Taking the devil out of the details: reducing uncertainty in bioenergy production

The large-scale replacement of conventional petroleum-based transportation fuels with fuels derived from biomass feedstocks has become an area of increasing interest in the United States due to its potential to ameliorate both dependency on foreign oil and the climate impact of fuel combustion. However, the biofuels industry is still in its infancy, and many questions remain regarding the best use of biomass as well as the types of bioenergy production systems that maximize energy, economic, and environmental benefits. This is further complicated by the numerous types of bioenergy feedstocks currently being explored, including waste wood, corn stover, perennial grasses, starchy grains, oilseeds, and many others. While methods have been developed to analyze and compare diverse bioenergy production systems, there remain numerous areas of uncertainty. Here we present research addressing three specific areas of uncertainty in three different bioenergy systems. These include 1) determining the maximum levels of corn stover removal for bioenergy to maintain soil carbon, 2) optimizing switchgrass production and transport to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and 3) analyzing current market drivers of biochar, a potential bioenergy coproduct. We demonstrate how this research fits within a common framework, and illustrate the importance of regionally-scaled bioenergy analyses.