The contribution of biomass and waste resources to decarbonizing transportation and related energy and environmental effects

Oke, Doris; Dunn, Jennifer B.; Hawkins, Troy R.

doi:10.1039/d1se01742j

Cited by 21 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In comparison, FP/CFP pathways based on wood and other cellulosic feedstocks have higher scale-up potential than HTL pathways assuming the system for collection and delivery of wood and wood residues could be economically scaled. For example, in the US, while 6570 t of wood was annually available at $40 t –1 , only 443 t of wastewater sludge and 909 t of manure were available at the same price. , The techno-economic analysis of these pathways, concurrently performed with this study, was conducted for a large biorefinery, and the feedstock prices were also assumed for a scaled-up infrastructure. However, there is a need to revisit the assumptions used in this study based on scaled-up operations in practice.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Life-Cycle Emissions of Biofuels for Marine Applications: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Wet Wastes, Pyrolysis of Wood, Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis of Landfill Gas, and Solvolysis of Wood

Masum,

Zaimes,

Tan

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Recent restrictions on marine fuel sulfur content and a heightened regulatory focus on maritime decarbonization are driving the deployment of low-carbon and low-sulfur alternative fuels for maritime transport. In this study, we quantified the lifecycle greenhouse gas and sulfur oxide emissions of several novel marine biofuel candidates and benchmarked the results against the emissions reduction targets set by the International Maritime Organization. A total of 11 biofuel pathways via four conversion processes are considered, including (1) biocrudes derived from hydrothermal liquefaction of wastewater sludge and manure, (2) bio-oils from catalytic fast pyrolysis of woody biomass, (3) diesel via Fischer−Tropsch synthesis of landfill gas, and (4) lignin ethanol oil from reductive catalytic fractionation of poplar. Our analysis reveals that marine biofuels' life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions range from −60 to 56 gCO 2 e MJ −1 , representing a 41−163% reduction compared with conventional low-sulfur fuel oil, thus demonstrating a considerable potential for decarbonizing the maritime sector. Due to the net-negative carbon emissions from their life cycles, all waste-based pathways showed over 100% greenhouse gas reduction potential with respect to low-sulfur fuel oil. However, while most biofuel feedstocks have a naturally occurring low-sulfur content, the waste feedstocks considered here have higher sulfur content, requiring hydrotreating prior to use as a marine fuel. Combining the break-even price estimates from a published techno-economic analysis, which was performed concurrently with this study, the marginal greenhouse gas abatement cost was estimated to range from −$120 to $370 tCO 2 e −1 across the pathways considered. Lower marginal greenhouse gas abatement costs were associated with waste-based pathways, while higher marginal greenhouse gas abatement costs were associated with the other biomass-based pathways. Except for lignin ethanol oil, all candidates show the potential to be competitive with a carbon credit of $200 tCO 2 e −1 in 2016 dollars, which is within the range of prices recently received in connection with California's low-carbon fuel standard.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Life-Cycle Emissions of Biofuels for Marine Applications: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Wet Wastes, Pyrolysis of Wood, Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis of Landfill Gas, and Solvolysis of Wood

Masum,

Zaimes,

Tan

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Based on biomass availability a model based allocation is performed using BioeconomyAGE model, such that the chosen biofuel pathways meet the SAF targets incrementally to 2050. 23 The SAF production pathways when co-produce other biofuels, specifically renewable diesel and renewable gasoline, they are allocated for use in other economic sectors, proportionally displacing conventional fuel use in the U.S. economy. The biofuel based decarbonization scenarios help offsetting conventional fossil fuel use across the economic sectors, constrained by its availability and infrastructure compatibility.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A deep decarbonization framework for the United States economy – a sector, sub-sector, and end-use based approach

Kar,

Hawkins,

Zaimes

et al. 2024

Sustainable Energy Fuels

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“…There is an opportunity for LFG to be used to produce valuable renewable liquid fuels that are in demand both within the waste industry and the transportation fuels market. 7 The trucks used for hauling wastes in the U.S. consume nearly one billion gallons of diesel fuel annually, with the average truck using 6000 gallons per year which makes up 1.1% of the total U.S. diesel consumption. 8 There exist in practice several options for management of LFG, these include flaring of LFG, conversion of LFG to electricity, as well as conversion of LFG to compressed RNG.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most landfills either flare the LFG, to meet emission level requirements, or combust LFG in generators to produce electricity. There is an opportunity for LFG to be used to produce valuable renewable liquid fuels that are in demand both within the waste industry and the transportation fuels market . The trucks used for hauling wastes in the U.S. consume nearly one billion gallons of diesel fuel annually, with the average truck using 6000 gallons per year which makes up 1.1% of the total U.S. diesel consumption …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Analysis of Fischer–Tropsch Diesel Produced by Tri-Reforming and Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (TriFTS) of Landfill Gas

Poddar,

Zaimes,

Kar

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Renewable liquid fuels production from landfill waste provides a promising alternative to conventional carbon-intensive waste management methods and has the potential to contribute to the transition toward low-carbon fuel pathways. In this work, we investigated the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of producing Fischer–Tropsch diesel from landfill gas (LFG) using the TriFTS catalytic conversion process and compared it to fossil-based petroleum diesel. A life cycle-based comparison was made between TriFTS diesel and other LFG waste management pathways, LFG-to-Electricity and LFG-to-Compressed renewable natural gas (RNG), on a per kilogram of feedstock basis as well as on a per MJ of energy basis, which also included the LFG-to-Direct Combustion pathway. The study considered flaring of LFG as the common underlying counterfactual scenario for all of the waste-to-energy product pathways. We estimated the life cycle GHG emissions for TriFTS diesel to be −36.4 carbon dioxide equivalent (grams CO2e)/MJ which is significantly lower than its fossil fuel counterpart which was estimated to be 90.5 g CO2e/MJ on a cradle-to-grave basis. The life cycle emission results from both perspectives (per kg feedstock and per MJ energy output) show that TriFTS diesel is a viable alternative energy pathway from LFG when compared to other pathways, primarily due to the main product being a renewable fuel that can serve as a drop-in fuel for diesel-based uses, within both the waste industry as well as the larger market. Further sensitivity analysis was performed based on the production of TriFTS diesel with the counterfactual waste management scenario of LFG-to-Flaring as well as the alternative LFG-to-Electricity waste management pathway. The sensitivity of the carbon intensity for TriFTS diesel to flaring efficiency and the carbon intensity of the electricity grid were also investigated. The study highlights the potential for the TriFTS conversion process technology to contribute to the waste industry’s closed loop and decarbonization initiatives and to provide low carbon fuel for transportation.

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The contribution of biomass and waste resources to decarbonizing transportation and related energy and environmental effects

Abstract: Analyzed the extent to which biomass can contribute to the decarbonization of transportation as electrification of the light-duty fleet increases.

Cited by 21 publications

References 31 publications

Comparing Life-Cycle Emissions of Biofuels for Marine Applications: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Wet Wastes, Pyrolysis of Wood, Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis of Landfill Gas, and Solvolysis of Wood

Comparing Life-Cycle Emissions of Biofuels for Marine Applications: Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Wet Wastes, Pyrolysis of Wood, Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis of Landfill Gas, and Solvolysis of Wood

A deep decarbonization framework for the United States economy – a sector, sub-sector, and end-use based approach

Life Cycle Analysis of Fischer–Tropsch Diesel Produced by Tri-Reforming and Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (TriFTS) of Landfill Gas

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