title: Techno-economic analysis of decentralized biomass processing depots.
abstract: Decentralized biomass processing facilities, known as biomass depots, may be necessary to achieve feedstock cost, quantity, and quality required to grow the future U.S. bioeconomy. In this paper, we assess three distinct depot configurations for technical difference and economic performance. The depot designs were chosen to compare and contrast a suite of capabilities that a depot could perform ranging from conventional pelleting to sophisticated pretreatment technologies. Our economic analyses indicate that depot processing costs are likely to range from ∼US$30 to US$63 per dry metric tonne (Mg), depending upon the specific technology implemented and the energy consumption for processing equipment such as grinders and dryers. We conclude that the benefits of integrating depots into the overall biomass feedstock supply chain will outweigh depot processing costs and that incorporation of this technology should be aggressively pursued.
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA. Electronic address: patrick.lamers@inl.gov.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lamers
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roni
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Jaya S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Tumuluru
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Kara G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Cafferty
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Jason K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kenney
authors.affiliation: Michigan Biotechnology Institute, 3815 Technology Blvd., Lansing, MI 48910, USA.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Teymouri
authors.affiliation: Michigan Biotechnology Institute, 3815 Technology Blvd., Lansing, MI 48910, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bals
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry; D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006813:Humidity
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D000641:Ammonia
keywords: Advanced biomass supply system; Bioeconomy; Biomass depot; Biorefinery; Feedstock logistics