Assessing the optimal uses of biomass: Carbon and energy price conditions for the Aines Principle to apply

Abstract

In the context of climate mitigation, biomass has traditionally been viewed as a means to deliver low-carbon energy products. Adding carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) to a bioenergy production process can yield net-removals of CO2 from the atmosphere, albeit at an increased cost. Recently, the Aines Principle was established, stating that at some carbon price, the revenue generated from CO2 removal will exceed the revenue generated from energy production from a given bioconversion process. This principle has only been illustrated for the theoretical conversion of a non-specific biomass source, and has not yet been demonstrated to show real carbon prices that can tip the scale for biomass carbon removal to be more economically favorable than bioenergy production. In this study, we demonstrate the Aines Principle at work in two specific examples of biomass conversion. The first case involves a Chinese municipal solid waste incineration plant, with and without CCS. The second case compares using forestry residue solely for energy production (via gasification), solely for carbon removal (via burial) or both. By comparing the energy and carbon revenue streams under a range of carbon prices, we show that carbon removal revenue can exceed energy revenue at currently available carbon prices below $200/tCO2.