Biomethane comparison with other biofuels Dominic Scholfield Global Biomethane Congress October 2012
Mint Green Sustainability Freight GHG accounting Alternative fuel vehicle trial design and analysis Low carbon transport strategies and options analysis 2
Overview Comparison of biomethane with: 1 st generation biofuels (from food crops) 2 nd generation biofuels Conclusions: BM is a better HDV fuel than 1 st gen biofuels BM will continue to have a role with 2 nd gen 3
Overview Areas of comparison Packaging the fuel onto vehicles Greenhouse gas (GHG) savings Price, and price stability Policy Outlook for BM as 2 nd gen biofuels come online 4
Fuels 1 st generation biofuels Biodiesel (FAME, HVO) Crop oils palm, soy, rape Waste oils cooking, tallow Bioethanol Sugar crops cane, beet Starch crops wheat, corn (Mostly) from food crops 5
Fuels 2 nd generation biofuels Wide variety of processes, broadly divided into thermochemical and biochemical Wide variety of feedstocks, mostly making use of lignocellulosic material the non-crop bit of biomass FT biodiesel BioDME BioButanol Cellulosic ethanol BioSNG 6
MJ/litre Packaging 40 Energy per unit volume (MJ/litre LHV) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Most data: Lower and higher heating values of gas, liquid and solid fuels Oak Ridge National Laboratory 7
MJ/kg Packaging 60 Energy per unit mass (MJ/kg LHV) 50 40 30 20 10 0 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Conventional gasoline Biodiesel 'renewable diesel' (HVO) Low-sulfur diesel Dimethyl ether (DME) CNG/CBM 250 bar (inc cylinders) CNG/CBM 200 bar (inc cylinders) Lithium ion battery Most data: Lower and higher heating values of gas, liquid and solid fuels Oak Ridge National Laboratory 8
Packaging Is the low density of CNG actually a problem? Standard set up (Econic, Stralis): 2 banks of 4x 80 litre steel tanks 200 bar Weight 830 kg 119 litres diesel equivalent Cylinder data from Mercedes Benz and CNG Cylinders International 9
Packaging Refuse Collection Vehicle 3.3 mpg on diesel 139 km on gas, adequate for most routes (based on trial in Leeds, UK) Data from trial of Econic NGT RCV by Leeds City Council 10
Packaging Rigid 18t truck 9 mpg on diesel 378 km on gas 54% of journeys by this vehicle type under 100km Mpg and journey data from UK Department for Transport statistics 2011 11
Packaging City bus 7 mpg on diesel Single bank of 4x 80 litre tanks sufficient for 147 km 12
GHG savings GHG savings for current HDV fuels with/without ILUC 100.0% 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% % GHG reduction (direct) %GHG reduction (inc ILUC) Emissions adjusted for drivetrain efficiency Data: Tables 5, 6, and 7 in California s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Final Regulation Order, April 15, 2010 13
% GHG saving vs gasoline GHG savings 100 Bioethanol GHG savings with/without ILUC 80 60 40 20 RED typical GHG saving Min saving Max saving RED target 0-20 Sugar beet Wheat Maize Sugar cane 2nd gen - residues -40 Data: Biofuels, indirect land use change and climate impacts, CE Delft, 2010 14
% GHG saving vs diesel GHG savings 100 Biodiesel GHG savings with/without ILUC 80 60 40 20 RED typical GHG saving Min saving Max saving RED target 0 Rapeseed Soybean Sunflower Palm oil Waste oil -20-40 Data: Biofuels, indirect land use change and climate impacts, CE Delft, 2010 15
GHG savings ILUC makes 1 st gen biofuels very unattractive 2 nd gen biofuels have the potential to avoid most ILUC Need careful analysis of: Co-products Need to return residues to soil New crops in developing countries 16
Cost per GGE Price $5.00 U.S. Average Retail Fuel Prices $4.50 $4.00 $3.50 $3.00 $2.50 $2.00 $1.50 $1.00 E85 B99/B100 Gasoline Diesel CNG $0.50 $0.00 Data: Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Reports 17
Sep-02 Jan-03 May-03 Sep-03 Jan-04 May-04 Sep-04 Jan-05 May-05 Sep-05 Jan-06 May-06 Sep-06 Jan-07 May-07 Sep-07 Jan-08 May-08 Sep-08 Jan-09 May-09 Sep-09 Jan-10 May-10 Sep-10 Jan-11 May-11 Sep-11 Jan-12 May-12 Price 250 Relationship between food price and oil price 200 150 Food price - commodity index, 2005 = 100 100 Crude oil price - US$/bbl 50 0 Data: Various sources, accessed via index mundi 18
Price IEA price projections for 1 st and 2 nd gen fuels to 2050 19
Price IEA price projections for 1 st and 2 nd gen fuels to 2050 20
Lde or Lge/ha Land use 7000 Land use efficiency of biofuels 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 Lde or Lge/ha 2010 Lde or Lge/ha 2050 0 Data: IEA, 2011, Technology Roadmap, Biofuels for Transport 21
Policy EU policy context 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 10% of energy in transport from renewables Recent developments: 1 st gen biofuels (food crops) capped at 5% Biofuels from most wastes, residues etc allowed to count for 4x their energy content 22
Policy Should biomethane be used in vehicles? Heat Electricity Transport Wind, Wave, Tidal, Hydro Solar, Geothermal, Waste (incineration) Woody biomass, Sewage/slurry Food crops 23
Policy Should biomethane be used in vehicles? Heat Electricity Transport Wind, Wave, Tidal, Hydro Solar, Geothermal, Waste (incineration) Woody biomass, Sewage/slurry Food crops 24
Policy Should biomethane be used in vehicles? Heat Electricity Transport Wind, Wave, Tidal, Hydro Solar, Geothermal, Waste (incineration) Woody biomass, Sewage/slurry Food crops 25
Outlook Simplified 2 nd gen gas-to-liquid process CO + H 2 Feedstock preparation Gasification Methanation or GtL Direct CH 4, ~40-50% of gas on energy basis Diagram simplified from: IEA/OECD, 2008, From 1 st to 2 nd Generation Biofuel Technologies, An Overview Figures from Ahman, 2009, Biomethane in the Transport Sector An appraisal of the forgotten option 26
Conclusions BM is a practical fuel for HDVs BM (from wastes) is among the very few biofuels to currently offer significant GHG savings There is enough feedstock (food and agricultural waste) for BM to make a significant contribution to transport BM will remain an attractive fuel for HDVs even after 2 nd gen biofuels are commercially developed 27
Thank you! Any questions? Dominic Scholfield, Mint Green Sustainability dominic@mintgreensus.co.uk 28