Reducing Economy-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Electrofuels and Biofuels as the Grid Decarbonizes

Oke, Doris; Dunn, Jennifer B.; Hawkins, Troy R.

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c04833

Reducing Economy-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Electrofuels and Biofuels as the Grid Decarbonizes

Journal Article · Thu Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Energy and Fuels

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c04833· OSTI ID:2475298

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Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering

Biofuels and electrofuels have the potential to complement electrification in speeding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Concentrated waste CO₂ streams that can be used as a feedstock for electrofuels, however, may become less available as the share of renewable electricity increases and industries undergo decarbonization. Here, we conduct an analysis with detailed treatment of biofuels and electrofuels to probe their role in decarbonizing multiple industrial sectors and transportation. We examine how the changing availability of CO₂ could affect electrofuel production and the potential role of direct air capture in stabilizing the supply of CO₂. The results indicate that biofuels could fulfill 12% of the total final energy demand across all U.S. sectors in 2050. Using seven industrial source points of CO₂ available in 2050, 15,388 PJ of electrofuels could be produced, which amounts to 25% of the total final energy demand. This result holds even upon decarbonization that requires direct air capture to boost the CO₂ supply. Biofuels and e-fuels have the potential to reduce economy-wide GHG emissions by 7 and 21% beyond electrification alone. However, electricity consumption and land use grow markedly with decarbonization at scale.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 2475298

Journal Information:: Energy and Fuels, Journal Name: Energy and Fuels Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 38; ISSN 0887-0624

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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