Reducing CO2 emissions by substituting biomass for fossil fuels (original) (raw)
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Carbon Emission Reduction Impacts from Alternative Biofuels*
Forest Products Journal, 2012
The heightened interest in biofuels addresses the national objectives of reducing carbon emissions as well as reducing dependence on foreign fossil fuels. Using life-cycle analysis to evaluate alternative uses of wood including both products and fuels reveals a hierarchy of carbon and energy impacts characterized by their efficiency in reducing carbon emissions and/or in displacing fossil energy imports. Life-cycle comparisons are developed for biofuel feedstocks (mill and forest residuals, thinnings, and short rotation woody crops) with bioprocessing (pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation) to produce liquid fuels and for using the feedstock for pellets and heat for drying solid wood products, all of which displace fossil fuels and fossil fuel-intensive products. Fossil carbon emissions from lignocellulosic biofuels are substantially lower than emissions from conventional gasoline. While using wood to displace fossil fuel-intensive materials (such as for steel floor joists) is much more effective in reducing carbon emissions than using biofuels to directly displace fossil fuels, displacing transportation fuels with ethanol provides the opportunity to also reduce dependence on imported energy. The complex nature of wood uses and how wood fuels and products interact in their environments, as well as the methods needed to understand these impacts and summarize the relative benefits of different alternatives, are discussed herein. Policies designed to increase biofuel use by subsidies or mandates may increase prices enough to divert biomass feedstock away from producing products, such as for composite panels, resulting in increased emissions from fossil fuel-intensive substitutes. Policies that fail to consider life-cycle implications are discussed, identifying their unintended consequences. The life-cycle inventory (LCI) data for the many different uses of wood reveal a hierarchy of different opportunities to reduce carbon emissions or increase energy independence, both being current national energy objectives. The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM), composed of 17 research institutions, has developed LCI data for most of the US-produced wood products over the last decade (
A Comparative Study of the Effect of CO2 Emission Reduction by Several Bioenergy Production Systems
Int Energy J, 2008
Biomass can contribute to sustainable development and globally environmental preservation since it is renewable and carbon neutral. Unused biomass such as oil palm trunk, which is discharged in large quantities when palm trees are cut down, could be converted to useful energy. This paper evaluates the effect of CO 2 emission reduction by four biomass conversion systems within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These systems are power generation by direct combustion, power generation by the biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC), an alternative method of diesel oil production by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and an ethanol production by saccharification of cellulose followed by fermentation. Power generation by BIGCC gives the highest CO 2 emission reduction. Taking the maturity of technology into account, however, power generation by direct combustion is the most favorable for the CDM project in the short term. The emission reduction of liquid fuel production is lower than that of power generation. Biomass is the only organic form of renewable energy, so it is important to convert biomass into liquid fuel for displacing fossil liquid fuel.
The Influence of Biomass Use on CO2 Emissions Resulted from Burning Solid Fuels in the Energy Sector
Revista Romana de materiale = Romanian journal of materials = RRM
The issue of environmental protection focuses on preventing and reducing pollution phenomena caused by those human activities inducing negative effects such as global warming and the greenhouse effect. The energy sector has the greatest contribution to these phenomena in terms of greenhouse gases emissions. The paper proposes an application in the energy sector for assessing CO2 emissions resulted from burning classic solid fuels and alternative and biomass fuels at a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) using two methods, either by calculations based upon data obtained from analytical laboratory investigations or by direct measurement at the source. The investigations were carried out to highlight the influence of the addition of biomass (sawdust) to conventional solid fuel (lignite) for reducing CO2 emissions, recovering unburned carbon content present in the slag, improving the lignite energy properties, in order to use the biomass and slag waste and reduce the CO2 emissions.
Biomass is considered a low carbon source for various energy or chemical options. This paper assesses it´s different possible uses, the competition between these uses, and the implications for long-term global energy demand and energy-system emissions. A scenario analysis is performed using the TIMER energy system model. Under baseline conditions, 170 EJ/yr of secondary bioenergy is consumed in 2100 (approximately 18% of total secondary energy demand), used primarily in the transport, buildings and non-energy (chemical production) sectors. This leads to a reduction of 9% of CO 2 emissions compared to a counterfactual scenario where no bioenergy is used. Bioenergy can contribute up to 40% reduction of emissions at carbon taxes greater than 500$/tC. As higher CO 2 taxes are applied, bioenergy is increasingly diverted towards electricity generation. Results are more sensitive to assumptions about resource availability than about technological parameters. To estimate the effectiveness of bioenergy in specific sectors, experiments are performed in which bioenergy is only allowed in one sector at the time. The results show that cross-sectoral leakage and emissions from biomass conversion limit the total emission reduction possible in each sector. In terms of reducing emissions per unit of bioenergy use, we show that the use of bioelectricity is the most effective, especially when used with carbon capture and storage. However, this technology only penetrates at a high carbon price (>100$/tC) and competition with transport fuels may limit its adoption.
A Study of CO2 Emissions and Energy Density of Biofuels
A study of CO2 emissions and energy density of biofuels US and EU regulations are encouraging the development of new technologies for the production of biofuels. There are two principal purposes: reduction of CO2 emissions and reduction of reliance on fossil fuels, principally gasoline and diesel. In judging the efficacy of these new technologies, one must consider the advantages and disadvantages of biofuels. Among the principal considerations are the extents to which the energy density of the new fuels compare to that of gasoline (petrol) and diesel; and for the same energy output do they reduce CO2 emissions. This paper discusses the relative energy density and CO2 emissions of gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, gasohol, propane, hydrogen, methane, methanol, and liquid petroleum gas. Keywords: biofuel, energy density, emissions of CO2, biodiesel, bioethanol.