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4254452 
Journal Article 
Development of net energy ratio and emission factor for biohydrogen production pathways 
Kabir, MR; Kumar, A 
2011 
Yes 
Bioresource Technology
ISSN: 0960-8524
EISSN: 1873-2976 
102 
19 
8972-8985 
English 
21795042 
WOS:000295345700034 
This study investigates the energy and environmental aspects of producing biohydrogen for bitumen upgrading from a life cycle perspective. Three technologies are studied for biohydrogen production; these include the Battelle Columbus Laboratory (BCL) gasifier, the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) gasifier, and fast pyrolysis. Three different biomass feedstocks are considered including forest residue (FR), whole forest (WF), and agricultural residue (AR). The fast pyrolysis pathway includes two cases: truck transport of bio-oil and pipeline transport of bio-oil. The net energy ratios (NERs) for nine biohydrogen pathways lie in the range of 1.3-9.3. The maximum NER (9.3) is for the FR-based pathway using GTI technology. The GHG emissions lie in the range of 1.20-8.1 kg CO₂ eq/kg H₂. The lowest limit corresponds to the FR-based biohydrogen production pathway using GTI technology. This study also analyzes the intensities for acid rain precursor and ground level ozone precursor.