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Life cycle impacts of waste wood biomass heating systems: A case study of three UK based systems

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  • McManus, M.C.

Abstract

With increasing renewable energy targets and the use of biomass for energy production, questions arise about the sustainability of differing types of bioenergy. Much has been made about the renewable transport fuel obligations and the impact the production of biofuel can have on the environment, but there has been less consideration of more small scale biomass heating systems. This work examines the life cycle impacts of the production and use of three such systems using waste wood in the South West of England. Burning of wood in the UK was reduced after the introduction of legislation to reduce smog in the 1950s, and so the impact of the emissions from the boilers has been examined. Whilst the boilers studied complied with UK emissions legislation, the emissions were the most significant impact found. However, there were differences in the emission levels depending on the loading of the boiler. In all cases the energy payback of the systems was under one year, ranging from approximately four to ten months.

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  • McManus, M.C., 2010. "Life cycle impacts of waste wood biomass heating systems: A case study of three UK based systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 4064-4070.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:35:y:2010:i:10:p:4064-4070
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2010.06.014
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    2. Pierobon, Francesca & Zanetti, Michela & Grigolato, Stefano & Sgarbossa, Andrea & Anfodillo, Tommaso & Cavalli, Raffaele, 2015. "Life cycle environmental impact of firewood production – A case study in Italy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 185-195.
    3. Murphy, Fionnuala & Devlin, Ger & McDonnell, Kevin, 2013. "Miscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impacts," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 412-420.
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    5. Qianying Liao & Jun Zhang & Zili Yi & Youzhi Li, 2021. "Do Miscanthus lutarioriparius -Based Oriented Strand Boards Provide Environmentally Benign Alternatives? An LCA Case Study of Lake Dongting District in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-15, November.
    6. Abu Norhasmillah & Chiew Puah & Nor Ibrahim & Azhari Baharuddin & Yuen Choo, 2013. "Life cycle inventory of the commercial production of compost from oil palm biomass: a case study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1663-1670, December.
    7. Milutinović, Biljana & Stefanović, Gordana & Đekić, Petar S. & Mijailović, Ivan & Tomić, Mladen, 2017. "Environmental assessment of waste management scenarios with energy recovery using life cycle assessment and multi-criteria analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 917-926.
    8. Muench, Stefan & Guenther, Edeltraud, 2013. "A systematic review of bioenergy life cycle assessments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 257-273.
    9. Buonocore, Elvira & Franzese, Pier Paolo & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2012. "Assessing the environmental performance and sustainability of bioenergy production in Sweden: A life cycle assessment perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 69-78.
    10. Judl, Jáchym & Koskela, Sirkka & Korpela, Timo & Karvosenoja, Niko & Häyrinen, Anna & Rantsi, Jari, 2014. "Net environmental impacts of low-share wood pellet co-combustion in an existing coal-fired CHP (combined heat and power) production in Helsinki, Finland," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 844-851.
    11. Lozano Miralles, José Adolfo & López García, Rafael & Palomar Carnicero, José Manuel & Martínez, Francisco Javier Rey, 2020. "Comparative study of heat pump system and biomass boiler system to a tertiary building using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 1439-1450.
    12. Royo, Javier & Sebastián, Fernando & García-Galindo, Daniel & Gómez, Maider & Díaz, Maryori, 2012. "Large-scale analysis of GHG (greenhouse gas) reduction by means of biomass co-firing at country-scale: Application to the Spanish case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 255-267.

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