giant king® grass: versatile biomass for bioenergy and ... · • viaspace now focused on biomass...

CLEANENERGYFORACLEANERTOMORROW

Dr.CarlKukkonenCTOVIASPACEInc.,USA

GIANTKING®GRASS:Versatile Biomass for Bioenergy and Biorefineries

[email protected]

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VIASPACE|CLEANENERGYFORACLEANERTOMORROW

DirectCombustion,AnaerobicDigestion,CellulosicBiofuels,Biochemicals,AnimalFeed

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Six-month-oldGiantKingGrassinCalifornia


GiantKing® GrassOverview

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Characteristics

Veryhighyieldproprietary hybrid

(non-GMO), harvestedtwiceayearat15+feet

Composition likeCornStoverandMiscanthus

Cost

Projectedlowestcostdeliveredtothepowerplantorbiorefinery

10x theyieldofCornStoverand3x theyieldofMiscanthusperacre

Range

Warmweatherclimates–tropicalregions

including SouthernU.S.,Hawaii,PuertoRico,Virgin Islands,Guam)

Growsonmarginalland

Highpotential“platform”energycropfor biopower,biofuels,biochemicalsandotherbioproducts


GKGCharacteristics:FastGrowingPerennialGrass

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AfterC

uttin

g3Months

BiogasProduction

2Months

AnimalFeed

6Months

Biofuels&Biopower


Cost:GKGAdvantagedinKeyCostCategories

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Costs KeyDrivers Performance

Grow

th

Land Use ü Highestyieldperacreofland

WaterUse ü Highestyieldperacre-footofwater

LandQuality ü Growswellonmarginalland

LandAmendments ü Perennial cropimproveslandovertimethroughtheadditionoforganicmatter.

Harvestin

g/

Logistics

Harvesting ü Canusestandard equipment

Transportation ü Co-locationofbiorefinery orpowerplantandplantationreducestransportationdistancesandcosts

Storage ü Just-In-Time,year-roundharvesting reduces oreliminatesneedforsignificant storage


VIASPACEDevelopsProjectsinAdditiontoBeingaFeedstockSupplier

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VIASPACEcanprovide• Agriculturalsupport• Businessplandevelopment• Financialmodels• Prefeasibilitystudies• Bankablefeasibilitystudies

VIASPACEpartnersprovidetechnology&EPCcontracting

10-35MWDirectCombustionPowerPlant1-10MWAnaerobicDigestionPowerPlant


GKGProjectsinDevelopment:NicaraguaBiopower

12MWbiomassdirectcombustionpowerplant• 84GWhofsalablebaseloadelectricity• Well proventechnology• connectedtotheNicaraguangrid

Fueledby2,100acreGiantKingGrassplantation• Co-locatedwithpowerplant• IrrigationfromLakeNicaraguaforreliability• Cultivationsimilar tosugarcane

VIASPACEpartnerisAGRICORP,alargeagribusinesscompanyinNicaragua• Landandexpertise forplantationoperations

EPCcontractsigned, debtfinancing letterofintentfromIDBandFMO,localutilitywilloperate

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Giant King Grass growing well onpart of 10,000 acre rice plantationnot suitable for rice


GKGProjectsinDevelopment:ADPlantonSt.Croix,USVirginIslands

TibbarEnergyUSVIisdevelopingananaerobicdigestion (AD)biogaspowerplantonSt.Croix,USVirgin Islands

PrimaryfeedstockisGiantKingGrass,whichwillbegrownon1,500+acres

Biogasusedtopowergeneratortoproduce7MWofbase-loadrenewableelectricity.

Tibbarwillbetheonlybase-loadrenewableenergyprojectindependent offossilfuel intheUSVI

GiantKingGrassisharvested4-5timesayearat8-10feettallforanaerobicdigestion

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TypicalAnaerobicDigestionPlant

GiantKingGrassonSt.Croix


GiantKingGrassNursery:SanDiegoCounty,California

• PrimarynurseryfacilityisinSanDiegoCounty,Californiaandsourceofpropagationmaterial

• GiantKingGrassisvegetativelypropagatedlikesugarcane,butatahigherratioforimprovedscalability

• ShipmentsandexportsinspectedandapprovedbyUSDA

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GiantKingGrassinHawaiiSecondVIASPACENursery

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GKGResearch:ImperialValleyCalifornia

• UniversityOfCaliforniaDesertResearchCenter

• Growthinhightemperaturedesertconditions

• 6monthharvestforbioenergy• 2monthharvestforanimalfeed

• Highprotein14-17%• HighYield

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GiantKingGrass&AgriculturalWasteStrawsHaveSameProperties

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HigherHeatingValue


BiomethaneProductionfromGKG

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GKGCompositionforBiofuels&Biochemicals

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GiantKingGrasscompositionisequivalentorslightlybetterthanCornStoverandMiscanthusforbiofuelsandbioproducts

;DatafromNovozymes,POET, TMO

SugarsusedforbiofuelsandbioproductsByproducts


IndependentPretreatment&EnzymaticHydrolysisTesting

“GiantKingGrassethanolproductionisverysimilartocornstrawandGiantKingGrassisprobablyeasiertoprocess”– POETscientist

• Conversionofhemicellulose(xylan)toxylose>90%

• Conversionofcellulose(glucan)toglucose>85%

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Sugar(meas.)andEthanolYields(est.)

gallons

Co.1 Co.2


HighLandUseProductivity

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Yield DryMatter GiantKingGrass CornStover Miscanthus

USton/acre 42 3.5-4.7 14-18

Metric ton/ha 94 8.6-11.6 31-40

GiantKingGrassyieldstwoharvestsperyearinwarmclimatescomparedwithoneharvestperyearforcornandmiscanthus.

Highestlanduseefficiency...

...resultsinhighestproductivityperacre.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

CornGrain CornStover Miscanthus GiantKingGrass

Ethanol(gallons/acre)


GiantKingGrassPelletsasCoalReplacement

GiantKingGrasspelletscanreplaceupto20%ofcoalinanexistingcoal-firedpowerplant

Preserveslargecapitalinvestmentinexistingpowerplantw/30yearadditionallife

Meetscarbonreductiontargets16Mtonsofpelletsusedgloballytoday,46Mtonsby2020

Grassisgrown,driedandpressedintopelletsandshippedinbulklikeshippinggrain

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HydrothermalProcessConversionofGiantKingGrasstoBio-coal

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PartneredwithPCSBiofuels,Inc.toconvertGKGtodrop-incoalreplacementusingitspatentedPolymerCarbonSolid(PCS)thermalcatalyticprocess.

ResultsforPCSGKGbiofuel:• Sameenergydensityasmetallurgicalcoal

(~24MJ/Kg)• Burnscleanlywithout generatingsulfur,

mercuryorotheremissionsfoundincoal• Hydrophobicandcanbestoredoutdoors

likecoalandpulverizedinthesamemachinesascoal.

• Ashcontentissimilartothatofagoodcoal• Highmeltingpoint,above950oC;noco-

firingproblemsexpected


MultipleApplicationsGiantKingGrass– PlatformCrop

• Cellulosicliquidbiofuels--ethanol/butanol• Pyrolysistobiooil• Catalyticconversiontobiodiesel

• Biochemicalsandbioplastics• High-temperaturegasification• Directcombustionforelectric

power/heat/steam• Pelletsforco-firingwithcoal

• Briquettesforboilers• Torrefaction/hydrothermalprocessingto

biocoal• Biogas/anaerobicdigestion• Pulpforpaperandtextiles

• Animalfeed

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• Proximate&Ultimateanalyses• Tracemetals• Ashcomposition&meltingtemperature• Biomethaneproduction• Cellulosicsugarcomposition• Pretreatmentandenzymatichydrolysis

• C5andC6sugars• Biocoal analysis• Animalfeednutrition

IndependentTestingData

EnergycontentHHV:18.4MJ/drykg=4400kcal/kg=7900BTU/lbBiogasproduction: 539-758 liters/drykg;51-57%methaneBiofuelsanalysis:Glucan43%;Xylan22%;Arabinan3%Lignin17%Cellulosicethanolprojection: 80gallonsperUSton)Cellulosicethanolyieldprojection: 3,500gallonsperacreBiocoal:24MJ/kgHHV


Summary:GiantKing® Grass

• Highyielddedicatedenergycropproducing21drytonsperacreperharvestwhenharvestedforbiofuelsandbiopowertwiceayearat14+feettall

• Perennialcrop,cutandregrowfor7– 10years• Noneedtoplow&replanteveryyear• Promotesstrongsubsoilenvironment

• Naturalproprietarygrass,notgeneticallymodified

• Willgrowonmarginalland,doesnotdisplacefoodcrops

• Wellsuitedforbioenergyapplications• Providesreliable,lowcostfuelorfeedstockfor

24/7operations365days/year

Advantages Limitations• Tropicalandsubtropicalgrassrequiring

non-freezingareasforperennialgrowth

• GiantKingGrasshashighwateruseefficiencyandisdroughttolerant,butneedsconsistentrainfallorirrigationforoptimumproduction

GiantKingGrassLowestCostFeedstockBecauseofHighYield

HighEnergyContent

CompositionlikeCornStraw

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THANKYOU!

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GiantKingGrassU.S.Range

GiantKingGrassisatropicalandsubtropicalgrasssuitableforSouthernU.S.(zones8+onmap),Hawaii,PuertoRico,VirginIslands,Guam,AmericanSamoa

GiantKingGrasswillsurviveashortfreeze– therootssurviveandplantre-growswhentheweatherwarms– butnotanextendedperiodoffreezingweather

GiantKingGrassrequireswarmweather,sunshineandsufficientrainfallorirrigation.

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VIASPACEBackground

• VIASPACEisapubliclytradedcompany:SymbolVSPC• Fullyreporting toSECandaudited• Headquartered inCalifornia,USA

• Originallyfoundedin1998asanincubatortocommercializetechnologyfromCaltech/NASAJetPropulsionLaboratory(JPL)• Dr.CarlKukkonen, founder, directedaJPLresearchcenter• Originalproductscame“via”the“space”program

• VIASPACEnowfocusedonbiomassforbiofuels,bioproductsandbioenergy• GiantKing®Grassisaproprietaryhigh-yield,dedicatedenergycropcurrentlybeinggrowninCalifornia,Hawaii,St.Croix(USVirginIslands),andothercountriesinAfrica,Asia,CentralandSouthAmerica

• Experiencedmanagementandtechnicalteam

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giant king® grass: versatile biomass for bioenergy and ... · • viaspace now focused on biomass...

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