2.4. Data sources
Data related to the operation process (e.g., electricity, steam,
water, chemicals, raw material consumption, and direct
emissions) from the cassava-based ethanol and corn-based
ethylene production plants in the Guangxi and Anhui Provinces
in China were used [20,21]. The modeled corn-based
ethylene production site is one of the largest and most
advanced biomass-based ethanol production enterprises in
China. Corn-based ethanol, with an annual production capacity
of 370 kt in 2010, accounted for approximately 20% of
the total biomass-based ethanol production, whereas
cassava-based ethanol, with an annual total capacity of 20 kt,
is currently the only non-grain-based ethanol production enterprise.
The data related to corn and cassava production at
farms, coal-based electricity generation, and road transport
processes were taken from the references [22e25]. Table 1
shows the characterization of corn and cassava production
at farms considered in the study. The CO2 emissions generated
from corn and cassava fermentation were omitted from
the inventory because corn and cassava are biogenic sources.
Moreover, data on chemical production and relevant background
data from Europe were used [26] because of the lack of
information for China.