NC1204: Advancement of Brassica carinata
(Multistate Research Project)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
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The need, as indicated by stakeholders.
Since the late 1970’s, the United States and many other countries have strived to develop technologies to convert renewable resources into fuels and chemicals that can sustainably and economically replace petroleum based products. The most important outcome of these efforts has been creation of the fuel ethanol industry, produced primarily from corn (US) and sugarcane (Brazil). The US currently produces 13-15 billion gallons of ethanol annually, which represents ~10% of gasoline consumption. A second outcome has been development of biodiesel production from vegetable oils (primarily soybean) and animal fats. The 1.3 billion gallons of biodiesel represents ~2% of annual diesel use in the US.
The ethanol industry is currently beginning commercialization of second generation biofuels (ethanol produced from lignocellulose). The challenge with this approach is the “blend wall” that EPA has established by allowing only 10-15% ethanol mixtures in gasoline for non-flex fuel vehicles. To overcome this issue, efforts are also underway to convert biomass and algal oil into drop-in biofuels, which are molecules identical to their petroleum equivalents. These drop-in biofuels could be seamlessly incorporated into the existing petroleum fuel infrastructure. The challenges to this point have been: 1) sourcing biomass and/or algal oil at a sufficient scale and price point, and 2) developing efficient and economical conversion processes.
An alternative to lignocellulosic biomass and algal oil as renewable feedstocks for biofuel production are plant-based, non-food oilseeds (NFOS). Several plants produce long-chain oils that are not suitable for food or feed use, but are ideal for conversion into drop-in biofuels. These include many plants in the mustard family such as carinata, as well as camelina. Equally significant is that companies such as ARA and UOP have already demonstrated economical processes to convert NFOS into jet fuel and diesel fuel equivalents. These relatively simple hydro-treatment processes are estimated to account for only 10% of the total cost of the final fuel. Moreover, many of these fuels have already successfully completed certification processes required by military and commercial airlines.
The primary hurdle standing in the way of commercial deployment of NFOS-based drop-in fuels is the lack of sufficient supplies of the crops themselves. The cost of the feedstock can account for as much as 90% of the total production costs of the fuel. Thus there is a need for integrated research and development to overcome supply chain barriers to establish an economical and sustainable supply of NFOS. This will require research to achieve the following outcomes: improved varieties, knowledge of varieties that perform best in different locations, demonstrated agronomic practices (including fertility, weed and pest control), rotational effects of these alternative crops, understanding of economic potential and life cycle impacts, defined crop insurance programs, knowledge of how to maximize value and use of meal co-products, and scale-up and commercialization plans.
The primary initial stakeholders seeking additional sources of bio-based, drop-in fuels are the Departments of Agriculture and Energy, along with the US Navy, who established the Farm to Fleet Initiative in 2010. This initiative has a goal of obtaining one-half of its fuel from non-food bio-feedstocks by the year 2020, which will require 700+ million gallons per year. To this end, biofuels are to be purchased as part of all DOD domestic solicitations. The US Navy promoted this goal in 2012 during the Great Green Fleet demonstration of biofuels at “Rim of the Pacific” maritime exercise. The carrier strike force was fueled by 50% biofuels, and performance was slightly better than conventional fuels. In the spring of 2013 the Navy initiated the biofuel pilot program under Defense Production Act. In the spring of 2014 the US Navy announced that biofuels will be incorporated into all solicitations for jet engine and marine diesel fuels, and last fall announced the announce purchase of 100 MGY of military grade biofuels at an average price of $3.45/gal beginning in 2016/17. Plans for 2016 include fully deploying the Great Green Fleet full deployment using 50% renewable fuels. Additional stakeholders from the fuel supply perspective include national and international commercial airlines, who are seeking renewable sources of jet fuel.
Stakeholders in the farm-to-fuel part of the value chain include farmers, rural communities, and the Federal government. To increase the availability of renewable fuels for consumers, the USDA established the Rural Energy for America (REAP) Program in the early 2000s to grow rural economies by developing a domestic biofuel industry. Initial production trials with NFOS has been conducted with producers in both the North Central and Southeastern parts of the US over the past several years. Results have been encouraging, but the research described above is needed to expand crop production capabilities to the levels needed.
The importance of the work, and what the consequences are if it is not done.
The over-arching objective of this project is to perform needed research and demonstration to enable commercial deployment of NFOS as rotational crops, while providing in-edible plant oil for advanced biofuel production and another source of high protein feed for animal and fish production. NFOS represent a significant new opportunity for the US economy, ranging from production agriculture (new crops in wheat rotations and livestock feeding operations) to expanded production of drop-in biofuels to the development of an aquaculture industry. Two specific NFOS crops, Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata, aka carinata) and camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz., Brassicaceae], are the focus of this effort. This proposal brings together a broad range of expertise from across the nation to address key research, development, and scale-up issues that must be overcome to allow these new opportunities to be profitably and sustainably capitalized upon.
The mission of this NCRA is to develop a future industry in NFOS crops suitable for conversion to military and civilian liquid fuels and co-products suitable for animal production. Our vision is to conduct this work in cooperation with organizations including other universities, USDA, United States Navy, the Sun Grant Program, and commercial partners. Strategic goals include: 1) identifying improved NFOS varieties that are adapted for production in specific ecoregions, 2) determining appropriate agronomic practices for NFOS crop performance in rotational farming systems, 3) demonstrating suitability of NFOS crops for biofuel and high protein feed production, 4) defining the economic potential and life cycle impacts of NFOS crops. The unfortunate consequences of not performing this work will be the loss of the opportunity to provide new rotational crops for production of biobased fuels and high protein feeds, as well as the rural economic development this could provide.
The technical feasibility of the research.
For most biofuel projects, development of an efficient and economical conversion technology is the biggest hurdle. Supplies of lignocellulosic feedstocks are already available, and so only cost, competing uses, and logistics are factors. For this project the hydrotreating conversion technology is already available and demonstrated, and the resulting fuels are being certified. The critical need is availability of NFOS feedstocks that are produced in a sustainable manner that can be integrated into current farming practices.
To achieve a sufficient supply of NFOS and ensure that the resulting meal co-product will have valuable market uses, we will address the issues described below. Fortunately, the technical feasibility of achieving these objectives is high, as they have been used for many decades to develop other crops and establish valuable uses for processing co-products. For example, methodologies for plant breeding, variety selection, and agronomy are well known. Similarly, livestock feeding trials have established protocols, as do the methods used for technoeconomic and life cycle analyses. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of this proposed activity will be in processing the co-product meals to reduce the levels of glucosinolates, which are anti-nutritional compounds found in many Brassica species. However in preliminary work investigators have demonstrated that various physical, chemical, and microbial methods can substantially reduce glucosinolate levels. We anticipate that optimization of these methods will both reduce/eliminate glucosinolates and generate feeds with higher protein levels. This will allow for higher feed inclusion rates and higher value assigned to the co-product meals.
Anticipated deliverables include key elements in the value chain required to commercialize production, processing, and marketing of NFOS as new rotational crops for the US. These are described below.
Variety selection: Protocols have been established and implemented to accurately evaluate varieties for performance across several ecoregions. The key milestone will be identifying top yielding varieties for each geography and climate. The key indicator will be adoption of these varieties in crop rotations.
Agronomy practices: Baseline production methods are being adapted for use in various ecoregions. The key milestone will be developing a comprehensive suite of agronomic practices for use by producers. The key indicator will be adoption of these agronomic practices by producers.
Meal processing: Oilseed meals are being processed by established physical, chemical, and biological protocols to develop nutritionally enhanced meals, with lower levels of anti-nutritional compounds. The key milestone will be developing a procedure to enhance protein content and digestibility of these meals, while reducing or eliminating anti-nutritional factors. The key indicator will be adoption of this technology by meal processing companies to produce commercial quantities of these microbially enhanced feeds.
Livestock feeding: Feeding trials are underway using standard methods on beef and dairy cattle, as well as fish. The key milestone will be identifying optimal feed inclusion rates for the oilseed meals, either in their raw state or after microbial conversion to reduce anti-nutritional factors. The key indicator will be adoption of these feeds by livestock producers.
Economic, insurance, and life cycle analysis: Data from the work above is being used to characterize the economics, insurability, and LCA of the non-food oilseed production system. The key milestone will be linking all elements of this value chain together to demonstrate technical, economic, and environmental feasibility and sustainability. The key indicator will be adoption of this system as part of US agriculture.
The advantages for doing the work as a multistate effort.
To produce sufficient quantities of feedstock will require acreage spread across multiple ecoregions. This distributed production will also help maintain a more stable production base in light of climatic variability, and will expand the economic development benefits to a greater and more diverse population base. Since each ecoregion has unique characteristics, it is critical that this NRCA effort be conducted as a multistate effort, to bring local research and development expertise to the table. Moreover, the commercial partners developing improved oilseed varieties, scaling up production of seed, handling, production contracts, logistics, and commercializing conversion processes are already located in multiple states. Thus, bringing together a diverse team from across the US will be the most effective way to achieve the stated objectives.
Beyond the Experiment Station researchers from several states who will be involved in this project, below are listed other collaborators:
• USDA Agricultural Research Service
• Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative
• U.S. Navy Energy Security Program
• Sun Grant Initiative
• Agrisoma Biosciences LLC, Saskatoon, CA (Carinata breeding and commercial deployment)
• Sustainable Oils (Global Clean Energy Holding), Bozeman, MT: Camelina breeding and commercial deployment
• Canterra Seeds, Winnipeg, Canada: Carinata seed production and sales.
• Paterson Grain/PGF Biofuels, Winnipeg, Canada: Carinata production contracts, procurement, logistics, oilseed crushing
• Stengel Oils, Milbank, SD: Cold press oil recovery
• Blue Sun Energy, St. Joseph, MO: Commercial Biodiesel Production
• Applied Research Associates (ARA), Panama City, FL: Biofuel Technology Development for ReadiJet ® and ReadiDiesel ®
• Prairie AquaTech, Brookings, SD: Meal processing and utilization
What the likely impacts will be from successfully completing the work.
Rural economic growth in semi-arid regions of Great Plains could be improved by an expansion into production of NFOS that would serve as feedstocks for production of biofuel and high protein livestock feed. Similarly, production of NFOS could serve as important winter crops for the Southeastern US. These crops could be valuable new additions to existing crop rotation programs, thereby increasing land productivity and making use of available moisture and fertility resources. Local crushing and processing facilities for these NFOS crops would keep the economic benefits in rural areas. Advanced biofuel processing plants could be developed in these regions, much the same as corn-ethanol plants have brought high-paying local jobs and economic development to the Midwest. For private consumers and the military, the benefits would be increased supply of sustainably produced biofuels at competitive prices. For livestock and aquaculture producers the benefit would be an additional source of highly digestible protein feeds for animal and fish production.
Since the late 1970’s, the United States and many other countries have strived to develop technologies to convert renewable resources into fuels and chemicals that can sustainably and economically replace petroleum based products. The most important outcome of these efforts has been creation of the fuel ethanol industry, produced primarily from corn (US) and sugarcane (Brazil). The US currently produces 13-15 billion gallons of ethanol annually, which represents ~10% of gasoline consumption. A second outcome has been development of biodiesel production from vegetable oils (primarily soybean) and animal fats. The 1.3 billion gallons of biodiesel represents ~2% of annual diesel use in the US.
The ethanol industry is currently beginning commercialization of second generation biofuels (ethanol produced from lignocellulose). The challenge with this approach is the “blend wall” that EPA has established by allowing only 10-15% ethanol mixtures in gasoline for non-flex fuel vehicles. To overcome this issue, efforts are also underway to convert biomass and algal oil into drop-in biofuels, which are molecules identical to their petroleum equivalents. These drop-in biofuels could be seamlessly incorporated into the existing petroleum fuel infrastructure. The challenges to this point have been: 1) sourcing biomass and/or algal oil at a sufficient scale and price point, and 2) developing efficient and economical conversion processes.
An alternative to lignocellulosic biomass and algal oil as renewable feedstocks for biofuel production are plant-based, non-food oilseeds (NFOS). Several plants produce long-chain oils that are not suitable for food or feed use, but are ideal for conversion into drop-in biofuels. These include many plants in the mustard family such as carinata, as well as camelina. Equally significant is that companies such as ARA and UOP have already demonstrated economical processes to convert NFOS into jet fuel and diesel fuel equivalents. These relatively simple hydro-treatment processes are estimated to account for only 10% of the total cost of the final fuel. Moreover, many of these fuels have already successfully completed certification processes required by military and commercial airlines.
The primary hurdle standing in the way of commercial deployment of NFOS-based drop-in fuels is the lack of sufficient supplies of the crops themselves. The cost of the feedstock can account for as much as 90% of the total production costs of the fuel. Thus there is a need for integrated research and development to overcome supply chain barriers to establish an economical and sustainable supply of NFOS. This will require research to achieve the following outcomes: improved varieties, knowledge of varieties that perform best in different locations, demonstrated agronomic practices (including fertility, weed and pest control), rotational effects of these alternative crops, understanding of economic potential and life cycle impacts, defined crop insurance programs, knowledge of how to maximize value and use of meal co-products, and scale-up and commercialization plans.
The primary initial stakeholders seeking additional sources of bio-based, drop-in fuels are the Departments of Agriculture and Energy, along with the US Navy, who established the Farm to Fleet Initiative in 2010. This initiative has a goal of obtaining one-half of its fuel from non-food bio-feedstocks by the year 2020, which will require 700+ million gallons per year. To this end, biofuels are to be purchased as part of all DOD domestic solicitations. The US Navy promoted this goal in 2012 during the Great Green Fleet demonstration of biofuels at “Rim of the Pacific” maritime exercise. The carrier strike force was fueled by 50% biofuels, and performance was slightly better than conventional fuels. In the spring of 2013 the Navy initiated the biofuel pilot program under Defense Production Act. In the spring of 2014 the US Navy announced that biofuels will be incorporated into all solicitations for jet engine and marine diesel fuels, and last fall announced the announce purchase of 100 MGY of military grade biofuels at an average price of $3.45/gal beginning in 2016/17. Plans for 2016 include fully deploying the Great Green Fleet full deployment using 50% renewable fuels. Additional stakeholders from the fuel supply perspective include national and international commercial airlines, who are seeking renewable sources of jet fuel.
Stakeholders in the farm-to-fuel part of the value chain include farmers, rural communities, and the Federal government. To increase the availability of renewable fuels for consumers, the USDA established the Rural Energy for America (REAP) Program in the early 2000s to grow rural economies by developing a domestic biofuel industry. Initial production trials with NFOS has been conducted with producers in both the North Central and Southeastern parts of the US over the past several years. Results have been encouraging, but the research described above is needed to expand crop production capabilities to the levels needed.
The importance of the work, and what the consequences are if it is not done.
The over-arching objective of this project is to perform needed research and demonstration to enable commercial deployment of NFOS as rotational crops, while providing in-edible plant oil for advanced biofuel production and another source of high protein feed for animal and fish production. NFOS represent a significant new opportunity for the US economy, ranging from production agriculture (new crops in wheat rotations and livestock feeding operations) to expanded production of drop-in biofuels to the development of an aquaculture industry. Two specific NFOS crops, Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata, aka carinata) and camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz., Brassicaceae], are the focus of this effort. This proposal brings together a broad range of expertise from across the nation to address key research, development, and scale-up issues that must be overcome to allow these new opportunities to be profitably and sustainably capitalized upon.
The mission of this NCRA is to develop a future industry in NFOS crops suitable for conversion to military and civilian liquid fuels and co-products suitable for animal production. Our vision is to conduct this work in cooperation with organizations including other universities, USDA, United States Navy, the Sun Grant Program, and commercial partners. Strategic goals include: 1) identifying improved NFOS varieties that are adapted for production in specific ecoregions, 2) determining appropriate agronomic practices for NFOS crop performance in rotational farming systems, 3) demonstrating suitability of NFOS crops for biofuel and high protein feed production, 4) defining the economic potential and life cycle impacts of NFOS crops. The unfortunate consequences of not performing this work will be the loss of the opportunity to provide new rotational crops for production of biobased fuels and high protein feeds, as well as the rural economic development this could provide.
The technical feasibility of the research.
For most biofuel projects, development of an efficient and economical conversion technology is the biggest hurdle. Supplies of lignocellulosic feedstocks are already available, and so only cost, competing uses, and logistics are factors. For this project the hydrotreating conversion technology is already available and demonstrated, and the resulting fuels are being certified. The critical need is availability of NFOS feedstocks that are produced in a sustainable manner that can be integrated into current farming practices.
To achieve a sufficient supply of NFOS and ensure that the resulting meal co-product will have valuable market uses, we will address the issues described below. Fortunately, the technical feasibility of achieving these objectives is high, as they have been used for many decades to develop other crops and establish valuable uses for processing co-products. For example, methodologies for plant breeding, variety selection, and agronomy are well known. Similarly, livestock feeding trials have established protocols, as do the methods used for technoeconomic and life cycle analyses. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of this proposed activity will be in processing the co-product meals to reduce the levels of glucosinolates, which are anti-nutritional compounds found in many Brassica species. However in preliminary work investigators have demonstrated that various physical, chemical, and microbial methods can substantially reduce glucosinolate levels. We anticipate that optimization of these methods will both reduce/eliminate glucosinolates and generate feeds with higher protein levels. This will allow for higher feed inclusion rates and higher value assigned to the co-product meals.
Anticipated deliverables include key elements in the value chain required to commercialize production, processing, and marketing of NFOS as new rotational crops for the US. These are described below.
Variety selection: Protocols have been established and implemented to accurately evaluate varieties for performance across several ecoregions. The key milestone will be identifying top yielding varieties for each geography and climate. The key indicator will be adoption of these varieties in crop rotations.
Agronomy practices: Baseline production methods are being adapted for use in various ecoregions. The key milestone will be developing a comprehensive suite of agronomic practices for use by producers. The key indicator will be adoption of these agronomic practices by producers.
Meal processing: Oilseed meals are being processed by established physical, chemical, and biological protocols to develop nutritionally enhanced meals, with lower levels of anti-nutritional compounds. The key milestone will be developing a procedure to enhance protein content and digestibility of these meals, while reducing or eliminating anti-nutritional factors. The key indicator will be adoption of this technology by meal processing companies to produce commercial quantities of these microbially enhanced feeds.
Livestock feeding: Feeding trials are underway using standard methods on beef and dairy cattle, as well as fish. The key milestone will be identifying optimal feed inclusion rates for the oilseed meals, either in their raw state or after microbial conversion to reduce anti-nutritional factors. The key indicator will be adoption of these feeds by livestock producers.
Economic, insurance, and life cycle analysis: Data from the work above is being used to characterize the economics, insurability, and LCA of the non-food oilseed production system. The key milestone will be linking all elements of this value chain together to demonstrate technical, economic, and environmental feasibility and sustainability. The key indicator will be adoption of this system as part of US agriculture.
The advantages for doing the work as a multistate effort.
To produce sufficient quantities of feedstock will require acreage spread across multiple ecoregions. This distributed production will also help maintain a more stable production base in light of climatic variability, and will expand the economic development benefits to a greater and more diverse population base. Since each ecoregion has unique characteristics, it is critical that this NRCA effort be conducted as a multistate effort, to bring local research and development expertise to the table. Moreover, the commercial partners developing improved oilseed varieties, scaling up production of seed, handling, production contracts, logistics, and commercializing conversion processes are already located in multiple states. Thus, bringing together a diverse team from across the US will be the most effective way to achieve the stated objectives.
Beyond the Experiment Station researchers from several states who will be involved in this project, below are listed other collaborators:
• USDA Agricultural Research Service
• Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative
• U.S. Navy Energy Security Program
• Sun Grant Initiative
• Agrisoma Biosciences LLC, Saskatoon, CA (Carinata breeding and commercial deployment)
• Sustainable Oils (Global Clean Energy Holding), Bozeman, MT: Camelina breeding and commercial deployment
• Canterra Seeds, Winnipeg, Canada: Carinata seed production and sales.
• Paterson Grain/PGF Biofuels, Winnipeg, Canada: Carinata production contracts, procurement, logistics, oilseed crushing
• Stengel Oils, Milbank, SD: Cold press oil recovery
• Blue Sun Energy, St. Joseph, MO: Commercial Biodiesel Production
• Applied Research Associates (ARA), Panama City, FL: Biofuel Technology Development for ReadiJet ® and ReadiDiesel ®
• Prairie AquaTech, Brookings, SD: Meal processing and utilization
What the likely impacts will be from successfully completing the work.
Rural economic growth in semi-arid regions of Great Plains could be improved by an expansion into production of NFOS that would serve as feedstocks for production of biofuel and high protein livestock feed. Similarly, production of NFOS could serve as important winter crops for the Southeastern US. These crops could be valuable new additions to existing crop rotation programs, thereby increasing land productivity and making use of available moisture and fertility resources. Local crushing and processing facilities for these NFOS crops would keep the economic benefits in rural areas. Advanced biofuel processing plants could be developed in these regions, much the same as corn-ethanol plants have brought high-paying local jobs and economic development to the Midwest. For private consumers and the military, the benefits would be increased supply of sustainably produced biofuels at competitive prices. For livestock and aquaculture producers the benefit would be an additional source of highly digestible protein feeds for animal and fish production.