Comparative life cycle assessment of three biohydrogen pathways

Abstract

A life cycle assessment was performed to quantify and compare the energetic and environmental performances of hydrogen from wheat straw (WS-H(2)), sweet sorghum stalk (SSS-H(2)), and steam potato peels (SPP-H(2)). Inventory data were derived from a pilot plant. Impacts were assessed using the impact 2002+ method. When co-product was not considered, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 5.60 kg CO(2eq) kg(-1) H(2) for WS-H(2), 5.32 kg CO(2eq) kg(-1) H(2) for SSS-H(2), and 5.18 kg CO(2eq) kg(-1) H(2) for SPP-H(2). BioH(2) pathways reduced GHG emissions by 52-56% compared to diesel and by 54-57% compared to steam methane reforming production of H(2). The energy ratios (ER) were also comparable: 1.08 for WS-H(2), 1.14 for SSS-H(2) and 1.17 for SPP-H(2). A shift from SPP-H(2) to WS-H(2) would therefore not affect the ER and GHG emissions of these BioH(2) pathways. When co-product was considered, a shift from SPP-H(2) to WS-H(2) or SSS-H(2) decreased the ER, while increasing the GHG emissions significantly. Co-product yield should be considered when selecting BioH(2) feedstocks.