6/27/2017 Fuelingthefuture:PotentialenvironmentalsustainabilitybenefitsinfulllifecycleassessmentofsecondgenerationbiofuelsScienceDaily

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Fuelingthefuture
Potentialenvironmentalsustainabilitybenefitsinfulllifecycleassessmentofsecondgenerationbiofuels

Date: May19,2017

Source: UniversityofPittsburgh

Summary: Newresearchinvestigatedthefulllifecycleimpactofonepromising'secondgenerationbiofuel'producedfromshort
rotationoak.Thestudyfoundthatsecondgenerationbiofuelsmadefrommanagedtreesandperennialgrassesmay
provideasustainablefuelresource.

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FULLSTORY

Thisisaschematicshowingthestagesmodeledinthebiomasstofuellifecycleassessment.ThisimagefirstappearedintheRoyal
SocietyofChemistryjournalEnergy&EnvironmentalScience,Issue5,2017.

Credit:VikasKhanna

Numerousstudieshaveraisedcriticalconcernsaboutthepromiseofcornethanol'sabilitytomitigate
climatechangeandreducedependenceonfossilfuels.Someofthestudieshavesuggestedthatafterafull
lifecycleassessmentmeaningananalysisofenvironmentalimpactthroughoutallstagesofaproduct's
lifebiofuelslikecornethanolmaynotofferanygreenhousegasemissionsreductionsrelativeto
petroleumfuels.

TheRoyalSocietyofChemistryjournalEnergy&EnvironmentalSciencerecentlypublishedresearchbyateamfromtheUniversityof
PittsburghandtheUniversityofOklahomainvestigatingthefulllifecycleimpactofonepromising"secondgenerationbiofuel"produced
fromshortrotationoak.Thestudyfoundthatsecondgenerationbiofuelsmadefrommanagedtreesandperennialgrassesmay
provideasustainablefuelresource.

"Multistagetorrefactionandinsitucatalyticupgradingtohydrocarbonbiofuels:analysisoflifecycleenergyuseandgreenhousegas
emissions"(DOI:10.1039/C7EE00682A)tookanovelapproachtotheproductionofsecondgenerationbiofuelwhilealso
comprehensivelyaccountingforallofthestepsinvolvedinthefullsupplychain.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170519124021.htm 1/4
6/27/2017 Fuelingthefuture:PotentialenvironmentalsustainabilitybenefitsinfulllifecycleassessmentofsecondgenerationbiofuelsScienceDaily

"Cornethanolenvironmentalimpactsweren'treallystudieduntilafteritscommercialization,"explainedVikasKhanna,assistant
professorofcivilandenvironmentalengineeringattheUniversityofPittsburghandcorrespondingauthorofthestudy."Thegreatthing
aboutthisprojectisitaddressesfulllifecyclesustainabilityquestionsofnewfuelsourcesbeforetheycomeuplaterdowntheroad."

In2007,theUnitedNationscalledforafiveyearmoratoriumonfoodbased(orfirstgeneration)biofuelsbecauseofconcernsthatthey
wouldconsumefarmlandandleadtoworldwidefoodshortage.Dr.Khannaandhisteam'sstudyusedwoodfromoaktrees,asthey
canbeharvestedyearroundandreducetheneedforlargescalestorageinfrastructure.

"Secondgenerationbiofuelsdifferfromfirstgenerationbiofuelsbecausetheydon'tcomedirectlyfromfoodcropslikecornandsoy,"
saidDr.Khanna."Theyincludewoodycrops,perennialgrasses,agriculturalandforestresidues,andindustrialwastes."

AsignificantmetricfordeterminingtheefficacyoffuelistheEnergyReturnonInvestment(EROI)ratio.TheEROIofpetroleumcrude
productionremainshighatabout11:1,meaninganinvestmentofoneunitofenergywillyield11unitsofenergy.However,theEROI
hasbeensteadilydecreasingsince1986andwillcontinuetoworsenasfossilfuelsbecomemorescarceanddifficulttoaccess.When
researchersstudypotentiallypromisingenergysources,theylookforaratiogreaterthan1:1.Cornderivedethanol,forexample,hasa
EROIof1.3:1.ThestudyfoundthemedianEROIformultistagesecondgenerationbiofuelsystemsrangesfrom1.32:1to3.76:1.

TheEnergyIndependenceandSecurityActof2007statesthatcellulosicbiofuels,liketheonesusedinthestudy,mustoutperformthe
greenhousegasemissionsoffossilfuelsbyreducingrelativeemissionsby60percenttoreceiveeconomicincentivesfromthe
government.Thestudysurpassedminimumrequirementsandshowedan80percentreductioningreenhousegasemissionsrelative
tobaselinepetroleumdiesel.Additionally,therewasa40percentreductioninhydrogenconsumptionrelativetoasinglestagepyrolysis
system.

"Pyrolysisistheprocessofheatingbiomasstohightemperaturesintheabsenceofoxygentoandcreatebiofuel,"saidDr.Khanna."If
it'sdonequickly,inonestage,alotofcarbonwillbelost.Ourresearchshowedthatamultistage,lowertemperaturesystemofpyrolysis
canincreasethecarbonchainlength,createmoreliquidfuelandimprovetheenergyoutputoftheentireprocess."

StorySource:

MaterialsprovidedbyUniversityofPittsburgh.Note:Contentmaybeeditedforstyleandlength.

JournalReference:

1. GeorgeG.Zaimes,AndrewW.Beck,RajivR.Janupala,DanielE.Resasco,StevenP.Crossley,LanceL.Lobban,VikasKhanna.
Multistagetorrefactionandinsitucatalyticupgradingtohydrocarbonbiofuels:analysisoflifecycleenergyuseand
greenhousegasemissions.EnergyEnviron.Sci.,201710(5):1034DOI:10.1039/C7EE00682A

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UniversityofPittsburgh."Fuelingthefuture:Potentialenvironmentalsustainabilitybenefitsinfulllifecycleassessmentofsecond
generationbiofuels."ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,19May2017.<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170519124021.htm>.

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