FUEL 95 |
| Ethanol derived from lignocellulose shows promise as a near-term renewable fuel alternative to gasoline. Ethanol can be domestically produced, requires moderate infrastructure changes, and can reduce fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A set of promising pre-treatment technologies are evaluated for near-term (c. 2010) development through detailed material and energy balance modeling. Each pre-treatment process is then embodied in a full life cycle assessment model to examine the impact of variations in pre-treatment process options on the overall performance of lignocellulosic ethanol. We examine the energy resource inputs (fossil energy and petroleum) and GHG emissions for five pre-treatment methods tested on corn stover feedstocks and evaluate environmental performance metrics against technical performance of the pre-treatment systems. There are significant differences in fossil energy inputs and GHG emissions on the dilute acid and ammonia fibre explosion (AFEX) pre-treatment processes examined to date, due to differences in hydrolysis yield and hemicellulose sugar yield determined by the two pre-treatment methods. |
|
Biofuels: Lignocellulosic Biofuels
1:15 PM-5:10 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 Boston Park Plaza -- Arlington Rm, Oral
Division of Fuel Chemistry |