Life Cycle Assessment and Economic Analysis of Biomass Energy Technology in China: A Brief Review

Abstract

This study describes the technological processes and characteristics of biomass direct combustion power generation, biomass gasification power generation, biomass mixed combustion power generation, and biomass biogas power generation in terms of their importance and application in China. Under the perspective of environmental and economic sustainability, the life cycle assessment (LCA) method and dynamic analysis method based on time value are used to simulate and evaluate the environmental loads and economic benefits of different power generation processes. By comparing with coal-fired power generation systems, the environmental and economic benefits of different biomass power generation technologies are illustrated. The results shows that biomass gasification power generation has the best environmental benefits, with a total load of 1.05 × 10−5, followed by biomass biogas power generation (9.21 × 10−5), biomass direct combustion power generation (1.23 × 10−4), and biomass mixed combustion power generation (3.88 × 10−4). Compared with the environmental load of coal-fired power generation, the reduction rate was 97.69%, 79.69%, 72.87%, and 14.56% respectively. According to the analysis of the technical economy evaluation results, when the dynamic pay-back period and IRR (internal rate of return) were used as evaluation indicators, the biomass direct combustion power generation has the best pay-back period (7.71 years) and IRR (19.16%), followed by the biogas power generation, with higher dynamic payback period (12.03 years), and lower IRR (13.49%). For gasification power generation and mixed-combustion power generation, their dynamic payback period is long, and the IRR is low. If net present value (NPV) is selected as the evaluation index, the biogas power generation appears to be the best because its net present value per megawatt is 11.94 million yuan, followed by direct combustion power generation (6.09 million yuan), and the net present value of mixed-combustion power generation and gasification power generation is relatively low. Compared with coal-fired power generation, direct combustion power generation and biogas power generation present significant economic benefits.