Browsing by Author "Jordan, Brendan"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Energy and chemicals from native grasses : production, transportation, and processing technologies considered in the Northern Great Plains(2006-06) Tiffany, Douglas; Jordan, Brendan; Dietrich, Erin; Vargo-Daggett, BeccaProduction of biomass from native prairie species offers the opportunity to produce energy and chemicals while providing substantial ecological services in the Northern Great Plains. This paper analyzes the application of rapid pyrolysis to produce biooil, which has the potential for use as a low-grade fuel oil or as a source for extraction of valuable chemicals. Yields of bio-oil, the quantities of extractable chemicals, and chemical prices drive the economics of this concept, which has a more extensive track record utilizing wood chips. A spreadsheet model was developed to determine gross margins available to defray costs to extract and refine such chemical products as hydroxyacetaldehyde, phenol, formic acid, acetic acid and various resins. Although efforts to hydrolyze anhydroglucose were successful, efforts to produce ethanol from the resulting six-carbon sugars were unsuccessful in a related trial. To understand the overall project economics, it was necessary to consider the availability and productivity of lands in the Northern Great Plains that can provide low cost native prairie grasses including Big Bluestem and Switchgrass. Production economics and transportation economics were analyzed to determine the costs of native prairie grasses delivered to a plant capable of pyrolyzing the biomass. Competing technologies that could also use native prairie grasses are considered as well as policy alternatives important for production of energy and chemicals from native prairie grasses.Item Reducing CO2 Emissions in the Upper Midwest: Technology, Resources, Economics, and Policy(2006) Jones, Kathryn A.; Jordan, Brendan; Keller, Kenneth H.; Taff, Steven J.We develop scenarios for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector in the upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Manitoba) by 80% relative to 1990 levels. The report has three major components: 1) an inventory of CO2 emissions from all fossil fuel combustion in the region from 1960-2001, subdividing by economic sector and specific electricity generating station; 2) an evaluation of all electricity resources in the region and all technologies for utilizing them, taking into account the overall scale of the resource, technology costs, and other issues that influence the selection of a certain technology; and 3) the development of a simulation model to examine the impact of various factors (policies, prices, technologies, resources) on the regional electricity supply and its emissions from 2005-2055.