Environmental Life Cycle Implications of Fuel Oxygenate Production from California Biomass

Technical Report · Thu May 20 00:00:00 EDT 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/9538· OSTI ID:9538

Kadam, K L ^[1]; Camobreco, V J; Glazebrook, B E ^[2]; Forrest, L H; Jacobson, W A ^[3]; Simeroth, D C ^[4]; Blackburn, W J ^[5]; Nehoda, K C ^[6]

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1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
2. Ecobalance Inc.
3. TSS Consultants
4. California Air Resources Board
5. California Energy Commission
6. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Historically, more than 90% of the excess agricultural residue produced in California (approximately 10 million dry metric tons per year) has been disposed through open-field burning. Concerns about air quality have prompted federal, state, and local air quality agencies to tighten regulations related to this burning and to look at disposal alternatives. One use of this biomass is as an oxygenated fuel. This report focuses on quantifying and comparing the comprehensive environmental flows over the life cycles of two disposal scenarios: (1) burning the biomass, plus producing and using MTBE; and (2) converting and using ETBE.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-99GO10337
• OSTI ID: 9538
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP-580-25688; ON: DE00009538; TRN: US200312%%116
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 20 May 1999
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
AGRICULTURAL WASTES
AIR QUALITY
BIOMASS
CALIFORNIA
LIFE CYCLE
METRICS
PRODUCTION
REGULATIONS
ETHANOL
ETBE
MTBE
BIOETHANOL
OPEN BURNING