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Constructed wetlands as biofuel production systems

Nature Climate Change volume 2, pages 190–194 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Clean biofuel production is an effective way to mitigate global climate change and energy crisis1. Progress has been made in reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen fertilizer consumption through biofuel production2,3,4. Here we advocate an alternative approach that efficiently produces cellulosic biofuel and greatly reduces GHG emissions using waste nitrogen through wastewater treatment with constructed wetlands in China. Our combined experimental and literature data demonstrate that the net life-cycle energy output of constructed wetlands is higher than that of corn, soybean, switchgrass, low-input high-diversity grassland and algae systems. Energy output from existing constructed wetlands is ∼237% of the input for biofuel production and can be enhanced through optimizing the nitrogen supply, hydrologic flow patterns and plant species selection. Assuming that all waste nitrogen in China5 could be used by constructed wetlands, biofuel production can account for 6.7% of national gasoline consumption. We also find that constructed wetlands have a greater GHG reduction than the existing biofuel production systems in a full life-cycle analysis. This alternative approach is worth pursuing because of its great potential for straightforward operation, its economic competitiveness and many ecological benefits.

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Figure 1: Relationship between nitrogen level, hydrologic flow pattern and plant species and bioenergy productivity in constructed wetlands.
Figure 2: Comparison of energy input, energy output, NEB and NEB ratio for six major biofuels: constructed wetlands, microalgae, switchgrass, LIHD grassland, corn and soybean.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial support provided by the National Science Foundation of China grants 31170305 and 30970281 and by the Y. C. Tang Disciplinary Development Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China

    Dong Liu, Xu Wu, Jie Chang, Baojing Gu, Yong Min, Ying Ge, Yan Shi & Hui Xue

  2. Research Centre for Sustainable Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

    Jie Chang & Ying Ge

  3. College of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

    Baojing Gu

  4. International Colleges, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266061, China

    Hui Xue

  5. Département des Sciences Biologiques, Institut des Sciences de L’Environnement, Université du Quebec à Montréal, Case postale 8888, Montréal, Quebec H3C 3P8, Canada

    Changhui Peng

  6. Laboratory for Ecological Forecasting and Global Change, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China

    Changhui Peng

  7. School of Life Sciences and Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-4501, USA

    Jianguo Wu

  8. Sino-US Center for Conservation, Energy, and Sustainability, Hohhot 010021, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China

    Jianguo Wu

Authors
  1. Dong Liu
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  7. Yan Shi
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  8. Hui Xue
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  9. Changhui Peng
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  10. Jianguo Wu
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Contributions

D.L. compiled the data and carried out the data analysis. J.C. designed the experimental research. X.W., B.G., Y.M., Y.G., Y.S. and H.X. participated in the experiments and contributed to the analysis. C.P. and J.W. contributed to the analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results and to writing the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jie Chang.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Liu, D., Wu, X., Chang, J. et al. Constructed wetlands as biofuel production systems. Nature Clim Change 2, 190–194 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1370

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