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This document is a final project report for the project titled 'A review of the potential of giant grasses for UK agriculture'.

Grasses such as reed canary grass, spartina and switchgrass have been studied to only a modest extent in the UK in comparison with miscanthus and short rotation coppice. In addition, other less widely known species of energy crops have been examined in various countries across the world, but their comparative potential has not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this desk study is to assess the competitive position of all these giant grasses, particularly the lesser known species, for cultivation in the UK. An objective of this work is to draw together the disparate studies conducted. It is aimed to present an evaluation of the agronomic and economic performances of giant grasses with a view to identifying any species with promise for UK conditions that merit more detailed study.

This report details:

1. An introduction of the study
2. Summary of agronomic review of crops for consideration
3. Combustion characteristics
4. Economic assessment of the biomass grasses
5. Potential
6. Key future research and development
7. Conclusions of the work

ETI’s Project Manager Paul Winstanley presents “Advanced waste gasification, future strategies and potential outputs” at the Energy from Waste summit 2017

This document is a report for STFC for the project titled 'Ammonia on-farm Life cycle assessment of different ammonia uses on a farm'.

Using life cycle assessment, this study compared three uses of ammonia produced via a Haber-Bosch facility on a remote farm in Scotland. The three ammonia uses compared in this study are:

Aqueous ammonia fertiliser

Ammonia vehicle fuel

Ammonia CHP

These uses were compared with traditional alternatives:

Urea fertiliser

Diesel tractor

Natural gas CHP

The study found that aqueous ammonia fertiliser provided the largest environmental benefit out of the three ammonia uses. While ammonia vehicle fuel and ammonia CHP were found to provide environmental benefits across most indicators, in some areas the traditional alternative was preferred. This was not the case for ammonia fertiliser.

This report is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Goal
3. LCA Specification
4. The LCA Model
5. Analysis of Results
6. Conclusion
7. Appendices

This report examines the current levels of methane emission from livestock manures and slurries in the UK and then explores possible options and routes for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions within a methane generation and recovery strategy for England.

Methane emissions from manures and slurry management make up 14% of the total methane emissions from livestock husbandry in the UK. Although slurry based management systems make up less than 40% of the manure management infrastructure, they account for 74% of methane emissions from manures and slurries.

In this study, we have looked in detail at the economics for options for on-farm AD and centralised AD in England. All the options proved uneconomic without some extra Government support. However, a small number of larger CAD may be economic, especially if higher levels of industrial waste (up to 20%) were treated in the CAD. A cost benefit analysis based on the options and assuming Government support in the form of capital grants suggests that greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to up to 0.03MtC could be saved annually at a cost of £60/tC, if 20 CAD plants were built. However, this would result in lifetime costs to Government of £ 143M. On-farm AD would need significant support to be economic.

This report is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Current Situation
3. Technology options
4. Options for Methane Mitigation
5. Wider benefits and challenges for AD
6. Conclusions and Recommendations
7. Glossary, References & Appendices

• Appendix 1 - Methane to Markets Questionnaire
• Appendix 2 - Manure and Methane Production Data
• Appendix 3 - Basis of Options for England
• Appendix 4 - Economics and Greenhouse Gas Balance of AD

To assess and improve the production from European biogas plants a specific targeted research or innovation project (Project no. 513949) entitled 'European Biogas Initiative to improve the yield of agricultural biogas plants' involved collating data from 13 biogas plants across Europe. Data was collected by four means; the use of periodic data from the biogas plant, weak-point analysis from each of the biogas plant operators; a questionnaire and a schematic of each plant. The information revealed that although the biogas plants were performing relatively well, with an average specific biogas yield 0.44 m3.methane.kg-1 VS and an average methane productivity of 1.25 m3.m3, there was considerable capacity to improve the performance of each of the biogas plants by a range of different means.

Economic comparison of these biogas plants across Europe was difficult. However, about 90% of the revenue was realised from electricity sold. The average specific capital expenditure for the 13 biogas plants was about 4,400 € per installed electric capacity (kW) or at 5% discount rate and 15 years economic life, 5.3 €-Cent per kWh of electricity. The average costs of feedstock was 5.6 €-Cent per kWh electricity produced. Also the average cost was 67 €-Cent per Nm³ of methane produced. The average total costs were 19.5 €-Cent per kWh electricity produced which was slightly above the price paid in most of the countries involved.

Development of improved means of both introducing and treating the feedstock was important for improved biogas yields. The hydrolysis of crops and crop residues could significantly reduce the HRT of some digesters to below 100 days. The type and mixture of feedstock also influenced the biogas yield and optimisation of the inputs would be of benefit. However each feedstock may ferment at different rate and/or require different conditions so process control could produce more biogas. High levels of manure required up to 4 times as much volume as other feedstocks to produce the same amount of biogas. There was up to 3 times the methane output per kg VS from different biogas plants. Some biogas plants had a variability (on standard deviation) of the specific methane yield as low as 7% others could be considered unstable with values over 100% of their mean values. Feedstocks were considered responsible for this variability, however such a range suggests that process monitoring and control would provide more stable biogas production and improved biogas yields. Monitoring fermentation parameters was limited to pH and volume of the various vessels for all biogas plants. Sensors did include means of measuring VFAs (36% of the total) and conductivity (18%) and redox potential (9%) for the 13 biogas plants. The outcome of this study will be used to identify demonstration projects at different biogas plants and research facilities.

This project will describe existing biomass import / storage / distribution assets and, using findings from BVCM (ETI’s Bio Value Chain Model) and other references, will define and test alternative scenarios for different biomass demand levels.

This report details how the biomass logistics infrastructure network has developed in the UK to date and the current status of, and issues with, biomass distribution networks in the UK. The report should cover both imported and domestic biomass feedstocks. The report should highlight any future planned investments in biomass logistics infrastructure. The report should also consider lessons that can be learned from other relevant sectors such as coal and oil.

Up to now the sector has been subsidy-driven and while growth of the biomass market has been evident it is still only a small percentage (4%1) of the total energymarket despite significant support to date.

Key Findings:

• Despite new entrants, the supply chain is very fragamented.
• There are a number of planned network logistics investments which have the potential to benefit the sector.
• There are lessons that can be learned from established supply chains in other comparable industries
• Confidence in the sector is much needed to attract further investment in supporting infrastructure and supply chain synergies.
• Rail is vital to the UK’s economic prosperity. Rail links with ports and airports are essential to support the transportation of goods
• The extent to which rail transport and freight specifically will be a constraint to the biomass logistics supply chain is dependent upon a range of factors; primarily the Government’s energy policy on biomass, willingness of the Government to protect capacity and promote rail freight growth on the network, the extent to which biomass will replace coal and the cost efficiency of using imported fuel sources and rail haulage, as opposed to local fuel supplies and other transport modes

The review also finds that the biomass sector is not without challenges. These challenges include; a shortage of drivers who are willing to work in this sector (as well as more generally in road haulage), increasing barriers to entry driven by the emergence of larger and more dominant market players, schedule optimisation to reduce ‘empty miles’, the need for standard practices which ensure product quality and the clear reduction in Government support and incentives.

In an uncertain UK energy policy context, growth in biomass projects and the logistics supply chain will only occur if the biomass sector continues to receive an allocation of CFDs and/or market prices support project economics without need for subsidy. For growth to occur, it requires the two fundamental factors of revenue and fuel supply certainty to be addressed, together with meeting the opportunities and challenges associated with the future direction of UK energy policy

This project will describe existing biomass import / storage / distribution assets and, using findings from BVCM (ETI’s Bio Value Chain Model) and other references, will define and test alternative scenarios for different biomass demand levels

This is the request for proposals.

ETI’s Strategy Manager Hannah Evans presents “Bridging the gap between technological innovation and market demand” at the Bio Based Innovations Expo 2017

This document describes the characteristics of Miscanthus in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This 86 page report is the second of seven deliverables produced as part of Phase 1 (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks Project and the second of two under Milestone 1. It describes the rationale for both the experimental design and the decisions taken. Deliverable 2 was to provide technical details to enable the ETI to check the technical validity of the project, in particular that feedstocks and soils would be representatively sampled, sample integrity would be maintained, approved laboratory methods would be used, and that both the statistical analyses and database design would be fit for purpose.The report provides the following

• how sampling consistency will be assured;
• the design for the planned database;
• the roles and responsibilities between all parties involved in sampling, data collection and lab analysis.
• the rationale for the experimental approach

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This slide set was presented on 16th March 2017 to ETI by the Forest Research led team, and covers the findings from the whole of the Characterisation of Feedstocks Project.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This document contains the Appendices to the Final Report from the second Phase (2016/17) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, Deliverable D12. This deliverable (D12) is one of three to be provided under the second phase (2016/17) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks Project. It is supported by the Excel dataset (D11). A synthesis and summary of the findings from the whole project, Phases 1 plus 2, is provided separately (Deliverable D13). The purpose of this deliverable D12 is to report

• the findings from the 2016/17 investigations into the impact of harvest time on the properties of UK produced Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus;
• the impact of variety on UK produced SRC willow properties, and;
• the impact of four different types of commonly used storage types over time on UK produced Miscanthus properties.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This slideset was used to brief the ETI on the experimental hypotheses, approach, methodology (including with respect to health and safety) for the second phase (2016/17) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks project. The purpose of this deliverable was to enable the Project delivery team to demonstrate to the ETI that the planned approaches would enable the experimental hypotheses to be robustly tested and meet the ETI?s needs.

The primary objective of this Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This report provides an overview of the first phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks project, excluding the extension work (reported in Deliverables D12 Report and D13 Whole Project Executive Report).

The report starts with a summary of the key findings from the four studies carried out during 2015 and 2016. This is followed by an introduction to the context of the Project, including background, rationale and objectives; a description of the project approach, including the parameters investigated; the hypotheses tested; and the experimental protocols. The report then provides a summary of the two main areas of study, the results obtained and the statistical analyses used. An initial comparison of the results with those in the principal International database of biomass properties is discussed to put the results into context. The results and findings from the third and fourth areas of study are presented: comparison of variation within individual fields with those observed between sites, and the effect of pelletisation on Miscanthus properties. Commentary on the relative costs of establishment and production for the different feedstocks are provided. Finally the implications of, and recommendations to be drawn from the study are discussed

This document describes the characteristics of Willow SRC in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document describes the characteristics of Willow SRC IFV in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes ofthese variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document describes the null hypothesis values for all five feedstocks in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document describes the characteristics of Poplar SRF in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document describes the characteristics of Spruce SRF in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document describes the infield variation and site composite results in characteristics of Miscanthus in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability.

The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document contains a summary of the variance in analytical results for fresh Miscanthus, Willow SRC, Willow leaves, Poplar SRF trunk, tops and leaves, and Spruce SRF trunk, tops and bark, categorized by climate, soil type and storage.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grownas short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This document is one of the appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, Deliverable D6, and outlines the scope and acceptance criteria of this deliverable.

This document contains maps of the test Miscanthus field showing the different plots analysed and their relative yield of in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document contains a summary of the analytical results for fresh Miscanthus, Willow SRC, Willow leaves, Poplar SRF trunk, tops and leaves, and Spruce SRF trunk, tops and bark.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variations and the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

This document compares the composition of all feedstocks in terms of moisture content, net and gross calorific value, dry ash content and its variability, dry nitrogen content, dry chlorine, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluorine, bromine, aluminium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, silicon and titanium content.

This document is one of the 13 appendices to the Final Report from the first Phase (2015/16) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks (CofF) project, the primary purpose of which is to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. The purpose of this report plus its related parts is to report the variability in feedstock properties of UK produced energy biomass, the causes of these variationsand the relationship between the feedstock properties and the provenance data collected. Five feedstocks were studied: Miscanthus, willow short rotation coppice (SRC), poplar SRC, poplar grown as short rotation forests (SRF), and spruce SRF, with poplar and Sitka spruce selected to represent broadleaved and coniferous biomass crops respectively. Provenance data include site properties (such as general climate zone and soil chemistry), the conditions at the time of sample collection, and past management of the site and crop with soil samples also collected for analysis. The feedstock samples were analysed in UKAS accredited laboratories.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This slideset was the first of seven deliverables to be produced under the first phase (2015/16) of this Project and the first of two under Milestone 1. The report provides the following:

• a schedule of work detailing the list of feedstocks to be sampled;
• the type, number and source of samples to be collected;
• a plan for gathering the samples? provenance data;
• a planned schedule of laboratory preparation and testing to be carried out;
• a clear plan for delivering the ETI project objectives.
• rationale for choices made�
• list of laboratory tests to be performed
• list of provenance data collected
• sample site locations

The primary objective of this Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. This deliverable is provided under the second phase (2016/17) of the Characterisation of Feedstocks Project. This report is a summary of the findings from the whole project, it complements the Final Reports from the first and second phases (D6 and D12) and is supported by the Excel dataset (D11). Some key findings from the report are:

• inclusion of leaves in biomass should be avoided. An exclusion might be conifer tops where the levels of most elements were sufficiently low to not exceed quality thresholds;
• harvesting time had a marked effect;
• while there were species differences between SRC willow varieties, no variety combined the best ranking in all parameters across all sites;
• there were major changesto Miscanthus quality during storage (decreasing fuel quality);
• for growers of Miscanthus, poplar SRF and spruce SRF, the key influences on many properties, i.e. season and storage, can be manipulated;
• SRC willow growers have a reasonable degree of control over some of the important feedstock characteristics by their choice of variety;
• for poplar SRF and spruce SRF, many properties can be adjusted by choice of plant part to market, and harvest time
• feedstock properties were relatively insensitive to the way spruce SRF as grown.

This slide set was presented by the Forest Research led team, covering the findings from the whole of the Characterisation of Feedstocks Project. This project provides a wealth of robust information and many consistent high-level findings to inform biomass growers and end-users. The findings have challenged some widely held views, reinforced others and hinted at some intriguing differences that may be worth further study.

It was not possible to derive simple guidance for biomass growers because of the differences in the behaviour of the individual feedstock characteristics. For any one year and site, the net effect of these changes is difficult to predict.

If there was sufficient premium for crop quality, a monitoring programme, which could focus on the most important parameters for the end - use in mind, could be considered.

Appendices to the final report on investigations into the effect of harvest time and variety on willow SRC and the effect of harvest time and storage method on Miscanthus quality Deliverable Context and Key Content.

The primary objective of this 2015/16/17 Project was to provide an understanding of UK produced biomass properties, how these vary and what causes this variability. The successful Respondent was to sample several types of UK produced biomass, including as a minimum Miscanthus, Short Rotation Forestry and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Willow, produced under varying conditions and have the samples tested to an agreed schedule in an accredited laboratory. The results were to be analysed against the planting, growing, harvesting and storage conditions (i.e. the provenance) to understand what impacts different production and storage methods might have on the biomass properties

Good quality waste characterisation data are fundamental to Defra's policies and strategies to manage environmental challenges, yet the UK dataset for the new generation of treated wastes was poor. This project aimed to fill some of the gaps in understanding the characteristics of residues from the treatment of municipal solid waste and industrial process wastes.

The overall objectives were to:

1. Provide "state of the art" data and information on the characteristics of pre/post-treatment wastes
2. Provide a UK-wide data resource focusing on composition and leachability (through UK support to leachXS)
3. Review the UK landfill waste acceptance criteria for monolithic wastes.

A consistent approach to the sampling and testing of the residues has been used as advocated in the Environment Agency's sampling and testing guidance (2005). This includes the use of scenario-specific sampling plans to enable future replication of testing and the full characterisation toolbox (e.g. composition, leachability, biodegradability testing). The datasets have been imported into leachXS and the benefits of this data management and expert tool to technical specialists and policy developers can be seen, for example the rapid comparison of the characteristics of the new generation of treatment residues with more traditional waste streams.

The nitrogen fertilizer value of most organic wastes is much lower than that of sewage sludge. More organic waste would therefore be needed to be applied to soils to provide the same fertiliser value as sewage sludge. The partially stabilized organic wastes have a high requirement for oxygen. There is a risk that the soil system would be unable to sustain the oxygen needed for respiration by the in situ microbial population and so adverse anoxic conditions are likely to exist in the soil.

An ETI Infographic targetting new and cleaner uses for wastes and biomass using gasification.

ETI’s Strategy Manager Hannah Evans presents “Making efficient use of bioenergy feedstocks for cleaner, greener energy” at an Energy Institute lecture on 27 November 2017 (slide set)

This document is a report for the project titled 'Outline Feasibility of Centralised Anaerobic Digestion Plants linked to Dairy Supply Chain'.

Dairy UK and AEA Energy & Environment have undertaken a high level assessment of the feasibility of centralised anaerobic digestion (CAD) in the dairy processing sector. This was based on the identification of 10 potential sites that could host centralised anaerobic digestion plants. The work comprised technical, economic and environmental assessments.

This work has confirmed our previous findings that centralised anaerobic digestion plants, based at or close to industrial dairy sites, have the potential to be economically attractive, as several positive factors would combine in their favour, with payback periods as low as 3 years. This is because they can be designed to co-treat organic wastes from industrial dairy sites along with animal wastes from nearby livestock farms and other food manufacturing wastes. As the cost of landfilling will continue to rise due to the Landfill tax, producers of industrial food waste will increasingly need outlets such as AD plants. Inclusion of these will help to increase the viability of the CAD by providing a diverse feedstock and by providing an additional income stream to the plant operator.

The successful exploitation of CAD depends on gaining the full economic benefit of the outputs combined with full exploitation of ancillary benefits. Generation and utilisation of biogas is one of the key benefits of adopting anaerobic digestion process for treating biodegradable wastes. The Government already provides incentives that contribute to improving the economics of biogas utilisation, through the Renewable Obligation, Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemption and Enhanced Capital Allowance. There is potential for additional energy income from the sale of heat generated from the combined heat and power (CHP) scheme, but this would depend on the development of infrastructure to deliver the heat to where it is needed within a few hundred meters. Assessment of land use around the 10 identified potential CAD sites showed that there would be sufficient area to return digestate to land within a 7.5 km radius.

The CAD schemes can provide the industrial dairies with several environmental benefits that will also help them to consolidate or secure new market outlets. For instance, a significant proportion of their carbon footprint could be reduced -which will help those dairies to link up favourably with C-labelling schemes which are being planned by retail chains and the Carbon Trust.

This report contains and executive summary, and is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Assessment of CAD plants
3. Potential CAD schemes
4. CAD scheme development
5. Conclusions and recommendations

• Appendix 1 - Questionnaire - Confidential
• Appendix 2 - Techno-economic assumptions

The methodology of the field study undertaken during the Refining Estimates of Land for Biomass (RELB) project, to ground truth theoretical estimates of potentially available land for energy crop production from the desk based study

This report is an addition to the original RELB scope. It’s aim is to provide an indication of the land potentially available for future bioenergy crop cultivation. This report identifies 1.0-1.8 Mha of land potentially available for conversion to bioenergy, of which the two largest contributors are utilising the area of surplus arable crops (314,000-494,000 ha) and improved utilisation of grassland (350,000-700,000 ha). The range in values represents the uncertainty around figures, with the lower value representing a more conservative view of the potential area that could become available, whilst the higher area represents the potential area available for conversion if the market drivers are sufficient to convert all identified available land to bioenergy production. The report categorises potential areas based on whether they could be made available in the short, medium or longterm

This deliverable is an addition to the original RELB scope. The aim for this second additional piece of work was to identify the jobs impact that increasing UK bioenergy production to 1.2Mha by 2055 could bring. The report found that, due to the seasonal nature of bioenergy crop planting, management and harvesting, the majority of job opportunities will be part-time, but are complimentary to the seasonal demands of other roles in the agricultural and forestry sectors, particularly arable farming. However, the UK is not currently in a position to deliver the required planting rate of 30 kha/yr – the total planted area of Miscanthus and SRC Willow has remained at around 10 kha in recent years with a limited number of players in the market. Investment is needed in the production of plant breeding materials, including research into new establishment techniques to reduce costs. Investment is also needed in training and specialised equipment for planting and harvesting

This is the shorter PowerPoint version of the final report from the RELB Project. This D10 presentation highlights the findings from the RELB work packages:

• Review of existing studies – a review of past estimates in the literature of land availability for new perennial energy crops and new Short Rotation Forestry production in the UK and Europe;
• Desk and Field studies – report of and findings from the validation exercises carried out;
• Mini case studies – individual reports on the three 50x50 km cells assessed in the field study;
• Opportunities and barriers – report of desk study undertaken to understand why bioenergy crop production does not currently utilise the ‘available’ land and to identify opportunities to increase planting;
• Final summary and conclusions

For the detailed version of this report, thereader should see deliverable D9 which is provided in Microsoft Word format.

This is the final report from the RELB Project. This report includes updated version of previously submitted intermediate deliverables (D1, D2, D4, D5 report and D6). This D9 report details the findings from the RELB work packages:

• Review of existing studies – a review of past estimates in the literature of land availability for new perennial energy crops and new Short Rotation Forestry production in the UK and Europe;
• Desk and Field studies – report of and findings from the validation exercises carried out;
• Mini case studies – individual reports on the three 50x50 km cells assessed in the field study;
• Opportunities and barriers – report of desk study undertaken to understand why bioenergy crop production does not currently utilise the ‘available’ land and to identify opportunities to increase planting;
• Final summary and conclusions

For a less detailed version of this report, the reader should see deliverable D10 which is provided in PowerPoint format

ETI analysis suggests that the UK needs to plant 30 kha/yr of bioenergy crops and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) until the mid-2050’s to deliver the required level of feedstock to meet the UK’s 2050 greenhouse gas targets cost-effectively. Of the area of bioenergy crops planted, this study assumes that 50% of the area will be SRF, 25% SRC and 25% Miscanthus. The significant increase in bioenergy crop area planted will require an increase in the number of people employed in the bioenergy crop sector from current levels, as well as an increase in the supply chain (market for end products, machinery available for planting/harvesting etc.) to support this increased area. This work focused on identifying, and quantifying the types of jobs required to support a UK bioenergy sector, understanding what skills are needed, where the current skills gaps are, whether there are any barriers to job development, and identifying the timescales of jobs / skills development needed to meet ETI’s targets. The scope of the work covers the UK and considers job creation in relation to the production of SRF, SRC and Miscanthus, with additional implications for achieving the UK Afforestation targets also considered. Job creation up to the point of first processing is included e.g. transport off farm, but any jobs after that initial journey off farm, e.g. processing, are not included. Ancillary jobs (such as administration roles, finance and marketing within companies in the bioenergy feedstock sector) are also excluded

The Request for Proposals (RfP) for the Refining Estimates of Land for Biomass project (RELB)

The methodology of the desk study undertaken during the Refining Estimates of Land for Biomass (RELB) project, in order to to identify additional constraint layers which could be used to refine the ETI’s own in-house landavailability constraint masks

This report has identified that between 1.0-1.8 Mha of land is potentially available for conversion to bioenergy, of which the two largest contributors are by utilizing the surplus area of arable crops by sending surplus production for first generation (1G) bioenergy processing as demand dictates (314,000-494,000 ha) and improved utilization of grassland (350,000-700,000 ha). The range in values represents the uncertainty around figures, with the lower value representing the most likely land area to be converted, whilst the higher area represents the potential area available for conversion if the market drivers are sufficient to convert all identified spared land to bioenergy production.

This project investigates ryegrass as a wet energy crop and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. It is hoped that this research will help towards the Government's target to produce 20% of our energy through renewable sources by 2020 in a move towards a carbon neutral economy. The growing of energy crops creates a diversification opportunity for UK farmers with the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy moving away from subsidised farming. Most energy crop development to date has been directed towards the production of low moisture content biomass which is transformed into useful energy by thermal processes. In contract this project examines the harvesting of rye-grass as a high moisture energy crop to be transformed into useful energy by anaerobic digestion.

The key features of such a concept are:

The UK has one of the best climates in the world for growing rye-grass;

The high moisture content of the grass is not a draw-back since anaerobic digestion is a wet process;

The primary constituents of the biogas are only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen;

The wet digestate containing the nutrients, can be returned to the grassland to enhance future crop growth;

Carbon not transformed to biogas may be sequestered into the soil;

The process presents a new opportunity for farm diversification without the need to plant new crops.

In summary, the process has the potential of creating a sustainable cycle, as summarised in the simple flow diagram in Figure 1, where the biogas plant includes a boiler or CHP unit, which produces energy and an exhaust gas.

This project has provided very firm grounding for Greenfinch's current research within Cropgen, A European consortium investigating the production of biogas using agri wastes and energy crops. In Germany, at the time of writing, there are 3000 farm biogas plants being run on crops and agri wastes proving that biogas technology is viable. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy forcing farmers to grow crops that have real monitory value, combined with the continuing rise in the price of oil, will make anaerobic digestion a real option for energy production

This report is divided into the following sections:

1. Technical Background to the Project
2. Aims and Objectives
3. Trial Plots
4. Small Scale Digestion Trials
5. The Large Plot
6. 20m³ Biogas Plant
7. Commercial Ryegrass Biogas Plant
8. Conclusion

The overall aim of this project is to prove that rye-grass in the UK is a viable energy crop for conversion to biogas.

The trials have shown that ryegrass requires more fertiliser that it can provide itself through its own digestate. It is suggested that slurry would be an ideal organic fertiliser to provide the grass with the extra nutrients it requires; it could also become an additional feedstock to co-digest with the grass enhancing the digestion process. This is especially important on a commercial scale where maximising methane production is vital.

This summary provides information on:

Aim

Background

Project Structure

Summary of Results

Commercial Design

Conclusion

Contractor

Gasification with integrated syngas clean-up to remove undesirable components can be used to produce an “ultra-clean” syngas suitable for use in demanding and efficient applications including reciprocating engines, gas turbines, chemical synthesis processes (for example, to produce hydrogen, fuels or chemicals) and/or biological synthesis processes. It offers a number of benefits including:

• flexible in feedstock and outputs (heat, power, liquid and gaseous fuels, and chemicals)
• high efficiencies scalable to suit applications in typical UK towns and small cities, in particular at the sub 10 MWe scale
• ability to be combined with CCS to create “negative emissions” which ETI anticipates will be needed to deliver a cost-effective 2050 low carbon energy system

Currently, however, the technology and commercial risks are too high for typical investors and developers. To accelerate the technology to the point where these risks are more acceptable, the ETI has recently announced that it is investing in the construction of a 1.5 MWe waste gasification demonstration project incorporating an engine fuelled by “ultra-clean”, tar-free syngas. This paper seeks to present why the ETI thinks this technology is important and how its research has mitigated many of the risks associated in driving this sector forward.

ETI’s Programme Manager Geraint Evans presents “Targeting new and cleaner uses for wastes and biomass using gasification” as part of a webinar for IChemE. The presentation covers

• Energy Technologies Institute•Value of bioenergy–Wastes
• We can already use combustion to get energy from waste - why do we need something different and why gasification?
• What is gasification and why is ultra-clean syngas important?
• What is the current UK gasification project landscape?
• The ETI’s project work

The techno-economic project will provide a greater understanding of the options available to modify or improve the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of UK-derived 2nd generation energy biomass feedstocks, that may otherwise reduce the cost-effective performance of conversion technologies

This report (Deliverable 6) presents prioritised recommendations for further research into pre-processing technologies following the analysis of ten supply chains, two of which generate heat, and eight generating power to compare their costs, efficiencies and greenhouse gas emissions with and without pre-processing. These are compared in groups according to their shared conversion technology, and all the chains are able to use a blend of Miscanthus and woody feedstocks (from 0-100%). Every chain is described in the gPROMS model by a set of 200+ input parameters, each with a base case value and a minimum to maximum range.

The final recommendations are

• High Priority
  • �Conversion technologyinnovation improvements, especially CAPEX and efficiencies,result in dramatic chain improvements, and are worth exploring further as these will be required to increase the competitiveness of all of the TEABPP chains.
• Medium-High Priority
  • Torrefaction+pelleting plants should focus on increasing product LHV, optimising with energy crop/SRF feedstocks, and reducing electricity use.
• Medium Priority
  • Chemical washingplants, if developed, should focus on reducing output nitrogen content and lowering chemicaluseand GHG emissions, plussafely dealing with waste water disposal.
  • Water washingplants should focus on optimisation with forestrythen perennial energy cropfeedstocks, and compliance with combustion and gasification plant feedstock limits and non-GHG emissions limits
  • Pyrolysis plants should focus on significantlyimproving bio-oil yields when usinghigher-ash energy crop/SRF feedstocks, and overall plant thermal integration.

This techno-economic project will provide a greater understanding of the options available to modify or improve the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of UK-derived 2nd generation energy biomass feedstocks, that may otherwise reduce the cost-effective performance of conversion technologies.

This report assesses the current techno-economic status of biomass pre-processing, combustion and gasification technologies used to transform forestry and perennial energy crop feedstocks into heat, power and syngas. The report uses a common review framework to assess all technologies, including technology descriptions, status, impacts of feedstock choice and options for improvement.

• Conversion technologies
  • combustion
  • underfed Stoker
  • Moving Bed
  • Bubbling Fluidised Bed
  • Circulating Fluidised Bed
  • Dust Suspension
• Gasification
  • Updraft Gasifiers
  • Downdraft Gasifiers
  • Bubbling Fluidised Bed Gasifiers
  • Circulating Fluidised Bed Gasifiers
  • Dual Fluidised Bed Gasifiers
  • Entrained Flow Gasification
  • Syngas Boiler
  • Syngas engine/CHP
  • Syngas CCGT
• Pre-processing Technologies
  • Water washing & Chemical washing
  • Forced Drying
  • Briquetting
  • Screening
  • Chipping
  • Pelleting
  • Pyrolysis
  • Torrefaction
  • Steam Explosion
  • Ammonia Fibre Expansion

Shorter descriptions are also provided for a further set of typically less mature conversion and pre-processing technology options, as part of a horizon scanning exercise.

• Technologies with lower Technology Readiness Levels
• Technologies with higher Technology Readiness Levels
• Summary of TRLs

This report enables the reader to understand which technologies are nearest to/furthest from being commercialised, which are cheapest on a stand-alone basis, and the impact that different feedstock characteristics have on the operation and costs of the technologies. The report presents the techno-economic data gathered on these technologies for use in the modelling of different bioenergy supply chains later in the TEAB project, highlighting any data gaps and where uncertainty ranges are highest

The techno-economic project will provide a greater understanding of the options available to modify or improve the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of UK-derived 2nd generation energy biomass feedstocks, that may otherwise reduce the cost-effective performance of conversion technologies

This report details the selection process for the modelling phase of the TEAB project, focusing on the downselecting of ten clearly defined case studies, from amongst the thousands of possible chain choices considered within the Deliverable 2 (D2) Excel tool. These 10 case studies are grouped in to twos or threes to compare the costs, efficiencies and GHG emissions of biomass supply chains “with” and “without” significant preprocessing. This Deliverable 3 (D3) report is a summary of the chain prioritisation process, containing:-

• The agreedselection criteria used;
• A write-up of the down-selection workshop discussions and decisions held;
• The further data collected and improvements made to the D2 tool; and
• Justification for the selection of the final 10 case studies– based on an assessment rating the chains against the selectioncriteria, highlighting particular strengths or weaknesses, and where particular criteria exclude groups of chains or chains containing particular components.

These 10 chains are the TEABPP project team’s recommendations for incorporation into the WP3 process modelling. The ordering is based on the order of discussion and justification above, and not based on a particular priority order.

• Heat
  • Underfed combustion
    • Natural drying+ screening
    • Water washing
• Power
  • BFB gasifier
    • Natural drying+ screening
    • Water wash + pelleting
  • CFB combustion
    • Natural drying+ screening
    • Pelleting
    • Chemical
    • wash + pelleting
  • EF gasifier + CCGT
    • Pelleting
    • Torrefaction+ pelleting
    • Pyrolysis

e techno-economic project will provide a greater understanding of the options available to modify or improve the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of UK-derived 2nd generation energy biomass feedstocks, that may otherwise reduce the cost-effective performance of conversion technologies

This Deliverable 1a report exists as a standalone document, which can be read alongside the “Deliverable 1 - Review and benchmarking report” within the ETI’s Techno-Economic Assessment of Biomass Pre-Processing (TEABPP) study. The original report ‘D1’ excluded technologies below 200kWth input; hence this report ‘D1a’ is focused on the state-of-the-art, techno-economics and real-world issues faced by these small-scale combustion technologies. In this report, the technologies typically used for combustion of biomass have been separated into three types (although some plant designs exist that incorporate multiple technologies). Based on the fuel feeding methods and the operation of the fuel bed, the main technologies are as follows:

• a manually-fed boiler,
• an automatically-fed boiler with a fixed combustion bed, and
• an automatically-fed boiler with a moving combustion bed.

The report also covers Organic Rankine Cycle technologies (as a Stirling engines are covered in Section 6.3.4.1 of D1 Report), detailing their development status, integration with biomass-fired systems, their strengths, weaknesses and main suppliers.Details of the European biomass fuel standards that have been developed are also covered within the report, together with fuel quality assurance schemes that enable biomass feedstocks to meet boiler specifications and avoid issues when burnt in biomass boilers

The techno-economic project will provide a greater understanding of the options available to modify or improve the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of UK-derived 2nd generation energy biomass feedstocks, that may otherwise reduce the cost-effective performance of conversion technologies

This is the request for proposals.

ETI’s Strategy Manager Hannah Evans presents “The role of bioenergy in meeting 2050 emissions targets” at a Society of Chemical Industry event

This document is the final report to Defra for the project titled 'UK support for EU LEACHXS expert database on waste characterisation'.

Strategies to manage the environmental challenges posed by wastes require good quality data on waste characteristics such as leachability and composition. Public domain datasets for UK wastes tend to be limited in number and extent and those that are available are stored in disparate locations and media. The data cannot easily be evaluated or compared either with other UK data or with more extensive non-UK datasets. Information on the quality of residues arising from new waste technologies and treatments are particularly sparse.

LeachXS© is an expert system for managing and modelling waste characterisation data. It has been developed by ECN (Netherlands), DHI (Denmark) and Vanderbilt University (US), contains 5M€ waste data and incorporates:

An Access database of public domain information on leachability and composition,

Data management tools allowing comparison of data by waste type or constituent,

A powerful geochemical speciation/transport model, "ORCHESTRA".

WRc and ECN obtained Defra funding under the "understanding waste composition and trends" theme of the Waste Evidence programme:

To provide a national waste characterisation database focusing on composition and leachability, as a national satellite database to EUleachXS©,

To further develop data management tools to increase the value of the dataset.

LeachXS© is a powerful secondary research tool containing appropriate publicly available data on the composition and leachability of approximately 2000 European waste samples including data for UK and German wastes collated for this project. The UK dataset can therefore be interrogated by end-users in the context of the wider, pan-European leachXS database.

Simple data management tools enable the novice user to rapidly compare the characteristics of different wastes, allowing for example comparison of characteristics of:

Generic waste types from different plants (e.g. slags from different locations);

Residues from different treatment technologies (e.g. the MSW gasification residues versus MSW incineration residues);

Inputs and outputs from a treatment plant to determine impact of treatment on pollution potential;

UK wastes with potentially more extensive datasets for similar non-UK wastes.

This report contains an executive summary, and is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. The leachSX© expert system
3. Collation of datasets
4. Application of leachSX©
5. Outcome
6. Suggestions

ETI’s Project Manager Paul Winstanley presents “Waste gasification with syngas clean up - reaching commercial demonstration and future prospects in the wider bioenergy sector” at Aston University


The presentation covers:

• Who are ETI
• Why is Bioenergy Important
• Why Waste as a feedstock
• Why Gasification
• What is the ETI doing to enable commercialisation of gasification