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The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture ANNUAL REPORTING FORM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alvin Womac, Professor Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Annual Performance Period: January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 A. SUMMARY AND IMPACTS. 1. Summary. Provide an overall summary (500 words or less) of your accomplishments during the reporting period. BIOMASS RESEARCH Progress included: 1. analyze size reduction data, analyze terminal velocity and sieve separation of dry plant components, design a mobile demonstration unit [USDA-DOE grant, $717,399], and 2. conduct biomass deconstruction of dry and wet biomass [Sun Grant, TAES, $175,000]. Project management included: (a.) USDA approval of one-year no-cost extension to refine mobile demonstration and website, and information exchange with potential users. (b.) coordination of research involving co-PIs (students) [(Ye (Liu), Hayes (Kline), and Sokhansanj (ORNL) (Khanum, Lam, Hoque)], (c.) project accountability (1-2007 USDA Annual Progress Report, 1-2007 DOE Report), and (d.) personal research contribution involving 2 project post docs (Nehru and Prasad) and degree completion of 1 GRA’s (Tony Yang). Womac oversaw manuscript(s) preparation on the linear knife grid. One manuscript on wet and dry switchgrass was accepted in Bioresource Technology. Another on wet and dry corn stalks was submitted to Biomass and Bioenergy. Manuscripts explored issues of scale-up to commercial-viable systems. For large round bales, smallest grid spacing is anticipated in the 4 to 8 inch range. Less spacing requires much larger tonnage ram, and increased grid strength. Womac oversaw data evaluation on knife mill size reduction energy, particle sizes, and bulk densities. Energy efficiency was sensitive to tonnage throughput without blockage of biomass, usually on the inlet side. Optimum throughput was about 70% of maximum to enable wider rpm operation. Project results indicated a diminishing rate of increase in throughput as speed increased – dispelling a notion that increased speed proportionately increased tonnage-throughput at similar energy efficiency. Data were presented at Am Soc of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual meeting for peer input. Two manuscripts were prepared and submitted on particle size effects on bulk density, one to Biomass and Bioenergy and another to Canadian Biosystems Engineering. Womac oversaw the application of methods used to describe laser-measured spray droplet distributions to sieve-measured, computer-image analyzed biomass particle size distributions. This provided a more accurate method to measure the various particle sizes and shapes within a biomass particle size distribution. The direct application was being able to show the effects on bulk density and particle nesting, and on improving the apples-to-apples comparison of size reduction energy for different particle size distributions. Fitting of the cumulative particle size distributions using ‘S’ curves indicated a strong linear correlation between curve fit parameters such as asymptote value and slope factor with densities of biomass. Mean loose-filled bulk densities were 67.5 ± 18.4 kg/m3 for switchgrass, 36.1 ± 8.6 kg/m3 for wheat straw, and 52.1± 10.8 kg/m3 for corn stover. On average, tapping increased bulk density by 21.2% for switchgrass, 18.7% for wheat straw, and 13.0% for corn stover. Second-grind size reduction energy tests with an instrumented hammer mill were performed on switchgrass, corn stover, and wheat straw. Added capacities were particle collection systems and Tyler Ro-Tap with extremely fine sieves. SPRAYER RESEARCH Progress included securing CP Nozzle grant of $17,280 for additional nozzle classification. Womac continued nozzles classification experiments of previously obtained grants. 2. Impacts. List up to three significant impacts of your program. Impact statements should be one to three sentences and should be written in a way that would be meaningful to the public. BIOMASS RESEARCH Size reduction of biomass enables increased surface area and flow propoerties of bulk biomass. However size reduction is energy intensive and the resulting particle sizes are often unpredictable. Median particle sizes affect available surface reactive area for bioenergy and bioproduct use. Biomass grinding and separation impact is projected to reduce typical grinding cost $3 to $4 per dry ton (about 1/4 of current costs) based on current understanding of pre- and post-grinding literature data. Making ethanol from ground-up cellulose frees up grain supplies for food and feed. Improving the biomass grinding process has the potential to save well over $1 billion/y in grinding energy savings as the nation moves to using 1 billion tons of biomass per year to supplement energy imports. Environmental benefits include recycling of non-target plant parts on soil. These results can be used to design efficient size reduction, handling, storage, and transportation systems for chopped biomass. B. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS (EXTENSION, RESEARCH AND TEACHING). As applicable, list title, names of participants (PIs, Leaders, Co-PIs, Co-leaders, Collaborators etc.), project number, sponsor, your role ( leader/co-leader/collaborator) and your percent effort on the project as stated in the project description or document. Improved Spray Atomization and Biomass Particle Size Reduction Technologies Womac, A.R., PI Hart, W.E., Collaborator Hatch Project – TEN0278 70% Project Effort Biomass Multi-State Regional Project S-1007 Womac, A.R., participant Hatch Project - TEN266 70% of local effort Integrated Size Reduction and Separation to Pre-Fractionate Biomass Womac, A.R., Project Manager and Co-P.I. R11-1416-054 49% of local effort Biomass Deconstruction and Evaluation Womac, A.R., Co-PI R11-0515-002 100% of local BESS effort (~25% overall effort) Nozzle Classification Womac, A.R., PI R11-1416-013 CP Products Co., Inc 100 % project effort Nozzle Classification Womac, A.R., PI R11-1416-042 CP Products Co., Inc 100 % project effort Nozzle Classification Womac, A.R., PI R11-1416-063 Wilger, Inc 100 % project effort Nozzle Classification Womac, A.R., PI R11-1416-071 Wilger, Inc 100 % project effort Nozzle Classification R11-1416-092 CP Products Co., Inc 100 % project effort C. INSTRUCTION, TEACHING AND EXTENSION EDUCATION. Detail credit and non-credit instruction and teaching activities. 1. College credit instruction. List courses in which you were an instructor or guest lecturer during the current calendar year. Include special topics, independent study and internship courses. Provide course number and title, your involvement, semester(s), credit hours and number of students. Please append a summary of teaching evaluations (student and/or peer) if this information is available.
2. Formal continuing education (certification programs, seminar series, in-service training, field days, faculty and/or staff training, journal club, etc.). Provide descriptive title of activity, your involvement, number of participants or students involved, number and duration of each session.
3. Extension presentations and workshops. Indicate title, type, and scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.
4. Public addresses to lay audiences (TV/radio presentations, service groups, etc.). Indicate title, type, scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.
5. Presentations at professional meetings, without published abstracts. List presenter, co-authors (if any), title, date and name of meeting (list scientific oral or poster presentations having published abstracts or proceedings at D5). 6. Student mentoring. Fill in the boxes to indicate number of students in each category.
7. Student or commodity club activities (e.g. club advisor, team competitions, honor or professional societies, etc.). List the club or group; your role with the club or group; and the activities, honors or awards received by this group under your mentorship. Advisor - 2006-7 Univ of Tenn. ASABE & Biosystems Engineering Senior Design 1/4-scale tractor team, Mechanical systems design and traction/ballasting Advisor - 2007-8 Univ of Tenn. ASABE & Biosystems Engineering Senior Design – Cotton Module Technology for Bulk Biomass Handling Co-Mentor - 1/4 scale tractor team - Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement - Recipient of Phi Kappa Phi Award, and one of top posters in Engineering Division 8. Other instructional and teaching activities. D. PUBLICATIONS. List only publications that were published during the annual reporting period (for #8, submitted during reporting period). Format citations as typical and appropriate for outlet. If a co-author(s) is a student or was working under your direct supervision, place an asterisk after that person's name. 1. Refereed articles or refereed reviews appearing in peer-reviewed professional journals. C. Igathinathane*, A. R. Womac, S. Sokhansanj, and L. O. Pordesimo. 2007. Moisture sorption thermodynamic properties of corn stover fractions. Transactions of the ASABE 50(6):2151-2160. Wang, X., P. D. Ayers, A. R. Womac, and D. Depauw. 2007. Sensitivity analysis and validation of continuous roll prediction model for front drive mowers. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 23(4): 455-461. Ye, X. P., J. Julson, M. Kuo, A. R. Womac, and D. Myers. 2007. Properties of medium density fiberboards made from renewable biomass. Bioresource Technology 98(5):1077-1084. 2. Book chapters or books. 3. Bulletins, reports, circulars, pamphlets, factsheets. 4. Popular press, trade, UTIA magazine or newsletter articles. 5. Abstracts from scientific or discipline meetings, papers from conference proceedings, etc. Cannayen, I.*, A. R. Womac, S. Sokhansanj, and S. Narayan. 2007. Size Reduction of Wet and Dry Biomass by Linear Knife Grid Device. Paper No. 076045, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. J.N. Laden, S. Sokhansanj, T. Bi, A. R. Womac, and S. Mani. 2007. Modeling and characterization of biomass size reduction. Paper No. 076047, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. Kline, L. M., D. G. Hayes, N. Labbe, and A. R. Womac. 2007. Rapid determination of lignin content in lignocellulosic biomass through the use of ionic liquids. Abstracts of Papers, 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, United States, August 19-23, 2007 (2007), IEC-040. Publisher: American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C CODEN: 69JNR2 Conference; Meeting Abstract; Computer Optical Disk written in English. AN 2007:882315. L. Liu, X. P. Ye, and A. R. Womac. 2007. Pretreatment of near infrared spectral data in rapid biomass analysis. Paper No. 076122, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. L. Liu, X. P. Ye, L. Kline, D. G. Hayes, A. R. Womac, and S. Sokhansanj. 2007. Investigation of chemical variability of switchgrass and cornstover using fast near infrared techniques. Paper No. 076006, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. M. Hoque, S. Sokhansanj, L. Naimi, X. Bi, J. Lim, and A. R. Womac. 2007. Review and analysis of performance and productivity of size reduction equipment for fiberous materials. Paper No. 076164, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. P.S. Lam, S. Sokhansanj, X. Bi, S. Mani, C.J. Lim, and A. R. Womac. 2007. Physical characterization of wet and dry wheat straw and switchgrass – bulk and specific density. Paper No. 076058, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. Womac, A. R., I. Cannayen, V. S. Bitra, P. Miu, Y. Yang, and S. Sokhansanj. 2007. Biomass pre-processing size reduction with instrumented mills. Paper No. 076046, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. Ye, X. P., C. Li, Z. Hu, A. R. Womac, and J. B. Wilkerson. 2007. Autothermal conversion of glycerol to hydrogen under nano-catalysis. Paper No. 076002, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, MI. 6. Theses/Dissertations completed by students that you directed. Liu, L., and *. 2007. Applied Fourier-Transform Near-Infrared Techniques for Biomass Compositional Analysis. Y. Yang* 2007. Image and sieve analysis of biomass particle sizes and separation after size reduction. M.S. thesis, Knoxville, Tennessee, The University of Tennessee, Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science. 7. Other publications. 8. Articles submitted during the reporting period that are in review, in press or rejected. Please do not list articles in preparation. Cannayen, I.*, A. R. Womac, S. Sokhansanj, and S. Narayan. 2007. Preprocessing size reduction of packed beds of corn stalks by linear knife grid system. Biomass and Bioenergy (submitted for review). (in review) Chevanan, N.*, A. R. Womac, V. S. Bitra*, and S. Sokhansanj. 2007. Effect of particle size distribution on static and tapped densities of selected biomass after size reduction. Biomass and Bioenergy (submitted for review). (in review) Cannayen, I.*, A. R. Womac, L. O. Pordesimo, and S. Sokhansanj. 2007. Mold appearance and modeling on selected corn stover components during moisture sorption. Bioresource Technology (accepted, in press). (in press) Cannayen, I.*, A. R. Womac, S. Sokhansanj, and S. Narayan. 2007. Knife grid size reduction to preprocess packed beds of high- and low-moisture switchgrass. Bioresource Technology (accepted, in press). (in press) Cannayen, I.*, B. Chennakesavulu, K. Manohar, A. R. Womac, and L. O. Pordesimo. 2007. Photovoltaic leaf area meter development and testing. International Journal of Food Properties. (accepted, in press). (in press) Ye, X. P., L. Liu, D. G. Hayes, A. R. Womac, K.L. Hong, and S. Skhansanj. 2007. Fast Classification and Compositional Analysis of Cornstover Fractions Using Fourier Transform Near-infrared Techniques. (in press) E. FUNDING. Format each entry as a citation, include as applicable: investigators (with percent effort shown on grant or contract document), title, source/agency. 1. Grant and contract proposals submitted but not awarded during this reporting period. Indicate date of submission and status (still pending, rejected). Womac, A. R. (50%), W. E. Hart (25%), D. D. Tyler (15%), B. English (5%), B. Brown (5%). Harvest Systems for High-Yield Grass Bio-Energy Crops under Southeast US Conditions: Switchgrass. Deere and Company. 12/1/07. $143,100. (still pending) P Keyser (35%), D. D. Tyler (25%), J. Waller (20%), A. R. Womac (10%), B. English (10%). Upstream feedstock pre-processing: temporal harvest –storage dynamics in an integrated management sy. SunGrant Southeastern Regional Competitive Grants. 10/1/07. $170,000. (rejected) Womac, A. R. (40%), W. E. Hart (20%), S. A. Hawkins (10%), M. Radosevich (10%), A. M. Johnson (20%). Land Application of By-Products from 1,3 Propanediol (BioPDO) Fermentation Process. Dupont-Tate & Lyle Bio-Products Company. 9/15/07. $260,852. (rejected) Womac, A. R. (55%), J. Bozell (35%), K. Tiller (10%). Overcoming scale-up barriers to harvest, process, transport, and pre-treat dedicated grass energy cr. USDA-DOE Joint Biomass Solicitation. 10/1/07. $1,000,000. (rejected) P. Keyser (20%), Bates, G., English, B., Larson, J., Steckel, L. (%), D. D. Tyler (%), A. R. Womac (%), X. P. Ye (%). Upstream Feedstock Pre-Processing: Temporal Harvest-Storage Dynamics in an Integrated Management Sys. Southeastern SunGrant Initiative. 4/30/07. $298,634. (rejected) 2. Grants and contracts awarded during this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award. Womac, A. R. (100%). CP-65T-S Nozzle Testing. CP Products Co., Inc. 2/1/07-12/31/12. $17,280. 3. Grants and contracts awarded in past years that continued into this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award. Womac, A. R. (100%). CP Nozzle Testing - CP59HV. The CP Products Co., Inc. 7/1/03-6/30/08. $6,264. Womac, A. R. (49%), D. G. Hayes (26%), X. P. Ye (26%). Integrated Size Reduction and Separation to Pre-Fractionate Biomass. US DOE. 10/1/04-9/30/08. $717,399. Womac, A. R. (100%). Atomization performance of 110ME, 110MR, and 110DR nozzles. Wilger, Inc.. 4/1/05-12/31/08. $7,101. Womac, A. R. (100%). CP-65T-S Nozzle Testing. CP Products Co., Inc. 12/1/04-12/31/10. $14,094. Womac, A. R. (100%). Nozzle Evaluation of Wilger 110ER, 110SR, 110MR, 110DR, & 80SR. Wilger, Inc. 10/1/05-12/31/09. $12,028. 4. Gifts. List recipients, donor, items or amount donated and dollar equivalent received during the reporting period. 5. Grant reports submitted. List authors, title, to whom submitted, date submitted. Womac, A.R. 2007. 2007 Annual progress report – Year 3 of 3, Integrated size reduction and separation to pre-fractionate biomass, USDA-NRCS Grant Agreement 68-3A75-4-136, USDA- Rural Development 85 pp. Womac, A.R. 2007. 2007 Annual progress report – Year 3 of 3, Integrated size reduction and separation to pre-fractionate biomass, USDA-NRCS Grant Agreement 68-3A75-4-136, US DOE 85 pp. 6. Other (e.g. sales, royalties). Klindt,T.H., 2005. Research, Extension and Educational Programs on Bio-based Energy Technologies and Products, DOE DE-FG36-05GO85014, Amend No. A000, Sun Grant Funding through US Department of Energy. $744,000 total – T.Rials: $175,000, A. Womac: $175,000 for Research Project 2 – Biomass Deconstruction and Evaluation, K. Tiller: $274,000, UT Fellowships: $120,000. 07/01/2005 to 09/30/2008. F. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.
G. SERVICE. List client outreach activities (both public and private sectors) and professional service.
H. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (meetings, workshops, classes, trips, etc.). List the event or activity, sponsor, duration of event and your role. Governors Biofuels Conference, May 30-June 1, 2007, Montgomery Bell State Park Participant/ Paper delivery /Technical Chair – FPE-709/ Member PM 23/7/2 & 23/6 - ASABE International Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN July 16-21, 2007. Trip to California to observe high tonnage hay handling and processing (Elk Grove Feeds, Warren & Baerg Grinders), and alcohol processing from grain (Pacific Ethanol), March 14-17, 2007 I. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION. List the postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, technicians, extension associates, extension assistants, graduate assistants, undergraduate students, clerical personnel or others that you supervised during the year.
J. HONORS AND AWARDS. List honors and awards received during reporting period, including the name of the organization presenting the award. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||