Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Freshwater Consumption of Marcellus Shale Gas

We present results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of Marcellus shale gas used for power generation. The analysis employs the most extensive data set of any LCA of shale gas to date, encompassing data from actual gas production and power generation operations. Results indicate that a typical Marcellus gas life cycle yields 466 kg CO₂eq/MWh (80% confidence interval: 450–567 kg CO₂eq/MWh) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 224 gal/MWh (80% CI: 185–305 gal/MWh) of freshwater consumption. Operations associated with hydraulic fracturing constitute only 1.2% of the life cycle GHG emissions, and 6.2% of the life cycle freshwater consumption. These results are influenced most strongly by the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of the well and the power plant efficiency: increase in either quantity will reduce both life cycle freshwater consumption and GHG emissions relative to power generated at the plant. We conclude by comparing the life cycle impacts of Marcellus gas and U.S. coal: The carbon footprint of Marcellus gas is 53% (80% CI: 44–61%) lower than coal, and its freshwater consumption is about 50% of coal. We conclude that substantial GHG reductions and freshwater savings may result from the replacement of coal-fired power generation with gas-fired power generation

Allocating Methane Emissions to Natural Gas and Oil Production from Shale Formations

The natural gas supply chain includes production, processing, and transmission of natural gas, which originates from conventional, shale, coal bed, and other reservoirs. Because the hydrocarbon products and the emissions associated with extraction from different reservoir types can differ, when expressing methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain, it is important to allocate emissions to particular hydrocarbon products and reservoir types. In this work, life cycle allocation methods have been used to assign methane emissions from production wells operating in shale formations to oil, condensate, and gas products from the wells. The emission allocations are based on a data set of 489 gas wells in routine operation and 19 well completion events. The methane emissions allocated to natural gas production are approximately 85% of total emissions (mass based allocation), but there is regional variability in the data and therefore this work demonstrates the need to track natural gas sources by both formation type and production region. Methane emissions allocated to salable natural gas production from shale formations, based on this work, are a factor of 2 to 7 lower than those reported in commonly used life cycle data sets

Environmental Performance of Algal Biofuel Technology Options

Considerable research and development is underway to produce fuels from microalgae, one of several options being explored for increasing transportation fuel supplies and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This work models life-cycle GHG and on-site freshwater consumption for algal biofuels over a wide technology space, spanning both near- and long-term options. The environmental performance of algal biofuel production can vary considerably and is influenced by engineering, biological, siting, and land-use considerations. We have examined these considerations for open pond systems, to identify variables that have a strong influence on GHG and freshwater consumption. We conclude that algal biofuels can yield GHG reductions relative to fossil and other biobased fuels with the use of appropriate technology options. Further, freshwater consumption for algal biofuels produced using saline pond systems can be comparable to that of petroleum-derived fuels