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Title: Life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol produced from soluble sugar in sweet sorghum stalks in North China

Abstract

This paper describes the results of a life cycle assessment of sweet sorghum stalk (SSS)-based ethanol in North China. We determined the environmental performance of SSS-based ethanol and examined its advantages and disadvantages, as compared to gasoline, focusing on the life cycle of feedstock production, transportation, ethanol production and distribution, and use. The GREET transportation model and the method developed by the Centre of Environmental Sciences at Leiden University (CML method) were used to compile a life cycle inventory and to assess environmental impacts. Results indicate that SSS-based ethanol has advantages in terms of energy consumption, with a well to wheel decrease of 85% fossil energy and 44% global warming potential, as compared with gasoline. Abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential were also 50–90% lower than in the case of gasoline, while human health toxic potential was 36% lower. However, SSS-based sorghum did not have advantages over gasoline in terms of life cycle cost, land use, and water consumption. Results indicate that such an evaluation cannot just consider a few types of environmental impacts, researchers should promote systematic and comprehensive life cycle assessment of ethanol to guide the development of an energy strategy for China.

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) - Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); Chinese Universities Scientific Fund; China Datang Corporation (CDT); Henan Tianguan Enterprise Group Co. Ltd.
OSTI Identifier:
1393139
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Cleaner Production
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 161; Journal ID: ISSN 0959-6526
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
Environment impact; Ethanol; Gasoline; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Sweet sorghum stalks

Citation Formats

Ding, Ning, Yang, Yang, Cai, Hao, Liu, Jingru, Ren, Lantian, Yang, Jianxin, and Xie, Guang Hui. Life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol produced from soluble sugar in sweet sorghum stalks in North China. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.078.
Ding, Ning, Yang, Yang, Cai, Hao, Liu, Jingru, Ren, Lantian, Yang, Jianxin, & Xie, Guang Hui. Life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol produced from soluble sugar in sweet sorghum stalks in North China. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.078
Ding, Ning, Yang, Yang, Cai, Hao, Liu, Jingru, Ren, Lantian, Yang, Jianxin, and Xie, Guang Hui. 2017. "Life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol produced from soluble sugar in sweet sorghum stalks in North China". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.078.
@article{osti_1393139,
title = {Life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol produced from soluble sugar in sweet sorghum stalks in North China},
author = {Ding, Ning and Yang, Yang and Cai, Hao and Liu, Jingru and Ren, Lantian and Yang, Jianxin and Xie, Guang Hui},
abstractNote = {This paper describes the results of a life cycle assessment of sweet sorghum stalk (SSS)-based ethanol in North China. We determined the environmental performance of SSS-based ethanol and examined its advantages and disadvantages, as compared to gasoline, focusing on the life cycle of feedstock production, transportation, ethanol production and distribution, and use. The GREET transportation model and the method developed by the Centre of Environmental Sciences at Leiden University (CML method) were used to compile a life cycle inventory and to assess environmental impacts. Results indicate that SSS-based ethanol has advantages in terms of energy consumption, with a well to wheel decrease of 85% fossil energy and 44% global warming potential, as compared with gasoline. Abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential were also 50–90% lower than in the case of gasoline, while human health toxic potential was 36% lower. However, SSS-based sorghum did not have advantages over gasoline in terms of life cycle cost, land use, and water consumption. Results indicate that such an evaluation cannot just consider a few types of environmental impacts, researchers should promote systematic and comprehensive life cycle assessment of ethanol to guide the development of an energy strategy for China.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.078},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1393139}, journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},
issn = {0959-6526},
number = ,
volume = 161,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}