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Taking carbon emissions seriously

Dr Jeremy Woods takes his carbon emissions seriously.

And he’s helping companies take theirs seriously too. Biofuels have been seen as one of the leading solutions to the energy crisis, and the UK government is keen to encourage their production and use over fossil fuels.

Woods is using consultancy to take his biofuels knowledge into industry and help the UK achieve that goal: “If you think your work’s important, you need to get involved with industry. You need to be influencing companies and government.”

Biofuels can be considered carbon neutral, giving them an immediate advantage over fossil fuels. The carbon produced by burning them has already been offset by the carbon they absorbed during growth.

Obviously though that’s only a part of the carbon story. Biofuels aren’t truly carbon neutral because carbon’s emitted during all production stages including harvesting, processing and transportation.

Woods first looked into the carbon emissions of biofuel production as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) programme.

The programme requires 5% of all UK forecourt fuel supplies to be provided in the form of biofuels by 2010.

Woods and his colleagues saw that the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of a biofuel depended on the technologies further down the supply chain. They developed a program to calculate the carbon emissions of different biofuels with the use of different technologies. Users can alter various parameters such as the energy supply for the conversion plant. Changing the energy supply to the plant from the National Grid to a biomass boiler and a steam turbine can alter the overall carbon emissions.

The GHG calculator has been used in many companies, particularly with the RTFO programme rewarding low-carbon biofuels. Woods and his colleagues work with individual companies providing advice on how to reduce their carbon emissions during biofuel production.

The Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) even has a version of the calculator on its website.

Wood’s consultancy work has always been tied in with his research. He enjoys it because it offers a chance to get things done swiftly. “It’s a strong component of my research” explains Woods. “It’s sometimes easy to get lost in theoretical assessments. Working with industry provides focus and deadlines.”
 
And what advice would he give to academics thinking of consulting? “Your credibility is so important in consultancy work. You get recommended because of the strength of your research and previous consultancy work. Working through Imperial Consultants allows me to be associated with a strong brand like Imperial College and that’s what companies want.”