Assessment of Conversion Technologies for Bioalcohol Fuel ...

In addition, this size plant will require large quantities of waste biomass resources.
The cost of transporting waste agricultural and forest biomass resources from beyond
a 30-40 mile radius from the plant would likely increase the feedstock cost beyond the
assumed $45.00/dry ton. However, if this facility was co-located with a large
traditional corn-to-ethanol or sugarcane-to-ethanol plant, then a sufficient supply of
low-cost feedstock might already exist on-site.
Thermochemical System (Electricity Only)
This $60 million plant is projected to have the capability to produce electricity at
$0.071/kWh, which is within the average current wholesale cost of electricity in
California ($0.070-$0.080/kWh). This electricity cost is much less than that for current
generation biomass combustion plants that typically produces electricity for an
average of $0.091/kWh.
These calculations assume that the 550 kWh/DT of electricity produced is sold to the
grid at a wholesale price of $0.071/kWh. Improvements in these thermochemical
technologies have the potential of reducing ethanol production costs to below
$1.00/gallon by 2012.
Socio-Political Effectiveness (E5)
Various socio-political issues will need to be addressed for all types of bioenergy
facilities, including general siting issues that often engender local community
opposition to new energy projects. Even conventional technology bioenergy
facilities face concerns such as water usage, waste disposal, emissions and odors.
Some of these same concerns will affect the siting of cellulosic biomass-to-alcohol
plants. Transportation and storage of biomass feedstocks pose an additional set of
concerns that need to be faced in the siting and permitting of bioenergy projects.
Cultivation of energy crops engenders further issues involving land and water use,
competition with food production, etc.
One important factor in overcoming opposition to individual projects is for nextgeneration
conversion technologies to develop and implement the best available
environmental control technologies for air emissions and wastewater and solid
waste effluents. Currently, some environmental groups are resistant to conversion
processes that operate at high temperatures (e.g. above 400 o F). These groups
believe that high temperature processes can produce dioxins and other hazardous
compounds. However, since thermochemical systems such as that depicted as
system A in Table 5 emit minimal particulate air emissions, it is not believed that
this will be an issue. Biochemical systems employing acids or other hazardous
materials will need to be especially attentive to storage and handling practices for
such materials that allay community and environmental agency concerns.
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