『Abstract
Greater use of renewable energy is being aggressively promoted
to combat climate change by the Chinese government and by other
governments. Agricultural straw is the kind of renewable energy
source that would become a pollution source if it is not well
utilized. We select the Shiliquan straw-based electricity generation
project in Shandong Province, China as a case and assess environmental
externalities of straw utilization in power plants by using life-cycle
analysis. Results show that straw-based electricity generation
has far fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than that of coal-based
electricity generation. Improvement in the energy efficiency of
equipment used for straw's pretreatment would lead to a decrease
of GHG emissions and energy consumption in the life-cycle of straw-based
electricity generation. In case 400 million tonnes of wasted straw
of China could be used as a substitute for 200 million tonnes
of coal, annually the straw 291 Terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity
could be generated, resulting in an annual total CO2
emissions savings of 193 million tonnes. Straw-based electricity
generation could be a high-potential alternative for electricity
generation as well as an incentive for utilizing wheat straw instead
of burning it in the field.
Keywords: Straw; Life-cycle analysis; Environmental input-output
analysis』
1. Introduction
2. methodology and data source
2.1. Life-cycle analysis
2.1.1. Direct energy consumption and emissions from the process
of straw collection
2.1.2. Direct energy consumption from the process of straw compressing
2.1.3. Direct energy consumption and emissions from the process
of straw transportation
2.1.4. Total direct energy consumption and emissions from straw
utilization in power plants
2.2. Environmental input-output analysis
2.3. Data source
3. Results
3.1. Direct energy consumption and emissions generated in
straw-based electricity generation
3.2. Indirect energy consumption and emissions generated in straw-based
electricity generation
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
References