feedstock supply chain logistics in the southeastern us · 423.884.4110 – phone genera energy...

Copyright 2019, Genera Energy Inc.

Feedstock Supply Chain Logistics in the Southeastern USSustainable Jet Fuels Workshop• 4/24/19 • Knoxville, TN

Sam Jackson, PhDVice PresidentGenera Energy Inc.

Genera Inc. • 167 Tellico Port Road • Vonore, TN • www.generaenergy.com


Integrated Feedstock Solution

Landowner Relations& Contracts

Optimized Harvesting Systems

Moisture Management

Maintain Quality & Minimize Cost

Risk Management& QA/QC

Data-RichFeedstock Supply& Cost Model

Proven Establishment Success

Max Axle Weight Efficiencies

Optimized Location & Scheduling

Project-SpecificSystem Design

Agrished® Management Supply ASSURE® System BIN-SPEC® Processing

Land

Production

Harvest

Storage

Inventory

Handling

Logistics

Milling

Transport

Planning

• Genera has completed dozens of projects focused on biomass feedstock development and supply for fuel, chemicals, electricity and

other product applications; seven of these projects involved over 100,000 tons of annual biomass feedstock supply

• Specific customers Genera has served include three of the ten largest oil and gas companies in the world, five Fortune 500

companies, two of the world’s largest livestock producers, an international biopower corporation, and several small to medium sized

privately held companies

• Developed partnerships and collaborations with leading ag producer groups, equipment manufacturers, seed and input suppliers,

processing equipment vendors

• Extensive variety trials and demonstration plots across the U.S., with multiple partners

Over nearly a decade, Genera has developed the country’s leading purpose-grown biomass supply chain, fully integrated from identification, recruitment and management of land through crop establishment, annual management, harvesting, logistics and transportation, inventory management, material handling, and mechanical sizing and processing


Broad Feedstock Experience

• Perennial Herbaceous Crops- Switchgrass-Wide Hybrids- Energy Cane-Miscanthus

• Annual Energy Crops- Biomass Sorghum- Sweet Sorghum- Tobacco

• Crop Residues- Corn Stover-Wheat Straw- Sugarcane Bagasse

•Woody Biomass- Forest Residues- Secondary Processing Residues- Short Rotation Hybrid Poplar &

Willow


• Chemical and Structural Composition (lignin)

• Homogeneity (heterogeneity)

• Location

• Harvestability• Seasonality

• Sustainability• Scale

• Yield


340.2 25.3

71.0 60.7

SRWCHerbaceous Crops

Forestry

Ag Residues

Source: U.S. Department of Energy. 2016. 2016 Billion-Ton Report: Advancing Domestic Resources for a Thriving Bioeconomy, Volume 1: Economic Availability of Feedstocks. M.H. Langholtz, B.J. Stokes, and L.M. Eaton (Leads), ORNL/TM-2016/160. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. 448p. Doi: 10.2172/1271651.

million DTavailable

• in 20 years• at $60/dt• 1-3% yield growth• moderate housing growth• moderate energy growth

• Switchgrass• Miscanthus• Biomass Sorghum

Herbaceous Crops

• Wheat Straw• Other Straws (Barley, Oat, Rye)• Sugarcane Bagasse

Agricultural Residues

• Poplar• Willow• Eucalyptus

Short RotationWoody Crops

• Hardwood• Softwood• Mixed Wood

Forestry


Feedstock Considerations

Switchgrass Biomass Sorghum Long-Fiber Annual Crops• High yield (6-8 tons/ac) perennial grass• Drought tolerant native species• One annual harvest, Nov – Feb• Grows well on low productivity soils• Minimal management requirements

• High yield (7-12 tons/ac) annual crop• Drought resistant, highly adapted• One annual harvest, Aug – Oct• Good fiber quality, in 15’-20’ stalks• Low chemical use vs. other row crops

Wheat Straw• Secondary post harvest residue• Also winter cover crop• Yields 1.5 - 2.5 tons/acre• One annual harvest, May – June • Works well in crop rotations

• Limited scale production today• One annual harvest• Yields are highly variable• One annual harvest, Aug – Oct• Potential fractionation vaolorization

• Land use • CO2 footprint

• Water intensity

• Chemical usage• Energy intensity

• Process yield• Compositional

content

• Processability• Material handling• Silica, elementals

Convertability Sustainability

• Acreage / yields

• Bulk density• Seasonality

• Equipment• Land use

competition• Familiarity• Risk

Supply Chain


Unrealistic Expectations!

• Farmers will supply what I need when I am ready• Ag and Forestry is done everyday. This is nothing new!• It’s a simple grow, harvest and repeat process.• Residues are waste, there will be little cost


Supply Chain Complexity

Land Accumulation &

Management

Crop Establishment &

Production

Harvesting, Aggregation &

Storage

Logistics & Inventory

Management

Sizing & Material Handling

Scoping

Modeling

Estimating

Targeting

Incentives

Timing

Educating

Marketing

Community Relations

Recruiting

Legal

Tax

Contracts

Mapping

Negotiate

LandownerRelations

Tracking

Evaluations &

Assessments

Communication

Renegotiation

Renewals

Database Management

Crop Mix

Soil Mapping

Variety Selection

Seed/Plant Procurement

Customer RequirementsTiming

Planning

Labor

NutrientMgmt

Scouting

Pest & Disease Mgmt

Equip-ment

Work-force

Training

InputProcure-

ment

Work Force Training

Labor

SOPs

Economics

Risks

HarvestSystem

Evaluation

Work-force

Training

QualityMgmt

Equipment

Selection In-fieldLogistics

Equipment

MoistureMgmt

Staging

InventoryEntry

StorageSitePrep

InventoryERP

Integration

Protection

Security

Insurance

Risk Mgmt

Monitoring

Shrinkage

QualityControl

Planning

Securing Land

Contra

ct M

gmt

Cro

p Sel

ectio

n

Est

ablis

hmen

tM

ain

tenance

Syste

m D

esig

nH

arv

esting

Sto

rage

Aggre

gation

Schedulin

gIn

vento

ry M

gm

t.

Quality Control

Staging/ Loading

Tra

nsp

ort

Delivery

Labor

Training

Safety

Equipment

Maintenance

Tracking

Stack/Pile Mainten-

ance

CustomerRelations

TimingPlanning

WeatherForecasting

ERP Integra-

tion

Tracking

Equipment

Labor

PlantDensity

Planting

WaterMgmt

Equip-ment

Field Prep

Timing

Packaging

Load-Out

Labor

Equipment

Moisture

Particle Size Dist

Bulk Density

Staging

Cert of Analysis

Particle Size

Moisture

Evaluations &

Assessments

Throughput

Equipment

Labor

Energy Usage

QualityControl

Planning

WeatherForecasting

Scheduling

Variety Trials

Training

Labor

Security

Dispatch

Safety

Labor

ERP Entry

Milling/Size Reduction

Material Prep

QualityControl

Tracking

Labor

EquipmentSystem Entry

SOPs

SOPs

SOPs

ERP Integratio

nQualityControl

InputProcurement

Sampling

Re-seeding

SeedTreatment

FieldAccess

Buffers

Maint. &Flex

Safety

Dispatch

Scheduling

Crop Protection

Insurance

Insurance

Traceability

Uptime


Portfolio Approach

– Overall, a more robust supply chain– Allows within-year adjustment of production and supply– Buffers against climatic and disease/pest impacts– Allows management of storage losses and degradation– Distributes risk– Competitive tension promotes market pricing– Tailored pulp performance / characteristics with

blendingJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Perennial Grasses

Annual Crops

Cover Crop Straws

SRWC


3. Lower risk profile across the agricultural supply chain

4. Generate more consistent quality, improving process yields & lowering operating costs

Multi-Dimensional Supply Chain Optimization

Cost Per Ton1. Lower feedstock costs through supply chain integration & innovation

2. Reduce price volatility with long-term contracts &tailored biomassportfolio

Quality


Cost Reduction Opportunities

Preprocessing

Inventory Control

Harvest/Transport

Crop Production

Crop Establishment

Mngmt and Risk

ImprovementThrough

Integration

ImprovementThrough

Innovation

Feed

stoc

k C

ost (

$/dt

)

Piecemeal Supply Chain Integrated Supply Chain Optimized Supply Chain


Operational Cost Advantages & Opportunities

• Predictable costs

• Long-term supply contracts

• Fungible feedstocks = redundancy

• Year-round just-in-time supply

• Clean, consistent feedstock stream

• Cost effective buffer stock solutions

• Fractionation into constituent components

• Tailoring feedstocks to process or application


Lessons Learned

• There are no fairy tale feedstocks

• Feedstocks are expensive

• There’s no such thing as a waste feedstock

• Predictability and reliability are critical• Designing around feedstocks is actually

much more effective—and cheaper—than redesigning to accommodate feedstocks

Even good feedstocks can behave badly… and they will if left to chance

• Invasiveness potential• High cost of establishment• Specialized equipment

• Minimal experience at scale• Limited risk management tools• Dependence on incentives


Successful Feedstock Supply Chains….

• Are carefully planned and orchestrated

• Are suited to:– The geography– The technology– The existing ag economy

• Manage:– Risk– Cost– Quality

• Lead to:– Farmer success– Production facility

success

423.884.4110 – Phone

www.generaenergy.com

Genera Energy Inc.167 Tellico Port RoadVonore, TN 37885

feedstock supply chain logistics in the southeastern us · 423.884.4110 – phone genera energy...

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