Abstract
This study evaluates whether a transition of large ports facilities to biofuel production for mobility improves the environmental performance and satisfies the renewable energy directive (RED) and it is the first LCA study that considers biofuel production from torrefied wood. The systems studied are wood, torrefied wood, and straw pellets circulating fluidized bed gasification for H2, synthetic natural gas, or Fischer–Tropsch (FT) diesel production and use. These systems are evaluated for their global warming, acidification, eutrophication and particulate matter potentials, as well as, for their aggregated environmental performance. The effects of the electricity mix selection and ecoinvent database’s economic allocation are also analyzed. All biomass systems result in a better aggregated environmental performance and benefits for the global warming potential. However, regarding the acidification, particulate matter, and eutrophication potentials, most biomass systems are inferior to the reference systems. Switching to a zero-emission electricity mix offers benefits for all the biomass and fossil-H2 systems and researchers should use databases cautiously. The bio-H2 and FT diesel of wood-based systems show the best environmental performance and satisfy the current and future RED targets. On one hand, the bio-H2 systems result in the largest benefits regarding the global warming potential, and on the other hand, both wood-based FT diesel systems offer overall benefits which concern not only the sustainable target of CO2 emissions reduction, but also the air quality improvement of the broader area as well.
Highlights
The current harbours do not consist only of marine facilities
This study evaluates whether a transition of large ports facilities to biofuel production for mobility improves the environmental performance and satisfies the renewable energy directive (RED) and it is the first Life cycle assessment (LCA) study that considers biofuel production from torrefied wood
The aim of this study was to use empirical data to investigate whether increasing a port’s capacity of biomass for the production of transportation fuels derived from syngas, with torrefied wood pellets, wood pellets, or straw pellets
Summary
The current harbours do not consist only of marine facilities. The large harbours worldwide consist of industrial infrastructure, such as oil refineries, chemical production clusters, and power plants. The port of Rotterdam (PoR) is the largest European port and the fifth worldwide. The PoR is guided by the Port Vision 2030, which states that the share of sustainable energy in the port’s energy mix will increase from 10 to 30% in 2030 and a 60% reduction of the CO2 emission of the 1990 levels (24 Mton CO2 eq.) is targeted. The port authorities envisage that, Rotterdam will still be the most important European port and industrial complex, with a strong combination of the Global and Europe’s Industrial Cluster [2]. The challenge faced by the port authorities for sustainable development
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More From: International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering
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