2013 Algae Peer Review

684 Pages·2014·20.46 MB·English

BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PEER RE IEW
2013
REPORT
REVIEW PANEL SUMMARY REPORT AND PROJECT RESULTS
February 2014
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY / BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE
2013 PEERM RayE V20I–E2W4, A RleExaPnOdrRiaT, VA July 30, Washington, D.C. 1
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY LETTER .......................................................................................................................................................ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................................................................iii
ACRONYM GUIDE ....................................................................................................................................................................v
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................1
ALGAE .......................................................................................................................................................................................11
ANALYSIS AND SUSTAINABILITY ....................................................................................................................................107
BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION ..........................................................................................................................................203
BIODIESEL ............................................................................................................................................................................281
BIO-OIL ..................................................................................................................................................................................313
FEEDSTOCK SUPPLY AND LOGISTICS ............................................................................................................................419
GASIFICATION ......................................................................................................................................................................511
HEAT AND POWER ............................................................................................................................................................567
INTEGRATED BIOREFINERIES .........................................................................................................................................601
STEERING COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT AND OVERALL PROGRAMMATIC RESPONSE .....................................659
2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT i
Dear colleagues,
In the spring and summer of 2013, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Bioenergy
Technologies Office (BETO or the Office) implemented a comprehensive external review of its research,
development, demonstration, and deployment portfolio. The BETO Project Peer Review was held May 20–24,
2013, at the Hilton Mark Center, in Alexandria, Virginia, and was followed by a higher-level, Program Management
Review on July 30, 2013, at the Renaissance Hotel, in downtown Washington, D.C. The review was conducted in
accordance with the EERE peer review guidelines, and it was designed to provide an external assessment of the
projects in BETO’s portfolio and collect external stakeholder recommendations on the overall scope, focus, and
strategic direction of the Office. Results from the peer review process are used to inform programmatic decision
making; to enhance active project management; and to modify, expand, or discontinue existing projects.
In total, 219 projects across nine key technology areas—representing a total BETO investment of approximately
$1.6 billion—were reviewed by 42 external experts from industry, academia, and government. The key technology
areas reviewed during the 2013 review were as follows:
• Algae • Biodiesel • Gasification
• Analysis and Sustainability • Bio-Oil • Heat and Power
• Biochemical Conversion • Feedstock Production • Integrated Biorefinery.
and Logistics
The 2013 Peer Review comprised three levels of review: (1) individual projects were scored on the basis of
accomplishment, relevance, approach, future plans, and critical success factors; (2) each technology area portfolio
was evaluated for overall potential impact, synergies, and effective project management; and (3) the structure and
overall strategic direction of the Office was reviewed by an external Steering Committee. This report contains
the results of each level of review, and represents the culmination of a 14-month peer review process. This
report is inclusive of the inputs of approximately 300 participants in the peer review process, including principal
investigators, reviewers, Steering Committee members, BETO staff, and contractors from BCS, Incorporated.
The Office would like to thank all of the reviewers and members of the Steering Committee who participated in
this review. BETO is appreciative of the valuable insights and contributions that have been provided throughout
the peer review process. Achieving the objectives of the Office is dependent on the effective management of all the
projects in BETO’s existing portfolio and on the appropriate focus and structure of future initiatives. BETO values
the input of all the stakeholders in the bioenergy sector and looks forward to working with them in the years ahead
to continue progress on the path toward building a successful advanced bioenergy industry.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jonathan Male
Director, Bioenergy Technologies Office
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 2013 peer review process yielded a number of important results for the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO
or the Office). External reviewers and Steering Committee members delivered a positive overall assessment of
the Office and validated much of BETO’s current research approach and technical strategy. The shift in focus from
research and development in ethanol to hydrocarbon fuels was broadly supported as an appropriately timed
transition in technical emphasis, and the Steering Committee commended the diverse mix of feedstocks, conversion
pathways, targeted end products, and technology scales on which the Office portfolio is built.
Project portfolios were found to be actively managed and appropriately oriented toward those projects that
exhibited high degrees of innovation and held the potential for significant industrial impact. Many of the integrated
biorefinery projects were seen to be nearing completion and on the verge of adding significant production volumes
to industry capacity. BETO’s high-tonnage feedstock logistics projects were identified as a key asset, and several
of the consortia projects, including the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, were expected to yield significant
technological dividends. In general, projects from the national laboratories and those that were the result of
competitive selection scored well, and a number of the public-private partnerships that leveraged the resources of
both sectors stood out as exemplary projects. In contrast, generally most, but not all, of the Congressionally directed
projects scored on the lower end of the project spectrum.
Key recommendations included an expanded focus on understanding insertion points for hydrocarbon
intermediates and increased coordination with the petroleum industry. The Steering Committee recommended steps
to develop a better understanding of compatibility and blending requirements for hydrocarbon fuels and the fuel
registration process. Reviewers recommended that the Office standardize assumptions and methodology for
techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessments, which should be used for cross-portfolio analysis and funding
opportunity announcements (FOAs). Of the new potential areas of interest presented to the Steering Committee
(natural gas-biomass to liquids, waste-to-energy conversion, carbon fiber, and an incubator program), the strongest,
near-unanimous support was voiced for an incubator program that would allow BETO to develop potentially
disruptive accelerator technologies. The Steering Committee also recognized the potential for low-cost
natural gas to either enhance or inhibit the development of an advanced biofuels industry, and they urged the Office
to continue to explore BETO’s role in the emerging natural gas-biomass to liquids sector. Finally, reviewers ex-
pressed concern over the future budget profile of the Office and the continuing need for cost-share support for the
construction of first-of-a-kind demonstration and commercial projects.
As a result of the 2013 Peer Review, BETO is moving forward with many of the recommendations provided by the
Steering Committee and individual review panels. The Office is planning to establish a petroleum industry
coordinating group and explore additional ways to interface with the petroleum and refining industry. Pending
available funding, BETO is planning to issue a FOA in fiscal year 2014 for proposals outside of the Office’s current
portfolio to be included in an incubator program. In September 2013, BETO organized a Natural Gas-Biomass to
Liquids Workshop to collect stakeholder inputs on an appropriate role for BETO, and the Office plans to contin-
ue work with the Office of Fossil Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy on research in this
emerging area. At the portfolio level, the peer review provided a number of invaluable insights and specific recom-
mendations that will continue to be utilized in managing specific projects and ongoing improvements in portfolio
planning and oversight.
2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT iii

ACRONYM GUIDE
ACRONYM GUIDE
$/MT Dollars per metric ton
ABPDU Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit
AD Anaerobic digestion
AFDW Ash-free dry weight
AFEX Ammonia fiber expansion
ALD Atomic-layer deposition
ALM Algae Logistics Model
ALU Algal lipid upgrading
ANL Argonne National Laboratory
AOP Annual operating plan
ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
ARPA-E Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
ATP3 Algae Testbed Public–Private Partnership
BAT Biomass Assessment Tool
BDO Butanediol
BETO Bioenergy Technologies Office
BMP Best management practices
BPT Bale-picking truck
BSM Biomass Scenario Model
Btu British thermal unit
°C Degrees Celsius
CABComm Consortium for Algal Biofuels Commercialization
CAPEX Capital expenditure
CBM Cellulose-binding module
CBP Consolidated bioprocessing
CDP Congressionally directed projects
CH Methane
4
CHASE Carbon, Hydrogen, and Separation Efficiencies in Bio-Oil Conversion Pathways
CHG Catalytic hydrothermal gasification
cm Centimeter
CO Carbon monoxide
CO Carbon dioxide
2
CPBR Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, Incorporated
CRADA Cooperative research and development agreements
CRP Conservation Reserve Program
DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DCR Davison circulating riser
2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT v
BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE
DOD Department of Defense
DOE Department of Energy
DT Dry ton
EERE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EISA Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
EMWD Eastern Municipal Water District
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ePBR Electronic photobioreactor
EtOH Ethanol
°F Degrees Fahrenheit
FOA Funding opportunity announcement
FCC Fluid catalytic cracking
FFA Free fatty acid
FLS Feedstock logistics systems
FT-ICR-MS Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry
FT Fischer-Tropsch
gal Gallon
gal/acre/yr Gallon per acre per year
GBEP Global Bioenergy Partnership
GCAM Global Change Assessment Model
gge Gallon of gasoline equivalent
GHG Greenhouse gas
GIS Geographic information systems
g/l Grams per liter
g/m2 Grams per square meter
GMO Genetically modified organism
GPS Global positioning system
GREET Greenhouse Gasses, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation
GTAP Global Trade Analysis Project
GTI Gas Technology Institute
H Hydrogen
2
HDO Hydrodeoxygenation
HTL Hydrothermal liquefaction
IABR Integrated algal biorefinery
IAF Integrated Assessment Framework
IBR Integrated biorefinery
IBSAL Integrated Biomass Supply Analysis and Logistics
IEA International Energy Agency
IES Institute of Environmental Stewardship
vi 2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT
ACRONYM GUIDE
IH2 Integrated hydropyrolysis plus hydroconversion technology
INL Idaho National Laboratory
IP Intellectual property
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISO International Organization for Standardization
JBEI Joint BioEnergy Institute
KDF Knowledge Discovery Framework
kg Kilogram
L or l Liter
LBNL Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
LCA Life-cycle assessment
LEA Lipid-extracted algae
LUC Land-use change
MBI Michigan Biotechnology Institute
MESP Minimum ethanol selling price
Mg Magnesium
mgpy Million gallons per year
MoS Molybdenum disulfide
2
MSW Municipal solid waste
MWh/hectare/
Megawatt hours per hectare per year
yr
MYPP Multi-Year Program Plan
MySAB Myriant succinic acid biorefinery
NAABB National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts
NABC National Advanced Biofuels Consortium
NaSICON Sodium Super Ionic Conductors
NC A&T North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
NDA Non-disclosure agreement
NGO Nongovernmental organization
NIR Near infrared
N O Nitrous oxide
2
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory
OEM Original equipment manufacturer
OPEX Operational expenditure
ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PBR Photobioreactor
PDU Process demonstration unit
PHB Polyhydroxbutyrate
PI Principal investigator
2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT vii
BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE
PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
POLYSYS Policy Analysis System model
R&D Research and development
RD&D Research, development, and demonstration
RDD&D Research, development, demonstration, and deployment
REAP Resilient Energy Agricultural Practices
REII Renewable Energy Institute International
RFP Regional Feedstock Partnership
RFS or RFS2 Renewable Fuel Standard
RINS or RIN Renewable Identification Number
R&TD Research and technology development
RTI Research Technology Institute
RTP Rapid thermal processing
SABC Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consortium
SEO State energy office
SLT Self-loading trailer
SOT State of technology
SPB Self-propelled baler
SRWC Short-rotation woody crops
SWAT Soil and Water Assessment Tool
SzIBR Solazyme integrated biorefinery
TAG Triacylglycerol
TAN Total acid number
TCR Targeted conversion research
TEA Techno-economic analyses or assessment
TEES Texas Engineering Experiment Station
TRL Technology readiness level
UCSD University of California, San Diego
UNCP University of North Carolina at Pembroke
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA-ARS U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service
VBI Vermont BioFuels Initiative
VSJF Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
WSU Washington State University
wt% Weight percent
WTE Waste to energy
XI Xylose Isomerase
viii 2013 PEER REVIEW REPORT