Comparative Life Cycle Evaluation of the Global Warming Potential (GWP) Impacts of Renewable Natural Gas Production Pathways

Rai, Srijana; Hage, Danny; Littlefield, James; Yanai, Gabrielle; Skone, Timothy J.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c00093

Comparative Life Cycle Evaluation of the Global Warming Potential (GWP) Impacts of Renewable Natural Gas Production Pathways

Journal Article · Thu Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Environmental Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c00093· OSTI ID:1889398

^[1]; Hage, Danny ^[1]; Littlefield, James ^[1]; Yanai, Gabrielle ^[1]; Skone, Timothy J. ^[1]

National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) sources are being considered in future energy strategy discussions as potential replacements for fossil natural gas (FNG). While today’s supply of RNG resources is insufficient to meet U.S. demands, there is significant interest in its viability to supplement and decarbonize the natural gas supply. However, the resources that compare the life cycle global warming potential (GWP) of various RNG production pathways are lacking and focus mostly on a singular pathway. This effort is an attempt to close this gap and provide a comparison between the life cycle GWP of three major RNG pathways and the FNG pathway. The three RNG pathways evaluated are Anaerobic Digestion (AD), Thermal Gasification (TG), and Power-to-Gas (P2G) using various feedstocks. The functional unit is 1MJ of compressed RNG ready for injection into the natural gas transmission network. The results show that RNG production is not always carbon neutral or negative. Depending on the pathway the GWP impact of RNG production can range from -229 to 27 g CO₂e/MJ compressed RNG, with AD of animal manure and AD of municipal solid waste being the least and the most impactful pathways, respectively, compared to the 10.1 g CO₂e/MJ impact for compressed FNG.

Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)

OSTI ID:: 1889398

Journal Information:: Environmental Science and Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 56; ISSN 0013-936X

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (12)

Biogas upgrading - technology overview, comparison and perspectives for the future Bauer, Fredric; Persson, Tobias; Hulteberg, Christian Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol. 7, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1423	journal	July 2013
Upgrading biogas produced at dairy farms into renewable natural gas by methanation Walker, Sean B.; Sun, Duo; Kidon, Dominika International Journal of Energy Research, Vol. 42, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3981	journal	January 2018
Comparison of synthetic natural gas production pathways for the storage of renewable energy Fendt, Sebastian; Buttler, Alexander; Gaderer, Matthias Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.189	journal	October 2015
Life cycle assessment of biohydrogen and biomethane production and utilisation as a vehicle fuel Patterson, Tim; Esteves, Sandra; Dinsdale, Richard Bioresource Technology, Vol. 131 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.12.109	journal	March 2013
Environmental and economic life cycle assessment of energy recovery from sewage sludge through different anaerobic digestion pathways Li, Huan; Jin, Chang; Zhang, Zhanying Energy, Vol. 126 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.03.068	journal	May 2017
Synthesis of natural gas from thermochemical and power-to-gas pathways for industrial sector decarbonization in California Di Salvo, Matteo; Wei, Max Energy, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.04.212	journal	September 2019
Life cycle analysis of renewable natural gas and lactic acid production from waste feedstocks Lee, Uisung; Bhatt, Arpit; Hawkins, Troy Robert Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 311 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127653	journal	August 2021
Municipal wastewater sludge as a sustainable bioresource in the United States Seiple, Timothy E.; Coleman, André M.; Skaggs, Richard L. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 197 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.032	journal	July 2017
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions from applications of Power-to-Gas in power generation Walker, Sean B.; van Lanen, Daniel; Mukherjee, Ushnik Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Vol. 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2017.02.003	journal	April 2017
Life cycle assessment of biogas upgrading technologies Starr, Katherine; Gabarrell, Xavier; Villalba, Gara Waste Management, Vol. 32, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.12.016	journal	May 2012
Environmental & economic life cycle assessment of current & future sewage sludge to energy technologies Mills, N.; Pearce, P.; Farrow, J. Waste Management, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2013.08.024	journal	January 2014
Industry Partnerships & Their Role In Reducing Natural Gas Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Phase 2 Rai, Srijana; Littlefield, James; Roman-White, Selina https://doi.org/10.2172/1647225	report	February 2021

Similar Records

Waste-to-Wheel Analysis of Anaerobic-Digestion-Based Renewable Natural Gas Pathways with the GREET Model

Technical Report · Tue Dec 13 19:00:00 EST 2011 · OSTI ID:1036091

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
anaerobic digestion
global warming potential
greenhouse gas
life cycle analysis
natural gas
power-to-gas
renewable natural gas
thermal gasification

Comparative Life Cycle Evaluation of the Global Warming Potential (GWP) Impacts of Renewable Natural Gas Production Pathways

Citation Formats

References (12)

Similar Records

Related Subjects