Comparative analysis of sugacane and sweet sorghum bioethanol carbon footprints, carbon savings and carbon debt payback periods

Issue Date

12-2015

Abstract

One of the parameters to assess the environmental sustainability of the bioethanol industry is to conduct carbon analysis and determine its effectiveness in terms of mitigating climate change. By comparing the carbon savings and carbon debt payback periods of two bioethanol feedstocks (sugarcane and sweet sorghum), not only the more environmentally sustainable bioethanol was revealed but also the potential complementary nature of these two feedstocks to significantly reduce the GHG emissions of the transportation sector was assessed. Carbon savings of a typical Philippine bioethanol production scenario for sugarcane was determined to be equal to 218.99% with a carbon footprint of -110,8465.29 t CO₂e yrˉ¹, while for sweet sorghum the calculated carbon savings was 154.32% with a carbon footprint of -34,629.57 t CO₂e yrˉ¹ at equivalent fuel energy basis. Meanwhile, the carbon payback periods of 2-4 mo for sugarcane and 3-5 mo for sweet sorghum were derived from the calculated carbon debt incurred from construction equal to 65,730.39 t CO₂e for sugarcane 66,226.14 t CO₂e for sweet sorghum. Taking into account the percent carbon savings calculated, the following combinations revealed to be able to meet the global climate mitigation target by 2030: 20% biodiesel and 35% sugarcane bioethanol, 20% biodiesel and 45% sweet sorghum bioethanol. Although carbon savings of sugarcane bioethanol is higher than sweet sorghum bioethanol, both carbon savings were significant to payback carbon debts from constructing new bioethanol plants and to meet the global climate mitigation target.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Journal of Crop Science

ISSN

0115-463x

Volume

40

Issue

3

Page

10-22

Document Type

Article

Frequency

tri-quarterly

Physical Description

tables, graphs

Language

English

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