Available land for cellulosic biofuel production: a supply chain centered comparison

O’Neill, E. G.; Lark, T. J.; Xie, Y.; Kim, S.; Dale, B. E.; Robertson, G. P.; Basso, B.; Maravelias, C. T.

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ada301

Available land for cellulosic biofuel production: a supply chain centered comparison

Journal Article · Mon Jan 06 23:00:00 EST 2025 · Environmental Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada301· OSTI ID:2497369

; ; Xie, Y.; Kim, S.; Dale, B. E.; Robertson, G. P.; ;

Abstract

The land that is potentially available to produce dedicated cellulosic bioenergy crops, often referred to as ‘marginal’ land, depends heavily on the underlying assumptions used to classify and identify it. In this study we compare three definitions and types of marginal land to identify the interactions between the bioenergy landscape and the logistics networks needed for the biofuel supply chain. Typical studies of the scale, cost, and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of cellulosic biofuel take a land-centered approach which may neglect to account for the trade-offs between establishing bioenergy crops and the supply chain design decisions needed to allow those crops to be converted to liquid fuel. A mathematical programming approach is used to minimize the total annualized cost of a large-scale field-to-product system producing bioethanol in the USA midwest. Results show that a high concentration of marginal land leads to efficient systems and that the bioenergy landscape design becomes increasingly important with a higher emphasis on GHG mitigation. Additionally, targeted landscape design (including fertilization) with a focus on fields with high soil carbon sequestration potential can greatly reduce the system-wide GHG emissions for only a small increase in the unit cost of biofuel.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018409

OSTI ID:: 2497369

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2483721
OSTI ID: 2507028

Journal Information:: Environmental Research Letters, Journal Name: Environmental Research Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 20; ISSN 1748-9326

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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