Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
ISSN: 2090-4541
Nasir Anka Garba and Les John Duckers
Federal University Gusau, Nigeria
Coventry University, UK
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
This paper assessed the potential impacts of climate change on life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission savings of advanced bioenergy systems from corn and soybean. The methodology was underpinned by life cycle thinking. Climate change projections coupled with Cropping System Modelling (CSM) were linked to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modelling. Projected changes in crop yield were calculated using the DSSAT-CSM model with observed climate data for the baseline 1981- 1990 period and projected climate change scenarios. The life cycle GHG emission savings was calculated using GaBi 4 LCA software according to the ISO 14044 standard. Results indicated that under the baseline (1981-1990) scenario, Corn Integrated Bioenergy (CIBE) and Soybean Integrated Bioenergy (SIBE) could save-10996.7 kg CO2-equivalent ha-1 and -1350.04 kg CO2- equivalent ha-1 respectively, of the total life cycle GHG emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O for the production and utilization of an energetically equivalent amount of fossil-based fuel counterpart, which they displaced. However, model predictions showed that the responses of corn and soybean to simultaneous changes in T, P, and [CO2] were different under different climate change scenarios. In the future period, life cycle GHG emissions savings of CIBE was predicted to decline in all cases ranging from -1.6% to -33.4% compared with the baseline (1981-1990) period. On the other hand, the life cycle GHG emission savings of SIBE was predicted to increase by +0.1% to +31.6% under some climate change scenarios (e.g., [CO2]=680; P=+20%; and T=+1.5oC scenario) and also decline by -0.1% to -82.6% climate change scenarios (e.g., [CO2]=400; P=-20% and T=+5oC scenario). This revealed that the potential impacts of climate change on energy crops productivity and net life cycle GHG emissions savings could be very large and diverse.
Email: nasiranka@yahoo.com