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Meta-Analysis of Life Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Priority Biobased Chemicals
journal contribution
posted on 2016-09-06, 00:00 authored by Mahdokht Montazeri, George
G. Zaimes, Vikas Khanna, Matthew J. EckelmanResearch and development for biobased
chemical production has become
a strategic priority in many countries, due to the widespread availability
of renewable feedstocks and the potential for reduced life cycle greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy use compared to petrochemicals.
These environmental benefits are not assured, however, as a multiplicity
of processing features (i.e., biofeedstock, conversion platform, and
energy/solvent recovery) and life cycle modeling factors (i.e., coproducts,
allocation scheme, study scope, and location) influence the overall
GHG emissions and energy use of a biobased chemical production scheme.
Consequently, there has been high variability in reported environmental
impacts of biobased chemical production across prior life cycle assessment
(LCA) studies. This meta-analysis considered 34 priority biobased
chemicals across 86 discrete LCA case studies. Most biobased chemicals
exhibited reduced GHG emissions and net energy use compared to petrochemical
counterparts, with exceptions including p-xylene,
acetic acid, and adipic acid. Seven priority biobased chemicals had
no reported results, predominantly lignin-derived. GHG emissions reductions
were compared against proposed thresholds from the Roundtable on Sustainable
Biomaterials (RSB), the International Sustainability & Carbon
Certification (ISCC), and those applied to U.S. biofuels under the
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) program. ANCOVA and ANOVA statistical
tests were utilized to identify process and life cycle modeling factors
that contribute significantly to environmental metrics. Conversion
platform was found to be a statistically significant (α = 0.1)
factor for GHG emissions, with thermochemical routes having the highest
emissions results, while LCA coproduct allocation scheme was significant
for nonrenewable energy use. Recommendations for harmonizing and prioritizing
future work are discussed.
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ANOVAlife cycle greenhouse gasprioritizing future workANCOVAISCCRenewable Fuels Standardenergy usePriority Biobased Chemicals ResearchLife Cycle EnergyRFSlife cycle modeling factorspriority biobased chemicalsbiobased chemical production schemenonrenewable energy uselife cycle assessmentconversion platformGHG emissions34 priority biobased chemicalsU.SGreenhouse Gas EmissionsLCA coproduct allocation schemebiobased chemical productionGHG emissions reductionsLCA case studiesRSB
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