Monday, May 5, 2008
5-09

Relationship of dry matter losses and the resultant quality factors occurring from storage of lignocellulosic biomass

Lynn M. Petzke1, Dylan J. Laug2, Daniel M. Stevens1, and Corey W Radtke1. (1) Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625 MS 2203, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, (2) Whitworth University, 300 W. Hawthorne Road, Spokane, WA 99251

Because of seasonal harvests and year-round refinery needs, long term storage of biomass is needed to support lignocellulosic feedstock industrialization.  During this long term storage cycle, detriments are typically measured as dry matter losses (DML).  While physical losses of biomass result in DML, microbially mediated losses of biomass are especially important because the biomass changes in composition.  Microbially mediated DML varies widely due to the biomass type and storage condition, and this loss directly impacts the compositional quality of the feedstock and thus the potential value.  We compared DML and the resulting compositional changes in stored corn stover and switchgrass, and then we estimated the resulting impacts on the minimum ethanol selling prices (MESP) and allowable feedstock purchase prices.  Dry matter losses from 1-15% resulted in total structural sugar losses from 1-10% on a dry matter basis.  It appears that high dry matter losses come directly at the expense of structural sugars in the biomass, which decreases the value of the feedstock and thus increases the MESP of the produced ethanol.  A rough correlation between DML and feedstock value will also be presented. 

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