Global Warming Impact of E85 Fuel Derived from Forest Biomass: A Case Study from Southern USA
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Global Warming Impact of E85 Fuel Derived from Forest Biomass: A Case Study from Southern USA Puneet Dwivedi & Robert Bailis & Janaki Alavalapati & Tyler Nesbit
Published online: 29 January 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2012
Abstract This study estimates global warming impact (GWI) of E85 fuel needed to run a small passenger car for its average lifetime, i.e., 241,402 km (150,000 miles). The ethanol needed for the production of E85 fuel was derived from an intensively managed slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantation in the southern USA. We assumed that only pulpwood and harvesting residues obtained at the time of harvesting were used for ethanol production. A suitable system boundary was defined and a detailed life-cycle assessment was undertaken to determine GWI of all the steps present within the system boundary. Results indicate that the overall GWI of the E85 fuel was about 76% less than an equivalent amount of gasoline needed to run a small passenger car for its average lifetime. Within the system boundary, the GWI of the ethanol production stage was highest followed by the stage of E85 fuel consumption in a small passenger car. A need exists to evaluate impacts of utilizing forest biomass for E85 fuel production on forest ecology and traditional forest biomass-based industries.
P. Dwivedi (*) School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University, Room # 125 Kroon Hall 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA e-mail: [email protected] R. Bailis School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA J. Alavalapati The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA T. Nesbit The Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Keywords Cellulosic ethanol . E85 fuel . Forest biomass . Faustmann analysis . Global warming impact (GWI) . Lifecycle assessment . Southern USA
Introduction Growing consumption of petroleum products and declining domestic crude oil production is increasing dependency of the USA on foreign crude oil [1–3]. This dependency increases vulnerability of the country towards price fluctuations in international energy markets. Additionally, use of various petroleum products is responsile for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which contribute to global warming [4]. For instance, we estimated that 1.23 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2, a prominent GHG) were emitted into the atmosphere due to the domestic consumption of gasoline in 2010 alone [5]. Alarmed by the existing situation, policy makers have launched several initiatives to reduce country’s dependence on foreign crude oil and mitigate GHG emissions. Among all such initiatives, promotion of ethanol production from various available biomass sources is an important one. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 proposed production of at least 136.27 billion liters of renewable fuel by 2022 of which 79.49 billion liters is required in the form of advanced biofuels [6]. It is also mentioned th
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