Title:
The Role of Plant (De)Construction in the Life Cycle Assessment of Syngas Production via Biomass Gasification
Author(s):
Matschegg, D., Varghese, S.A., Fuhrmann, M., Strasser, C., Dißauer, C., Krobath, P., Stern, T.
Document(s):
Paper
Slide presentation
Abstract:
When conducting a life cycle assessment for an energy technology, every aspect with a potential contribution to the total impact should be considered. This also includes the construction, the maintenance and the deconstruction of the production plant. While for some technologies, such as wind and solar plants, this is common practice, this is often not the case for bioenergy technologies. The present study examines the potential environmental impacts linked to these non-operational phases. This is achieved by developing and exemplifying a concept and by determining whether their impact is less than 1% of the total impact, which is a common threshold for cut-off criteria. The Syngas Platform Vienna, a 1MW dual-fluidized bed steam pilot gasifier, is employed as a case study to apply the developed concept. The results indicate that in a pilot facility above 20% of the global warming potential of syngas production, can be attributed to non-operational phases, assuming an operational lifespan of 20 years. If this lifespan is extended to 30 years, the relative contributions of the construction, maintenance, and deconstruction phases reduces to 11%. The findings of this study suggest that the impact of non-operational phases could exceed the 1% cut-off threshold. However, it is important to note that the results are not applicable to a commercial plant, since emissions from non-operational phases do not increase linearly with plant size and are expected to be lower in a commercial plant. The extent of this reduction will be determined in further investigations.
Keywords:
bioenergy, global warming potential, life cycle assessment (LCA)
Topic:
Sustainability, Impacts, Policies and Systems Analysis
Subtopic:
Climate impacts and GHG performance
Event:
33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
2CO.14.1
Pages:
257 - 260
ISBN:
978-88-89407-25-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/33rdEUBCE2025-2CO.14.1
Price:
FREE
