Levelised Energy-Water-Food (LEWF) Indicator for Biomass Assessment and Optimisation

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The Energy-Water-Food (EWF) Nexus approach has recently become an important tool to ensure efficient and optimum management of the three vital resources by considering the inter-dependencies amongst them. However, EWF optimisation complexity increases at times when resources are prioritised during trade off-driven decision-making, coupled with differences between the three resources in terms of measurement units. Therefore, this study presents a novel ‘Levelised-EWF indicator’ (LEWF) which merges the net value of energy, water and food requirement for a system or a product into a single value in (Megajoule equivalent “MJ-e”) unit. This tool enables a convenient comparison between biomass sources and processing technologies in the light of the EWF Nexus by converting multi-objective problems into single objective. Moreover, the study proposed a 10-level EWF resilience chart, to evaluate the system resilience to the changes in EWF resources supplies based on the obtained LEWF value. As a case study, the proposed LEWF tool is used to evaluate the various processing routes for Jatropha curcas’ seedcake to produce various energy products. Required data are obtained via earlier Aspen Plus® simulations of potential processes including gasification, pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, incineration, fermentation, and anaerobic digestion. The results demonstrated that pyrolysis is the optimal processing route for Jatropha seedcake with the lowest LEWF value of 0.23 MJ-e/MJ (product), with an EWF Resilience Level of 9 out of 10. The importance of this tool lies in its ability to ensure an adequate management of EWF resources within biomass systems and ensure system resilience against possible changes in supply chains.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComputer Aided Chemical Engineering
PublisherElsevier B.V.
Pages2161-2166
Number of pages6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023

Publication series

NameComputer Aided Chemical Engineering
Volume52
ISSN (Print)1570-7946

Keywords

  • Biomass
  • Jatropha
  • LEWF
  • Optimisation
  • Resilience
  • Simulation

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