Life cycle assessment of energy crop production with special attention to the establishment of regional biomass utilisation systems

Energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with small-scale farmer sugarcane cropping systems and subsequent bioethanol production in Japan

“…2 and 3). In the Southwest Islands, Uchida et al [18] and Uchida and Hayashi [19] have reported that the use of high yielding varieties in sugarcane cultivation could contribute to the reduction in fossil fuel energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of almost 50%, a rather optimistic result compared with the present study. Their assumption that ethanol yield per Mg of cane stalks was higher for high yielding varieties than for conventional sugar cultivars is questionable at least in the context of the Southwest Islands, as high yielding varieties developed in the area so far such as KY01-2044 generally contain less sugar than conventional sugar cultivars [28,29] (Section 2.2.1).…”

“…In the present study, fossil fuel energy inputs and the associated greenhouse gas emissions were assessed in the current and an alternative system of sugarcane production in fields of the Tanegashima Island, one of the major sugarcane producing areas in the Southwest Islands. An attempt was made to assess the production of ethanol for sugarcane in mills/refineries by making comparisons with the study conducted by Uchida et al [18,19] on comparative LCA of improved and conventional cultivation practices for energy crops in Japan. This study provides specific evidence on which stakeholders can base decisions affecting the economic and environmentally sustainable production of bioethanol from sugarcane in the Southwest Islands of Japan, and generic information of significance to small-scale sugarcane production in other countries.…”