AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

Hybrid Eco-Life Cycle assessment (Hybrid Eco-LCA) quantified cumulative exergy consumption of renewable resources, non-renewable resources and GHG emissions over life cycle of products of services once the inventories and the producer prices of inputs are determined. In this study, sustainability and competitiveness of cellulosic ethanol derived from Low-input, high-diversity grasslands (LIHD) are analyzed in Hybrid Eco-LCA model, with gasoline and cellulosic ethanol from five different feedstocks as references. These five cellulosic ethanol products are derived from corn stover, switch grass, MSW, yellow popular. Crude glycerin which is a byproduct of biodiesel process can be converted to polyols. Crude glycerin (CG) based polyols can be used to produce polyurethane (PU) coatings. Due to rising price of crude oil and environmental impacts of petroleum base polyols, there are compelling reasons for interest of crude glycerin. Exergy consumption, water usage, land usage, carbon dioxide emission, Nitrogen emission and renewability index are compared between traditional petroleum based polyols and CG based polyols. Results of this study provide an in-depth perspective for decision makers. LIHD biomass can be an improved alternative biofuel due to its pest resistance, lower inputs for farming phase. Crude glycerin based polyols are less dependence on fossil fuel and lower CO2 emission.