LCA screening of biofuels – iLUC, biomass manipulation and soil carbon
Schmidt J, Brandão M (2013)
Publication info
This report is an appendix to a report published by the Danish green think tank CONCITO on the climate effects from biofuels: Klimapåvirkningen fra biomasse og andre energikilder, Hovedrapport (in Danish only). CONCITO, Copenhagen.
Introduction
Biofuels were given an important role in the Danish government’s energy and climate-change mitigation strategy (Energiaftale 2012). However, following a report questioning the carbon neutrality of different biofuels (Concito 2011), Concito is interested in assessing further the climate impacts of different biofuels. The current report includes Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) screenings for calculating the carbon footprint (CF) of six different biofuels: wood pellets, wood chips, straw, biogas, ethanol and biodiesel. Critical sources of emissions in the product systems of the biofuels, which are often excluded from LCA studies, are addressed in the current study. These include indirect land use changes (iLUC), time dependency of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, manipulation of the carbon in biomass and soil carbon.