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Transport biofuels productionAuthor(s): ETI
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
- UK-grown biomass can deliver genuine, system-level, greenhouse gas savings.
- Planting around 1.4 Mha of second generation (non-food) bioenergy crops, such as Miscanthus, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF), by the 2050s would make a signifi cant contribution to delivering a cost-effective, low carbon energy system. This is equivalent to ~7.5% of the total agricultural area of the UK.
- Steadily increasing the area of bioenergy crops in the UK (averaging around 30-35 kha/yr of new planting out to the 2050s) would allow the sector to ‘learn by doing’ and develop best practices, as well as monitor and manage impacts on other markets and the wider environment.
- Delivering a substantial energy crops sector whilst balancing the demand for land from other sectors will require an increase in land productivity and a reduction in food waste throughout the supply chain.
- The market for second generation energy crops is nascent.
- As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, there is an opportunity to restructure farming support in a way which provides long-term clarity and support to farmers and encourages the sustainable growth of the UK biomass sector
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
- Planting 30 - 35 kha/yr of second generation crops (Miscanthus, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF)) would keep the UK on the trajectory to deliver a bioenergy sector of the scale needed to help cost-effectively decarbonise the UK energy system.
- Due to the seasonal nature of bioenergy crop planting, management and harvesting, the majority of job opportunities will be part-time, but are complimentary to the seasonal demands of other roles in the agricultural and forestry sectors, particularly arable farming.By 2032, a 30 kha/yr planting rate could create around 8,100 job opportunities in the busiest months (or 4,300 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs when averaged across the year). By the 2050s, around 16,700 opportunities could be created during peak periods (9,100 FTE jobs across the year).
- The UK is not currently in a position to deliver a planting rate of 30 kha/yr – the total planted area of Miscanthus and SRC willow has remained at around 10 kha in recent years with a limited number of players in the market. Investment is needed in the production of plant breeding materials, including research into new establishment techniques to reduce costs. Investment is also needed in training and specialised equipment for planting and harvesting.
- As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, there is an opportunity to restructure farming support in a way which encourages the sustainable growth of the UK biomass sector. This could place a value on the wider environmental benefits growing second generation energy crops can make to the farming landscape.
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
- Respondents have consistently supported government-led action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. In 2017, over half of respondents (58%) thought that the government should do more to reduce emissions, with only 6% believing that the government should reduce efforts to lower emissions.
- Support for producing bioenergy from both biomass and waste has been consistently strong across all three surveys with the highest levels of support recorded in the most recent survey. Across the three surveys between 72% and 77% of respondents supported the use of biomass, and 81-84% supported the use of waste for bioenergy production.
- Bioenergy is associated with several positive features. The ability to generate energy from waste has consistently been the positive feature most selected by respondents. The ETI’s broader analysis highlights the importance of using waste feedstocks effectively to deliver emissions savings. In order to help achieve this, the ETI is investing in a 1.5 MWe waste gasifi cation demonstration plant with syngas clean-up.
- In all three surveys, competition for land and having to import biomass because not enough is produced in the UK have been perceived by respondents as the main negative features of bioenergy. Our 2016 report explored these views in more detail and concluded that using a mix of imported and domestic feedstocks could be publically acceptable, such that the UK is not overly reliant on imports and can maintain at least current levels of food self-sufficiency
- The government has consistently been the most popular choice to lead the development of the bioenergy sector, but a greater number of respondents trust scientists/academics or experts in the field, independent consumer or industry watchdogs, and environmental interest groups to provide reliable information on the sector. This suggests it will be crucial for different groups to work together to increase awareness and understanding of bioenergy while developing the sector in the UK.
Author(s): Evans, H.
Published: 2016
Publisher: ETI
To understand more about how farmers have integrated 2G energy crops into their wider farm business, the ETI commissioned ADAS to carry out three case studies of successful transitions to 2G energy crops, examining the financial impact of the crop and understanding how farmers have optimised the way they use their land to minimise any impact on food production. This document provides the evidence behind each case study and details how the financial costs and benefits and food production changes were calculated. .
- All three case studies demonstrate that planting energy crops can increase the profitability of the land over a 23-year lifetime. Initial investment costs are expected to be paid back within the first six to seven years.
- When optimising the use of land across the farm, impacts on food production can be minimised or avoided. in two case studies, food impacts were minimised by using land which delivered poor arable yields, and by minimising the reduction in sheep numbers through higher stocking densities (the number of sheep per hectare). in the third case study, the crop was planted on unused land so no food production was displaced.
- Land which is less suitable for food production or grazing can be suited to energy crops as they can be successfully planted on poorer quality soils, and land which is more prone to waterlogging or weed problems. They are also suited to less accessible fields as they require less intensive management than arable crops.
- The farmers in these case studies chose to grow energy crops for a variety of reasons - making better use of difficult or underutilised land, diversifying income and reducing workload. In addition, all farmers cited the importance of obtaining secure fixed-term contracts with buyers in their decision making. This reinforces findings from previous ETI work on enabling UK biomass.
- Discussions with land agents suggest that land used to grow biomass crops should not be valued differently to other agricultural land, as land should be valued on its productive capacity. however, the specific price offered by a buyer will be affected by their objectives in buying the land and their understanding of bioenergy crops. The presence of a profitable contract for the crop and a willingness from the buyer to continue with bioenergy cropping may have a beneficial impact on the land value. If the buyer wishes to change the land use, is uncertain how to manage a bioenergy crop, or if there are limited market outlets for the crop, the land value may be lower than if it weren’t planted with a bioenergy crop.
- Qualitative evidence from the Miscanthus farmers indicate an increase in wildlife, particularly birds, since growing the crop. In the Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Willow case study, the farm carried out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before planting.
Author(s): Montemurro, F., Bauen, A. and Shah, N.
Published: 2012
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable provides the benefit case of accelerating - by means of a technology demonstrator - technologies identified as promising by analysis of the UK bioenergy system using the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM) toolkit. The benefit case is assessed based on two main criteria: value of technology acceleration and demonstrator benefits. Based on the analysis of a wide range of case studies using the BVCM toolkit, the benefit cases for biosynthetic natural gas (bioSNG), biohydrogen, pyrolysis fuels, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for power generation are assessed in detail. BioSNG technology emerges as the highest in terms of value of technology acceleration, and potential benefit of a UK demonstration activity in bioSNG exists, although a series of demo plants are already planned for the near future abroad.
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2013
Publisher: ETI
This final report provides a summary of the benefit case of accelerating - by means of a technology demonstrator - technologies identified as promising by analysis of the UK bioenergy system using the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM) toolkit.
The proposals for technology acceleration, and therefore potential technology demonstrators, in bioenergy have been tested with the Bioenergy SAG. The importance of biomass gasification to H2 or bioSNG, and bio-CCS using chemical looping technology is being explored further to identify what are the technology barriers and whether ETI can play a meaningful role in accelerating the technology.
The development of the BVCM model has been ongoing since the project first started in 2011. The documents published here relate to the intial phases of model development. They do not included later developments and are therefore not representative of the current BVCM model, or in some cases, its findings. For a more recent overview of BVCM and the findings derived from it, readers are encouraged to look at the insights and reportspublished by the ETI.
The proposals for technology acceleration, and therefore potential technology demonstrators, in bioenergy have been tested with the Bioenergy SAG. The importance of biomass gasification to H2 or bioSNG, and bio-CCS using chemical looping technology is being explored further to identify what are the technology barriers and whether ETI can play a meaningful role in accelerating the technology.
The development of the BVCM model has been ongoing since the project first started in 2011. The documents published here relate to the intial phases of model development. They do not included later developments and are therefore not representative of the current BVCM model, or in some cases, its findings. For a more recent overview of BVCM and the findings derived from it, readers are encouraged to look at the insights and reportspublished by the ETI.
Author(s): Montemurro, F., Bauen, A. and Shah, N.
Published: 2012
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable provides a short description of all updates made to the BVCM toolkit in Phase 2. The Phase 2 updates to the BVCM toolkit can be broadly grouped into 4 types: improvement to the optimisation model, improvement in model settings, improvement in the technology representation, and improvement in the resources representation.
These updates constitute a significant improvement to the BVCM toolkit. In general, the updates:
These updates constitute a significant improvement to the BVCM toolkit. In general, the updates:
- ensure a wider, more detailed representation of possible bioenergy pathways
- raise the overall data quality and level of confidence in the model
- improve the user interface
- increase the options for use cases and scenarios
Author(s): Montemurro, F., Bauen, A., Shah, N., Samsatli, N., Patel, M. and Ang, S.
Published: 2012
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable presents technology opportunities and bioenergy roadmapping, based on the case study analysis carried out with the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM). The model has been used to investigate a series of case studies, designed to explore different scenarios in relation to resources, technologies, end uses, infrastructures and objective functions. For each case study a series of runs has been executed to explore trends and analyse the sensitivity and the resilience of the results. Based on these results, acceleration opportunities were identified for technologies in line with the ETI focus on the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3 to 6. Roadmaps for the whole bioenergy sector are provided based on the results from the case study analysis.
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2013
Publisher: ETI
This document presents technology opportunities and bioenergy roadmapping, based on the case study analysis carried out with the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM). The main objective of this report is to identify the opportunities for the development and deployment of promising technologies based on the output of the optimisation runs of the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM). It contains the basis for the initial model development.
The development of the BVCM model has been ongoing since the project first started in 2011. The documents published here relate to the intial phases of model development. They do not included later developments and are therefore not representative of the current BVCM model, or in some cases, its findings. For a more recent overview of BVCM and the findings derived from it, readers are encouraged to look at the insights and reportspublished by the ETI.
The development of the BVCM model has been ongoing since the project first started in 2011. The documents published here relate to the intial phases of model development. They do not included later developments and are therefore not representative of the current BVCM model, or in some cases, its findings. For a more recent overview of BVCM and the findings derived from it, readers are encouraged to look at the insights and reportspublished by the ETI.
Author(s): Monjur Murshed, S., Sliz, B., Montemurro, F., Vad, K., Bauen, A., Richter, G., Qi, A., Matthews, R., Eycott, A., Oliver, E., Taylor, G. and Tallis, M.
Published: 2011
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable describes the models used to generate the yield, cost and greenhouse gas emissions of the bioresources included in the scope of Biomass Value Chain Model project. For each bioresource, the description covers a review of models and data, and an explanation of the proposed modelling approaches.
Author(s): Bauen, A., Bertuccioli, L., Howes, J., Montemurro, F., Ripken, R. and Taylor, R.
Published: 2011
Publisher: ETI
Work Package 3 in the Biomass Value Chain Model (BVCM) project had two objectives: firstly, to carry out a landscape review of the technologies used to transform raw biomass feedstocks into useable final products; and secondly, to develop a technology database, which could be used as an input to the value chain optimisation model developed in Work Package 2. This technology landscaping report was also the starting point of the technology roadmap exercise carried out in Work Package 4 for those technologies identified as having significant deployment potential by the value chain optimisation.
Author(s): Bauen, A., Montemurro, F., Taylor, R., Martinez, L. and Myles, H.
Published: 2011
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable is intended as an accompanying document of the technology database (which is not publically available). However, in isolation the document provides useful information on the technology database structure, a user guide (e.g. for adding new technologies to the database), an explanation of the overall modelling approach, an outline of the database content, and a discussion on data quality and data gaps at the time the report was written.
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
The ETI appointed North Energy Associates (NEA) to lead a new Carbon Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Evidence Analysis project in its Bioenergy Programme. LCAs are used to understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with bioenergy from across the supply chain, from feedstock production to energy production. Several different methodologies can be used in LCAs and this ETI project assessed the strengths and weaknesses associated with applying these methodologies to bioenergy value chains. It also reviewed sources of data for LCAs and produced a compendium of the best and most reliable data across different UK-relevant bioenergy feedstocks and value chains. This compendium has formed the basis of a series of carbon balance calculations across a range of bioenergy value chains so that emissions from different feedstocks can be compared.
This is the request for proposals.
This is the request for proposals.
Author(s): Rix, J.H.R., Evans, A.F.K., Elsayed, M., Hunter, A.J., Turley, D., Goldsworthy, M. and McNamee, P.
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
The ETI appointed North Energy Associates (NEA) to lead a new Carbon Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Evidence Analysis project in its Bioenergy Programme. LCAs are used to understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with bioenergy from across the supply chain, from feedstock production to energy production. Several different methodologies can be used in LCAs and this ETI project assessed the strengths and weaknesses associated with applying these methodologies to bioenergy value chains. It also reviewed sources of data for LCAs and produced a compendium of the best and most reliable data across different UK-relevant bioenergy feedstocks and value chains. This compendium has formed the basis of a series of carbon balance calculations across a range of bioenergy value chains so that emissions from different feedstocks can be compared.
The aims of this project on “Carbon Life Cycle Assessment Evidence Analysis” for the Energy Technologies Institute are to identify and review the existing evidence base, in terms of relevant life cycle assessments (LCAs) which calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with potentially major bioenergy value chains for the United Kingdom; to compile a compendium of the best and most reliable ranges of basic data used in such calculations; to develop suitable workbooks for consistent calculation of GHG emissions associated with these bioenergy value chains; and to produce results which can be compared and used to identify and prioritise key knowledge gaps.
This document is a supplementary report to the outcomes of deliverable ‘D2 – Bioenergy Life Cycle Assessment Review Report” from Work Package 2 of this project which has the main objectives of analysing previous relevant LCA studies by providing a critique of the robustness of the evidence base based on both data and methodologies used; a measure of certainty behind the data reviewed; and details of the confidence the reviewer may have in interpreting the data
The aims of this project on “Carbon Life Cycle Assessment Evidence Analysis” for the Energy Technologies Institute are to identify and review the existing evidence base, in terms of relevant life cycle assessments (LCAs) which calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with potentially major bioenergy value chains for the United Kingdom; to compile a compendium of the best and most reliable ranges of basic data used in such calculations; to develop suitable workbooks for consistent calculation of GHG emissions associated with these bioenergy value chains; and to produce results which can be compared and used to identify and prioritise key knowledge gaps.
This document is a supplementary report to the outcomes of deliverable ‘D2 – Bioenergy Life Cycle Assessment Review Report” from Work Package 2 of this project which has the main objectives of analysing previous relevant LCA studies by providing a critique of the robustness of the evidence base based on both data and methodologies used; a measure of certainty behind the data reviewed; and details of the confidence the reviewer may have in interpreting the data
- This report has been prepared in response to a specific request from the ETI; the additional full reviews of the 34 studies identified as adopting ALCA methodologiesis solely due to this request and not to any change in the original goal and scope that applies to all other aspects of the project.
- The 34 ALCA studies identified by the initial selection and screening process formed a sub-set of ALCA bioenergy studies likely to cover the scope of the project in terms of:biomass sources, being conventional forests (broadleaf, conifer and pine), plantation pine forests, short rotation forests (conifer and broadleaf),short rotation coppice (willow and poplar), miscanthus and wheat straw; geographical biomass provenance, being Canada, the USA and Europe; and specified conversion technologies.
- Due to the nature of the screening process, coverage of the value chains relevant to this project is less assured for the selected ALCA studies than for the CLCA studies in the main review; no supplementary screening was carried out to identify ALCA studies that would have been excluded from detailed review for a reason other than adoption of ALCA methodology (such as provenance of biomass).
- This report provides the results of each review as well as an assessment of the robustness of the evidence base provided by the studies (mainly in terms of coverage of value chains transparency of calculationsand methodologies adopted) and an examination of the differences and similarities between the studies.
- The mai nfindings from the review process were that, from the 34 reviewed ALCA studies, very few (11) of the potential (190) relevant whole bioenergy value chains were covered by 8 ALCA studies, and only 1 of these studies (a calculation tool with the potential to cover 3 of the specified value chains) had high transparency.
- Taking into account the analysis of the reviewed ALCA studies,which demonstrates the extensive variations in the methodologies adopted and the physical parameters used for results reporting, it is apparent that there are limits to findings on confidence and critical data that can be derived from them for the evidence base for the specified bioenergy value chains in this project.
Author(s): Mortimer, N.D., Rix, J.H.R., Evans, A,F,K,. Elsayed, M., Hunter, A.J., Matthews, R.W., Hogan, G., Turley, D., Goldsworthy, M. and McNamee, P.
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
The ETI appointed North Energy Associates (NEA) to lead a new Carbon Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Evidence Analysis project in its Bioenergy Programme. LCAs are used to understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with bioenergy from across the supply chain, from feedstock production to energy production. Several different methodologies can be used in LCAs and this ETI project assessed the strengths and weaknesses associated with applying these methodologies to bioenergy value chains. It also reviewed sources of data for LCAs and produced a compendium of the best and most reliable data across different UK-relevant bioenergy feedstocks and value chains. This compendium has formed the basis of a series of carbon balance calculations across a range of bioenergy value chains so that emissions from different feedstocks can be compared.
This report documents the outcomes of Work Package 2 of this project which has the main objectives of analysing previous relevant LCA studies by providing
This report documents the outcomes of Work Package 2 of this project which has the main objectives of analysing previous relevant LCA studies by providing
- a critique of the robustness of the evidence base based on both data and methodologies used;
- a measure of certainty behind the data reviewed; and
- details of the confidence the reviewer may have in interpreting the data.
Author(s): Newton-Cross, G.
Published: 2015
Publisher: ETI
Bioenergy has the potential to help secure UK energy supplies, mitigate climate change, and create significant green growth opportunities if deployed effectively. The BVCM toolkit enables us to assess the sensitivities of the system to different parameters, drawing on the best available data. The ETI is using the BVCM toolkit to help determine the role that biomass should play in achieving the UK?s energy and GHG emissions targets in 2050.
Headline insights are shown below
Headline insights are shown below
- Biomass combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) remains the only credible route to deliver negative emissions, necessary to meet the UK’s 2050 GHG emission reduction targets.
- Without targeted intervention and leadership, the opportunities to realise the full benefits of this negative emission potential could be missed
- Bio-hydrogen and bio-electricity are produced inpreference to biofuels and bio-methane
- Bio-heat is deployed across the UK, especially in earlier decades
- Gasification technology is a key bioenergy enabler, producing both hydrogen and syngas, and is one of the most flexible, scalable, and cost-effective bioenergy technologies
- Locational preferences for resource production are apparent: with Short Rotation Coppice Willow (SRC-W) in the west / north-west of the UK and Miscanthus in the south and east of the UK. Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) when grown is preferred in the south and east of the country, along with the collection of waste for making Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF).
Author(s): Richards, M., Pogson, M., Dondini, M. and Smith, P.
Published: 2014
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to provide greater understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change (dLUC) to bioenergy crops, with a primary focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and short rotation forestry (SRF). The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. This report documents the key results and findings of the spatial modelling work undertaken to determine how land-use change to bioenergy crops affects soil global warming potential in the UK, for the period 2015-2050. This work is the culmination of earlier deliverables that provided data on the impacts of transitions to bioenergy crops on soil carbon (Work Package 2), greenhouse gas emissions at the network sites (Work Package 3) and the subsequent development and parameterisation of the model (Work Package 4, deliverable D4.3). The model outputs generated as part this deliverable provide the raw data for the look-up table that forms the basis of the spatial modelling tool described in deliverable D4.3.
Author(s): Keith, A.M., Bottoms, E., Henrys, P., Oxley, J., Parmar, K., Perks, M., Rowe, R., Sohi, S., Vanguelova, E. and McNamara, N.P.
Published: 2011
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable presents a critical review of paired site and chronosequence approaches in the literature and provides specific sampling recommendations and a UK sampling roadmap for the Ecosystem Land-Use Modelling project (ELUM). It looks beyond bioenergy plantations to uncover the best practices to determine the effects of Land Use Change (LUC) on soil carbon stocks. Work Package 2 (WP2) will adopt these approaches in the context of the most relevant bioenergy transitions across the UK. The findings from this review will inform the development of a statistically robust sampling framework to meet the assumptions of paired site and chronosequence approaches
Author(s): Tallis, M.J., Harris, Z.M. and Taylor, G.
Published: 2012
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to improve understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change to bioenergy crops, with a focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice willow and short rotation forestry. The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. This deliverable presents a review of existing (2012) models, toolkits and resources available to assess the effects of a land use change to bioenergy crops from specified transitions. This report reviews the current (as of 2012) global literature covering the technological aspects of Work Package WP2 (chronosequencing approach to monitoring soil organic carbon), WP3 (dynamic approach to measuring soil carbon and atmospheric GHG emissions) and WP4 (numerical modellingapproaches), specific to bioenergy land use transitions. The findings of this review were designed to further inform the design of the ETI’s ELUM project experimental and modelling work from within the global scientific community. It was to provide key recommendations and help to guide the consortium as it delivered the ELUM project, and maintain cutting edge empirical and modelling work relevant to the development of sustainable bioenergy land-use transitions.
Author(s): Dondini, M., Pogson, M., Richards, M., Henner, D. and Smith, P.
Published: 2014
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to provide greater understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change (dLUC) to bioenergy crops, with a primary focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and short rotation forestry (SRF). The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. The aim of Work Package 4 (WP4) was to develop a bioenergy spatial modelling tool (ELUM software package) to allow non-specialist users to explore the consequences of land-use and land-management change arising from planting of energy crops on soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. This deliverable tests the accuracy of the ECOSSE model (from which the ELUM software package is derived) to simulate soil carbon and greenhouse gas fluxes, describes the uncertainties in the simulations and describes the ELUM meta-model itself.
Finally, an extensive description of the meta-model is given in this report, describing assumptions and constraints, as well as the structure of the look-up table. The benefits and limitations of the look-up table approach for the meta-model are reported below.
Benefits:
Finally, an extensive description of the meta-model is given in this report, describing assumptions and constraints, as well as the structure of the look-up table. The benefits and limitations of the look-up table approach for the meta-model are reported below.
Benefits:
- Results are as reliable as possible, since results from the ECOSSE model are directly reported (except for non-default fertiliser and yield improvement)
- Comparatively fast to use
- Future modifications are relatively straightforward, since results for different transitions, climates and regions, for example, can be obtained from the underlying model and used to create a new look-up table, without further modelling work to approximate the results of the ECOSSE model
- The data storage space for the meta-model is comparatively large
- Results are restricted to those considered by the model (although use of regression equations for non-default options works around this).
Author(s): Harris, Z.M. and Taylor, G.
Published: 2012
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to provide greater understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change (dLUC) to bioenergy crops, with a primary focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and short rotation forestry (SRF). The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. This deliverable provides an up to date (2012) overview of relevant literature and has enabled the identification of consistent research messages and areas where uncertainties exist. In particular, there is a large dependency on models with limited sensitivity analysis or validation to predict the impact of Land Use Change on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) balance and changes in soil carbon stocks leading to carbon sequestration and net benefit to the system. Linking research at field scale, to activities in modelling in a multidisciplinary group such as that of ELUM, is world leading and of particular value to a wide range of stakeholders. This document outlines the full methodology for the literature search (as already provided for D1.3) and that for the meta-analysis
Author(s): Holland, R., Clarke, D. and Taylor, G.
Published: 2013
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to provide greater understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change (dLUC) to bioenergy crops, with a primary focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and short rotation forestry (SRF). The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. This deliverable provides a review of the current research on key ecosystem services relating to bioenergy cropping systems in a UK context. It identifies current research gaps in this area and describes in detail the underlying provisioning services. Whilst much of the ELUM project focuses on an analytical understanding of the impacts of land-use change to bioenergy crops, this report focuses on what are sometimes less easily measured effects – impacts on all the goods and services that humans rely on, defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) as “ecosystem services”. Although the concluding outputs from this Work Package 1 (WP1) report do not feed directly into other ELUM Work Packages, it nevertheless represents an important supporting body of evidence in the discussion around the potential uptake of bioenergy crops in the UK.
Author(s): Harris, Z.M. and Taylor, G.
Published: 2013
Publisher: ETI
This deliverable accompanies the completed Work Package 1 meta-analysis database which reviews all of the Total Soil Carbon (TSC), Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) data evaluated from the selected literature sources arising in the literature review. The meta-analysis used the parameters and the methodology described in earlier deliverables - D1.3 and D1.2 respectively. The meta-analysis conducted quantifies the effects of land-use change to bioenergy but results need to be interpreted with caution, primarily due to limited primary data sources and the necessity to use modelled and boot-strapped data
Author(s): Harris, Z.M. and Taylor, G.
Published: 2014
Publisher: ETI
This report (deliverable D1.6) is an extension from December 2011 out to December 2013 of deliverable D1.5 (ELUM literature review). The aim of the literature review was to assess the state of the current literature with respect to the effects of land-use change (LUC) to bioenergy crops on greenhouse gas emissions and soil processes. A systematic reviewing and meta-analytical approach has been used, specifically focussing on total soil carbon, soil organic carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. This work identified where published data for UK-relevant LUC is adequate, and more importantly, where there are significant gaps or weaknesses in the literature. The findings from this updated analysis are generally in agreement with the original ELUM literature review, deliverable D1.5.For further more detailed information please see the published paper at the following URL.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcbb.12347/full
Author(s): McNamara, N., Oxley, J., Perks, M., Smith, P., Taylor, G., Finch, J., Ineson, P., Donnison, I., Sohi, S., Marshall, R. and Rowe, R.
Published: 2015
Publisher: ETI
The ELUM project was commissioned to provide greater understanding on the GHG and soil carbon changes arising as a result of direct land-use change (dLUC) to bioenergy crops, with a primary focus on the second-generation bioenergy crops Miscanthus, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and short rotation forestry (SRF). The project was UK-bound, but with many outcomes which could be internationally relevant. Indirect land-use change impacts were out of scope. This 23 page report provides an executive summary of the ELUM programme of work including a description of the relationship between the fieldwork programme and the modelling and key outcomes
Author(s): ETI, E4Tech, Imperial College Consultants (ICON),
Published: 2015
Publisher: ETI
What is the most effective way of delivering a particular bioenergy outcome in the UK, taking into account the available biomass resources, the geography of the UK, time, technology options and logistics networks?
Biomass must play a significant role in the future energy mix if the UK is to meet its GHG emissions targets cost-effectively. BVCM is a comprehensive and flexible toolkit used to understand the most effective routes from biomass to energy accounting for all end-to-end elements in the pathways: land use, biomass production (including arable crops, energy crops and forestry); imports, conversion, transport, storage, purchase, sale and disposal of resources; CCS technologies and utilisation of waste resources. The most effective route depends on the resource and technology data, combined with the objective function chosen and the constraints imposed on the system.
To the ETI’s knowledge, BVCM is the most comprehensive and flexible model for whole system optimisation of bioenergy value chains to be produced to date. It currently contains 82 different resources comprising bio-resources, wastes, intermediates, final energy vectors and co-products. There are 61 distinct technologies, at different scales with multiple modes (more than 1200 combinations in total), including: pretreatment and densification; gaseous fuel production; liquid fuel production; heat, power and combined heat and power generation; waste-to-energy; and carbon capture technologies.
Since BVCM is data-driven, it can easily be extended to include other resources or technologies by adding to the database, or modified to analyse alternative assumptions. It could also be applied to other countries simply by providing different data sets for the available land areas, yield potentials (and impacts), waste potentials and so on.
The BVCM toolkit enables us to assess the sensitivities of the system to different parameters, drawing on the best available data. The ETI is using the BVCM toolkit to help determine the role that biomass should play in achieving the UK’s energy and GHG emissions targets in 2050.
Biomass must play a significant role in the future energy mix if the UK is to meet its GHG emissions targets cost-effectively. BVCM is a comprehensive and flexible toolkit used to understand the most effective routes from biomass to energy accounting for all end-to-end elements in the pathways: land use, biomass production (including arable crops, energy crops and forestry); imports, conversion, transport, storage, purchase, sale and disposal of resources; CCS technologies and utilisation of waste resources. The most effective route depends on the resource and technology data, combined with the objective function chosen and the constraints imposed on the system.
To the ETI’s knowledge, BVCM is the most comprehensive and flexible model for whole system optimisation of bioenergy value chains to be produced to date. It currently contains 82 different resources comprising bio-resources, wastes, intermediates, final energy vectors and co-products. There are 61 distinct technologies, at different scales with multiple modes (more than 1200 combinations in total), including: pretreatment and densification; gaseous fuel production; liquid fuel production; heat, power and combined heat and power generation; waste-to-energy; and carbon capture technologies.
Since BVCM is data-driven, it can easily be extended to include other resources or technologies by adding to the database, or modified to analyse alternative assumptions. It could also be applied to other countries simply by providing different data sets for the available land areas, yield potentials (and impacts), waste potentials and so on.
The BVCM toolkit enables us to assess the sensitivities of the system to different parameters, drawing on the best available data. The ETI is using the BVCM toolkit to help determine the role that biomass should play in achieving the UK’s energy and GHG emissions targets in 2050.
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2010
Publisher: ETI
Soil carbon and Green House Gas (GHG) (CO2, CH4 and N2O) changes are an indicator of soil productivity and contribute a significant proportion of an overall bioenergy Life Cycle Analysis. A fundamental requirement of this work was the quantification of Land Use Change (LUC) and crop management impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen pools together with the GHG emissions under Bioenergy Crop land use changes. The approach taken was to make use of existing networks of bioenergy field sites/locations in addition to taking a chronosequence approach to understanding LUC impacts on soil carbon and GHGs over longer timescales
Author(s): Evans, G.
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
ETI’s Programme Manager Geraint Evans presents “Targeting new and cleaner uses for wastes and biomass using gasification” as part of a webinar for IChemE. The presentation covers
- Energy Technologies Institute•Value of bioenergy–Wastes
- We can already use combustion to get energy from waste - why do we need something different and why gasification?
- What is gasification and why is ultra-clean syngas important?
- What is the current UK gasification project landscape?
- The ETI’s project work
Author(s): Winstanley, P.
Published: 2017
Publisher: ETI
ETI’s Project Manager Paul Winstanley presents “Waste gasification with syngas clean up - reaching commercial demonstration and future prospects in the wider bioenergy sector” at Aston University
The presentation covers:
The presentation covers:
- Who are ETI
- Why is Bioenergy Important
- Why Waste as a feedstock
- Why Gasification
- What is the ETI doing to enable commercialisation of gasification
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