The life cycle of biofuelsthe nitrogen problem John Sheehan Vice - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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The life cycle of biofuelsthe nitrogen problem John Sheehan Vice - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jul 06, 2023 266 likes •708 views

The life cycle of biofuelsthe nitrogen problem John Sheehan Vice President Strategy & Sustainable Development LiveFuels TM Inc. April 10 2008 Presented at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board 1 Defining

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

The life cycle of biofuels—the nitrogen problem

John Sheehan Vice President Strategy & Sustainable Development LiveFuelsTM Inc. April 10 2008 Presented at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

The idea of sustainability

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“Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations.”

UN Commission (1987)

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

The idea of sustainability

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“Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations.”

UN Commission (1987)

Kumbaya

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

The idea of sustainability

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“The common aim must be to expand resources and improve quality of life for as many people as heedless population growth forces upon Earth, and do it with minimal prosthetic dependence. That, in essence, is the ethic of sustainable development.” E.O. Wilson, Consilience

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Expanding resources The infamous net energy balance

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Expanding resources Getting away from petroleum Example Ethanol and fossil energy use

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Expanding resources Biodiesel and fossil energy use

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Expanding resources Biofuels and petroleum

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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The Earth Ethanol and Greenhouse Gases

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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The Earth Biodiesel and Greenhouse Gases

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Land resources

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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“EU did not foresee the problems raised by its policy to get 10% of Europe's road fuels from plants.” BBC News January 2008

Land resources

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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The effect of land use change on greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Water resources

“The Future Is Drying Up” Magazine

October 2007

Can we afford 5 gallons of water per gallon

  • f biofuels?
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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Nitrogen and biofuels

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Tackling the sustainability of biofuels

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Life cycle analysis A directional system-wide perspective

Acre of Land Farmed One Mile Traveled Farming, Alternative

  • Continuous Corn
  • No Till
  • Stover Removal

Transport Conversion Distribution End-Use Crude Oil Extraction Crude Oil Transport Gasoline Production Distribution End-Use

(-) (-)

(+)

Electricity

(-)

Farming, Current

  • Corn/Soybean
  • Current Till Mix
  • No Stover Removal
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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Avoiding the average

Modeling Iowa

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Is bioethanol from corn stover sustainable? Figure 25: Distribution of soil types in Iowa Used in Soil Carbon Modeling For each county, area-weighted frequency distributions of soil types were determined based on the relative proportion of soil types. Identification of soil types yielded six to ten soil types per county.

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Integrating diverse models

✓ TEAM for LCA ✓ Century for soil ✓ RUSL for Erosion ✓ AspenPLUS for

process design

✓ ORIBUS for

biomass transport

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Agroecosystem model

The simple version of the SOM submodel in Century

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Nutrient management

Changes in Nutrient Use Due to Modeled Options

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Stover to ethanol model

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Stover to ethanol model

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Carbon recycle vs sequester

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Increased N2O, CH4

View from the car

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Sources of N2O, CH4

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Net GHGs

Even with higher N2O and CH4, GHGs are lower

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Sources of GHGs

Accounting for soil effects increases farm GHGs by 50%

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Temporal effect

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total greenhouse gases in our combined farm/travel system.

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Recycle vs sequester

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

NOx emissions

The perspective

  • f the car

shows dramatic problems with NOx

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Sources of NOx

86% of farm emissions are from the soil

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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E.O. Wilson, Consilience

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

“Thousands in Mexico City Protest Rising Food Prices” January 2007

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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Quality of life The tortilla effect

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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Quality of life The brewery effect?

“Biofuel brews up higher German beer prices” Associated Press, May 2007 “Hops shortage coming to a head ”Rocky Mountain News, January 2008

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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Quality of life Developing countries’ developing demand

The Food Chain: A Global Need for Grain That Farms Can't Fill March 2008 Nigerian appetite for grain

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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“We need an LCA process that addresses all sustainability issues and is accepted worldwide”

Paraphrased from talk by Dean Simeroth, CARB, commenting on hurdles facing implementation of a low carbon fuel standard in California

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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LCA as a framework for dialogue

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Ethics and the sustainability of biofuels

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

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Algae’s renaissance

Two years ago, my phone at NREL began ringing off the hook with inquiries from investors Our close-out report on algae is now the #1 download on NREL’s website

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www.nrel.gov

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Algae Renaissance February 27, 2008

Algae—the other biomass

Macroalgae Microalgae Emergents

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

Algae—the other biomass

✓ A High-Risk, High-Benefit

Opportunity

  • Prehistoric plants that

grow where few other plants could survive

  • Hot climes
  • Salt water

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Defining Sustainable Biofuels

NREL’s production concept was a new kind of farming

✓ The open ponds ✓ Recycle CO2

from power plants

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