In this study, the “cradle‐to‐gate” greenhouse gas (GHG) intensities of six types of power generation in China are analyzed using a life cycle assessment approach, including wind power, solar photovoltaic power, nuclear power, hydropower, biomass power, and thermal power. According to the mix of regional power grids in China and GHG intensities of various types of power generation, the GHG intensities of hybrid power on regional power grid scale are calculated. The results show that they are closely corresponding to the grid mix of each region. Besides, the value of northeast China is the highest and the largest variation between regions is about twice. Furthermore, the efforts made by the Chinese government promoting energy shift are expected to accelerate the decrease of the electricity system GHG intensity to 376.9 gCO2‐eq/kW h by 2035, about 51.0% lower than that in 2017. And the total GHG emissions are predicted to reach 4.5 × 109 tCO2‐eq in 2035, while in “below 2°C” scenario this value will decrease to 3.6 × 109 tCO2‐eq. This study compiles the life cycle inventory of China's electricity generation on spatial and temporal scale, and can provide suggestions on the development of regional and national electricity systems.
Due to the large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the high dependence on fossil energy, the aviation industry has attracted a lot of attention for emission reduction and sustainable development. Biomass is a green and sustainable renewable resource, and its chemical conversion to produce bio-jet fuel is considered to be an effective way to replace fossil jet fuel and achieve emission reduction. In this study, the cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis is conducted for three bio-jet fuel conversion pathways, including biomass aqueous phase reforming (APR), hydrogenated esters and fatty acids (HEFA), and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Compared with fossil jet fuels, the three bio-jet fuels have a great advantage on global warming potential (GWP), contributing 29.2, 43.6 and 51.2 g CO2-eq/MJ respectively. In general, as a relatively new bio-jet fuel conversion technology, the technology of aqueous phase reforming has minimal environmental impact. If the barriers of raw material availability and economy could be broken down, bio-jet fuel will have great development potential in replacing fossil jet fuel and realizing sustainable development.
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