Feedstocks

Renewable  sources  of  biomass  for  biobased  products  

Patricia  Osseweijer,  Department  of  Biotechnology,  Faculty  of  Applied  Sciences  
Feedstocks  

•  Why  renewable?  

•  Which  types?  

•  How  to  select  a  source?  

•  How  to  use  the  sugars?  

•  Sustainability  
Before  the  industrial  revolu4on  

Agriculture,  fishery,  forestry  provided  all  our  needs  

•   Transport  
•   Light  and  heat  
•   Products  
...  We  can  return  to  this  principle  

Biobased  produc4on  can  close  cycles  

•   Renewable  crops  and  residues  for  our  needs  

Higher  per  capita  energy  demand    

•   Smart  soluEons  are  required  
•   OpEmize  yields  
Available  feedstocks  

FOOD     AGRICULTURAL   DEDICATED   WOOD   WASTE    

CROPS   WASTE   CROPS   CROPS   MATERIALS  
 Categorizing  types  of  biomass  

“First  generaEon”   “Second  generaEon”  

Food  crops   Residues  of  food  crops    
Dedicated  energy  crops    
Wood  crops  
Waste  materials  
 Genera4on  differences  

1st 2nd 3rd

•   Lipids  
•   Easily  diges4ble  sugars   •   Lignocellulosic  structure    and  proteins,        
   carbohydrates    
•   Direct  compe44on     •   Reduce  compe44on     •   Eliminate  
       with  food,  arable  land,    by  using  waste,  non-­‐arable      compe44on  
 fresh  water    land,  reducing  water  use    aquaEc  and  
 autotrophic  
How  to  select  a  crop?  

Biochemical  composi4on  

ECONOMICS  

Yield   Sustainability  
Selec4ng  a  feedstock:  biochemical  composi4on  

Corn  cobs  

Cellulose  
Hemicellulose  
CoUon  stalks  
Lignin  
Other  

Soy  stalks  

0   50   100  
Mass  percentage    
Selec4ng  a  feedstock:  yield  

•  Tonne  biomass  
Biomass   per  hectare  

•  Tonne  sugar  per  

Sugars   tonne  biomass  

•  Tonne  product  
Product   per  tonne  sugar  
Selec4ng  a  feedstock:  yield  
Total  Dry   Grain/seed   Easily   Cellulosic CombusEon   CombusEon  
Biomass   yield     accessed   (GJ/ha) of  residue   of  total  
•  Tonne  biomass  per   Yield     (t/ha) biofuel   (GJ/ha) biomass  (GJ/

Biom hectare   Sugarcane  (Brazil)

(t/ha)  
38.0 12.0
(GJ/ha)
156.8 167.0 113.9
ha)
684.0
ass   Maize  (USA) 18.4 9.2 72.8 40.4 27.6 331.2
Wheat  (EU28) 8.8 5.3 34.9 19.4 13.2 159.0
•  Tonne  sugar  per  
Sugar tonne  biomass  
Napier  Grass  (El  Salvador)
Miscanthus  (Illinois)
84.0
22.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
738.2
193.3
503.5
131.9
1512.0
396.0
s   Switchgrass  (Illinois) 10.0 0.0 0.0 87.9 59.9 180.0
Rapeseed  (EU28) 5.6 2.8 33.2 12.3 8.4 112.9
•  Tonne  product  per  
Produ tonne  sugar  
Soybean  (USA)
Oil  Palm  (Indonesia)
4.7
34.0
2.8
17.0
21.2
128.8
20.5
149.4
5.6
50.9
96.1
685.4
ct   Agave  (Arizona) 8.0 0.0 33.0 35.2 24.0 144.0
SRC  Willow  (Sweden) 10.0 0.0 0.0 43.9 30.0 180.0
SRC  Poplar  (Italy) 14.0 0.0 0.0 61.5 42.0 252.0
SRF  Eucalyptus  (Brazil) 18.2 0.0 0.0 80.0 54.5 327.6

Adopted  from  Bioenergy  &  Sustainability.  Long,  S.P.,  Karp,  A.,  and  Buckeridge,  M.S.  et  al.  (2014)    
 
Selec4ng  a  feedstock:  sustainability  
Soil  quality  

Ecological  
Na4ve  to  habitat?   Biodiversity  
effects  

Sustainability  
of  feedstock  

Use  of   GHG   Energy  required  

Fresh  water  
resources   emissions   for  harves4ng  

Arable  land   Energy  required  to  

release  sugars    
Dedicated  energy  crops  

Engineered  for  sustainability:  

•   Increase  yield  per  hectare  
•   Decrease  water  use  
•   Grow  on  non-­‐arable  land,  marginal  soils  
•   Grow  in  naEve  habitat  
 Biomass  composi4on  

Useful   Indiges4ble  
   
Cellulose     Hemicellulose   Lignin    

   
•   Complex  polymer  
•   Chain  polymer   •   Chain  polymer  
•   Irregular  
•   C6  sugars   •   C6  and  C5  sugars  
•   Tough  by  design  
 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  1  Open  up  plant  structure  

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  1  Open  up  plant  structure  

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  1  Open  up  plant  structure  

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  1  Open  up  plant  structure  

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  2  Lignin  removal    

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  2  Lignin  removal    

 Releasing  sugars  for  fermenta4on  

Step  3  Hydrolysis  
Other  op4ons  to  process  biomass?  
Fischer-­‐Tropsch   Alkenes  
GasificaEon   Syn-­‐gas  
Methanol  
Methanol  

  HDO   Hydrogen  
Biomass   Pyrolysis   Bio-­‐oils  
  Zeolite   Liquid  Fuels  

FermentaEon   Ethanol  
Aqueous  
sugar   AromaEcs  
Hydrolysis   DehydraEon  
Hydrogen  Alkanes  
Lignin   APR  
Phenols,  gasoline  
The  biorenewable  cycle  
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