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CINTRAFOR News is
available on the web:
http://www.cintrafor.org
In This Issue:
Director’s Notes...2
Env Assmt of Woody
Biomass Jetfuel...3
Winter 2014
PRESS RELEASE December 25, 2013
American Softwoods Japan Offi ce
The Wood Use Points Program (WUPP) is a program
initiated by the Forestry Agency (FA) in Japan to provide
a subsidy of as much as ¥600,000 equivalent points when
a home owner uses more than 50% of a “local wood”
species for structural components and/or uses certain
amounts of “local wood” species for non-structural interi-
or or exterior decorations. All of the “local wood” species
initially included in the WUPP were Japanese domestic
timber species, including sugi, hinoki and Japanese larch.
On December 17th, the U.S. Douglas-fi r timber spe-
cies was approved as a new “local wood” species by
the National Land Afforestation Promotion Organiza-
tion (NLAPO), to the Corporation to Establish the Fund
for the WUPP program. Consequently, US Douglas-fi r
lumber and plywood for interior and exterior decorative
end-use applications will be considered as “local wood”
within the Wood Use Points Program following the of-
fi cial announcement by the Head Offi ce of WUPP that
U.S. Douglas-fi r has been approved. However, before
U.S. Douglas-fi r lumber can be used in structural applica-
tions, applications must be submitted to all 47 prefectures
requesting that they add US Douglas-fi r as a “local wood”
species for each construction method (e.g., post and beam
and 2x4) that is included in the Wood Use Points program
in each prefecture. At this point, initial indications are
that the prefectural approval process will be completed
sometime in March 2014.
The application materials to designate US Douglas-fi r as
a “local wood” species within the WUPP were prepared
by Dr. Ivan Eastin (Professor and Director of the Uni-
versity of Washington’s Center for International Trade in
Forest Products, CINTRAFOR) and Dr. Daisuke Sasatani
(Auburn University). The American Softwoods Japan
Offi ce submitted the application to the NLAPO. The
third committee meeting was held on December 17th, and
the application was approved by the committee members.
Many Japanese and foreign companies/organizations
have applied for the “local wood” designation and this
was the third committee meeting to review the foreign
applications since the WUPP program was launched. US
Douglas-fi r was the fi rst, and only, foreign wood species
to be approved as a “local wood” species under WUPP.
“Local wood” species must satisfy two conditions in or-
der to be included within the WUPP: 1) the resource
inventory of the timber species must be increasing in
the country where it grows and 2) the consumption
of the “local wood” species must have a signifi cant
economic ripple effect within Japanese rural agricul-
ture, forestry and fi sheries communities. The offi cial
forest resource inventory data compiled by the US
Forest Service showed that the volume of Douglas-fi r
growing in US forests has increased about 30% over
the last 35 years. Thus the US Douglas-fi r timber re-
source in the U.S. was shown to satisfy the fi rst con-
dition of the WUPP. Regarding the second condition,
there are a number of Douglas-fi r sawmills in Japan,
with industrial clusters existing in the Setouchi and
Northern Kanto areas. The U.S. application docu-
ment explains how the processing of US Douglas-fi r
contributes to the local economy where the major
Japanese Douglas-fi r sawmills are located, thereby
satisfying the second condition of the WUPP. Not
only do the Douglas-fi r sawmills in Japan provide
economic benefi ts within the local communities but
the related industries, including distributors, second-
ary manufacturers, ports, and markets for by-products
also provide economic benefi ts within these local
communities.
Thus, it can be seen that the Douglas-fi r forest
resource is well managed in the US and provides
substantial economic benefi ts in rural agriculture,
forestry and fi shing communities within Japan. In
Japan, Douglas-fi r has a long tradition of being used
as structural lumber, non-structural lumber, plywood,
fl ooring, and other types of building materials. Japa-
nese builders and carpenters especially favor using
Douglas-fi r lumber in horizontal structural applica-
tions in traditional post and beam homes, including
as beams, girders and purlins because of the high
strength of Douglas-fi r. Douglas-fi r is also favored
because of its dimensional stability, durability and
stable supply.
Now that U.S. Douglas-fi r has been approved as a
new “local wood” species it is expected that more
houses will be eligible for the Wood Use Points Pro-
gram and that many more home builders and home
owners in Japan can now receive subsidies under the
WUPP.
The American Softwoods Japan Offi ce would like
to encourage Japanese builders and architects to use
more U.S. Douglas-fi r wood products and remind
them that, at this time, the “local wood” species des-
ignation for Douglas-fi r wood products has only been
granted for Douglas-fi r timber harvested in the U.S..
If you have any questions, please contact Tomoko
Igarashi at American Softwoods Japan Offi ce.
Tel: 03-3501-2131 Fax: 03-3501-2138
www.americansoftwoods.jp
2
Director’s Notes
On April 1st, 2013 the Forestry Agency announced the start of the Wood-Use Point Program
(WUPP). The WUPP awards 300,000 points (equivalent to 300,000 yen or about $3,000)
to builders or home buyers who use at least 50% domestic (or local) structural wood when
building a new home. They can qualify for an additional 300,000 points if they use a specifi ed
amount of local wood in non-structural applications as well. The LDP government approved
¥41 billion (US$432 million) for the WUPP and the program could apply to135,000 homes
(approximately 28% of total annual wooden housing starts based on 2012 data). The Wood
Use Points will be awarded in addition to any relevant subsidies which may be offered at the
prefectural level (currently 43 of 47 prefectures offer their own subsidies for using domestic
wood to build homes). By combining WUPP with existing prefectural subsidies, Japanese
authorities have developed a program that strongly favors the use of domestic wood species
over imported species and places US wood at a competitive disadvantage.
In May, 2013 CINTRAFOR at the request of the US Embassy and the Softwood Export
Council undertook a project designed to have US Douglas-fi r recognized as a domestic “local
wood” species under WUPP. Douglas-fi r was selected for this project based on the fact that it
represents over 90% of US log and lumber exports to Japan. In order to be successful in our
submission, we needed to be able to demonstrate that US Douglas-fi r was legally harvested,
that the timber inventory was increasing over time and that it contributed to the economic
development of rural mountain and fi shing communities in Japan. On December 25th, the
Japanese government announced that they would recognize US Douglas-fi r as a domestic “local
wood” species and Douglas-fi r wood products could be included within the Wood Use Point
Program. This determination was signifi cant because while there were a large number of foreign
species submitted for consideration, US Douglas-fi r was the only foreign species designated for
inclusion within the Wood Use Point Program. Failure to gain the “local wood” designation for
U.S. Douglas-fi r would have sharply reduced the demand for Douglas-fi r products in Japan. In
fact, a recent CINTRAFOR trade analysis estimates that the WUPP could have cost US forest
products exporters as much as $36 million over the duration of the WUPP subsidy program.
CINTRAFOR continues to work with the US Embassy and the Softwood Export Council to
ensure that US Douglas-fi r is integrated smoothly into the Wood Use Points Program, especially
at the prefectural level.
Update on CINTRAFOR Graduate Students, Visiting Scholars and Peace Corps Masters
International (PCMI) Graduate Students
It has been a busy fall quarter for CINTRAFOR with the arrival of many new graduate students
and the departure of several students as well as the departure of our PCMI students on their
Peace Corps assignments. Currently CINTRAFOR is home to 8 graduate students, including
2 doctoral students and 6 master’s students. We also welcomed the arrival of 6 new PCMI
students this fall as well as the arrival of 3 visiting doctoral students from around the world.
Peace Corps Masters International Program: The PCMI students from last year received
their country assignments from Peace Corps last spring and they departed for their countries
of service this fall. Beth and Kevin Dillon were assigned to the Philippines, Maggie Wilder
was assigned to Ethiopia while Mikhael Kazzi, Corey Dolbeare, Gwen Stacy and Alia Kroos
were all sent to Senegal. The current group of PCMI students, Tabatha Rood, Ian Hash, Jake
Dunton, Michael Tomco, Zak Williams and Jordan Bunch, is anxiously awaiting their country
assignments. Zak just recently accepted a placement offer to the Philippines where he will
be assigned as a Coastal Resource Management Extension Worker. Finally, we welcome the
return of Cynthia Harbison who just completed her Peace Corps service in Cameroon and has
returned to Seattle to fi nish writing her PCMI research report.
CINTRAFOR Graduate Students: CINTRAFOR welcomed the arrival of four new graduate
students into the program this year. Cindy Chen is originally from Beijing, China, but has
spent most of her life fl ying between the U.S. and China. She received her BSc and MSc
degrees from the University of California, Irvine in Social Ecology and developed an interest
for Environmental Sciences during her studies. After receiving her Masters’ degree, she
spent two years at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences in Beijing where
she participated in a wide range of research projects studying the impacts of environmental
pollution and water scarcity on public health. Clarence Smith is an enrolled member of the
Blackfeet Nation in Montana. He is a single father with 2 beautiful daughters who received dual
BSc degrees in International Business and International Relations at Fort Lewis College. While
University of Washington
School of Environmental &
Forest Sciences
Box 352100
Seattle, Washington
98195-2100
Phone: 206-543-8684
Fax: 206-685-0790
www.cintrafor.org
The Center for International
Trade in Forest Products
addresses opportunities and
problems related to the
international trade of wood
and fi ber products.
Emphasizing forest
economics and policy impacts,
international marketing,
technology developments,
and value-added forest
products, CINTRAFOR’s
work results in a variety of
publications, professional
gatherings, and consultations
with public policy makers,
industry representatives, and
community members.
Located in the Pacifi c
Northwest, CINTRAFOR
is administered through the
School of Environmental
& Forest Sciences at the
University of Washington
under the guidance of an
Executive Board representing
both large and small
companies, agencies, and
academics. It is supported
by state, federal, and
private grants. The Center’s
interdisciplinary research
is carried out by university
faculty and graduate students,
internal staff, and through
cooperative arrangements
with professional groups and
individuals.
Director’s Notes continued on page 3
CINTRAFOR Succeeds in Gaining the “Local
Wood” Designation for Douglas-fi r in Japan
3
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 4
in school he started a consulting company called “4word” which focuses on Native American men in areas
like fatherhood, communication skills, diversity, and leadership. Cody Sifford is a member of the Navajo
Nation and was raised in rural Eastern Montana. He received his BSc degree from Salish Kootenai College
in Environmental Science with a terrestrial emphasis. He interned for several years with NASA doing GIS
and remote sensing climate research. BJ Birdinground is a Crow Tribal Citizen from the Crow Reservation
located in Eastern Montana. BJ received his BSc in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Land Resources
with a minor in Liberal Arts from Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation in Western Montana.
He spent the last four summers working as an intern with Professor Dan Schwartz at UW’s Chemical
Engineering Department involved in a research project focused on using a new blanket technology to produce
biochar/biofuel from forest residuals.
Visiting International Doctoral Fellows: CINTRAFOR is fortunate to have the opportunity to host three
doctoral students from Universities around the world. The Fellows program permits students pursuing
degrees at foreign universities to participate in full-time supervised research and work-based learning
experiences at the University of Washington. Francesca Pierobon is a doctoral student visiting from the
University of Padua in Italy. Francesca is working with CINTRAFOR as a member of the research team
engaged in conducting a life cycle assessment of biofuel derived from forest residuals left over following
timber harvest operations. Sajad Ghanbari is a doctoral student visiting from the University of Teheran
in Iran who is working with CINTRAFOR as a member of a research team looking at the social, cultural,
economic and environmental aspects of non-timber forest product use within Native American tribal groups
in the Pacifi c Northwest. Tang Shuai is a doctoral student visiting from the Beijing Forestry University in
China. Tang is working with CINTRAFOR to learn more about modeling global trade of forest products and
in particular he is interested in understanding the CINTRAFOR Global Trade Model.
CINTRAFOR Graduates: CINTRAFOR recently had three students graduate from our program.
Daisuke Sasatani completed his doctoral research and successfully defended his dissertation entitled:
“Business Strategies of North American Sawmills: Flexibility, Exports and Performance”. Daisuke is
currently a post-doctoral researcher at Auburn University working on the marketing of trade of southern
yellow pine. Yoshihiko Aga completed his master’s research and successfully his thesis entitled: “Market
Integration of Domestic Wood and Imported Wood in Japan: Implication for Policy Implementation”.
Yoshi came to CINTRAFOR as a MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) Fellow and he
has returned to MAFF where he has taken up a position as Associate Director of the New Business and
Intellectual Property Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau within MAFF. Finally, Peter Gill completed his
Peace Corps service in Senegal and returned to CINTRAFOR and successfully defended his PCMI research
entitled: “Working with local people to identify tree services, deforestation trends, and strategies to combat
deforestation: A case study from Senegal’s Peanut Basin”. Peter is currently in Nepal where he is working
with an environmental NGO.
Director’s Notes continued from page 2
Environmental assessments of woody biomass based jet-fuel
By Indroneil Ganguly, Ivan L. Eastin, Tait Bowers and Mike Huisenga
Typical forest harvest operations in the Pacifi c
Northwest of the US leave a considerable
volume of unused woody biomass in the forest
in the form of treetops and branches. Despite the
environmental benefi ts of using these residuals,
the economic feasibility of extracting them from
the forest is limited due to low market demand and
high collection and transportation costs. Most of
the unused woody biomass is collected, piled and
burned in the forest while some is simply left on the
forest fl oor to decompose. To address the market
failure of more fully utilizing woody residues,
the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance
(NARA) research project is exploring the economic
and environmental feasibility of converting residual
woody biomass into bio-jet fuel.
To estimate the overall environmental impact
associated with converting woody biomass
into bio-jet fuel, as well as any net reduction
in emissions to the atmosphere associated
with avoiding the use of fossil fuel, a detailed
preliminary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has
been performed by the CINTRAFOR research
team. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method
to assess the environmental impacts of a product
or activity (a system of products) over its entire
life cycle. The LCA results for the bio-jet-fuel are
critical in demonstrating that bio-jet fuel produced
from forest residuals meets the greenhouse gas
(GHG) reduction target specifi ed in the US Energy
Independence Act of 2007. The US Energy
Information Administration (EIA) requires that
the overall GHG emissions of cellulosic biofuel
produce 60% lower carbon emissions1 relative to
jet fuel produced from fossil fuel in order to be
eligible for public procurement.
It should be noted that based on the ISO guidelines
and EPA recommendations, the ‘biogenic’ CO2
emissions are considered carbon neutral and are
not reported in the LCA analysis. The role of
forests in the biogenic carbon cycle is the core
concept behind the neutrality of carbon embedded
1H.R.6: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110hr6enr/pdf/BILLS-110hr6enr.pdf,
Argyropoulos 2010: http://www.eia.gov/conference/2010/session2/paul.pdf
4Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 5
within woody biomass. The biogenic carbon cycle
within the forestry context implies that forest
vegetation removes carbon from the atmosphere
through photosynthesis and emits it back into the
atmosphere through natural processes such as forest
fi res and decay. When woody biomass is used to
produce bioenergy (e.g., bio-jet fuel), it releases
this stored carbon back into the atmosphere,
resulting in no net increase in carbon in the
atmosphere. In contrast, burning fossil fuel (e.g.,
coal, oil, and natural gas) releases carbon that was
trapped beneath the surface of the earth into the
atmosphere, resulting in a net increase in carbon
emissions.
Forest-to-Pump Bio-Jet Fuel LCA
This paper presents the results of a framework
‘cradle-to-gate’ life-cycle of woody biomass-based
bio-jet fuel using TRACI indicator factors. In this
paper ‘cradle’ is defi ned as beginning with natural
forest regeneration of young trees and ‘gate’ is
defi ned as the bio-jet fuel stored at a jet fuel storage
facility, ready to be delivered to the pumps. To
facilitate this preliminary analysis, it was assumed
that the DOE/NREL corn stover to ethanol process
model (Humbird et al., 2011)2 could be adapted and
used to convert forestry residues to fermentable
sugars. The GEVO patented GIFT and Alcohol to
Jet (ATJ) processes are then used to convert the
sugar stream into iso-paraffi nic kerosene (IPK),
which is the bio-jet fuel. The resultant forest to
pump LCA estimates the life cycle environmental
performance of this integrated process of
collecting and producing IPK from forestry
residuals. To evaluate the various logistical/
procedural pathways, this paper explores a
range of biomass transportation scenarios and
incorporates (takes credit for) the avoided
environmental emissions associated with avoiding
the piling and burning of the woody biomass in
the forest into the LCA calculations.
The analysis presented in this paper assumes an
integrated biomass conversion facility, where the
biomass storage, extraction of sugar from woody
biomass and conversion of sugar into bio-jet-
fuel, are all undertaken at the same location. The
environmental impact of the complete process
is analyzed in terms of the global warming,
acidifi cation, smog formation, and ozone
depleting potentials, as per the TRACI standards
(as recommended by the EPA). As per ISO
guidelines for environmental impact assessment
of biofuels, this paper will report the 100 year
impact assessment numbers for each of the
aforementioned impact categories (ISO 2006).
A simplifi ed diagram of the system boundaries
associated with the biofuel process is depicted
in Figure 1. As shown in the fi gure, the overall
system boundary for developing the LCA of the
bio-jet-fuel consists of the following components:
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 3
Figure 1: Overall scope for LCA of the woody biomass to bio-jet fuel process.
Inputs: Fertilizer, Pesticides, Electricity, Gasoline, Lubricants, Water, etc.
Emissions to air, water and land: wood residue, water, GHG gases,
NOx...etc
IPK
Storage
Boiler &
Turbine
(NREL*)
Distillation &
Oligomerization
GEVO
Woody
Feedstock
Feedstock
receiving and
Screening at
pretreatment
gate
Avoided
Fossil-Jet Fuel
Distillation &
Separation of solids
GEVO
Fermentation
GEVO
Enzymatic
Hydrolysis
(NREL*)
Dilute Acid
Pretreatment
of Feedstock
(NREL*)
Separation of
Solids, Lignin
drying (NREL*)
Wastewater
Treatment
(NREL*)
Slash Recovery
Operation
Scenarios
Further
processing at
concentration
facility
Scenario 4
Tops
and
Branches
Avoided Emissions
from Slash Pile Burns
Co-Products:
Lumbering Volume
used for mass
allocation
Forest
Stand
Commercial
Harvest/
Thinning
Co-Products:
Sawlogs Small
Dimensional Timber
Beer
Process Water
Accepts
Condensate
Isobutanol
Screen Rejects & Fuel
C5 & C6 Sugars
Steam
Steam
H
Steam
Biogas & Solids
Water
IPK
Hydrogen
System Boundary
Co-product:
Excess Electricity
Scenario 3
Scenario 2
Scenario 1
Scenario 5
Woody
Waste
2Process Design and Economics for Biochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic
Biomass to Ethanol; http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/47764.pdf
5
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 6
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 4
(i) woody biomass collection and
processing within the forest including
delivery to the pretreatment facility;
(ii) conversion of the woody biomass
to isobutanol and delivery to the
bio-jet fuel production facility; (iii)
conversion of isobutanol to jet fuel
including transportation to the end-user;
and (iv) conversion of the by-products
derived from the isobutanol and jet-fuel
production processes into useful co-
products. The individual components
of the fl ow chart presented in Figure
1 are explained in greater detail in the
following sections of the paper.
Woody biomass source region
Geographical location, regional
vegetation, and topographical
characteristics signifi cantly affect the
environmental impacts associated with
harvesting, collecting and transporting
the woody residues from the forest
landing to the biomass processing facility.
With reference to the Pacifi c Northwest (PNW), the
target region for the NARA project, LCA estimates
for woody biomass collected from the interior
west region (east of the Cascades) are substantially
different from the western Washington/Oregon
region. Moreover, within the same sub-region,
differences in LCA results might result from
differences in forest management intensity and the
type of forest management practices associated
with different types of forest ownership (e.g.,
private vs federal vs tribal). This paper assesses the
environmental implications of producing bio-fuel
within the eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and
western Montana region (Figure 2). The analysis
also considers the harvest residue collected from
private and state forests, indicated by the blue and
yellow zones in Figure 2. The biomass resource
from federal forests, depicted by the red areas, is
not included in this analysis.
Allocation, Avoided Emissions and System
Expansions:
Impact allocation associated with residual woody
biomass: Based on the forest woody biomass
models and empirical results, it is estimated that
61% of the above ground biomass harvested from
a mature forest in the interior west region consists
of sawlogs and pulp logs with the remaining 39%
being composed of branches and tops (residual
woody biomass). These residuals represent the
feedstock for the NARA biofuel project (Figure 1).
However, a signifi cant portion of the residuals ends
up being scattered around the forest fl oor during the
harvest and skidding operations. Based on empirical
time-motion studies, it is estimated that 65% of
the residuals get collected into slash piles at the
primary harvest landings. This research assumes
that 10% of the biomass in the slash pile is left
behind at the landing during the loading, chipping
and transporting of the biomass from the landing site
to the biomass processing (pretreatment) facility.
Based on these conditions, it is estimated that only
58.5% of the total harvest residuals generated during
the timber harvest operation is delivered to the pre-
treatment facility for conversion into biofuel.
Since residual woody biomass is generated during
the harvest operation, and there are multiple products
generated from the harvest operation (e.g., sawlogs,
pulp logs and residuals), an allocation mechanism
needs to be adopted to assign the environmental
burdens associated with the production of each
of the products. For this project, a ‘mass fl ow’
allocation principle was adopted. Since 39% of
the above-ground tree biomass is generally left in
the forest as harvest residues following a logging
operation (either on the forest fl oor or at harvest
landing), a mass equivalent proportion (39%) of
the environmental impacts associated with harvest
activities is allocated to the bio-jet fuel LCA.
Avoided Emissions from Slash Pile Burning: The
harvest residues, primarily consisting of tree tops
and branches, are generally collected into slash piles.
Unless there is a market for the woody residues,
the slash piles must be treated as part of a regional
forest fi re mitigation mandate. The dominant form of
treatment for these slash piles is broadcast burning.
Conducting broadcast burns is labor intensive and
time consuming, and they substantially increase
forest management costs. Moreover, burning these
slash piles releases the carbon sequestered in the
woody biomass into the air (in the form of CO2).
Removing the harvest residuals from the forest
greatly reduces the need for slash pile burning.
Based on ISO 14044 (ISO 2006) guidelines, the
bio-jet fuel LCA will incorporate the avoided
environmental impact of mandatory slash pile
burning in the region as a credit.
Figure 2: Regional scope of the study
6
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 5
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 7
System Expansions: Based on the NREL model,
a closed loop process is assumed for wastewater
treatment and the waste lignin is burned in the
process boiler and turbine (Figure 1). The waste
water treatment process used in this analysis is
a closed loop system consisting of anaerobic
digestion, aerobic treatment and fi ltration which
completely recycles all of the process water and
eliminates the need to discharge waste water
outside the system boundaries. Thin stillage is
digested to produce biogas, which along with
sludge from the anaerobic and aerobic treatment
processes, are delivered to the boiler. A grate
stoker fi red boiler burns the biogas, sludge,
screen rejects, lignin and unconverted solids to
generate high pressure steam which is sent to a
steam turbine. The turbine has three controlled
extractions to deliver process steam with excess
steam being condensed to produce electricity.
A cooling tower supplies cooling water to the
condenser and other processes.
Feedstock Logistics Scenario
The transportation and in-woods processing/
handling of the woody biomass can signifi cantly
infl uence the overall environmental performance
of the NARA bio-jet fuel. Based on forest
management practices, topography and existing
road networks in the inland west region, a series
of woody biomass transportation scenarios are
considered in this paper. Emissions generated and
total energy used were calculated for each of the
feedstock handling and transportation scenarios
to identify the optimal solutions that minimized
environmental burdens. A benchmark scenario
based on the most likely scenario in the region is
presented in Tables 1A and 1B. The harvest system
and in-woods feedstock handling benchmark
scenarios are presented in Table 1A. The distance
that the woody biomass must be transported
from the harvest site to the processing facility
on different types of roads is presented in Table
1B. A ‘gentle slope mechanized harvest’ system
consists of a medium sized feller buncher and a
track skidder for moving the harvested whole trees
to the landing site. Within the benchmark scenario,
the loose residues are transported from the primary
landing to the secondary landing in a 30 cubic yard
(CY) dump truck where they are chipped using a
large chipper. In this scenario, the residuals must
be transported from the primary
landing to the secondary
landing where the chipper
and direct loader are located
because the 120 CY chip vans
cannot navigate the forest spur
road. The chipped residues
are directly loaded into a 120
CY chip van and transported
to the pretreatment facility.
Within the benchmark scenario
the total distance from the
primary landing to the biomass
processing facility is 75 miles.
The results reveal that hauling
forest residues over forest
roads is the primary contributor
to global warming potential
(Figure 3). Options that reduce
the carbon footprint associated
with loose residue collection
may be critical in reducing
Figure 3: Feedstock logistics LCA contribution analysis
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
FrontLoader LargeWhole
TreeChipper
atCentral
Landing
FellerBuncher
&Track
Skidder
Shuttle:dump
truck(30CY);
primaryto
central
IdleEngine
30CYdump
Truck
IdleEngine
120CYchipvan
Transport
Chipsto
Facility(120CY
chipvan)
OzonedepletionPotential(kgCFCͲ11equiv.)
Globalwarmingpotential(kgCO2equiv.)
Smogpotential(kgO3equiv.)
Table 1B: Benchmark scenario for road-type specific transportation distances
Road type
(Avg. miles/hr)Spur Road
(6 miles/hr)1 ½ lane
(20 miles/hr)Gravel
(29 miles/hr)Highway
(55 miles/hr)Interstate
(62 miles/hr)Total
Benchmark One way
haul miles 2.5 5 10 20 37.5 75
Table 1A: Benchmark scenario for equipment configuration
Scenario Harvest System
Loose Residue Shuttle
(to secondary landing) Chipper at
Central Landing Chip transportation to
pre-treatment gate
Benchmark Gentle Slope;
Mechanized; (Feller
Buncher, Track Skidder)
Modified dump truck
(30 CY capacity) Large Chipper;
Direct Loader Chip van (120 CY
capacity)
7
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 6
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 8
Table 3A: Alternate scenario for equipment configuration
Scenario Harvest System
Loose Residue Shuttle (to
secondary landing) Chipper at
Central Landing Chip transportation
to pre-treatment gate
Alt. Equip 1 Same as
Benchmark Roll-off container (50 CY
capacity) Same as
Benchmark Same as Benchmark
Table 3B: Alternate scenario for road-type specific transportation distances
Road type
(Avg. road speed)Spur Road
(6 miles/hr)1 ½ lane
(20 miles/hr)Gravel
(29 miles/hr)Highway
(55 miles/hr)Interstate
(62 miles/hr)Total
Alt Trans 1 One way
haul miles 0 5 10 20 40.0 75
Alt Trans 2 One way
haul miles 5 5 10 20 35.0 75
the overall environmental
burdens of the process.
The results further reveal
that strategic forest road
development will reduce the
global warming potential of
feedstock collection over the
long run.
Avoided environmental
burdens of slash pile
burning:
The avoided environmental impacts derived from
using residuals to produce bio-jet fuel rather
than burning them in slash piles are substantial.
By using the residuals to produce biofuel, we
can substantially reduce the emissions that are
generated from slash pile burning. Compared
to the alternative of burning the slash piles, the
environmental impacts of extracting and hauling
the forest residuals to a processing facility can be
substantially reduced.
To demonstrate this, the emissions generated for
both scenarios (burning slash piles and extracting
the residuals) were calculated. The results show
that the avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
from slash pile burning substantially reduce the
total GHG emissions from woody feedstock
collection and transportation, resulting in a 62.2%
reduction of the global warming potential value
(Table 2). Similarly, there is a net reduction in the
total impact for the other environmental factors
(smog formation, acidifi cation, and respiratory
effects). It should be noted that the large quantity
of biogenic CO2 emitted during the slash pile
burning was not included in the analysis as per
ISO and EPA guidelines.
Transportation Logistic Scenarios
Based on the previous LCA contribution analysis
of the benchmark logistics scenario, presented
in Figure 3, it is evident that shuttling the
loose residuals from the primary landing to the
secondary landing is the major GWP contributor.
Hence, in this section of the analysis, multiple
scenarios are developed to test the impact of
different transportation logistics on the overall
LCA of NARA bio-jet fuel. The alternate
equipment scenario (Alt. Equip 1) presented in
Table 3A assumes that the forest road between the
primary landing and the secondary landing can
accommodate a 50 CY roll-off container to shuttle
loose residuals between the primary landing and
the central landing, rather than the baseline 30 CY
dump truck used in the baseline scenario.
The fi rst alternate transportation scenario (Alt.
Trans. 1) presented in Table 3B assumes that the
primary landing is alongside a 1½ lane road (e.g.,
0 miles spur road) where the residual processing
equipment (e.g., large chipper and direct loader)
and the 120 CY chip vans can be brought in to
the primary landing and a centralized secondary
landing is not required. The second alternate
transportation (Alt. Trans. 2) scenario presented
in Table 3B assumes that the distance between
the primary landing and secondary landing is 5
miles of spur road. In this scenario, the residuals
must be transported from the primary landing
to the secondary landing where the chipper and
direct loader are located because the 120 CY
chip vans cannot navigate the forest spur road.
The total distance from the primary landing to
the pretreatment facility for both of the alternate
scenarios has been kept constant at 75 miles.
Combining the benchmark scenario with the
alternate equipment confi guration and the alternate
transportation scenarios allows us to test a total
of fi ve feedstock logistic scenarios (Table 3C).
The fi rst alternate transportation (Alt. Trans. 1)
scenario does not require transporting the forest
residuals on a spur road, and therefore the alternate
Table 2: Environmental impacts of feedstock logistics and avoided impacts of slash pile
burning: benchmark scenario
Feedstock Logistic
System Impact Avoided Impact Total Impact
Global Warming Potential kg CO2 eq. 92.21 -57.32 34.89
Smog kg O3 eq. 40.51 -85.41
-44.90
Acidification Air mol H+ eq. 72.08 -168.16 -96.09
Respiratory Effects kg PM10 eq. 0.10 -10.98 -10.88
8
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 7
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 9
equipment scenario (point A.1, Figure 4) provided
the same environmental impact as the benchmark
scenario (point A.2).
After factoring in the avoided environmental burdens
of slash pile burning, the total carbon footprint of
the baseline scenario using a 30 cubic yard container
(point B.1 in Figure 4) was 34.9 kilograms of CO2
per bone dry ton of woody biomass delivered to the
pre-treatment facility. The environmental impact
associated with scenarios A.1 and A.2, where the
primary landing is located along a 1½ lane road and
no spur road transportation is required, was negative
for both scenarios (points A.1 and A.2). Using the
larger 50 cubic yard container to haul the residuals
2.5 miles and 5 miles along a forest spur road (points
B.2 and C.2, respectively) substantially reduced the
global warming impacts relative to using the 30 CY
dump truck.
Evironmental Impacts Associated with Biomass
Conversion and Biofuel Refi nery
A life cycle assessment was also conducted for
a potential process to produce bio-jet fuel from
forest residuals using a biochemical conversion
process developed by the Department of Energy
and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) to produce a fermentable sugar stream from
lignocellulosic biomass. The fermentable sugars are
then converted to isobutanol (iBuOH) using GEVO’s
patented GIFT process. The isobutanol is
dehydrated to produce isobutene which undergoes
an oligomerization process to produce bio-jet fuel
(iso-paraffi nic kerosene, IPK).
Since the NREL model uses corn stover as the
feedstock, the NREL process model mass and
energy balance were modifi ed to simulate the use
of forest residuals as the feedstock. To do this
simulation, the high-level process area inputs and
outputs were extracted from the NREL model and
applied to the integrated NREL/GEVO process.
Process cooling, steam and electrical power loads
for the two GEVO process areas were then added
in so that the total biorefi nery (and supporting
auxiliary systems) loads would more accurately
refl ect the differences in feedstock, the different
products of fermentation and the differences in
the back-end chemistry. Modifi cations were made
to the process areas as needed to account for
differences in polysaccharide and lignin content
between the two feedstocks.
The fl ow diagram for the integrated NREL/GEVO
forest residuals-to-IPK process is shown in Figure
1. The fl ow diagram shows that the feedstock is
unloaded, screened and stored in metering bins
for delivery to the pretreatment process. It is
estimated that approximately 91% of the feedstock
material will pass through the screen and be
delivered to the pretreatment chamber, while 9%
will be rejected and be used as fuel in
the boiler. The feedstock is treated with
a dilute sulfuric acid catalyst at a high
temperature for a short period of time to
liberate the hemicellulose (C6) sugars
and break down the lignocellulosic
material in preparation for enzymatic
hydrolysis. The lignocellulosic material
is then mixed with a cellulase enzyme
and hydrolyzed to produce a fully
saccharifi ed sugar stream ready for
fermentation.
Fermentation is performed using the
GEVO GIFT process and GEVO’s
proprietary biocatalyst and isobutanol
recovery process. Beer produced during
the fermentation process is distilled
using steam to produce isobutanol
which is then dehydrated with a catalyst
to form isobutene. The isobutene is
oligomerized using another catalyst in
the presence of hydrogen to produce the bio-jet fuel
(IPK) which is sent to a co-located storage facility.
A high level mass and energy (M&E) balance
was developed by coupling the NREL Aspen
simulation outputs, which are publicly available,
with the Aspen simulation results for the two
GEVO processes. The M&E balances were
combined to create a total M&E balance for the
integrated biorefi nery. Finally, a heat balance for
the combined heat and power (CHP) plant was
developed in Thermofl ex to simulate the production
Scenarios A.1and
A.2
(Ͳ8.6)
Scenario B.1
(34.9)
ScenarioC.1
(69.7)
ScenarioB.2
(6.1)
ScenarioC.2
(14.2)
Ͳ20
Ͳ10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0milesspurroad 2.5milesspurroad 5milesspurroad
kg.Co2eq.
30CYdumptruck
50CYrollͲoffcontainer
Figure 4: Global Warming Potential for alternate logistic scenarios
Table 3C: Alternate scenario for road-type specific transportation distances
Equipment Scenario Transportation Scenario Scenarios No.
Benchmark
(30 CY Dump Truck)
Alt Trans 1 (no spur road) A.1
Benchmark (2.5 mile spur road) B.1
Alt Trans 2 (5 mile spur road) C.1
Alt. Equip 1
(50 CY Container)
Alt Trans 1 (no spur road) A.2
Benchmark (2.5 mile spur road) B.2
Alt Trans 2 (5 mile spur road) C.2
9
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 8
Woody biomass jetfuel continued on page 10
of electricity and process steam, cooling water,
and electricity from the biomass materials which
are available for energy conversion. These three
models are not directly linked, so the high level
results were combined in an Excel spreadsheet
and there may be additional opportunities for
heat integration and energy savings that are not
refl ected in the current energy balance.
The combined biorefi nery simulations were
totaled and normalized on the basis of one bone-
dry ton (BDT) of woody biomass delivered to
the biomass processing facility as feedstock
input converted IPK. The model produced excess
electricity which was sent to the local electricity
grid and an energy credit was allocated to the
IPK process. The model assumed that 6.857 kg of
bone dried woody biomass produced 1kg of IPK.
The LCA specifi ed that the process chemicals
and cellulase enzyme were purchased from
ancillary industries and the environmental
impacts associated with the production of each
of these chemicals were incorporated in the LCA
analysis. On the infrastructure side, depreciation
was modeled within the LCA for the fermentation
plant, the (CHP), wastewater treatment, chemical
production and IPK storage.
Finally, in the analysis it was assumed that the
combustion of the biomass materials resulted
in criteria pollutants being emitted into the
atmosphere, including particulate matter, NOx,
SO2, VOCs, CO, in addition to biogenic CO2,
ammonia, N2O and SO3. However, emissions
from the combustion of the various vent gas
streams were not estimated. The LCA analysis
also assumed that the process recycled 100%
of the waste water and there was no discharge
of wastewater outside the system boundary.
Solid wastes from the biomass conversion
process included combustion ash and fl ue gas
desulphurization residual slurry (calcium sulfate).
The results presented in the Table 4 were
developed using the baseline feedstock logistics
scenarios presented in
Tables 1 and 2. The
results show that after
accounting for the
avoided emissions from
burning the feedstock,
the net CO2 emissions
for the feedstock
process contributes
approximately 15%
of the overall LCA
of bio jet fuel, as
presented in the
baseline transportation scenario. Notably, the
feedstock process has net benefi cial impacts on
the three highlighted impact categories: smog,
acidifi cation air and respiratory effects (denoted
by net reduction).
Comparative Analysis: Environmental Implications
of NARA Bio-Jet Fuel vs Fossil Based Bio-Jet Fuel
The overall environmental impact associated with the
production of bio-jet fuel can be better understood
when compared against the emissions associated
with fossil based aviation fuel. This section of the
paper discusses the LCA emissions associated with
transporting 1 metric ton of freight for one kilometer
in an intercontinental fl ight using fossil fuel
(kerosene) relative to using bio-jet fuel (iso-paraffi nic
kerosene, IPK)
Comparable aircraft using bio-jet fuel or fossil
jet fuel will emit similar levels of carbon dioxide
(CO2), which is the primary source of greenhouse
gas emissions. However, the primary distinction
between biofuel and fossil fuel is the source of the
carbon stored in the fuel. The environmental footprint
associated with burning aviation fuels comes from
two primary sources. First, the carbon stored in
both aviation fuels is released during combustion.
Second, there is a large amount of carbon emissions
associated with the extraction, transportation and
processing of crude oil into jet fuel relative to bio-jet
fuel.
The use of fossil aviation fuels releases geologic
carbon that has been stored in the ground, and
those emissions represent a net addition of CO2 to
the atmosphere. The NARA bio-jet fuel uses wood
residue derived from timber harvest operations to
produce iso-paraffi nic kerosene (IPK) jet fuel. Trees
sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide as they grow
and burning biofuels simply releases this sequestered
carbon dioxide back into the environment. With a
sustainable resource, where the amount of biomass
extracted from the forest is less than the total
biomass growth over a specifi ed time frame, the
net addition of CO2 into the atmosphere will be
negative. However, the conversion of forest residuals
to bio-jet fuel requires various inputs from nature
(the atmosphere) and industry (the technosphere).
Hence, the overall environmental footprint associated
with the production of bio-jet fuel includes all the
resources used, emissions and waste generated
during the process of biomass growth, collection and
conversion into biofuel.
The comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
based ‘cradle to grave’ estimation approach used to
calculate the overall environmental footprint of these
two types of aviation fuels is generally considered
Contribution from
Feedstock Delivered
to Biomass Facility Biomass Conversion and Biofuel Refinery
(woody feedstock to IPK storage) Total
Impact
Global Warming kg CO2 eq 34.89 190.27 225.16
Smog kg O3 eq -44.90 20.20
-24.7
Acidification Air mol H+ eq -96.09 2.45 -93.64
Respiratory Effects kg PM10 eq -10.88 0.12 -10.76
Table 4: Environmental Impacts of converting 1 Bone Dry Ton (BDT) of woody residue into IPK
(Forest-to-pump)
10
Figure 5. Comparing the LCA’s of fossil based jet fuel against bio-jet fuel
Woody biomass jetfuel continued from page 9
100% 100%
44%
65%
38%
41%
34%
27%
33%
21%
30%
11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Globalwarming(kgCO2equiv.) Smog(kgO3equiv.)
EnvironmentalImpactofusingbioͲjetfuelas
comparedtofossiljetFuel
FossilbasedJetfuel
ScenarioC.1
ScenarioB.1
ScenarioC.2
ScenarioB.2
ScenariosA.1andA.2
40
to be the most credible method of comparison. The
results obtained from the “forest to pump” LCA
analysis are carried forward to combustion in a jet
engine during an intercontinental passenger fl ight to
provide a “forest-to-wake” analysis. These results
are compared to the same results obtained from the
combustion of fossil fuel-based jet fuel (Figure 5).
The results of the LCA comparison for the 5 logistics
scenarios previously described show that the overall
global warming potential of the NARA bio-jet fuel,
measured in kilograms of CO2 emissions, ranges from
between 30% and 44% of the fossil fuel-based jet fuel
(Figure 6). In addition, the ozone
depletion potential of the NARA
bio-jet fuel ranges between 11%
and 65% of that of the fossil
fuel-based jet fuel. Hence, our
analysis suggests that for the fi ve
logistical scenarios considered,
a global warming potential
reduction of more than 60% was
achieved in four of the fi ve cases
(bars below the dotted red line
in Figure 6). The only scenario
where the NARA bio-jet fuel
did not meet the 60% reduction
requirement was the scenario
where the forest residuals were
transported 5 miles along forest
spur roads. This scenario was
included as an extreme case
and it is expected that less
than 5% of the commercially
harvested forests would fi t this
situation. Moreover, the overall
volume of biomass collected
from these types of terrains is
minimal relative to the forest
residuals that are located close
to the roadside. Hence, the overall GHG impact of
the NARA bio jet-fuel is comfortably within the
suggested 60% reduction. This result is signifi cant in
that it exceeds the mandated 60% emission reduction
criterion specifi ed in the US Energy Independence
Act guidelines.
Acknowledment
This work, as part of the Northwest Advanced
Renewables Alliance (NARA), was funded by the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive
Grant no. 2011-68005-30416 from the USDA National
Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Figure 6. Net reductions in global warming and smog potential associated with bio-jet fuel
used as a substitute for fossil-based jet fuel
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