GREET Approach to Life-Cycle Analysis of

Transportation Fuels and Vehicle Systems

Amgad Elgowainy
Systems Assessment Group
Energy Systems Division
Argonne National Laboratory

GREET User Workshop

Argonne National Laboratory

October 15-16, 2015

Transportation applications in GREET

 Light duty vehicles (LDV)

 Heavy duty vehicles (HDV)
 Marine
 Aviation
 Rail

Fuel

 GREET is a platform readily adaptable to other applications

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A Process is the Building Block of a Pathway in GREET

 A process correlates inputs and outputs, and may employ technologies

 Technologies employ fuels and produce emissions

Product
Pathway
Energy is defined at process level Processes
Emissions are defined at technology level . Technologies
Fuels and Material Inputs (Resources)

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I. Fuels and Material Inputs (Resources):
Product

Pathway

Processes
Biomass Technologies

Fuels Fuels and Material Inputs

Nuclear

Electricity Materials

Chemicals

 Over 450 resources

Properties: HV, C%, S%, etc. in GREET
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II. Technologies (Combustion)
Product
Emissions Factor (EFi) =
Emissions of species i [g]
Pathway
Emissions
Unit of Fuel used [mmBtu]
Processes
Emissions vector include:
Technologies
 CH4 and N2O
Fuels and Material Inputs
 VOC, CO, NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and BC
 EF may include SOx (if emissions control on sulfur)
Fuel
Boilers
Important Notes:
 CO2 is calculated by balancing carbon in the fuel Fuel
with carbon in emissions Engines
Fuel
 SOx may be calculated by balancing sulfur in fuel Turbines
with sulfur in emissions (if no emissions control)
Fuel Tractors
 EF for power generation technologies may be
specified in [g/kWhe] Fuel
Trucks

Sheets for Emission  Over 200 technologies

Factors in GREET in GREET
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II. Technologies (Vehicles) Emissions
Emissions of species i [g] Product
Emissions Factor (EFi) =
Vehicle Miles Travelled [mi] Fuel Pathway

Processes
Emissions vector include:
VMT Technologies
 CH4 and N2O
Fuels and Material Inputs
 VOC, CO, NOx, PM10, and PM2.5
Important Notes:
 CO2 is calculated by balancing carbon in the fuel
with carbon in emissions
 SOx is calculated by balancing sulfur in fuel with
sulfur in emissions
 Emission factors are independent of fuel economy
 The vehicle operation is a process by itself (PTW)

Sheets for Vehicle  Over 100 vehicles in

Emission Factors in GREET GREET
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III. Processes (The Building Blocks of Pathways)
Emissions
For Input-Output:
- Define outputs and inputs, or their
relationship (e.g., efficiency and
process fuel share)
For Emissions:
- Define Technology share for each
process fuel
Main
Process Fuel 1 TECH. 1 Product

Process Fuel 2
Product
TECH. 2
Pathway Co-
Processes Product
Process Fuel 3
Technologies
TECH. 3
Process Input 4
Fuels and Material Inputs
 Over 1300 processes
in GREET Process 7
Three Categories of Process Emissions in GREET

1. Combustion emissions (e.g., engines, boilers, turbines, etc.)

2. Non-combustion emissions (e.g., SMR, GTL, etc.)

3. Other emissions (from internally produced fuels)

Process Fuel 1
Combustion

Main
Process Fuel 2 Product
Chemical
Conversion
internally
produced fuel

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Process Related Parameters in GREET
 Input / output relation (e.g., efficiency, yield, energy
intensity, etc.)

 Co-product amount (e.g., steam, electricity, etc.)

 Energy for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)

 Process specific outputs or credits

Process related parameters in GREET

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IV. Energy accounting throughout a Pathway in GREET

Product
 Over 850 pathways
in GREET Pathway

Processes

Technologies
feed fuel
1 Process 1 1 Process 2 1 Process 3 1 Vehicle Fuels and Material Inputs

upfeed Traveling distance

Si xi+upxi Sj yj+upyj Sk zk+upzk

Where:

 upfeed is upstream energy needed to produce 1 unit of feed

 x, y, and z are energy in other feedstock, process fuels or input materials
 upxi is upstream energy needed to produce xi amount of fuel or material i

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GREET Examines More Than 100 Vehicle/Fuel Systems
Conventional Spark-Ignition Engine Vehicles Battery-Powered Electric Vehicles
4 Gasoline 4 Various electricity generation sources
4 Compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas,
and liquefied petroleum gas
4 Gaseous and liquid hydrogen Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)
4 Methanol and ethanol 4 Spark-ignition engines:
– Gasoline
Spark-Ignition, Direct-Injection Engine Vehicles – Compressed natural gas, liquefied natural
4 Gasoline gas, and liquefied petroleum gas
4 Methanol and ethanol – Gaseous and liquid hydrogen
– Methanol and ethanol
Compression-Ignition, Direct-Injection 4 Compression-ignition engines
Engine Vehicles – Diesel
4 Diesel – Fischer-Tropsch diesel
4 Fischer-Tropsch diesel – Dimethyl ether
4 Dimethyl ether – Biodiesel
4 Biodiesel

Fuel Cell Vehicles Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

4 On-board hydrogen storage 4 Spark-ignition engines:
– Gaseous and liquid hydrogen from – Gasoline
various sources – Compressed natural gas, liquefied natural
4 On-board hydrocarbon reforming to hydrogen gas, and liquefied petroleum gas
– Methanol – Gaseous and liquid hydrogen
– Ethanol – Methanol and ethanol
– Gasoline 4 Compression-ignition engines
– Naphtha – Diesel
– Compressed natural gas, liquefied natural – Fischer-Tropsch diesel
gas, and liquefied petroleum gas – Dimethyl ether
– Diesel – Biodiesel

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Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies

Vehicle Operation (PTW)

 Three Vehicle classes Sheets for Vehicle Fuel Economy in GREET
 Passenger cars
 LDT1 (GVW < 6000 lb)
 LDT2 (6000 lb < GVW <= 8500 lb)
 Fuel economy of various vehicle technologies
 Adjusted for on-road performance
 EPA (post 2008) mpg-based formulae
 43/57 City/HWY split
 Special treatment for PHEVs
 Alternative vehicle’s fuel economy is relative to baseline gasoline ICEV
 Representative vehicle model year is five years older than simulation year
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On-Road Adjustment Factor for Lab Fuel Economy:
EPA’s MPG-Based Formulae
On-road Adjustment Factor as a Function of Fuel Economy

90%

85%

80% UDDS
HWFET
Adjustment Factor

75%

70%

65%

60%

55%

50%
76
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Lab Fuel Economy (mpgge)

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On-Road Adjustment Factor Methodology for Different
Vehicle Technologies and Operations
Fuel Consumption
[Btu/mi]

ICEV, HEV, and PHEV-CS mode

adjusted by mpg-based formulae a
Ad
jus
te
d Used for blended-mode PHEVs
La D2
b D1

D3

Blended Mode Operation d

(Power-Split PHEV-CD Mode) b B
EV and Series PHEV-CD Electricity
mode adjusted by 0.7 factor Consumption
[Wh/mi]

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LCA Issues: Co-Products Handling Methodology

 Process input-output obey physical laws (physical science)

 Co-product handling subject to accounting methodology
 Not bound by physical laws, thus consensus is not guaranteed
 Functional unit poses a major challenge for LCA

Several coproducts handling methods are implemented in GREET:

 Displacement (of equivalent product)
 Allocation
 Energy-based
 Mass-based
 Market value-based
 Hybrid
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 Co-Product Displacement (Substitution) of Equivalent
Product Emissions
Emissions (Credits)

Process Fuel 1 Main Product Displaced Product

Feed
(Credit)
Process Fuel 2
Co-Product Energy (Credits)
Feed
Process Displacement of
equivalent amount

Important Notes:
 Main product carry the burden of all process energy and emissions
 Co-product does not carry any burden
 Displaced product is identical or equivalent to co-product
 If not identical, a displacement ratio may apply
 All life-cycle energy and emissions of the displaced product are credited to main product

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 Challenges with Co-Product Displacement (Substitution)
Approach
Emissions
Emissions (Credits)

Process Fuel 1 Main Product Displaced Product

Feed
(Credit)
Process Fuel 2
Co-Product Energy (Credits)
Feed
Process Displacement of
equivalent amount

 For large co-product/main product ratio, credits may overwhelm entire process emissions
 Displacement credit is regional specific in most cases
 Displacement of equivalent product is market driven
 subject to market demand, pricing and competition
 subject to infrastructure availability and other logistic constraints
 Thus, substitution approach is consequential in nature
 Consequential analysis requires expanded system boundary, is economical in nature,
and thus requires careful and extensive analysis, and poses additional uncertainties
Allocation of Process Energy and Emissions to Various
Products
Emissions

1-x
Process Fuel 1 x
1-x
x Main Product (1-x)
Process Fuel 2 1-x
x
Feed 1-x Co-Product (x)
x
Process
Important Notes:
 x is the ratio of co-product in all products by mass, energy, or market value
 Main product and co-product carry energy and emissions burden based on their ratios in
the total products
 The main product and co-product are equivalent (function at end use, quality, etc.)
 Same process efficiency applies to all products for energy allocation (implied)
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Challenges with Allocation Approach
Example: Water evaporation for hydropower generation from multipurpose
reservoirs
No Additional
Additional Reservoir Needed Reservoir Needed

Dedicated Multipurpose Run-of-river

Hydropower
Harris Dam, ME Thomson Dam, MN

Water supply
Flood control

Navigation

Recreation

Irrigation

11.3 TWh 199 TWh 15.1 TWh

118 Dams 550 Dams 14 Dams 19
Other LCA Issues: System Boundary
Example 1: overall refinery efficiency as well as product-specific energy and
GHG emission intensity

Emissions

Crude
LPG
Other feed/blends Gasoline pool

hoverall= Eoutput/Einput Jet

Process fuels
Diesel
Residual fuel oil (RFO)
Utilities
Coke

Refinery 20
Unit level mass and energy balance data are key for proper
allocation of energy and emission burden to refinery products

-Other feed/blends
-Process fuels
-Utilities

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Product-specific efficiency reflects the energy intensity of
the refining units contributing to each product pool

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Other LCA Issues: System Boundary
Example 2: Integrated production of grain and stover ethanol
Facilities that produce multiple fuels face LCA methodology decisions that could influence the
classification of product fuels under the RFS and GHG reductions assigned to product fuels under
California’s LCFS

Canter et al., BioEneg. Res., 2015.

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Other LCA Issues: End of Life Treatment Methods

 Several allocation methods exist in LCA research community

– Cut-off method (recycled content), closed loop recycling (end-of
life recycling)
– GREET uses the Cut-off (Recycled Content) method
– Method ascribes that:
• Primary material production is associated solely with virgin materials
• Recycled materials only have burden of collection, and reprocessing
• Weighted sum of burdens based on primary and recycled content in a
final product
Virgin Material
Burden

50% Recycled
Content
Recycled
Material
Burden

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Questions?

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