Journal article
Biofuels that cause land-use change may have much larger non-GHG air quality emissions than fossil fuels
Environmental science & technology, Vol.46(19), pp.10835-10841
10/02/2012
DOI: 10.1021/es301851x
PMID: 22924498
Abstract
Although biofuels present an opportunity for renewable energy production, significant land-use change resulting from biofuels may contribute to negative environmental, economic, and social impacts. Here we examined non-GHG air pollution impacts from both indirect and direct land-use change caused by the anticipated expansion of Brazilian biofuels production. We synthesized information on fuel loading, combustion completeness, and emission factors, and developed a spatially explicit approach with uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to estimate air pollution emissions. The land-use change emissions, ranging from 6.7 to 26.4 Tg PM(2.5), were dominated by deforestation burning practices associated with indirect land-use change. We also found Brazilian sugar cane ethanol and soybean biodiesel including direct and indirect land-use change effects have much larger life-cycle emissions than conventional fossil fuels for six regulated air pollutants. The emissions magnitude and uncertainty decrease with longer life-cycle integration periods. Results are conditional to the single LUC scenario employed here. After LUC uncertainty, the largest source of uncertainty in LUC emissions stems from the combustion completeness during deforestation. While current biofuels cropland burning policies in Brazil seek to reduce life-cycle emissions, these policies do not address the large emissions caused by indirect land-use change.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Biofuels that cause land-use change may have much larger non-GHG air quality emissions than fossil fuels
- Creators
- C-C Tsao - School of Engineering, University of California, 5200 Lake Road, Merced, California 95343, United States. ctsao3@ucmerced.eduJ E CampbellM Mena-CarrascoS N SpakG R CarmichaelY Chen - University of California, Merced
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Environmental science & technology, Vol.46(19), pp.10835-10841
- DOI
- 10.1021/es301851x
- PMID
- 22924498
- NLM abbreviation
- Environ Sci Technol
- ISSN
- 0013-936X
- eISSN
- 1520-5851
- Publisher
- United States
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/02/2012
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Center for Global & Regional Environmental Research; Nursing; Public Policy Center (Archive); Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; School of Planning and Public Affairs
- Record Identifier
- 9983992000402771
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