title: Environmental assessment of energy production based on long term commercial willow plantations in Sweden.
abstract: The present paper analyzed the environmental assessment of short rotation willow plantations in Sweden based on the standard framework of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from the International Standards Organisation. The analysis is focused on two alternative management regimes for willow plantations dedicated to biomass production for energy purposes. The data used included the averages of a large sample of commercial plantations. One of the scenarios is carried out under nitrogen based fertilized conditions and the other under non-fertilized management with total biomass yields (dry weight) of 140t/ha and 86t/ha over a 21 and 22-year life time respectively. The environmental profile was analyzed in terms of the potentials for abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, human toxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity. In addition, an energy analysis was performed using the cumulative energy demand method (CED). The application of nitrogen based fertilizers allows an increase in the biomass yield per ha of up to 40% although the contributions to almost all impact categories, particularly the eutrophication potential and toxicity potential impact categories are also considerably higher. Conversely, due to the higher biomass yields achieved with fertilization of these willow plantations, that regime presents a better overall environmental profile in terms of energy yield and global warming potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom. sara.gez.garcia@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: González-García
authors.forename: Blas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mola-Yudego
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dimitriou
authors.forename: Pär
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aronsson
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D005308:Fertilizers; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods*; D009584:Nitrogen; D032108:Salix / Q000254:growth & development*; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D005308:Fertilizers; D009584:Nitrogen