-5.75); (2) 2.30-3.80 (2.45-4.00); (3) 1.70-2.45 (1.80-2.60); (4) l-85-3.80 (1.95-4.05); and (5) 0.80-1.50 (0.85-1.60). At yields of 15.7 to 17.9 GJ/ha-year (7 to 8 dry tons/acre-year), lower willow and poplar establishment costs, transportation costs of $0.30 to$0.45/GJ ($0.30-$0.50/million Btu), and lower willow and poplar harvest costs, total economic costs for willow (19-year stand life), poplar, and switchgrass are $2.35 to$2.6O/GJ ($2.50 to$2.75/million Btu). The potential production of biomass from riparian buffer strips in the Delmarva Peninsula ranges from 190,000 to 380,000 Mg (2 10,000 to 420,000 dry tons) per year

Estimating region specific costs to produce and deliver switchgrass.

Abstract Feedstock costs are expected to be a major component of the cost of producing bio-based products from lignocellulosic biomass. The economic viability of using switchgrass to produce feedstock will depend on its cost relative to alternatives. The purpose of this chapter is to present estimates of the cost to produce, harvest, store, and transport switchgrass biomass. Enterprise budgets and sensitivity analysis are used to produce cost estimates. Delivered switchgrass costs can vary widely, depending on yields, input prices (seed, fertilizer and lime, and diesel fuel), input quantities (fertilizer and lime, herbicides), and land costs. Establishment costs amortized over 10 years range from $38 to$112 ha -1 and reseeding costs (25% of land in second year) (amortized over 9 years) range from $10 to$18 ha -1 . Baler productivity is important, and can impact costs up to a $16 dry Mg -1 . Costs of switchgrass delivered range from as low as$42 to well over $100 dry Mg -1 if yields are low. The ultimate challenge is to formulate a profitable switchgrass production, storage, and delivery system simultaneously with profitable conversion to bio-based products

Forage Harvest and Transport Costs

An engineering-economic approach is used to calculate harvest, in-field transport, and over-the-road transport costs for hay as bales and modules, silage, and crop residues as bales and modules. Costs included are equipment depreciation interest; fuel, lube, and oil; repairs; insurance, housing, and taxes; and labor. Field preparation, pest control, fertilizer, land, and overhead are excluded from the costs calculated Equipment is constrained by power available, throughput or carrying capacity, and field speed

Energy in synthetic fertilizers and pesticides: Revisited. Final project report

Agricultural chemicals that are derived from fossil-fuels are the major energy intensive inputs in agriculture. Growing scarcity of the world`s fossil resources stimulated research and development of energy-efficient technology for manufacturing these chemicals in the last decade. The purpose of this study is to revisit the energy requirements of major plant nutrients and pesticides. The data from manufacturers energy survey conducted by The Fertilizer Institute are used to estimate energy requirements of fertilizers. Energy estimates for pesticides are developed from consulting previously published literature. The impact of technical innovation in the fertilizer industry to US corn, cotton, soybean and wheat producers is estimated in terms of energy-saving

Biofuels Feedstock Development Program annual progress report for 1991

This report provides an overview of the ongoing research funded in 1991 by the Department of Energy`s Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP). The BFDP is managed by the Environmental Sciences Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and encompasses the work formerly funded by the Short Rotation Woody Crops Program and the Herbaceous Energy Crops Program. The combined program includes crop development research on both woody and herbaceous energy crop species, cross-cutting energy and environmental analysis and integration, and information management activities. Brief summaries of 26 different program activities are included in the report

Biofuels feedstock development program. Annual progress report for 1992

The Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) leads the nation in the research, development, and demonstration of environmentally acceptable and commercially viable dedicated feedstock supply systems (DFSS). The purpose of this report is to highlight the status and accomplishments of the research that is currently being funded by the BFDP. Highlights summarized here and additional accomplishments are described in more detail in the sections associated with each major program task. A few key accomplishments include (1) development of a methodology for doing a cost-supply analysis for energy crops and the application of that methodology to looking at possible land use changes around a specific energy facility in East Tennessee; (2) preliminary documentation of the relationship between woody crop plantation locations and bird diversity at sites in the Midwest, Canada, and the pacific Northwest supplied indications that woody crop plantations could be beneficial to biodiversity; (3) the initiation of integrated switchgrass variety trials, breeding research, and biotechnology research for the south/southeast region; (4) development of a data base management system for documenting the results of herbaceous energy crop field trials; (5) publication of three issues of Energy Crops Forum and development of a readership of over 2,300 individuals or organizations as determined by positive responses on questionnaires