TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessment of a novel alder biorefinery concept to meet demands of economic feasibility, energy production and long term environmental sustainability

AU - Thomsen, Tobias Pape

AU - Ahrenfeldt, Jesper

AU - Thomsen, Sune Tjalfe

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - A biorefinery concept based on alder tree plantations on degenerated soil is developed to comply with indicators of economic feasibility, fossil fuel depletion concerns, and long term sustainability issues. The potential performance of feedstock and biorefinery has been assessed through a literature study and by using a method developed during the study for first hand assessment and comparison of biorefinery system characteristics. The management of an average alder plantation in a 6-year coppicing system was found to fixate atmospheric nitrogen to the soil in yearly rates between 50 and 200 kg ha-1 and produce a 6-year total dry biomass quantity around 33 Mg ha-1 plus yearly leaf production. This production could facilitate a biorefinery to serve society with production of energy related and value added products to substitute the use of fossil fuels while at the same time replenishing degenerated soils. Integrating a biomass handling system, an LT-CFB gasifier, a diarylheptanoids production chain, an anaerobic digestion facility, a slow pyrolysis unit, gas upgrading and various system integration units, the biorefinery could obtain the following production characteristics accounted on a yearly basis: Total system Energy Return on energy Invested 2.0, total system Exergy Return on exergy Invested 1.5, Net Energy Output 78 GJ ha-1, Net Exergy Output 50 GJ ha-1, Net carbon sequestration (as CO2 equivalents) 0.80 Mg ha-1, Total product value 2030 € ha-1 and Net Dry Matter Removal of approximately 90%.

AB - A biorefinery concept based on alder tree plantations on degenerated soil is developed to comply with indicators of economic feasibility, fossil fuel depletion concerns, and long term sustainability issues. The potential performance of feedstock and biorefinery has been assessed through a literature study and by using a method developed during the study for first hand assessment and comparison of biorefinery system characteristics. The management of an average alder plantation in a 6-year coppicing system was found to fixate atmospheric nitrogen to the soil in yearly rates between 50 and 200 kg ha-1 and produce a 6-year total dry biomass quantity around 33 Mg ha-1 plus yearly leaf production. This production could facilitate a biorefinery to serve society with production of energy related and value added products to substitute the use of fossil fuels while at the same time replenishing degenerated soils. Integrating a biomass handling system, an LT-CFB gasifier, a diarylheptanoids production chain, an anaerobic digestion facility, a slow pyrolysis unit, gas upgrading and various system integration units, the biorefinery could obtain the following production characteristics accounted on a yearly basis: Total system Energy Return on energy Invested 2.0, total system Exergy Return on exergy Invested 1.5, Net Energy Output 78 GJ ha-1, Net Exergy Output 50 GJ ha-1, Net carbon sequestration (as CO2 equivalents) 0.80 Mg ha-1, Total product value 2030 € ha-1 and Net Dry Matter Removal of approximately 90%.

KW - Alder productivity

KW - Alnus spp.

KW - Biorefinery development

KW - Renewable energy

KW - Sustainability assessment

U2 - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.02.022

DO - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.02.022

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84878235293

VL - 53

SP - 81

EP - 94

JO - Biomass & Bioenergy

JF - Biomass & Bioenergy

SN - 0961-9534

ER -