Jürgen Reinhard

RSB tool: a LCA tool for the assessment of biofuels sustainability

The paper focuses on the role of simulation within the RSB GHG Tool, which is a web-based decision support tool that assesses greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels according to the principles of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. Using a questionnaire, each operator can specify his individual data and calculate the GHG emission for his production step. To derive the environmental flows required for the impact assessment, the tool applies simulation, which allows generating a full inventory on the basis of the limited input data the operator can provide. This is the basis for the interactive assessment of the GHG emissions of individual steps of biofuels pathways, without the need of conducting a time and resource-intensive Life Cycle Assessment study. In this paper, we focus on the simulation for the emissions caused by land use change since such emissions can play a dominating role in the GHG balance of a biofuel.

SQCB - Sustainability Quick Check Tool for Biofuels

The paper deals with the conception and technical development of the “Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels” (hereafter SQCB). The SQCB is a tool to evaluate the impacts of biofuel production on environment. Against the background of mineral oil tax remission in Switzerland providers or dealers of energy crops or biofuels in developing countries can do a legally non-binding check if their products qualify for this remission. For this purpose a web-based calculation model is developed that does a lightweight material flow analysis.

Erratum to: Updated and harmonised greenhouse gas emissions for crop inventories

This is a corrigendum and clarification of behalf of the authors. The error concerns the GHG emissions of sugarcane cultivation in Brazil given per hectare. The value in Fig. 9 given per kilogram of crop is correct but was aggregated to 1 ha on the basis of an erroneous yield. The corrected GHG emissions of sugarcane cultivation amount to 5.7 instead of 3.5 t CO2 eq. ha . Figure 8 and Table 7 in the original version of the article have been corrected accordingly, and the changes in the text and in Table 7 are in italics. The corrected GHG emissions change the discussions concerning sugarcane as follows. On page 1371: BRegarding sugarcane, GWP increases by a factor of 4 mainly because the emissions from LUC were not considered in version 2.2.^ On page 1374: BFor sugarcane cultivation in Brazil, the results of Ponsioen & Blonk (2012) are 45 % higher.^

Roadmap to the RSB Tool: Extension of the Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels (SQCB) for Greenhouse Gas Calculations According to the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED)

The Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels (SQCB) is a web-based tool for the evaluation of biofuels on an LCA basis. It allows calculating the global warming potential, as well as the as overall environmental impacts of the biofuels’ life cycle. The tool was first based on the requirements for the Swiss ordinance on mineral oil tax. EMPA will expand the SQCB to include the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) Certification Standard. The first step in this process is to include the regulatory requirements of the European Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC of April 23, 2009 (RED), in particular the calculation of the greenhouse gas emissions according to the RED methodology. The implementation of the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions according to the Renewable Energy Directive will allow producers and importers to calculate the GHG emissions of their biofuels for the European context while profiting from the flexibility and comfort of the Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels