Biofuels¶
Biofuels denote end-use fuels made out of transformed biomass products. In TIAM-FR, biofuels encompass biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biogas, biomethane, and biochar. Two main references are used here, that is, a report by (IEAGHG, 2021b), on which most of the data is based on, and a report by (IEA Bioenergy, 2019), which gives information on second-generation fermentation processes (without CCS).
Biodiesel and bioethanol¶
Table 1 and Table 2 display the technoeconomic characteristics of the processes biodiesel and bioethanol in TIAM-FR. The processes can be divided into two categories: biodiesel refineries and bioethanol refineries, fed with different types of biomass, whose global potentials and harvesting costs were established by (Kang, 2017). The biodiesel plants either work with a fast pyrolysis (FP) process or a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. In the cases when a CO2 capture unit is set up, the efficiency can be improved to its maximum (MAX), hence the specification in the first columns of Table 2.
Table 1: Technological characteristics of biorefineries generating biodiesel and bioethanol. All values are displayed per PJ of output biofuel
Row Labels |
CO2 capture [kt] |
Wheat [PJ] |
Maize [PJ] |
Crop starch [PJ] |
Wood [PJ] |
Logging residues [PJ] |
Electricity [PJ] |
Gas [PJ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First generation biodiesel plant (FP) |
1.77 |
|||||||
Second generation biodiesel plant (FT) |
2.28 |
|||||||
First generation bioethanol plant |
1.71 |
0.04 |
0.38 |
|||||
Second generation bioethanol plant (cellulosic) |
2.87 |
|||||||
Second generation bioethanol plant (corn stover) |
0.35 |
0.11 |
0.74 |
|||||
Second generation bioethanol plant (wheat straw) |
3.34 |
|||||||
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FP) |
63 |
1.71 |
||||||
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FT) |
122 |
2.28 |
||||||
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FT-MAX) |
151 |
2.28 |
||||||
First generation bioethanol pant with CO2 capture |
37 |
1.71 |
0.05 |
0.4 |
||||
Second generation bioethanol plants with CO2 capture |
37 |
3.34 |
||||||
Second generation bioethanol plant with CO2 capture (MAX) |
276 |
3.34 |
Table 2: Economic characteristics of biorefineries generating biodiesel and bioethanol.
Process |
Capital cost [$/GJ] |
Fixed O&M [$/GJ] |
Variable O&M [$/GJ] |
Lifetime [years] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
First generation biodiesel plant (FP) |
32.89 |
1,35 |
25 |
|
Second generation biodiesel plant (FT) |
255.08 |
10.17 |
25 |
|
First generation bioethanol plant |
16.04 |
0.63 |
25 |
|
Second generation bioethanol plant (cellulosic) |
48 |
3.07 |
25 |
|
Second generation bioethanol plant (corn stover) |
83.25 |
1.46 |
25 |
|
Second generation bioethanol plant (wheat straw) |
148.89 |
5.94 |
20 |
|
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FP) |
52.52 |
2.12 |
20 |
|
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FT) |
256.81 |
10.29 |
20 |
|
Second generation biodiesel plant with CO2 capture (FT) |
268.35 |
10.7 |
20 |
|
First generation bioethanol pant with CO2 capture |
16.74 |
0.67 |
20 |
|
Second generation bioethanol plant with CO2 capture |
150.05 |
6 |
20 |
|
Second generation bioethanol plant with CO2 capture (MAX) |
197.37 |
7.88 |
20 |
Biodiesel can be used in any sectors bu bioethanol and only be used in the transport sector for mitigating emissions of all road end-uses.
Biogasoline¶
A single process produces biogasoline through pyrolysis of ligno-cellulosic biomass. Table 3 shows the techno-economic assumptions of the process modeled in (Kang, 2017) thesis.
Table 3: Techno-economic properties of fast-pyrolysis process to produce biogasoline based on (Kang, 2017).
Input |
Input flows [GJ/GJ] |
Capital cost [$/GJ] |
Fixed O&M [$/GJ] |
Variable O&M [$/GJ] |
Availability factor |
Discount rate |
Life [years] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- |
106.50 |
3.75 |
11.78 |
0.95 |
0.10 |
25.00 |
|
Ligno-cellulosic biomass |
2.11 |
||||||
Electricity |
0.06 |
||||||
Hydrogen |
0.28 |
Biogasoline can subsequently used to decarbonize all sectors of the economy.
Biogas and biomethane¶
Biogas and biomethane are both renewable energy sources derived from organic matter, but they differ in their composition, production processes, and applications. Biomethane is distinguished from biogas as a perfect substitute to fossil methane - or natural gas. In TIAM-FR, biogas can be produced through anaerobic digestion of crops and agricultural residues, and then upgraded in biomethane through a cleaning process. Second generation biomass gasification process also enable to directly transform biomass into biomethane either through a circulating fluidized bed reactor (CFB) or a fast internal circulation fluidized bed reactor (FICFB). The techno-economics are taken from (Kang, 2017)..
Table 4: Techno-economic properties of biogas and biomethane processes
Process |
Energy input |
Input efficiency |
Capital cost [$/GJ] |
Fixed O&M [$/GJ] |
Variable O&M [$/GJ] |
Availability factor |
Discount rate |
Life [years] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anaerobic digestion |
Agricultural residues |
44% |
71 |
1.5 |
0.01 |
98% |
10% |
15 |
Crops |
75% |
|||||||
Biogas cleaning |
Biogas |
95% |
47 |
3.0 |
1.6 |
95% |
10% |
20 |
Gasification CFB |
Lignocellulosic biomass |
71% |
49 |
5.7 |
1.6 |
91% |
10% |
20 |
Gasification FICFB |
Lignocellulosic biomass |
54% |
121 |
8.6 |
0.8 |
91% |
10% |
20 |
Biogas can be used in all sectors of the economy but is not a perfect substitute to natural gas.
Biochar¶
Biochar is a type of charcoal that is produced by pyrolyzing organic materials (such as agricultural waste, wood chips, and plant residues) in the absence of oxygen at high temperatures (usually between 300°C and 600°C). This results in a stable, carbon-rich product that can be used as an energy commodity of a fertilizer. In TIAM-FR, biochar is only represented as an energy commodity made out of wood chips or harvest residues. In the first case, the production cost is estimated to 4.63 
32/GJ plus the cost of processing agricultural residued (Nematian et al., 2021). In both cases, the energy efficiency is estimated to 65% based on (Cristobal Feliciano-Bruzual, 2014)
References
IEAGHG, 2021. Biorefineries with CCS.
Kang, S., 2017. La place de la bioénergie dans un monde sobre en carbone: Analyse prospective et développement de la filière biomasse dans le modèle TIAM-FR. MINES ParisTech.
Feliciano-Bruzual, C., 2014. Charcoal injection in blast furnaces (Bio-PCI): CO2 reduction potential and economic prospects. Journal of Materials Research and Technology 3, 233–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2014.06.001
Nematian, M., Keske, C., Ng’ombe, J.N., 2021. A techno-economic analysis of biochar production and the bioeconomy for orchard biomass. Waste Management 135, 467–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.09.014