Abstract
Lignocellulosic ethanol has potential for lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline and conventional grain-based ethanol. Ethanol production 'pathways' need to meet economic and environmental goals. Numerous life cycle assessments of lignocellulosic ethanol have been published over the last 15 years, but gaps remain in understanding life cycle performance due to insufficient data, and model and methodological issues. We highlight key aspects of these issues, drawing on literature and a case study of corn stover ethanol. Challenges include the complexity of feedstock/ecosystems and market-mediated aspects and the short history of commercial lignocellulosic ethanol facilities, which collectively have led to uncertainty in GHG emissions estimates, and to debates on LCA methods and the role of uncertainty in decision making.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 63-70 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Current opinion in biotechnology |
| Volume | 38 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:BAS and HLM acknowledge financial support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and BioFuelNet Network Centre of Excellence . WMG is supported by the Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making (CEDM) , through a cooperative agreement between the National Science Foundation and Carnegie Mellon University ( SES-0949710 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
