Jingying Fu1,2,3, Xiaoxi Yan4, Dong Jiang5,6,7. 1. State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, China. 2. College of Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China. 3. Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, 11A Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, China. 4. Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 5. State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, China. jiangd@igsnrr.ac.cn. 6. College of Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China. jiangd@igsnrr.ac.cn. 7. Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, 11A Datun Road, Beijing, 100101, China. jiangd@igsnrr.ac.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The key problem of non-grain energy plants' scale development is how to estimate the potential of GHG emission reduction accurately and scientifically. This study presents a method coupled DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) and the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to simulate the spatial distribution of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production potential on saline-alkali land. The GHG (greenhouse gas) emission mitigation and net energy gains of the whole life of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production were then analyzed. RESULTS: The results of the case study in Dongying, Shandong Province, China showed that developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on saline-alkali land had GHG emission mitigation and energy potentials. The LC-GHG emission mitigation potential of saline-alkali land in Dongying was estimated at 63.9 thousand t CO2 eq, equivalent to the carbon emission of 43.4 Kt gasoline. The LC-NEG potential was predicted at 5.02 PJ, equivalent to the caloric value of 109 Kt gasoline. On average, LC-GHG emission mitigation and LC-NEG were predicted at 55.09 kg CO2 eq/t ethanol and 4.33 MJ/kg ethanol, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The question of how to evaluate the potential of sweet sorghum-based ethanol development scientifically was solved primarily in this paper. The results will provide an important theoretical support for planning the bioenergy crops on saline-alkali land and develop the fuel ethanol industry.
BACKGROUND: The key problem of non-grain energy plants' scale development is how to estimate the potential of GHG emission reduction accurately and scientifically. This study presents a method coupled DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) and the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to simulate the spatial distribution of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production potential on saline-alkali land. The GHG (greenhouse gas) emission mitigation and net energy gains of the whole life of sweet sorghum-based ethanol production were then analyzed. RESULTS: The results of the case study in Dongying, Shandong Province, China showed that developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on saline-alkali land had GHG emission mitigation and energy potentials. The LC-GHG emission mitigation potential of saline-alkali land in Dongying was estimated at 63.9 thousand t CO2 eq, equivalent to the carbon emission of 43.4 Kt gasoline. The LC-NEG potential was predicted at 5.02 PJ, equivalent to the caloric value of 109 Kt gasoline. On average, LC-GHG emission mitigation and LC-NEG were predicted at 55.09 kg CO2 eq/t ethanol and 4.33 MJ/kg ethanol, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The question of how to evaluate the potential of sweet sorghum-based ethanol development scientifically was solved primarily in this paper. The results will provide an important theoretical support for planning the bioenergy crops on saline-alkali land and develop the fuel ethanol industry.
Entities:
Keywords:
Biomass; Energy–food nexus; Life cycle assessment; Sweet sorghum-based ethanol; The DSSAT model; saline–alkali land