Test for future analysis (in development)
ORNL
This dataset includes longitudinal measurements of water quality in four streams and rivers across the United States that were collected using the AquaBOT, an unmanned surface vehicle equipped with water quality sensors developed as part of a BETO-funded project ('Spatially resolved measurements of water quality indicators within a bioenergy landscape'). Measured water quality indicators include: nitrate concentration, temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll, and pH. The data can be found in the Excel file and details on the sampling sites, measurement methods, and data are available in the data guide.
These data are associated with the following paper:
Griffiths, N.A., P.S. Levi, J.S. Riggs, C.R. DeRolph, A.M. Fortner, and J.K. Richards. A sensor-equipped unmanned surface vehicle for high-resolution mapping of water quality in streams. Environmental Science & Technology Water. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00342
Simulations under this dataset were targeted to a specific fuelshed in Iowa.
Integrated land management (ILM) applications were targeted under this research, although the results of these simulations are at the county level; downscaling post-processing will be applied.
Short Rotation Woody Crop Production Scenarios Simulated for Idaho National Laboratory-ORNL Collaborations, June 2021.
This workshop examines the potential benefits, feasibility, and barriers to the use of biofuels in place of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil for marine vessels. More than 90% of world’s shipped goods
travel by marine cargo vessels powered by internal combustion (diesel) engines using primarily low-cost residual HFO, which is high in sulfur content. Recognizing that marine shipping is the largest source of
anthropogenic sulfur emissions and is a significant source of other pollutants including particulates, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide (CO2), the International Maritime Organization enacted regulations to
lower the fuel sulfur content from 3.5 wt.% to 0.5 wt.% in 2020. These regulations require ship operators either to use higher-cost, low-sulfur HFO or to seek other alternatives for reducing sulfur emissions (i.e.,
scrubbers, natural gas, distillates, and/or biofuels). The near-term options for shipowners to comply with regulations include fueling with low-sulfur HFO or distillate fuels or installing emissions control systems.
However, few refineries are equipped to produce low-sulfur HFO. Likewise, the current production rates of distillates do not allow the necessary expansion required to fuel the world fleet of shipping vessels
(which consume around 330 million metric tons). This quantity is more than twice that used in the United States for cars and trucks. The other near-term option is to install emission control systems, which also
requires a significant investment. All of these options significantly increase operational costs. Because of such costs, biofuels have become an attractive alternative since they are inherently low in sulfur and
potentially also offer greenhouse gas benefits. Based on this preliminary assessment, replacing HFO in large marine vessels with minimally processed, heavy biofuels appears to have potential as a path to
reduced emissions of sulfur, CO2, and criteria emissions. Realizing this opportunity will require deeper knowledge of (1) the combustion characteristics of biofuels in marine applications, (2) their compatibility
for blending with conventional marine fuels (including HFO), (3) needs and costs for scaling up production and use, and (4) a systems assessment of their life cycle environmental impacts and costs. It is
recommended that a research program investigating each of these aspects be undertaken to better assess the efficacy of biofuels for marine use.
Contact information about the submitter of this metadata record:
Author list: Maggie Davis, Matt Langholtz, Laurence Eaton, Chad Hellwinkel
Who should be contacted with questions relating to the data? (Principal investigator or primary developer of data product): Maggie Davis, davismr@ornl.gov
What format is your data presented in? .csv .xls
Date data created 1/26-29/2016
Please include a description of the data set (abstract):
As part of the Billion Ton resource assessment projections created in 2016 (see https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/12/f34/2016_billion_ton_re…), this dataset was produced and titled a "base-case" scenario. This broader dataset provided an updated assessment of the potential economic availability of biomass resources from agricultural lands reported at the farmgate under conservative assumptions. Crop residues quantified in this dataset include corn stover, cereal (wheat, oats, and barley) straws, and sorghum stubble. We have isolated corn stover in this dataset.
What is the purpose of the data set? Why were the data collected?*
Per request for use in subsequent research, we have isolated corn stover in 2019 from the broader base-case projections and have provided tillage classification details from this projection. Tillage classification assumptions in this scenario allow a moderate deviation from a baseline situation (using historic CTIC data on tillage type used in counties for each crop). This dataset allowed moderate flexibility of farmers to put land into another tillage type (no till, conservation till, and reduced till) where a higher net present value was calculated.
Were data created or processed with a model or other analytical tool? Yes
Version POLYSYS v10_1-22-16b
Assumptions: Cumulative (energy crops and residues). Base-case (1% yield growth scenario), Tillage Flex = 1, across offered prices of $40-$60 in $5 increments from 2015 to 2040.
Should other organizations/individuals get credit for support, funding, or data collection and analysis? Yes, the USDOE BioEnergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Perennial grasses are touted as sustainable feedstocks for energy production. Such benefits, however, may be offset if excessive nitrogen (N) fertilization leads to economic and environmental issues. Furthermore, as yields respond to changes in climate, nutrient requirements will change, and thus guidance on minimal N inputs is necessary to ensure sustainable bioenergy production. Here, a pairwise meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of N fertilization (amount and duration) and climate on the above-ground biomass yields of miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). Both regression models and meta-analyses showed that switchgrass was more responsive to N than miscanthus, although both showed significant and positive N effects. Meta-analysis further showed that the positive growth response of miscanthus to N application increased with N addition rates of 60–300 kg N ha−1 year−1, but the magnitude of the response decreased with the number of years of fertilization (duration). N effects on switchgrass biomass increased and peaked at rates of 120–160 kg N ha−1 year−1 and 5–6 years of N inputs, but diminished for rates >300 kg N ha−1 year−1 and >7 years. Meta-analysis further revealed that the influences of N on switchgrass increased with both mean annual temperature and precipitation. Miscanthus yields were less responsive to climate than switchgrass yields. This meta-analysis helps fill a gap in estimation of biofeedstock yields based on N fertilization and could help better estimate minimum N requirements and soil management strategies for miscanthus and switchgrass cultivation across climatic conditions, thereby improving the efficiency and sustainability of bioenergy cropping systems.
Sustainable production of algae will depend on understanding trade-offs at the energy-water nexus. Algal biofuels promise to improve the environmental sustainability profile of renewable energy along most dimensions. In this assessment of potential US freshwater production, we assumed sustainable production along the carbon dimension by simulating placement of open ponds away from high-carbon-stock lands (forest, grassland, and wetland) and near sources of waste CO 2 . Along the water dimension, we quantified trade-offs between water scarcity and production for an ‘upstream’ indicator (measuring minimum water supply) and a ‘downstream’ indicator (measuring impacts on rivers). For the upstream indicator, we developed a visualization tool to evaluate algae production for different thresholds for water surplus. We hypothesized that maintaining a minimum seasonal water surplus would also protect river habitat for aquatic biota. Our study confirmed that ensuring surplus water also reduced the duration of low-flow events, but only above a threshold. We also observed a trade-off between algal production and the duration of low-flow events in streams. These results can help to guide the choice of basin-specific sustainability targets to avoid conflicts with competing water users at this energy-water nexus. Where conflicts emerge, alternative water sources or enclosed photobioreactors may be needed for algae cultivation.
Practicing agriculture decreases downstream water quality when compared to non-agricultural lands. Agricultural watersheds that also grow perennial biofuel feedstocks can be designed to improve water quality compared to agricultural watersheds without perennials. The question then becomes which conservation practices should be employed and where in the landscape should they be situated to achieve water quality objectives when growing biofuel feedstocks. In this review, we focused on four types of spatial decisions in a bioenergy landscape: decisions about placement of vegetated strips, artificial drainage, wetlands, and residue removal. The appropriate tools for addressing spatial design questions are optimizations that seek to minimize losses of sediment and nutrients, reduce water temperature, and maximize farmer income. To accomplish these objectives through placing conservation practices, both field-scale and watershed-scale cost and benefits should be considered, as many biophysical processes are scale dependent. We developed decision trees that consider water quality objectives and landscape characteristics when determining the optimal locations of management practices. These decision trees summarize various rules for placing practices and can be used by farmers and others growing biofuels. Additionally, we examined interactions between conservation practices applied to bioenergy landscapes to highlight synergistic effects and to comprehensively address the question of conservation practice usage and placement. We found that combining conservation practices and accounting for their interactive effects can significantly improve water quality outcomes. Based on our review, we determine that by making spatial decisions on conservation practices, bioenergy landscapes can be designed to improve water quality and enhance other ecosystem services.
The economic potential for Eucalyptus spp. production for jet fuel additives in the United States: A 20 year projection suite of scenarios ranging from $110 Mg-1 to $220 Mg-1 utilizing the POLYSYS model.