IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v183y2016icp170-181.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life cycle assessment of energy consumption and environmental emissions for cornstalk-based ethyl levulinate

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Zhiwei
  • Li, Zaifeng
  • Lei, Tingzhou
  • Yang, Miao
  • Qi, Tian
  • Lin, Lu
  • Xin, Xiaofei
  • Ajayebi, Atta
  • Yang, Yantao
  • He, Xiaofeng
  • Yan, Xiaoyu

Abstract

This study analysed the sustainability of fuel-ethyl levulinate (EL) production along with furfural, as a by-product, from cornstalk in China. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using the SimaPro software to evaluate the energy consumption (EC), greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria emissions, from cornstalk growth to EL utilisation. The total life cycle EC was found to be 4.54MJ/MJ EL, of which 94.7% was biomass energy. EC in the EL production stage was the highest, accounting for 96.8% of total EC. Fossil EC in this stage was estimated to be 0.095MJ/MJ, which also represents the highest fossil EC throughout the life cycle (39.5% of the total). The ratio of biomass to fossil EC over the life cycle was 17.9, indicating good utilisation of renewable energy in cornstalk-based EL production. The net life cycle GHG emissions were 96.6g CO2-eq/MJ. The EL production stage demonstrated the highest GHG emissions, representing 53.4% of the total positive amount. Criteria emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulates ⩽10μm (PM10) showed negative values, of −3.15 and −0.72g/MJ, respectively. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions showed positive values of 0.33 and 0.28g/MJ, respectively, mainly arising from the EL production stage. According to the sensitivity analysis, increasing or removing the cornstalk revenue in the LCA leads to an increase or decrease in the EC and environmental emissions while burning cornstalk directly in the field results in large increases in emissions of NMVOC, CO, NOx and PM10 but decreases in fossil EC, and SO2 and GHG emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Zhiwei & Li, Zaifeng & Lei, Tingzhou & Yang, Miao & Qi, Tian & Lin, Lu & Xin, Xiaofei & Ajayebi, Atta & Yang, Yantao & He, Xiaofeng & Yan, Xiaoyu, 2016. "Life cycle assessment of energy consumption and environmental emissions for cornstalk-based ethyl levulinate," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 170-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:183:y:2016:i:c:p:170-181
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.187
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191631296X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.187?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xunmin Ou & Xiaoyu Yan & Xu Zhang & Xiliang Zhang, 2013. "Life-Cycle Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis for Bio-Liquid Jet Fuel from Open Pond-Based Micro-Algae under China Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-27, September.
    2. Yu, Suiran & Tao, Jing, 2009. "Economic, energy and environmental evaluations of biomass-based fuel ethanol projects based on life cycle assessment and simulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 178-188, November.
    3. Malça, João & Coelho, António & Freire, Fausto, 2014. "Environmental life-cycle assessment of rapeseed-based biodiesel: Alternative cultivation systems and locations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 837-844.
    4. Lei, Tingzhou & Wang, Zhiwei & Chang, Xia & Lin, Lu & Yan, Xiaoyu & Sun, Yincong & Shi, Xinguang & He, Xiaofeng & Zhu, Jinling, 2016. "Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine running on optimized ethyl levulinate–biodiesel–diesel blends," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 29-40.
    5. Khatiwada, Dilip & Venkata, Bharadwaj K. & Silveira, Semida & Johnson, Francis X., 2016. "Energy and GHG balances of ethanol production from cane molasses in Indonesia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 756-768.
    6. Herreros, J.M. & Jones, A. & Sukjit, E. & Tsolakis, A., 2014. "Blending lignin-derived oxygenate in enhanced multi-component diesel fuel for improved emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 58-65.
    7. Hu, Zhiyuan & Tan, Piqiang & Yan, Xiaoyu & Lou, Diming, 2008. "Life cycle energy, environment and economic assessment of soybean-based biodiesel as an alternative automotive fuel in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1654-1658.
    8. Hu, Jianjun & Lei, Tingzhou & Wang, Zhiwei & Yan, Xiaoyu & Shi, Xinguang & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhang, Quanguo, 2014. "Economic, environmental and social assessment of briquette fuel from agricultural residues in China – A study on flat die briquetting using corn stalk," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 557-566.
    9. Patel, Madhumita & Kumar, Amit, 2016. "Production of renewable diesel through the hydroprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass-derived bio-oil: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1293-1307.
    10. Ou, Xunmin & Xiaoyu, Yan & Zhang, Xiliang, 2011. "Life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for electricity generation and supply in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 289-297, January.
    11. Wang, Zhiwei & Lei, Tingzhou & Chang, Xia & Shi, Xinguang & Xiao, Ju & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhu, Jinling & Yang, Shuhua, 2015. "Optimization of a biomass briquette fuel system based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process: A study using cornstalks in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 523-532.
    12. Kambo, Harpreet Singh & Dutta, Animesh, 2014. "Strength, storage, and combustion characteristics of densified lignocellulosic biomass produced via torrefaction and hydrothermal carbonization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 182-191.
    13. Daylan, B. & Ciliz, N., 2016. "Life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle costing analysis of lignocellulosic bioethanol as an alternative transportation fuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 578-587.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kim, Juyeon & Han, Jeehoon, 2021. "Bio-based process for the catalytic production of ethyl levulinate from cellulose," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    2. Kim, Juyeon & Byun, Jaewon & Han, Jeehoon, 2022. "Process integration and economics of gamma-valerolactone using a cellulose-derived ethyl levulinate intermediate and ethanol solvent," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PA).
    3. Quanguo Zhang & Youzhou Jiao & Chao He & Roger Ruan & Jianjun Hu & Jingzheng Ren & Sara Toniolo & Danping Jiang & Chaoyang Lu & Yameng Li & Yi Man & Huan Zhang & Zhiping Zhang & Chenxi Xia & Yi Wang &, 2024. "Biological fermentation pilot-scale systems and evaluation for commercial viability towards sustainable biohydrogen production," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. di Bitonto, Luigi & Locaputo, Vito & D'Ambrosio, Valeria & Pastore, Carlo, 2020. "Direct Lewis-Brønsted acid ethanolysis of sewage sludge for production of liquid fuels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Changbo & Zhang, Lixiao & Chang, Yuan & Pang, Mingyue, 2021. "Energy return on investment (EROI) of biomass conversion systems in China: Meta-analysis focused on system boundary unification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Wang, Zhiwei & Lei, Tingzhou & Yang, Miao & Li, Zaifeng & Qi, Tian & Xin, Xiaofei & He, Xiaofeng & Ajayebi, Atta & Yan, Xiaoyu, 2017. "Life cycle environmental impacts of cornstalk briquette fuel in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 83-94.
    3. Liu, Huacai & Huang, Yanqin & Yuan, Hongyou & Yin, Xiuli & Wu, Chuangzhi, 2018. "Life cycle assessment of biofuels in China: Status and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 301-322.
    4. Promdee, Kittiphop & Chanvidhwatanakit, Jirawat & Satitkune, Somruedee & Boonmee, Chakkrich & Kawichai, Thitipong & Jarernprasert, Sittipong & Vitidsant, Tharapong, 2017. "Characterization of carbon materials and differences from activated carbon particle (ACP) and coal briquettes product (CBP) derived from coconut shell via rotary kiln," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1175-1186.
    5. Li, Junjie & Cheng, Wanjing, 2020. "Comparison of life-cycle energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic costs of coal to ethanol and bioethanol," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    6. Liu, Beibei & Wang, Feng & Zhang, Bing & Bi, Jun, 2013. "Energy balance and GHG emissions of cassava-based fuel ethanol using different planting modes in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 210-220.
    7. Li, Xin & Ou, Xunmin & Zhang, Xu & Zhang, Qian & Zhang, Xiliang, 2013. "Life-cycle fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission intensity of dominant secondary energy pathways of China in 2010," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 15-23.
    8. Dong, Jun & Chi, Yong & Zou, Daoan & Fu, Chao & Huang, Qunxing & Ni, Mingjiang, 2014. "Energy–environment–economy assessment of waste management systems from a life cycle perspective: Model development and case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 400-408.
    9. Chang, Ting-Huan & Su, Hsin-Mei, 2010. "The substitutive effect of biofuels on fossil fuels in the lower and higher crude oil price periods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 2807-2813.
    10. Hu, Jianjun & Lei, Tingzhou & Wang, Zhiwei & Yan, Xiaoyu & Shi, Xinguang & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhang, Quanguo, 2014. "Economic, environmental and social assessment of briquette fuel from agricultural residues in China – A study on flat die briquetting using corn stalk," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 557-566.
    11. Shen-Tsu Wang, 2016. "Integrating grey sequencing with the genetic algorithm--immune algorithm to optimise touch panel cover glass polishing process parameter design," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(16), pages 4882-4893, August.
    12. Rubio Rodríguez, M.A. & Ruyck, J. De & Díaz, P. Roque & Verma, V.K. & Bram, S., 2011. "An LCA based indicator for evaluation of alternative energy routes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 630-635, March.
    13. Fangyi Li & Zhaoyang Ye & Xilin Xiao & Dawei Ma, 2019. "Environmental Benefits of Stock Evolution of Coal-Fired Power Generators in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Wang, Zhiwei & Lei, Tingzhou & Chang, Xia & Shi, Xinguang & Xiao, Ju & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhu, Jinling & Yang, Shuhua, 2015. "Optimization of a biomass briquette fuel system based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process: A study using cornstalks in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 523-532.
    15. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    16. Song, Xiaobing & Zhang, Shouyu & Wu, Yuanmo & Cao, Zhongyao, 2020. "Investigation on the properties of the bio-briquette fuel prepared from hydrothermal pretreated cotton stalk and wood sawdust," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 184-191.
    17. Chai, Li & Saffron, Christopher M., 2016. "Comparing pelletization and torrefaction depots: Optimization of depot capacity and biomass moisture to determine the minimum production cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 387-395.
    18. Qi, Jianhui & Zhao, Jianli & Xu, Yang & Wang, Yongjia & Han, Kuihua, 2018. "Segmented heating carbonization of biomass: Yields, property and estimation of heating value of chars," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 301-311.
    19. Winden, Matthew & Cruze, Nathan & Haab, Tim & Bakshi, Bhavik, 2015. "Monetized value of the environmental, health and resource externalities of soy biodiesel," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 18-24.
    20. Sofia Dahlgren & Jonas Ammenberg, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part II—Applying a Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-30, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:183:y:2016:i:c:p:170-181. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.