Projects per year
Abstract
Addressing climate change requires a shift away from the use of fossil fuels. During and after this transition biomass will play an important role as a renewable source of carbon. Adding to climate change, there are additional threats to sustainable life on Earth. Regarding biomass use, these include biodiversity loss and eutrophication. A main motivation for limiting the resources studied in this thesis to residuals are concerns surrounding biodiversity, as this is primarily relevant when it comes to first generation biomass.
China holds a crucial role in the world in meeting global climate targets. While the Chinese energy system is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels, coal use has stabilized, and clean energy sources such as wind and solar have been heavily invested in to meet the increasing electricity demand. Additionally there is a strong national focus on reducing pollution and achieving the political goals of creating an Ecological Civilization and a Beautiful China.
This Ph.D. thesis contributes to the fields of resource assessments, environmental impacts, and use of residual biomass, where resource assessments and environmental impacts are integrated into energy system models. The main research question guiding this thesis is “What are economic and environmentally sustainable future uses of residual biomass in China?”. Resource assessments are central, enabling long-term investments in resource management infrastructure, which must be of sufficient geographical detail to be relevant. This thesis contains a long-term projection of municipal solid waste for Chinese provinces. This projection is performed using an adapted version the econometric waste projection model FRIDA and developed scenarios illustrating different policy futures. The results indicate a risk of overinvesting in waste incineration capacity in several provinces. Additional resource assessments are based on statistics, scientific literature, and industry reports.
The global limitation of sustainable biomass is assessed and exemplified in a study on future shipping fuels. Here availabilities are assessed and a life cycle perspective on greenhouse gas emissions is employed, using the maritime fuel-use optimization model SEAMAPS. Indicators for climate change impact and the additional environmental impacts of ocean and freshwater eutrophication as well as air pollution indicators, are quantified for use of residual biomass in China in the bottom-up simulation model Bio3E. This model is soft linked to EDO, a partial equilibrium optimization model for the Chinese electricity and district heating sectors. The externalities mentioned above are further hard linked to EDO in the optimization through the OptiFlow network flow model for resource networks and allocation. The OptiFlow model is extended to model cross-sectoral use of residual biomass in non-energy sectors and the refining of side streams. It is important to consider various scenarios when evaluating the energy and environmental implications of competing uses for residual biomass. Incorporating counterfactual uses into these scenarios is critical in determining the significance of different
utilization pathways and highlight the value of treating residual biomass to e.g. avoid eutrophication.
The results in this thesis provide insights into resource availability, quantified environmental impacts in energy system modeling, and use of residual biomass across sectors. The problematic nature of disregarding biogenic carbon emissions in energy system analysis is highlighted, as these have a decisive impact on the results. Adding to this, the expansion in terms of quantifying additional externalities in energy system modeling has proven substantial. The results demonstrate significant benefits of utilizing residual biomass for fuels and non-energy purposes as well as refining side streams in a Chinese context. This thesis offers insights to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of energy system analysis and the bioeconomy, seeking to promote sustainable biomass utilization by incorporating both economic and environmental aspects. For residual biomass to be cost-efficiently and environmentally sustainably utilized in China, externalities should be priced and industrial symbiosis, or utilization of side streams across sectors, should be promoted.
China holds a crucial role in the world in meeting global climate targets. While the Chinese energy system is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels, coal use has stabilized, and clean energy sources such as wind and solar have been heavily invested in to meet the increasing electricity demand. Additionally there is a strong national focus on reducing pollution and achieving the political goals of creating an Ecological Civilization and a Beautiful China.
This Ph.D. thesis contributes to the fields of resource assessments, environmental impacts, and use of residual biomass, where resource assessments and environmental impacts are integrated into energy system models. The main research question guiding this thesis is “What are economic and environmentally sustainable future uses of residual biomass in China?”. Resource assessments are central, enabling long-term investments in resource management infrastructure, which must be of sufficient geographical detail to be relevant. This thesis contains a long-term projection of municipal solid waste for Chinese provinces. This projection is performed using an adapted version the econometric waste projection model FRIDA and developed scenarios illustrating different policy futures. The results indicate a risk of overinvesting in waste incineration capacity in several provinces. Additional resource assessments are based on statistics, scientific literature, and industry reports.
The global limitation of sustainable biomass is assessed and exemplified in a study on future shipping fuels. Here availabilities are assessed and a life cycle perspective on greenhouse gas emissions is employed, using the maritime fuel-use optimization model SEAMAPS. Indicators for climate change impact and the additional environmental impacts of ocean and freshwater eutrophication as well as air pollution indicators, are quantified for use of residual biomass in China in the bottom-up simulation model Bio3E. This model is soft linked to EDO, a partial equilibrium optimization model for the Chinese electricity and district heating sectors. The externalities mentioned above are further hard linked to EDO in the optimization through the OptiFlow network flow model for resource networks and allocation. The OptiFlow model is extended to model cross-sectoral use of residual biomass in non-energy sectors and the refining of side streams. It is important to consider various scenarios when evaluating the energy and environmental implications of competing uses for residual biomass. Incorporating counterfactual uses into these scenarios is critical in determining the significance of different
utilization pathways and highlight the value of treating residual biomass to e.g. avoid eutrophication.
The results in this thesis provide insights into resource availability, quantified environmental impacts in energy system modeling, and use of residual biomass across sectors. The problematic nature of disregarding biogenic carbon emissions in energy system analysis is highlighted, as these have a decisive impact on the results. Adding to this, the expansion in terms of quantifying additional externalities in energy system modeling has proven substantial. The results demonstrate significant benefits of utilizing residual biomass for fuels and non-energy purposes as well as refining side streams in a Chinese context. This thesis offers insights to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of energy system analysis and the bioeconomy, seeking to promote sustainable biomass utilization by incorporating both economic and environmental aspects. For residual biomass to be cost-efficiently and environmentally sustainably utilized in China, externalities should be priced and industrial symbiosis, or utilization of side streams across sectors, should be promoted.
Original language | English |
---|
Place of Publication | Kgs. Lyngby |
---|---|
Publisher | Technical University of Denmark |
Number of pages | 135 |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Economic and Environmentally Sustainable Use of Residual Biomass in China'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
-
Sustainable utilisation of bioenergy in the Chinese energy system
Shapiro-Bengtsen, S. (PhD Student), Münster, M. (Main Supervisor) & Jørgensen, B. H. (Supervisor)
01/12/2017 → 02/04/2022
Project: PhD