Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2022 Program

Claire Wayner ’22
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Certificate in Environmental Studies
THESIS TITLE
Optimization of Biomass
Feedstock and
Bioenergy Facility Siting
for a Net-zero U.S.
Energy System
ADVISER
Jesse Jenkins,
Assistant Professor of
Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering
and the Andlinger
Center for Energy and
the Environment
Bioenergy technologies are an important
component of a net-zero energy system that
use biomass as an energy source, while also
capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide to
mitigate climate impacts. Significant research
has been conducted using macro-energy system
modeling on the regional and national potential
for bioenergy in the United States. These results
are yet to be downscaled to a more granular
spatial distribution in order to fully understand
the local impacts of a bioenergy economy. My
research built upon the results of a macro-energy
system model to create spatially optimized
county-level networks of biomass and bioenergy
production for the continental United States.
The resulting distribution favored a local and
decentralized production model wherein most
infrastructure exists in close proximity to
both energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO 2
)
sequestration networks in order to minimize
transport costs. Several sensitivity analyses
illustrated that changing the type and price of
biomass supply can shift production to different
parts of the country. Determining these key
inputs — location of energy demand, available
CO 2
sequestration networks, and a preference for
the type of biomass utilized — can thus have a
significant influence on the spatial development
of a bioenergy system in the United States.
NEW ENERGY FUTURE
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