Biomass supply from alternative cellulosic crops and crop residues: A spatially explicit bioeconomic modeling approach

Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Izaurralde, C.; Manowitz, David H.

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.09.010

Cited by 57 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Future spatially explicit LCA modeling could include local biomass processing depots (LBPDs) placed in spatially optimized locations on the landscape [52,53] and the coproduction of animal feeds from pretreatment [54]. The addition of economic variables for the biomass selling price for Bprofit-oriented farmers^in a given region [55] and techno-economic variables for the costs of ethanol production for a given technology [56] would also enhance the analysis. The addition of these factors would make the model into a robust decision support tool for evaluating the effects of the location of a biorefinery in terms of its economic viability, environmental sustainability, and ability to meet policy standards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment of Switchgrass Cellulosic Ethanol Production in the Wisconsin and Michigan Agricultural Contexts

et al. 2015

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Spatial variability in yields and greenhouse gas emissions from soils has been identified as a key source of variability in life cycle assessments (LCAs) of agricultural products such as cellulosic ethanol. This study aims to conduct an LCA of cellulosic ethanol production from switchgrass in a way that captures this spatial variability and tests results for sensitivity to using spatially averaged results. The Environment Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model was used to calculate switchgrass yields, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from crop production in southern Wisconsin and Michigan at the watershed scale. These data were combined with cellulosic ethanol production data via ammonia fiber expansion and dilute acid pretreatment methods and region-specific electricity production data into an LCA model of eight ethanol production scenarios. Standard deviations from the spatial mean yields and soil emissions were used to test the sensitivity of net energy ratio, global warming potential intensity, and eutrophication and acidification potential metrics to spatial variability. Substantial variation in the eutrophication potential was also observed when nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from soils were varied. This work illustrates the need for spatially explicit agricultural production data in the LCA of biofuels and other agricultural products.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment of Switchgrass Cellulosic Ethanol Production in the Wisconsin and Michigan Agricultural Contexts

et al. 2015

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“…Drawing a lesson from the relative profitability of biomass byproducts from grain crops like corn stover and wheat straw (Egbendewe-Mondzozo et al, 2011), the challenge would be to separate out higher value timber products. Short rotation woody plantations might, over a growing cycle, produce biomass for bioenergy, pulp for area paper mills, and veneer bolts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has focused chiefly on how current cropland could shift to produce more energy biomass. Studies have ranged from breakeven analysis of threshold biomass prices and yields required for profitable production (Mooney et al, 2009;James et al, 2010) to regional and national supply analyses that capture the relative opportunity costs of displacing alternative current crops either at current prices (Egbendewe-Mondzozo et al, 2011 or by simulating price feedbacks triggered by biomass expansion (Hertel et al, 2010;Khanna et al, 2011).…”

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Profitability of Cellulosic Biomass Production in the Northern Great Lakes Region

Kells

Swinton

2014

Agronomy Journal

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Producing bioenergy feedstocks on non-crop land can largely avoid the food price feedbacks of energy biomass production on cropland. The U.S. northern tier grassland-to-forest ecotone offers large areas of marginal land that is not currently cropped. In this ecological transition zone, the relative profitability of grassy vs. woody sources of energy biomass is little studied. This paper reports an exploratory investment analysis of cellulosic biomass production in the northern Great Lakes region. It compares two short-rotation tree crops, willow (Salix sachalinensis F. Schmidt)and hybrid poplar (Populus nigra L. X P. maximowiczii A. Henry), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) (a native prairie grass) to conventional mixed hay. Because biomass markets are not yet well developed, this study calculates threshold prices and yields at which biomass crops become at least as profitable as mixed grass hay. At 2010-2012 prices and available production technologies, none of the cellulosic crops is competitive with the hay baseline system. The breakeven price of energy biomass ranges from $90-100 per oven-dry Mg -1 for all three energy crops. Breakeven yields are much more variable, due to the high cost of harvesting woody biomass. At 2010-2012 prices, necessary biomass yield increases range from 3.5-fold for switchgrass and willow to over 25-fold for poplar. While the ratio of input costs to revenue remains relatively constant between the northern and southern Great Lakes regions, the opportunity cost of active cropland in the southern zone is much higher, implying an economic comparative advantage for marginal land of the northern tier of the Great Lakes region.

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“…Recent research has shown that the lowest-cost sources of expanded ligno-cellulosic biomass production in the U.S. are likely to be residues from annual grain crops, such as corn and wheat (Egbendewe-Mondzozo et al, 2011;Khanna et al, 2011;National Research Council, 2011). Especially at low biomass 1 prices, dedicated perennial bioenergy crops (e.g., switchgrass and miscanthus) are expected to be less profitable than annual cereal crops that have grain yield revenue to supplement biomass revenue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Based on private profitability alone, the minimum breakeven prices for biomass production are met only by biomass from annual crop residues. But intensified production of annual crops is also associated with damaging impacts for climate and water quality (Egbendewe-Mondzozo et al, 2011;National Research Council, 2011), at least at farm landscape level. Hence, there is a need to explore policies that could prevent increased environmental degradation from expansion of biomass crop production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations

et al. 2013

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Biomass supply from alternative cellulosic crops and crop residues: A spatially explicit bioeconomic modeling approach

Cited by 57 publications

References 34 publications

Life Cycle Assessment of Switchgrass Cellulosic Ethanol Production in the Wisconsin and Michigan Agricultural Contexts

Life Cycle Assessment of Switchgrass Cellulosic Ethanol Production in the Wisconsin and Michigan Agricultural Contexts

Profitability of Cellulosic Biomass Production in the Northern Great Lakes Region

Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations

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