Abstracts are organized by session in chronological order The - - PDF document

Abstracts are organized by session in chronological order The symposium agenda is available online for more information on sessions

Forest biomass for biofuel production (Feedstock)

Production of biocrude oil from high water content biomass and biosolids in sub- critical water

Speaker: Charles Xu, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario Authors: Laleh Nazari, ICFAR, Faculty of Engineering, Western University; Sean Yuan, ICFAR, Faculty

• f Engineering, Western University; Domenico Santoro, TROJAN TECHNOLOGIES; Mita Ray,

Department of Chem. & Biochem. Eng., Western University; Chunbao (Charles) Xu, ICFAR, Faculty of Engineering, Western University Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a process where biomass of high water content can be heat treated directly in the absence of oxygen at 150-450 oC and pressure (up to 25-30 MPa). In this study, effects of different HTL operating conditions such as type of catalyst, temperature, pressure, and residence time on the yields and quality of the liquefaction products were studied. A set of catalyst screening experiments was performed to investigate the effect of different homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts in the liquefaction of pine wood sawdust as model biomass in hot compressed water. The experiments were conducted in a 100 mL stirred reactor at 300oC and for 30 min under initial nitrogen pressure of 2 MPa, with dry and ash-free solid concentration of 10 wt% in

• feed. The most active catalyst in terms of bio-crude oil production was selected to be used in

hydrothermal liquefaction of thickened wastewater sludge (TWAS). All the catalysts tested, i.e. hydrotalcite (HT), colemanite, potassium carbonate (K2CO3), potassium hydroxide (KOH), iron sulphate (FeSO4), magnesium oxide (MgO), and potassium hydroxide/hydrotalcite (KOH/HT) were found to be effective for increasing bio-crude oil production; however, the homogenous catalysts (K2CO3, KOH, FeSO4) were more effective compared to the heterogeneous ones (hydrotalcite (HT), colemanite, MgO). The maximum bio-crude oil yield was 39.52 wt% in presence of 5 wt% KOH

• catalyst. Hydrotalcite was the most active catalyst in terms of biomass conversion and water-soluble

product yield (54.8 wt%), leading to the lowest SR yield (10.5 wt%) among all catalysts tested. The yields of gaseous products in all experiments were minimal and in the range of 0.1-0.3 wt%. KOH was

Advanced Biofuels Symposium Oral Presentation Abstracts

chosen as the catalyst for hydrothermal liquefaction of TWAS. Thermal treatment of the sludge helps to reduce its volume, improve its dewaterability and produces value-added products such as bio- crude oil from this waste material.

The green integrated forest biorefinery, an opportunity for the forestry sector

Speaker: Mariya Marinova, Research Scientist, École Polytechnique de Montréal Authors: Mariya Marinova, Sourour Ben Cheikh, Tatiana Rafione The green integrated forest biorefinery (GIFBR) is an innovative concept that can be implemented in Canadian pulp and paper mills. This facility is composed of three revenue-generating centers: a Kraft process producing wood pulp, a hemicelluloses plant producing sugar-derived products, and a biomass gasifier generating syngas, part of which can be used to drive a heat and power generation unit or converted into biofuels. There are clear advantages for such integrated facilities, over grassroots facilities: the feedstock is available and infrastructures in place can be shared. There are also pitfalls: the increased demand for thermal energy created by the biomass conversion unit could lead to an increased dependency on fossil fuels. Case studies have been performed in which the receptor pulping mill is a Kraft mill from which a hemicelluloses stream is diverted and converted into sugar-based products such as ethanol or

• butanol. It has been shown that the overall manufacturing site can be operated with nil fossil fuel

consumption, provided that the following conditions are met: the Kraft mill and the biomass conversion plant are highly integrated from the stand point of thermal energy, water and chemicals, and a biomass gasifier is installed to supply biofuel to the lime kiln (a component of the Kraft process usually burning natural gas). Several syngas valorization strategies have been evaluated to take advantage of fluctuation in demand and sales prices: heat and power production, biofuels such as FT diesel, ethanol from mixed alcohol synthesis, methanol and ammonia. The investment options have been compared with respect to annual net profit for the potential market scenarios.

Effectiveness of purging on preventing gas emission buildup in wood pellet storage

Speaker: Fahimeh Yazdanpanah, Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemical Engineering, University of British Columbia Authors: F. Yazdanpanah, S. Sokhansanj1,2, C.J. Lim1, A. Lau1, X. Bi1, S. Melin1,3

1Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T

1Z3 Canada

2Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, U.S.A. 3Delta Research Corporation, Delta, Canada

Storage of wood pellets has resulted in several deadly accidents in connection with off-gassing and self-heating. A forced ventilation system should be in place to sweep the off-gases as well as

controlling the thermal conditions in the stored pellets. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a purging system and quantify the time and volume of the gas needed to sweep the off-gases from the experimental silo, multiple purging tests were done in a pilot scale silo. To identify the degree of mixing in the silo, experiments were done on residence time distribution of the gas. Large deviations from plug flow and thus better mixing was seen for all superficial velocities used. However as the velocity increased, system dispersion number became smaller which indicated less mixing and more volume of purging gas. One dimensional numerical simulation of the off-gas concentration in the bed predicted the concentration best at the bottom and middle of the silo while it over-predicted the off-gas concentration in the head-space.

The integrated forest biorefinery: a mutation of the P&P industry from paper maker to wood biomass Processor

Speaker: Jean Paris, Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, École Polytechnique de Montréal Authors: Jean Paris, Mariya Marinova, Michel Perrier, George Mahmourides The P&P industry has been faced with an inescapable transformation of its traditional markets : a decline of the demand for commodity products, the mainstay of its production and, the coming on line of new large and modern facilities in tropical regions with a fast growing forest and a low labor

• cost. Simultaneously there is a growing interest from the chemical industries for biomass derived

products that can be inserted as drop ins in their conversion process chains. The integrated forest biorefinery which consists of separating and transforming wood components on the site of pulping mills using the pulping process itself and adjunct converting plants in a highly integrated facility can be an effective way to penetrate new markets and generate profits. The conversion of pulping mills into integrated forest biorefineries can be viewed as consisting of four building blocks which can be implemented following different pathways. They are briefly described below. Conversion of the pulp line into new fiber based products making. R&D work is being done bio-sensitive paper, security paper with embedded codes at manufacturing stage, nanocrystaline cellulose. Dissolving pulp as a feedstock for rayon making, a lower price but large volume commodity, is also a possibility. Extracting and converting wood components into biofuels and bioproducts. The main components

• f wood, cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin can be extracted at various stages of the pulping

process and converted into biofuels and precursor molecules for a large variety of value added

• bioproducts. There are two large groups of chemicals that can be derived from wood biomass, the

sugar (C6 and C5) platform and the phenolic platform. Processes have been developed for the production of ethanol, butanol and other fuels. Energy efficiency enhancement and intensive integration. The addition of biomass partitioning and converting plants will increase the stream and water demand which could lead to increased dependency on fossil fuels. To avoid this outcome, a novel energy efficiency analysis and enhancement methodology has been developed, it is based on a project approach and heuristics. It has been applied to operating Kraft mills and produced remarkable results far superior to current engineering practice. Product delivery at the gate of the biorefinery and insertion into downstream processing chains. Most products made in the biorefinery will be intermediates that will require further transformation in existing plants designed to handle fossil feedstock derived product. They will have to meet

rigorous pre-established specifications. This step will require concentration with the downstream processor.

Absorption heat pumps: A technology in development and its role in the sustainable implementation of the biorefinery

Speaker: Robert Legros, Professor, École Polytechnique de Montréal Authors: Robert Legros, Olumoye Ajao, Radia Ammara, Johannes Heiland, Louis Fradette, The economics of the integrated forest biorefinery is largely dependent of a high level of energy efficiency of the global facility incorporating a Kraft pulping mill and a biorefinery plant in which part

• f a wood component is converted into a biofuel or a bioproduct. In order to achieve this goal, a

novel energy efficiency analysis and enhancement methodology has been developed and applied to case studies. A key feature of this methodology is the reduction of steam and water consumption by the appropriate exploitation of interactions between the various utility systems. It has been shown that the judicious installations of absorption heat pumps (AHP) in utility networks can significantly contribute to energy savings, provided that process-AHP connections respect strict thermodynamic

• rules. An AHP is a heat-upgrading device in which the recompression of the circulation heat carrier

fluid is replaced by an absorption-desorption cycle. The work presented deals with three subjects: guidelines for the proper installation of the AHP into an industrial process, practical examples of the utilisation of AHPs to reduce the energy consumption of a process and, performance analysis of currently available equipment and their energy intensification. An AHP is a totally heat driven device with three levels of thermal connections with the process. Heat is supplied at high temperature to the desorber (QG) also called the generator; heat is extracted from the condenser and absorber at an intermediate temperature (QA > QG) and heat is released at the evaporator (QC, cooling). Depending of the position of these connections in the process pinch diagram, the insertion of an AHP may have a positive or negative effect on the overall heat balance of the process, a fact that is

• ften ignored. Three examples of positive insertions of AHP in an integrated forest biorefinery are
• presented. An in depth analysis of the heat and mass transfer phenomena was conducted on a

prototype AHP constructed at Polytechnique using an LiBr-water solution as the heat carrier fluid. This work showed that heat and mass transfer coefficients were performance-limiting factors and potential enhancement measures were formulated.

Adding value to biofuel production through bioproducts (Bioproducts)

Enzymatic modification of paper grade pulps for conversion to specialty grade cellulose

Speaker: Richard Chandra, Research Associate, University of British Columbia

Authors: Richard P. Chandra, Emily Dou, Jack Saddler Although primarily made of sugars, nature has assembled woody biomass to maximize its resistance to deconstruction. This increases its value as a structural material (housing, furniture, etc.), but presents significant challenges to "biorefineries" that aim to fractionate wood to recover the cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractive components for conversion to chemicals, materials and

• fuels. An attractive option to try to unify old-with-the-new, is possibility of converting the traditional

Kraft pulping process to one that produces specialty cellulose fiber/dissolving pulp feedstock. In addition to making a high value pulp the process produces a sugar rich hemicellulose stream and a lignin rich black liquor that can be partially removed to reduce the strain on the Kraft recovery boiler. However, the propensity of the Kraft process to preserve hemicellulose and high viscosity cellulose in the pulp means that additional cellulose purification/modification steps have to be included, including prehydrolysis, caustic extraction, and hypochlorite bleaching. With their high specificity and ability to function at benign conditions enzymes such as hemicellulases and endoglucanases are prime candidates to tailor the properties of cellulose, by reducing the hemicellulose content and to narrow the cellulose molecular weight distribution of the cellulose within the pulp. In the work that will be described, xylanases and oxalic acid, a potentially biomimetic acid catalyst were compared for their ability to remove the last vestiges of hemicellulose from hardwood pulps. We subsequently assessed molecular weight, accessibility and other characteristics of the pulp. The xylanases were shown to be highly specific, removing much of the residual hemicellulose and reducing the xylan content of the final pulp to about 1-2%. However, it is likely that the desirable properties resulting from the specific solubilisation of residual hemicellulose must be balanced against the potential reduction in the cellulose reactivity and the accessibility of the dissolving pulp.

How a combination of improved pretreatment and enzyme mixtures can help make a forest residue based sugar platform more attractive for biofuel production

Speaker: Jinguang Hu, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia Authors: Jinguang Hu, Valdeir Arantes, Richard Chandra, Amadeus Pribowo, Keith Groulay, Rui Zhai, Tony Mok, Jack Saddler Although considerable progress has been made in reducing the cost of cellulase enzyme mixtures, relatively high protein loadings are still required to achieve effective cellulose hydrolysis, restricting the economic viability of the “biomass-to-sugar” process. It is widely acknowledged that the rate and extent of the cellulolytic hydrolysis is influenced, not only by the effectiveness of the enzyme cocktail, but also by the physical and chemical nature of lignocellulosic substrates and the mechanism and effectiveness of the various pretreatment technologies that are used. Here, we have tried to summarize the work of our FPB/Bioenergy group over the past 30 years, in collaboration with multinational companies such as Novozymes (the world’s biggest enzyme company, based in Denmark) and Andritz (steam pretreatment equipment supplier). We have developed and refined methods such as the Simon’s Stain and substructure-specific Cellulose Binding Modules (CBM’s) technique to try to quantify changes in the accessibility of lignocellulosic substrate at the macroscopic (fiber), microscopic (fibril) and nanoscopic (microfibril)

• level. We have also investigated enzyme adsorption/desorption profiles during hydrolysis of a range
• f cellulolytic/lignocellulosics substrates using various traditional enzyme/protein based assays and a

lab developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We have also assessed the influence of the potentially inhibitory biomass-derived soluble compounds (from nature biomass and pretreatment process) on the slowdown in the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation process at industrially relevant conditions. Our work has shown that the hydrolytic performance of “cellulase cocktails” can be significantly improved by deriving a better understanding of enzyme synergism and the actions of individual and combinations of cellulases, β-glucosidase and major “accessory” enzymes (such as xylanases, xyloglucanases and LPMO’s) on various pretreated lignocellulosic substrates. In this way the cost of

• ne of the most expensive steps in the biomass-to-biofuels process, the production of fermentable

sugars, can be reduced significantly.

Xylitol production from hemicellulose residues: process development with life cycle and techno-economic assessment

Speaker: Kelsey Gerbrandt, Graduate Student, Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto. Authors: Kelsey Gerbrandt, Brad Saville, Heather L. MacLean

Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising feedstock for the production of liquid biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which may be utilized as a low-carbon replacement for conventional transportation fuels. However, the commercial viability of large-scale cellulosic ethanol production has been restricted by technical constraints leading to elevated production costs. The inclusion of value-added co-products produced concurrently with cellulosic ethanol has the potential to mitigate these risks. Xylitol, a polyol (C5H12O5) with sweetening applications, is a prospective co-product

• ption for cellulosic ethanol. The direct precursor to xylitol is a major component of hemicellulose,

which constitutes approximately 35% of certain types of lignocellulosic biomass. This study aims to isolate the effects of including xylitol as a co-product of cellulosic ethanol production through cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. Xylitol is produced via two pathways: conventional hydrogenation and fermentation. Process models for both pathways are developed using Aspen Plus software then subsequently evaluated with life cycle and techno-economic assessments. Results are provided for energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions associated with individual process

• stages. Additional life cycle metrics and economic indicators determined include water usage,

potential carbon credit values, product value, return on investment, internal rate of return, and capital costs. Results indicate that intensive evaporation requirements during the hydrogenation process constitute a significant fraction of the overall process energy demand. As xylitol is a solid, crystalline product, evaporation is necessary for all process pathways considered, and the advantages

• f one pathway over another may not be apparent without the completion of detailed life cycle
• assessments. This study demonstrates the value provided by life cycle assessment and techno-

economic analysis to ensure the development of energy efficient, low emission, and economic value- added co-product pathways in a lignocellulosic biorefinery.

Hemicelluloses extraction and conversion in integrated forest biorefinery: challenges and opportunities

Speaker: Michel Perrier, Professor, École Polytechnique de Montréal

Authors : Olumoye Ajao, Olivier Davenel, Mariya Marinova and Michel Perrier An integrated forest biorefinery (IFBR) comprises a wood pulping mill interconnected with a novel process to produce sustainable biofuels, biochemicals or bioenergy as new sources of revenue. The main advantage of an IFBR is that the pulping mills have a well established supply chain for sourcing biomass as well as mature biomass storage and processing facilities. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the requirements for establishing an IFBR and propose pathways for its implementation. A Canadian Kraft dissolving pulp mill utilizing hardwood as feedstock was the reference case in this

• study. The mill currently employs a typical practice of combusting the prehydrolysate stream from

the Kraft process to produce energy. Two alternative pathways for valorizing the sugars in the stream have been evaluated; they are thermochemical and biochemical conversion routes. The identified challenges that must be addressed prior to implementation can be categorized as receptor mill or biorefinery unit related. On the receptor mill side, modifications must be made to the current mill configuration in order to redirect non degraded sugar streams to the biorefinery. Also, energy

• ptimization of the mill must be carried out to ensure that it can provide the heating and cooling

requirements for the biorefinery unit. Lastly, any modification made must not result in a deterioration

• f the mill pulp yield and quality. On the biorefinery side, new process operations that are not

typically found must be designed. Simulation of biorefinery processes for ethanol and furfural production have been developed and used to assess the feasibility of integration. Results also showed that heating and cooling requirement reduction up to 47 and 25 % respectively can be achieved on the biorefinery side. Furthermore, these requirements can be met by the receptor mill without capacity expansion.

Purpose-grown feedstocks: yields, sustainability and economic considerations (Feedstock)

Willow (Salix spp.) production for bioenergy and carbon sequestration

Speaker: Naresh Thevathasan, Manager/Adjunct Professor, University of Guelph Authors: Naresh V. Thevathasan , Andrew M. Gordon and Derek Sidders Thevathasan and Gordon : School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph Sidders: Canadian Wood Fibre Centre Continuous and uninterrupted supply of biomass is important for all types of end-users, including the emerging bio-auto products industry. Currently, biomass is being used for heat generation, cellulosic digestion to produce liquid fuel and for the production of numerous bio-products, including bio-plastic. In order to ensure the sustainability of above industry processes, several issues related to biomass production and ecosystem processes, economic and market analyses need to be considered and researched.

The University of Guelph in collaboration with the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, NRCan, has established Ontario’s largest woody biomass research centre in Guelph, totalling 26 ha in extent. A variety of research activities have been conducted, including studies into the cycling of nutrients, carbon sequestration and aspects of life-cycle analyses. These are necessary to understand aspects

• f sustained and continuous production; results from these studies and others will be discussed."

Variability in poplar cell wall traits – opportunities for improvement in bioenergy production

Speaker/author: Shawn Mansfield, Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia Photosynthetic carbon capture by terrestrial plants represents a major sink for atmospheric CO2, ultimately terminating in the synthesis of a secondary plant cell wall – a complex matrix of polysaccharides intricately linked to lignin. The production and coordinated deposition of this lignocellulosic composite confers both protective and structural properties to the plant cell. These same inherent properties also represent a major obstacle for its effective use as a lignocellulosic substrate in biofuels production. This presentation will discuss genomic the inherent natural phenotypic diversity in a range-wide collection of >500 Populus trichocarpa that could form the basis for the selection of desired genotypes for future bioenergy applications. The phenotypic variability (including wood chemistry, wood ultrastructure, growth parameters and physiological tree attributes) could also be employed to establish associations between alleles of genes that may control lignocellulosic cell wall attributes and lignocellulosic biofuels traits. This information could ultimately be used to facilitate breeding and selection strategies for the optimization of future lignocellulosic feedstocks dedicated to bioenergy production.

Switchgrass Evolution, Genetic Improvement and Cultivar Development

Speaker/author: Yousef Papadopoulos, Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada & Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a native warm-season grass that has been identified as one of the major bioenergy feedstock crops because of its perennial growth habit, potential for high yields, and nutrient and water use efficiency. This presentation will review the evolution of native switchgrass germplasm in North America, the introgression of these original native populations, and breeding efforts to develop productive switchgrass cultivars for bioenergy feedstock crops.

Thermal conversion: challenges and opportunities (Conversion)

Enerkem Waste to Biofuel Edmonton Project – From Concept to Commercialization

Speaker: Louis Denommé, General Manager – Innovation Engineering and Westbury Demonstration Plant, Enerkem: Presentation of Enerkem Waste to Biofuel Edmonton project with focus on the challenges to bring to market a new technology, including scale-up, pilot scale, demonstration scale, engineering, project, fabrication and construction up to full scale industrial plant operation.

Hydro-treatment of fast pyrolysis oil in supercritical ethanol using nano-structured catalysts

Speaker: Charles Xu, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario Authors: Shima Ahmadi, Cheng Guo, Zhognshun Yuan, Sohrab Rohani, Chunbao (Charles) Xu Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University Bio-oils/bio-crude oils from the fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass can be used as promising bio-fuels after upgrading to reduce their instability, viscosity, corrosiveness, and oxygen

• content. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process is an effective route to upgrade bio-oils to produce

liquid transportation fuels. This process is attractive due to high carbon efficiency and technology compatibility with existing petroleum refinery technologies. The main objective of this project is to upgrade fast pyrolysis oil into advanced drop-in bio-fuels via HDO in supercritical ethanol solvent using CoMo-based catalysts supported on nano-structured supports materials such as SBA-15 and MCM-41. In order to compare the effectiveness of these new supports, some conventional supports such as Al2O3, activated carbon (pellet and powder) and HZSM-5 were also used reference. Here, HDO of fast pyrolysis oil was carried out with ethanol solvent in a 500ml batch reactor at 300oC under 5 MPa hydrogen gas using CoMo/SBA-15, CoMo/MCM-41, CoMo/Al2O3, CoMo/HZSM-5, CoMo/C-pellet and CoMo/C-powder catalysts for 3 hours (including the reactor heating time). The

• il fractions (OF) obtained were characterized by CHNS analyzer, KF titrator, GPC and viscometer. The

HDO operations with all catalysts produced similar yields of OF. CHNS results showed that oxygen contents of the all OFs obtained are similar, decreased by 50wt%. The results of this work suggest that nano-structure catalyst supports have similar effects in the pyrolysis oil HDO process. Effects of metal loading in the supported catalysts on their HDO activities in hydro-treatment of pyrolysis oil will be studied.

Utilization of char from biomass gasification in catalytic applications

Speaker: Naomi Klinghoffer, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The City College of New York

Author: Naomi Klinghoffer, Marco Castaldi, Ange Nzihou Catalysts are often useful in biomass conversion processes, but the presence of chlorine, sulfur, and tar produces harsh environments where conventional catalysts may deactivate. This research presents char as an alternative catalyst which is inexpensive and is produced as a by-product of biomass conversion processes. Char was collected following gasification of poplar wood in steam and CO2 environments at temperatures ranging from 500-920oC. Its catalytic activity for decomposition of hydrocarbons was investigated, as char catalysts could be used for conversion of gasification tars. Catalytic activity of char was demonstrated for decomposition of toluene, propane, and methane. Char exhibited a lower light-off temperature than a conventional catalyst (Pt/γ-Al2O3). Char surface area was in the range of 429-687 m2g-1, which is higher than conventional catalyst

• supports. Char surface area increased with gasification temperature, which improved catalytic
• activity. Char porosity varied with gasification environment and influenced the char's catalytic
• activity. Gasification in CO2 produced microporous char. However, diffusion limitations in micro

pores of the char reduced accessible catalytic surface area, resulting in lower catalytic activity. The inorganics in the char were quantified and higher concentrations of inorganics resulted in higher catalytic activity of char. In addition, inorganics were highly dispersed on the char surface. However, at 1000oC, agglomeration of inorganics was observed, which reduced the catalytic activity of char. Oxygen functional groups on the char surface were characterized and acidic and basic groups were

• identified. For reactions at high temperatures, acidic oxygen functional groups desorb and therefore

do not influence the catalytic activity of char. Catalytic activity of char was compared to ash. Ash had significantly lower catalytic activity. This is attributed to the fact that carbon in char provides a high surface area support on which inorganics are highly dispersed.

Biomass combustion and gasification for greenhouse carbon dioxide enrichment

Speaker/author: Yves Roy, Masters Student, McGill University The increasing popularity of biomass heating systems for greenhouse provides a new source of CO2 for greenhouse growers. The main objective of this research project was to determine the feasibility

• f using the CO2 present in the flue gas produced during direct biomass combustion or combusted

syngas of gasified biomass for greenhouse CO2 enrichment. A flue gas purification system was designed, constructed and installed on the chimney of a 35.17 kW wood pellet furnace (SBI Caddy Alterna) and on the calorific unit chimney of a 10 kW wood pellet pilot-scale downdraft gasifier (GEK Level 4, Model V3.1.0). The purification system consists of a rigid box air filter (MERV rating 14, 0.3 microns pores) followed by two sets made of a heating element and a catalytic converter. For direct combustion, the results were satisfactory since they ensure human and plant safety after dilution into the ambient air of the greenhouse. For syngas combustion, noxious components concentrations after dilution into the ambient air of the greenhouse were significantly below the exposure limit to ensure human and plant safety for CO, NOx and NO and only slightly under the exposure limit for NO2 and

• SO2. Continuous flue gas analysis shows considerable instability on its composition which has a

significant impact on noxious gases concentrations on the purified flue gas. Until these fluctuations are controlled and attenuated, purified flue gas from gasification cannot be safely used for greenhouse CO2 enrichment without endangering human and plant safety. Experiments show that direct combustion exhaust gas recuperation through the purification system reduces greenhouse

heating costs by 18.8 % which represents a savings of 14.7 $ per week for a tunnel greenhouse of 165.8 m2.

Influence of physical characteristics of feedstock on gasification operation in a down-draft reactor

Speaker: Edris Madadian, PhD Candidate, McGill University Authors: Edris Madadian, Mark Lefsrud, Camilo Perez Lee, Yves Roy Fixed bed gasifiers are one of the most commonly used thermal reactors for producing bioenergy from different types of biomass feedstock. Physical characteristics of fuel materials influence the gasification operation. The feedstock generally move down into the reactor by the force of gravity in a fixed bed gasifier. Low density feedstock resist this downward flow and can result in challenges during the gasification process, specifically bridging of the feedstock above the combustion zone. In this study, the effect of shape, size and bulk density of feedstocks in a down-draft gasifier was

• investigated. Waxed cardboard briquettes (50 mm diameter and 75 mm length) and wood pellet (8

mm diameter and 30 mm length) were tested. The results showed that cardboard briquettes have much better downward flow than wood pellets within the reactor. It was concluded that the bigger and bulkier material caused the least amount of operational problems, while low density materials and smaller sized feedstock resulted in bridging problem. The problem was observed based on a measured pressure drop across the reactor layers and abnormal temperature swings from the sensors, especially in pyrolysis zone. As a consequence of bridging, the combustion zone which is located around the throated area of reduction bell, encountered feedstock starvation resulting in the production of lower quality syngas and a lower efficiency of the overall system.

Micro scale biomass supply chain network modeling for bioenergy production

Speaker: Camilo Perez, Research assistant, McGill University Author: Camilo Perez, Mark Lefsrud, Edris Madadian, Yves Roy Bioenergy can play a key role for generations and has to be considered a renewable energy source. The conversion of biomass to energy has different pathways with gasification being one of them; gasification is defined as combustion without the presence of oxygen as a result the biomass is transformed into syngas which is mainly composed of CO and O2. Logistics, especially biomass transportation is one of the major challenges that needs to be addressed due to the high operational cost of a bioenergy process. Additionally, for gasification processes higher than 500 Kw the logistical challenges increases as a consequence of the amount of biomass that needs to be supplied. Most bioenergy approaches using biomass consider a large scale centralized approach facility and defined the supply chain network in order to optimize biomass transportation and storage. This paper proposes a decentralized bioenergy network modelling approach in order to minimize transportation

• cost. The Saguenay and Lac Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada was selected to model the supply

chain network based on available infrastructure, farms, saw mills and municipal solid waste management facilities using gasification as the biomass to energy pathway. IBSAL MC was selected as the modelling tool to simulate the supply chain network in order to compare these approaches based on their overall operational cost.

Co-pyrolysis of birchwood bio-oil and heavy oil in a mechanically fluidized reactor

Speaker: Anil Kumar Jhawar, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Western Ontario Author: Ryan Lance, Anil Kumar Jhawar, Cedric Briens and Franco Berruti The objective of this project is to integrate bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass in traditional fossil fuel refineries. The ultimate goal is to replace some of the residual oil processed in Fluid CokersTM with bio-oil or bio-oil heavy residues from renewable resources such as birchwood. The petroleum heavy oil was co-pyrolyzed with raw birchwood bio-oil or its high-boiling point fraction (> 130 ºC). The co-pyrolysis was performed at temperatures ranging from 480 to 530 ºC in a continuous mechanically fluidized reactor. The proportion of water-free birchwood bio-oil in the liquid feed was varied from 0 to 44 wt%. The vapor residence time was 12 s in the reactor and 5 s in the hot reactor filter, which was maintained at the same temperature as the reactor. The yield and characteristics of the liquid product, including fuel properties (heating value and water content), flow characteristics (viscosity and density), and elemental composition, were determined. The resulting liquid products were found to have higher carbon content, lower oxygen content and lower pyrolysis water than when pyrolyzing the feedstocks separately. The co-pyrolysis of the high-boiling point fraction of the bio-oil with the heavy oil resulted in higher valuable liquid products with lower

• xygen and water contents when compared to the co-pyrolysis of the raw bio-oil with heavy oil.

Autothermal fast pyrolysis of birch bark

Speaker: Dongbing Li, Postdoctoral Fellow, ICFAR/University of Western Ontario Authors: Dongbing Li, Cedric Briens and Franco Berruti Fast pyrolysis of birch bark sawdust with partial (air) oxidation was studied in a bubbling fluidized bed of sand at reaction temperatures of 500 and 550 °C. A blend of air and nitrogen was used to fluidize the reactor bed, instead of pure nitrogen. Oxygen concentration was varied to study its effect

• n yield, composition, and energy recovery in the gas, char and oil products. The bio-oil vapors were

fractionated using a series of three condensers maintained at desired temperatures, providing a dry bio-oil with only 1 wt. % water. The addition of oxygen to the pyrolysis process increased the production of gases such as CO and

• CO2. It also changed the dry bio-oil properties, reducing its heating value to about 31 MJ/kg,

increasing its oxygen content, reducing its average molecular weight and its tar concentration. The production of phenolics was enhanced. The lower reaction temperature of 500 °C was preferred for both dry bio-oil yield and quality. The oxygen concentration can be adjusted so that partial oxidation of char and bio-oil vapors provides sufficient energy to sustain the pyrolysis process, achieving autothermal pyrolysis for which no external heat is required. Autothermal operation of the pyrolysis process in a sand bed was achieved with an oxygen feed, expressed in grams of oxygen per gram of biomass, of 0.082 for the reaction temperature of 500 °C. When compared to the standard pyrolysis with pure nitrogen, the

yield of dry bio-oil was reduced by 22 %, whereas the total energy content of the dry bio-oil was reduced by 25 %.

Bio-oil gasification using supercritical water in a flow reactor for bio-hydrogen production

Speaker: Kang Kang, PhD Candidate, University of Saskatchewan Authors: Kalpana C. Maheria1, 2, Kang Kang2, Ahmad Tavasoli4, Ramin Azargohar2, Janusz Kozinski3 and Ajay Dalai2*

1 Applied Chemistry Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat - 395

007, Gujarat, India

2 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan 3 Faculty of Science and Engineering, York University 4 School of Chemistry, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Iran

The depletion of fossil fuels and environmental problems caused by fossil fuel utilization has attracted more research in renewable energy. Biomass is currently one of the most important sources

• f renewable energy. Biomass pyrolysis product, bio-oil is a complex mixture rich in acids, alcohols,

aldehydes, esters, ketones, sugars, phenols, phenol derivatives and multifunctional groups (1) thus can be considered as a promising source of bio-energy. However, undesirable properties of bio-oil including high viscosity, thermal instability and corrosiveness limit its direct application so upgrading is necessary before utilization. Also, none of the existing upgrading methods of bio-oil seems flawless (2, 3), thus there is an urgent need for the development of a novel upgrading method. The Supercritical Water Gasification (SCWG) technology possesses many advantages compared with the conventional thermochemical conversions. These advantages include its direct handling capability of wet biomass, lower tar and char production and high H2 production efficiency (4). Therefore, SCWG can be an innovative method for sustainable energy production from bio-oil. In this study, bio-oil gasification experiments were conducted in a supercritical water flow reactor. The experiments were conducted under supercritical conditions for water such as pressure of 3200 psi and within a temperature range from 450°C to 600°C. During the study, the effects of parameters including temperature and residence time were investigated. The results indicated that maximum amounts of hydrogen, methane and hydrocarbons was achieved at 500°C together with the maximum LHV (590 MJ/Kg) of the product gas. Moreover, mol% of hydrocarbon increases with increase in temperature whilst maximum mol% of hydrogen (22.9 %) was observed at 550°C. Corrosion of reactor has been observed in this study and efforts to prevent reactor corrosion and plugging are under progress. References

1. Tang Z, Lu Q, Zhang Y, Zhu XF, Guo QX. One Step Bio-Oil Upgrading through Hydrotreatment, Esterification, and Cracking. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 2009 2009/08/05; 48(15):6923-9. 2. Zhang Q, Chang J, Wang TJ, Xu Y. Review of biomass pyrolysis oil properties and upgrading

• research. Energy Conversion and Management. 2007 1//; 48(1):87-92.

3. Huber GW, Iborra S, Corma A. Synthesis of transportation fuels from biomass: chemistry, catalysts, and engineering. Chemical reviews. 2006; 106:4044-98. 4. Basu P. Biomass gasification and pyrolysis: practical design and theory: Academic press; 2010

Bio-syndiesel and alcohol production from synthesis gas

Speaker/author: Philip Boahene, Ph.D Candidate (Chemical Engineering), University of Saskatchewan The conversion of syngas/bio-syngas to higher (C2+) alcohols as well as synthetic hydrocarbons have garnered immense research interest in the field of syngas conversion to green fuels. These promising alternative fuels are environmentally benign due to their sulfur-free nature; hence could be easily incorporated as additives into gasoline mix or directly be employed as fuel and subsequently integrated in existing transportation infrastructures. Applications of catalytic systems with desirable physico-chemical properties for both higher alcohols synthesis (HAS) and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) reactions continue to interest academia and industrial researchers. In this regard, whereas alkali-doped MoS2 (ADM) catalyst, promoted with cobalt (Co) and rhodium (Rh) still remains an outstanding catalyst with great potential to be further explored for HAS commercialization, Co-based catalyst is excellent to produce C5 – C22 range of liquid hydrocarbons via FTS reactions. In the present research, two main objectives have been investigated: (1) development of novel ADM catalyst systems to effectively carry out the CO hydrogenation reaction with appreciably high selectivity towards higher alcohols using multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and novel ordered mesoporous carbon; and (2) performance enhancement of Co-based CNT-supported catalysts via new preparation methods and the subsequent incorporation of promoters. In this regard, the effects

• f promoters (Ru, Re, Pt, Pd) on Co-MWCNT catalyst for the FTS reactions as well as the influence of

binders (bentonite clay, coal tar, and humic acid) incorporation into sulfided MWCNT-supported KCoRhMo catalyst for higher alcohol synthesis reactions studies have been systematically carried out in fixed-bed micro reactors under typical industrial conditions. Despite the total alcohol yield of 0.261 g/(g cat h) observed by conducting higher alcohol synthesis reaction at T=330°C, P=8.3MPa, H2/CO=1.25, and GHSV=3.6 m3STP/(kg cat/h) for the fine powdered sample, the relatively higher pressure drop could be minimized by using the pelletized form of the catalyst (formulated with the incorporation of selected binders).

Green diesel production from biomass: Characterization of the biomass and transition metallic nitride catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation reactions

Speaker: Naveenji Arun, PhD Candidate, University of Saskatchewan Authors: Naveenji Arun, Sonil Nanda, Ramin Azargohar, Janusz A. Kozinski and Ajay. K. Dalai Production of third generation fuels are mainly dependent on environment friendly, renewable and cost effective feedstocks such as biomass. Biochar and bio-oil were obtained by the slow and fast pyrolysis of biomass (pinewood, timothy grass and wheat straw). The fast pyrolysis of pinewood, timothy grass and wheat straw resulted in the yield of 40-48 wt. % bio-oils, 21-24 wt. % biochars and 17-24 wt. % gases. The slow pyrolysis of the three biomasses produced 18-24 wt. % bio-oils, 42-44

• wt. % biochar and 24-27 wt. % gases. Pinewood is a promising feedstock as the yield of bio-oil was

high (48 wt. %) in comparison to other feedstocks (Timothy grass – 40 wt. %; Wheat straw – 37 wt. %). Transition metallic nitride catalysts such as NiMo supported on γ-Al2O3, SBA-15 and hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) were synthesized using incipient wetness impregnation method to perform the hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oils obtained from biomass pyrolysis. All the catalysts were prepared by impregnation method with the same metal loading (12 wt. % Mo and 4 wt. % Ni). Synthesized catalysts were extensively characterized using XRD, BET, NH3-TPD, CO-chemisorption and XANES techniques to understand their physico-chemical properties. Characterization results indicate that nitride of NiMo/SBA-15 had the highest surface area (484 m2/g) among the other nitride catalysts and average pore diameter of 9.4 nm. NH3-TPD results indicate that γ-Al2O3 exhibited higher acidity in comparison to SBA-15 and HMS. Catalysts with moderate acidity are anticipated to favor hydrodeoxygenation reactions in comparison to less acidic catalyst materials with better bio-oil upgrading abilities.

Catalytic Bioethanol combustion under Iron Pentacarbonyl precursor in aerosol form

Speaker/author: Abhishek Raj, PhD Candidate, University of Waterloo Biofuels are gaining momentum globally as potential alternatives for conventional carbon based fossil fuels. This is because of their overall low carbon footprint; however, in order to be an acceptable replacement, their emissions must also remain bounded by the approved limits which are continuously becoming more stringent. These constraints can be met by adopting catalytic combustion for biofuels which is aptly demonstrated in the present study. The present work utilizes the in-flame injection of a novel catalyst, Iron Pentacarbonyl [Fe(CO)5] , to analyze its impact on emission reduction. A simple biofuel like bioethanol is used so as to simplify the combustion process and to better understand the direct impact of this catalyst on emission reduction. The fuel-oxidizer ratio is so controlled so as to simulate the actual air combustion conditions. The experimental setup includes a counter-flow diffusion flame burner with separate inlets for fuel, oxidizer and catalyst. Separate injection mechanism for fuel and catalyst are employed since both of them exist in liquid

• state. The gas samples during the combustion process are collected from different axial and radial

positions for comparative analysis with a similar combustion case without catalyst.

Environmental, social and economic sustainability of biofuels (SEES)

Toward life cycle sustainability assessment of bio-based products and energy systems

Speaker: Goretty Dias, Assistant Professor, University of Waterloo Authors: Hamed Mohammadifardi, Goretty Dias Canada, with its abundant agricultural land and forests resources, is going to play an important role in the emerging global bio-economy. However, large scale production of biofuel and energy in Canada could result in social and environmental concerns, such as water scarcity and biodiversity loss, offsetting other benefits associated with bio-based product systems, and leading to a spectrum

• f business risks. Although there have been many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies that provide

insights into greenhouse gas and energy aspects of bio-based product systems, LCA-based tools are not sufficiently developed to consider the full spectrum of sustainability aspects, particularly socio- ecological systems and their dynamic behaviors; therefore a more comprehensive assessment is required that considers various impacts on different social, environmental and economic systems. We present a conceptual-analytical approach, connecting resilience theory to LCA, and propose a new conceptual framework integrating both environmental engineering and ecological perspectives. In the engineering perspective, complexities are reduced to average values, environmental changes are studied within linear cause-effect chain models, and impacts are assessed as the system deviates from its average steady state. In contrast, in the ecological perspective, environmental systems are seen as dynamic self-organizing systems, and the impacts are envisioned as larger changes to the systems’ threshold. Based on these differences, we can select appropriate tools to analyze the full supply chain, achieving a more comprehensive sustainability analysis of that system. We have considered the concepts of resilience and socio-ecological systems, and evaluated their importance within life cycle assessment of bio-based production systems. We provide an example of how these two concepts can be used to help build a comprehensive life cycle sustainability assessment framework, which will not only increase the efficiency of those systems, but also improve their resilience.

Towards ecological biofuels: The case of cattail (Typha spp)

Speaker: Henry David (Hank) Venema, Vice President, Science & Innovation, International Institute for Sustainable Development (ISSD) Authors: Matt McCandless1, Manuel Rodriguez2, Richard Grosshans1, Hank Venema1

1International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Manitoba

2University of Nantes, Nantes, France

The fundamental rational for developing advanced biofuels is the reduced carbon footprint , in substituting renewable for non-renewable feedstocks, which is motivated by global climate policy

• concerns. Very little attention has been paid to the potential for biofuel feedstocks to contribute to
• ther environmental and sustainable development concerns such as aquatic ecosystem health and

food security. In this presentation we illustrate the potential for ecological biofuels with the case of cattail (typha spp.), which produces significant positive ecosystem health and food security benefits in addition to being a very competitive energy source. Cattail harvesting is presented as a component of a regional environmental strategy for addressing non-point source eutrophication and phosphorus recycling in the specific context of Lake Winnipeg, the most eutrophic large lake in the world. The multiple benefits of cattail harvesting are presented through an LCA analysis of carbon, energy and phosphorus cycles for five alternative cattail value-chains: biochar, syngas, ethanol, biocoke and

• biofiber. The overall goal of the study is to inform policy and investment decisions regarding the use
• f this novel and abundant feedstock and its integration with regional ecosystem management.

Identifying and understanding the role(s) of stakeholders in BFN

Speaker: Amy Lemay, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Large-scale, multi-disciplinary, publicly funded research networks face increasing pressure to engage with multiple stakeholders in order to deliver on the socio-economic expectations of technological

• innovation. How a network understands who its stakeholders are and conceptualizes their role in

shaping technological innovation is likely to influence key decisions related to the direction and goals of the research program and ultimately affects the success of the program. That stakeholders matter has become widely accepted across various disciplines that study technological innovation, most notably innovation studies and science and technology studies. In order to identify how stakeholders are represented and conceptualized with BFN, the BFN NCE proposal was subjected to an inductive coding processing to select distinct references to stakeholders, which formed descriptive codes. The codes were subjected to a critical analysis and grouped into broader

• categories. Three distinct categories by which stakeholders are represented and conceptualized

emerged from the analysis of the proposal: 1. Temporal: representations of stakeholders in a non-linear, dynamic temporal relationship with technological innovations that is both interdependent and iterative. 2. Spatial - stakeholders are represented and conceptualized by several spatial factors:

• a. Geographically
• b. Position in the value chain:
• c. Internal or external to the Network:
• d. Scale (e.g. local, national or international; individual, organization, or collective)

3. Functional – stakeholders are characterized on the basis of the role(s) they perform and in achieving socio-economic and sustainability objectives.

Identifying representations and conceptualizations of stakeholders at the proposal phase of the technological innovation process provides a benchmark for longitudinal analyses of the dynamics of representations and conceptualizations of stakeholders through several years of operation of BFN. Next steps in the research include analyses of other Network documents to examine how the understanding of the role of BFN stakeholders evolves over time.

Assessing priority conversion technologies for biorefining pathways

Speaker: Heather MacLean, Professor, University of Toronto Authors: Heather L. MacLean and Bradley A. Saville The economic and environmental performance of the entire biofuel/bioproduct system, from feedstock to end use of the product, will determine the degree to which products reach their full potential as alternatives to fossil-based fuels/products. Significant uncertainty exists regarding how well “second generation” biofuels/ bioproducts will satisfy different environmental metrics when produced on commercial scale. Within this project, we have developed and applied a rigorous and systematic life cycle-based framework to provide accurate analyses of the techno-economic and environmental performance of priority conversion technologies identified within BioFuelNet. The presentation will detail the development of a web application for life cycle data collection, the integration of collected data into the overall techno-economic and life cycle assessment framework, and initial results of the framework’s application. Initial applications include pathways that produce alcohols and alkanes from lignocellulosic biomass and alkanes from lipids. The presentation will conclude by discussing overall insights from the work, identifying key opportunities to improve bioconversion technologies, feedstocks and end uses, while guiding future directions in the biofuels/products industries and associated public policies.

Production and conversion of algae and novel feedstocks (Feedstock)

Status, challenges and opportunities for microalgae biofuels in Canada

Speaker/author: Roberto E. Armenta, Director of R & D, Mara Renewables Corporation The last ten years have seen a renewed interest in biofuels due to concerns regarding climate change and increased awareness that fossil fuels will eventually run out. These concerns have triggered research and development efforts that have yielded significant progress globally and, at some level, in Canada. Microalgal biofuel is a third generation biofuel with a significant potential to improve upon first and second generation biofuels. There are opportunities to increase productivity, to produce additional high value products, and to use nutrients from several waste feedstocks, including wastewater. Nevertheless, microalgal biofuel is a relatively young technology with some

• limitations. There is a need for research and development that focuses on optimizations in the areas
• f strain development and biological enhancement to improve use of waste nutrient feedstocks.

Moreover, research on cost effective and sustainable downstream processes to extract and recover biofuel feedstock must continue. Ultimately, these improvements face the challenge of proving their technical and economical feasibility through replication and validation at the large commercial scale. Although microalgal biofuel technologies are likely to have significant economical and sustainable benefits for Canada, political and financial support for third generation biofuel are lacking. This instability could limit the development of new sources of biofuels and affect Canada’s ability to reduce carbon emissions.

Residual corn crop hydrolysate and silage juice as alternative carbon sources for mixotrophic cultivation of a microalgae-bacteria consortium for biofuel production

Speaker: Malorie Gelinas, Postdoctoral Fellow, UQTR Authors: Malorie Gelinas, Thi Thanh Ha Pham, Kokou Adjallé, Simon Barnabé, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Lignocellulosic Materials Research Center Microalgal biomass represents a sustainable alternative to fossil consumption. Value may be retrieved from microalgae in the form of neutral lipids (triacylglycerides) that can be used for biofuel (biodiesel), bioenergy, and high-value co-products. To maximize biomass productivity, cultivation of microalgae in mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions is recommended. However, supplementation of organic carbon contributes significantly to the high cost of microalgal

• production. Therefore, the use of second generation carbon sources from agriculture and industrial

residuals is an interesting approach. This study sought to determine the efficiency of two available and low cost organic carbon sources, residual corn crop hydrolysate and corn silage juice, on growth and fatty acid production of a Chlorella spp – bacterial consortium. Residual corn crop hydrolysate is mainly composed of glucose, xylose, and arabinose, whereas silage juice contained volatile organic acids and lactic acid. Algal biomass, neutral lipid content, metabolic activity, and reactive oxygen species were measured using flow cytometry. Photosynthetic activity was measured with a Plant Efficiency Analyser (PEA) and lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial electron transport and ascorbic peroxidase were also measured. Under mixotrophic conditions, the photosynthetic activity remained constant throughout the experiment, whereas a decrease was observed under heterophophic

• conditions. A maximum microalgal biomass productivity of 0.8 g/L was obtained with 1 g/L of

residual corn hydrolysate whatever the trophic strategy. This corresponded to an increase of 21 and 22% compared to the biomass produced in glucose and silage juice under mixotrophic condition,

• respectively. This increase varied between 11-28% under heterotrophic conditions. Our study

suggested that the use of residual corn crop hydrolysate represents a promising solution as a low cost organic carbon source to increase algae biomass.

A case for yeast single cell oils

Speaker: Ryan Sestric, Graduate Student, Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, with David

• B. Levin, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba

Authors: Ryan Sestric, David B. Levin, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba Biofuels research is dominated by microalgal Single Cell Oils (SCOs), but multiple biological and engineering barriers must be addressed before algae-based biofuels are commercially available. Photoautotrophic microalgae generate biomass and lipids from photosynthesis using sunlight and CO2, and together these provide ‘free’ energy and carbon sources for the cells. Industrially, this process has three significant problems: slow growth, low cell density cultures, and bioreactor design

• concerns. Doubling times vary greatly by species and environmental conditions, and range from

several hours to days. Culture cell density is limited to prevent self-shading from the light source. Enclosed photobioreactors are made from plastics or glass to allow for photon penetration, but are costly in mass cultivation. Open-system photobioreactors while inexpensive, are exposed to the environment and have less process control, increased risk of contamination, and are subject to seasonal weather. Alternatively, yeast SCOs can out compete their microalgal counterparts, with fast, dense, and robust cell growth from multiple carbon sources while bypassing the need for sunlight requirements. Yeasts store neutral lipid as triacylglycerides (TAGs), and synthesize fatty acid chains similar in composition to microalgae. Cell cultures cannot photosynthesize and must be supplemented with exogenous carbon sources, but low-cost feedstocks such as biodiesel derived ‘waste’ glycerol, agricultural and commercial food wastes, and lignocellulosic hydrolyzate sugars have been demonstrated to support high cell densities and TAG yields. Yeats have high growth rates (short doubling times) that ranging from minutes to hours, and are not limited by self-shading. Culture densities have been reported to exceed 100 g L-1 of biomass, with some strains storing more than 60% of their cell mass as neutral

• lipid. Yeast SCO platforms provide an efficient method to produce large quantities of oil quickly,

have inexpensive bioreactor designs and components, and remediate the environment by reducing waste carbon disposed in landfills.

Optimized lighting for algae growth rate increase

Speaker: Nathalie Renaud, Program Manager in Energy and Natural Resources, National Institute of Optics Two (2) projects realized to optimize the lighting efficiency and distribution for algae growth rates increase, and the results obtained will be presented. One of the project uses specialized LED lighting for a photobioreactor, and the other uses sunlight for an open pond. These projects were done with partners developing their expertise in algae growth since INO’s expertise lies in the design and fabrication of optical systems.

Development and scale-up of novel conversion pathways (Conversion)

Bio-syndiesel and alcohol production from synthesis gas

Speaker/author: Vahid Vosoughi , PhD Candidate, Biosystems Engineering, University of Saskatchewan The conversion of syngas/bio-syngas to higher (C2+) alcohols as well as synthetic hydrocarbons have garnered immense research interest in the field of syngas conversion to green fuels. These promising alternative fuels are environmentally benign due to their sulfur-free nature; hence could be easily incorporated as additives into gasoline mix or directly be employed as fuel and subsequently integrated in existing transportation infrastructures. Application of catalytic systems with desirable physico-chemical properties for both higher alcohols synthesis (HAS) and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) reactions continue to interest academia and industrial researcher. In this regard, whereas alkali-doped MoS2 (ADM) catalyst, promoted with cobalt (Co) and rhodium (Rh) still remains an outstanding catalyst with great potential to be further explored for HAS commercialization; Co-based catalyst is excellent to produce C5 – C22 range of liquid hydrocarbons via FTS reactions. In the present research, two main objectives have been investigated: (1) development of novel ADM catalyst systems to effectively carry out the CO hydrogenation reaction with appreciably high selectivity towards higher alcohols using multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and novel ordered mesoporous carbon; and (2) performance enhancement of Co-based CNT-supported catalysts via new preparation methods and the subsequent incorporation of promoters. In this regard, the effects

• f promoters (Ru, Re, Pt, Pd) on Co-MWCNT catalyst for the FTS reactions as well as the influence of

binders (bentonite clay, coal tar, and humic acid) incorporation into sulfided MWCNT-supported KCoRhMo catalyst for higher alcohol synthesis reactions studies have been systematically carried out in fixed-bed micro reactors under typical industrial conditions.

Breakout 3: Cellulosic biofuels: the path to commercialization (Fuels)

Cellulosic biofuels – Iogen’s path to commercialization

Speaker: Ziyad Rahme, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Iogen Energy There is a large opportunity to produce cellulosic biofuels from agricultural residues, and in particular from sugar cane bagasse in Brazil, and cereal straws and corn stover in North America. Raízen, Brazil’s largest ethanol producer, is currently building a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, the first that is using Iogen’s technology. This presentation will provide a general overview of the current state of the global commercial cellulosic biofuels industry and the key drivers behind it. Then, the presentation will describe Iogen’s path from development to commercialization. This will include a description of the technology development and demonstration Iogen has conducted at its facility in Ottawa; the challenges Iogen has faced in trying to commercialize its technology; the synergies created by integrating with an existing sugarcane mill in Brazil; and some of the exciting new developments that Iogen is currently working on. The presentation will close with a discussion of the key challenges and opportunities the industry faces as a whole as it enters the initial stages of commercialization.

Fermentation challenges facing cellulosic ethanol producers

Speaker/author: Graeme M Walker, Professor of Zymology, Abertay University, Scotland, UK Emerging fuel alcohol production processes that exploit lignocellulosic biomass are faced with many scientific and technological challenges. These include constraints involved in effective depolymerisation of feedstocks to fermentable sugars, followed by their efficient fermentation to commercially acceptable yields of ethanol. The microbes of choice for bioethanol production remain the yeasts, due to their robustness and proven performance at industrial scale. However, for second generation bioethanol processes using yeasts, several challenges remain to be fully overcome. For example, lignocellulosic hydrolysates represent nutritionally hostile environments for yeast growth and metabolism as they comprise a mixed bag of hexose and pentose sugars, insufficient bioavailable nitrogen/minerals/vitamins, together with toxic cocktails of feedstock-derived inhibitors. This presentation will cover current major challenges and future opportunities of lignocellulose-to- ethanol as this technology moves from demonstration pilot-plants to full-scale industrial facilities. Examples of novel approaches to address these challenges will be presented, including research from the author’s laboratory on new methods of biomass saccharification and aspects of yeast nutritional

• physiology. Regarding the latter, minerals are often ignored as fermentation nutrients, but they play

very important roles in influencing yeast stress tolerance and ethanol production. This talk will highlight the impact of key minerals such as Mg, Ca and Zn on yeast physiology and fermentation performance.

Opportunities and Challenges for Butanol as a Transportation Fuel

Speaker: Professor Bradley Saville, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto Authors: Bradley A. Saville, Alan Lam, Heather L. MacLean, Mohammad Pour Bafrani, University of Toronto Butanol has promise as a transportation fuel, due to its high energy density and compatibility with existing fuels and infrastructure. Some high profile companies have embarked upon technology development programs to commercialize biobutanol production, following early work by

• rganizations such as IFP and Stake Technology that investigated cellulosic butanol ~ 20 years ago.

As we consider these new developments, we embarked upon a study to evaluate the economics and environmental impacts of cellulosic butanol. This involved a comprehensive process design for biobutanol production using aspen/poplar as a feedstock, a full life cycle assessment of cellulosic biobutanol, and an estimate of the cost to produce butanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The technology platform is based upon autohydrolysis to pretreat aspen, followed by enzyme hydrolysis produce cellulosic sugars, and subsequent fermentation. Options to utilize glucose only, versus glucose and xylose were considered. To alleviate the toxicity of butanol during fermentation, a clear liquid fermentation strategy was employed, coupled with continuous removal of butanol, which was subsequently distilled and purified for sale as a road fuel. Based upon this design, the capital and

• perating cost to produce cellulosic butanol was estimated, and overall GHG emissions for the fuel

were calculated based upon process inputs, outputs, and upstream/downstream factors. In this presentation, we report upon the results from this study, comparing the financial and environmental performance of cellulosic butanol to cellulosic ethanol and to gasoline.

Progress toward the adoption of advanced cellulosic biofuels

Speaker: David Stuart, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta Authors: David Stuart, XiaoDong Liu, Isabella Wong, Diana Pham As energy prices and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise the search for cheap, sustainable sources

• f liquid transport fuel compatible with the existing energy infrastructure has followed. Fuel ethanol

has thus far been the most well adopted biofuel owing to its relative ease of production. Ethanol finds application as a transport fuel but its utilization within the current energy distribution and delivery infrastructure is influenced by its modest energy density and miscibility with water. Biodiesel derived from plant and algae oils has also grown in use but requires some engineering for adaptation to cold climates. It is of course essential to obtain biofuels from sources that will not compete with the food industry. Lignocellulosic biomass offers rich potential for the production of liquid biofuels for an energy hungry world. This presentation will focus on the potential of, and problems associated with, bioconversion of lignocellulose to yield higher carbon alcohols butanol and isobutanol. Both alcohols have been produced in numerous microbial cell systems. Butanol and isobutanol hold greater energy density than ethanol and are more fully compatible with existing transport fuel storage and distribution infrastructure. However, the biological conversion process is more complex and the alcohols themselves are more toxic to the producer than is ethanol. Strategies for butanol and isobutanol production and progress toward maximizing the yields of these products

will be discussed further in addition to the limitations we currently face in making these candidate biofuels economically viable.

Engines, combustion and biofuels (Utilization)

Combustion pollutant emissions from next-generation alcohol fuels

Speaker: Graeme Watson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical Engineering, McGill University Authors: Graeme M. G. Watson, Philippe Versailles, Antonio Lipardi, and Jeffrey M. Bergthorson To address climate change, there is renewed interest in using significant concentrations of alcohols in transportation fuels. Alcohols are currently used in small quantities in conventional fuels, but an increase in the relative proportion of alcohols could have significant environmental benefits. However, large uncertainties relating to the potential generation of pollutant emissions (nitric oxides, soot and unburned hydrocarbons) have impeded efforts to regulate use and have prevented wide- scale adoption of novel fuels. This presentation reviews the latest developments relating to the emissions potential of alcohol- based fuels. There is need to study the formation of pollutants from the combustion of alcohols, so that the mechanisms which produce pollutants can be better understood. Recent advances have been made by the BioFuelNet community and other collaborations to establish this information. Through the BioFuelNet initiative, new emissions data and comprehensive thermochemical models have been developed to aid in policy decisions. These data show that alcohols are clean burning fuels that produce low regulated emissions. However, significant increases in unregulated toxic emissions, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and ketones, are of additional

• concern. This presentation reviews this information.

Feasibility and emissions level of utilizing syngas/biogas fuel blend in a stationary gas turbine engine

Speaker/author: HsuChew Lee, Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering, University of Calgary Burning syngas in lean-premixed stationary gas turbine combustors has the abilities to achieve ultra low emissions and also address security of power supply. Therefore, syngas represent a highly promising renewable energy source to produce power with little carbon emissions. However, the variation of hydrogen in the syngas mixtures has impeded the widespread of utilizing syngas under lean-premixed condition. Hence, the current most common technology used for burning syngas in a stationary gas turbine is the diffusion combustion system. It is becoming clear that diffusion

combustion system is incapable of achieve low emissions without postcombustion controls that require additional costs. While the lean-premixed combustion systems have some attractive aspects, they also highlight significant challenges for high hydrogen content fuels such as tendency to flashback, pre-ignition, and combustion instabilities that need to be addressed before syngas can used under lean-premixed condition. In this presentation, I will present the feasibility and the emissions level of utilizing syngas blended with biogas in a stationary gas turbine engine using numerical approach. The fuel blend will lower the reactivity of hydrogen, the propensity of syngas to flashback, and the tendency to pre-ignite under lean-premixed condition. The numerical set-up is based on the laboratory-scale’s counterflow configuration that might shed some lights on utilizing the fuel blend in a stationary gas turbine engine without sacrificing the engine efficiency with a lower emissions level.

Biofuels utilization research, development and demonstration at NRC

Speaker: Shaji Manipurath, Director R & D (Acting), Gas Turbines, National Research Council Canada The talk will focus on an overview of NRC activities in the area of biofuel utilization R & D and Demonstration, in both stationary and aviation applications. Recent results from aviation biofuel engine and flight tests will be presented, along with an overview of the NRC's programs and future priorities in this area.