A standardized well-to-wheel model for the assessment of bioethanol and hydrogen from cellulosic biomass

The well-to-wheel (WtW) results of biomass-based chains are found to be significantly sensitive to changes in the elements of the chain model such as the land use change. Our new standardization model is based on the conviction that the synthesis of a statistical aggregate of the possibilities that are defined by the major models in the field including GREET and GEMIS would build reliability into the result by buffering against the changes in the elements of the chain model. In this paper we assess a chosen set of biomass-based chains in terms of energy and GHG emissions using the innovative concept of the standardization transport model (STM). Hydrogen was found to be very attractive with the use of waste wood. On the other hand, sugar ethanol was found to be a promising fuel for the reduction of GHG emissions. Unfavorable land use changes and high fertilizers use should be avoided to maximize confidence in significant reductions from sugar ethanol.