Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains

Top-Down and Bottom-up Assessment for Agricultural, Forest and Waste Feedstock

Calliope Panoutsou

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780128123041
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Renewable Power Resources
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains: Top Down and Bottom Up Assessment for Agricultural, Forest and Waste Feedstock provides scientific evidence for assessing biomass supply and logistics, placing emphasis on methods, modeling capacities, large data collection, processing and storage. The information presented builds on recent relevant research work from the Biomass Futures, Biomass Policies and S2Biom projects. In addition to technical issues, the book covers the economic, social and environmental aspects with direct implications on biomass availability.

Its chapters offer an overview of methodologies for assessing and modeling supply, biomass quality and requirements for different conversion processes, logistics and demand for biobased sectors. Case studies from the projects that inspire the book present practical examples of the implementation of these methodologies. The authors also compare methodologies for different regions, including Europe and the U.S. Biomass feedstock-specific chapters address the relevant elements for forest, agriculture, biowastes, post-consumer wood and non-food crops.

Engineers in the bioenergy sector, as well as researchers and graduate students will find this book to be a very useful resource when working on optimization and modeling of biomass supply chains. For energy policymakers, analysts and consultants, the book provides consistent and technically sound projections for policy and market development decisions.

• Provides consistent ratios and indicators for assessing biomass supply and its logistical component
• Explores assumptions behind the assessment of different types of biomass, including key technical and non-technical factors
• Presents the existing modeling platforms, their input requirements and possible output projections

Chapter 1

Biomass Supply Assessments in Europe

Research Context and Methodologies

Calliope Panoutsou, Ausilio Bauen, Berien Elbersen, Matthias G. Dees, Dejan Stojadinovic, Branko Glavonjic, Tetiana Zheliezna, Ludger Wenzelides and Hans Langeveld

Abstract

Since early 2000, several biomass assessment studies were delivered at European and global level mostly driven by the increasing demand for the development of bioenergy and biofuels, and the need to secure sustainable, continuous supply for the emerging plants. Ongoing research and development and industrial development plus increased drivers to use renewable raw materials in industrial sectors beyond energy have seen the focus of the biomass markets widen to include value chains for bio-based chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other materials. Consequently, research is now exploring increasingly varied configurations of value chains with the aims of understanding which types and quantifying how much biomass can be extracted sustainably, generate financial returns, and help the industry achieving high-quality products for consumers.

This chapter sets the scene for research on biomass supply assessments in Europe and reviews 40 studies delivered during the last 14 years. It analyzes context, key components in terms of terminology, framework conditions and assumptions, models used, and evidence provided so far for policy, research, and industry. It further discusses the main challenges, identifies gaps, and provides recommendations.

Keywords

Biomass supply; assessments; modeling tools

1.1 Research Context

Since early 2000, several biomass assessment studies were delivered. Most of them were driven by the increasing demand of both policy and industrial actors in the bioenergy and biofuels sectors. As such, the key assumptions used to estimate the available biomass quantities and the respective units in which they have been expressed are strongly related to energy. Their approaches have also been very different; thus, their results are difficult to compare and interpret.

Studies that provide a full-fledged comparison of applied methodologies have been rare till 2010, as they required assessments that integrate multiple sound, well-described, broadly accepted, disciplinary approaches. In USA, the most recent and comprehensive one is the ‘Billion ton biomass’ study, a national exercise evaluating the potentials and impacts of bioenergy production in the United States. Supported by the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture, the first study was published in 2005, to be followed by an update in 2011. The second report was authored by 50 scientists from 13 organisations including seven universities. This 235 page report was followed by a new, two-volume, report in 2016 covering over 1000 pages plus numerous background materials including 13 factsheets.

Responding to the same challenges, the European Framework Programme for Research funded the BEE project (http://www.eu-bee.com/) in 2008. The work performed in it provided a state-of-the-art overview for biomass resource assessments in Europe and developed numerous generic approaches, definitions, and a classification of biomass feedstock types to improve the accuracy and comparability of future biomass resource assessments (Rettenmaier et al., 2008; Vis et al., 2010).

From 2010 onward, research in EU, following similar patterns to the USA, broadened to also analyze biomass uses in value chains for bio-based chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other materials, and evaluate potential synergies and competition. To accomplish this, both units and respective assumptions have been modified to evaluate the biophysical values of biomass supply potentials at each region, addressing land use, displacement effects, and climate change.

Geographic disaggregation is also a research issue that has been significantly improved during the last 10 years in the analysis of biomass supply potentials. Until 2012, the assessments were made at national level (NUTS0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature_of_Territorial_Units_for_Statistics)). The Biomass Futures project (www.biomassfutures.eu) used the methodology from the BEE project and provided a detailed Biomass Atlas (http://www.biomassfutures.eu/public_docs/final_deliverables/WP3/D3.3%20%20Atlas%20of%20technical%20and%20economic%20biomass%20potential.pdf) for all European Union (EU) countries at NUTS2 state level (comprises 273 geographic subdivisions of countries in the EU). The Atlas provided spatially detailed and quantified overview of EU biomass potential considering the main criteria determining biomass availability from agricultural and forest feedstocks.

During the period 2013–16, research work build on the respective databases and was further developed by two initiatives:

Biomass Policies (www.biomasspolicies.eu): the work built on the datasets from Biomass Futures in terms of detailed cost supply information and considered competition from known conventional uses (animal feed and food). The following formula has been used for all the feedstocks:

$Availability=Presence-T_1(-T_2)$

where:

Availability=Biomass availability given what can be produced, harvested, and collected with current or near future practices and known given state-the-art technologies and taking account of basic environmental sustainability requirements regarding soil and biodiversity conservation.

Presence=Presence of biomass now (and in future given land use change expectations)

T₁=amount of biomass that should be left behind for soil conservation/biodiversity/erosion control

T₂=conventional known competitive uses (feed and food)

This work was also performed for all biomass feedstock types (oil, starch, lignocellulosic) with geographic disaggregation at NUTS2 state level.

S2Biom (www.s2biom.eu): the research work built on the BEE, Biomass Futures, and Biomass Policies projects and focused on 50 lignocellulosic biomass types. It covered all Europe, expanded geographic coverage of the biomass supply assessments to non-EU countries in Western Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkey, and improved the level of disaggregation to the NUTS3 level in the EU countries, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Turkey, whic...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Biomass Supply Assessments in Europe: Research Context and Methodologies
• Chapter 2. Existing Modeling Platforms for Biomass Supply in Europe
• Chapter 3. Lignocellulosic Biomass Quality: Matching Characteristics With Biomass Conversion Requirements
• Chapter 4. Modeling Biomass Logistics
• Chapter 5. Modeling Demand for Bio-Based Sectors
• Chapter 6. Assessing Lignocellulosic Biomass Potentials From Forests and Industry
• Chapter 7. Assessing Potentials for Agricultural Residues
• Chapter 8. Assessing the Potential From Bio-waste and Postconsumer Wood
• Chapter 9. Assessing the Potentials for Nonfood Crops
• Chapter 10. Research Overview, Gaps, and Recommendations
• Index