Doris-Sustainability Issues

Question 1

According to which aspects do we compare different biofuels?

Answer 1

1. Technical properties with respect to diesel / gasoline
2. Fuel yields / km travelled per ha crop land
3. Economy: fuel costs
4. Ecological aspects:

• greenhouse gas emissions (GHG),
• land use
• and changes in land-use

Question 2

Comparison through fuel properties, which fuel properties are important?

Answer 2

Question 3

Order the following diesel substitues based on fuel equivalen yield per ha:

• BtL ( Plantation Wood)
• Biodiesel(Plam Oil)
• Biodiesel( Rape Oil)

Answer 3

1. Biodiesel(Plam Oil)
2. BtL ( Plantation Wood)
3. Biodiesel( Rape Oil)

Question 4

Order the following Gasoline substitues based on fuel equivalen yield per ha:

• Biomethane (corn silage)
• Bioethanol (wheat straw)
• Bioethanol (sugar cane)
• Bioethanol (wheat)
• Bioethanol (corn

Answer 4

1. Biomethane (corn silage)
2. Bioethanol (sugar cane)
3. Bioethanol (wheat)
4. Bioethanol (corn
5. Bioethanol (wheat straw)

Question 5

Give the Impact factors of greenhouse gases for the evaluation of GWP within 100 years for Methane and nitrous oxide

Answer 5

CO2: 1 CO2 eq/Kg gas

combustion of fossile fuels

(mineral oil based fuels, natural gas, coal…)

–> pecific emissions depend on fuel type

–> CO2 -emissions of combustion of renewable fuels

(e.g. biomasse) are regarded to have no GWP-impact

CH4: 23 CO2 eq/Kg gas

• losses of methane at biogas plants
• recovery and utilization of natural gas
• agriculture: cattle breeding, rice plantations, …

N2O: 296

Agricultural crop production (N-fertilizer)

Answer 6

 CO

2

combustion of fossile fuels

(mineral oil based fuels, natural gas, coal…)

 specific emissions depend on fuel type

 CO

2 -emissions of combustion of renewable fuels

(e.g. biomasse) are regarded to have no GWP-impact

 N

2 O

agricultural crop production (N-fertilizer)

 CH4

• losses of methane at biogas plants
• recovery and utilization of natural gas
• agriculture: cattle breeding, rice plantations, …

Question 7

Explain the ecological aspect: Land use and changes in land use

Answer 7

Impact of changes in land use on GWP

 Fixing and storage of carbon (C) in the humus layer of soils

 C-storage capacities depend amongst others on

• type of soils,
• temperate zone
• vegetation cover

 Soils with high and permanent vegetation cover usually contain high

amount of C (e.g. tropical rain forests, grassland)

 Changes in land use and vegetation cover may enhance or reduce

the C-storage capacities

 Reduction of C-storage capacity  CO2 -emissions

Increase of C-storage capacity  fixation of CO2

 Models and methods for the evaluation of land use impacts on GWP

designed, eg. by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Question 8

Give the simplified model for Estimation of C-storage potential and GHG-emissions caused by changes in land use

Answer 8

Question 9

Which crops have the highest dLUF GHG emissions?

Answer 9

Question 10

According to EC RED what are the Major requirements for the production of biofuels

Answer 10

Question 11

According to RED how are the GHG EMISSIONS CALCULATED?

How are the GHG emissions savings calculated?

Answer 11

Saving = (EF – EB ) / EF

EB = total emissions from the use of biofuel

EF = total emission from the fossile fuel comparator

Options for calculation of GHG emissions

 using default values for emissions ( Article 19 & Annex V of RED or Annex 2 of Biokraft-NachV, BUT: not possible for el (land-use change)

 data from individual measurement/calculation

 combining indvidual data and default values

Question 12

What is the first effect of RED?

Answer 12

Requirements

GHG-emission reduction of ≥ 35% / 60% for renewable fuel production and use

References:

83.8 kg CO2 -eq /GJ GHG emission of fossile fuel comparator (petrol/diesel)

–>allowed GHG-emissions for renewable transportation fuels (RED & EC directive 2015/1513):

since 2010/13  max. 54.5 kg CO 2 -eq/GJ ( ≥ 35% reduction)

from Oct/2015**  max. 33.5 kg CO2 -eq/GJ ( ≥ 60% reduction)**new installations

Sustainability aspects

EC: Renewable Energy Directive (RED) biofuels from existing installations –> ≥ 35 % until end of 2017 –> ≥ 50% from Jan. 2018

Question 13

What is the second effect of RED?

Answer 13

Bioenergy production competes for crop cultivation areas with

•  Food/feed production  „Food versus Fuel“
•  Agricultural raw material production for industrial use (e.g. soft goods)
•  Production of luxury foodstuuff, e.g. coffee, tea, tabac,…
•  Nature protection
•  Leisure facilities (golf links, leisure parks,….)
•  Enlargement of settlements, roads, industrial areas, …
•  Other renewables, e.g. solar parks

–> iLUC (indirect land use change):Land use changes caused by displacement of food & feed production by biofuel production?

So since Sept. 2015: EC directive 2015/1513: amendment to Renewable Energy Directive (RED)

We have amongst others:

 Limitation of 1 st gneration biofuels: until 2020 a maximum share of 7% of the final energy use in the transportation sector is allowed to be supplied by biofuels from sugar, starch, or oil crops as well as from energy crops produced on agricultural areas

 Target for 2nd generation fuels: in 2020 a share of 0,5% of the energy consumption in the transportation sector shall be covered by biofuels from wastes, lignocellulosics, algae, bacteria,…