Life cycle assessment in the bioenergy sector: developing a systematic review

Jan 2008

The UK and EU have pledged to increase the utilisation of biomass in the energy sector, for both heat and power generation, and liquid transport fuels, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and helping to achieve reduction targets. It is therefore necessary to critically assess complete bioenergy production chains to:
• ensure GHG and energy balances of production process are favourable
• identify areas within each production chain which are particularly inefficient, energy intensive, or emit high concentrations of GHGs
• highlight research and development (R&D) needs within the field
In order to fulfil these objectives, this working paper describes the development of a systematic review of LCAs of bioenergy for heat and power and liquid transport fuels. The aim of this work is to provide a clearer picture of current knowledge on the relative efficiency and energy and carbon balances of a range of bioenergy chains. This uniquely enables a quantitative comparison of the two end uses of bioenergy crops – liquid transport fuels and the generation of heat and power.
The primary objective of this task is to devise a means to cross compare the impacts of different methods of energy production, be it for transport fuel, heat or power.
In the long term, the comparison of bioenergy supply chains will include the assessment of a broad range of environmental impacts in a quantitative manner. However, the primary stage and current focus is to review current published data on the energy requirements and GHG outputs for a range of UK bioenergy chains. Data for net GHG emissions and fossil energy utilisation will be converted into comparable formats for solid biomass and liquid biofuels. This will be done for each step of the production process for which data are available, allowing a direct comparison of different feedstocks and conversion processes.
The second objective of this paper is to highlight the need for transparent reporting in LCA research and develop a set of guidelines for LCA reporting for the bioenergy sector. These guidelines will include recommendations to ensure data transparency, as well as suggestions for suitable units and parameters which must be included in a bioenergy LCA.

 
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