Obste Therasme1, Timothy A Volk1, Mark H Eisenbies1, Thomas E Amidon2, Marie-Odile Fortier3. 1. Department of Sustainable Resources Management, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA. 2. Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA. 3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Merced, CA, USA. mfortier2@ucmerced.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been on the rise for more than a century. Bioenergy crops are seen by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as an essential part of the solution to addressing climate change. To understand the potential impact of shrub willow (Salix spp.) crop in the northeast United States, effective and transparent life cycle assessment of these systems needs to occur. RESULTS: Here we show, ethanol produced from the fermentation of sugars from hot water extract of willow grown on cropland can sequester 0.012 ± 0.003 kg CO2eq MJ-1 for a supply system incorporating summer harvest and storage. Despite decreases in soil organic carbon when willow is instead grown on grassland, the produced fuel still can provide significant climate benefits compared to gasoline. CONCLUSIONS: Shrub willow converted to ethanol can be a carbon negative source of transportation fuel when the electricity and heat required for the conversion process are generated from renewable biomass. The sequestration of carbon in the belowground portion of the plants is essential for the negative GHG balance for cropland and low GHG emissions in grassland.
BACKGROUND: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been on the rise for more than a century. Bioenergy crops are seen by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as an essential part of the solution to addressing climate change. To understand the potential impact of shrub willow (Salix spp.) crop in the northeast United States, effective and transparent life cycle assessment of these systems needs to occur. RESULTS: Here we show, ethanol produced from the fermentation of sugars from hot water extract of willow grown on cropland can sequester 0.012 ± 0.003 kg CO2eq MJ-1 for a supply system incorporating summer harvest and storage. Despite decreases in soil organic carbon when willow is instead grown on grassland, the produced fuel still can provide significant climate benefits compared to gasoline. CONCLUSIONS: Shrub willow converted to ethanol can be a carbon negative source of transportation fuel when the electricity and heat required for the conversion process are generated from renewable biomass. The sequestration of carbon in the belowground portion of the plants is essential for the negative GHG balance for cropland and low GHG emissions in grassland.
Entities:
Keywords:
Biofuels; Ethanol; Fermentation; Hot water extraction; Life cycle assessment; Willow
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