LCA FOR ENERGY SYSTEMS Life cycle assessment of potential energy uses for short rotation willow biomass in Sweden Sara González-García & Blas Mola-Yudego & Richard J. Murphy Received: 3 April 2012 / Accepted: 27 November 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 Abstract Purpose Two different bioenergy systems using willow chips as raw material has been assessed in detail applying life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to compare its environmental profile with conventional alternatives based on fossil fuels and demonstrate the potential of this biomass as a lignocellulosic energy source. Methods Short rotation forest willow plantations dedicated to biomass chips production for energy purposes and located in Southern Sweden were considered as the agricultural case study. The bioenergy systems under assessment were based on the production and use of willow-based ethanol in a flexi fuel vehicle blended with gasoline (85 % ethanol by vol- ume) and the direct combustion of willow chips in an industrial furnace in order to produce heat for end users. The standard framework for LCA from the International Standards Organisation was followed in this study. The environmental profiles as well as the hot spots all through the life cycles were identified. Results and discussion According to the results, Swedish willow biomass production is energetically efficient, and the destination of this biomass for energy purposes (indepen- dently the sort of energy) presents environmental benefits, specifically in terms of avoided greenhouse gases emissions and fossil fuels depletion. Several processes from the agri- cultural activities were identified as hot spots, and special considerations should be paid on them due to their contri- bution to the environmental impact categories under analy- sis. This was the case for the production and use of the nitrogen-based fertilizer, as well as the diesel used in agri- cultural machineries. Conclusions Special attention should be paid on diffuse emissions from the ethanol production plant as well as on the control system of the combustion emissions from the boiler. Keywords Biomass . Bioenergy . Ethanol . Gasoline . Heat production . LCA . Natural gas . Salix spp 1 Introduction Nowadays, there is a growing concern regarding climate change, atmospheric pollution, and depletion of fossil resources, which has led to an interest in the use of renew- able fuels (Reijnders and Huijbregts 2007; Mizsey and Racz 2010). Currently, 40 % of the total energy consumption worldwide is in the form of liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel (Tan et al. 2008, de Paula Gomes and Muylaert de Araújo 2009). In fact, transport is almost fully dependent on these kinds of liquid fuels. Liquid biofuels, especially etha- nol, provide one of the few options for fossil fuels substitu- tion in the short- to medium-term and are strongly promoted by the European Union (European Union 2003): They have the potential to offer both greenhouse gases (GHG)-saving and a secure supply of energy (Taylor 2008; Kim and Dale 2004). In fact, crop-derived fuels have been called climate neutral, as they release to the atmosphere carbon that was fixed by photosynthesis (Reijnders and Huijbregts 2007). Responsible editor: Shabbir Gheewala S. González-García (*) : R. J. Murphy Department of Life Sciences, Division of Biology, Imperial College of London, South Kensington Campus, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London SW7 2AZ, UK e-mail: sara.gez.garcia@gmail.com B. Mola-Yudego School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI80101 Joensuu, Finland B. Mola-Yudego Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7016, S750 07 Uppsala, Sweden Int J Life Cycle Assess DOI 10.1007/s11367-012-0536-2