Spatially Explicit Life Cycle Analysis of Cellulosic Ethanol Production Scenarios in Southwestern Michigan

Cronin, Keith R.; Runge, Troy M.; Zhang, Xuesong; Izaurralde, R. César; Reinemann, Douglas J.; Sinistore, Julie C.

doi:10.1007/s12155-016-9774-7

Title: Spatially Explicit Life Cycle Analysis of Cellulosic Ethanol Production Scenarios in Southwestern Michigan

Journal Article · Wed Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · BioEnergy Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9774-7· OSTI ID:1262096

Cronin, Keith R. ^[1]; Runge, Troy M. ^[2]; Zhang, Xuesong ^[3]; Izaurralde, R. César ^[3]; Reinemann, Douglas J. ^[4]; Sinistore, Julie C. ^[5]

Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Biological Systems Engineering Dept.
Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Joint Global Change Research Inst. of Pacific Northwest National Lab.
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Biological Systems Engineering Dept.
WSP USA, New York City, NY (United States)

By modeling the life cycle of fuel pathways for cellulosic ethanol (CE) it can help identify logistical barriers and anticipated impacts for the emerging commercial CE industry. Such models contain high amounts of variability, primarily due to the varying nature of agricultural production but also because of limitations in the availability of data at the local scale, resulting in the typical practice of using average values. In this study, 12 spatially explicit, cradle-to-refinery gate CE pathways were developed that vary by feedstock (corn stover, switchgrass, and Miscanthus), nitrogen application rate (higher, lower), pretreatment method (ammonia fiber expansion [AFEX], dilute acid), and co-product treatment method (mass allocation, sub-division), in which feedstock production was modeled at the watershed scale over a nine-county area in Southwestern Michigan. When comparing feedstocks, the model showed that corn stover yielded higher global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), and eutrophication potential (EP) than the perennial feedstocks of switchgrass and Miscanthus, on an average per area basis. Full life cycle results per MJ of produced ethanol demonstrated more mixed results, with corn stover-derived CE scenarios that use sub-division as a co-product treatment method yielding similarly favorable outcomes as switchgrass- and Miscanthus-derived CE scenarios. Variability was found to be greater between feedstocks than watersheds. Additionally, scenarios using dilute acid pretreatment had more favorable results than those using AFEX pretreatment.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: FC02-07ER64494; AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1262096

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1427712

Journal Information:: BioEnergy Research, Journal Name: BioEnergy Research Vol. 10 Journal Issue: 1; ISSN 1939-1234

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 11 works

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Title: Spatially Explicit Life Cycle Analysis of Cellulosic Ethanol Production Scenarios in Southwestern Michigan

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