Premium
Mapping the environmental and techno‐economic potential of biojet fuel production from biomass residues in Brazil
Author(s) -
Cervi Walter Rossi,
Lamparelli Rubens Augusto Camargo,
Gallo Bruna Cristina,
Oliveira Bordonal Ricardo,
Seabra Joaquim Eugênio Abel,
Junginger Martin,
Hilst Floor
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
biofuels, bioproducts and biorefining
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.931
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1932-1031
pISSN - 1932-104X
DOI - 10.1002/bbb.2161
Subject(s) - biofuel , crop residue , biorefining , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , bioproducts , jet fuel , bioenergy , fossil fuel , greenhouse gas , straw , environmental engineering , pulp and paper industry , waste management , biorefinery , agronomy , engineering , agriculture , ecology , biology
Abstract This study assesses the environmental potential of crop residues and the techno‐economic potential of biojet fuel (BJF) production in Brazil. Different production routes are evaluated from two types of biomass residues (sugarcane straw and eucalyptus harvest residue), and four different technological pathways (alcohol to jet, Fischer–Tropsch, hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis). The environmental potential of biomass residues is determined utilizing spatio‐temporal projections of land‐use change in Brazil and by explicitly modeling the erosion risk and the soil organic carbon (SOC) balance spatially. The assessment of the techno‐economic potential of BJF production from the environmental potential of sugarcane straw (SCS) and eucalyptus harvest residues (EHRs) considers the BJF total costs, which result from a summation of biomass residue recovery costs, BJF conversion costs, and BJF transportation costs. These BJF total costs are compared with the range of fossil jet fuel prices at Brazilian airports to quantify the techno‐economic potential. The environmental potential of biomass residues varies from 70 Mt in 2015 to 102 Mt in 2030, with SCS being highly constrained by SOC, whereas EHRs are more constrained by the high erosion risk. These quantities can generate a techno‐economic BJF potential ranging from 0.45 EJ in 2015 (46 US$/GJ – 65 US$/GJ) to 0.67 EJ in 2030 (19 US$/GJ – 65 US$/GJ). In 2030, several BJF production routes can be competitive with fossil jet fuel prices. The northeast and southeast regions have the highest potential, especially in 2030. © 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.