Gasification-based biomass-to-X system for biomass community: Supply to transportation and industrial sector considering hard-to-abate sector

This study explores the optimal utilization of woody biomass to support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial and transportation sectors. A biomass-to-X (B2X) model was developed using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), integrating inter-regional energy flows and high-resolution municipal-level data across 1741 municipalities in Japan. The model incorporates estimates of available woody biomass, levelized cost of X (LCOX), and spatially interpolated energy demand. The results reveal significant spatial disparities in resource availability and energy consumption. Available woody biomass ranged from 10.0 to 56.9 PJ/year, representing 1.3–7.4 % of theoretical potential. LCOX values for methanol, methane, FT-fuel, and ammonia were estimated at 144.8, 170.7, 381.1, and 228.1 EUR/GJ, respectively, significantly higher than those based on prefectural aggregation due to reduced economies of scale. Optimization results showed that methanol dominated the woody biomass conversion output, accounting for 86.1 % of the total energy produced. Regions with abundant forest resources exhibited high self-sufficiency, whereas demand-concentrated areas relied on inter-municipal integration, increasing coordination costs. Network analysis identified 32 biomass communities engaged in circular energy flows, underscoring the potential for decentralized energy systems. This study highlights the effectiveness of combining biomass energy modeling with graph-theoretic approaches to design localized decarbonization strategies.