1. Art and Diseño

Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium:
Pilot Facility – Integrated Seawater Energy and
Agriculture System
Dr. Alejandro Rios G.
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The SBRC
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Why is SBRC research important?
Our concept for biofuel production could be applied to the
UAE and many other arid regions of the world
97%
of the Earth’s water is
in the oceans
About 20%
of the Earth’s land mass is desert
~25.5 million km2
Source: USGS
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The ISEAS
The flagship project of the SBRC is the Integrated Seawater
Energy and Agriculture System
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Plot Location
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Plot Location
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Engineering Design
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Pilot ISEAS Project
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Pilot Visualization
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Pilot Visualization
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Pilot Visualization
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More than biofuel…
+ Food security
+ Water use
+ Industry synergy
+ Knowledge creation
+ Engine of innovation
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Thank
you!
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
Contact:
Alejandro Ríos Galván, Ph. D.
Director – Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium
Professor of Practice
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Direct +971 2 810 9238
Mobile +971 56 302 6514
Email [email protected]
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Context: Aviation Industry’s Strategy
CARBON-NEUTRAL
GROWTH
-50% BY 2050
Source: IATA
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Biomass Production
• Biomass supply chain
→ Cost-effective
→ Scalable
→ Sustainable
• Food – Water – Energy
nexus
Food
Energy
Water
• Research as a driver for
sustainability
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The SBRC Research Structure
• Best practices approach
Research Areas:
1. Salt-tolerant and arid land biomass
2. Releasing and capturing bioenergy
3. Synthesizing bioenergy
4. Supporting Technology
5. Sustainability
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Biofuel Supply Chain
Feedstocks
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Refining
Transport and
distribution
Into-plane
operations
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Aviation biofuel specifications
D1655
Fuel produced to D7566 can be
designated as D1655 Fuel
Table 1
D7566
Blend Comp’s Criteria
and Blend % Limits
Table 1
Annex 1
Annex 3
10% SIP
Annex 2
50% HEFA
50%
Hydpross’d
SPK Fuel
Blends
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Many new fuels coming…
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
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It is already happening…
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
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Rising demand for biofuel feedstocks
Source: Lux Research
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Demographic Trend
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Bennett’s Law
As people become wealthier, they
switch from simple starchy plantdominated diets to a more varied food
input that includes a range of
vegetables, fruit, dairy products, and
especially meat.
• The food types consumed by wealthy people tend to require more
resources to produce
Source: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1118568109
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Motivation
– Sustainable bioenergy
• Water use
• Land use
• Food vs. fuel
– Aquaculture effluent
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Background
• Previous examples
– Mexico
– Eritrea
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Additional SBRC Research
1. How salt and water move through the ISEAS
2. Determining which halophyte plants are best suited for
growth in the region
3. Potential for producing biogas with halophytes
4. Potential for producing ethanol with Salicornia and
Mangrove biomass
5. Which microbes are present in the soil where mangroves
grow and what they do
6. Life-cycle analysis of a large scale ISEAS
7. Techno-economic evaluation of the ISEAS
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