TECHNOLOGY FOR ADVANCED BIOFUEL

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0222097
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2015
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF IDAHO
875 PERIMETER DRIVE
MOSCOW,ID 83844-9803

Performing Department
Biological Engineering

Non Technical Summary
LCA is a cradle to grave analysis of the biofuel production system to quantify its energy and environmental performances of a fuel. It is a complex topic but essential to be carried out properly to ensure that making biofuel is advantageous. Having a positive LCA results and favorable economics is essential to a sustained success of a biofuel program. Without supporting LCA results to develop biofuel, billions of public and private dollars could be wasted by investing in something that is not only unsustainable, but also actually detrimental in the long run to the environment and the economy. Gasification of biomass to syngas followed by catalytic conversion could produce ethanol in large quantities. Despite the fact, catalytic conversion of syngas to ethanol remains challenging, and no commercial process exists as of today. Need for expensive catalyst, high-pressure requirement and complicated post reaction catalyst separation made these processes unattractive for commercial applications. Use of nano and electrostatic excitation technique has potential to eliminate the difficulty with catalyst use. A frequency modulated variable magnitude electrical field on a low cost solid catalytic nanomaterial can create ethanol from syngas. The technology will reduce the required pressure, create a targeted product, and facilitate heat transfer. Catalytic nanomaterial will loosen the bonds of CO and H2 molecule and electrostatic force will induce ions recombination more effectively. A model based on quantum mechanics shows that a controlled recombination of CO molecule and H2 in a matrix of nano sized reaction tubes will produce a mixture with ethanol as a primary product. The proposed method has a potential to become the answer to the challenges with liquid transportation fuel.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
511	7410	2020	50%
402	7410	2020	50%

Knowledge Area
511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
7410 - General technology;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

biofuel

life cycle analysis

syngas

ethanol

biodiesel

Goals / Objectives
My long-term research goal is to develop a sustainable process to ensure continuous sustainable supply of quality biofuel for transportation. Sustainability will be measured through lifecycle analysis of the developed biofuel. Following two major objectives were set to accomplish within the next 5 years. Objectives: 1. Establish a life cycle inventory data, model and optimization tool applicable for Idaho and Pacific Northwest. 2. Develop a research program to produce ethanol from syngas (ultimately from CO2) using nanotechnology and electromagnetic excitation.

Project Methods
Method For: LCA framework for biorefinery process optimization Framework development will involve primarily three tasks as described below: 1. Use and verification of existing databases A local survey conducted regionally showed significant variation in amount of resource use from one production facility to another. Plant size, geographical location, and management practices all contribute to these differences. This strongly suggests that a national level database is inappropriate for use by local production facilities, thus potentially causing costly mistakes. In this project, we will assess existing data, complete cross validation, and make the necessary adjustments required to reflect the actual situation or scenario. 2. Addition of new products and pathways The LCA framework will be used not only by biorefinery management, but also by researchers to add new or improved processes and pathways. Creation of new pathways should be evaluated from the industrial process standpoint. A laboratory facility will be needed to measure the mass and energy flow for sub processes. Once the new technology is optimized, data will be collected and integrated into the LCA framework. 3. Visual-Interface for optimization of integrated bio-refineries Once the database is populated with inputs and processes, a user should be able to drag and drop the inputs and processes to create a process flow diagram. The software will use diagram as a basis to optimize the production level of various outputs. Method: Ethanol from Syngas A quantum model for a carbon monoxide (CO) molecule shows that electrostatic charge is not evenly distributed around two atoms. The model shows that an oxygen atom has higher charge density and electric potential gradient than a carbon atom. Normally, a CO molecule has three shared electrons as one covalent double bond and a dipolar bond. When this molecule is exposed to a frequency modulated electrostatic field along the bond direction, carbon and oxygen atoms will be pulled and pushed from one another. This causes one-dimensional atomic oscillation by stretching and relaxation of the bond. When electrostatic field is applied in other directions, it will also cause vibration in that direction. In any case, when vibration occurs at the natural frequency of a molecule, the bond is weakened the most. The weakened bond and strong electrostatic field will drive the reaction with adjacent H2 atoms. The reaction will create a molecule with different natural frequency, which would be an intermediate unstable. Several catalysts has been developed to convert syngas into a liquid fuel. However, the perfornace of these catalysts alone is not adequate to support the commercial production. This research uses the catalysts that are exposed to high voltage electrostatic field. Magnitude and frequency of a pulsating electrostatic field could be controlled so that atoms will vibrate at natural frequency and desired amplitude. My adjusting the amplitude and frequency of excitation, syngas produces ethanol more effectively than using catalyst alone.

Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers Biofuel Producers Researchers and Scientists General Public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Perodic Technotes, Journal articles, Web pages including eXtension web site and BiodieselEducation.org website What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue current research.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Studied Camelina biodiesel and jet fuel and potential feedstock. Conducted life cycle analysis on biodiesel, two-stage anaerobic digester and beef production system for thier environmental benefits.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Roop, D. J., D. S. Shrestha, D. A. Saul., S. Newman. 2014. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of regionally produced beef in the northwestern U.S. Transactions of the ASABE. 57(3): 927-935
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Saul, D. A., S. Newman, T. Lee, S. Peterson, S. Devadoss, D. S. Shrestha, N. Sanyal. 2014. Increasing prosperity for small farms through sustainable livestock production, processing, and marketing. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 5(1):1-17.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dangol N., D. S. Shrestha, J. Duffield. 2015. Life cycle analysis and production potential of camelina biodiesel in the Pacific Northwest. Transactions of the ASABE. 58(2): 465-475

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Regional and National Biofuel manufacturers and users Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Invited Speaker. Reassessment of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for soybean biodiesel. National Biodiesel Board Meeting and Expo. San Diego California, Jan 22,2014. Interviewed with America's Heartland TV documentary on use of UAV in agriculture. Kendrick ID. The TV show is available on-line at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q6cGUNKCdU Invited speaker forCereal School sponsored by Idaho Wheat and Barley commission about "How to get started with Precision Agriculture". Lewiston, ID. Feb 11, 2014 South by South West (SXSW) panel invited speaker.The Future Farm is Now: Can Robots Feed the World?Austin, Texas Mar 12-14. http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/20078. Interviewed with Local Newspaper TechZette in Austin, TX. Topic: Food Tech Q&A: Can Robots Feed the World? March 18, 2014. Available online at http://techzette.com/sxsw-interactive-a-showcase-for-emerging-food-tech-industry/ Field Day: Precision Ag Tech Demonstration Day at UI Parker Farm, Moscow, ID. June 6, 2014. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Address indirect land use change issues with production of biofuel

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Production of biodiesel system has been shown as net positive energy process by some researchers whereas it has been shown as net negative energy process by others. Since extensive amount of money and resources may be wasted for investing on something not beneficial and vice versa, it is extremely important to have an up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on pros and cons of establishing a biofuel industry with substantial investment. The updated result was 83% reduction in GHG emission from the use of soybean biodiesel compared to petroleum diesel. Now the study has been extended to look into camelina biodiesel and camelina jet fuel. The results can have a significant impact on Pacific Northwest biodiesel industry.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Saul, D. A. , S. Newman, T. Lee, S. Peterson, S. Devadoss, D. S. Shrestha, N. Sanyal. 2014. Increasing prosperity for small farms through sustainable livestock production, processing, and marketing. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 5(1):1-17.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Roop, D. J., D. S. Shrestha, D. A. Saul., S. Newman. 2014. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of regionally produced beef in the northwestern U.S. Transactions of the ASABE. 57(3): 927-935

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Local mid-sized Industries Conference attendees Changes/Problems: The Objective 1 of my long-term goal: Establish a life cycle inventory data, model and optimization tool applicable for Idaho and Pacific Northwest has almost been accomplished and going well into other fields such as energy assessment for industries in Pacific Northwest. The project was able to attract significant external funding. The second objective of my long term goal 2: Develop a research program to produce ethanol from syngas (ultimately from CO2) using nanotechnology and electromagnetic excitation has been slow. It is because of higher teaching load and addition of other projects related to energy efficiency. Even though it is going slow there is no need for the modification of the research goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The project outcomes has been diseminated through following conferences: 1) National Biodiesel Board Meeting and Expo (Feb 4-7, 2013 Las Vegas, NV) 2) Industrial Assessment Center Director’s meeting ( July 22-23, 2013, Niagara Falls, NY) 3) CRC workshop on Biofuel Lifecycle analysis (Oct 15-17, 2013, Argonne, IL) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continuation of the research and publications in above stated long-term goals.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments for above stated goals are: 1. Published three journal papers 2. Expanded life cycle analysis to camelina biodiesel for the Pacific Northwest 3. Expanded collaboration with local EPA and DOE. 4. Explored options for fuel production using artificial photosynthesis.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Roop, D. J., D. S. Shrestha, D. A. Saul. 2013. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of locally produced beef in the Palouse region of the northwestern U.S. Transactions of the ASABE. 56(5):1933-1941.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Coats, E. R., E. Searcy, K. Feris, D. Shrestha, A. G. McDonald, A. Briones, T. Magnuson, and M. Prior. 2013. An integrated two-stage anaerobic digestion and biofuel production process to reduce life cycle GHG emissions from US dairies. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 7(4): 459-473.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Artrip,K, D. Shrestha, E. Coats, D. Keiser. 2013. GHG Emissions Reduction from an Anaerobic Digester in a Dairy Farm: Theory and Practice. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 29(5): 729-737
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Shrestha D.S. 2013. Biodiesel and indirect land use change. Biodiesel Education Program, University of Idaho. Available at: http://web.cals.uidaho.edu/biodiesel/files/2013/08/iLUC-TechNote.pdf

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The project goals were to 1. Establish a life cycle analysis (LCA) inventory data, model and optimization tool applicable for Idaho and Pacific Northwest. 2. Develop a research program to produce ethanol from syngas (ultimately from CO2) using nanotechnology and electromagnetic excitation. For the research objective #1, Total of ten proposals were submitted. Five of the ten proposals were continued from the last year and one new proposals was funded this year. Provided an assistantship for Masters student "Kyle Artrip", "Daniel Roop" and "Namrata Dangol". Four Externally Funded Project for life cycle analysis For objective #2, A theoretical model is being revised. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The result of the Reserch was presented at international, national, regional and local professional meetings. Both invited and regular presentations were made in international conferences. Beside oral presentations, the research outcome was disseminated through scientific journal publication, book chapters, technotes and trifolds targeted to different audiences. One Journal article was published and two more were under review. Several additional articles were contributed to e-Extension, a national extension service from USDA. The major research outcome of the year was the update in life cycle study for biodiesel, which showed a significant improvement compared to the study conducted about 10 years ago. The biggest impact from my research is the update the life cycle analysis for biodiesel from new feedstock. Research was extended to other agricultural operations such as life cycle analysis of grass fed beef versus regionally processed beef, life cycle analysis of two stage anaerobic digester versus business as usual and conventional digester. Production of biodiesel system has been shown as net positive energy process by some researchers whereas it has been shown as net negative energy process by others. Since extensive amount of money and resources may be wasted for investing on something not beneficial and vice versa, it is extremely important to have an up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on pros and cons of establishing a biofuel industry with substantial investment. The updated result was 83% reduction in GHG emission from the use of soybean biodiesel compared to petroleum diesel.

Publications

• Pradhan A., D. S. Shrestha, J. Van Gerpen., A. McAloon, W. Yee , M. Haas, and J. A. Duffield. 2012. Reassessment of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for soybean biodiesel. Transactions of the ASABE. 55(6):2257-2264
• Roop, D., and D.S. Shrestha. 2012. GHG Emissions Analysis of Locally Produced Beef in the Palouse Region of the Northwestern US. ASABE Paper No. 121337137. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs: The project goals were to 1. Establish a life cycle analysis (LCA) inventory data, model and optimization tool applicable for Idaho and Pacific Northwest. 2. Develop a research program to produce ethanol from syngas (ultimately from CO2) using nanotechnology and electromagnetic excitation. For the research objective #1, ten proposals were submitted out of which two new proposals were funded. Provided an assistantship for Masters student "Kyle Artrip" Four Externally Funded Project for life cycle analysis For objective #2, A theoretical model is being revised. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
The result of the Reserch was presented at international, national, regional and local professional meetings. Both invited and regular presentations were made in international conferences. Beside oral presentations, the research outcome was disseminated through scientific journal publication, book chapters, technotes and trifolds targeted to different audiences. One Journal article was published and two more were under review. Several additional articles were contributed to e-Extension, a national extension service from USDA. The major research outcome of the year was the update in life cycle study for biodiesel, which showed a significant improvement compared to the study conducted about 10 years ago. The biggest impact from my research is the update the life cycle analysis for biodiesel from new feedstock. Research was extended to other agricultural operations such as life cycle analysis of grass fed beef versus regionally processed beef, life cycle analysis of two stage anaerobic digester versus business as usual and conventional digester.

Publications

• Pradhan A., D. S. Shrestha, A. McAloon, W. Yee , M. Haas, and J. A. Duffield. 2011. Energy life-cycle assessment of soybean biodiesel - revisited. Transactions of the ASABE. 54(3):1031-1039

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The project goals were to 1. Establish a life cycle analysis (LCA) inventory data, model and optimization tool applicable for Idaho and Pacific Northwest. 2. Develop a research program to produce ethanol from syngas (ultimately from CO2) using nanotechnology and electromagnetic excitation. For the research objective #1, ten proposals were submitted out of which two new proposals were funded. One student "Anup Pradhan" graduated with PhD and One student "Abhinaya Subedi" graduated with Masters. Provided an assistantship for new Masters student "Kyle Artrip" For objective #2, A theoretical model was developed and still working towards perfecting the model. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The result of the Reserch was presented at international, national, regional and local professional meetings. Both invited and regular presentations were made in international conferences. Beside oral presentations, the research outcome was disseminated through scientific journal publication, book chapters, technotes and trifolds targeted to different audiences. Two book chapters and one Journal articles were published. Several additional articles were contributed to e-Extension, a national extension service from USDA. The major research outcome of the year was the update in life cycle study for biodiesel, which showed a significant improvement compared to the study conducted about 10 years ago. The biggest impact from my research is the update sin life cycle analysis for biodiesel. Because of the complexity in analysis and lack of reliable data, it is easy to overlook, overestimate or underestimate some of the factors in fuel production systems. This may lead to a wrong conclusion and decisions, which might prove costly to a country. Production of biodiesel system has been shown as net positive energy process by some researchers whereas it has been shown as net negative energy process by others. Since extensive amount of money and resources may be wasted for investing on something not beneficial and vice versa, it is extremely important to have an up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on pros and cons of establishing a biofuel industry with substantial investment. The updated result was 4.56 energy output per unit of fossil energy input. The positive energy balance for biodiesel is an important step in conformation that biodiesel is a sustainable alternative energy and help protect the environment.

Publications

• 1.Hossain, M.D., D. S. Shrestha, and M. G. Kleve. 2010. Biosensors for Biodiesel Quality Sensing. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science. Vol. 64 pp 80-85. 2.Shrestha D.S. and J. Van Gerpen. 2010. Chapter 7: Biodiesel from plant oils in Industrial Crops and Uses. Singh B. eds. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI. 3.Shrestha D.S. and A. Pradhan. 2010. Chapter 18: Energy life cycle assessment of a biofuel production system. In Bioenergy and Biofuels from Biowastes and Biomass, 411-433. Khanal S.K., Surampalli, R.Y., Zhang, T., Lamsal B.P., Tyagi R.D. and Kao C.M. eds. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia. 4.Subedi, A. and D. Shrestha. 2010. Dynamic Performance Evaluation of a Low Cost Load Sensor. ASAE Paper No. 1009603 St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.