Home grown or imported? Biofuels life cycle GHG emissions in electricity generation and transportation

Abstract Cooling towers are widely used to remove heat in buildings with chilled water air conditioning systems. Moreira et al. [1] performed an experimental comparison between a cooling tower (CT) and a geothermal heat exchanger (GHE) in Guayaquil-Ecuador (hot/humid climate) and the results show an advantage of 39% of GHE systems regarding energy efficiency. This study compares the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), considering the results of the research mentioned above and comparing both systems. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to estimate the GHG emissions, assuming three scenarios for the electricity supply: the electricity generation mix in 2016, the planned electricity generation mix in 2025, and the profile for marginal electricity generation (peak demand). The estimated reduction of GHG emissions due to the use of GHE systems could be up to 50%. GHEs for building air conditioning applications is a technological option with potential to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. However, additional work is necessary to evaluate the complete environmental profile and its cost-effectiveness.

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Comparative Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emission Analysis for BEVs and PhEVs: A Case Study in China

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12050834 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 834 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Siqin Xiong ◽

Junping Ji ◽

Xiaoming Ma

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Electric Vehicles ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Lithium Iron Phosphate ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Iron Phosphate ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Environmental Benefit ◽

Emission Analysis

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are seen as the most promising alternatives to internal combustion vehicles, as a means to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. To provide the basis for preferable decisions among these vehicle technologies, an environmental benefit evaluation should be conducted. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) are two most often applied batteries to power these vehicles. Given this context, this study aims to compare life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of BEVs and PHEVs, both of which are powered by LFP and NMC batteries. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses are conducted, concerning electricity generation mix, lifetime mileage, utility factor, and battery recycling. BEVs are found to be less emission-intensive than PHEVs given the existing and near-future electricity generation mix in China, and the energy consumption and GHG emissions of a BEV are about 3.04% (NMC) to 9.57% (LFP) and 15.95% (NMC) to 26.32% (LFP) lower, respectively, than those of a PHEV.

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A life cycle assessment model for quantification of environmental footprints of a 3.6 kWp photovoltaic system in Bangladesh

International Journal of Renewable Energy Development ◽

10.14710/ijred.8.2.113-118 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 113 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Md. Mustafizur Rahman ◽

Chowdhury Sadid Alam ◽

TM Abir Ahsan

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Pv System ◽

Entire Life ◽

Solar Pv System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic System

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an extremely useful tool to assess the environmental impacts of a solar photovoltaic system throughout its entire life. This tool can help in making sustainable decisions. A solar PV system does not have any operational emissions as it is free from fossil fuel use during its operation. However, considerable amount of energy is used to manufacture and transport the components (e.g. PV panels, batteries, charge regulator, inverter, supporting structure, etc.) of the PV system. This study aims to perform a comprehensive and independent life cycle assessment of a 3.6 kWp solar photovoltaic system in Bangladesh. The primary energy consumption, resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CH4, N2O, and CO2), and energy payback time (EPBT) were evaluated over the entire life cycle of the photovoltaic system. The batteries and the PV modules are the most GHG intensive components of the system. About 31.90% of the total energy is consumed to manufacture the poly-crystalline PV modules. The total life cycle energy use and resulting GHG emissions were found to be 76.27 MWhth and 0.17 kg-CO2eq/kWh, respectively. This study suggests that 5.34 years will be required to generate the equivalent amount of energy which is consumed over the entire life of the PV system considered. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to see the impact of various input parameters on the life cycle result. The other popular electricity generation systems such as gas generator, diesel generator, wind, and Bangladeshi grid were compared with the PV system. The result shows that electricity generation by solar PV system is much more environmentally friendly than the fossil fuel-based electricity generation. ©2019. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reserved

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Assessment of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Coal Fired Power Plants in India

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.704.487 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 704 ◽

pp. 487-490 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arun Nagarkatti ◽

Ajit Kumar Kolar

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Power Plant ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Coal Mining ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Power Plants ◽

Thermal Power ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Life Cycle Approach

More than two third share of electricity come from coal fired power plants in India. Coal fired power plants are the largest source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions per unit of electricity generation among all fossil fuel based power plants. There has been climate change and global warming globally due to increasing anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) into the atmosphere. This paper examines life cycle GHG emission such as CH4, CO2 and N2O of a National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited power plant using life cycle approach. The various stages involved in the assessment of life cycle GHG emissions in the present study include coal mining, transportation of coal to the power plant and coal combustion for electricity generation. The results show that direct CO2 emission from coal combustion is about 890 g CO2-e/kWh, whereas life cycle GHG emissions amount to 929.1 g CO2-e/kWh. Indirect GHG emissions add up to 4.2% of total emissions. Coal mine methane leakage into atmosphere in India is low since more than 90% of the coal mining is surface mining.

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Comparative life cycle GHG emissions from local electricity generation using heavy oil, natural gas, and MSW incineration in Macau

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.051 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 81 ◽

pp. 2450-2459 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Qingbin Song ◽

Zhishi Wang ◽

Jinhui Li ◽

Huabo Duan ◽

Danfeng Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Heavy Oil ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Msw Incineration

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Life Cycle Assessment of electricity generation from Jatropha oil in a short chain in Mali

Indonesian Journal of Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainability ◽

10.52394/ijolcas.v3i1.92 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Leticia MENEGHEL FONSECA ◽

Nawelle CHAOUKI ◽

Anthony BENOIST ◽

Guillaume BUSSET ◽

Roland PIROT ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Jatropha Oil ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Set Up

Jatropha curcas is an inedible oil crop which can grow under semiarid climatic conditions. Its oil can be used straight as fuel to provide energy in remote areas to improve living conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of the electricity generation from Jatropha oil under West African conditions, by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These potential impacts are calculated for four crop managements and compared to the ones of a reference electricity generation from conventional diesel. Data used in this work are from Jatropha plantations set up in Mali since 2006.LCA results show that the potential benefits of the Jatropha systems are highly dependent on the crop management, especially for the fertilization strategy and the promotion of the oilcake. However, in all cases, the Jatropha systems have lower impacts than the reference diesel system by 75% to 96% for abiotic depletion, and by 80% to 97% for ozone layer depletion, and higher impacts by 260% to 1000% for eutrophication, and by 26% to 160% for acidification. In the best case, the Jatropha system can also have lower impacts than the reference system by 76% for climate change, and by 88% for photochemical oxidation.A methodological originality of this work is the inclusion of animal and human labour into the LCA framework. A first model is proposed for the accounting of energy consumption and GreenHouse Gases (GHG) emissions due to labour. Concerning energy consumption, labour is not negligible with a share from 14% to 50% of the total impact of the Jatropha systems; however the highest share of 50% corresponds to the scenarios with the lowest energy demand. CH4 emissions from livestock are also not negligible but second-order in this study since they account for 2% to 13% of total GHG emissions.

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PADDY RESIDUE AS FEEDSTOCK IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION: REDEMPTION OF LIFE CYCLE EMISSIONS AND COST ANALYSIS

Journal of Technology and Operations Management ◽

10.32890/jtom2018.13.1.6 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (Number 1) ◽

pp. 55-67

Author(s):

Shafini M. Shafie ◽

Zakirah Othman ◽

N Hami

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Cost Analysis ◽

Positive Feedback ◽

Energy Supply ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Economic Sector ◽

Ghg Emission ◽

Coal Fuel ◽

Biomass Resources

Malaysia has an abundance of biomass resources that can be utilised for power generation. One of them is paddy residue. Paddy residue creates ahuge potential in the power generation sector. The consumption of paddy residue can help Malaysia become less dependent on conventional sources of energy, mitigate greenhouse gas(GHG) emission, offer positive feedback in the economic sector, and at the same time, provide thebest solution for waste management activities. The forecast datafor 20 years on electricity generation wasused to calculate the GHG emission and its saving when paddy residue is used for electricity generation. The government’scost saving was also identified when paddy residue substituted coal fuel in electricity generation.This paper can provide forecast information so that Malaysia is able to move forward to apply paddy residue as feedstock in energy supply. Hopefully, the data achieved can encourage stakeholder bodies in the implementation of paddy residue inelectricity generation since there is apositive impact towardscost and emission saving.

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A cradle to gate life cycle assessment of Turkish lignite used for electricity generation with site-specific data

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.025 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 129 ◽

pp. 478-490 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Hatice Şengül ◽

Ferda Bayrak ◽

Merih Aydınalp Köksal ◽

Bahtiyar Ünver

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Site Specific ◽

Specific Data ◽

Cradle To Gate

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Life Cycle GHG Emissions of Residential Buildings in Humid Subtropical and Tropical Climates: Systematic Review and Analysis

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11010006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 6

Author(s):

Daniel Satola ◽

Martin Röck ◽

Aoife Houlihan-Wiberg ◽

Arild Gustavsen

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Cycle Performance ◽

Tropical Climates ◽

Building Life Cycle ◽

Total Life

Improving the environmental life cycle performance of buildings by focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along the building life cycle is considered a crucial step in achieving global climate targets. This paper provides a systematic review and analysis of 75 residential case studies in humid subtropical and tropical climates. The study investigates GHG emissions across the building life cycle, i.e., it analyses both embodied and operational GHG emissions. Furthermore, the influence of various parameters, such as building location, typology, construction materials and energy performance, as well as methodological aspects are investigated. Through comparative analysis, the study identifies promising design strategies for reducing life cycle-related GHG emissions of buildings operating in subtropical and tropical climate zones. The results show that life cycle GHG emissions in the analysed studies are mostly dominated by operational emissions and are the highest for energy-intensive multi-family buildings. Buildings following low or net-zero energy performance targets show potential reductions of 50–80% for total life cycle GHG emissions, compared to buildings with conventional energy performance. Implementation of on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems provides the highest reduction potential for both operational and total life cycle GHG emissions, with potential reductions of 92% to 100% and 48% to 66%, respectively. Strategies related to increased use of timber and other bio-based materials present the highest potential for reduction of embodied GHG emissions, with reductions of 9% to 73%.

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