Energy input, carbon intensity and cost for ethanol produced from farmed seaweed

Aaron Philippsen, Peter Wild and Andrew Rowe

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014, vol. 38, issue C, 609-623

Abstract: Macroalgae, commonly known as seaweed, has received significant interest as a potential source of ethanol because of its fast growth, significant sugar content and successful lab-scale conversion to ethanol. Issues such as energy input in seaweed conversion, lifecycle emissions, global production potential and cost have received limited attention. To address this gap, a well-to-tank model of ethanol production from brown seaweed is developed and applied to the case of ethanol production from Saccharina latissima in British Columbia, Canada. Animal feed is proposed as a co-product and co-product credits are estimated. In the case considered, seaweed ethanol is found to have an energy return on invested (EROI) of 1.7 and a carbon intensity (CI) of 10.8gCO2eMJ−1. Ethanol production from conventionally farmed seaweed could cost less than conventional ethanol and be produced on a scale comparable to 1% of global gasoline production. A drying system is required in regions such as British Columbia that require seasonal seaweed storage due to a limited harvest season. The results are significantly influenced by variations in animal feed processing energy, co-product credit value, seaweed composition, the value of seaweed animal feed and the cost of seaweed farming. We find EROI ranges from 0.64 to 26.7, CI from 33 to −41gCO2eMJ−1 and ethanol production is not financially viable without animal feed production in some scenarios.

Keywords: Seaweed; Macroalgae; Ethanol; Carbon intensity; EROI; Cost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.06.010

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