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Applying life-cycle assessment to low carbon fuel standards--How allocation choices influence carbon intensity for renewable transportation fuels

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  • Kaufman, Andrew S.
  • Meier, Paul J.
  • Sinistore, Julie C.
  • Reinemann, Douglas J.

Abstract

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires life-cycle assessment (LCA) for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from expanded U.S. biofuel production. To qualify under the Renewable Fuel Standard, cellulosic ethanol and new corn ethanol must demonstrate 60% and 20% lower emissions than petroleum fuels, respectively. A combined corn-grain and corn-stover ethanol system could potentially satisfy a major portion of renewable fuel production goals. This work examines multiple LCA allocation procedures for a hypothetical system producing ethanol from both corn grain and corn stover. Allocation choice is known to strongly influence GHG emission results for corn-ethanol. Stover-derived ethanol production further complicates allocation practices because additional products result from the same corn production system. This study measures the carbon intensity of ethanol fuels against EISA limits using multiple allocation approaches. Allocation decisions are shown to be paramount. Under varying approaches, carbon intensity for corn ethanol was 36-79% that of gasoline, while carbon intensity for stover-derived ethanol was -10% to 44% that of gasoline. Producing corn-stover ethanol dramatically reduced carbon intensity for corn-grain ethanol, because substantially more ethanol is produced with only minor increases in emissions. Regulatory considerations for applying LCA are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaufman, Andrew S. & Meier, Paul J. & Sinistore, Julie C. & Reinemann, Douglas J., 2010. "Applying life-cycle assessment to low carbon fuel standards--How allocation choices influence carbon intensity for renewable transportation fuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 5229-5241, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:38:y:2010:i:9:p:5229-5241
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Whittaker, Carly & McManus, Marcelle C. & Hammond, Geoffrey P., 2011. "Greenhouse gas reporting for biofuels: A comparison between the RED, RTFO and PAS2050 methodologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5950-5960, October.
    2. Menten, Fabio & Chèze, Benoît & Patouillard, Laure & Bouvart, Frédérique, 2013. "A review of LCA greenhouse gas emissions results for advanced biofuels: The use of meta-regression analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 108-134.
    3. Garg, Amit & Vishwanathan, Saritha & Avashia, Vidhee, 2013. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emission assessment of major petroleum oil products for transport and household sectors in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 38-48.
    4. McKechnie, Jon & Pourbafrani, Mohammad & Saville, Bradley A. & MacLean, Heather L., 2015. "Exploring impacts of process technology development and regional factors on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn stover ethanol," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 726-734.
    5. Zhao, Lili & Ou, Xunmin & Chang, Shiyan, 2016. "Life-cycle greenhouse gas emission and energy use of bioethanol produced from corn stover in China: Current perspectives and future prospectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 303-313.
    6. Anna C McCreery, 2013. "Transportation Ecoefficiency: Quantitative Measurement of Urban Transportation Systems with Readily Available Data," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(8), pages 1995-2011, August.
    7. Czyrnek-Delêtre, Magdalena M. & Smyth, Beatrice M. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2017. "Beyond carbon and energy: The challenge in setting guidelines for life cycle assessment of biofuel systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 436-448.
    8. Borrion, Aiduan Li & McManus, Marcelle C. & Hammond, Geoffrey P., 2012. "Environmental life cycle assessment of lignocellulosic conversion to ethanol: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4638-4650.
    9. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q., 2013. "Greenhouse gas emissions of corn–ethanol production in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 176-184.
    10. Fabio Menten & Benoît Chèze & Laure Patouillard & Frédérique Bouvart, 2013. "The use of Meta-Regression Analysis to harmonize LCA literature: an application to GHG emissions of 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels," Working Papers 2013/01, INRA, Economie Publique.
    11. Liu, Beibei & Wang, Feng & Yunze, Wu & Jun, Bi & Maoliang, Bu & Gao, Juan, 2012. "Life cycle implication of the potential commercialization of stover-based E85 in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 371-380.
    12. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q., 2012. "Nonrenewable energy cost of corn-ethanol in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 340-347.
    13. Boies, Adam M. & McFarlane, Dane & Taff, Steven & Watts, Winthrop F. & Kittelson, David B., 2011. "Implications of local lifecycle analyses and low carbon fuel standard design on gasohol transportation fuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 7191-7201.
    14. Menten, Fabio & Tchung-Ming, Stéphane & Lorne, Daphné & Bouvart, Frédérique, 2015. "Lessons from the use of a long-term energy model for consequential life cycle assessment: The BTL case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 942-960.
    15. Stef, Nicolae & Başağaoğlu, Hakan & Chakraborty, Debaditya & Ben Jabeur, Sami, 2023. "Does institutional quality affect CO2 emissions? Evidence from explainable artificial intelligence models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    16. Cui, Qiang & Li, Ye, 2015. "An empirical study on the influencing factors of transportation carbon efficiency: Evidences from fifteen countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 209-217.
    17. Moretti, Christian & Moro, Alberto & Edwards, Robert & Rocco, Matteo Vincenzo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2017. "Analysis of standard and innovative methods for allocating upstream and refinery GHG emissions to oil products," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 372-381.
    18. Manfroni, Michele & Bukkens, Sandra G.F. & Giampietro, Mario, 2022. "Securing fuel demand with unconventional oils: A metabolic perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    19. Wang, Linyuan & Zhao, Lin & Mao, Guozhu & Zuo, Jian & Du, Huibin, 2017. "Way to accomplish low carbon development transformation: A bibliometric analysis during 1995–2014," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 57-69.

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