Abstract
To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the European Union (EU) has targets for utilizing energy from renewable sources. By 2030, a minimum of 3.5% of energy in the EU’s transport sector should come from renewable biological sources, such as crop residues. This paper analyzed EU’s “advanced bioethanol” potential from wheat straw and maize stover and evaluated its environmental (land, water, and carbon) footprint. We differentiated between gross and net bioethanol output, the latter by subtracting the energy inputs in production. Results suggest that the annual amount of the sustainably harvestable wheat straw and maize stover is 81.9 Megatonnes (Mt) at field moisture weight (65.3 Mt as dry weight), yielding 470 PJ as gross (404 PJ as net) advanced bioethanol output. Calculated net advanced bioethanol can replace 2.95% of EU transport sector’s energy consumption. EU’s advanced bioethanol has a land footprint of 0.28 m2 MJ−1 for wheat straw and 0.18 m2 MJ−1 for maize stover. The average water footprint of advanced bioethanol is 173 L MJ−1 for wheat straw and 113 L MJ−1 for maize stover. The average carbon footprint per unit of advanced bioethanol is 19.4 and 19.6 g CO2eq MJ−1 for wheat straw and maize stover, respectively. Using advanced bioethanol can lead to emission savings, but EU’s advanced bioethanol production potential is insufficient to achieve EU’s target of a minimum share of 3.5% of advanced biofuels in the transport sector by 2030, and the associated water and land footprints are not smaller than footprints of conventional bioethanol.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data is available from Zenodo Digital Repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941862).
Code availability
Not applicable.
Notes
Converting btu to MJ, gallons to liters and liters of ethanol to kg of ethanol: 76,330 btu/gallon × 0.00105506 MJ/btu × (1/3.7854 L/gallon) × (1/0.789 L/kg). Conversion factor for btu to MJ is obtained from IEA, OECD (2010) Energy Statistics Manual. https://www.iea.org/training/toolsandresources/energystatisticsmanual. June 26, 2019. Density of ethanol is obtained from Haynes, W.M. (2014) CRC handbook of chemistry and physics. CRC press.
References
Andrews SS (2006) Crop residue removal for biomass energy production: effects on Soils and recommendations. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_053255.pdf. February 27, 2019
Audsley E, Stacey K, Parsons DJ, Williams AG (2009) Estimation of the greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural pesticide manufacture and use. https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1826/3913/Estimation_of_the_greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_agricultural_pesticide_manufacture_and_use-2009.pdf;jsessionid=C46EE7B1E955B8479071B3617364906B?sequence=1. March 18, 2019
Badger PC (2002) Ethanol from cellulose: a general review. ASHS Press, Alexandria, pp 17–21
Council of the European Union (2020) Long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategy of the European Union and its Member States. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/HR-03-06-2020%20EU%20Submission%20on%20Long%20term%20strategy.pdf. July 16, 2021
Dalgaard T, Halberg N, Porter JR (2001) A model for fossil energy use in Danish agriculture used to compare organic and conventional farming. Agric. Ecosyst Environ 87:51–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(00)00297-8
de Wild-Scholten MJ (2013) Energy payback time and carbon footprint of commercial photovoltaic systems. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 119:296–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.037
Edenhofer O, Pichs-Madruga R, Sokona Y, Seyboth K, Matschoss P, Kadner S, Zwickel T, Eickemeier P, Hansen G, Schlömer S (2011) IPCC special report on renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation. Prepared By Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
EEA (2006) How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment? European Environment Agency, Copenhagen
Eisentraut A (2010) Sustainable production of second-generation biofuels: potential and perspectives in major economies and developing countries. https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/second_generation_biofuels.pdf. February 27, 2019
ePure (2017) European renewable ethanol - key figures 2017. https://epure.org/media/1763/180905-def-data-epure-statistics-2017-designed-version.pdf. August 25, 2019
Ericsson K, Nilsson LJ (2006) Assessment of the potential biomass supply in Europe using a resource-focused approach. Biomass Bioenergy 30:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2005.09.001
European Commission (2018) Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2018.328.01.0082.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2018:328:TOC. August 25, 2019
Eurostat (2017) Main annual crop statistics: statistics explained. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/28946.pdf. October 18, 2019
Eurostat (2019a) Annual crop statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/Annexes/apro_cp_esms_an1.pdf. August 26, 2019
Eurostat (2019b) Electricity prices for household consumers - bi-annual data (from 2007 onwards). https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do. August 20, 2019
Eurostat, (2019c) Eurostat: agricultural prices and price indices (t_apri). European Commission https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database.
Eurostat, (2019d) Eurostat: crop production in EU standard humidity (apro_cpsh1), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database.
Eurostat (2019e) Energy balances in the MS Excel file format (2019 edition). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/data/energy-balances. August 26, 2019
Fertilizers Europe (2019) Carbon footprint reference values: energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in European mineral fertilizer production and use. https://www.fertilizerseurope.com/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/agriculture_publications/carbon_footprint_web_V4.pdf. July 10, 2019
Fischer G, Hizsnyik E, Prieler S, van Velthuizen H (2007) Assessment of biomass potentials for biofuel feedstock production in Europe: methodology and results. https://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/projects/sites/iee-projects/files/projects/documents/refuel_assessment_of_biomass_potentials.pdf. February 27, 2019
Gerbens-Leenes W, Hoekstra AY (2012) The water footprint of sweeteners and bio-ethanol. Environ Int 40:202–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2011.06.006
Gerbens-Leenes PW, Xu L, de Vries GJ, Hoekstra AY (2014) The blue water footprint and land use of biofuels from algae. Water Resour Res 50:8549–8563. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014wr015710
German L, Bauen A (2018) D 6.3: Revised energy balance and GHG assessment. http://butanext.eu/contents/publicdeliverables/butanext-deliverable-d6-3-ghg-assessment-finalv12.pdf. February 26, 2019
Gilpin GS, Andrae ASG (2017) Comparative attributional life cycle assessment of European cellulase enzyme production for use in second-generation lignocellulosic bioethanol production. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 22:1034–1053. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-016-1208-4
Gregg JS, Izaurralde RC (2010) Effect of crop residue harvest on long-term crop yield, soil erosion and nutrient balance: trade-offs for a sustainable bioenergy feedstock. Biofuels 1:69–83. https://doi.org/10.4155/bfs.09.8
Haynes WM (2014) CRC handbook of chemistry and physics. CRC Press
Holmatov B, Hoekstra AY, Krol MS (2019) Land, water and carbon footprints of circular bioenergy production systems. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 111:224–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.04.085
Holmatov B, Schyns JF, Krol MS, Gerbens-Leenes PW, Hoekstra AY (2021) Can crop residues provide fuel for future transport? Limited global residue bioethanol potentials and large associated land, water and carbon footprints. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 149:111417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111417
Humbird D, Davis R, Tao L, Kinchin C, Hsu D, Aden A, Schoen P, Lukas J, Olthof B, Worley M (2011) Process design and economics for biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol: dilute-acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/47764.pdf. February 1, 2020
ICIS (2017) Europe fuel ethanol spot price lifts amid tight prompt supply. https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2017/07/12/10123602/europe-fuel-ethanol-spot-price-lifts-amid-tight-prompt-supply/. August 8
IEA, OECD (2010) Energy Statistics Manual. https://www.iea.org/training/toolsandresources/energystatisticsmanual. June 26, 2019
IEA (2018) 2018 CO2 emissions from fuel combustion: highlights. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/CO2_Emissions_from_Fuel_Combustion_2018_Highlights.pdf. April 29, 2019
IEA (2019a) Database on facilities for the production of advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels for transport. https://demoplants.bioenergy2020.eu/index.html. February 19, 2019
IEA (2019b) Transport biofuels: tracking clean energy progress. https://www.iea.org/tcep/transport/biofuels/. August 25
IRENA (2016) Innovation outlook: advanced liquid biofuels. http://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2016/IRENA_Innovation_Outlook_Advanced_Liquid_Biofuels_2016.pdf. March 18, 2019
Jia L, Sun Z, Ge X, Xin D, Zhang J (2013) Comparison of the delignifiability and hydrolysability of wheat straw and corn stover in aqueous ammonia pretreatment. BioResources 8:4505–4517
Kadam KL, McMillan JD (2003) Availability of corn stover as a sustainable feedstock for bioethanol production. Bioresour Technol 88:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(02)00269-9
Karatzos S, McMillan JD, Saddler JN (2014) The potential and challenges of drop-in biofuels. http://task39.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2014/01/Task-39-Drop-in-Biofuels-Report-FINAL-2-Oct-2014-ecopy.pdf. March 1, 2019
Kissel DK (ND) Fertilizer recommendations by crops, categorized. http://aesl.ces.uga.edu/publications/soil/CropSheets.pdf. Accessed 10 July 2019
Lal R (2005) World crop residues production and implications of its use as a biofuel. Environ Int 31:575–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2004.09.005
MacLean HL, Spatari S (2009) The contribution of enzymes and process chemicals to the life cycle of ethanol. Environ Res Lett 4:014001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/1/014001
Mathioudakis V, Gerbens-Leenes PW, Van der Meer TH, Hoekstra AY (2017) The water footprint of second-generation bioenergy: a comparison of biomass feedstocks and conversion techniques. J Clean Prod 148:571–582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.032
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2012) The blue water footprint of electricity from hydropower. HESS 16:179–187. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-179-2012
Mekonnen MM, Gerbens-Leenes P, Hoekstra AY (2015) The consumptive water footprint of electricity and heat: a global assessment. Environ Sci: Water Res Technol 1:285–297
Mekonnen MM, Gerbens-Leenes PW, Hoekstra AY (2016) Future electricity: the challenge of reducing both carbon and water footprint. Sci Total Environ 569–570:1282–1288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.204
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crops products.
O’Connor D (2013) Advanced biofuels - GHG Emissions and Energy Balances. https://www.ieabioenergy.com/publications/advanced-biofuels-ghg-emissions-and-energy-balances/. 15–03–2019
Olofsson J, Barta Z, Börjesson P, Wallberg O (2015) Life cycle assessment and techno-economical analysis of on-site enzyme production in 2nd generation bioethanol. The Swedish Knowledge Center For Renewable Transportation Fuels, Göteborg
POET-DSM (ND) EZ Bale storage: best management practices. http://poet-dsm.com/resources/docs/EZ-Bale-Storage-Guidelines.pdf. Accessed 26 Feb 2019
Saha BC, Nichols NN, Qureshi N, Kennedy GJ, Iten LB, Cotta MA (2015) Pilot scale conversion of wheat straw to ethanol via simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Bioresour Technol 175:17–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2014.10.060
Šarauskis E, Buragienė S, Masilionytė L, Romaneckas K, Avižienytė D, Sakalauskas A (2014) Energy balance, costs and CO2 analysis of tillage technologies in maize cultivation. Energy 69:227–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.090
Scarlat N, Martinov M, Dallemand J-F (2010) Assessment of the availability of agricultural crop residues in the European Union: potential and limitations for bioenergy use. Waste Manage 30:1889–1897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.04.016
Searle SY, Malins CJ (2016) Waste and residue availability for advanced biofuel production in EU Member States. Biomass Bioenergy 89:2–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.01.008
Spöttle MAA, Toop G, Peters D, Gamba L, Ping S, van Steen H, Bellefleur D (2013) Low ILUC potential of wastes and residues for biofuels: straw, forestry residues, UCO, corn cobs. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/titel/2043714. December 5, 2018
USDOE (2014) Alternative fuels data center—fuel properties comparison. https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/fuel_comparison_chart.pdf. June 27, 2019
Vanham D, Leip A, Galli A, Kastner T, Bruckner M, Uwizeye A, van Dijk K, Ercin E, Dalin C, Brandão M, Bastianoni S, Fang K, Leach A, Chapagain A, Van der Velde M, Sala S, Pant R, Mancini L, Monforti-Ferrario F, Carmona-Garcia G, Marques A, Weiss F, Hoekstra AY (2019a) Environmental footprint family to address local to planetary sustainability and deliver on the SDGs. Sci Total Environ 693:133642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133642
Vanham D, Medarac H, Schyns JF, Hogeboom RJ, Magagna D (2019b) The consumptive water footprint of the European Union energy sector. Environ Res Lett 14:104016. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab374a
Wilhelm W, Johnson JM, Hatfield J, Voorhees W, Linden D (2004) Crop and soil productivity response to corn residue removal. Agron J 96:1–17
Zhang J, Xu L (2015) Embodied carbon budget accounting system for calculating carbon footprint of large hydropower project. J Clean Prod 96:444–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.060
Zhao Y, Damgaard A, Xu Y, Liu S, Christensen TH (2019) Bioethanol from corn stover—global warming footprint of alternative biotechnologies. ApEn 247:237–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.04.037
Zijlema, P.J. (2018) The Netherlands: list of fuels and standard CO2 emission factors version of January 2018. https://english.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2017/04/The_Netherlands_list_of_fuels_version_January_2017_final.pdf. May 28, 2019
Funding
This study is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 689669 (MAGIC). This work reflects the authors’ view only; the funding agencies are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Author, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, is deceased.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holmatov, B., Hoekstra, A.Y. & Krol, M.S. EU’s bioethanol potential from wheat straw and maize stover and the environmental footprint of residue-based bioethanol. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 27, 6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09984-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09984-z