Bioheat, biopower and biogas [electronic resource] : developments and implications for agriculture

2010·1.5 MB·English

by  Lampe, Martin von

A Bioheat, Biopower
and Biogas
DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONS
FORAGRICULTURE
«•
OECD
Copyrightedmaterial
Copyrightedmaterial
Bioheat, Biopower
and Biogas
DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONS
FORAGRICULTURE
OECD
ORGANISATIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERATION
ANDDEVELOPMENT
TheOECDisauniqueforumwherethegovernmentsof30democraciesworktogetherto
addresstheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalchallengesofglobalisation.TheOECDisalsoat
theforefrontofeffortstounderstandandtohelpgovernmentsrespondtonewdevelopments
andconcerns,suchascorporategovernance,theinformationeconomyandthechallengesofan
ageingpopulation.TheOrganisationprovidesasettingwheregovernmentscancomparepolicy
experiences,seekanswerstocommonproblems,identifygoodpracticeandworktoco-ordinate
domesticandinternationalpolicies.
TheOECDmembercountriesare:Australia,Austria,Belgium,Canada,theCzechRepublic,
Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,Ireland,Italy,Japan,Korea,
Luxembourg,Mexico,theNetherlands,NewZealand,Norway,Poland,Portugal,theSlovakRepublic,
Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,TUrkey,theUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.TheCommissionof
theEuropeanCommunitiestakespartintheworkoftheOECD.
OECDPublishingdisseminateswidelytheresultsoftheOrganisation’sstatisticsgathering
andresearchoneconomic,socialandenvironmentalissues,aswellastheconventions,
guidelinesandstandardsagreedbyitsmembers.
Thisworkispublishedontheresponsibilityo/theSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.Theopinions
expressedandargumentsemployedhereindonotnecessarilyreflecttheofficialviewsofthe
Organisationorofthegovernmentso/itsmembercountries.
ISBN978-92-64-08586-2(PDF)
DOI10.1787/9789264085862-en
CorrigendatoOECDpublicationsmaybefoundonlineat:www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda.
©OECD2010
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publicorcommercialuseshallbeaddresseddirectlytotheCopyrightClearanceCenter(CCC)[email protected]
francaisd’exploitationdudroitdecopie(CFC)[email protected].
FOREWORD 3
Foreword
Thisstudyisoneofseveralreportscarriedoutinthecontextofanalyses
on market and policy-based approaches to bioenergy. It follows and
complementsanearlierOECDstudyentitledBiofuelSupportPolicies-An
EconomicAssessment,publishedin2008,andfocusesonbioenergychains
otherthanliquidbiofuels.
MartinvonLampe,agriculturaleconomistwiththeOECDDirectorate
forTradeandAgriculture,isthemainauthorofthisstudy.Thesectionson
commercialisedbiomasscrops,conversiontechnologiesandenvironmental
performanceofalternativebioenergycrops,however,werecontributedby
threeconsultants,D.B.Turley,H.ParryandR.Leybourn(CentralScience
Laboratory,UK).Inaddition,manycolleaguesintheOECDandDelegates
fromOECDmembercountriesprovidedvaluableinputandcommentsonan
earlierdraft.
BIOHEAT,BIOPOWERANDBIOGAS:DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONSFORAGRICULTURE©OECD2010
Copyrightedmaterial
1
TABLEOFCONTENTS-5
TableofContents
ExecutiveSummary 7
Introduction 11
Keyattributesofcommercialisedbiomasscrops 15
Conversiontechnologies 16
Combustion 16
Gasification 17
Conversionefficienciesforthermalprocesses 18
Combinedheatandpower(CHP)generation(cogeneration) 19
Anaerobicdigestion(AD) 19
Materialpreparation 20
Bioenergysupportpolicydevelopments 21
Theenvironmentalperformanceofalternativebioenergychains' 25
GHGsavings 25
Energybalance 31
Marketdevelopmentsintheoverallbioenergycontext 33
Costsofbioheat,biopowerandbiogasproduction 40
Implicationsforagriculture 40
Annex1.Technicalremarksonlive-cycleanalyses 45
References 5
Additionalreferencesforlifecycledata 53
BIOHEAT,BIOPOWERANDBIOGAS:DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONSFORAGRICULTURE©OECD2010
Copyrightedmaterial
EXECUTIVESUMMARY-7
ExecutiveSummary
Bioenergy,orenergyproducedfrombiomass,receivesalotofattention
bothatthepolicylevelandfromthepublic.PastOECDanalysisonpolicies
supportingtheproductionanduseofliquidbiofuelsfortransport(OECD,
2008)hasshownthatotherformsofbioenergy,suchasbioheat,biopower
andbiogas,couldrepresenteconomicallymoreviableandenvironmentally
moreefficientwaystoreduceGHGemissionsandfossilfueluse,twoofthe
high-rankingobjectivesbehindmostbioenergysupportpolicies.Thepresent
reportaimstocomplementthisfirststudyinexplicitlylookingatthose
formsofbioenergyandthepoliciessupportingthem.
Bioenergy represents a rather heterogeneous portfolio ofdifferent
biomassfeedstocksandconversiontechnologies.Whileparticularlyfirst-
generationliquidbiofuelsaredominatedbyfeedstocksoriginatingfrom
agricultural products, such as grains, sugar crops and oilseeds, non-
agriculturalfeedstocks(suchasforestproductsandresidues,industrialand
municipalwastes)and,toalesserextent,agriculturalresiduesandwastes,
dominate in the generation of bioheat and biopower, resulting in
substantiallylesscompetitionwiththeproductionoffoodandanimalfeed.
Commercialisedbiomasscrops,whichcouldcompetewithlanduseforfood
production,arebeingdeveloped,buttodayonlyplayaminorrole.Main
technologiestoconvertbiomasstoheatand/orelectricalpowerincludethe
directcombustion(partlyasco-firingwithfossilfuels),thegasificationand
the anaerobic digestion producing biogas. Combined heat and power
generationplantsallowimprovingtheenergyefficiencywiththeuseofthe
remainingheatafterpowergenerationforspaceheatingorinindustrial
applications.
Beingpartoftherenewableenergyportfolio,heatandpowergeneration
frombiomassbenefitsfrompublicsupportmeasuresinmanycountries.The
objectivesofsuchsupportaremanyfoldandinparticularincludethe
securityofenergysupply,environmentalimprovements,ruraldevelopment,
andthegenerationofsupplementaryoutletsforagriculturalproducts.While
anumberofcountrieshaveestablishednationalorregionaltargetsfor
BIOHEAT,BIOPOWERANDBIOGAS:DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONSFORAGRICULTURE©OECD2010
8-EXECUTIVESUMMARY
renewableenergy,onlyafewhavedefinedspecifictargetsforbioheat
and/orbiopower,includingGermany,Ireland,Japan,NewZealand,Norway,
RomaniaandtheUS.Thepolicymeasuresappliedmostcommonlyinclude
guaranteedpricesforrenewableelectricityorgasfedintothegrid,and
investment subsidies. The application ofthese measures differs across
countries,however,andiscomplementedbyalargesetofothersupport
measures.
Towhatdegreedoestheenvironmentalperformanceofthedifferent
bioenergychainsmeettheobjectivesbehindthepoliticalsupport?While
manyotherfactorsarerelevantinthiscontext,thepresentstudyfocuseson
twomajorvariables:greenhousegas(GHG)savingsandenergybalances.
Alargenumberofstudiesprovidinglife-cycleanalyses(LCAs)for
bioheat,biopowerandbiogaschainswereevaluatedforthisstudy,andthe
resultsindicatethatwhilethereissubstantialvariationintheGHGand
energybalances,indeedmostofthesechainsshowimportantsavingsof
GpaHrtGiculeamrilsysitornusewfhoreneleccotmripcairtyedprtoodutchteiomnaicnhaifonsss,ilwhaletreernaGtiHveGs.sTahviisngiss
generallyrangebetween63%and99%whencomparedtotheuseofcoal,
andbetween37%and98%whencomparedtotheuseofnaturalgas.While
stillsignificant,savingswerefoundtobesmallerforheatapplications,
thoughthismayreflectonthelowerefficiencyassociatedwithsmaller
district,spaceheatinganddomesticheatingsystems.Ineithercase,GHG
savingsformostchainsseemtobesignificantlyhigherthanforliquid
biofuelchains.
Whiletheaverageenergyefficiencyformostbiopowerchainsranges
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gasandfueloilasfeedstocks.
Dataontheproductionofbioheat,biopowerandbiogas,andparticularly
onbiomassuse,isscarce,butavailabledataprovideacoupleofgeneral
trends.First,onagloballevel,some10%oftotalprimaryenergydemandis
metbyenergyfrombiomass,butalmosttwo-thirdsofthiscomefromnon-
agriculturalsolidbiomassoutsidetheOECDarea.Whiledetaileddataare
lackingitcanbeassumedthatmuchofthisistraditionalbiomass,suchas
firewoodusedindevelopingcountriesforcookingandheating.Withinthe
OECD,too,thevastmajorityofbioenergyisbasedonforestproductsand
residues.Agriculturalbiomass-crops,residuesandwastes-onlyplaysa
BIOHEAT,BIOPOWERANDBIOGAS:DEVELOPMENTSANDIMPLICATIONSFORAGRICULTUREOOECD2010