OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES IN
LARGE-SCALE BIOMASS UTILIZATION
The Role of the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Communities
A WORKSHOP SUMMARY
Sheena Siddiqui, Douglas Friedman, and Joe Alper, Rapporteurs
Chemical Sciences Roundtable
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Division on Earth and Life Studies
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DE-FG02-07ER15872, the National Institutes of Health under Grant N01-OD-4-2139 (Task Order 25), and the National Science Foundation under Grant CHE-1231459 and Grant 0936388.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of the their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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CHEMICAL SCIENCES ROUNDTABLE
CO-CHAIRS
MARK A. BARTEAU, University of Michigan
WILLIAM F. CARROLL JR., Occidental Chemical Corporation
MEMBERS
DONNA G. BLACKMOND, Scripps Research Institute
MICHAEL R. BERMAN, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
CAROLE BEWLEY, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
PAUL BRYAN,* Lygos, Inc.
EMILIO BUNEL, Argonne National Laboratory
ALLISON CAMPBELL, WR Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
MARK J. CARDILLO, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.
A.WELFORD CASTLEMAN, JR., Pennsylvania State University
RICHARD R. CAVANAGH, National Institute of Standards and Technology
KELSEY COOK, National Science Foundation
JENNIFER S. CURTIS,* University of Florida
MIGUEL GARCIA-GARIBAY, University of California, Los Angeles
JACK KAYE, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
JOHN KOZARICH, ActivX Biosciences, Inc.
LUIS E. MARTINEZ,* Rollins College
JOHN J. MCGRATH, National Science Foundation
KENNETH G. MOLOY, DuPont Company Experimental Station
ROBERT PEOPLES, American Carpet Institute
MATTHEW S. PLATZ, National Science Foundation
MICHAEL E. ROGERS, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
ERIC ROHLFING, U.S. Department of Energy
JAMES M. SOLYST, ENVIRON International Corporation
KATHLEEN J. STEBE, University of Pennsylvania
PATRICIA A. THIEL, Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University
LEVI T. THOMPSON, University of Michigan
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director
TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Senior Program Officer, (until May 2012)
KATHRYN HUGHES, Senior Program Officer
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Program Officer
SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Responsible Staff Officer
RACHEL YANCEY, Senior Program Assistant
AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant
_______________
* These members of the Chemical Sciences Roundtable oversaw the planning of the Workshop on Opportunities and Obstacles in Large-Scale Biomass Utilization but were not involved in the writing of this workshop summary.
BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
CO-CHAIRS
PABLO G. DEBENEDETTI, Princeton University
C. DALE POULTER, University of Utah
MEMBERS
ZHENAN BAO, Stanford University, California
ROBERT BERGMAN, University of California, Berkeley
HENRY BRYNDZA, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Delaware
EMILY CARTER, Princeton University, New Jersey
DAVID CHRISTIANSON, University of Pennsylvania
MARY JANE HAGENSON, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC
CAROL J. HENRY, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
JILL HRUBY, Sandia National Laboratories
MICHAEL C. KERBY, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
CHARLES E. KOLB, Aerodyne Research, Inc.
JOSEF MICHL, University of Colorado, Boulder
SANDER G. MILLS, Merck, Sharp, & Dohme Corporation
DAVID MORSE, Corning Incorporated
ROBERT E. ROBERTS, Institute for Defense Analyses, Washington, D.C.
DARLENE J. S. SOLOMON, Aligent Laboratories, Santa Clara, California
JEAN TOM, Bristol-Myers Squib
DAVID WALT, Tufts University
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director
TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Senior Program Officer (until May 2012)
KATHRYN HUGHES, Senior Program Officer
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Program Officer
SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Senior Program Associate
RACHEL YANCEY, Senior Program Assistant
AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant
Preface
The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council. It provides a science-oriented apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemistry-related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the National Research Council’s Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the CSR aims to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the people and organizations—spanning industry, government, universities, and professional associations—involved with the chemical enterprise. One way it does this is by organizing workshops that address issues in chemical science and technology that require national or more widespread attention.
On May 31, 2012, the CSR held a one-day workshop that explored the current state of sustainable fuels and chemicals, and the issues surrounding their scalability for large-scale use. The workshop will also discussed the chemistry and chemical engineering opportunities to sustainably produce large-scale quantities of biofuel.
The workshop featured both formal presentations and working group deliberations in an effort to stimulate engaging discussions among participants from widely varying fields. Key questions that the participants were asked to address included:
- What is the current state of technology in large-scale production of sustainable fuels and chemicals?
- What are the benefits and weaknesses of current technologies?
- What are the technological and commercial barriers to scaling sustainable technologies?
- How can we best combine chemical technologies of different scales to maximize impact?
- How can we identify ways in which chemical technologies of different practical scales can complement each other?
This document summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place at the workshop. In accordance with the policies of the CSR, the workshop did not attempt to establish any conclusions or recommendations about needs and future directions, focusing instead on issues identified by the speakers and workshop participants. In addition, the organizing committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop. The workshop summary has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs, Sheena Siddiqui, Douglas Friedman, and Joe Alper, as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT INTERNET WEBSITES
The Internet information provided in this Summary was correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of publication. It is important to remember, however, the dynamic nature of the Internet. Information on websites can be transient, and is not always validated or verifiable. Resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restrict access the next, and the location of items may change as menus and homepages are reorganized.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets institutional standards of objectivity, clarity, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this workshop summary:
Maureen McCann, Purdue University
Javad Tavakoli, Lafayette College
Helena Chum, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Robert Brown, Iowa State University
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the workshop summary before its release. The review of this summary was overseen by Sharon Haynie, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Appointed by the National Research Council, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this summary was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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Contents
Organization of this Workshop Summary
2 FEEDSTOCKS AND CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES
3 FUELS AND CHEMICALS FROM BIOMASS VIA BIOLOGICAL ROUTES
Biological Routes to Fuels and Chemicals
4 FUELS AND CHEMICALS FROM BIOMASS VIA THERMOCHEMICAL ROUTES
Thermochemical Routes to Fuels and Chemicals
5 HEAT AND POWER PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS
Biomass Conversion to Heat and Power
E Origin of and Information on the Chemical Sciences Roundtable
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Acronyms
BIO | Biotechnology Industry Organization |
CSR | Chemical Sciences Roundtable |
DOE | U.S. Department of Energy |
GW | gigawatt |
EISA | Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 |
NREL | National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
PSG&E | Public Service Gas and Electric Company |
RFS2 | U.S. Renewable Fuels Standards |
USDA | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
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