Research on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economic Assessment of Biomass Gasification Power Generation Technology in China Based on LCA Method

Abstract

China is rich in biomass resources, taking straw as an example, the amount of straw in China is 735 million tons in 2021. However, at the level of resource use, biomass resources have the practical difficulties of being widely distributed and difficult to achieve large-scale application. By collecting large amounts of biomass and generating electricity using gasification technology, we can effectively increase the resource utilization of biomass and also improve China’s energy security. By using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, this paper conducted a life cycle assessment with local biomass gasification power generation data in China and found that the LCA greenhouse gas emissions of biomass gasification power generation technology is 8.68 t CO2 e/104 kWh and the LCA cost is 674 USD/104 kWh. Biomass gasification power generation technology has a 14.7% reduction in whole life carbon emissions compared to coal power generation technology. This paper finds that gas-fired power generation processes result in the largest carbon emissions. In terms of economics, this paper finds that natural gas brings the most additional costs as an external heat source.