Biofuels in the EU27

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UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN & AVANS UNIVERSITY OF

APPLIED SCIENCES

Biofuels in the EU27

Biofuel production potentials in the EU27 in relative to the

Renewable Energy Directive

rdayangk

Supervisors: Dr. Rene Benders, Gideon Laugs, Jan Hessels Miedema.

Tutor: Dr. Stijn Mattheij

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List of figures

Figure 1: EU directive on the application of biomass in the transport sector9

Figure 2: Goals of the Renewable Energy Directive

Figure 3: OECD- FAO Projections of bioethanol and biodiesel production from energy crops between the

years 2013-2022

Figure 4: Roadmap showing different routes of biofuel conversions

Figure 5: Summary of energy potentials obtained from the different conversion routes

List of tables

Table 1: EU27 biofuel demands according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plans

Table 2: Availability of resources from waste streams in the EU27 measures in kilotons (kt) under study

Panoutsou, 2009

Table 3: Energy densities and potentials of bioethanol and biodiesel from energy crops in the year 2020 Table 4: Energy densities and potentials for the different sectors of second generation biomass

Table 5: Conversion process and energy potentials of biomass into biofuels from agricultural sectors Table 6: Conversion process and energy potentials of biomass into biofuels from forestry sectors Table 7: Conversion process and energy potentials of biomass into biofuels from industrial sectors Table 8: Conversion process and energy potentials of biomass into biofuels from waste sectors Table 9: Suitable biomass resource and best routes for bioethanol production

Table 10: Suitable biomass resource and best routes for biodiesel production Table 11: Suitable biomass resource and best routes for green gas production

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Executive summary

A directive on renewable energy has been implemented in 2009 in the European Union as an approach to eliminate fossil fuel dependencies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the use of biofuels up to 10% in the transport sector. In addition, in order to prevent Indirect Land Use emissions and competition for food and feed due to the higher demands for biofuels, the European Commission has proposed amendments to the directive to limit food based biofuels (first generation biomass) to 5%, therefore non-food based biofuels (second generation biomass) should be accounted to the 10% target.

The main goal of this research was to examine if domestic bio-fuel production of biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas/green gas from first and second generation biomass will be able to reach the 10% share of renewable energy in the transport sector in the EU. In this paper, the demands and production potentials of conventional and advanced biofuels are given, as well as the availability of biomass. In addition, several conversion technologies to convert bio-degradable fraction of products into biofuels are briefly discussed. The energy potentials of biofuels produced from second generation biomass through the discussed conversion routes are also included in this paper. This study assumes that all biomass that is available will be used for road transport only.

Biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas demands are 904 PJ, 303 PJ and 35 PJ respectively. First generation biodiesel and bioethanol production in the EU by the year 2020 are 660 PJ and 294 PJ respectively. As the proposal limits food-based biofuels to up to 5%, approximately 452 PJ of bio-diesel and 152 PJ of bioethanol that is produced from first generation biomass could be used.

For second generation biofuels, the pyrolysis- hydro cracking or gasification- Fischer Tropsch of 48 Mt wood fuels gives 484 PJ, which will be sufficient to cover the last half of biodiesel demands. Bioethanol demands could be achieved with the hydrolysis-fermentation of 11 Mt of industrial solids delivering energy potentials of approximately 160 PJ. The EU demands for biogas i.e. 35 PJ can be covered from the anaerobic digestion of black liquor. The production and processing of 4 Mt of black liquor into biogas/green gas within the EU amounts to a total of 37 PJ. There is enough biomass resources available in the EU27 for the production of biofuels for the transport sector.

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1. Introduction

The transport sector in the European Union (EU) accounts for more than 30% of the total energy consumption and is currently highly dependent on fossil fuels with high share of imports[ CITATION Bio06 \l 1043 ]. The transport sector is considered to be one of the main reasons for unsuccessfully meeting the Kyoto protocol targets, which is to reduce/prevent emissions that causes climate change[ CITATION Uni98 \l 1043 ][ CITATION Eur14 \l 1043 ]. A Renewable energy directives has been introduced to eliminate fossil fuel dependencies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the use of renewable sources up to 10% in the transport sector. In this research study, the production potentials and demands for bio-fuels for transport in the EU (as a whole) will be analyzed.

1.1 General background.

Bio-fuels are emerging as an alternative to modern day conventional fuels such as diesel, gasoline and petrol in the transport sector. The application of biomass has risen since the proposal of the directives 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of bio-fuels in the transport sector with reference values of 2% market share for bio-fuels in 2005 and 5.75% share in 2010[ CITATION Eur03 \l 1043 ].

The directive requires mixing fossil fuels with bio-fuels. However, scholars, NGOs and the bio-fuel industry have raised concerns with regards to its sustainability. As a result of this, the directive has been withdrawn, creating a mandatory directive: The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) (Directive 2009/28/EC)[ CITATION Mar13 \l 1043 ]. The RED promotes not only bio-fuels, but renewable energy as a whole, setting obligatory national renewable energy targets to accomplish a 20% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption and a 10% share of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector.

In October 2012, a new proposal from the European Commission for the amendments of the RED was

published. The goal of the proposal is to further stimulate advanced/2nd_{generation bio-fuels while not}

affecting existing investments. Food-based bio-fuels are limited to a maximum of 5% without altering the 10% renewable energy target in 2020[ CITATION PBL13 \l 1043 ].

Member states are required to produce their own National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP) where they need to set out the targets, the path they will follow, the technology mix they presume to use and the measure they will take to overcome the barriers to develop renewable energy[ CITATION Ene14 \l 1043 ]. In addition, the European Commission has devoted itself to produce a biomass action plan, drawing attention to the need for a coordinated approach to the biomass policies[ CITATION The04 \l 1043 ]. The biomass action plans objectives are to further promote bio-fuels in the EU, prepare large

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production for large-scale production of bio-fuels. The action plan provides measures to optimize the development of biomass energy from wood, wastes and agricultural crops in heating, electricity and transport, followed by measures affecting supply, financing and research[ CITATION Eur05c \l 1043 ].

The purpose of this study is to analyze the demands for biofuels in the year 2020 according to the NREAPs, and to foresee if demands can match domestic production potential of bio-fuels in Europe (EU27).

1.2 Project goal.

Each member state is required to produce their own action plans describing their measures to achieve the goals of the renewable energy directive. The action plans include the demands for biofuels by the year 2020 to reach the 10% target. The main goal of this study is therefore;

 To examine if domestic bio-fuel production can match the 10% share of renewable energy

demands in the transport sector in the EU27 region.

As a result of the proposal by the European commission to limit food based biofuels to 5% and to account advanced biofuels into the 10% target, a sub goal is included in the research.

 To examine if the 10% target could be accomplished with 5% conventional biofuels and 5%

advanced biofuels.

1.3 Research boundaries

Various studies have been carried out to determine the availability of land and biomass feedstock, its respective energy potentials, efficiencies of conversion technologies, selection of feedstock as well as its sustainability of production. A literature review will be carried out in the said areas of studies to determine the availability and production potentials of bio-fuels in the EU27.

The project has not covered the following fields:

 Conversion of biomass for electricity, heating and cooling purposes,

 Renewable electricity and H2 for transport,

 Liquid biofuel; Bio-methane. No figures for the demands on bio-methane could be obtained,

 Economic factors such as the production costs of bio-fuel resources and transportation costs,

 Third generation bio-fuels (such as those derived from aquatic environments (algae) or bushes),

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The main study elements that were in focus for this research are:

 Conversion of biomass into liquid and gaseous bio-fuels for road transport. The main bio-fuels

for study are those developing within the member states markets namely bio-diesel, bio-ethanol and biogas/green gas.

 Production potentials of biofuels from 1st_{generation biomass such as those derived from starch,}

sugar and oil crops, and 2nd_{generation biomass from wastes, residues and materials of}

cello-lignose streams from agricultural, industrial ,forestry and waste sectors.

 Biofuel demands in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans for each Member States in the

EU27.

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2. Methodology

In order to be able to achieve the goals of the research, a series of questions have been used to offer structure and to ensure all relevant information is assessed. In addition, several data’s such as the biomass availability and production potentials of bio-fuels were researched and collected.

2.1 Research questions

The goal of the project is achieved by answering a series of questions to ensure all relevant information is evaluated. These are:

EU legislations

 What is described in the EU legislations?

 How exact are the action plans to be complied with?

Bio-fuel demands in EU27

 What is the demand for biomass in the year 2020?

 How will this demand relate to the annual available biomass resources in EU27?

Bio-fuel production in EU27

 What is the production potential of 1st_{generation bio-fuels in the EU27?}

 Which types of 2nd_{generation biomasses are available and what are its production potentials in}

the EU27?

 Is this amount enough to achieve the 10% target in the transport sector domestically or are

imports necessary?

2.2 Research design

The data for biomass availability were obtained through a statistical analysis approach. Statistical data contain empirically derived or modeled statistics of key determinants of biomass resource availability and use. The statistical analysis approach takes into account the demand for biomass for other purposes, such as food and fiber.

The data collections were divided into a series of steps:

1) The first step was to find the demands for bio-fuels. The demands were obtained from the National Renewable Energy Action Plans for all countries in the European Union. The bio-fuels were divided into three categories; bio-diesel, bio-ethanol and bio-gas/green gas. Each Member States were obligated to produce their own action plans in order to carry out the requirements

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action plans as long as the targets of the directive will achieve the 10% target share from renewable sources in the transport sector. Each country has its own specific demand for bio-fuel. These were added together to find the sum of the demand for the different types of bio-fuels of all Member States in the EU.

2) The second step was to find the production potentials of bio-fuels from first generation biomass. First generation biomass includes crops grown for energy purposes such as cereals, sugar beets, rape seed, etc. The data were obtained from the OECD-FAO agricultural outlook database for the years 2013-2022.

3) The third step was to find the production potentials of bio-fuels from second generation biomass in the EU. Second generation biomass includes the residues from agricultural, forestry, industrial and municipal waste sectors. The data were obtained from the studies of Panoutsou et al on the biomass supply in EU27 from 2010 to 2030.

4) The next step was to find the best/suitable conversion technologies to produce bio-fuels with the highest energy potential from the different available biomass feed stocks. An energy analyses of biomass resources into biofuels was conducted. Several technologies with different conversion efficiencies were used for the calculations, and based on the calculations, the technology that produces the bio-fuels with the highest energy potential is selected.

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3. EU legislations

As a result of the transport sector being one of the most important contributors to high greenhouse gas emissions and high consumption of limited fossil fuels, the EU has taken actions to reduce and prevent this predicament by the introduction and implementation of legislations. These legislations include the application of biomass in order to reduce the utilization of fossil fuels within the transport sector. Figure 1 shows the timeline and a basic description of the legislations that were created and adopted for the application of biomass in the transport sector.

Figure 1: EU directives on the application of biomass in the transport sector.

The directive 2003/30/EC, better known as the Biofuel Directive promotes the mixing of bio-fuels with conventional fuels such as petrol and diesel in the transport sector. The goals of the directive were to improve energy security, support agriculture and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, there were concerns raised regarding the sustainability and as a result of this, the directive has been withdrawn and is replaced by the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in 2009. The RED is the leading directive which accelerates Member States in the European Union to take measures to reduce dependencies on fossil fuels by replacing them with renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass. It covers the main targets with respect to the use of bio-fuels. Figure 2 shows the goals of the RED.

Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of

bio-fuels in the transport sector with reference values of 2%

market share for bio-fuels in 2005 and 5.75% share in

2010.

Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of

bio-fuels in the transport sector with reference values of 2%

market share for bio-fuels in 2005 and 5.75% share in

2010.

2003

Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of

energy from renewable sources (Renewable Energy

Directive) with reference values of 10% share of energy

from renewable sources in the transport sector.

Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of

energy from renewable sources (Renewable Energy

Directive) with reference values of 10% share of energy

from renewable sources in the transport sector.

2009

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Figure 2: Goals of the Renewable Energy Directive. National renewable energy action plans

In article 4 of RED, member states are required to establish and submit their own National Renewable Energy Action Plans, which set the share of energy from renewable sources consumed in transport and in the production of electricity and heating. In this action plan, their measures to achieve the goals of the renewable energy directive are described.

Member states fix their own targets, the technology they plan to use, the path they will follow and the actions and changes they will undertake to overcome the barriers to developing renewable energy in their action plan. These action plans are significant to understand the likely repercussions associated with meeting the RED targets[ CITATION Eur141 \l 1043 ].

Reporting by member states

Each Member State shall submit a report to the Commission on progress in the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources every two years. The report should provide details of the overall and sectoral shares of energy from renewable sources in the preceding two years and their measures planned or taken at national level to promote renewable energy sources.

In addition, the report should also contain the introduction and functioning of support schemes and other measures to promote energy from renewable sources, and any developments in the measures used with respect to those set out in the Member State’s national renewable energy action plan and progress made in evaluating and improving administrative procedures to remove regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to the development of energy from renewable sources.

RED

Ensures the reduction of greenhouse gases Ensures the reduction of greenhouse gases

20% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption 20% share of renewable energy in

gross final energy consumption

10% share of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector

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Moreover, member states should also include the developments in the availability and use of biomass resources for energy purposes and as well as the development and share of bio-fuels made from wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material, and lingo-cellulosic materials.

RED sustainability criteria for bio-fuels

Member states must follow a sustainability and compliance criteria for the production and imports of bio-fuels and bio-liquids in order to receive government support or count towards mandatory national renewable energy targets. The sustainability criterion is aimed at preventing production of bio-fuels and bio-liquids from raw materials originated from land with high bio-diversity value or with high carbon stock. An example is areas designated by law for nature protection purposes[ CITATION Int10 \l 1043 ].

The sustainability challenge relates to the whole supply chain, not only at the feedstock stage but also including the conversion efficiency of the technologies for utilizing biomass which need to be developed in order to meet the demanding standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As demands for bio fuels are rising and growing globally, their production can significantly contribute to the conversion of land such as wetlands and forests into agricultural land which leads to the increased in greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC) can compromise the reduction or more severe, can wipe out the greenhouse gas savings from bio fuels.

ILUC emissions are the unintended consequence of releasing more carbon emissions due to land use changes such as the expansion of croplands for ethanol or biodiesel production in response to the increased demand for biofuels. To account for this, in October 2012, the European Commission proposed amending the Renewable Energy Directive to include ILUC factors in the reporting of the greenhouse gas emission savings from biofuels under the directive . Food-based biofuels often

contribute to land conversion. The Commission has proposed to limit the amount of food-based bio

fuels that can be counted towards the Renewable Energy Directive targets of reaching a 10% share of renewable energy in the transport sector. The proposed limit for food-based bio fuels is 5%. This limit will allow non food based bio fuels such as those derived from wastes, residues and materials of ligno-cellulose streams from agricultural, industrial and forestry sectors, and water treatment plants to be counted towards the 10% target.

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4. Bio-fuel demands

This chapter gives an overview of the demands for bio-ethanol, biodiesel and bio gas for each of the Member States of the EU according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). The demands for biofuels totals to the 10% target for renewable in the transport sector of the RED. Member States of the EU are required to produce their own NREAPs showing the roadmap to 2020, the mix of renewable technology detailed for transport, where the existing and foreseen measures are explained such as the measures for reducing administrative and regulatory barriers[ CITATION Ene14 \l 1043 ]. Some NREAPs such as from Finland and Romania provide only partial evidence on how the targets will be reached, despite the fact that a number of them have to achieve challenging improvements. Others include inconsistent figures for the renewable energy trajectory.

Table 1 shows the bio-fuel demands for each country in the EU27. According to this table, biodiesel has the largest contribution in 2020, followed by bioethanol. Biodiesel represents the main renewable energy alternative to fossil fuels in transport , as a result, consumption and demand is expected to rise[ CITATION Eur13 \l 2057 ].

The net energy balance (NEB) of biofuels is an important measure to quantify the ratio of usable energy gained versus the amount of energy required to produce the fuel. Biodiesel has a higher NEB than ethanol, providing 93% more energy than was required for its production, while ethanol has a net energy balance of 25%[ CITATION JHi06 \l 2057 ]. In addition, most vehicles in the EU operate with conventional diesel engines in place of vehicles with gasoline engines. For instance, trucking fleets consists almost entirely of vehicles with diesel engines. Ethanol is not used in diesel engines primarily because of insufficient fuel lubricity, low cetane number, lack of miscibility in diesel fuel, and the propensity of alcohol to mix with water. For these reasons, biodiesel is a more preferred fuel than ethanol, and hence, the higher demand.

Countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom have higher demands for biofuels than other countries such as Malta, Denmark and Cyprus. Other reasons for higher demands in these countries is the government support such as tax exemptions that promotes the exploitation of biofuels, and their implementation of strict policies to drive biofuel production such as the Biofuel Quota Act (BioKraftQuG) of Germany where the law requires 8% of all transport fuel to be biofuels by 2015 [ CITATION Fed11 \l 2057 ]. Malta, Denmark and Cyprus are less active in developing such policies for biofuels, and have difficulty in acquiring support such as subsidies and tax exemptions from the government resulting in its lower demands.

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Table 1: EU27 bio-fuel demands according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plans.

Country:

Bio-fuel demands in 2020 (Ktoe)

Of which: Bio-fuel demand

in 2020 Bio-ethanol Bio-diesel Bio gas

Austria 584 80 410 94 Belgium 789 91 698 0 Bulgaria 287 60 220 11 Croatia 143 16 121 10 Cyprus 38 15 23 0 Czech republic 672 128 495 49 Denmark 11 4 7 0 Estonia 89 38 51 0.3 Finland 570 130 430 0 France 3660 650 2850 160 Germany 5562 857 4443 261 Greece 617 414 203 0 Hungary 511 304 202 5 Ireland 445 139 342 0.9 Italy 2530 600 1880 50 Latvia 77 18 28 31 Lithuania 171 36 131 0 Luxembourg 216 23 193 0 Malta 13 5 7 0 Netherlands 834 282 552 0 Poland 1968 451 1451 66 Portugal 477 27 450 0 Romania 659 163 326 7 Slovakia 190 75 110 5 Slovenia 192 19 174 0 Spain 3534 400 3100 4 Sweden 810 465 251 94 United Kingdom 4205 1743 2462 0 TOTAL 29853 (1250 PJ) (303 PJ)7233 (904 PJ)21610 (35 PJ)848

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5. Biomass availability

Section 5.1 gives the biofuels from first generation that is available in the EU27 and shows future projections to 2020. Section 5.2 gives the biomass originated from waste streams that is available in the EU27 that can be used for energy production. It is not yet certain for what purposes the second generation biomass will be used for, but in this study, it is assumed that all biomass available will be used to produce biofuels for transport.

5.1 First generation biomass

The data of biodiesel and bioethanol production potentials from starch, sugar and oil crops in the EU27 can be directly obtained from the OECD-FAO Agricultural outlook 2013-2022 data base. European Union ethanol production comes mainly from wheat, coarse grains, sugar beets and sugar cane. Wheat is the major feedstock for bioethanol production. In 2008, 70% of total European bioethanol production was based on wheat. On the second place comes barley, followed by corn and rye[ CITATION AAj10 \l 2057 ]. European Union bio-diesel production comes mainly from rapeseed oils. Only 3% of biodiesel production in the EU is produced from sunflower oil and 18% from soybean oil[ CITATION OEC13 \l 1043 ].

The data obtained gives the production potentials of ethanol and bio-diesel between the years 2013 and 2022. Figure 3 shows current and future projections of bio-fuel production in megatons (Mt). For the year 2020, the EU27 produces 11 Mt of bio-ethanol and 17.5 Mt of Bio-diesel.

The increase in production of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel shown in figure 3 is a result of the RED in the EU that promotes bio-fuel production[ CITATION OEC13 \l 2057 ]. Simultaneously, four broad groups of biofuel policy measures can be distinguished which promote domestic biofuel production for the year 2020[ CITATION Mar10 \l 2057 ]. These are;

1) Budgetary support, such as direct support to biomass supply and fuel tax exemptions for biofuel producers,

2) Blending mandates, which impose a minimum market share for biofuels in total transport fuel, 3) Trade measures in particular import tariffs, and,

4) Measures to stimulate productivity and efficiency improvements at various points in the supply and marketing chain such as stimulating research, technological development, promote investment in production capacity, facilitate the establishment of distribution networks and retail points for biofuels, regulate product quality standards in order to increase user confidence and provide information to consumers.

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Germany is the largest producer of biodiesel in the EU as the government has made a strong commitment to increase its use of renewable and green energy. Part of the stimulation for biofuel production in Germany is created by the global warming crisis and another part is created by energy independence. The German government supports biofuel production and environmental responsibility through several measures such as tax incentives for biodiesel and mandates on the percent of biofuel that vehicles must contain. France is the second largest producer of biodiesel in the EU where subsidy is granted for biofuel crop production as well as biofuel research and development.

Other reasons for projected increase in biofuel production are increased agricultural productivity, existence of land that is still available to be incorporated and incorporation of pasture lands. In addition,

production will increase due to the increase in area harvested and yield. Higher production growth is

expected from emerging economies which have invested in their agricultural sectors and where existing technologies offer good potential for closing the yield gap with the advanced economies.

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Bio-ethanol Bio-diesel Time (year) P ro du ct io n (M t)

Figure 3: OECD-FAO projections of bioethanol and biodiesel production from energy crops in the EU27 between the years 2013-2022.

5.2 Second generation biomass

The assessments for 2nd_{generation biomass resources in Panoutsou’s study are determined by various}

definitions for availability as well as the reliability of homogeneous datasets across regions[ CITATION Cal09 \l 1043 ]. The accuracy of the assessments is further restricted by the constantly expanding set of assumptions on which the availability is based on such as from land uses and resources yielding potentials to conflict with other markets and future demand (policy and industry related).

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Adding to the complexity, the biomass feedstock matrix, i.e. the production, collection, harvesting storage, processing, etc. of feed stocks across Europe is different and some resources have no market and remain in forest and agricultural fields after harvesting operations. These are not traded, and hence there are no official statistics[ CITATION Cal09 \l 1043 ].

The biomass availability assessment in the study of Panoutsou et al was structured in four different steps but for this study, the data that were obtained only concern the results from the following steps:

1) The first step was to find country specific information on the theoretical resources potential, defined as the total annual production of all resources. This potential represents the total quantity of biomass resources in a region.

2) The second step was to find country specific information on the available technical resource potential, defined as all resources available with estimated, realistic limits, considering technical, physical, environment and agronomic factors. Economic boundaries were taken into account as far as alternative uses create unrealistically high opportunity costs for biomass to be used for energy.

For this study, obtaining data on the availability of 2nd_{generation biomass begins with the total available}

technical resource potential after taking into account the physical, environmental, economic and agronomic factors (step 2) with a reference year of 2000 or as close to 2000 as possible. According to Panoutsou et al, all resources are assumed to be growing at an average rate of 1%-4.5% a year from the years 1990 to 2020[ CITATION Cal09 \l 1043 ].The total available quantity of biomass in this study is given in kilotons (kt). Data for some countries such as Malta, Cyprus and Luxemburg were either not available or presented very low values for the examined feedstocks and therefore it was decided to not include them in this study.

5.2.1 Sector analysis

Second generation biomass in this study is divided into four different sectors namely; agricultural, forestry, industrial and waste sectors.

Agricultural sector

The agricultural sector consists of solid agricultural residues and livestock waste. Agricultural residues include a wide range of plant material produced along with the main product of the crop. Examples of these types of residues that could be used for energy production are cereal, straw, fruit tree pruning, corn stems and cobs etc. Livestock wastes include wet animal manure and dry manure such as poultry

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Forestry Sector

The forestry sector consists of wood fuels produced and forestry by-products during logging activities, forest thinning and cleanings, etc. Forest residues include tree branches, tops of trunks, stumps, branches, and leaves. Wood fuels include firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. No separate figures were found for forestry residues and wood fuels in Central Eastern European Countries (CEEC). The combined figures are reported under combined forestry by-products and refined wood fuels (FBY+RWF) in table 1.

Industrial sector

The industrial sector consists of industrial solids and black liquor. Solid industrial residues consist mainly of clean wood fractions from the secondary wood processing industry, dry lignocellulosic material (e.g., saw dust, husks, kernels, etc.) or from wet cellulosic material (e.g., sugar bagasse). Industrial black liquors are liquid by-products from the pulp industry that contain valuable energy and converted inorganic cooking chemicals. Black liquor, the lignin naturally occurring in wood, dissolved out with the hemi-cellulose during sulphate pulping normally burnt in recovery boilers to provide process heat and to recover the chemicals, was also included in this category. Probably a large resource of industrial residues is generated in the food industry. These residues may consist of wet cellulosic material (e.g. beet root tails), fats (used cooking oils) and proteins (slaughter house waste). These residues were excluded from this study due to lack of data.

Waste sector

The waste sector consists of sewage gas and bio-municipal wastes for landfills. Sewage sludge is the residual product from the treatment of urban and industrial wastewater. Bio-municipal wastes include those that are capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food and garden wastes, paper and paperboard.

5.2.2 Available quantity

Table 2 shows the total available quantity of the different biomass feedstock in kt. By mass, agricultural residues shows to be the highest amount of produced biomass in the EU 27, followed by livestock wastes and those from the forestry sector.

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Table 2: Availability of resources from wastes streams in EU27 measured in kilotons (kt) under study Panoutsou, 2009.

Agriculture Forestry Waste Industry

Country AR WM DM FBY RWF FBY+RWF SG BMW IS BL

Austria 500 110 118 8333 2389 212 196 2778 2491 Belgium 379 1990 468 411 18 113 981 700 760 Bulgaria 2681 145 119 2654 74 812 70 86 Croatia 1988 Cyprus Czech republic 796 116 300 1165 293 760 573 Denmark 1605 2486 179 611 389 200 133 278 161 Estonia 54 90 21 1600 35 199 350 48 Finland 541 768 67 5333 2778 158 373 2611 14354 France 22889 9441 1984 2111 14333 878 3582 2333 4508 Germany 7222 10570 917 7900 4722 2661 6529 2222 1676 Greece 3833 516 516 99 1100 86 612 590 Hungary 1439 1950 220 874 65 378 Ireland 117 2644 100 128 189 43 225 260 Italy 9072 5828 852 860 4611 924 2086 2000 177 Latvia 72 135 28 2267 14 143 667 Lithuania 340 247 54 1917 57 97 416 Luxembourg Malta Netherlands 620 4010 916 260 639 349 887 189 Poland 6930 9300 422 2267 256 1175 806 1103 Portugal 1433 832 298 1173 1522 238 75 1500 2240 Romania 4128 1308 589 6103 110 1326 1278 300 Slovakia 512 120 120 90 90 155 161 674 Slovenia 56 552 36 305 4 110 92 170 Spain 7006 4857 1090 3250 672 787 2647 4850 2250 Sweden 304 974 62 9333 3961 236 604 4148 12500 United Kingdom 3600 4950 1338 889 1500 1193 3723 667 195 TOTAL 76129 65811 10630 40691 38823 18377 9948 26963 30104 44266 Abbreviations: AR = Agricultural residues, WM= Wet Manure, DM= Dry Manure, FBY= Forestry By-products,

RFW= Refined Wood Fuels, FBY+RFW = Combined Forestry By-products and Refined Wood Fuels, SG= Sewage Gas, BMW= Bio-Municipal Waste, IS= Industrial Solids, BL= Black Liquor

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6. Conversion processes

So far first generation bio-fuels are being widely used in different parts of the world. Bioethanol is produced from fermentation of sugar crops whilst biodiesel is produced from the transesterification process. These technologies are considered to be quite efficient in converting the biomass into biofuels, however, first generation bio-fuels relies on food based biomass. This is a problem as the requirements for food around the world are a constraint. For this reason, new research focuses on technologies in developing second generation bio-fuels which do not conflict with food production.

This section discusses the several conversion technologies that are capable of converting the bio-degradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture, forestry and related industries, as well as the bio-degradable fraction of municipal wastes into other products such as bio-oil, bio-gas, sugars and syn-gas. These products can be fermented, refined or upgraded into liquid or gaseous fuel for transport. Another route is through a Fischer-Tropsch process whereby liquid fuels can be produced from gases such as syn-gas and biogas. Two categories of biomass conversion processes were briefly reviewed, in particular for its conversion efficiencies. These are thermo-chemical processes (Pyrolysis and gasification) and bio-chemical processes (Anaerobic digestion and enzymatic hydrolysis-fermentation).

Some of these technologies are not fully advanced and are only in pilot and demonstration scale. Major technical and economic hurdles are still to be faced before they can be widely deployed on a fully commercial scale. Significant investment in RD&D funding by both public and private sources is occurring to address these issues. Although so, it is still important to take them into account to analyze the possibilities and opportunities for future biofuel supply through these technologies once they are made available.

Second generation biomass generally need extensive processes to produce the desired biofuels comparing to first generation biomass because of the lignin that is present in the feedstock. Figure 4 shows the roadmap of various products that can be produced from the feedstocks in the first conversion technology, to the biofuels produced in the second conversion technologies.

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Fi gu re 4 : R oa dm ap s ho w in g di ff er en t r ou te s o f b io fu el c on ve rs io ns .

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6.1 Thermo-chemical conversion

Thermo-chemical conversion process is one that makes use of a chemical reaction induced by elevated temperatures and pressures to change the molecular structure of the input. The energy required to convert biomass into biofuel depends upon the energy needed to pyrolyze and gasify the fuel, clean the synthesis gas (syn-gas), compress the syn-gas to the pressures needed to synthesize liquid fuels and maintain the elevated temperature of the catalytic reactor.

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the thermo-chemical decomposition of biomass into liquids, gases or chars by applying heat with temperatures of about 450 °C, without the presence of an oxygenated environment. Pyrolysis has received increased interest since the process conditions can be optimized to maximize the production of liquids, gases or chars. Several factors affect the product yields and composition of biomass pyrolysis such as temperature, heating rate and residence time. As input to the pyrolysis process, almost any dried and granulated feedstock is acceptable such as agricultural residues, refined wood fuels, forestry by-products, solid industrials. sewage sludge need to be dewatered and dried before it can be used as inputs.

It is known from several studies that temperatures of 400-550 °C are able to give high yields of liquid products (bio-oil) and minimize char and gas formation[ CITATION Zha07 \l 1043 ][ CITATION AVB02 \l 1043 ]. This process condition is known as flash pyrolysis. The conversion of biomass to bio-oils using flash pyrolysis can have an efficiency of up to 70%[ CITATION Ayh01 \l 1043 ].Temperatures which exceed 650°C with slow heating rates favors the formation of gaseous products. Lower temperatures associated with slow heating rates are able to give high yields of chars[ CITATION Pat96 \l 1043 ].

For this study, the focus is on the formation of bio-oils through flash Pyrolysis. Production of char and gas has been ignored as the attention is diverted towards producing bio-fuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. Bio-oils can be further refined into bio-diesel in a process called bio-oil catalytic hydro-cracking[ CITATION PMM11 \l 1043 ]. At the bio-refinery plant, the bio-oil is fed into the system with temperatures of 150-280 °C supplied with sulphide oxide catalysts or transition metal catalysts. Hydro-Deoxygenated (HDO) oil is produced and is then processed by distillation to separate gasoline and diesel.

Bio-oils can also be upgraded into bio-ethanol in a process called bio-oil fermentation. This process is still under research and development. Information on its conversion efficiency could not be obtained, as a result of this, it was decided not to include them in this report.

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Gasification

The partial oxidation of biomass into gaseous compounds such as syn-gas and producer gas is a process known as gasification. Producer gas can be burned as a fuel gas in a boiler to produce heat, or can be used in an internal combustion engine for electricity generation or combined heat and power (CHP). Syn-gas can be used to produce synthetic natural gas (SNG) or liquid bio-fuels such as diesel via Fischer-Tropsch process. Solid residues such as chars and ash may also be formed during the process.

Gasification operates at high temperatures of about 1000°C. The quantity and composition of the gases produced depends on the reactor design, the temperature and pressure applied. Increasing the temperature increases the formation of gas whilst reducing the yield of chars. The conversion of biomass to syn-gas can have an efficiency of up to 70%[ CITATION Yan06 \l 1043 ]. Gasification of wood-fuels can have a higher efficiency of about 80% [ CITATION SRA02 \l 1043 ].In order for the gas to be able to be used for any of the above applications, it should be cleaned of tar and dust and be cooled.

Black liquor for example, may be gasified to produce biofuels. The lignin and hemi-cellulose are separated from cellulose in chemical pulping and the spent pulping chemicals from the black liquor. Black liquor is conventionally combusted in a recovery boiler to recover the chemicals and to generate steam and electricity in a steam turbine combined heat and power unit. Black liquor gasification is an alternative to the conventional recovery boiler that is currently under development. In this process, the recovery boiler is replaced with a gasifier. The syn-gas produced from the gasifier can be passed through a synthesis step to produce liquid fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel [ CITATION JMJ08 \l 2057 ].

Bio-diesel can be produced from syn-gas via Fischer-Tropsch, which involves the catalytic reaction of H2

and CO using iron as catalysts, forming hydro-carbon chains of various lengths[ CITATION Ayh06 \l 1043 ].

Ethanol is produced through two methods namely gasification synthesis, and gasification and subsequent fermentation[ CITATION Pun09 \l 1043 ]. Gasification synthesis is a method whereby the syn-gas produced from gasification is synthesized with rhodium, ruthenium, cobalt or iron catalysts[ CITATION Art10 \l 2057 ]. Gasification-fermentation on the other hand is a method whereby syn-gas is fermented with anaerobic bacteria producing ethanol and acetic acid. The bacterial culture

has to be able to convert CO2, CO and H2 into ethanol [ CITATION Sam \l 1043 ]. After fermentation is

complete, the liquid is distilled to separate ethanol from other products.

6.2 Bio-chemical conversion

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hydrolyzed into glucose sugars, while the hemi-cellulosic fraction must be detoxified. The sugars from the cellulose hydrolysis can be fermented into ethanol microorganisms genetically modified for this purpose. The five-carbon sugars derived from hemicellulose can also be converted into ethanol using the same microorganism used for the six-carbon sugar fermentation as in the case of Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) process. The conversion energy requirement during processing depends on the level of overall optimization of the sub-processes of the SSF process.

Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a biological decomposition of organic matter in an oxygen-free environment. Co-digestion of a mixture of various feedstocks for example agricultural residues with animal manure, or bio-municipal wastes with sewage sludge, can improve bio-gas production because of the carbon to nitrogen (C: N) ratio, as well as the high levels of organisms found in manure and sewage sludge that are able to hydrolyze ligno-cellulose materials [ CITATION Ala08 \l 1043 ]. For this study, the co-digestion of agriculture residues with livestock waste is included. Efficiency of this batch can reach up to 90% [ CITATION ALe07 \l 1043 ]. Co-digestion of other feedstocks was not included in this study because data on its efficiencies were not available.

Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion consists of approximately 65% CH4, 35% CO2 and traces of

gas such as H2S, H2 and N2. To be able to be used as a transport fuel, the gas needs to be upgraded to

natural gas quality (green gas). The carbon dioxide and trace gasses are removed which increases the heating value of the gas resulting in an increased driving distance for a specific gas storage volume[ CITATION Mar06 \l 1043 ].

To produce bio-diesel from bio-gas, the Fischer -Tropsch process can be used.

Enzymatic hydrolysis-fermentation

Biomass with high content of lignocelluloses can be converted to bio-ethanol by enzymatic hydrolysis-fermentation. Each type of feed stock requires a particular pre-treatment step to reduce the degradation of the feed-stock and to maximize sugar yields. During the pre-treatment step, the hemicelluloses and lignin are removed with acids, and as a result of this, the structure of the feed-stock is modified, which makes it easier for the hydrolysis step to penetrate the fibers (cellulose portion) and to reach the sugars. Without pre-treatment, sugar yields are typically at 20%, whereas yields after pre-treatment often exceed 90%[ CITATION Car05 \l 1043 ].The cellulose portion is hydrolyzed to sugars, preferably with enzymes over acids and alkaline. Using enzymes enable higher sugar yields. The very mild process conditions give potentially high yields, and the maintenance costs are low compared to acid or alkaline

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The product of hydrolysis; sugars, are then further converted into ethanol by Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF). The resulting sugars are fermented by yeast and/or bacteria employed in the process. The conversion of sugars into ethanol can have an efficiency of up to 90% after the SSF step [ CITATION Car05 \l 1043 ].

7. Results

This chapter will discuss the energy potentials of first generation biofuels, as well as the energy potentials of bio-fuels produced from second generation biomass after it has gone through several conversion processes as described in chapter 6. Some biomass feedstocks have not gone through some of the conversion technologies for evaluation in this study, due to the fact that different biomass feedstock can have different conversion efficiencies. Some conversion efficiencies could not be obtained, as a result of this, it was decided to exclude them from the paper.

7.1 Energy potential first generation biomass

The energy potentials of biofuels depends heavily on the quantity of the biomass that is available for processing, the energy density of biomass and the conversion efficiency of the technology used. The energy potentials are calculated using the following relation:

E = Bio-fuel production quantity (tons)* energy density (GJ/ton)

The energy potentials of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel from first generation biomass are shown in table 3. 1 ton of biodiesel has an energy density of 37.7 GJ, thus 17.5 Mt of biodiesel has an energy potential of 660 PJ. Bioethanol on the other hand has an energy density of 26.8 GJ per ton. 11 Mt of biodiesel amounts to an energy potential of 294 PJ.

Table 3: Energy densities and potentials of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel from energy crops for the year 2020.

Bio-fuel Production (Mt) Calorific value (GJ/ton) Energy potential (PJ)

Bio-ethanol 11a _26.8b ₂₉₄

Bio-diesel 17.5a _37.7b ₆₆₀

a _{Source: [ CITATION OEC13 \l 2057 ]}

b _{Source: [ CITATION TJD10 \l 2057 ]}

7.2 Energy potential second generation biomass

The energy potentials of the diverse waste streams are shown in table 3. These are the initial energy potentials that is available in the raw feedstock before they are sent for processing with the various conversion technologies into biofuels. The energy potentials of the feedstocks are calculated through the same relation as in section 7.1. The calorific value and bulk density determine the energy potential per

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unit volume of the feedstock. The calorific values used in this study are average values obtained from several published scientific articles on second generation biomass.

Table 4: Energy densities and potential for the different sectors of second generation biomass.

Sector Production (Mt) calorific value (GJ/ton) Energy potential (PJ)

Agriculture Agricultural residues Livestock waste 76.176.4 18 a 8b 1370₆₈₈ Forestry

Refined wood fuels Forest residues 48 50 18c 8d 864 400 Industry Industrial solids Black liquor 3044 18 e 13e 542₅₇₅ Waste Bio-municipal waste Sewage gas 309 12 f 8f 324₉₀

a_{Source:[ CITATION Baş09 \l 2057 ][ CITATION Sat10 \l 2057 ]}

b_{Source:[ CITATION GQu10 \l 2057 ][ CITATION Sud10 \l 2057 ]}

c _{Source: [ CITATION Don10 \l 2057 ][ CITATION CTe11 \l 2057 ]}

d _{Source:[ CITATION Lis01 \l 2057 ] [ CITATION LNu04 \l 2057 ]}

e _{Source:[ CITATION Per10 \l 2057 ][ CITATION Mar09 \l 2057 ]}

f _{Source:[ CITATION Les06 \l 2057 ][ CITATION EPo09 \l 2057 ]}

There are several ways to convert biomass into the desired biofuels. Generally, there are two major steps to produce biofuels from second generation biomass. The first step usually consists of pre-treatment to extract the sugars contained in the cellulose/hemicellulose/lignin as in the case for hydrolysis. Other technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification first require polymerization, decarboxylation and dehydration etc. of the dry or wet feedstock, and subsequently the main process begins to produce liquids or gases such as bio oil and syn gas that make up the biofuels. The second step is to convert these products in bio-refineries or with techniques to convert or upgrade them into biofuels. The resulting energy potentials of the feedstock from four different sectors following these two major steps for conversion will be discussed in the following sections.

7.2.1 Agricultural sector

Table 5 shows the types of products that are produced after the first and second conversion processes, and the product’s energy potentials. The 76 Mt of available agricultural residues with an initial energy

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potential of 1096 PJ. Hydrolysis of agricultural residues into sugars should provide 1233 PJ in the product according to the conversion efficiency of hydrolysis.

Meanwhile, suppose 79 Mt of Livestock wastes in this sector are digested, biogas of 489 PJ is produced which can then be further upgraded to green gas, or to produce bio-diesel through the Fischer-Tropsch process. Other routes in this study for livestock wastes is bio oil production for biodiesel.

From the agricultural residues, bio-diesel can be produced from the bio-oils of pyrolysis. With a conversion efficiency of 80% for hydro-cracking, the energy potential of biodiesel is 767 PJ. Biodiesel may also be produced from Fischer Tropsch synthesis of syn-gas. The energy potential obtain through this route is 767 PJ.

Concurrently, if production of bio-ethanol instead of biodiesel is preferred from agricultural residues, the fermentation of syn-gas or sugars can produce 822 PJ or 1110 PJ of bio-ethanol respectively. Hydrolysis-fermentation appears to be a better route than gasification-Hydrolysis-fermentation for bioethanol production. Although the technology to convert lignocelluloses biomass into bioethanol is not yet fully developed, it is still interesting to see that the opportunities for the supply of bioethanol is high and can be achieved through these conversion technologies once they are advanced and built for large scale use.

Meanwhile, the biogas produced from livestock wastes may be upgraded to green gas with an energy potential of 440 PJ, or can be sent through a Fischer Tropsch process to produce biodiesel with an energy potential of 342 PJ.

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7.2.2 Forestry sector

Table 6 shows the types of products that could be produced from the first and second conversion processes and its energy potentials. Two types of biomass are distinguished in the forestry sector namely refined wood fuels and forestry by-products.

The refined wood fuels has an initial energy potential of 864 PJ. Bio oils may be produced from pyrolysis, syn-gas may be produced from gasification or sugars from hydrolysis. The energy potentials of these products are 604 PJ, 691 PJ and 778 PJ respectively. Ta bl e 5: C on ve rs io n pr oc es s a nd e ne rg y po te nt ia ls o f b io m as s in to b io fu el s fr om a gr ic ul tu ra l s ec to rs . u re In it ia l p ot en ti al (P J) 1s t Co n ve rs io n p ro ce ss Ef fi ci en cy (% ) p ro d u ct En er gy p ot en ti al (P J) 2n d c on ve rs io n p ro ce ss Ef fi ci en cy (% ) Fi n al p ro d u ct En er gy p ot en ti al ( P J) u re _es 13 70 Py ro ly si s G as ifi ca ti on H yd ro ly si s 70 ₈₀ ₉₀ B io -o ils Sy n-ga s Su ga rs 95 9 10 96 12 33 H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta ti on Fe rm en ta ti on 80 ₇₀ ₇₀ ₉₀ B io di es el B io di es el B io et ha no l B io et ha no l 76 7, 2 76 7 82 2 11 10 k 68 8 A na er ob ic di ge st io n Py ro ly si s G as ifi ca ti on 80 70 70 B io -g as B io -o ils Sy n-ga s 48 9 42 8 42 8 U pg ra di ng F is ch er -T ro ps ch H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta ti on 90 70 80 70 75 G re en g as B io di es el B io di es el B io di es el B io et ha no l 44 0 34 2 34 2 30 0 32 1

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Forestry by-products in this study are able to produce 280 PJ of bio-oil through pyrolysis, 320 PJ of syn-gas through syn-gasification or sugars containing 360 PJ from hydrolysis.

For refined wood fuels, bio-diesel are produced from the hydro-cracking of bio oils (484 PJ) or Fischer Tropsch processes of syn-gas (484 PJ). If production of bio-ethanol is preferred from these refined wood fuels, the fermentation of syn-gas or sugars can produce 518 PJ and 700 PJ of bio-ethanol respectively.

Like refined woof fuels, forestry by-products may be used to produce bio-diesel from hydro-cracking of bio oils or Fischer Tropsch process of syn-gas. The energy potentials that can be derived from both of these processes are 224 PJ. Bio-ethanol may be produced from the fermentation of syn-gas and sugars to produce 240 PJ and 324 PJ respectively.

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7.2.3 Industrial sector

The types of products that are produced after the first conversion processes and the product’s energy potentials for the industrial sector are shown in table 7. Assuming 30 Mt of available industrial solids in the EU are pyrolyzed, bio-oils of 379 PJ are produced. In place of bio oil production, the industrial solids may be hydrolyzed into sugars for bioethanol production. The energy potential of sugars from industrial solid hydrolysis obtained in this study is 488 PJ.

Concurrently, the 44 Mt of black liquor in this sector can be digested to produce bio-gas of 460 PJ or can be gasified into syn-gas of 402 PJ.

Biodiesel production from black liquor is possible through Fischer Tropsch process of two different products i.e. bio-gas from anaerobic digestion or syn-gas from gasification. Biodiesel from biogas has an energy potential of 322 while the energy potential of biodiesel from syn-gas is 281 PJ. According to the results, biodiesel production from biogas is more desirable than syn-gas because of the higher energy yield that could be achieved.

To manufacture bio-ethanol from black liquor, the fermentation of syn-gas is possible. The energy potential of bioethanol for black liquor is 302 PJ. Green gas may also

Ta bl e 5: C on ve rs io n pr oc es se s an d en er gy p ot en ti al s of b io m as s in to b io fu el s fr om fo re st ry s ec to r. re st ry se ct or In it ia l po te nt ia l (P J) 1s t Co nv er si on pr oc es s Ef fic ie nc y (% ) Pr od uc t En er gy po te nt ia l (P J) 2n d co nv er si on pr oc es s Ef fic ie nc y (% ) Fi na l pr od uc t En er gy po te nt ia l ( PJ ) ef in ed d fu el s 86 4 Py ro ly si s Ga si fic at io n H yd ro ly si s 70 80 90 Bi o -o il Sy n -g as Su ga rs 60 4 69 1 77 8 H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r -T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta tio n Fe rm en ta tio n 80 70 75 90 Bi od ie se l Bi od ie se l Bi oe th an ol Bi oe th an ol 48 4 48 4 51 8 70 0 re st ry -by _oduc ts 40 0 Py ro ly si s Ga si fic at io n H yd ro ly si s 70 80 90 Bi o -o il Sy n -g as Su ga rs 28 0 32 0 36 0 H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r -T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta tio n Fe rm en ta tio n 80 70 75 90 Bi od ie se l Bi od ie se l Bi oe th an ol Bi oe th an ol 22 4 22 4 24 0 32 4 Ta bl e 6: C on ve rs io n pr oc es s a nd e ne rg y po te nt ia ls o f b io m as s in to b io fu el s fr om fo re st ry s ec to rs .

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be produced by upgrading the biogas in a refinery.

Biodiesel production from industrial solids can be achieved with hydro-cracking of bio oils. other production of biofuels such as bioethanol can be achieve through the fermentation of sugars.

7.2.4 Waste sector

Three types of bio fuels may be produced from the waste sector. Assuming 26 Mt of available bio-municipal wastes are sent for digestion, bio gas of 259 PJ can be obtained (table 8). Gasification of these wastes can also be done to produce syn-gas of 227 PJ. The biogas may be

u st ri al ct or In it ia l p ot en ti al (P J) 1 st C on ve rs io n p ro ce ss E ff ic ie n cy (% ) P ro d u ct En er gy p ot en ti al ( P J) 2 n d c on ve rs io n p ro ce ss E ff ic ie n cy (% ) Fi n al p ro d u ct en er gy p ot en ti al (P J) li d u st ri al s 54 2 Py ro ly si s H yd ro ly si s G as if ic at io n 70 90 70 B io -o il Su ga rs Sy n-ga s 37 9 48 8 37 9 H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fe rm en ta ti on Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta ti on 80 90 70 75 B io -d ie se l B io et ha no l B io -d ie se l B io et ha no l 30 4 43 9 26 6 28 5 la ck q u or 57 5 Py ro ly si s G as if ic at io n A na er ob ic di ge st io n 70 70 80 B io -o il Sy n-ga s B io -g as 40 2 40 2 46 0 H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fe rm en ta ti on Fi sc he r T ro ps ch U pg ra di ng Fi sc he r T ro ps ch 80 75 70 90 70 B io -d ie se l B io et ha no l B io -d ie se l G re en g as B io -d ie se l 32 2 30 2 28 1 41 4 32 2 Ta bl e 7: C on ve rs io n pr oc es s a nd e ne rg y po te nt ia ls o f b io m as s in to b io fu el s fr om in du st ri al s ec to rs .

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with an energy potential of 233 PJ or may be further synthesized to biodiesel with an energy potential of 181 PJ through the Fischer Tropsch process.

The syn-gas produced from bio-municipal wastes may also be sent to a Fischer Tropsch process to produce biodiesel of 159 PJ or may be fermented to produce bioethanol of 170 PJ.

The 10 Mt of sewage gas in this sector can be digested to produce bio-gas of 72 PJ or can be gasified into syn-gas of 63 PJ. Other than that, it may also go through pyrolysis to produce bio oils of 72 PJ.

For the sewage gas stream, bio-diesel may be produced from Fischer Tropsch process of biogas (50 PJ) or syn-gas (44 PJ) or hydro-cracking of bio oil (58 PJ). If bio-ethanol is preferred to be produced from this steam, the fermentation of syn-gas can produce 47 PJ of bio-ethanol. The production of green gas is also possible from this stream by upgrading the bio gas into green gas (65 PJ) instead of sending it to the Fischer Tropsch process.

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7.3 Interpretation

The energy potentials of the different biomass feedstocks with the various conversion routes are summarized in figure 5. The Energy potentials of bioethanol and biodiesel from energy crops are also provided in the figure.

For this study, the maximum mass of available feedstock in the EU are converted for one specific biofuel. For example, all black liquor (44 Mt) in the EU that is available in this study may be converted into either bioethanol (302 PJ), biodiesel through either pyrolysis- hydro cracking (322 PJ), gasification-Fischer Tropsch (281 PJ) or anaerobic digestion- Fischer Tropsch (322 PJ), or could be converted into green gas (414 PJ).

The extent for research of all conversion routes for all feedstocks are limited due to insufficient data such as its conversion efficiency, and other information that could be obtained. However, although

W as te se ct or In it ia l p ot en ti al ( P J) 1s t C on ve rs io n p ro ce ss Ef fi ci en cy (% ) P ro du ct En er gy p ot en ti al ( P J) 2n d c on ve rs io n p ro ce ss Ef fi ci en cy (% ) Fi n al p ro d uc t En er gy p ot en ti al ( P J) B io -u n ic ip al w as te s 32 4 A na er ob ic di ge st io n Py ro ly si s G as ifi ca ti on 80 70 70 B io -g as B io -o il Sy n-ga s 25 9 22 7 22 7 Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch U pg ra di ng H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch Fe rm en ta ti on 70 90 80 70 75 B io di es el G re en g as B io -d ie se l B io di es el B io et ha no l 18 1 23 3 18 1 15 9 17 0 Se w ag e sl u d ge 90 A na er ob ic di ge st io n Py ro ly si s G as ifi ca ti on 80 70 70 B io -g as B io -o il Sy n-ga s 72 63 63 Fi sc he r-T ro ps ch U pg ra di ng H yd ro -c ra ck in g Fi sc he r-Tr op sc h Fe rm en ta ti on 70 90 80 70 75 B io di es el G re en g as B io di es el Bio di es el B io et ha no l 50 65 50 44 47 Ta bl e 8: C on ve rs io n pr oc es s a nd e ne rg y po te nt ia ls o f b io m as s in to b io fu el s fr om w as te s ec to rs .

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comparisons, the energy potentials derived from this study gives a brief idea of whether demands for biofuels could be met with second generation biomass deriving from these conversion technologies.

Dema nds Agric ultur al res idues Lives tock w aste Agric ultur al re sidue s + Li vesto ck Wood fuel Fore st re sidue s Solid Indu strial Blac k liqu or BMW Sewa ge sl udge 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Biodiesel Bioethanol Green gas Pyrolysis - hydrocracking (Biodiesel)

Gasification - Fischer Tropsch (Biodiesel)

Anaerobic digestion - Fischer Tropsch (Biodiesel)

Hydrolysis- fermentation (Bioethanol)

Gasification - fermentation (Bioethanol)

Anaerobic digestion - upgrading (Green gas) Biomass feedstock E n er gy P ot en ti al ( P J)

Figure 4: Summary of the energy potentials obtained from the different conversion routes.

The following tables 9, 10 and 11 shows the best routes for bioethanol, biodiesel and green gas production. The interpretation of the results are based on three factors; the energy density of the biomass resource, amount of biomass available and the conversion efficiency of the technology. The first step was to choose biomass resources with high energy density (figures shown in green). From there, it was decided to choose the biomass with the least availability (figures shown in red), in order to leave the other resources for other large energy consuming sectors such as for electricity generation. The final step was to choose the conversion technology with the highest conversion efficiency (figures shown in orange).

Bioethanol production

Four biomass feedstocks have been studied for bioethanol production namely; agricultural residues, refined wood fuels, industrial solids and forestry by-products. The former three biofuels produce

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lower energy density. For this reason, it was decided to choose either agricultural residues, refined wood fuels or industrial solids. Subsequently, the availability of industrial solids and its high energy density is enough to produce and cover the demands of bioethanol in the EU27. For this matter, it is convenient and moreover, possible, to set agricultural residues, refined wood fuels and forestry by-products aside for other energy purposes such as electricity production or heating and cooling, and to process only industrial solids for bioethanol production.

Table 9: Comparison for suitable biomass resource and best routes for bioethanol production.

Biofuel/ sector Energy density (GJ/ton) Biomass availability (Mt) Technology conversion efficiency (%) Biofuel energy potential (PJ) H- F G-F H-F G-F Bioethanol Agricultural residues Refined wood fuels Industrial Solids Forestry by-products 18 18 18 8 76.1 48 30 50 90 90 90 90 77.5 77.5 77.5 77.5 1110 700 439 324 822 518 285 240

Abbreviations: H- F: Hydrolysis- Fermentation, G- F: Gasification- Fermentation

Two conversion routes were considered; gasification-fermentation or hydrolysis-fermentation. Based on the results, hydrolysis- fermentation appears to be a better route than gasification- fermentation for bioethanol production.

In the first conversion process, the hydrolysis of lignocelluloses and other waste materials into sugars is shown to have a higher conversion efficiency i.e. 90%, than the gasification of lignocelluloses into syn-gas i.e. 70-80%. The product of hydrolysis (sugars) contains a higher energy content than that of gasification (syngas).

In addition, the conversion efficiency for the fermentation of sugars are much higher (90%) than syn-gas (75%). As these technologies become mature, it is recommended to use hydrolysis- fermentation to produce bioethanol with substantially high energy potentials.

Biofuels in the EU27

UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN & AVANS UNIVERSITY OF

APPLIED SCIENCES