Biomethane produced from maize grown on peat emits more CO2 than natural gas
Abstract Cultivation of maize for biomethane production has expanded rapidly, including on drained peat soils. The resulting soil CO 2 emissions at the point of feedstock production are largely overlooked when assessing biogas climate mitigation potential. On the basis of field-scale flux measurements, we calculate that soil CO 2 emissions from biomethane feedstock production on drained peat exceed embodied emissions for an equivalent amount of natural gas by up to a factor of three.
Authors
- Alex Cumming (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5704-9006)
- Chris Evans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7052-354X)
- Ross Morrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1847-3127)
- Rebecca Rowe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7554-821X)
- Jennifer M. Rhymes
- Richard Morton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3947-6463)
- Jennifer Williamson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8216-5885)
- Benjamin Freeman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5625-506X)
- Isobel L. Lloyd (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2518-6916)
Institutions
- University of Leeds (GB)
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Climate Change
- Published
- 2024-09-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02111-1
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.92
Funders
- UK Research and Innovation
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government
- Sight Research UK
- Natural Environment Research Council