Field-to-Fuel Performance Testing of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks for Fast Pyrolysis and Upgrading: Techno-economic Analysis and Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Analysis

This work shows preliminary results from techno-economic analysis and life cycle greenhouse gas analysis of the conversion of seven (7) biomass feedstocks to produce liquid transportation fuels via fast pyrolysis and upgrading via hydrodeoxygenation. The biomass consists of five (5) pure feeds (pine, tulip poplar, hybrid poplar, switchgrass, corn stover) and two blends. Blend 1 consists of equal weights of pine, tulip poplar, and switchgrass, and blend 2 is 67% pine and 33% hybrid poplar. Upgraded oil product yield is one of the most significant parameters affecting the process economics, and is a function of both fast pyrolysis oil yield and hydrotreating oil yield. Pure pine produced the highest overall yield, while switchgrass produced the lowest. Interestingly, herbaceous materials blended with woody biomass performed nearly as well as pure woody feedstock, suggesting a nontrivial relationship between feedstock attributes and production yield. Production costs are also highly dependent upon hydrotreating catalyst-related costs. The catalysts contribute an average of ∼15% to the total fuel cost, which can be reduced through research and development focused on achieving performance at increased space velocity (e.g., reduced catalyst loading) and prolonging catalyst lifetime. Greenhouse gas reduction does not necessarily align with favorable economics. From the greenhouse gas analysis, processing tulip poplar achieves the largest greenhouse gas emission reduction relative to petroleum (∼70%) because of its lower natural gas requirement for hydrogen production. Conversely, processing blend 1 results in the smallest GHG emission reduction from petroleum (∼58%) because of high natural gas demand for hydrogen production.