Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission of biomass gasification and power generation system

Aiming at evaluating feasibility and sustainability of biomass gasification and power generation(BGPG) system in China, a hybrid Life Cycle Assessment(LCA)method combining process analysis with economic input-output analysis was used to quantify energy consumption and greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions over the entire life cycle of 1 MW and 5.5 MW BGPG systems. The results show that the BGPG systems can save up to 90% of primary fossil energy when substituting conventional electricity, with life- cycle energy consumptions of 0.238 and 0.258 GJ/GJ for 1 MW and 5.5 MW BGPG systems, respectively. On the other hand, the BGPG systems can reduce GHG emission by more than 80%, with life-cycle GHG emissions of 40.4 and 49.8 kg CO2-eq/GJ for 1 MW and 5.5 MW BGPG systems, respectively, the energy consumption and GHG emission is the highest in electricity generation process. The results indicate that BGPG system possesses well sustainability and can play a positive role in energy conservation and emission reduction. © 2015, Science Press. All right reserved.