Life-cycle assessment of hydrogen production via catalytic gasification of wheat straw in the presence of straw derived biochar catalyst

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impact of 1000 kg h−1 wheat straw to produce biofuel via fast pyrolysis with three different hydrogen production processes by the life cycle assessment (LCA) based on Chinese Life Cycle Database (CLCD). The primary energy depletion (PED), global warming potential (GWP), abiotic depletion potential (ADP) and respiratory inorganics (RI) impact categories of 1 MJ biofuel produced were employed for comparison. In case 1, the hydrogen was derived from natural gas steam reforming, and all the bio-oil was hydrotreated to produce the biofuel. In case 2, a part of the aqueous phase was reformed to produce hydrogen, whereas the remaining bio-oil was hydrotreated to produce biofuel. In case 3, all the aqueous phase of bio-oil was reformed to produce hydrogen, a part of hydrogen generated by reforming was used to oil phase hydrotreated and the excess hydrogen was considered as a co-product. Our results show that the PED, GWP, ADP and RI of case 3 are 0.1355 MJ, −17.96 g CO2eq., 0.0338 g antimonyeq and 0.0461 g PM2.5eq.. Compared with conventional diesel, the PED, GWP, ADP and RI of case 3 were reduced by 89.81, 117.44, 1.74 and 85.03%, respectively. The results of sub-process contribution analysis and sensitivity analysis suggested that the electricity consumption for the bio-oil production has the maximal effect on the total PED, GWP and RI of case 3, whereas the amount of fertilizers in the biomass production sub-process has the maximal effect on the total ADP.

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Comparative life cycle assessment and economic analysis of methanol/hydrogen production processes for fuel cell vehicles

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126959 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 126959

Author(s):

Wei Wu ◽

Ching-Ting Pai ◽

Karthickeyan Viswanathan ◽

Jo-Shu Chang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Economic Analysis ◽

Fuel Cell Vehicles ◽

Production Processes ◽

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

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A systematic review of life cycle assessment of hydrogen for road transport use

Progress in Energy ◽

10.1088/2516-1083/ac34e9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dyah Ika Rinawati ◽

Alexander Ryota Keeley ◽

Shutaro Takeda ◽

Shunsuke Managi

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Case Studies ◽

Large Scale ◽

Road Transport ◽

Fuel Cell Vehicle ◽

Intergovernmental Panel ◽

Hybrid Lca ◽

Complete Life Cycle

Abstract This study conducted a systematic literature review of the technical aspects and methodological choices in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of using hydrogen for road transport. More than 70 scientific papers published during 2000–2021 were reviewed, in which more than 350 case studies of use of hydrogen in the automotive sector were found. Only some studies used hybrid LCA and energetic input-output LCA, whereas most studies addressed attributional process-based LCA. A categorization based on the life cycle scope distinguished case studies that addressed the well-to-tank (WTT), well-to-wheel (WTW), and complete life cycle approaches. Furthermore, based on the hydrogen production process, these case studies were classified into four categories: thermochemical, electrochemical, thermal-electrochemical, and biochemical. Moreover, based on the hydrogen production site, the case studies were classified as centralized, on-site, and on-board. The fuel cell vehicle passenger car was the most commonly used vehicle. The functional unit for the WTT studies was mostly mass or energy, and vehicle distance for the WTW and complete life cycle studies. Global warming potential (GWP) and energy consumption were the most influential categories. Apart from the GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation) model and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for assessing the GWP, the Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden method was most widely used in other impact categories. Most of the articles under review were comparative LCA studies on different hydrogen pathways and powertrains. The findings provide baseline data not only for large-scale applications, but also for improving the efficiency of hydrogen use in road transport.

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