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Fueling the Future: Fueling the Future: Biofuels for Economic Biofuels for Economic
Development and Development and National SecurityNational Security
Biofuels InitiativeBiofuels Initiative
Utah State UniversityUtah State University
July 29, 2008July 29, 2008
Solar bioreactor microalgae oil biodiesel
World Energy Challenge
• “The supply of secure, clean, sustainable energy is arguably the most important scientific and technical challenge facing humanity in the 21st century.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (2006) 103, 15729
• Present technology cannot meet our needs for sustainable, greenhouse neutral energy.
Global Energy ConsumptionGlobal Energy Consumption
N.S. Lewis 2004
FranceS. KoreaBrazilCanadaIndiaRussiaGermanyChina
U.S.Japan
Mexico3%3%3%3%3%3%3%
7%
25%7%
3%
WORLD ENERGY SUPPLY & DEMANDLooming Energy Crises
Source: International Energy Annual 2003 (EIA)
Oil Reserves
U.S.NigeriaLibyaRussiaVenezuelaU.A.E.KuwaitIraqIranCanadaSaudi Arabia
2%2%
3%5%
6%8%8%
9%10%
14%21%
Annual Consumption
0% 10% 15% 20%5% 25%
The United States uses more oil than the next five highest-consuming nations combined.
Supply
Demand
Time
Now
World Oil Supply & Demand: The real issue is when will production be insufficient to cover demand? That largely depends on demand, not on reserves.
(in the U.S. in 2002)
1-4 ¢
2.3-5.0 ¢ 6-8 ¢
5-7 ¢
Production Cost of ElectricityProduction Cost of Electricity
6-7 ¢
25-50 ¢C
ost,
¢/k
W-h
r
5-7¢
N.S. Lewis 2004
THE MAJOR ENERGY ISSUESTHE MAJOR ENERGY ISSUES
Depletion of fossil fuel energy resourcesMajority of petroleum resources
controlled by unfriendly nations Degradation of the natural environment
through the energy conversion processes
Affordability and reliability of future energy resources
Global Energy ResourcesI) Need
13 TW/year today26 TW/year by 205039 TW/year by 2100
II) Resources (C neutral)1) Fossil Fuel/Carbon Capture
-25 billion metric tons of CO2/year-Volume of Lake Superior
2) Nuclear-10 TW/year requires 1 new GW fission plant every day for 50 years-Terrestrial uranium would be exhausted in 10 years-Fusion – no sooner than 2040
3) Renewable-Hydroelectric 0.5 TW maximum (UN estimates)-Tides and oceans <2 TW/year maximum-Geothermal 12 TW/year (but only fraction extractable)-Wind 2-4 TW/year maximum-Sun 120,000 TW/year (biomass + electricity <2% today)
Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy UtilizationReport of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Solar Energy Utilization, April 18-21, 2005, DOE
Global Energy ResourcesI) Need
13 TW/year today26 TW/year by 205039 TW/year by 2100
II) Resources (C neutral)1) Fossil Fuel/Carbon Capture
-25 billion metric tons of CO2/year-Volume of Lake Superior
2) Nuclear-10 TW/year requires 1 new GW fission plant every day for 50 years-Terrestrial uranium would be exhausted in 10 years-Fusion – no sooner than 2040
3) Renewable-Hydroelectric 0.5 TW maximum (UN estimates)-Tides and oceans <2 TW/year maximum-Geothermal 12 TW/year (but only fraction extractable)-Wind 2-4 TW/year maximum-Sun 120,000 TW/year (biomass + electricity <2% today)
Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy UtilizationReport of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Solar Energy Utilization, April 18-21, 2005, DOE
More energy from the sun strikes the earth in 1
hour than all of the energy currently
consumed on the planet in 1 year!
Solar Thermal Photovoltaic Photosynthesis
HeatElectricityChemical
ElectricityBatteriesMechanicalChemical
BiomassCellulose EthanolStarch MethaneFats BiodieselOther
Reduce cost by 25-50 fold with new materials and technology
All arable land on Earth with switchgrass to displace all fossil fuel used today
Materials and technical breakthroughs needed
CO2Light
TriglyceridesHeatAlcoholBase
Glycerol + O
O
CH3
Biodiesel
Soybean oil Biodiesel
First Generation Renewable Fuel
CO2Light
TriglyceridesHeatAlcoholBase
Glycerol + O
O
CH3
Soybean oil Biodiesel
Soybeans = 48 gal oil/acreCanola = 140 gal oil/acreAlgae = 10,000 gal oil/acre
Biodiesel
First Generation Renewable Fuel
Second Generation Renewable FuelUSU System 2:
Biodiesel from an Algal Solar Bioreactor
Light and CO2
Oil
Biodiesel
WaterMicros
Potential: 200x more oil per acre vs soybeans, low quality land.USU Goals: Produce biodiesel that is cost competitive by 2009 through strain selection and optimization of system.
Algae
Second Generation Renewable FuelUSU System 2:
Biodiesel from an Algal Solar Bioreactor
Light and CO2
Oil
Biodiesel
WaterMicros
Potential: 200x more oil per acre vs soybeans, low quality land.USU Goals: Produce biodiesel that is cost competitive by 2009 through strain selection and optimization of system.
Algae
140 billion gal of biodiesel would displace all gasoline and diesel used in the US.Would require 12 % of the area of the Sonora desert using algae.
Why BiodieselDirect substitute for petroleum-
based diesel;Existing infrastructure for
distribution to market;Environmentally cleaner fuel - free
of sulfur and aromatics;Reduction in CO2 emissions;Distributed refineries;
(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
Solar Bioreactors
Algae and Lipids
USU Dried Algae
USU Algae Lipid Extract
USU Biodiesel
USU Phototrophic Organisms
• >40 different phototrophic microbes including bacteria, cyanobacteria, and algae.• Production of a range of products.•Analytical laboratory for small scale culture (3 L) and analysis of CO2 capture and conversion to a variety of products.
•50-100 L scale bioreactors in the USTAR Phase I Building.
Goal: Order-of-magnitude improvement in sunlight utilization
Challenges Being Addressed:• Eliminating photosynthetic saturation
– Redistribution of visible portion of sunlight over an order-of-magnitude larger surface area
• Minimizing surface shading• Converting otherwise-wasted UV/IR portion of solar
spectrum into usable energy streams• Eliminating biofouling in closed reactors• Scalable, low-cost reactor designs
Strain selection
Incubation & Culturing
Feedstock Production
Harvesting Dewatering &Drying
Oil Extraction & Pretreatment
Oil Conversion & Refinement
UV Infrared
Visible
In passive systems, less than 4% of the incident energy in sunlight
is used constructively to grow algae
Incident sunlight
Steps in the production of biofuels
USU Focus Areas
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
For Information
Byard Wood
435-797-2868
byard.wood@usu.edu
• $6 M over 5 years approved by USTAR Board (Jan. 2007).
• Three new hires (first hire started Jan. 2007 from the National Renewable Energy Lab).
• Pilot and production scale operations underway.
• Seeking additional funding from NSF, DOE, and investors.
FundingFunding
Strain Collection/Characterization
• More than 30 species of known phototrophs have been collected and subcultured– Include species from the aquatic species program
• Approximately 15 species have been grown in large cultures (5 Liters) for lipid characterization– Total yields– Absorbance Comparisons– Time of growth
• Lipid quantification underway
Algal Characterization Outcomes
• Compounds vary– Fatty Acids– TAGs– Sterols– Phytols (branched chain alcohols)– Straight Chain Alkanes
• Total lipid quantification underway in second round of experiments
Performance Specifications
achieved to date50,000 Lumens delivered
50% Efficiency
10 m2 algae illumination area
50 mph operating wind speed
120 mph survival wind speed
60” height
100 lbs. weight
0.1o tracking accuracy
Photobioreactor ResultsUp to 300 mol/m2-s provided to algae
PVC headers successful at producing uniform growth
2 months continuous operation w/ no problems
Low water and heat loss
Vegetable oil yields
Algae: Up to 10,000 gal/acre
Technical Definition: Biodiesel, n—a fuel composed of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, designated B100, and meeting the requirements of ASTM D 6751.
Crop US gal/acrejatropha 202oil palm 635peanuts 113
rapeseed 127soybean 48
Lipids and Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a direct substitute for petro-diesel!
Worldwide refinery capacity is about 85 million barrels per day. To meet the projected growth it will have to increase by more than 45 million barrels per day by 2025.
World Oil
Production Capacity
1990 - 69.4 MMb/day
2002 – 80
2010 – 96.5
2025 - 122