University of British Columbia

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University of British Columbia 24th September
2008 BIOMASS AND BIOFUELS TRUTHS, LIES AND
PROMISES
Professor Roland Clift University of Surrey
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ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION 22ND
REPORT ENERGY - THE CHANGING CLIMATE
(2000) the world is now faced with a radical
challenge of a totally new kind which requires
an urgent response By the time the effects of
human activities on the global climate are clear
and unambiguous it would be too late to take
preventive measures. Recommended ensuring that
concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere does not exceed 550 ppmv, twice the
pre-industrial level.
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ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, 2000
an effective, enduring and equitable climate
protocol will eventually require emission
quotas to be allocated to nations on a simple and
equal per capita basis nations emission
quotas (should) follow a contraction and
convergence trajectory. UK carbon dioxide
emissions must be reduced by almost 60 from
their current level by mid-century.
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CULTIVATION OF BIOFUELS

• Perennial crops increase carbon inventory e.g.
  willow (salix), poplar, miscanthus, switch grass
• do not require high inputs
• usually have high water demand
• employment per energy output typically 5 x
  fossil fuels
• Rotation crops bioethanol, biodiesel
• do not build up soil carbon
• require high agrochemical inputs
• employment per energy output typically 20x
  fossil fuels

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COMPARISONS

• Current global food consumption 25 EJ
• Current global fossil energy use 400 EJ
• Current global cropland 1.8 Gha
• cropland pasture 5 Gha
• Land needed to produce current
• fossil energy use 3-6 Gha

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OBJECTIVES FOR BIOENERGY

• To maximise life cycle energy yield and carbon
  offset per ha
• Subject to environmental and social constraints,
  many of which are local.

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(No Transcript)
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Carbon dioxide emissions by end user in the UK,
2004
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Residential carbon dioxide emissions, 2003
5
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Cooking
Space heating
Lights and
appliances
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53
Water heating
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BIOMASS IS KEY

• Close to carbon-neutral.
• Overlooked by Government policy on renewables.
• Output is predictable and controllable.
• Fuel for heat as well as electricity.
• Provides 15 of primary energy in Austria.

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COPPICED WILLOW PROMOTES BIODIVERSITY
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TYPICAL YIELDS FOR PERENNIAL CROPS
(Oven-dry tonnes per hectare per year)

• SRC (willow or poplar) 10-30
• Miscanthus 10-18
• Switch grass 7-14
• Plant breeding may increase yields or enable use
  of lower quality land.
• Figures (in ODT/ha/yr), from Rothamsted Research
  (TSEC-Biosys consortium)

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AVAILABILITY
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POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION IN UK

• Perennial crops on 10 of arable land and 50 of
  improved and set-aside grassland
• - could contribute up to 45 TWh of electrical
  output (gt10 of current use)
• plus around 80 TWh heat (gt80 of current CHP
  output).
• Estimates from University of Southampton
  (TSEC-Biosys consortium)

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CONCLUSIONS SO FAR

• The debate over nuclear power should not obscure
  the
• more significant and urgent issues of fixing the
  buildings
• and developing the biomass energy sector
• (Clift, Sinclair and Johnsson, Parliamentary
  Monitor,
• July 2006)
• The technology need is for small-scale
• biomass-fired combined-heat-and-power plants
  which
• are efficient and reliable.

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TRANSPORT FUELS

• Crude oil is not the only fossil source of
  hydrocarbons for transport
• Coal-to-liquids technology can produce crude oil
  substitute at about 100/bbl.
• Transport will be the priority user of liquid
  fuels.
• Kerosene will remain the only viable fuel for
  aircraft.

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REMEMBER

• Objective is to maximise life cycle energy yield
  and carbon offset per ha, allowing for land use
  change
• subject to environmental and social constraints,
  many of which are local.

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TRANSPORT FUELS (Larson)

• conventional grain- and seed-based biofuels can
  provide only modest GHG mitigation benefits by
  any measureand will be able to provide only
  modest levels of fuel displacementdue to high
  land requirements.
• More efficient land use in mitigating GHG
  impacts can be achieved in the longer term with
  dedicated high-yielding lignocellulosic energy
  crops.
• The US produced 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol
  in 2004, consuming 12 of all corn grown that
  year in the US.
• This ethanol accounted for less than 1.5 of US
  motor vehicle fuel use (on an energy basis).

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CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING LAND USE

• Competition between food and fuel security
• Energy prices drive ethanol prices

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CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING LAND USE

• Competition between food and fuel security
• Other demands for biomaterials
• Maintenance enhancement of biodiversity
• Maintenance of landscape values
• Water use
• Agrochemical use and emissions
• Maintenance of rural populations
• Note these constraints interact

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• UK BIOMASS STRATEGY, MAY 2007
• We are committed to increasing the level of
  the planned RTFO beyond 5 after 2010/11, but
  only if the following conditions are met
• biofuels are produced in a sustainable way
  delivering maximum carbon savings with minimum
  adverse environmental impacts
• biofuels blends higher than 5 will not lead to
  mechanical problems in vehicles
• costs to consumers and the wider economy will be
  acceptable

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BIOFUELS FOR TRANSPORT

• How do you assess sustainability?
• Two questions (amongst others!)
• How favourable are the greenhouse gas balances?
• How important is competition for land with other
  crops? (esp. food)

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LIFE CYCLE OF A BIOFUEL
EMISSIONS CO2, N2O, etc.
CO-PRODUCTS
LAND USE CHANGE
ENERGY
EMISSIONS
AGROCHEMICALS FUELS
FOSSIL FUELS
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Useful to distinguish between two sources of
uncertainty Attributional LCA statistical
uncertainty Consequential LCA epistemological
uncertainty
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GHG savings arising from production of wheat to
ethanol using different production processes
Source E4tech 2008 (cited in Gallagher review)
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Illustrative GHG savings and payback times for
biofuel feedstock causing land change
Source E4tech 2008 (cited in Gallagher review)
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Global land availability and requirements
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SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS
Energy Release
Combustion products
BIOMASS
Transport
Losses
Energy Release
Energy Input
Refined products
BIOMASS
Energy input
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SECOND GENERATION LIQUID BIOFUELS

• Estimated figures for energy yield in GJ/ha/yr
• (production only not including offset or land
  use change)
• EtOH from ligno-cellulosics lt70
• RME from rapeseed 10
• EtOH from sugar beet -ve
• cf
• Ligno-cellulosics as fuel SRC up to 140
• Oilseed rape without conversion 40
• Second generation biofuels may be interesting
  but only where there is no demand for heat or
  power.
• with currently available cultivars.

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RENEWABLE TRANSPORT FUEL OBLIGATION (RTFO)

• obligation on fuel suppliers one of the main
  policy instruments in the transport sector to
  reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• seems to be based on implicit assumption that
  certifiable biofuels will be available.
• Certification should include environmental and
  social aspects.
• This should show up the fault-line in the
  policy, but if we try to cover it up?

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CONCLUSIONS BASED ON ENERGY YIELD AND CARBON
OFFSET PER HECTARE (not quite UK biomass
strategy)

• Hierarchy in UK
• biomass heating, particularly residential
• CHP
• co-fired electrical generation
• dedicated biomass power plant
• transport fuels
• You only get to transport biofuels when the
  other demands have been met local niche markets
  only.

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FINAL MESSAGE

• Essential to look at the whole system