Cost to produce switchgrass and cost to produce ethanol from switchgrass for several levels of biorefinery investment cost and biomass to ethanol conversion rates

Haque, Mohua; Epplin, Francis M.

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.07.008

Cited by 44 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, based on Abengoa, the only known operating advanced biofuel plant in the region, the cost to produce a cubic meter of ethanol from corn stover is approximately 608 $ m À3 [46]. Haque and Epplin [35] estimated similar ethanol breakeven prices (560e720 $ m À3 ) for producing ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks in the region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Haankuku

Epplin

Kakani

2015

Biomass and Bioenergy

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a b s t r a c tSpecialized varieties of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.) may be an eligible feedstock for advanced biofuel designation under the USA Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These non-food industrial beets could double ethanol production per hectare compared to alternative feedstocks. A mixed-integer mathematical programming model was constructed to determine the breakeven price of ethanol produced from industrial beets, and to determine the optimal size and biorefinery location. The model, based on limited field data, evaluates Southern Plains beet production in a 3-year crop rotation, and beet harvest, transportation, and processing. The optimal strategy depends critically on several assumptions including a just-in-time harvest and delivery system that remains to be tested in field trials. Based on a wet beet to ethanol conversion rate of 110 dm 3 Mg À1 and capital cost of 128 M$ for a 152 dam 3 y À1 biorefinery, the estimated breakeven ethanol price was 507 $ m À3 . The average breakeven production cost of corn (Zea mays L.) grain ethanol ranged from 430 to 552 $ m À3 based on average net corn feedstock cost of 254 and 396 $ m À3 in 2014 and 2013, respectively. The estimated net beet ethanol delivered cost of 207 $ m À3 was lower than the average net corn feedstock cost of 254e396$ m À3 in 2013 and 2014. If for a mature industry, the cost to process beets was equal to the cost to process corn, the beet breakeven ethanol price would be $387 m -3 (587 $ m À3 gasoline equivalent).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Haankuku

Epplin

Kakani

2015

Biomass and Bioenergy

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“…Equation (10) is optimized subject to equations (2)e(4) and (6) and (11)e(13). Equation (11) restricts the quantity to be stored in year t from land class j in county i to be no more than the quantity to be baled in year t from land class j in county i.…”

Section: Model 2: Incorporating Interyear Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Switchgrass procurement strategies for managing yield variability: Estimating the cost-efficient D (downtime cost) L (land to lease) frontier

Debnath

Epplin

Stoecker

2015

Biomass and Bioenergy

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Biophysical model DL frontier Land lease Switchgrass Storage a b s t r a c tLignocellulosic biorefineries that plan to use switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) biomass exclusively will encounter both temporal (across years) and spatial (across locations within a given year) variability in feedstock production. Long term land leases could be employed to facilitate feedstock availability for the expected life of the biorefinery. If the quantity of land leased is based on average yields, in some years more biomass will be produced than can be processed. In other years feedstock production on the leased land may be insufficient to prevent biorefinery downtime. An optimal strategy for identifying which land to lease and seed to switchgrass, while considering yield variability and the opportunity cost of biorefinery downtime, is the focus of the research. The objective is to determine for a given biorefinery location the least-cost quantity, quality, and location of land to lease for alternative estimates of biorefinery downtime cost due to variable switchgrass yields. Fifty years of weather data are used to simulate switchgrass yield distributions for a case study region. An innovative mathematical programming model is developed and used to reveal the cost-efficient D (Downtime Cost) L (Land to Lease) frontier for a 2 Gg d À1 biomass capacity biorefinery. If interyear storage is not permitted, 60,492 ha would be required to insure that the biorefinery run at full capacity every year given the estimated yield distributions. However, for some circumstances, it would be optimal to produce switchgrass on only 49,464 ha and idle the biorefinery for some days in low biomass production years.

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“…Harvest/N/K feedstock production system [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. This range in biorefinery willingness to pay for feedstock is much lower than what will be required by farmers to grow switchgrass as a dedicated feedstock crop on their farms.…”

Section: Pricesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Evaluation of Switchgrass Feedstock Production Systems Tested in Potassium-Deficient Soils

et al. 2013

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Limited information is available about the economic benefits and costs associated with managing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) produced for bioenergy feedstock in the K-deficient soils common in the southern Great Plains. The objectives of this study were to determine the most economical production system for harvesting and managing N and K fertilizations on switchgrass stands and to determine how sensitive the results are to various feedstock and fertilizer market price scenarios. A 4-year agronomic field experiment was conducted on a K-deficient site in South Central Oklahoma; the treatments included two harvest systems (summer and winter (SW) and winter only (W)), two N rates (0 and 135 kg ha −1 ), and two K rates (0 and 67 kg ha −1 ). Enterprise budgeting techniques and mixed ANOVA models were used to determine and compare the effects of eight harvest/N/K systems on yield, total cost, revenue, and net return. The harvest/N/K systems evaluated included SW/0/0, SW/0/67, SW/135/0, SW/135/67, W/0/0, W/0/67, W/135/0, and W/ 135/67. Results revealed the SW/135/67 system produced significantly (P >0.0001) greater average yield compared to the other systems; however, the SW/0/0 system was the most (P >0.0001) economical, realizing an average net return of $415 ha −1 . Compared to the base-case net return of the SW/0/ 0 system, the value of the additional yield generated with the SW/135/67 system was less than the costs associated with the extra nutrients and additional harvest activity. For feedstock prices greater than $110 Mg −1 , the most economical system shifted from the SW/0/0 to favor the SW/135/67 system.

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Cost to produce switchgrass and cost to produce ethanol from switchgrass for several levels of biorefinery investment cost and biomass to ethanol conversion rates

Cited by 44 publications

References 28 publications

Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

Switchgrass procurement strategies for managing yield variability: Estimating the cost-efficient D (downtime cost) L (land to lease) frontier

Economic Evaluation of Switchgrass Feedstock Production Systems Tested in Potassium-Deficient Soils

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