Impact of bioenergy feedstock carbon farming on sustainable aviation fuel viability in the United States

Gautam, Sagar; Baral, Nawa Raj; Mishra, Umakant; Scown, Corinne D.

doi:10.1073/pnas.2312667120

Impact of bioenergy feedstock carbon farming on sustainable aviation fuel viability in the United States

Journal Article · Mon Dec 11 00:00:00 EST 2023 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312667120· OSTI ID:2229459

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[3]

Bioscience Division, Sandia National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, Life-cycle, Economics, and Agronomy Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA 94608
Life-cycle, Economics, and Agronomy Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA 94608, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
Life-cycle, Economics, and Agronomy Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA 94608, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, Energy Analysis and Environmental Impact Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, Energy and Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

Biomass-derived sustainable aviation fuel holds significant potential for decarbonizing the aviation sector. Its long-term viability depends on crop choice, longevity of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, and the biomass-to-biojet fuel conversion efficiency. We explored the impact of fuel price and SOC value on viable biojet fuel production scale by integrating an agroecosystem model with a field-to-biojet fuel production process model for 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO), a representative high-performance biojet fuel molecule, from Miscanthus, sorghum, and switchgrass. Assigning monetary value to SOC sequestration results in substantially different outcomes than an increased fuel selling price. If SOC accumulation is valued at $185/ton CO ₂ , planting Miscanthus for conversion to DMCO would be economically cost-competitive across 66% of croplands across the continental United States (US) by 2050 if conventional jet fuel remains at $0.74/L (in 2020 US dollars). Cutting the SOC sequestration value in half reduces the viable area to 54% of cropland, and eliminating any payment for SOC shrinks the viable area to 16%. If future biojet fuel prices increase to $1.24/L-Jet A-equivalent, 48 to 58% of the total cultivated land in the United States could support a more diverse set of feedstocks including Miscanthus, sorghum, or switchgrass. Among these options, only 8–14% of the area would be suitable exclusively for Miscanthus cultivation. These findings highlight the intersection of natural solutions for carbon removal and the use of deep-rooted feedstocks for biofuels and biomanufacturing. The results underscore the need to establish clear and consistent values for SOC sequestration to enable the future bioeconomy.

View Journal Article

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515; NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2229459

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2469728
OSTI ID: 2473034

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 51 Vol. 120; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (61)

Supply and value chain analysis of mixed biomass feedstock supply system for lignocellulosic sugar production Baral, Nawa Raj; Davis, Ryan; Bradley, Thomas H. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol. 13, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1975	journal	December 2018
Water use efficiency of perennial and annual bioenergy crops in central Illinois: WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF BIOFUEL CROPS Zeri, Marcelo; Hussain, Mir Zaman; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 118, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrg.20052	journal	April 2013
Simulating Impacts of Bioenergy Sorghum Residue Return on Soil Organic Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Using the DAYCENT Model Wang, Yong; Dou, Fugen; Storlien, Joseph O. Progress in Soil Science https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43394-3_15	book	January 2017
Soil Carbon Storage by Switchgrass Grown for Bioenergy Liebig, M. A.; Schmer, M. R.; Vogel, K. P. BioEnergy Research, Vol. 1, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-008-9019-5	journal	September 2008
Perennial Bioenergy Crop Yield and Quality Response to Nitrogen Fertilization Wang, Sichao; Sanford, Gregg R.; Robertson, G. Philip BioEnergy Research, Vol. 13, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-019-10072-z	journal	November 2019
Biomass production from selected herbaceous species in the southeastern USA Bransby, D. I.; Ward, C. Y.; Rose, P. A. Biomass, Vol. 20, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0144-4565(89)90059-0	journal	January 1989
A comparison of the performance of nine soil organic matter models using datasets from seven long-term experiments Smith, P.; Smith, J. U.; Powlson, D. S. Geoderma, Vol. 81, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00087-6	journal	December 1997
DAYCENT and its land surface submodel: description and testing Parton, William J.; Hartman, Melannie; Ojima, Dennis Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 19, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(98)00040-X	journal	December 1998
Root distribution and soil moisture retrieval in perennial and annual energy crops in Northern Italy Monti, Andrea; Zatta, Alessandro Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 132, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2009.04.007	journal	August 2009
Using DAYCENT to quantify on-farm GHG emissions and N dynamics of land use conversion to N-managed switchgrass in the Southern U.S. Chamberlain, Jim F.; Miller, Shelie A.; Frederick, James R. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 141, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.03.011	journal	May 2011
Carbon exchange by establishing biofuel crops in Central Illinois Zeri, Marcelo; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina; Hickman, George Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 144, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.09.006	journal	November 2011
A regional comparison of water use efficiency for miscanthus, switchgrass and maize VanLoocke, Andy; Twine, Tracy E.; Zeri, Marcelo Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 164 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.05.016	journal	October 2012
Soil carbon 4 per mille Minasny, Budiman; Malone, Brendan P.; McBratney, Alex B. Geoderma, Vol. 292 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.01.002	journal	April 2017
Bayesian calibration of the DayCent ecosystem model to simulate soil organic carbon dynamics and reduce model uncertainty Gurung, Ram B.; Ogle, Stephen M.; Breidt, F. Jay Geoderma, Vol. 376 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114529	journal	October 2020
Modeling the impacts of temperature and precipitation changes on soil CO2 fluxes from a Switchgrass stand recently converted from cropland Lai, Liming; Kumar, Sandeep; Chintala, Rajesh Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol. 43 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2015.08.019	journal	May 2016
Supply Cost and Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Dry and Ensiled Biomass Sorghum for Biofuel Production Baral, Nawa Raj; Dahlberg, Jeff; Putnam, Daniel ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 8, Issue 42 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c03784	journal	September 2020
Production Cost and Carbon Footprint of Biomass-Derived Dimethylcyclooctane as a High-Performance Jet Fuel Blendstock Baral, Nawa Raj; Yang, Minliang; Harvey, Benjamin G. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 9, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03772	journal	August 2021
Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas and Water Intensity of Cellulosic Biofuel Production Using Cholinium Lysinate Ionic Liquid Pretreatment Neupane, Binod; Konda, N. V. S. N. Murthy; Singh, Seema ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 5, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02116	journal	September 2017
Understanding Lignin Fractionation and Characterization from Engineered Switchgrass Treated by an Aqueous Ionic Liquid Liu, Enshi; Li, Mi; Das, Lalitendu ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 6, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b00384	journal	March 2018
Greenhouse Gas Footprint, Water-Intensity, and Production Cost of Bio-Based Isopentenol as a Renewable Transportation Fuel Baral, Nawa Raj; Kavvada, Olga; Mendez Perez, Daniel ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 7, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b02928	journal	August 2019
Global potential of biospheric carbon management for climate mitigation Canadell, Josep G.; Schulze, E. Detlef Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6282	journal	November 2014
Comprehensive evidence implies a higher social cost of CO2 Rennert, Kevin; Errickson, Frank; Prest, Brian C. Nature, Vol. 610, Issue 7933 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05224-9	journal	September 2022
Sustainable land use and viability of biojet fuels Uludere Aragon, Nazli Z.; Parker, Nathan C.; VanLoocke, Andy Nature Sustainability, Vol. 6, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00990-w	journal	November 2022
[4 + 4]-cycloaddition of isoprene for the production of high-performance bio-based jet fuel Rosenkoetter, Kyle E.; Kennedy, C. Rose; Chirik, Paul J. Green Chemistry, Vol. 21, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1039/C9GC02404B	journal	January 2019
Use of ensiled biomass sorghum increases ionic liquid pretreatment efficiency and reduces biofuel production cost and carbon footprint Magurudeniya, Harsha D.; Baral, Nawa Raj; Rodriguez, Alberto Green Chemistry, Vol. 23, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1039/D0GC03260C	journal	January 2021
Direct climate effects of perennial bioenergy crops in the United States Georgescu, M.; Lobell, D. B.; Field, C. B. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1008779108	journal	February 2011
Genetic manipulation of lignin reduces recalcitrance and improves ethanol production from switchgrass Fu, Chunxiang; Mielenz, Jonathan R.; Xiao, Xirong Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 9, p. 3803-3808 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100310108	journal	February 2011
Bioenergy Crops and Carbon Sequestration Lemus, R.; Lal, R. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol. 24, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/07352680590910393	journal	February 2005
A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Sorghum in the United States Laingen, Chris Papers in Applied Geography, Vol. 1, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2015.1084359	journal	October 2015
Evaluating the use of biomass energy with carbon capture and storage in low emission scenarios Vaughan, Naomi E.; Gough, Clair; Mander, Sarah Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaaa02	journal	March 2018
Grain Sorghum Water Requirement and Responses to Drought Stress: A Review Assefa, Yared; Staggenborg, Scott A.; Prasad, Vara P. V. Crop Management, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1094/CM-2010-1109-01-RV	journal	January 2010
Miscanthus sacchariflorus- biofuel parent or new weed? Bonin, Catherine L.; Heaton, Emily A.; Barb, Jessica GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 6, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12098	journal	January 2014
Modelling the carbon cycle of Miscanthus plantations: existing models and the potential for their improvement Robertson, Andy D.; Davies, Christian A.; Smith, Pete GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12144	journal	March 2014
Bioenergy and climate change mitigation: an assessment Creutzig, Felix; Ravindranath, N. H.; Berndes, Göran GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 7, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12205	journal	July 2014
Trade-offs between land and water requirements for large-scale bioenergy production Bonsch, Markus; Humpenöder, Florian; Popp, Alexander GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12226	journal	November 2014
Carbon sequestration potential in perennial bioenergy crops: the importance of organic matter inputs and its physical protection Chimento, Carlo; Almagro, María; Amaducci, Stefano GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12232	journal	December 2014
Contribution of above- and belowground bioenergy crop residues to soil carbon Carvalho, Joao L. N.; Hudiburg, Tara W.; Franco, Henrique C. J. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 9, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12411	journal	January 2017
Biomass production of herbaceous energy crops in the United States: field trial results and yield potential maps from the multiyear regional feedstock partnership Lee, Do Kyoung; Aberle, Ezra; Anderson, Eric K. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 10, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12493	journal	January 2018
Predicting soil carbon changes in switchgrass grown on marginal lands under climate change and adaptation strategies Martinez‐Feria, Rafael; Basso, Bruno GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 12, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12726	journal	July 2020
Sorghum biomass production in the continental United States and its potential impacts on soil organic carbon and nitrous oxide emissions Gautam, Sagar; Mishra, Umakant; Scown, Corinne D. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 12, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12736	journal	August 2020
Empirical geographic modeling of switchgrass yields in the United States: EMPIRICAL SWITCHGRASS MODELING Jager, Henriette I.; Baskaran, Latha M.; Brandt, Craig C. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 2, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2010.01059.x	journal	September 2010
Field-scale soil property changes under switchgrass managed for bioenergy: SOIL PROPERTY CHANGES UNDER SWITCHGRASS Schmer, M. R.; Liebig, M. A.; Vogel, K. P. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 3, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01099.x	journal	March 2011
Impacts of land use change due to biofuel crops on carbon balance, bioenergy production, and agricultural yield, in the conterminous United States Qin, Zhangcai; Zhuang, Qianlai; Chen, Min GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 4, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01129.x	journal	October 2011
Simulating switchgrass biomass production across ecoregions using the DAYCENT model Lee, Juhwan; Pedroso, Gabriel; Linquist, Bruce A. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 4, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01140.x	journal	November 2011
Miscanthus biomass productivity within US croplands and its potential impact on soil organic carbon Mishra, Umakant; Torn, Margaret S.; Fingerman, Kevin GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2012.01201.x	journal	August 2012
An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily Database Menne, Matthew J.; Durre, Imke; Vose, Russell S. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 29, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00103.1	journal	July 2012
Transgenic ZmMYB167 Miscanthus sinensis with increased lignin to boost bioenergy generation for the bioeconomy Bhatia, Rakesh; Timms-Taravella, Emma; Roberts, Luned A. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-023-02279-2	journal	February 2023
Simulation of Biomass Yield and Soil Organic Carbon under Bioenergy Sorghum Production Dou, Fugen; Wight, Jason P.; Wilson, Lloyd T. PLoS ONE, Vol. 9, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115598	journal	December 2014
Spatial forecasting of switchgrass productivity under current and future climate change scenarios Behrman, Kathrine D.; Kiniry, James R.; Winchell, Michael Ecological Applications, Vol. 23, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1890/12-0436.1	journal	January 2013
Biomass Production in Switchgrass across the United States: Database Description and Determinants of Yield Wullschleger, S. D.; Davis, E. B.; Borsuk, M. E. Agronomy Journal, Vol. 102, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2010.0087	journal	January 2010
Simulation of Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Estimation of Global Warming Potential in Turfgrass Systems Using the DAYCENT Model Zhang, Yao; Qian, Yaling; Bremer, Dale J. Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 42, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2012.0486	journal	July 2013
Impact of Nitrogen Application Rate on Switchgrass Yield, Production Costs, and Nitrous Oxide Emissions McGowan, Andrew R.; Min, Doo-Hong; Williams, Jeffery R. Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 47, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2017.06.0226	journal	March 2018
Climate Change Impacts on Yields and Soil Carbon in Row Crop Dryland Agriculture Robertson, Andy D.; Zhang, Yao; Sherrod, Lucretia A. Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 47, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2017.08.0309	journal	July 2018
Genotypic Responses in Sorghum to Drought Stress. III. Free Proline Accumulation and Drought Resistance ¹ Blum, A.; Ebercon, Adelina Crop Science, Vol. 16, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1976.0011183X001600030030x	journal	May 1976
Biomass and Carbon Partitioning in Switchgrass Frank, A. B.; Berdahl, J. D.; Hanson, J. D. Crop Science, Vol. 44, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2004.1391	journal	January 2004
A General Model for Soil Organic Matter Dynamics: Sensitivity to Litter Chemistry, Texture and Management Parton, William J.; Ojima, Dennis S.; Cole, C. Vernon Quantitative Modeling of Soil Forming Processes https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaspecpub39.c9	book	September 1994
Development of the Integrated Biomass Supply Analysis and Logistics Model (IBSAL) Sokhansanj, Shahabaddine; Webb, Erin; Turhollow, Jr., Anthony F. https://doi.org/10.2172/932647	report	June 2008
Dynamic Stability of Soil Carbon: Reassessing the “Permanence” of Soil Carbon Sequestration Dynarski, Katherine A.; Bossio, Deborah A.; Scow, Kate M. Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.514701	journal	November 2020
Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Biomass Production and Yield Components of Miscanthus ×giganteus Lee, Moon-Sub; Wycislo, Andrew; Guo, Jia Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00544	journal	April 2017
Genome-Wide Identification of Sorghum bicolor Laccases Reveals Potential Targets for Lignin Modification Wang, Jinhui; Feng, Juanjuan; Jia, Weitao Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00714	journal	May 2017
Seasonal nutrient dynamics and biomass quality of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) and miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter) as energy crops Nassi o. Di Nasso, Nicoletta; Roncucci, Neri; Triana, Federico Italian Journal of Agronomy, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2011.e24	journal	July 2011

Similar Records

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
SOC
Science & Technology - Other Topics
aviation fuel
biomass
economic feasibility

Impact of bioenergy feedstock carbon farming on sustainable aviation fuel viability in the United States

Citation Formats

References (61)

Similar Records

Related Subjects