Field Bioenergy in Finland, possibilities and challenges

Jukka AhokasUniversity of HelsinkiDepartment of Agrotechnology

Function of the field

Original functionFood productionFeed productionFibre production, flax, hemp, cotton

Modified functionBioenergy

Food energy need in Finland

Human being needs 10 MJ energy in a day

Need for dark bread

If only dark bread was eaten we would need about 730 000 ha of fields

Milk factory

Energy in feed 5 units

Energy in milk 1 unit

The milk factory inside a cow can produce milk with 20 % efficiency !

Field area needed for milk production

If only milk was drinken we would need about 1 100 000 ha of fields

What does a human being eat?Human being eats also other food than breadFood from animal production always decreases production efficiency=> more hectares are needed for food productionOn the other hand for instance cows can exploit hay, which humanbeings cannot eatFinnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry suggests that 0,5 millionhectares could be used for other than food or feed production

Daily food consumption gr/day

5 %8 %

10 %

1 %

15 %

6 %

54 %

1 %

Bread

Potatoes andvegetablesBerries and fruits

Fats

Milk products

Meat products, fish andeggsDrinks

Sugar and sweets

World population and energyconsumption

Population and energy consumption

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005Year

Mto

e, k

Wh/

pers

on, m

illio

n

Population, milj. Energy consumption Mtoe Energy consumption/per capita kWh

Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/popgdp.html, Kitani O. Natural Energy and Biomass. CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering, Volume V. ASAE 1999

World food production

World crop area and production

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000Year

Are

a m

ill. h

a an

d yi

eld

mill

. t

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Fert

ilize

r pro

d. m

ill.t

Crop land mill. ha Cereal yield mill. t Fertilizer prod. mill. t

Population and food 1955 -1995

ConclusionsWorld population has doubledCereal area is about the sameCereal production has almosttripledFertilizer usage has increased 7-times

If population increases morearea is needed for agriculturalproduction

Production increase is achievedwith fertilizers, which is mainlyproduced with oil

What happens if we will have an energy crisis?

If energy shortage occursFertilizer prices will increase and fertilizer supply will decrease

Fertilizer usage will decreaseYields will decreaseMore area is needed for food productionSupply of field bioenergy will decline

If agricultural production does notget enough oil

More human and animal labour willbe neededAnimals and machines ’eat’ part of the production

Energy consumption in Finland

Field bioenergy is in the Others 1 % category

Energy scenario in Finland

Helynen, S, Flyktman, M., Mäkinen, T., Sipilä, K. & Vesterinen, P. 2002. Bioenergian mahdollisuudet kasvihuonepäästöjenvähentämisessä. [The possibilities of bioenergy in reducing greenhouse gases. In Finnish, with English abstract]. Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo. VTT Research Notes 2145. 110 p. + app. 2 p.

Wood – Field energy

Bioenergy production in Finland is based on wood and especially on industrial waste orthinning woodThe future of field bioenergy is seen marginalReason for this

Long tradition in wood usageWood material is easier to handleEnergy balance is better for woodenergy

- Forrest produces yield with minimalfossile energy usage

Energy and emission analyses

Results of analysesIs more fossil energy used in the production than what the product contains ?Is more emissions producedduring the production than for instance direct fossil energyproduces ?

Analyses reveals:Production senseWeakest points in the production chain

Energy usage in plant production

Direct energy usage

Indirect energy usage

Example of Energy usage in plant production

Farm work20 %

Grain drying23 %

Machine manufacturing

10 %

Fertilizer manufacturing

47 %

Energy usage in barley production in Finnish conditions total energy demand 9780 MJ/ha (274 l/ha diesel oil)

Favourable climate conditions

> 50 % more

Energy balance

Is it moral to use ethanol as a fuel?

Grain could be used as a fuelIt is immoral to burn grain!

In ethanol production more energy can be used in production than what is got from ethanol

0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0

Product/Production

Barley

Ethanol

Ethanol+mash

Energy ratio for 1 ha of barley

maxmin

Energy balance

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

BE RME F-TR F-TGEnergyratios, product/production

Energy ratios

Source: Mäkinen et al. Liikenteen biopolttoaineiden ja peltoenergian kasvihuonekaasutaseet ja uudet liiketoimintakonseptit. VTT tiedotteita 2357, Espoo 2006

BE = Barley Ethanol, RME = Rape seed Methyl Esther, F-TR = Fischer-Tropsch diesel from Forest Residues, F-TG= Fischer-Tropsch diesel from Reed Canary Grass

Bioenergy – GHG analyses

Fossil energy is used for bioenergy production => also emissions are produced during productionFertilizer usage makes changes to field emissions => N2O from soils is a problem for field bioenergy productionGHG (Green House Gas) analyse takes into account the production emissionsNormally IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) GHG analyse is done for bioenergy production

GWP (Global Warming Potential) indexes for 100 year time period: CO2 = 1, CH4 = 24,5 and N2O = 320

Bioenergy and GHG effect

Source: Mäkinen et al. Liikenteen biopolttoaineiden ja peltoenergian kasvihuonekaasutaseet ja uudet liiketoimintakonseptit. VTT tiedotteita 2357, Espoo 2006

Ethanol and biodiesel have stronger GHG effect than fossil fuels

0,00

20,00

40,00

60,00

80,00

100,00

120,00

BE RME F-TR F-TG Diesel GazolineGHG-Emissions kg CO2eq./GJfuel

GHG Emissions

Raw material production Fuel prod. & transport CO2 during burning

BE = Barley Ethanol, RME = Rape seed Methyl Esther, F-TR = Fischer-Tropsch diesel from Forest Residues, F-TG= Fischer-Tropsch diesel from Reed Canary Grass

Future of field bioenergy

At the moment some amount of field area can be taken to bioenergy production

500 000 ha at the moment seems to be availablemarginal soils and ’waste’ fertilizers could be used on these fields

Agricultural, industrial and municipals wastes could be be used more for biofuel production

Evaluation of bioenergy

Economically profitable

High energy ratio

Emission reduction

Political reasons

Challanges for field bioenergy research

Analysis methodscommon background for analysis is missing

Decrease of fossil energy consumptionDecrease of fertilizer usage by

- Better nutrient recycling- Using nitrogen fixing plants in production

Improving grain drying efficiency and storage methodsImproving efficiency in biomass usage, all parts of the plant must be utilized

If energy plants are usedPresent plants are selected and developed by their food or feed production capability => new species must be developedHarvest and storage methods must be developedPlant rotation must be developed

Challanges for field bioenergy research

’Waste’ utilizationAgricultural (industrial, municipal) waste exploitation must be improved

- straw- manure

Minor and problematic soils could be reserved for biomass production

Cultivation method Biomass production must be integrated to normal agricultural production (rotation)Biomass production needs own production systems

Challanges for field bioenergy research

Biofuel or biofuel raw material production on farms

Fuel properties must be standardized (biodiesel)

Changes in agricultural product prices and markets

Field biofuels should not decrease food production

New fuelsNew fuels , we must not stay in the traditional fuels but also look at other fuels