NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Advanced Biofuels Productionin the USA: Status and Outlook

Advanced Biofuels Conference 2019

James D. (Jim) McMillan, Ph.D.National Bioenergy Center, NRELStockholm, Sweden

19 September, 2019

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Global Bioenergy Consumption in 2015

Source: IEA 2017 Technology Roadmap - Delivering Sustainable Bioenergy. Figure 2.http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Technology_Roadmap_Delivering_Sustainable_Bioenergy.pdf

Consumption of biomass and waste resources by end use (Exajoules)

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Must Dramatically Increase Production!

Source: IEA 2017 Technology Roadmap - Delivering Sustainable Bioenergy. Figure 7.http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Technology_Roadmap_Delivering_Sustainable_Bioenergy.pdf

Bioenergy use in 2015 and in IEA’s 2060 “2 Degree Scenario” (2DS)

èAchieving 2060 2DS will require major shifts from traditional to modern bioenergy technologies as well as large capacity expansion across all sectors, especially biofuels

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USA Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)

Source: EPA 2019, https://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program/renewable-fuel-annual-standards

Advanced biofuels nesting scheme within RFS Major Fuel Categories

D3:Cellulosic EtOH,

RNG (compressed and liquefied)

D4:FAME Biodiesel,Renew. Diesel,Renew. Jet Fuel

D5:Biogas, LPG, Naphtha, Non-Cellulosic EtOH, Renew. Diesel, RNG,

Heating Oil

D6:Non-Cellulosic EtOH,

FAME Biodiesel, Renew. Diesel

è Focus today is on production of liquid transport fuels

Biofuels Production StatusEmphasis on liquids being used (neat or blended) for transport

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0246810121416

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10

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30

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20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

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20102011

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Billi

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Ethanol Production 2000 - 2018

Billi

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S Ga

llons

United States Biofuels Production

Source: EIA 2019 (via RFA)

Source: RFA 2019: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resources/biorefinery-locations/

Ethanol Plant Locations

• US remains world’s #1 producer and user of biofuels, mostly starch-based ethanol and lipid/fat-based biodiesels– In 2018, produced ~ 60.9 B L (16.1 B gal)

ethanol, primarily from domestic corn grain (~ 210 facilities)

– In 2018, produced ∼8.4 B L (∼2.2 B gal) biodiesel fuels (FAME + HVO) from domestic and imported oleaginous feedstocks (~ 100 facilities)

60.9 B liters (16.1 B US gallons)Ethanol Production 2000 - 2018

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

0123456789

20102011

20122013

20142015

20162017

20182019

Billi

on Li

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FAME and RD Diesel (incl biojet) Biofuels Production 2009-2018

Billi

on U

S Ga

llons

8.4 B liters (2.2 B gallons)

Source: EPA 2019: https://www.epa.gov/fuels-registration-reporting-and-compliance-help/rins-generated-transactions

US Diesel Biofuels Production 2010 - 2019

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• Major policy drivers: The US federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) incentivize production of lower carbon intensity biofuels

• Challenges:– Petroleum prices too low since mid-

2014 for most advanced biofuels to be economically competitive without policy support

– Capital costs are high and many feedstocks lack proven supply chains

– On-going policy uncertainty hinders new large investments

• Trends:– Many companies redirecting RD&D

strategy towards more profitable lower volume, higher margin products

– Growing R&D on wastes as feedstocks and new coproducts that can reduce net advanced biofuels production cost (in multi-product biorefinery context)

US Production of Advanced Biofuels

0

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1015202530

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Advanced Ethanol Production 2010-2019

> 60% GHG reduction (D3)

>50% GHG reduction (D5)

>20% GHG reduction (D6)

Conv

. D6

(Bill

ion

Gallo

ns)

Ethanol

0

500

1000

1500

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20102011

20122013

20142015

20162017

20182019

Adv. Diesel Biofuels Production 2010 - 2019

D4 FAMED4 RDD4 BiojetD5 RDD6 FAME

Biod

iese

lFue

ls (M

illio

n US

Gal

lons

)

proj

ecte

d

Biodiesels

Emerging Opportunities & New Initiatives

To increase efficiency, maximize impacts

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Maximizing Impact Across Production and Use

• better fuels. better vehicles. sooner.

Crosscutting initiative tackling fuel and engine innovation to co-optimize performance, maximize transport efficiency. Results to inform future TCP studies of Adv. Fuels in Adv. Engines.

Advancing R&D to:• Bring affordable, scalable advanced

biofuels and advanced engine solutions to market more quickly

• Improve fuel economy 15%–20% beyond targets of BAU R&D efforts

• Reduce petroleum use, achieve massive cost savings annually via improved fuel economy

• Dramatically decrease transport sector pollutants and GHG emissions

Example: USDOE’s Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines Initiative “Co-optima”

Draws on collaborative expertise of two DOE research offices, nine national

laboratories, and numerous industry and academic partners.

http://energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/co-optimization-fuels-enginesEarly finding: Attractive combo is higher ethanol (octane) blends in high compression engines.

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Leverage Existing Refining Infrastructure

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Example: Ensyn’s Pyrolysis and Petroleum Refining Coprocessing Technology

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/10/f33/Graham_0.pdf

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Using Lower Cost Circular Economy FeedstocksExample: Enerkem’s MSW to Alcohols Gasification & Catalysis Technology

Courtesy of Dr. Helena Chum (NREL)

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Cellulosic Ethanol Production from Corn Fiber• Multiple routes being commercialized to convert some or most of the corn

kernel fiber present in corn ethanol dry mill facilities to cellulosic ethanol (CE)− Lower capital investment route to cellulosic ethanol albeit volume limited

• Several companies have developed technologies for this that achieve different levels of incremental ethanol (cellulosic ethanol) yield gain

Source: K. Cagle (Novozmes). Bioeconomy 2017 conference, session 1E: Drawing a Roadmap to Cellulosic Biofuel Deployment, July 11, 2017 .

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Marine Biofuels Market Opportunity

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− SWOT analysis for marine biofuelsKey Findings:

• Large market: 90% int’l trade uses shippingPros

• Relatively few major marine ports to supply• New multi-fuel engines can also use alcohol

biofuels (e.g., MeOH, EtOH)Cons

• Development remains challenging because testing requires 1) very large volumes; and 2) effective coordination among fuels producers, engine builders and ship owners

• Marine biofuels identified as a large, nearer-term opportunity− Must reduce sulfur emissions; most biofuels have low sulfur levels− Many ship engines can use lower specification fuels

• Task 39 report (2017) and webinar (2018)“Biofuels for the Marine Shipping Sector”

Conclusions and Outlook

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3. Many technologically advanced routes well proven; economics challenged by high capital costs; large investments risky given on-going policy uncertainty

4. Strategies to speed deployment being pursued− Use less costly “circular economy” feedstocks (e.g., gaseous

wastes, corn fiber, MSW, etc.)− Co-locate advanced production with existing facilities (oil

refineries or biorefineries)

Conclusions and Outlook1. Biofuels are essential to decarbonize heavy duty transport and also remain

important for light duty transport until substantial electrification achieved

2. Production and use of advanced biofuels continues to increase in the USA, albeit below rate needed to reach future targets (2DS)

5. Outlook mixed for US to remain world’s leading producer/user− Pro: Recent federal legislation approving E15 use year-round− Con: Supportive long-term policy needed and in recent years this has been elusive

6. Effective and stable long-term policies are key to realizing faster progress− Implementation of state level LCFS policies in California, Oregon, etc., leading the way

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• IEA Bioenergy and IEA Bioenergy Task 39www.ieabioenergy.com & task39.ieabioenergy.com

• International Energy Agency (IEA)www.iea.org

• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)www.irena.org

• US Energy Information Administration (EIA)www.eia.gov

• USDOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)www1.eere.energy.gov/bioenergy/

• USDOE-USDA Biomass R&D Initiativewww.biomassboard.gov

• Alternative Fuels Data Centerwww.afdc.doe.gov

• National Renewable Energy Laboratorywww.nrel.gov

More Information

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• USDOE EERE’s BioEnergy Technologies Office (BETO)• IEA Bioenergy Task 39• NREL’s National Bioenergy Center, Biosciences Center and BioEnergy

Science and Technology (BEST) Directorate

Acknowledgments

This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding partially provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.

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