Life-Cycle Assessment Of Corn-Based Butanol As A Potential .
ANL/ESD/07-10Life-Cycle Assessment of Corn-BasedButanol as a Potential Transportation FuelEnergy Systems Division
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ANL/ESD/07-10Life-Cycle Assessment of Corn-BasedButanol as a Potential Transportation FuelbyM. Wu, M. Wang, J. Liu, and H. HuoCenter for Transportation Research, Energy Systems Division,Argonne National LaboratoryWork supported by theU.S. Department of Energy’s FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program(Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)November 2007
CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGMENTS .viNOTATION.viiABSTRACT.11INTRODUCTION.12LCA SYSTEM BOUNDARY AND ANALYSIS SCENARIOS .52.12.2System Boundary .Analysis Cases .56ASPEN PLUS SIMULATION OF THE ABE PROCESS .933.13.2Scope and Method.Overview of ABE Process .3.2.1 Grain Receiving, Liquefaction, and Saccharification .3.2.2 Fermentation and In-Situ Gas Stripping .3.2.3 Downstream Processing.Process Flowsheet Simulated by Aspen Plus .3.3.1 ABE Process Flowsheet.3.3.2 Estimate of Energy Use for Adsorbent Regeneration.99101112131317BIO-BUTANOL LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT .194.14.24.34.4Bio-Butanol Plant Energy Requirements.Butanol Life-Cycle Parameters.Co-Product Credit .Cradle-to-User Assessment of Petroleum Acetone and Displacement.4.4.1 Petroleum Acetone and Feedstocks Production.4.4.2 Assumptions and Data Sources.4.4.3 Petroleum Acetone Displacement.19212224242426RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.295.15.25.35.4Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions.Effect of Acetone Co-Product Credit.Comparison of Bio-Butanol with Corn Ethanol .Cradle-to-User Comparison of Bio-Acetone with Petroleum Acetone:Issues and Concerns.293032CONCLUSIONS .393.3456iii34
CONTENTS (CONT.)7REFERENCES .41APPENDIX.A1 Parameters for Corn Butanol Life-Cycle Analysis .A2 Parameters for Petroleum-Based Acetone Analysis .A3 Transportation for Corn-Acetone.A4 Fuel Specifications.4547484848FIGURES1Schematic Representation of WTW Analysis System Boundaries for Butanol,Ethanol, and Gasoline.52Schematic for Grain Receiving, Liquefaction, and Saccharification .103Schematic Representation of Adsorption and Adsorbent Regeneration .144Aspen Plus Output of the Process Flowsheet from Fermentation toDownstream Processing .15System Boundaries for Cradle-to-User Pathway of Fossil-Based Acetone andCorn-Based Acetone.27Well-to-Pump Fossil Energy Breakdown for Bio-Butanol and Corn EthanolCompared with Gasoline, Using Different Co-Product Allocation Methods.30Breakdown of Fossil Energy Use in Various Stages of Fuel Life Cycle forCorn-Based Butanol .31Life-Cycle GHG Emissions of Bio-Butanol and Ethanol Compared withGasoline, Using Different Co-Product Allocation Methods .31Life-Cycle GHG Emission Breakdown for Bio-Butanol and Ethanol. .3210 Fossil Energy Use Based on the Production of Bio-Acetone Compared withFossil Energy Use Based on the Production of Petroleum.3611 Fossil Energy Consumption Breakdown for (a) Bio-Acetone and(b) Petroleum Acetone.3756789iv
FIGURES (CONT.)12 GHG Emissions Generated or Avoided by Bio-Acetone ProductionCompared with Petroleum Acetone Production .38TABLES1Properties of ABE Products.62Main Input Parameters for Fermentation and Gas Stripping forAspen Plus Simulations .163Material Balance of Bio-Butanol Plant .164Yields of Acetone, Butanol, and Ethanol from Bio-Butanol Plant .175Process Fuel Use for ABE Fermentation and Downstream Processing .176Parameters for Calculating Energy Use for Adsorbent Regeneration.187Thermal Energy Requirements in Bio-Butanol Plant.208Electricity Consumption in Bio-Butanol Plants .209GREET Input Parameters for Corn Butanol WTW Analysis: Corn Farming,Transportation of Corn and Butanol, and Vehicle Operation.2110 U.S. Average Electricity Generation Mix Used in this Study.2211 Co-Product Energy Partitioning by Energy Allocation.2312 Assumptions and Data Sources of Cradle-to-User Petroleum Acetone .2513 Low-Heating-Value Comparison for this Study.2614 Acetone, Butanol, and Ethanol Outputs from Corn Compared with Ethanol fromConventional Corn Mills .3315 Co-Product Yields .3316 Process Fuel Use in Bio-Butanol and Ethanol Production Plant.34v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of FreedomCARand Vehicle Technologies, which is part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and RenewableEnergy. We would like to thank Professor Hans Blaschek of the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and Dr. Nasib Quresh of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) AgriculturalResearch Service (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) forproviding process data and insights on the ABE process. We also thank Andrew McAloon ofUSDA ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) for providing the corn-to-ethanol drymill ASPEN model. Several experts reviewed this report: Dr. Vernel Stanciulescu of NaturalResources Canada, Dr. Robin Jenkins of DuPont, and Professor Han Blaschek of the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We deeply appreciate their input. Argonne National Laboratoryis a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC, under ContractNo. DE-AC02-06CH11357.vi
NOTATIONABEacetone, butanol, and ethanolBCBTXbiochemicalbenzene, toluene, xyleneCEHCH4COCO2Chemical Economics Handbookmethanecarbon monoxidecarbon dioxideDDGSDOEdistiller’s dried grain with solublesDepartment of EnergyEIAEtOHEnergy Information AdministrationethanolGHGGREETGVgreenhouse gasGreenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportationgasoline vehiclesIPCCIntergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeK2Opotash fertilizerLCALCILDVLHVlife-cycle analysislife-cycle inventorylight-duty vehiclelow heating valueMMGYmillion gallons per yearNN2ONGNOxnitrogennitrous oxidenatural gasnitrogen oxideP2O5PM10PM2.5phosphorus fertilizerparticulate matter with diameters smaller than 10 micrometersparticulate matter with diameters smaller than 10 micrometersR&DRTOresearch and developmentregenerative thermal oxidizervii
SOxsulfur oxideUSDAU.S. Department of AgricultureVOCvolatile organic compoundWTWwell-to-wheelsUNITS OF MEASUREBtubuggalkgkWkWhLlbMJpsiscfwt%yrBritish thermal lowatt hour(s)literpound(s)mega Joulepounds per square inchstandard cubic feetweight percentyearviii
1LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF CORN-BASED BUTANOL AS A POTENTIALTRANSPORTATION FUELbyMay Wu, Michael Wang, Jiahong Liu, and Hong HuoABSTRACTButanol produced from bio-sources (such as corn) could have attractive properties as atransportation fuel. Production of butanol through a fermentation process called acetone-butanolethanol (ABE) has been the focus of increasing research and development efforts. Advances inABE process development in recent years have led to drastic increases in ABE productivity andyields, making butanol production worthy of evaluation for use in motor vehicles. Consequently,chemical/fuel industries have announced their intention to produce butanol from bio-basedmaterials. The purpose of this study is to estimate the potential life-cycle energy and emissioneffects associated with using bio-butanol as a transportation fuel. The study employs a well-towheels analysis tool — the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use inTransportation (GREET) model developed at Argonne National Laboratory — and the AspenPlus model developed by AspenTech. The study describes the butanol production from corn,including grain processing, fermentation, gas stripping, distillation, and adsorption for productsseparation. The Aspen results that we obtained for the corn-to-butanol production processprovide the basis for GREET modeling to estimate life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gasemissions. The GREET model was expanded to simulate the bio-butanol life cycle, fromagricultural chemical production to butanol use in motor vehicles. We then compared the resultsfor bio-butanol with those of conventional gasoline. We also analyzed the bio-acetone that is coproduced with bio-butanol as an alternative to petroleum-based acetone. Our study shows that,while the use of corn-based butanol achieves energy benefits and reduces greenhouse gasemissions, the results are affected by the methods used to treat the acetone that is co-produced inbutanol plants.1 INTRODUCTIONLiquid fuel use accounts for the single largest share of petroleum oil consumption in theUnited States. In 2006, the United States consumed more than 20 million barrels of crude oil perday; 66% of this total was used in the transportation sector. Motor vehicles alone consumed140 billion gallons of gasoline and 50 billion gallons of diesel in 2006. Gasoline use hasincreased as a result of the growth in light-duty vehicle (LDV) travel in the past 20 years. TheEnergy Information Administration projected that transportation fuel use will continue to growup to 30% by 2030 (Conti 2007).
2On the petroleum supply side, the United States relies heavily on foreign oil (13.7 millionbarrels per day, EIA 2007). The world’s most oil-rich region has become extremely unstable,which heightens energy security concerns. Furthermore, competition for petroleum oil hasincreased dramatically as a result of rapid economic growth in developing countries. Finally,exploration, production, and use of petroleum-based fuels generate greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, which are the primary cause of global warming, as confirmed in a recent reportprepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007).Considering the challenges facing the United States in its continued reliance on fossilbased fuels in the transportation sector, many researchers are exploring other alternatives.Finding a liquid transportation fuel that (1) can be produced from domestic resources, (2) iscarbon neutral, and (3) has minimal GHG impacts would allow the United States to reduce ourdependence on foreign oil and decrease environmental burdens. In a recent State of Unionaddress, the President stated his goal of displacing 20% of gasoline demand by renewable fuelsand vehicle efficiency improvement — that translates to 35 billion gallons of biofuels andalternative fuels in 10 years.Following dramatic growth in the ethanol industry, corn ethanol (EtOH) productionreached a record 4.9 billion gallons in 2006. Yet, this total accounts for only 2.3% of the totalU.S. gasoline supply (in gallons of gasoline equivalent). Even considering a U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) projection that corn ethanol production could reach 12 billion gallons by2017 (Collins 2007), a large gap remains to be filled by biofuels. Therefore, developments infeedstocks, processing technologies, and new biofuels are urgently needed if the United States isto meet the President’s target of 35 billion gallons per year by 2017.Among potential biofuels, butanol (BuOH) produced from starch has gained visibility inrecent years as a replacement for gasoline. Butanol has unique properties as a fuel. The energycontent of butanol — 99,840 Btu per gallon (low heating value [LHV]) — is 86% of the energycontent of gasoline (on a volumetric basis) and 30% higher than the energy content of ethanol.The low water solubility of butanol could minimize the co-solvency concern associated withethanol, consequently decreasing the tendency of microbial-induced corrosion in fuel tanks andpipelines during transportation and storage. Butanol is much less evaporative than gasoline orethanol, making it safer to use and generating fewer volatile organic compound (VOC)emissions. The majority of butanol used as a chemical is produced from petroleum propylenethrough the Oxo process (in which synthetic gas [syngas] is reacted with propylene), and itsultimate end use is for surface coatings.The most dominant bio-butanol production process has been acetone-butanol-ethanol(ABE) fermentation. ABE fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum was the route used toproduce butanol during World War II. It was phased out when more economical petrochemicalroutes emerged. Now, almost all butanol in the world is produced from petrochemicalfeedstocks. Research interest in developing viable ABE fermentation processes has beenrekindled recently as a result of the pursuit of non-fossil-based feedstocks.In the past 20 years, research and development (R&D) efforts have focused on variousaspects of the ABE process. Molecular biology research has achieved major breakthroughs in
3strain/mutant development that dramatically improved microbial tolerance to butanol toxicity,which resulted in a significant increase in ABE solvent production yield. Experimental andcomputational engineering efforts have included designing new schemes to minimize butanolinhibition by using new fermentor configurations, improved downstream processing, and processintegration. Huang et al. (2004) reported an experimental process that uses continuousimmobilized cultures of Clostridium tyrobutyricum and Clostridium acetobutylicum to maximizethe production of hydrogen and butyric acid and convert butyric acid to butanol separately in twosteps. This process reportedly produced butanol at a rate of 4.64 grams per liter of fermentationmedium per hour (g/L/h) and used 42% glucose, compared with the up-to-25% glucose use ratein traditional ABE fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum alone.In the early, 1990s Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 was developed by using chemicalmutagenesis together with selective enrichment, which is able to produce twice as much butanolas its parent strain (US Patent 6358717). Extensive studies have been performed to characterizethis strain and develop an ABE process with various feedstocks and evaluate technologies fordownstream product separation (Qureshi and Blaschek 1999; Parek et al. 1999; Qureshi andBlaschek 2001a and 2001b). Experimental and pilot-scale ABE fermentation processes by thisorganism resulted in up to 95.1% glucose utilization in fermentation. Using in-situ gas stri
CEH Chemical Economics Handbook CH 4 methane CO carbon monoxide CO 2 carbon dioxide DDGS distiller’s dried grain with solubles DOE Department of Energy EIA Energy Information Administration EtOH ethanol GHG greenhouse gas GREET Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation GV gasoline vehicles .
HHMI Biointeractive: Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn Video with Activity and Other Resources How Stuff Works: Corn Video Section 2: Types of Corn Corn Types Quizlet Corn Types Card Sort Corn Types KERNEL Card Game Section 3: Corn Growth and De
2.1 Life cycle techniques in life cycle sustainability assessment 5 2.2 (Environmental) life cycle assessment 6 2.3 Life cycle costing 14 2.4 Social life cycle assessment 22 3 Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment in Practice 34 3.1 Conducting a step-by-step life cycle sustainability assessment 34 3.2 Additional LCSA issues 41 4 A Way Forward 46
maize act as a good source of minerals, dietary fiber and vitamins. There exist different types of corn for instance pop corn, dent corn, flour corn, sweat corn and flint corn. Spring season consider as the best time period for maize plantation and the corn is unable to tolerate coolness. The plant grows rapidly with the moisture soil.
Status of Resistance to Bt corn ! First Bt lepidopteran active traits registered in 1996 in U.S. (Bt corn borer). ! High dose expression (25 X the lethal concentration [LC] 99) for European corn borer. ! Field-evolved resistance documented in four lepidopteran species: Fall armyworm: Cry1F in Bt corn (Puerto Rico) (Storer et al. 2010)
was made from recycled plastic and wood flour composite through injection-moulding process [8]. Corn or maize is the most widely planted crop in the world. Corn husk is the leafy shell covering the corn. In general, corn husks are the leftovers after the corns were harvested and corn husk is the non-food part of the corn and it is usually left .
--Insect Petting Zoo with hissing cockroaches, drone bees, tarantula, Among the recipes featured at the Insect Tasting Event: Corn Borer Corn Bread: Use favorite corn bread recipe and substitute 1/2 cup ground dry roasted corn borer larvae for 1/2 cup corn meal. Any larvae without hairs or bright colors can be substituted for corn borer larvae.
Oct 06, 1994 · into the most diversified and integrated of the grain processing industries. The corn refining industry produces hundreds of products and byproducts, such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn syrup, starches, animal feed, oil, and alcohol. In the corn wet milling process, the corn kernel is (see Figure 2-1) separated
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) "Phase of life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts for a product system throughout the life cycle of the product" (ISO 14040:2006, section 3.4) Life Cycle Interpretation "Phase of life cycle assessment in which the .
