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Biogas and Ethanol from Wheat Grain or Straw: Is There a Trade-Off between Climate Impact, Avoidance of iLUC and Production Cost?

Author

Listed:
  • Mikael Lantz

    (Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Lund 22100, Sweden)

  • Thomas Prade

    (Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp 23053, Sweden)

  • Serina Ahlgren

    (Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 75007, Sweden)

  • Lovisa Björnsson

    (Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Lund 22100, Sweden)

Abstract

Current EU policy calls for decreased emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by i.e., replacing fossil fuel in the transportation sector with sustainable biofuels. To avoid indirect land use change (iLUC), the EU at the same time strives to limit the use of crops and to increase the use of residues. In this study we compare climate impact and production cost for biogas and ethanol based on wheat grain and straw, respectively, in a Swedish context. The economic competitiveness for ethanol from straw vs. grain is evaluated based on the mandatory emission reduction for fossil vehicle fuels implemented since July 2018 in Sweden. The result of this study clearly shows that biogas and ethanol from straw have the lowest GHG emissions regardless of the calculation method used, although biofuels from grain also fulfill EU GHG reduction criteria even when suggested iLUC factors are included. It was also shown that the cost of producing straw-based biofuels was higher, thus there is a trade-off between climate impact and costs. The GHG reduction mandate adopted in Sweden partly compensates for this, but is not enough to make ethanol from straw competitive from an economic perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikael Lantz & Thomas Prade & Serina Ahlgren & Lovisa Björnsson, 2018. "Biogas and Ethanol from Wheat Grain or Straw: Is There a Trade-Off between Climate Impact, Avoidance of iLUC and Production Cost?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-31, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:10:p:2633-:d:173365
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Börjesson, Pål & Gustavsson, Leif, 1996. "Regional production and utilization of biomass in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 21(9), pages 747-764.
    2. Ekman, Anna & Wallberg, Ola & Joelsson, Elisabeth & Börjesson, Pål, 2013. "Possibilities for sustainable biorefineries based on agricultural residues – A case study of potential straw-based ethanol production in Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 299-308.
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    2. Nicoletta Gronchi & Lorenzo Favaro & Lorenzo Cagnin & Silvia Brojanigo & Valentino Pizzocchero & Marina Basaglia & Sergio Casella, 2019. "Novel Yeast Strains for the Efficient Saccharification and Fermentation of Starchy By-Products to Bioethanol," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Puricelli, S. & Cardellini, G. & Casadei, S. & Faedo, D. & van den Oever, A.E.M. & Grosso, M., 2021. "A review on biofuels for light-duty vehicles in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Piotr Gradziuk & Barbara Gradziuk & Anna Trocewicz & Błażej Jendrzejewski, 2020. "Potential of Straw for Energy Purposes in Poland—Forecasts Based on Trend and Causal Models," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-22, September.
    5. Sylvia Haus & Lovisa Björnsson & Pål Börjesson, 2020. "Lignocellulosic Ethanol in a Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Obligation System—A Case Study of Swedish Sawdust Based-Ethanol Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Alessandro Suardi & Sergio Saia & Walter Stefanoni & Carina Gunnarsson & Martin Sundberg & Luigi Pari, 2020. "Admixing Chaff with Straw Increased the Residues Collected without Compromising Machinery Efficiencies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Luis Armando Becerra-Pérez & Luis Rincón & John A. Posada-Duque, 2022. "Logistics and Costs of Agricultural Residues for Cellulosic Ethanol Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Yongzhong Jiang & Valerii Havrysh & Oleksandr Klymchuk & Vitalii Nitsenko & Tomas Balezentis & Dalia Streimikiene, 2019. "Utilization of Crop Residue for Power Generation: The Case of Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Johanna Olofsson, 2021. "Time-Dependent Climate Impact of Utilizing Residual Biomass for Biofuels—The Combined Influence of Modelling Choices and Climate Impact Metrics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Daraei, Mahsa & Avelin, Anders & Dotzauer, Erik & Thorin, Eva, 2019. "Evaluation of biofuel production integrated with existing CHP plants and the impacts on production planning of the system – A case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.

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