Seminar Announcement: Tuesday November 26, 2019, Noon-1:00pm, POTR 234
David N. Thompson
Distinguished Staff Engineer
Bioenergy Analysis Group Leader
Idaho National Laboratories
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering - Michigan State University
M.S., Chemical Engineering - Michigan State University
B.S., Chemical Engineering - Purdue University
Seminar Title: The effect of biomass properties and system configuration on the efficiency and operability of biomass handling systems
Damon S. Hartley*†, David N. Thompsonꜝ, L. Michael Griffel†, Quang A. Nguyen‡, Mohammad S. Roni҂
† Biomass Analysis, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, MS 3570, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
ꜝ Chemical Systems, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, MS 3570, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
‡Mechanical Systems Design and Control, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, MS 3570, Idaho
Falls, ID, USA
҂Advanced Data Analytics, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, MS 3570, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
KEYWORDS: Preprocessing, Discrete Event Simulation, Throughput, Quality, Operational Reliability
ABSTRACT
Operational inefficiencies in biomass handling and preprocessing due to wide variability in physical and compositional attributes characteristic of biomass supply systems
threaten the development of a sustainable bioeconomy. In this study we describe the application of discrete event simulation to conduct feedstock property dependent throughput analysis of a conventional
corn stover supply logistics-preprocessing-conversion system, utilizing pilot scale preprocessing equipment data and experiential information on failure frequency and down time for biorefinery scale preprocessing equipment. A new metric, “operational reliability,”
is defined that assesses the composite impacts of feedstock quality on dynamic operational efficiency and productivity. Based on corn stover compositional variability and changes during harvest, collection and storage, Supply Logistics delivered stover meeting
quality specifications only 11.5% of the time. The Preprocessing subsystem achieved an average of 30.3% of nameplate capacity with 28.6% of the material meeting specification,
giving a modeled operational reliability of 8.68%. The dynamic delivered cost of the corn stover at the conversion reactor throat varied from $100.19-$549.95/dry Mg, with a mean of $208.67 and standard deviation of $93.19/dry Mg (all in 2016$). The bottlenecks
in the overall supply system were shown to reside within Preprocessing and to be a direct result of poor performance of existing bale storage designs. Hence, active management of corn stover quality prior to reaching Preprocessing could contribute significantly
to both improved operability and improved yield.
Thank you,
Carla Carie
Senior Administrative Assistant to the Director
Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering (LORRE)
Purdue University
500 Central Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2022
Phone: (765) 494-7022
Fax: (765) 494-7023
E-mail: carie@purdue.edu
