Life Cycle Assessment by the Example of Biomass for Bioenergy
1. Introduction:
With the current energy policies and management, world market energy consumption is projected to increase by 44% from 2006 to 2030 (IEO, 2009). As highlighted by the Fourth Assessment Report of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this growing fossil fuel consumption, in conjunction with the world’s growing population, is leading to the rapid increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (IPCC, 2007). CO2 emissions are projected to rise from 29 billion tons in 2006 to 33.1 billion tons in 2015.
In addition to the sustainability aspects related to fossil fuel use this background raising fossil energy demand will face issues of supply, because of the progressive depletion of fossil resources, which makes the availability of conventional oil and natural gas geographically restricted (Bentley et al., 2007; Hanlon and McCartney, 2008). Alternativesources which are able to simultaneously mitigate climate change and reduce the dependence on fossil sources are already in development. The use of biomass for energy (i.e. bioenergy) is deemed to be one of the most promising renewable energy alternatives. In particular, modern biomass applications are becoming increasingly important to countries as a low-carbon, distributed, renewable component of national energy sources. There is a growing interest in bioenergy at a national and global level, as proven by recent policy documents approved by the European Parliament (Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources). Despite these regulations promoting biofuels, questions about sustainability of bioenergy pathways were raised (Dickie 2007; Petrou and Pappis, ...
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...s out and discuss the key issues, environmental impacts and methodological assumptions responsible for wide ranges and uncertainties in LCA by the example of biomass for bioenergy. These aspects do not make possible to provide once forever an exact quantification of the environmental impacts of bioenergy, because too many variables are involved. Some of the key parameters are not well known and strongly depend on local and climate conditions. Although policy makers are claiming for methodological standards, scientific research for estimating indirect effects is still at a preliminary stage. A right balance between simplicity and accuracy should therefore be pursued.
5. Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Prof. Gabriele Weber-Blaschke, Technical University of Munich for guiding us towards this research paper.
6. References
Mr. Warren East is currently a board member of De La Rue PLC, Inc. He is also a non executive director of Dyson and Micron Technology Inc and Senior Independent Director and Chairman Audit Committee of De La Rue plc. After he graduated, Mr. Warren was involved with Data Type Limited, whereby he dealt with terminal design and manufacture as a Design Engineer. He worked on oscillatory subsystems for VDUs, RF Emissions measurements as well as science compliance. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Engineering science from Oxford University, as well as an MBA and a honorary doctorate from Cranfield University. Before he joined the ARM team, he was involved with Texas instruments. Mr. Warren East is curre...
As stated earlier, the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy is one of the largest contributors to global warming. This non-environmentally friendly energy source has to be replaced in order to keep the world going. There is a type of energy source that seems easy to create and doesn’t require radical changes: Biofuels. Biofuels are a greener version of diesel and oil. They are any solid, liquid, or gas fuels produced from organic matter; the range of organic materials used for biofuel production includes plants such as corn, sugar cane, soy, and wheat; vegetable oils and animal fats; ...
In the United States we have been looking into alternative energies to reduce our dependence on oil and help reduce our carbon footprint. One method the EPA has come out in support of is ethanol production. Ethanol is considered a green fuel because it recycles the burned carbon each time new crops are grown. In theory ethanol is a good stepping stone between using gasoline and zero emission power sources. However biofuels are still young technology that has many problems before it can be useful. The EPA is in full support of biofuels and has mandated that by 2020, 36 billion gallons of biofuels are to be produced in America. Currently almost all of America biofuels comes in the form of corn based ethanol which is extremely inefficient and can cause sustainability problems. Due to this reason only 15 billion gallons of the mandated biofuels can be form corn based ethanol. The rest of the biofuel must come from non-corn based alternatives such as cellulosic ethanol which the EPA projects to create all most all of the 21 billion remaining gallons of ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol uses the cellulose that is in all plants matter to create ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is far more efficient than corn ethanol because you can use the whole plant and it sets no limitation on what type of plant matter can be used. Even though the EPA projects that these number will be achievable, due to current setbacks and efficiencies cellulosic ethanol will not be able to meet this output within the time constraints and a goal of 2034 years would be more realistic in the long run.
Stauffer, Nancy. ”MIT ethanol analysis confirms benefits of biofuels.” Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. January 2007.
Introduction:The idea of biofuels is a old concept, reaching as far as the ending of the 19th century. Solid in its idea but flawed in its presentation. Biofuels are a alternative energy to fossil fuels that are made from natural methods such as plants and crops and are key in solving the apparent flaws of fossil fuels. While fossil fuels have been in use for over a century, Biofuels have now risen to the popularity and been exposed to the press. At one point of time biofuel were being considered by some of the most brilliant minds ever in human history such as Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel who believed that biofuels had the potential to be the new evolution s on only to reappear a century later. Now the world faces the struggles of global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels slowly dimming by day. Throughout the last century biofuels have proven to have a place in our society as a new alternative fuel source. Specializing in Being Natural and healthier than fossil fuels, biofuels have had a rough beginning against its competitor due to key situations such as pricing, Side effects, to fuel power. However the idea was passed on a to the later generations, and continued to pasand prolong usage. However through the last decade they have been highly advertised by politicians and Government officials claiming it to be the future of a powerful working society, and to help in making a new energy free world. Through belief Some even claiming that “By 2050, a new generation of sustainable biofuels could provide over a quarter of the world’s total transport fuel, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency” (last name). With such improvement biofuels should be the obvious answer to providing a better future to th...
One of the biggest environmental impacts which is steadily increasing in severity due to fossil fuel usage is global warming. Global warming is mainly caused due to the trapping of heat in the atmosphere due to increased amounts of carbon dioxide. Because of the burning of fossil fuels, there has been a twenty five percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 150 years (Clean Energy). This increase over the years has caused the global average surface temperature to raise ...
One of the most compelling and difficult environmental problems society faces today is climate change. People do not realize how much the environment has changed for the worse in the last ten years, until they are told that the last two decades of the 20th century have been the hottest in the last 400 years, according to climate studies (Conserve Energy Future). Today, the carbon dioxide levels have reached 396.81 parts per million (ppm). “Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also increased over the last 100 years-- from about 300 ppm to 370 ppm. Interestingly, the majority of these additions have occurred in the last 50 years, when temperature increases have been the slowest” (geocraft).
...ch is used to replace natural gas. He also stated that, among the equipment used to burn the biofuel, the suspension burner have the ability to exceed 99% efficiency and whole-tree burner can reduce the cost of harvesting and handling woody fuels by about 35% (Brown, 2003). Moreover, the usage of bio-energy in long term is to provide a degree of ecological balance and climate change, avoid acid rain, reduce soil erosion and minimize water pollution (Gevorkian, 2007). Therefore, biomass is environmental friendly like solar energy. Based on the research that has been carried out regarding the synthesis of gas from biomass, the gas gasifies in the internal combustion engine. The relative energy density of synthesis gas is higher than the fossil fuel under certain conditions. In addition, the relative flame speed of synthesis gas can reduce the time for spark ignition.
Energy, especially from fossil fuels, is a key ingredient for all sectors of a modern economy and plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life in less developed economies. In 2007, India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of energy demand; accounting for 3.6% of total energy consumed, and is expected to grow at 4.8% in the future. India imports 70% of the oil it uses, and the country has been hit hard by the increasing price of oil, uncertainty and environmental hazards that are concerned with the consumption of fossil fuels. In such context, bio energy constitutes a suitable alternative source of energy for India, as large amounts of raw material are available to be harnessed.
Sources for this paper have been literature, the Annual Report 2003, further Bosch publications and internet sources.
The commonly debated “greenhouse effect” refers to “the global average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more” (Spencer). President Barack Obama addressed the issue in an effort to highlight its severity, "We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences – together” (Leader). The earth’s increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures result in climate changes due to cumulative amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. As an outcome, researchers around the globe have established that the by-product of burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of the increasing temperatures. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased since 1900, as shown above from a study carried out by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
Jay S., Jones C., Slinn P, Wood C. 2007. Environmental impact assessment: Retrospect and prospect. 27, 287-300. Sciencedirect. Elsevier.
The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.
Global heating and cooling has occurred on a cycle for millennia, however in the past thirty years the increased use of energy and fuels by humans has drastically changed this natural occurrence (Juerg, 2007). The largest cause of this warming is the release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide levels are twenty-five percent higher than they were in 1957 (UCS, 2013). This seemingly insignificant change has caused a myriad of negative effects. The endangerment of species, rising of sea levels, and increased natural disasters are just a few examples of change brought about by global warming (Juerg, 2007). Even though global climate change presents a massive problem there are many proposed solutions to fix or delay it. These theories range from creating a giant sun shield in space to the simple practice of “reduce, reuse, and recycle” (Gray, 2009). However the most effective solution is to find different sources of fuel to power our day to day lives. The earth is in need of renewable, effective, and long lasting fuels. Global warming can be slowed through the use of renewable energy as it is versatile, clean, a good investment, and can easily be put into place in several different climates and environments.