Figure 2 Net energy yield (NEY) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction compared to gasoline
from different types of corn-ethanol systems used as default scenarios in the BESS model
(www.bess.unl.edu). NEY includes ethanol plus coproduct energy credit minus energy inputs. MW =
Midwest; IA = Iowa; NE = Nebraska; HYP = high-yield progressive; NG = natural gas; NNG = new natural
gas; NGW = natural gas with wet distillers grains only; CL = closed-loop facility with anaerobic digestion.
and GHG intensity ranged from 38 to 48 gCO2e
MJ−1. The largest ethanol yield relative to har-
vest area or petroleum input was achieved by
the HYP-NG, which produced nearly 19 units
of ethanol output per unit of petroleum input,
on an energy-equivalent basis. The most com-
mon corn-ethanol systems reduced GHG emis-
sions by 48% to 59% compared to gasoline, which
has a GHG intensity of 92 gCO2e MJ−1 (Arons
et al. 2007; see figure 2). NEYs ranged from 22 to
53 gigajoules per hectare (GJ ha−1) and tended
to be correlated with GHG reduction. Although
ethanol plants with a coal-based thermal energy
source (NE-Coal) had the lowest NER, NEY, and
GHG reduction potential, this type of biorefin-
ery accounts for a small proportion of U.S. corn-
ethanol production.
The highest NER (2.23), the smallest GHG
intensity (31 gCO2e MJ−1), and the greatest re-
duction in GHG emissions (67%) compared to
gasoline occur in the closed-loop biorefinery sys-
tem, where 56% of natural gas use is offset by
biogas produced on site (see table 1). In the
closed-loop system, all coproduct distillers grains
are consumed at a cattle feedlot adjacent to the
ethanol biorefinery. Coproduct distillers grains
are fed wet to cattle and displace other feed re-
quirements up to 50% of total intake (Klopfen-
stein et al. 2008). Cattle manure and urine are
collected via slotted floors and processed in an
AD system that produces methane. The AD unit
is also assumed to be supplied with organic mat-
ter from coproduct syrups from the biorefinery.
Maintaining the cattle feedlot on site adds no
additional energy costs to the corn-ethanol sys-
tem life cycle, because it is assumed that the
feedlot is independent from the biofuel industry.
The energy in methane from the AD unit is de-
creased by greater capital costs for infrastructure
and increased electricity rates for operations (see
table 1). Although coproduct distillers grains rep-
resent only a portion of the cattle diet and other
feeds are required, all of the manure and resulting
methane produced in the AD unit is credited to
displace natural gas in the ethanol plant, because
manure would not be harvested for energy from
conventional open-pen feedlots. Moreover, nu-
trients in the manure are conserved in the AD
process and are subsequently recovered for appli-
cation to cropland, just as they are in manure.
Thus, capturing the reduced carbon in manure
with AD utilizes a carbon-neutral energy source
not previously captured due to the natural oxida-
tion of carbon in manure.