How to account for CO2 emissions from biomass in an LCA

Rabl, Ari; Benoist, Anthony; Dron, Dominique; Peuportier, Bruno; Spadaro, Joseph V.; Zoughaib, Assaad

doi:10.1065/lca2007.06.347

Cited by 78 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In the literature, most of the studies of biomass to energy ignore the carbon flux within FBR to energy environmental analysis (Rabl et al, 2007), presuming that 'CO 2 in equals CO 2 out', so using a net flux of zero. Others, such as EcoInvent (2003), use the approach of offsetting biomass-combustion CO 2 emissions with a sequestration credit that is nearly equal to the emission from the combustion process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of forest biomass residues to the energy supply chain on regional air quality

Rafael

Tarelho

Monteiro

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of forest biomass residues to the energy supply chain on regional air quality

Rafael

Tarelho

Monteiro

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Carbon footprints of the model orchard systems were expressed per hectare. Carbon acquisition and release from biomass were not assumed in a steadystate (Steady-state assumes that acquisition of CO 2 by plant biomass balances the release of CO 2 to the atmosphere) because not all the biomass is mineralized into CO 2 e in the same year; a part of the biomass is mineralized much more slowly over a period of years (Audsley, 1997;Rabl et al, 2007). Hence, carbon storage and release is accounted from the orchard plant (wood, stem, leaves, and fine roots) within a production year.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Carbon Footprints of Organic Orchard Production Systems to Address Carbon Trading: An Approach Based on Life Cycle Assessment

Page¹,

Kelly²,

Minor³

et al. 2011

horts

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Carbon footprint is widely accepted as an indicator of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Modeling carbon footprints based on life cycle assessment is applied as a way to evaluate the net contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere from orchard production systems over one growing year. This net balance approach considers the sources and sinks of carbon and therefore provides a better reflection of an orchard system's net contribution to climate change. Carbon footprinting of organic kiwifruit and apple production systems in New Zealand indicated that the studied systems had a net sequestration from 2.4 to 5 t of CO2e/ha/year and therefore can be potentially considered as carbon sinks under the Kyoto Protocol. This finding implies that the organic kiwifruit and apple orchardist can gain a monetary benefit by earning carbon credits. However, further research to improve and validate this approach is essential before it can be practically used for decision-making at the orchard level and for policymaking at the national level.

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“…Because CO 2 emissions from biological systems are considered to rapidly cycle, these biogenic emissions are usually considered to have no net global warming effect [26,[45][46][47][48]. Due to a low sensitivity of the analyzer to CO 2 , the net CO 2 fluxes measured (19±3.7 g CO 2 kg −1 wet feedstock 3 ) likely present an underestimation of this flux.…”

Section: Greenhouse Gas Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse gas emissions from windrow composting of organic wastes: Patterns and emissions factors

Vergara

Silver

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Direct emissions from commercial-scale composting are uncertain. We used micrometeorological methods to continuously measure greenhouse gas (CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O) emissions from full composting of green waste and manure. We measured oxygen (O 2 ), moisture, and temperature continuously inside the composting pile, and analyzed chemical and physical characteristics of the feedstock weekly as potential drivers of emissions. Temperature, moisture, and O 2 all varied significantly by week. Feedstock porosity, C:N, and potential N mineralization all declined significantly over time. Potential net nitrification remained near zero throughout. CH 4 and CO 2 fluxes, indicators of feedstock lability, were variable, and most emissions (75% and 50% respectively) occurred during the first three weeks of composting. Total CH 4 emitted was 1.7±0.32 g CH 4 kg −1 feedstock, near the median literature value using different approaches (1.4 g CH 4 kg −1 ). N 2 O concentrations remained below the instrument detection. Oxygen, moisture and temperature exhibited threshold effects on CH 4 emissions. Net lifecycle emissions were negative (−690 g CO 2 -e kg −1 ), however, after considering avoided emissions and sinks. Managing composting piles to minimize methanogenesis-by maintaining sufficient O 2 concentrations, and focusing on the first three weeks-could reduce emissions, contributing to the climate change mitigation benefit of composting.

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How to account for CO2 emissions from biomass in an LCA

Cited by 78 publications

References 14 publications

Impact of forest biomass residues to the energy supply chain on regional air quality

Impact of forest biomass residues to the energy supply chain on regional air quality

Modeling Carbon Footprints of Organic Orchard Production Systems to Address Carbon Trading: An Approach Based on Life Cycle Assessment

Greenhouse gas emissions from windrow composting of organic wastes: Patterns and emissions factors

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