Oklahoma Bioenergy Center annual report

              The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is a research and
collaboration focused on making Oklahom a Ie
a renewable, economically viable an vir
/ The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is a
research and economic development
collaboration focused on making Oklahoma
a leader in the United States' quest for
a renewable, economically viable and
environmentally conscious energy source.
The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is a
collaboration among the University of
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
Working together, these internationally
renowned institutions are coordinating the
research and delivery of outcomes to:
• Achieve the competitive and sustainable
production of liquid biofuels in
Oklahoma; and
• Contribute to the national research effort
to achieve federally mandated levels of
biofuels production and reduce the
United States' dependence on foreign
oil.
New challenges bring new
opportunities
In December 2007, the President signed
the Energy Independence and Security Act
(EISA). The EISA mandates the production
of 36 billion gallons of biofuels annually
by 2022 - with at least 16 billion of the 36
billon gallons taking the form of cellulosic
ethanol.
In 2008, the United States produced more
than 9.2 billion gallons of ethanol. This
ethanol was "starch" ethanol produced
exclusively from grain, such as com or
milo. However, the use of these traditional
food-producing plants led to a necessary
debate about whether food-based crops
should be grown and harvested to produce
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
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fuel. While the EISA permits the limited
expansion of starch ethanol production
through 2015 (thereafter it is capped at
15 billion gallons annually), the future of
ethanol production is cellulosic ethanol.
What is cellulosic ethanol?
Cellulosic ethanol is a fuel additive
made from plant fiber rather than
com or sorghum grain. Sources of
cellulose are abundant and include
corn stalks, wheat straw, alfalfa
stems, wood, forestry residues and
switchgrass. Cellulosic and starch
ethanol are chemically identical. In
2006, more than 50 percent of the
gasoline used in the United States
contained ethanol.
Awhole-system approach to a
complex challenge
To produce the required volume of biofuels
each year, every geographic region within
the United States will have the opportunity
to contribute. The manner and level to
which each region contributes will likely be
driven by many factors: crop productivity;
soil type, rainfall and other environmental
factors; and historical production patterns.
In Oklahoma, agricultural history
has shown that com and wheat are
economically productive only in certain
regions of the state. Forests occupy the
southeastern extremes of the state, and
native and introduced pastures are found
across the central and western portions
of the state. All of these "crops" may
eventually contribute to Oklahoma's role as
a bioenergy leader.
With such diversity and a desire to
make a timely impact, the scientists and
researchers representing the Oklahoma
Bioenergy Center took a practical approach
to establishing the Center's initial research
priorities. They answered the question:
What will best benefit Oklahoma and its
agricultural producers?
/
ic development
in the United States' quest for
ally conscious energy source.
Unlike other state or national biofuels
research initiatives, the Oklahoma
Bioenergy Center has focused and
is coordinating its research effort to
address the entire spectrum of the
bioenergy process "from the field to the
biorefinery." The Oklahoma Bioenergy
Center capitalizes on the strengths of the
contributing institutions, taking a "whole-system"
approach - moving and integrating
the discoveries and innovations of one
research program to the next research
program to enable the delivery of an
integrated solution for Oklahoma and its
agricultural producers.
Beyond switchgrass and
cellulosic ethanol
While the primary research focus of the
Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is cellulosic
ethanol produced from switchgrass,
secondary research of the Center includes:
• oilseed feedstock production (for
biodiesel production);
• winter canol a production (for biodiesel
production);
• sweet sorghum processing for on-farm
production of ethanol;
• alfalfa improvement (as a companion
crop for non-legume cellulosic crops);
• forage sorghum demonstration (for
cellulosic ethanol production); and
• enhanced oil extraction and other
processing for oilseed feedstocks (for
biodiesel production).
What are synthetic fuels?
Synthetic fuels are liquid transpor-tation
fuels produced from carbon-based
materials-coal, natural gas
or biomass - as a direct replacement
for traditional gasoline and diesel.
For such synthetic fuels, the goal is
to convert materials, for example,
plant material such as switchgrass,
into commercial grade transporta-tion
fuels. Continued investment
and focus on research today is
necessary to bring this technology
to the marketplace tomorrow.
J
Demonstration Projects
Distinguishing the Oklahoma Bioenergy
Center from other state and national re-search
initiatives, the Board of Directors and
Scientific Steering Committee undertook to
establish production-scale demonstration
fields - totaling more than 1,300 acres - for
cellulosic energy crops, including sorghum
and switchgrass. The critical piece to this
demonstration effort is the world's first
1,OOO-acrefield site located near Guymon
new collaborations involving out-of-state
contributors, including Abengoa Bioenergy,
a world leader in the production of biofuels;
Idaho National Laboratory, the lead national
laboratory responsible for biomass supply
and logistics for the U.S. Department of
Energy; Ceres, Inc., the leading developer
and supplier of dedicated energy crops; and
AGCO Corporation, one of the world's larg-est
manufacturers and distributors of agri-cultural
equipment. In addition, the demon-stration
fields have enabled the involvement
of critical in-state resources, for example,
Hitch Enterprises of Guymon, a multigen-erational
Oklahoma family enterprise that
brings agricultural expertise and credibility
to this emerging industry.
OBe receives national
attention for demonstration
fields
On April 23, 2008, the Oklahoma
Bioenergy Center issued a press
release detailing the operations at
the 1,000-acre Guymon switchgrass
field site and its contribution to the
national biofuels research effort.
The story was published across the
United States. A few of these na-tional
publications include:
• Biofuels Digest
• Biofuels Journal
• Ethanol Producer Magazine
• U.S. Dept. of Energy
News Service
Los Angeles Times
Forbes
• Houston Chronicle
• Dallas Morning News
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch ("'\
• Kansas City Star
The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center dem-onstration
fields also serve as "living
classrooms" where agricultural producers,
policymakers and the general public can see
and experience these crops, and how they
will playa key role in the United States'
energy future. Specifically, in October 2008,
Oklahoma State University's South Central
Research Station in Chickasha hosted a field
day that provided an excellent educational
forum for Oklahoma agricultural producers,
legislators and educators. The field day, Fuel
from the Field-Oklahoman Grown, pro-vided
more than 200 participants a firsthand
look at storage techniques for forage crops
and cellulosic feedstocks, in-field production
for ethanol from sweet sorghum, agronomic
considerations for sorghum production and
conversion of biomass to ethanol. Addition-ally,
the field day included an industrial
panel, discussing the potential equipment
needs of this emerging industry, which
included representatives from John Deere,
Livingstone Machinery Co., Case IH and
New Holland, Inc.
directed to the production of dedicated
energy crops for the production of biofuels
or bioenergy. While this emerging industry
has relied on small plots (i.e., 5- to 20-acre
plots) to make long-term and industry-wide
decisions, the leadership of the Oklahoma
Bioenergy Center has created a national
resource that enables critical knowledge to
be gathered to initiate and then contribute to
a sustaining industry.
The demonstration fields of the Oklahoma
Bioenergy Center provide academia and in-dustry
a unique "living laboratory" to under-stand
the production and long-term impact
of bioenergy crops, as well as experiment
with new production techniques and critical
harvest, collection and transport methods.
Specifically, the demonstration fields enable
What to expect in 2009
Funding. As a consequence of planning and stewarding the prior re-sources
provided by the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma Bioenergy
Center has structured its research programs to use the actual funds ($14
million), rather than planned funds ($30 million), allocated to the Center.
It is projected that the existing research and demonstration programs have
sufficient state funding to continue through early- to mid-2010.
In 2009, the Center's scientists will apply for federal funds, both stimu-lus
and competitive, to complement the state's investment in this initia-tive.
The grant application process for these federal funds will be highly
competitive. While the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center is well positioned to
compete for such funds, it is impossible to forecast the rate of success.
For 2010, it is anticipated that there will exist significant funding chal-lenges:
(a) sustaining the multiyear research and demonstration programs
that have been initiated and are currently ongoing; and (b) providing the
required cost share (20 percent-50 percent) of any federal competitive
awards received in 2009-2010.
Research. Scientists participating in the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center will
continue to conduct research for those programs and projects that have
been currently funded. At the conclusion of each year, these scientists
prepare and submit written progress reports to the Scientific Steering
Committee, which are reviewed and evaluated for continued funding.
As the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center Guymon demonstration fields mature,
new research projects will be designed to take advantage of and leverage
these production-scale resources. In particular, scientists and researchers
will begin groundbreaking (and industry-critical) research in the areas of
harvest, collection and storage. Moreover, research initiated at the Okla-homa
State University's South Central Research Station in Chickasha in
2008 will be expanded beyond sorghum to include switchgrass.
Public Outreach and Education. Oklahoma State University will host
Fuel from the Field field day in the fall of 2009 at the Oklahoma State
University's South Central Research Station in Chickasha.
Further, scientists and researchers from the University of Oklahoma,
Oklahoma State University and the Noble Foundation will seek to publish
their research and attend national and international meetings to present
the outcomes of their Center-funded research. Additionally, administrators
from these institutions and representatives from the Oklahoma Office of
the Secretary of Energy will continue to speak at state and national meet-ings
regarding the pacesetting Oklahoma Bioenergy Center, the generos-ity
of the Oklahoma Legislature, the progress and relationships that have
been achieved and the expectations for Oklahoma's bioenergy future.
Oklahoma Bioenergy Center Funding
~I
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$2
$0
iii State funding (initial
commitment)"
II State funding (actual)
W'nstituonal cost sharing
(contribution of indirect cost)
iii Program expansion (federal)··
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
* In 2007, Gov. Henry signed into law the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center Act creating the Oklahoma Bioenergy
Center. The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center was planned as a four-year, $40 million initiative .
• * Includes both competitive and appropriated federal funding to initiate new research and demonstration projects to
complement the programs initiated and sustained by the state's core Oklahoma Bioenergy funding.
Oklahoma Bioenergy Center
Board of Directors
David Fleischaker
Jolen Operating Co.
Larry Grillot, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Stephen McKeever, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University
Steven Rhines
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Michael Udvardi, Ph.D.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Robert Whitson, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University
Lee Williams, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Scientific Steering Committee
Joe Bouton, Ph.D.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Terry Collins, Ph.D., P.E.
Oklahoma State University
Billy Cook, Ph.D.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Rick Dixon, D.Phil.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Raymond Huhnke, Ph.D., P.E.
Oklahoma State University
Lance Lobban, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Ken Nicholas, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
David Porter, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University
Jizhong Zhou, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Whole-System Research Approach
Crop Development
Identify, evaluate and improve the best plant materials to increase yield, sustainability, conversion efficiency
and biofuel output.
Exemplary projects:
• Increasing biomass lignin content for enhanced (gasification) conversion
• Improving biomass yield and seed quality in switchgrass
•---• •---•
Crop Production
Develop establishment and management tools and procedures for dedicated energy crops.
Exemplary projects:
• Use and value of switchgrass in a dual-purpose stocker cattle and bioenergy system
• Field evaluation of switchgrass nutrient dynamics and requirements in Oklahoma
• Economics and impact of poultry manure and composted manure on soil quality and yield (compared to chemical
fertilizers) among potential biofuel crops
•---• •---•
Harvest, Collection and Transport
Design new solutions to harvest, process, collect and move high-yielding, commercial energy crops.
Exemplary projects:
�� Harvesting and handling equipment to meet the demands of cellulosic biomass under indigenous
growing conditions
• Modeling the logistics value chain for switchgrass and economics of alternative strategies for the emerging
Oklahoma cellulosic biomass industry
• Critical processing issues for on-farm production of ethanol from sweet sorghum
\ •--• '/ . •--• I '. I ,.•,..
Conversion
Formulate the most effective and economical way to transform new feedstocks - like switchgrass - into biofuels
that burn efficiently, reduce greenhouse gasses and are compatible with today's engines and fuel pumps.
Exemplary projects:
• Improvement of ethanol production from CO, C02 and H2 by the autotrophic species C. carboxidivorans p7 and
p 11 using Oklahoma cellulosic biomass
• Catalytic processes for conversion of pyrolysis oil
• Design, fabricate and evaluate an 8-million-BTU per hour (12 tons of biomass per day), down-draft, gasifier
system (bioconversion unit) for decentralized energy and power production
.
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