Title:
Future Bioenergy Pathways: the Case of Wheat Straw Pellets
Author(s):
Giuntoli, J., Boulamanti, A.K., Corrado, S., Agostini, A., Baxter, D.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
This study presents a life cycle analysis of the production of electricity using straw bales and straw pellets. Straw is the most abundant residue in Europe and its use for energy purposes is promoted at every level. However, while studies on the sustainability of the production of liquid biofuels from straw, no literature exists regarding the use of this material for the production of power and heat. Moreover, while straw is nowadays mostly used in bales and traded locally, the production of agri-pellets could create great opportunities to promote and develop international trade markets for biomass fuels. This study uses data from specific literature and emissions inventories in order to model the considered straw pathways. The plant modeled is a medium-scale straw-fired power plant of 50 MWth input capacity. The straw is supplied by trucks from a range of 70 km distance (for the base case). The results indicate that electricity from straw-fired power plants can guarantee high GHG savings in the range of 65 – 80%. The highest emissions are recorded for the case of straw from Spain due to the very small yields, while cultivation processes in UK and The Netherlands show high emissions due to the large level of fertilization used. Other environmental impacts are analyzed, such as acidification potential, eutrophication, respiratory effects and terrestricecotoxicity. The bioenergy system scores largely worse than the reference system for all these categories. Important to notice the impact that heavy metal emissions from biomass combustion could have on terrestricecotoxicity. Finally, the study investigated the "break-eve" distance at which the higher emissions due to the pellets production are paid off by the saved emissions in road transport. The results show that with the assumptions made, actually no reasonable break-even distance exist and even up to 800 km of feedstock transport it would still be better to use straw bales.
Keywords:
combustion, greenhouse gases (GHG), heavy metals, life cycle assessment (LCA), power generation, wheat straw
Topic:
Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability
Subtopic:
Sustainability assessment and criteria
Event:
20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
5DO.4.2
Pages:
2080 - 2091
ISBN:
978-88-89407-54-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/20thEUBCE2012-5DO.4.2
Price:
FREE
