Work

Life cycle analysis of dedicated energy crops for fuel production in the United States

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Dedicated energy crops are promising feedstocks to make biofuels including jet fuels. This study applies life-cycle analysis (LCA) to estimate direct well-to-wake (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (g CO2e/MJ) for jet fuel derived from five energy crops—biomass sorghum, miscanthus, switchgrass, poplar, and willow—via Fischer–Tropsch-to-Jet (FTJ) and Ethanol-to-Jet (ETJ) pathways. The WTW boundary includes direct emissions from biomass production, fuel production, and fuel combustion. The R&D GREET model is expanded to conduct the LCA, taking national average biomass yields and farming inputs from the 2023 Billion-Ton Study. In addition, this study estimates emissions from market-mediated effects, including induced land-use change, induced other crop (non-feedstock) production changes, and induced livestock production changes using global economic and emissions factor models.On a per-dry U.S. ton basis, cultivation and harvest emissions are lowest for willow (51,565 g CO2e) and highest for biomass sorghum (104,488 g CO2e). Per-acre results show similarly high emissions for sorghum and lowest values for poplar and willow. Direct WTW emissions are substantially lower for FTJ (biomass sorghum: 5.5; miscanthus: 10.3; switchgrass: 11.7; poplar: 11.9; and willow: 8.7 g CO2e/MJ) than ETJ (33.2; 33.8; 34.8; 36.2; and 31.7 g CO2e/MJ, respectively). When market-mediated emissions are included, miscanthus exhibits the lowest total emissions across energy crop pathways. Although results are sensitive to modeling assumptions, they indicate that high-yielding perennial and woody crops, particularly when planted on marginal land, could significantly reduce WTW emissions for bio-jet fuels by combining low direct emissions with soil carbon gains and favorable market-mediated effects.

Source: Biomass and Bioenergy

DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2026.109329