Environmental Effects of Large- Scale Algal

Fuel Production

Virginia Dale and Tanya Kuritz

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

June 2011

For National Research

Council Committee on the

Sustainable Development of

Algal Biofuels

Roadmap for Talk

• Sustainability issues

• Effects of algal fuels on key indicators of sustainability

• Conclusions and research needs

Key assumptions:• Renewable energy must be provided by a variety of sources• Biofuels must be located and implemented to best address sustainability constraints

Challenges of Sustainability

Feedstock type

Environmental

Attributes

Open vs

closed

system?

Harvesting method?

Fertilizers?

Ag field?

Pasture?

Native forest?

CRP? Water quality

& quantity?

Wildlife?

Soil

carbon?

Runoff?

Cold ? Wet?

Riparian?

Adjacent forest?

Near refinery?

5% of watershed?

20% of watershed?

Patchy?

Blocky?

Must address all six dimensions for a region

Corn? Residues?

Cellulosic

perennials?

Algae?

Revised from: Dale, Fargione, Kline, Wiens 2010. Biofuels: Implications for Land Use and Biodiversity. Biofuels

and Sustainability report of the Ecological Society of America http://www.esa.org/biofuelsreports3

Sustainability and Adaptive Management• Focus on sustainability provides

– opportunity to decide how production of algal fuels might be “done right” (Kline et al. 2009)

– a positive example for other agricultural systems.

• Adaptive management fosters

– Learning appropriate ways to manage these systems while the industry is expanding.

– Documenting ways to be resilient in the face of changes in climate change while addressing ecosystem services (Folke et al. 2004).

• The regional approach considers

– Current social and economic activities

– Methods of production

– Infrastructure

– Cumulative effects over space and time

Environmental and Socioeconomic Indicators

Cross-cutting issues: Land-use change,

Ecosystem services, GMOs

U. S. Water Use by Sectors

IrrigationMining IndustrialAquaculture

34 percentLess than 1 percent

Less than 1 percent

Livestock

11 percent

Public Supply

48 percent

Thermoelectric power

5 percentLess than 1 percent

Less than 1 percent

Domestic

Indicators of Environmental Sustainability for Bioenergy Systems

Category Indicator Units

Soil quality 1. Total organic carbon (TOC) Mg/ha

2. Total nitrogen (N) Mg/ha

3. Extractable phosphorus (P) Mg/ha

4. Bulk density g/cm3

Water

quality and

quantity

5. Nitrate concentration in

streams (and export)

concentration: mg/L;

export: kg/ha/yr

6. Total phosphorus (P)

concentration in streams (and

export)

concentration: mg/L;

export: kg/ha/yr

7. Suspended sediment

concentration in streams (and

export)

concentration: mg/L;

export: kg/ha/yr

8. Herbicide concentration in

streams (and export)

concentration: mg/L;

export: kg/ha/yr

9. storm flow L/s

10. Minimum base flow L/s

11. Consumptive water use

(incorporates base flow)

feedstock production:

m3/ha/day;

biorefinery: m3/day

Category Indicator Units

Greenhouse

gases

12. CO2 equivalent

emissions (CO2 and

N2O)

kgCeq/GJ

Biodiversity 13. Presence of taxa of

special concern

Presence

14. Habitat area of taxa

of special concern

ha

Air quality 15. Tropospheric ozone ppb

16. Carbon monoxide ppm

17. Total particulate

matter less than 2.5μm

diameter (PM2.5)

µg/m3

18. Total particulate

matter less than 10μm

diameter (PM10)

µg/m3

Productivity 19. Aboveground net

primary productivity

(ANPP) / Yield

gC/m2/year

McBride et al. (2011). Indicators to support environmental sustainability

of bioenergy systems. Ecological Indicators 11(5):1277-1289.7

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Fuel Type

Conversion

Process

Co-

Products

Storage

Transport

Blend

Conditions

Engine

Type &

Efficiency

Components of the Biofuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Biofuel

Biofuel

Logistics

Biofuel

End-Uses

No experience with algal

fuels so uncertainty is high

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Fuel Type

Conversion

Process

Co-

Products

Storage

Transport

Blend

Conditions

Engine Type

& Efficiency

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Biofuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Biofuel

Biofuel

Logistics

Biofuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

- Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Liquid Fuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Liquid FuelLiquid Fuel

Logistics

Liquid Fuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

- Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Major Effects Associated with Algal Fuels

- Major effect

Traditional row crops affect all these aspects of the environment as well

• Soils affected by spills• Water influenced by production type • If area large , then biodiversity can be affected by

• fragmentation• habitat loss• loss of species of special concern

• Welfare = odor

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Liquid Fuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Liquid FuelLiquid Fuel

Logistics

Liquid Fuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

- Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Major Effects Associated with Algal Fuels

- Major effect

• Water : Spills during harvest can be a problem• Productivity : linked to GHG and harvest system

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Fuel Type

Conversion

Process

Co-

Products

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Liquid Fuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Liquid FuelLiquid Fuel

Logistics

Liquid Fuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Major Effects Associated with Algal Fuels

- Major effect

• Water: depends on conversion approach• Profitability: Algal fuels not yet profitable• Legal/regulatory: Intellectual property

• Profitability: Co- products essential

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Fuel Type

Conversion

Process

Co-

Products

Storage

Transport

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Liquid Fuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Liquid FuelLiquid Fuel

Logistics

Liquid Fuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

- Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Major Effects Associated with Algal Fuels

- Major effect

• No experience or data = high

uncertainty•Assume same as other biofuels

Feedstock

Type

Land

Conditions

Management

Processing

Harvesting

& Collection

Storage

Transport

Fuel Type

Conversion

Process

Co-

Products

Storage

Transport

Blend

Conditions

Engine Type

& Efficiency

Depiction of Where Major Categories of

Sustainability Indicators Are Affected within the

Liquid Fuel Supply Chain

Feedstock

Production

Feedstock

Logistics

Conversion

to Liquid FuelLiquid Fuel

Logistics

Liquid Fuel

End-Uses

- Soil quality

- Water quality and quantity

- Greenhouse gases

- Biodiversity

- Air quality

- Productivity

Major categories of indicators:

Environment Socioeconomic

- Aspect of sustainability not affected

- Profitability

- Employment

- Welfare

- Trade and energy

security

- Legal/regulatory

- Natural resource

accounting

[based on Oak Ridge National Laboratory report in prep.]

Major Effects Associated with Algal Fuels

- Major effect

15

Agricultural Landscape

• Major questions– Can we create energy from biological sources with

little fossil energy input?– Can we grow sufficient feedstocks to meet our

energy security goals? • without significantly raising food prices?• with little use of land that is valuable for other purposes?

– Can we meet our fuel, food, and fiber needs? • without increased deforestation?• while maintaining or increasing water quality?• while maintaining or increasing biodiversity of many types of

organisms?

• Response– Yes – if we use to landscape design to determine

where and how to use resources• Using resources in optimal way (considering all aspects of

sustainability)• Not a “one design fits all” approach

• Several research institutions are working to answer these questions.• Many unfounded, false, or over-generalized statements about these questions are prevalent in the popular media!

Complexities and uncertainties makes it large to estimate effects (e.g., multiple influences on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico)

Conclusions – Sustainability of Algal Fuel

• Environmental sustainability depends largely on– Water resource impacts – Lands converted (cumulative effects)– GHG consumed

• Socioeconomic sustainability depends largely on – Co-products– Potential for spills during conversion– Potential for algal fuels to be used in

jets

– Context is important for both

Research & Development Needs for algal Fuels as related to sustainability

• Algal feedstock eco-designs

– Location and design of ponds

– What lands are converted

– Cumulative effects

• Harvesting and site preparation strategies to minimize impacts on water, land, and socioeconomic conditions

• Opportunities for co-products

Visit the CBES website at http://www.ornl.gov/sci/besd/cbes for more information.