Comparative lifecycle assessment of anaerobic digestion

Background and Objective

The project involves the construction and assessment of scenarios for farm scale AD biogas production, in comparison to other bioenergy options, and compare these with two baseline reference farm systems: a large dairy unit in southwest England and a mixed arable farm in east England.

In WP6 ‘Ecosystem service assessment’, we will identify ecosystem service impacts associated with the main scenarios defined in the final report. The most relevant ecosystem services for the defined scenarios will be selected (e.g. provisioning [food, fuel, water], regulating [pollination, biocontrol], cultural [landscape heritage]….), and ecosystem service impacts will be presented qualitatively in the final report, using a traffic light system to indicate the relative performance of individual scenarios.

Approach

In addition to LCA assessment for the aforementioned impact categories, pertinent ecosystem service impacts are identified and reported for the main scenarios using a traffic light system. We apply expert knowledge to report on ecosystem service impacts across the various scenarios.

Results

The final report is available here:

randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx