Assessing the fate of nutrients and carbon in the bioenergy chain through the modeling of biomass growth and conversion.
A forest growth model was coupled to a model of combined heat and power (CHP) production in a gasification plant developed in Aspen Plus. For a given production, this integrated forest-to-energy model made it possible to predict the annual flows in wood biomass, carbon, and nutrients, including N, S, P, and K, from the forest to the air emissions (NOx, SOx, PAH, etc.) and ash flows. We simulated the bioenergy potential of pure even-aged high-forest stands of European beech, an abundant forest type in Northeastern France. Two forest management practices were studied, a standard-rotation and a shorter-rotation scenario, along with two wood utilizations: with or without fine woody debris (FWD) harvesting. FWD harvesting tended to reduce the forested area required to supply the CHP by 15–22% since larger amounts of energy wood were available for the CHP process, especially in the short-rotation scenario. Because less biomass was harvested, the short-rotation scenario with FWD decreased the nutrient exports per hectare and year by 4–21% compared to standard practices but increased the amount of N, S, and P in the CHP process by 2–9%. This increase in the input nutrient flows had direct consequences on the inorganic air emissions, thus leading to additional NOx and SO2 emissions. This model is a valuable tool for assessing the life cycle inventories of the entire bioenergy chain.
Fédération Jacques Villermaux, CNRS, Université de Lorraine, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, 54518 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
Jessica
J
François
Mathieu
M
Fortin
Fabrice
F
Patisson
Anthony
A
Dufour
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D065928:Forests; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014197:Trees / Q000737:chemistry*; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D002244:Carbon