Analytical Methods for Biomass Characterization and Conversion

By David C. Dayton and Thomas D. Foust

Analytical Methods for Biomass Characterization and Conversion is a thorough resource for researchers, students and professors who investigate the use of biomass for fuels, chemicals and products. Advanced analytical chemistry methods and techniques can now provide detailed compositional and chemical measurements of biomass, biomass conversion process streams, intermediates and products. This volume from the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series brings together the current knowledge on each of these methods, including spectroscopic methods (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Near-infrared Spectroscopy, Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), pyrolysis (Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry), Liquid Chromatography/High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, and so on.

Authors David C. Dayton and Thomas D. Foust show how these can be used for measuring biomass composition and for determining the composition of intermediates with regard to subsequent processing for biofuels, bio-chemicals and bio-based products.

• Covers the broad range of techniques and applications that have been developed and perfected in the last decade
• Highlights specific analyses required for understanding biomass conversion to select intermediates
• Provides references to seminal books, review articles and technical articles that go into greater depth, serving as a basis for further study

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9780128156063

David C. Dayton

Dr. David Dayton is a Senior Fellow in Chemistry and the Biofuels Director at RTI International. He is an expert in alternative fuels that can be used to create cleaner, cost-effective sources of energy. A physical chemist, Dr. Dayton has more than 25 years of project management and research experience in R&D projects focused on biomass thermochemical conversion processes used to create cost-effective biofuels.

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Chapter One

Introduction

Abstract

Access to energy has been a critical element for the foundation and maintenance of civilization. The types of energy resources have varied over time, with early civilizations relying on biomass for heat and light, while fossil fuel consumption increased during the past 200 years, first for heat but then for electricity production and transportation. Key societal advancements can be traced to shifts toward specialized and productive economic activities fueled by more efficient use of energy. Availability of renewable energy resources other than wood has historically been very low. Interest increased in the 1970s, particularly after the oil embargo of 1973, and recent policy incentives have spurred renewed interest in biofuels technology development and deployment. Studies have shown that there is enough biomass available on a sustainable basis to displace 30% of the petroleum used for transportation with biofuels that reduce the environmental intensity of energy consumption.

Keywords

Biomass; Biomass conversion; Biofuels; Billion Ton Study; Feedstock characterization; Biochemical conversion; Thermochemical conversion

Historical Use of Energy Resources

The Earth is an optimized system for collecting and storing solar energy. Photosynthesis is the process by which solar energy is used to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the three biopolymers that constitute plants, or what we call biomass. Cellulose and hemicellulose are polysaccharides for storing energy. Lignin is the glue that holds it all together and provides structural integrity.

Fossil fuels started out as biomass. Terrestrial biomass is plants and trees that grew on land, fell to the ground, decayed over time, and provided for the growth of new vegetation. After millions of years, layers of plant matter formed by this cycle were buried beneath the surface of the planet. As the layers became buried ever deeper, the increased pressure and temperature forced out the oxygen, forming a carbon-rich deposit that we call coal.

Aquatic plants and animals had the same fate over geologic time scales. They died, sank to the bottom of prehistoric oceans, and became buried in mud and sediment, where the pressure and temperature transformed them into crude oil deposits in sedimentary rock formations. The main difference between aquatic and terrestrial biomass is lignin content. Aquatic biomass growing in and on water contains less lignin because it requires less structural support than terrestrial biomass that continually must overcome gravity to remain standing. Consequently, aquatic biomass forms crude oil over geologic timescales while lignin-containing terrestrial biomass forms coal.

Biomass is among the oldest sources of stored energy. When burned, it provides light and heat for warmth and cooking. Fig. 1.1 illustrates how energy resources for heating in the United Kingdom have changed over the course of history. Wood was the predominant fuel source in early civilization giving way to coal over time, probably because of its greater energy density. Only recently has petroleum, natural gas and electricity become the predominant energy resources for heating. Energy consumption in the United Kingdom is correlated with population growth and increasing prosperity. These trends hold for the developed world, though the timescale differs among countries and regions. Current energy consumption in the developing world can be quite different and depends strongly on available resources.

Fig. 1.1 Share of energy consumption for domestic and industrial heating in the United Kingdom from 1700 to 2010. (Adapted from Fouquet R. The slow search for solutions: lessons from historical energy transitions by sector and service. Energy Policy 2010;38(11):6586-6596.)

Access to energy was a key element in the foundation and maintenance of civilization, but societal advancements were enabled by shifts toward specialized and productive economic activities fueled by more efficient use of available energy resources. The United States Energy Information Agency tracks historical energy production and use, and forecasts demand according to energy resource and sector. Fig. 1.2 shows energy usage in the United States from 1776 to 2012 as a function of resource type. Per capita consumption was low in colonial days, with wood as the primary resource. Wood utilization peaked around 1860, and then coal increased to become primary by 1900. Petroleum and natural gas consumption were increasing rapidly by 1950 and overtook coal as the primary source by 1960. Availability of renewable energy resources other than wood has historically been very low. Interest increased in the 1970s, particularly after the oil embargo in 1973. The increase in renewables production since 2005 is due to the exponential growth in the corn ethanol industry and the cost reductions associated with wind and solar technology. Clearly, energy consumption in the United States correlates with increasing population, and access to low-cost, abundant energy is linked to economic prosperity.

Fig. 1.2 Energy consumption in the United States from 1776 to 2012. ¹ Geothermal, Solar/PV, wind, waste, and biofuels. (Source: US Energy Information Administration Energy Perspectives Annual Energy Review and Monthly Energy Review Tables 1.3, 10.1, and E1).

The historical trends in energy use for transportation are quite different. Fig. 1.3 shows the percentage of various energy resources in the United Kingdom from 1700 to 2010. Early transportation was by foot and horse on land, sailing and rowing on water. The development of the steam engine led to coal-powered locomotives and ships in the early 19th century. The discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859 catalyzed the development of the internal combustion engine for vehicle transportation toward the end of the century. Subsequent discoveries of oil in Texas, Oklahoma, and the Gulf Coast of the United States produced the modern petroleum industry. Crude oil is now a global commodity, recovered all over the world. According to the United States Energy Information Agency, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and China were the top five oil producing countries in 2018. Petroleum distillates are the dominant fuels for transportation and the basis for an extensive petrochemical industry. Biomass has been much less used as a transportation fuel.

Fig. 1.3 Share of energy consumption for all transport (land, sea, and air) in the United Kingdom from 1700 to 2010. (Adapted from Fouquet R. The slow search for solutions: lessons from historical energy transitions by sector and service. Energy Policy 2010;38(11):6586–6596.)

The hydrocarbon landscape changed dramatically in the United States as a new energy revolution was emerging, due in large part to advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract untapped oil and gas from shale formations. The United States was importing just over 9 million barrels per day (MMbpd) of oil in 2010, which was down from 10 MMbpd in 2005 caused largely by the global recession. In May 2015, imports were down to 6.9 MMbpd because of a drop in consumption and an increase in United States shale oil production.¹ In April 2015 shale oil production was 9.4 MMbpd, nearly double the capacity in 2008 (5.0 MMbpd). For comparison, the corn ethanol industry production capacity was 0.25 MMbpd in 2005 and 0.95 by 2015.², ³

In late 2014, oil prices dropped steeply, as shown in Fig. 1.4. US annual production had been rising at the rate of 1 MMbpd per year for over 2 years to balance the demand caused by shortfalls across the globe—in Libya, for example. But the United States kept adding capacity at the same rate while global production started to slowly increase. Concurrently, petroleum consumption in China slowed, eventually creating a global oversupply of crude. Also, one of the largest global crude oil producers, Saudi Arabia, did not reduce production, hoping to profit from the higher prices. The confluence of these events caused crude oil prices to drop by 55% in a matter of