| Tuesday, July 14, 2009 |
| 9:00–11:30 a.m. |
Preworkshop
Tutorial: Fundamentals of Gasification |
| 11:30 a.m. |
Lunch for Tutorial Attendees |
| 11:30 a.m. |
Biomass ’09 Registration Opens – Exhibit Hall Open |
| 12:30 p.m. |
Introduction
Chris Zygarlicke, Deputy Associate Director for Research, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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WORKSHOP WELCOMES |
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Gerald Groenewold, Director Energy & Environmental Research Center, Grand Forks, ND
Dr. Gerald Groenewold, Director of the EERC, leads a multidisciplinary science and
engineering research team of over 330 people focused on energy and environmental
technologies. Since he became the Director in 1987 and completely changed the culture
of the organization, the EERC has had nearly 1100 clients from 51 countries and all 50
states, including many Fortune 500 companies. The EERC’s current research portfolio is
over $227 million. The EERC, with its long tradition of fossil fuel-related research
and development (R&D), has broadened its scope to include a wide array of strategic
energy and environmental issues and houses ten Centers of Excellence, including the
Centers for Renewable Energy and Biomass Utilization.
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The Honorable Byron Dorgan, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. (Video)
Senator Byron Dorgan serves in the Democratic Leadership as an Assistant
Democratic Floor Leader and is the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
In addition, he serves on four other Senate Committees. He is Chairman of the Indian
Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee
within the Appropriations Committee. Also, he is a senior member of the Energy &
Natural Resources Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
Senator Dorgan is working to make significant long-term investments in renewable fuels,
such as biofuels, wind energy, and ethanol. He is also working to develop clean coal
technology and increase energy efficiency and the use of hydrogen.
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| 12:45 p.m. |
KEYNOTE |
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Doug Goehring, North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
A third-generation family farmer, Doug Goehring was appointed North Dakota
Agriculture Commissioner on April 6, 2009, by Governor John Hoeven. Commissioner
Goehring operates a 2000-acre, no-till farm near Menoken in south-central North
Dakota, where he raises corn, soybeans, spring wheat, field peas, canola, winter
wheat, and alfalfa. He has also produced durum, sunflowers, barley, mustard, millet,
and safflower and had a feeder cattle operation. Commissioner Goehring believes
development of overseas trade is vital to the growth and prosperity of North Dakota
agriculture. He strongly supports increased research into cereal grains and biofuel
crops. Long active in farm organizations, Commissioner Goehring has erved as Vice
President of the North Dakota Farm Breau and is a member of the North Dakota
Stockmen’s Association, North Dakota Grain Growers, North Dakota Soybean Association,
and National Association of Corporate Directors. An advocate of agriculture based,
renewable fuels, he is an investor in the Red Trail Energy Ethanol Plant in
Richardton, North Dakota.
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| 1:15 p.m. |
SESSION: Trends and Opportunities in Utilizing Biomass
EERC Session Coordinator/Chair: Chris Zygarlicke, Deputy Associate Director
for Research, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 1:20 p.m. |
Biomass – Where Are We Headed?, Chris Zygarlicke, Deputy Associate Director
for Research, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 1:45 p.m. |
Biomass Fuel: Which Comes First—The Market or the Supply?, Sandra Broekema,
Manager, Business Development, Great River Energy, Maple Grove, MN
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| 2:10 p.m. |
The National Carbon Recycling Plan as Enabled by Algae, David Haberman,
President, IF LLC, Delray Beach, FL, with R. Hobbs, Arizona Public Service, Phoenix, AZ
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| 2:35 p.m. |
Utility-Scale Biomass Power, Jim Turnure, Environmental Policy Manager,
Regulatory Administration, Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, MN
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| 3:00 p.m. |
Break – Exhibit Hall Open
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| 3:30 p.m. |
Climate Change Basics and Its Local Implication in the Northern Plains, Adnan
Akyüz, North Dakota State Climatologist and Assistant Professor of Climatology,
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
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| 3:55 p.m. |
The Resurgence of Waste-to-Energy and Conversion Technologies, Harvey Gershman,
President, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc., Fairfax, VA
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| 4:20 p.m. |
Current Pressing Issues Facing Biofuels, Kristin Brekke, Communications
Director, American Coalition for Ethanol, and Editor, Ethanol Today Magazine,
Sioux Falls, SD
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| 4:45 p.m. |
SESSION: BIOFUELS I
EERC Session Coordinator/Chair: Ted Aulich, Senior Research Manager, EERC,
Grand Forks, ND
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| 4:50 p.m. |
Generational Progress in the Development of Bio-Based Transportation Fuels, Paul
Pansegrau, Research Scientist, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 5:15 p.m. |
Cellulose to Ethanol at POET, William McDonald, Senior Scientist, POET,
Sioux Falls, SD
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| 5:40 p.m. |
Exhibit Social with Dinner-Type Appetizers
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009 |
| 7:00-8:00 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast-Exhibit Hall Open |
8:00 a.m.
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Welcome
The Honorable Kent Conrad, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. (Video)
Senator Kent Conrad is Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and an expert on
the budget process who has earned a national reputation as a deficit hawk for his
efforts to impose discipline on the federal budget and safeguard Social Security and
Medicare. A longtime member of the Agriculture Committee, Senator Conrad serves as the
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, Science, and Technology. He has introduced
comprehensive energy legislation that would make the United States more energy
independent. As a senior member of the Finance Committee, he is known for his
special expertise on tax issues and his advocacy for rural health care through
the Medicare program.
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| 8:05 a.m. |
SESSION: BIOMASS FEEDSTOCKS
EERC Session Coordinator/Chair: Bruce Folkedahl, Senior Research Manager, EERC,
Grand Forks, ND
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| 8:10 a.m. |
Characterization of Biomass Resources in the United States and Its Applications
for METSO Power’s Bioenergy Technologies, Reyhaneh Shenassa, R&D Manager, METSO
Power, Charlotte, NC, with C. Zygarlicke, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 8:35 a.m. |
A Risk Analysis of Genetically Modified Algae, David Haberman, President, IF LLC,
Delray Beach, FL, with I. Berzin, Institute for Alternative Energy Policy, Herzliya, Israel
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| 9:00 a.m. |
Developing a Biomass Feedstock Business, Timothy Baye, Professor, Business
Development, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, WI
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| 9:25 a.m. |
Sustainability of Switchgrass for Cellulosic Ethanol: Evaluating Net Energy,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Feedstock Costs, Marty Schmer, USDA–ARS Research
Agronomist, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, Mandan, ND
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| 9:50 a.m. |
Renewable Transportation Fuel Production Utilizing Native Florida Algae, J.R.
Aspinwall, Staff Engineer, Midwest Research Institute – Florida Division, Palm Bay, FL
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| 10:15 a.m. |
Break – Exhibit Hall Open
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| 10:35 a.m. |
SESSION: Biofuels II
EERC Session Coordinator/Chair: Tera Buckley, Marketing Research Specialist,
EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 10:40 a.m. |
The Thermochemical Revolution: Advanced Biofuel Production via Gasification, Michael
Jackson, CEO, Syntec Biofuel Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada Technical Program
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| 11:05 a.m. |
Developed by Abengoa Bioenergy in Hugoton, Kansas, Robert Wooley, Director,
Process Engineering, Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Lakewood, CO
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| 11:30 a.m. |
Decentralized Oilseed Crush to Produce Vegetable Oils – An Opportunity to
Produce Food, Feed, and Fuel from Locally Grown Feedstocks, Robert Byrnes, President,
Nebraska Renewable Energy Association, and Owner, Nebraska Screw Press, LLC, Oakland, NE
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| 11:55 a.m. |
Process Commercialization: A Biodiesel Industry Perspective, David Slade,
Technical Representative, Renewable Energy Group, Inc., Ames, IA
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| 12:20 p.m. |
Lunch – Exhibit Hall Open
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| 1:30 p.m. |
SESSION: Biomass for Heat and Electricity
EERC Session Coordinator/Chair: Phil Hutton, Research Manager, EERC Grand Forks, ND
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| 1:35 p.m. |
An Update on the State of Biomass Digesters, Dan Stepan, Senior Research
Manager, EERC, Grand Forks, ND
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| 2:00 p.m. |
So You’d Like to Burn Biogas Instead of Natural Gas?, Matt Haakenstad,
Manager, Commercial Services, U.S. Energy Services, Inc., Plymouth, MN
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| 2:25 p.m. |
Break – Exhibit Hall Open
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| 2:55 p.m. |
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) Gasifier Progress Report, Andrew
Zurn, Engineering Manager, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, Benson, MN
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| 3:20 p.m. |
Biomass-to-Energy Solutions with Downdraft Microgasifiers, Kim Sigurdson, President,
Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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| 3:45 p.m. |
Biomass-Fueled Power Plants, Richard Ellis, Business Development Manager, Zachry
Engineering Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
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| 4:10 p.m. |
Adjourn/EERC Tours Available
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