Abstract
This paper evaluates life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of different biomass feedstock categories (agriculture residues, dedicated energy crops, forestry, industry, parks and gardens, wastes) independently on biomass-only (biomass as a standalone fuel) and cofiring (biomass used in combination with coal) electricity generation systems. The statistical evaluation of the life cycle GHG emissions (expressed in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour, gCO2e/kWh) for biomass electricity generation systems was based on the review of 19 life cycle assessment studies (representing 66 biomass cases). The mean life cycle GHG emissions resulting from the use of agriculture residues (N = 4), dedicated energy crops (N = 19), forestry (N = 6), industry (N = 4), and wastes (N = 2) in biomass-only electricity generation systems are 291.25 gCO2e/kWh, 208.41 gCO2e/kWh, 43 gCO2e/kWh, 45.93 gCO2e/kWh, and 1731.36 gCO2e/kWh, respectively. The mean life cycle GHG emissions for cofiring electricity generation systems using agriculture residues (N = 10), dedicated energy crops (N = 9), forestry (N = 9), industry (N = 2), and parks and gardens (N = 1) are 1039.92 gCO2e/kWh, 1001.38 gCO2e/kWh, 961.45 gCO2e/kWh, 926.1 gCO2e/kWh, and 1065.92 gCO2e/kWh, respectively. Forestry and industry (avoiding the impacts of biomass production and emissions from waste management) contribute the least amount of GHGs, irrespective of the biomass electricity generation system.
Highlights
Biomass energy, referred to as bioenergy, may be defined as the energy harnessed from plants and their derivatives
The feedstock-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biomass-only and biomass cofiring electricity generation systems were evaluated using statistical metrics and graphical representations
This paper evaluated the life cycle GHG emissions from different feedstock category-based biomass-only and cofiring electricity generation systems using a two-step approach
Summary
Referred to as bioenergy, may be defined as the energy harnessed from plants and their derivatives (e.g., wood, food crops, residues from agriculture or forestry, oil-rich algae, and the organic component of municipal/industrial wastes). Biomass is a product of photosynthesis, in which the sun’s energy converts water and carbon dioxide (CO2) in plants into organic material [1]. The components of biomass include cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, extractives, lipids, proteins, simple sugars, starches, water, hydrocarbons, ash, and other compounds. Lignin (~25%) and carbohydrates or sugars (~75%) are identified to be the dominant components [2,3,4,5]. The energy value of biomass is dependent on the moisture content. As the moisture content increases, the energy calorific values of biomass decreases. The decrease in energy calorific values is a result of the reduction in combustion temperatures [6]. Biomass with high moisture content may lead to incomplete combustion, thereby increasing the air emissions
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