Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of Eucalyptus globulus short rotation plantations in Chile

Morales, Marjorie; Aroca, Germán; Rubilar, Rafael; Acuña, Eduardo; Mola‐Yudego, Blas; González‐García, Sara

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.02.085

Cited by 57 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The fertilizer and planting density differences observed in the IRREC fertilizer x planting density and biochar-fertilizer studies are consistent with previously observed influences of fertilizer and planting density on eucalypt productivity in Florida [17][18][19][20] and worldwide [21][22][23][24]. While inorganic fertilizers have been necessary for rapid growth of eucalypts on Florida's infertile sandy soils, the observed response here to a slow release organic fertilizer, and its apparently beneficial coupling with BC, is encouraging for sustainable eucalypt management.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Short Rotation Eucalypts: Opportunities for Biochar

Rockwood

Ellis

Liu

et al. 2019

Forests

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Eucalypts can be very productive when intensively grown as short rotation woody crops (SRWC) for bioproducts. In Florida, USA, a fertilized, herbicided, and irrigated cultivar planted at 2471 trees/ha could produce over 58 green mt/ha/year in 3.7 years, and at 2071 trees/ha, its net present value (NPV) exceeded $750/ha at a 6% discount rate and stumpage price of $11.02/green mt. The same cultivar grown less intensively at three planting densities had the highest stand basal area at the highest density through 41 months, although individual tree diameter at breast height (DBH) was the smallest. In combination with an organic fertilizer, biochar improved soil properties, tree leaf nutrients, and tree growth within 11 months of application. Biochar produced from Eucalyptus and other species is a useful soil amendment that, especially in combination with an organic fertilizer, could improve soil physical and chemical properties and increase nutrient availability to enhance Eucalyptus tree nutrition and growth on sandy soils. Eucalypts produce numerous naturally occurring bioproducts and are suitable feedstocks for many other biochemically or thermochemically derived bioproducts that could enhance the value of SRWCs.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Short Rotation Eucalypts: Opportunities for Biochar

Rockwood

Ellis

Liu

et al. 2019

Forests

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“…Nevertheless, special attention should be paid to biomass because even when it is available in Chile as a promising resource, the value chain for its exploitation as an energy vector is intensively energy demanding. Indeed, the logistics associated with forest management and biomass transportation is one of the critical factors affecting the environmental profile of biomass-based technologies [67,68]. In the present analysis, the biomass value chain was not considered so that the indirect exergy consumption related to the energy component is underestimated.…”

Section: Cumulative Exergy Consumption (Cexc) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Water–Energy–Land Nexus (WELN) Using Exergy-Based Indicators: The Chilean Electricity System Case

2019

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The competition and interlinkages between energy, water, and land resources are increasing globally and are exacerbated by climate change and a rapid increase in the world population. The nexus concept has emerged for a comprehensive understanding related to the management and efficiency of resource use. This paper assesses water-energy-land nexus (WELN) efficiency through integration of the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and exergy analysis, using the Chilean energy sector (CES) as a study case. The cumulative exergy consumption (CExC) and cumulative degree of perfection (CDP) are used as indicators for WELN efficiency. The results show the production of 1 MWh of electricity required 17.3 GJ ex , with the energy component of WELN (fossil and renewable energy sources) being the main contributor (99%). Furthermore, the renewable energy technologies depicted higher CDP of the water-energy-land nexus due to lower CExC and higher technology efficiency concerning non-renewables. The water and land resources contributed slightly to total exergy flow due to low quality in comparison with the energy component. Nevertheless, water availability and competition for land occupation constitute important issues for reducing environmental pressures and local conflicts. This study demonstrated the feasibility of exergy analysis for the evaluation of WELN efficiency through a single indicator, which could facilitate the comparison and integration with different processes and multi-scales.Energies 2020, 13, 42 2 of 20The nexus concept is an systematic approach for improvement of resource management, which can reach high degrees of complexity depending on scales and processes [9]. Consequently, different qualitative and quantitative methods for conceptualizing the relationship between natural resources have been proposed. Ringler et al.[10] developed a comprehensive qualitative framework for assessing the water, energy, land and food nexus (WELF), highlighting the relevance of land in the nexus. Nevertheless, the authors did not provide methods for the WELN-nexus evaluation. Siciliano et al. [11] have recently reported on the effect of large scale farm investment in the European Union on the water-energy-land-food (WELF) nexus, using indicators related to resource availability, scarcity and access. Although the authors describe several interlinkages between the resources, the quantitative evaluation of the nexus is not clearly highlighted. Karabulut et al. [12] studied the ecosystem-water-food-land-energy (WFLE) nexus by considering the ecosystem as the main issue within this nexus. The authors highlightsthe relationship between interventions and environmental impacts. In this case, the nexus evaluation is qualitative, and the matrix proposed can be adapted to different scales to investigate the trade-offs, synergies and antagonisms.Different approaches have been used to quantitatively evaluate the WELN. Silalertruska and Gheewala [13] carried out the evaluation of the WELN of sugarcane production in Thailand, using wat...

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“…Climate impacts related to wood pellet production and transatlantic shipment (e.g., from North America to Europe) are found to contribute as of approximately 50% and 30% of total climate impacts, respectively [37]. Other environmental impacts are reported, varying mostly due to technical aspects of the chosen bioenergy system (e.g., biomass production system, transportation, plant efficiency and technology), modelling assumptions, and methodological issues (e.g., methods to deal with the coproducts) [17][18][19]28].High-density energy wood plantations managed on short-rotation coppice (SRC) are seen as a promising source of biomass for different final uses, since they could help to mitigate some of the environmental issues arising from using forest wood resources for bioenergy [17,18,39,40]. It is mostly because SRC production systems present relatively higher yields than conventional forestry systems [39], and the possibility to be gown on marginal land to reverse grassland degradation, thereby being beneficial under both a climate change mitigation and land restoration perspective [16,41].To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies examined the environmental implications of alternative energy and transportation services in Europe form novel technologies and pioneering eucalyptus short-rotation coppice (SRC) systems in Brazil.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This research gap is particularly important because many global temperature stabilization scenarios aligning with a 2 or 1.5 • C target predict a large increase in the biomass supply to the international markets, especially from land-rich regions, such as Latin America and Africa, to high energy-demanding regions, such as Europe and East Asia [2,3,42,43]. However, most of the existing literature focuses on the climate impacts of SRC systems in North America, e.g., [17,44], or Europe, e.g.,[16,18,19,41], while a few focus on other regions, e.g., [27,40]. The environmental conditions and locations in which biomass resources grow considerably affect yields, management systems, and the product characteristics [40].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most of the existing literature focuses on the climate impacts of SRC systems in North America, e.g., [17,44], or Europe, e.g.,[16,18,19,41], while a few focus on other regions, e.g., [27,40]. The environmental conditions and locations in which biomass resources grow considerably affect yields, management systems, and the product characteristics [40]. Wood pellets from eucalyptus SRC produced in Brazil are a promising option because eucalyptus is the most important forest species for wood supply in the country [39], and plantation trials have demonstrated that it is possible to double productivity when eucalyptus is grown under SRC management [45].In this study, we apply the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify relevant environmental impacts of different bioenergy systems delivering energy and transportation services in Europe from imported wood pellets from pioneering eucalyptus SRC systems produced in Brazil, including production of heat, electricity, advanced liquid biofuels, and BECCS.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

2018

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The international market of woody biomass for bioenergy is expected to have a major role in future global scenarios aligning with a 2 or 1.5 • C target. However, the quantification of the environmental impacts of energy and transportation services from novel technologies and biomass production systems are yet to be extensively studied on a case-specific basis. We use a life cycle assessment approach to quantify environmental impacts of four bioenergy systems based on eucalyptus plantations established in abandoned pastureland in Brazil. The alternative bioenergy systems deliver energy and transportation services in Europe (cradle-to-gate analysis), including modern technologies for production of heat, electricity (with and without carbon capture and storage), and advanced liquid biofuels. We find that all bioenergy systems can achieve sizeable climate benefits, but in some cases at increased pressure in other impact categories. The most impacting activities are biomass transport stages, followed by eucalyptus stand establishment, and pellet production. An estimate of the potential large-scale bioenergy deployment of eucalyptus established in marginal areas in Brazil shows that up to 7 EJ of heat, 2.5 EJ of electricity, or 5 EJ of transportation biofuels per year can be delivered. This corresponds to a climate mitigation potential between 0.9% and 2.4% (0.29 and 0.83 GtCO 2 per year) of the global anthropogenic emissions in 2015, and between 5.7% and 16% of European emissions, depending on the specific bioenergy system considered. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the best environmental performance is achieved with on-site biomass storage, transportation of wood chips with trucks, pellets as energy carrier, and larger ship sizes. Our quantitative environmental analysis contributes to increased understanding of the potential benefits and tradeoffs of large-scale supply of biomass resources, and additional research can further improve resolution and integrate environmental impact indicators within a broader sustainability perspective, as indicated by the recently established sustainable development goals.Sustainability 2018, 10, 4068 2 of 18 combination with technologies for capture and storage of carbon emissions (BECCS) [3]. BECCS allows achieving negative CO 2 emissions, after energy and transportation services are used to replace fossil fuels. However, many studies alert to the fact that feasibility of large-scale deployment of BECCS has not yet been demonstrated, nor have its potential and risks been fully examined [1,[4][5][6].The international market of forest biomass in the form of wood pellets have increased dramatically in the recent years, with Europe being the main importer and North America the main exporter [7][8][9][10][11], mostly due the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) [12]. In this policy, the European countries aim to increase the share of renewable energy in their gross final energy consumption to 20% by 2020. Much has been written about the environmental issues of this increasing use of woo...

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Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of Eucalyptus globulus short rotation plantations in Chile

Cited by 57 publications

References 27 publications

Short Rotation Eucalypts: Opportunities for Biochar

Short Rotation Eucalypts: Opportunities for Biochar

Evaluation of the Water–Energy–Land Nexus (WELN) Using Exergy-Based Indicators: The Chilean Electricity System Case

Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Eucalyptus from Brazil for Energy and Transportation Services in Europe

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