Sustainable Alternative Fuel Feedstock
Opportunities, Challenges and
Roadmaps for Six U.S. Regions
Proceedings of the Sustainable Feedstocks for Advance Biofuels Workshop
Edited by Ross Braun, Doug Karlen, & Dewayne Johnson
A
Sustainable Alternative Fuel Feedstock Opportunities, Challenges and Roadmaps for Six U.S. Regions
Table of Contents
Chapter 1................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Landscape Management and Sustainable Feedstock Production: Enhancing Net Regional Primary
Production while Minimizing Externalities
Chapter 2................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20
Bioenergy Sustainability at the Regional Scale
Chapter 3................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Feedstock & Conversion Interactions – Identifying Industry Needs
Chapter 4................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
Water Resource Impacts of Feedstock Production and Conversion
Chapter 5................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 61
Crop Residues of the Contiguous United States: Balancing Feedstock and Soil Needs With
Conservation Tillage, Cover Crops, and Biochar
Chapter 6................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 84
Herbaceous Perennials: Placement, Benefits and Incorporation Challenges In Diversified Landscapes
Chapter 7................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 99
Woody Feedstocks – Management and Regional Differences
Chapter 8................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 121
Oilseed and Algal Oils as Biofuel Feedstocks
Chapter 9................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 149
The Role of Sorghum as a Bioenergy Feedstock
Chapter 10............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 160
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Requirements to Support a Multi-Billion Gallon Biofuel Industry
Chapter 11............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 177
Economics of Feedstock Production, Harvest, Storage, and Transport
Chapter 12............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 193
Balancing Feedstock Economics and Ecosystem Services
Chapter 13............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 217
Municipal Solid Waste as an Advanced Biofuels Feedstock – A Brief Summary of Technical, Regulatory,
and Economic Considerations
Chapter 14............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 237
Biofuels and Bioenergy Production from Municipal Solid Waste Commingled with Agriculturally- Derived Biomass
Chapter 15............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 247
Commercial Scale Corn Stover Harvests Using Field-Specific Erosion and Soil Organic Matter Targets
Chapter 16............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 257
Pyrolysis and Biochar - Opportunities for Distributed Production and Soil Quality Enhancement
Chapter 17............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 282
Development of Hybrid Poplar for Commercial Production in the United States: The Pacific Northwest
and Minnesota Experience
Chapter 18............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 300
Sustainable Solutions from Feedstock to Fuel for Advance Biofuel Production
Chapter 19............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 319
Modeling Tools and Strategies for Developing Sustainable Feedstock Supplies
Chapter 20............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 339
Are Local, State, and Federal Government Bioenergy Efforts Synchronized?
Chapter 21............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 349
Climate Change: What To Expect and How Will It Affect Feedstock Production Options?
Chapter 22............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 361
The National Biofuels Strategy – Importance of Sustainable Feedstock Production Systems in Region-based Supply Chains
Chapter 23............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 376
Where To From Here?
Introduction
Thank you for being interested in one of the most
overlooked aspects of the emerging biofuels industry –
sustainable feedstock supplies. The seeds for this
workshop were planted more than four years ago,
shortly after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - USDA “Billion Ton Report” rekindled biofuels
research and development efforts around the world. Leadership within the Soil and Water Conservation
Society (SWCS) began to ask what we, as a professional society focused on soil and water conservation,
should do that would be different from the myriad of activities being sponsored to support this
emerging industry. Slowly it became evident that most bioenergy conferences and workshops were
focused on conversion technology options and implicitly assumed that if a facility were built, the
feedstock would automatically appear. From a soil and water conservation perspective, we didn’t
believe that was appropriate, so a plan was initiated to develop a different type of workshop that
focused primarily on the sustainability of feedstock supplies. With the support of the USDAAgricultural Research Service (ARS), DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Monsanto,
Sun Grant Initiative, International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), Ernst Seed, USDA- Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the SWCS, the workshop and proceedings became a
reality.
The workshop goal was to create a directed, outcome- based product in the form of regionally specific
Roadmaps for sustainable feedstock production and delivery. The goal for the Roadmaps was to
provide science- based strategies that would enable agriculture, in its broadest sense, to help solve our
nation’s bioenergy challenges. To do so, it is imperative that we come as close as possible to achieve the
feedstock supplies projected by the joint DOE- USDA Billion Ton Report. The National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) “Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass” report identified more than 500
million tons of readily available feedstock. Participants preparing the workshop Roadmaps were
challenged to identify the best management strategies to produce and deliver the remaining 500 million
tons to centralized, distributed, or other types of processing facilities. The SWCS agreed to lead this
endeavor because to be sustainable, feedstock must be obtained in ways that protect soil, water, and air
resources, while also sustaining or improving all conditions for producers, local communities, wildlife,
and other ecosystem services. To do so, well- conceived Roadmaps were needed to help guide feedstock
harvest, storage and transport for the next 20 years.
Thanks to the efforts of an excellent planning team, the core workshop program consisted of a series of
invited presentations that provided both a national perspective and regional strategies that recognize
differences, benefits, challenges, and subtleties within and between regions of the United States. Each
presentation was the basis for a chapter in this Proceedings. An additional chapter was added after the
regional breakout teams pointed out that sorghum was a potential feedstock that had not been
adequately covered in the presentations. The final section consists of the regional roadmaps prepared by
break- out groups who addressed the specific needs for six geographic regions throughout the U.S. and
into Canada. These Roadmaps, each reflecting the presentation style chosen by the group, are the core
strength and primary outcome of this workshop. On behalf of myself and the rest of the planning team,
we want to thank everyone who helped make this workshop a useful and effective planning process.
Douglas L. Karlen, Co- Chair
377 – Sustainable Alternative Fuel Feedstock Opportunities, Challenges and Roadmaps for Six U.S. Regions
Acknowledgments
Organizing Committee Co- Chairs
!
Doug Karlen, USDA- ARS
!
Jeff Steiner, USDA- ARS
Regional Facilitators and Recorders
!
Upper Midwest: Dave Dornbusch, Newell Kitchen
!
Northeast: Ross Braun, Jason Evans
!
Southeast: Mark Risse, Chere Peterson
!
Mid- South: Pradip Das, John Snider
!
Great Plains: Jim Doolittle, Alan Franzluebbers
!
West of Rockies: Don Wysocki, Stefanie Aschmann
Post- Conference Proceedings Document
!
Ross Braun
Workshop Sponsors
376 – Regional Roadmaps Table of Contents
Sustainable Alternative Fuel Feedstock Opportunities,
Challenges and Roadmaps for Six U.S. Regions
Proceedings of the Sustainable Feedstocks for Advance Biofuels Workshop
Embassy Suites, Centennial Olympic Park - Atlanta, GA
September 28-30, 2010
Regional Roadmaps
Chapter 24.....................................................................................................................................378
Upper Midwest Regional Roadmap
Chapter 25.....................................................................................................................................386
Northeast Regional Roadmap
Chapter 26.....................................................................................................................................392
West of the Rockies Regional Roadmap
Chapter 27.....................................................................................................................................398
Great Plains Regional Roadmap
Chapter 28.....................................................................................................................................404
Southeast Regional Roadmap
Chapter 29 .....................................................................................................................................412
Mid- South Regional Roadmap
Soil and Water Conservation Society
945 SW Ankeny Road
Ankeny, IA 50023
www.swcs.org