PhD defence: Søren Larsen

Søren Larsen defends his thesis,

Biomass production and its utilization for energy

Supervisors:
Associate Professor Niclas Scott Bentsen, IGN
Professor Claus Felby, IGN

Assessment Committee:
Senior Consultant, PhD, Søren Ugilt Larsen, Danish Technological Institute
Adjunct Professor Blas Mola-Yudego, School of Forest Sciences and Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland
Associate Professor Sander Bruun (chair), Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Summary:
Climate change is one of our generation’s largest challenges, and biomass is expected to play an important role in mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis shows how much biomass that can be produced in Denmark and Brazil. It does so by estimating and forecasting yields of several biomass crops and it forecasts areas available for production of biomass. The results are clear: We are able to produce significant amounts of biomass for bionenergy while still maintaining food production.
If biomass is used to replace fossil fuels in the energy supply, for instance by using bioethanol instead of gasoline, we can achieve substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in how we use our ecosystems and agriculture might lead to emissions from land-use, but they are small compared to potential emission savings.
It is shown that expansion and intensification of agricultural production can increase production of biomass feedstock and help mitigate climate change. But biomass production systems are complex and a holistic approach is needed to evaluate the whole range of benefits and drawbacks when producing biomass for energy.

The thesis is available from the PhD administration office at Øster Voldgade 10, room 04.1.417