Techno-economic analysis of using corn stover to supply heat and power to a corn ethanol plant – Part 1: Cost of feedstock supply logistics

Abstract

Abstract Supply of corn stover to produce heat and power for a typical 170 dam 3 dry mill ethanol plant is proposed. The corn ethanol plant requires 5.6 MW of electricity and 52.3 MW of process heat, which creates the annual stover demand of as much as 140 Gg. The corn stover supply system consists of collection, pre-processing, transportation and on-site fuel storage and preparation to produce heat and power for the ethanol plant. Economics of the entire supply system was conducted using the Integrated Biomass Supply Analysis and Logistics (IBSAL) simulation model. Corn stover was delivered in three formats (square bales, dry chops and pellets) to the combined heat and power plant. Delivered cost of biomass ready to be burned was calculated at 73 $ Mg −1 for bales, 86 $ Mg −1 for pellets and 84 $ Mg −1 for field chopped biomass. Among the three formats of stover supply systems, delivered cost of pelleted biomass was the highest due to high pelleting cost. Bulk transport of biomass in the form of chops and pellets can provide a promising future biomass supply logistic system in the US, if the costs of pelleting and transport are minimized.