Water Scarcity and Carbon Footprint of Sorghum and Corn Based Ethanol in the United States
In this study, the carbon and water scarcity footprints for sorghum and corn-based bioethanol production are examined and compared in eight US States: Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, South Dakota, Kansas and Texas. This study considers a life cycle perspective from cradle to gate. The Individual Newly Created Model ... read more (INCM) is used to evaluate the carbon footprint and the AWARE methodology is applied to calculate the water scarcity values for the selected States. The State of Indiana obtained the highest carbon footprint of 1.61 kg〖CO〗_2/ L ethanol for corn-based bioethanol production while Texas obtained the highest sorghum-based bioethanol production carbon footprint of 1.71 kg〖CO〗_2/ L ethanol. Nebraska achieved the highest water scarcity values for both sorghum and corn-based bioethanol production of 12,332 and 7,482 respectfully. Out of the eight States examined, it can be concluded that the State of Nebraska is the least sustainable State based on carbon and water scarcity footprint indicators. show less