Time-dependent climate impact of heat production from Swedish willow and poplar pellets – In a life cycle perspective

Porsö, Charlotta; Hansson, Per‐Anders

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2014.09.004

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…According to these results, which confirm recent findings [57], the assessment of the belowground C flux, not considered in the majority of the available SRC related assessments, is recommended to be included in all the climate change related studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…This was considered an issue of particular relevance to enhance the representativeness of the LCA in SRC analyses with regard to time-dependent analyses of impact on climate change [57]. Accordingly, the LCIA was complemented by using a specific carbon modelling tool, i.e.…”

Section: Impact Assessment and Carbon Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To contribute to further development in this field, the life cycle inventory (LCI, i.e. collection of process input and output data) of the individual sites was improved with information retrieved from simulating the carbon dynamics over the 21 years using specific carbon accounting modelling techniques, as effectively demonstrated by other studies in the field of SRC-LCA [57][58][59]. To this end, comparing the complete rotation system of seven plots with different mixes of species and soil conditions allows estimating the effects of clones' variability over a relatively large lifespan (21 years).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulation of environmental impact scores within the life cycle of mixed wood chips from alternative short rotation coppice systems in Flanders (Belgium)

et al. 2015

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Impact Assessment and Carbon Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulation of environmental impact scores within the life cycle of mixed wood chips from alternative short rotation coppice systems in Flanders (Belgium)

et al. 2015

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“…(); Hammar et al . (); Porsö & Hansson ()), but assessments of the climate impact of this strategy need to consider the variation within a landscape, as soil texture and water availability are important for willow productivity (Krzyżaniak et al ., ). Field size and transport distance also vary within regions, affecting the energy return.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate impact assessment of willow energy from a landscape perspective: a Swedish case study

2016

Self Cite

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Locally produced bioenergy can decrease the dependency on imported fossil fuels in a region, while also being valuable for climate change mitigation. Short-rotation coppice willow is a potentially high-yielding energy crop that can be grown to supply a local energy facility. This study assessed the energy performance and climate impacts when establishing willow on current fallow land in a Swedish region with the purpose of supplying a bio-based combined heat and power plant. Time-dependent life cycle assessment (LCA) was combined with geographic information system (GIS) mapping to include spatial variation in terms of transport distance, initial soil organic carbon content, soil texture and yield. Two climate metrics were used [global warming potential (GWP) and absolute global temperature change potential (AGTP)], and the energy performance was determined by calculating the energy ratio (energy produced per unit of energy used). The results showed that when current fallow land in a Swedish region was used for willow energy, an average energy ratio of 30 MJ MJ À1 (including heat, power and flue gas condensation) was obtained and on average 84.3 Mg carbon per ha was sequestered in the soil during a 100-year time frame (compared with the reference land use). The processes contributing most to the energy use during one willow rotation were the production and application of fertilizers (~40%), followed by harvest (~35%) and transport (~20%). The temperature response after 100 years of willow cultivation was À6Á10 À16 K MJ À1 heat, which is much lower compared with fossil coal and natural gas (70Á10 À16 K MJ À1 heat and 35Á10 À16 K MJ À1 heat, respectively). The combined GIS and time-dependent LCA approach developed here can be a useful tool in systematic analysis of bioenergy production systems and related land use effects.

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“…Natural carbon flux as uptake and release of carbon by existing forests is not included either. The direct effect on soil organic carbon from the production of Swedish willow and poplar pellets is addressed in IEA (2013) . The impact of not considering GHG emissions from the use of biomass in pellets chains is analyzed in Ref .…”

Section: Ghg Emission Reduction Potential For Selected Pellet Value Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential influence of sustainability criteria on the European Union pellets market—the example of Sweden

Hansson

Hackl

2016

WIREs Energy & Environment

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The introduction of sustainability criteria for solid biomass/biofuels on the European Union (EU) or global level may influence the EU pellets market, e.g., by limiting the eligible biomass supply potential or specific pellet chains. This assessment focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the issue of sustainable forest management (SFM) for pellets potentially used in Sweden (for residential and/or industrial use). The paper includes (1) a literature review of recent studies addressing the impact of sustainability requirements (for solid biomass and/or liquid biofuels) on the bioenergy market, (2) a characterization of SFM conditions in potential pellets export countries and their capacity to enforce respective legislation, and (3) an assessment of GHG emissions for heat and electricity for the Swedish market from selected potential wood pellet chains (including torrefaction) and related GHG emissions reduction compared to fossil fuels using a life cycle assessment perspective. Most of the assessed wood pellet value chains will most likely be able to meet stringent sustainability requirements from a GHG perspective. Thus, the impact of near‐term GHG emission reduction demands on the Swedish pellets market is limited. More specifically, we find that torrefaction may be advantageous for pellets imported over long distances (i.e., over approximately 18,500 km). We conclude that demand for SFM related to solid biofuels will not have a significant or long‐lasting effect on the market for Swedish pellets. The real impacts of sustainability requirements will however depend on levels of ambition as well as the methodologies and systems boundaries applied in future systems. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:413–429. doi: 10.1002/wene.199 This article is categorized under: Bioenergy > Economics and Policy Bioenergy > Climate and Environment

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Time-dependent climate impact of heat production from Swedish willow and poplar pellets – In a life cycle perspective

Cited by 25 publications

References 46 publications

Simulation of environmental impact scores within the life cycle of mixed wood chips from alternative short rotation coppice systems in Flanders (Belgium)

Simulation of environmental impact scores within the life cycle of mixed wood chips from alternative short rotation coppice systems in Flanders (Belgium)

Climate impact assessment of willow energy from a landscape perspective: a Swedish case study

The potential influence of sustainability criteria on the European Union pellets market—the example of Sweden

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