Final Technical Report Page: 4 of 58
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Comparison of Actual Accomplishments with Goals/Objectives of the Project:
The five major goals of the project as stated in the original Statement of Work are the
following:
1. To help coordinate regional research on biomass to liquid fuels production and
provide overall project management.
a. Coordinating research between the agronomists, chemical engineers,
economists and policy analysts proved to be one of the more interesting
features of this project. While we facilitated the project to completion, we
learned a great deal about interventions in the plant's lifecycle that could
make them better suited for fuel production or wildlife and other revenue
generating opportunities.
2. To compare and characterize liquid fuels biomass production potential of
switchgrass monocultures to native warm-season grass mixtures from western
Minnesota to central North and South Dakota; and to identify most
environmentally sustainable methods of production.
a. We successfully compared switchgrass monocultures to simple polycultures
(2 and 3-way mixtures of big bluestem, switchgrass and indiangrass). While
the switchgrass monocultures out-performed the mixtures in yield across the
board, mixtures of big bluestem and switchgrass produced nearly as well. We
also evaluated the impacts of the production system and harvesting on soils
and wildlife. All of these results are detailed below in this report.
3. To evaluate a fast-pyrolysis-based biorefinery concept for production of bio-
fuels and chemicals from grasses indigenous to the Northern Plains.
a. We conducted three test runs of a fast-pyrolysis on a variety of grasses. After
a very low-yielding first run, we made some changes to the feedstock (late
harvest) to reduce the potassium content and ensured that the bio-oil product
was cooled faster. This improved bio-oil yields substantially. While chemical
product fractionation continues to look promising for HA and other chemicals,
it proved very difficult to ferment the 6-carbon sugars from the bio-oil.
4. To identify the region in the Northern Plains most ripe for profitable production
of native grasses for use in cellulosic liquid fuels conversion.
a. Our research suggests that native grasses can be profitably grown for a bio-
fuel feedstock up to the 100' meridian or roughly west to the middle of the
Dakotas. This depends on a variety of factors including yields, cost of land,
harvest scheme and policy instruments that might help support the production
of native grasses (all described in the economic analysis component below). In
addition the research team outlined suggestions for best use of bio-oil in the
near-term (the production of ethanol specifically was not among them in this
case).
5. To utilize the proposed research as a model for building consensus around policy
and project measures that would enhance biomass - liquid fuels in particular -
development in the region.
a. A comprehensive policy slate, vetted by well over 50 regional stakeholders, is
attached to this report.-4-
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Sara Bergan, Executive Director; Brendan Jordan, Program Manager & report., Subcontractors as listed on the. Final Technical Report, report, June 6, 2007; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc889427/m1/4/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.