An article in the current issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy explains that researchers must recognize the importance of including the environmental effects of bioenergy by-products as part of the lifecycle analysis of bioenergy production chains.
Until recently, little attention has been given to the disposal of bioenergy residues because the small amounts generated had minimal impact on the environment. However, the recent expansion of the bioenergy sector makes this an urgent issue, with researchers acknowledging that there will be a dramatic increase in the quantity of residues produced. This issue has been complicated by the increase in bioenergy production technologies, resulting in a wide range of different by-products that may be added to the soil as amendments or fertilizers. A research team from Wageningen University and Research Center selected ten by-products from various bioenergy chains, added them to the soil, and measured carbon and nitrogen dynamics as well as associated greenhouse gas emissions.
Researchers learned that because bioenergy by-products differ substantially in chemical composition they have very different carbon and nitrogen dynamics and varied and distinct impacts on the climate. Results suggest that emissions related to the use of bioenergy by-products as soil amendments could affect the greenhouse gas balance adversely for both first and second generation biofuels, but not digestates and biochars.
According to Maria Luz Cayuela, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Wageningen University, “As a waste management specialist, I was surprised that almost no attention was paid to bioenergy by-products, even though the sustainability of a particular bioenergy chain will definitely depend on the possibilities for its by-products disposal.”
Global Change Biology Bioenergy is a bimonthly journal that focuses on the biological sciences and the production of fuels directly from plants, algae, and waste. For more information please visit www.gcbbioenergy.org and www.twitter.com/gcb_bioenergy.
More press information about bioenergy by-products
Maria Luz Cayuela
Researcher Wageningen University
marialuz.cayuela@wur.nl
tel +31 317 482134
Francine Loos
Press Officer Environmental Sciences Group
francineloos@wur.nl
tel +31 317 481918