Decarbonization Potential of Bioenergy in Amazonian Isolated Systems: an Environmental Life Cycle Inventory

Le résumé fourni par la source

The use of renewable sources of energy is one of the key points in achieving a neutral carbon economy. Brazil presents an advantage by having one of the cleanest electric matrices. However, this does not exclude the challenge of a net-zero target. Especially in remote communities in Brazil, energy decarbonization will require a range of solutions that should not be standardized but rather solutions that consider the local socio-biodiversity and the local emissions profile. This study focuses on the isolated systems of Manicoré and Lábrea, located in the Amazon South state, whose electricity consumption is supplied by diesel thermoelectric plants. As a socio-biodiversity solution, bioenergy derived from biomass residues from sustainable management forest residues has considerable potential. To begin to identify the viability of replacing diesel with bioenergy pursuing decarbonization, a gate-to-gate Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) was performed. A description of the site, system, consumption, and transportation was made, followed by an explanation of the data collection process. The results of the research are mainly two inventories. The bioenergy system showed better results for the carbon dioxide and particulate matter emission factors, with values of 303.5 and 1.74 kg/MWh, respectively. The LCI results indicate that the bioenergy system has higher CO and lower CO2 and PM2.5 emissions when considering biogenic carbon. However, further studies on technological routes for electricity conversion and carbon debt for Amazon residues are needed for a comprehensive regional environmental impact assessment. Moreover, conducting an LCA with the inventories gathered in this article will provide a more detailed analysis of the overall environmental performance of these systems.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.