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Jacobson, Jacob

Publications and source records attributed to Jacobson, Jacob.

8 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Analyzing and Comparing Biomass Feedstock Supply Systems in China: Corn Stover and Sweet Sorghum Case Studies

This paper analyzes the rural Chinese biomass supply system and models supply chain operations according to U.S. concepts of logistical unit operations: harvest and collection, storage, transportation, preprocessing, and handling and queuing. In this paper, we quantify the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum in China under different scenarios. We analyze three scenarios of corn stover logistics from northeast China and three scenarios of sweet sorghum stalks logistics from Inner Mongolia in China. The case study estimates that the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk to be $52.95/dry metric ton and $52.64/dry metric ton, respectively, for the current labor-based biomass logistics system. However, if the feedstock logistics operation is mechanized, the cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk decreases to $36.01/dry metric ton and $35.76/dry metric ton, respectively. The study also includes a sensitivity analysis to identify the cost factors that cause logistics cost variation. Results of the sensitivity analysis show that labor price has the most influence on the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk, with a variation of $6 to $12/dry metric ton.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Expected international demand for woody and herbaceous feedstock

The development of a U.S. bioenergy market and ultimately ‘bioeconomy’ has primarily been investigated with a national focus. Limited attention has been given to the potential impacts of international market developments. The goal of this project is to advance the current State of Technology of a single biorefinery to the global level providing quantitative estimates on how international markets may influence the domestic feedstock supply costs. The scope of the project is limited to feedstock that is currently available and new crops being developed to be used in a future U.S. bioeconomy including herbaceous residues (e.g., corn stover), woody biomass (e.g., pulpwood), and energy crops (e.g., switchgrass). The timeframe is set to the periods of 2022, 2030, and 2040 to align with current policy targets (e.g., the RFS2) and future updates of the Billion Ton data. This particular milestone delivers demand volumes for generic woody and herbaceous feedstocks for the main (net) importing regions along the above timeframes. The regional focus of the study is the European Union (EU), currently the largest demand region for U.S. pellets made from pulpwood and forest residues. The pellets are predominantly used in large-scale power plants (>5MWel) in the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), Belgium (BE), and Denmark (DK).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Investigation of thermochemical biorefinery sizing and environmental sustainability impacts for conventional supply system and distributed pre-processing supply system designs

The 2011 US Billion-Ton Update estimates that by 2030 there will be enough agricultural and forest resources to sustainably provide at least one billion dry tons of biomass annually, enough to displace approximately 30% of the country's current petroleum consumption. A portion of these resources are inaccessible at current cost targets with conventional feedstock supply systems because of their remoteness or low yields. Reliable analyses and projections of US biofuels production depend on assumptions about the supply system and biorefinery capacity, which, in turn, depend upon economic value, feedstock logistics, and sustainability. A cross-functional team has examined combinations of advances in feedstock supply systems and biorefinery capacities with rigorous design information, improved crop yield and agronomic practices, and improved estimates of sustainable biomass availability. A previous report on biochemical refinery capacity noted that under advanced feedstock logistic supply systems that include depots and pre-processing operations there are cost advantages that support larger biorefineries up to 10 000 DMT/day facilities compared to the smaller 2000 DMT/day facilities. This report focuses on analyzing conventional versus advanced depot biomass supply systems for a thermochemical conversion and refinery sizing based on woody biomass. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the economies of scale enabled by advanced logistics offsets much of the added logistics costs from additional depot processing and transportation, resulting in a small overall increase to the minimum ethanol selling price compared to the conventional logistic supply system. While the overall costs do increase slightly for the advanced logistic supply systems, the ability to mitigate moisture and ash in the system will improve the storage and conversion processes. In addition, being able to draw on feedstocks from further distances will decrease the risk of biomass supply to the conversion facility.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Hydrocarbon Fuels: Fast Pyrolysis and Hydrotreating Bio-Oil Pathway

This report describes a proposed thermochemical process for converting biomass into liquid transportation fuels via fast pyrolysis followed by hydroprocessing of the condensed pyrolysis oil. As such, the analysis does not reflect the current state of commercially-available technology but includes advancements that are likely, and targeted to be achieved by 2017. The purpose of this study is to quantify the economic impact of individual conversion targets to allow a focused effort towards achieving cost reductions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Hydrocarbon Fuels: Fast Pyrolysis and Hydrotreating Bio-oil Pathway

This report describes a proposed thermochemical process for converting biomass into liquid transportation fuels via fast pyrolysis followed by hydroprocessing of the condensed pyrolysis oil. As such, the analysis does not reflect the current state of commercially-available technology but includes advancements that are likely, and targeted to be achieved by 2017. The purpose of this study is to quantify the economic impact of individual conversion targets to allow a focused effort towards achieving cost reductions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Biomass Feedstock Supply System Logistics Analysis, Densification and Characterization Research

Idaho National Laboratory's Biomass Logistics Model has developed to a point for which a rigorous verification of the model and the results is appropriate. This verification will help add confidence to the model results and the system's design. The verification process consists of performing a number of predefined scenarios to exercise the most used and common paths and functions in the model. INL subject matter experts that understand the various components, but have not been actively involved in the development of the model, will review the results. This document is a summary of that activity.

Jacobson, Jacob↗
DOE OSTI2010

VISION: Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation Model

The nuclear fuel cycle consists of a set of complex components that work together in unison. In order to support the nuclear renaissance, it is necessary to understand the impacts of changes and timing of events in any part of the fuel cycle system. The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative’s systems analysis group is developing a dynamic simulation model, VISION, to capture the relationships, timing, and changes in and among the fuel cycle components to help develop an understanding of how the overall fuel cycle works. This paper is an overview of the philosophy and development strategy behind VISION. The paper includes some descriptions of the model components and some examples of how to use VISION.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗