Pre-publication: Updated carbon intensities for certain crops and oil from oilseed processes

Date: March 21, 2024

1. Purpose

The purpose of this pre-publication is to present the proposed changes to certain crops and oil from oilseed processes in the Fuel Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Model (the Model) for the next formal publication in June 2024.

With this pre-publication, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is providing a description of the proposed changes to existing processes. It is also providing the resulting carbon intensity (CI) that can be used to assess the implications of this proposed update on the results generated by the Model and allow stakeholders to provide comments on the proposed changes.

Pre-publications are not to be used for compliance with the Clean Fuel Regulations, or other programs or regulations, unless otherwise specified.

The CIs presented in the pre-publications may differ from the values that will be included in the next formal publication of the Model according to comments received and other changes to be implemented in the Model.

This pre-publication includes this descriptive document and an openLCA module. The module includes a system process for each updated crop process located in the Data Library folder, configurable oil from oilseed processes located in the Fuel Pathways folder, and unit processes for each crop and oil extraction located a new folder named Background Modelling. The system processes contain the life cycle inventory (LCI) for each process, while the unit processes showcase the inputs and outputs. The unit processes were developed to increase transparency with disaggregated data. The proposed updated CIs for crops are available in the module and are presented in Table A1 and A2 in Annex A.

Note that ECCC is developing regional crop CI for the 2026 publication of the Model, which will cause additional changes to the crops CIs in 2026.

2. Context

2.1. Crops

The current Model database includes agriculture feedstock processes that represent the emissions of producing each crop, regardless of the geographic region. These processes are available in the folder Data library\Feedstocks\Crops.

Each process represents emissions per kg of dry-mass crop produced. This includes nitrous oxide and carbon emissions from the soil, pesticide and fertilizer application, seeding, harvesting and storage activities, and on-site transport of crops. For more information on the current modelling methodology, see the Fuel LCA Model Methodology (January 2023) Chapter 3.5.2.

2.2. Oil from Oilseed

The current Model database includes oil from oilseed processes that represent the crop production and oil extraction from canola, camelina, and soybean. The LCI was calculated excluding electricity inputs. The LCI results were then added to the output of the configurable process, while an electricity dummy flow was added as an input. These processes are available in the folder Fuel Pathways\Configurable Processes\Oil from oilseed.

These processes represent emissions per kg of oil from oilseed crops produced, including crop production, crop transportation for oil extraction, and oil extraction. Crop production includes nitrous oxide and carbon emissions from the soil, pesticide and fertilizer application, seeding, harvesting and storage activities, and on-site transport of crops. Oil extraction includes direct emissions from fuel combustion and upstream emissions associated with fuels and hexane production. For more information on the current modelling methodology, see the Fuel LCA Model Methodology (January 2023) Chapter 4.2.5.

3. Description of the proposed changes to the Model

The following processes are proposed to be updated for the next formal publication of the Model:

• Field peas, at farm
• Barley, at farm
• Corn, at farm
• Wheat, durum, at farm
• Wheat, non durum, at farm
• Oil, from oilseed, Extracted at Processor, configurable A/B/C

The updated CI for these processes are available for public review in Annex A of this document and in a module that can be uploaded in openLCA. See Section 4 for instructions on how to upload the module into openLCA.

Annex B presents the proposed revised sections of the Fuel LCA Model Methodology for the Crops and Oil from oilseed for the next version of the Model.

As part of the on-going development and maintenance activities to the Model, ECCC is proposing the changes for Crops and Oil from oilseed described in Section 3.1 and 3.2 below.

The sorghum and Brazilian sugar cane datasets do not use the same data sources as the crops discussed in this pre-publication. ECCC has been provided with new data for these crops, which will be considered for the next update of the Model planned in 2026.

3.1. Crops

There is one proposed methodological change associated with the crop production. In the current Model, the nitrogen fertilizer is aggregated as an average nitrogen input. In December 2023, the pre-publication New and updated carbon intensities for certain chemicals related to fertilizers and predefined chemical mixes processes proposes updates and new chemicals related to fertilizers. The proposed update for crops replaces the aggregated nitrogen process with these individual nitrogen fertilizer processes.

Additionally, the proposed update uses more recent data sources and reference years. In the current Model, the crop production data comes from the 2017 Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC) reports, which uses crop production data from 2012 to 2014. The proposed update uses the 2022 CRSC reports, which uses crop production data from 2018 to 2020. Supplementary information is obtained from national statistics, provincial field crop budgets and agricultural surveys, data from provincial agricultural associations and literature data.

For more information on the methodology, see Annex B.

3.2. Oil from oilseed

The oil from oilseed configurable processes are modelled based on two main activities: oilseed production and oil extraction.

There is one proposed methodological change associated with the oilseed production. In the current model, the nitrogen fertilizer is aggregated as an average nitrogen input. In December 2023, the pre-publication New and updated carbon intensities for certain chemicals related to fertilizers and predefined chemical mixes processes proposes updates and new chemicals related to fertilizers. The proposed update for crops replaces the aggregated nitrogen process with these individual nitrogen fertilizer processes.

Additionally, the proposed update is associated with using more recent data sources and reference year. In the current model, the crop production data comes from the 2017 CRSC reports and the 2019 Saskatchewan Crop Planning Guides. The proposed update uses the 2022 CRSC reports and the 2018-2020 Saskatchewan Crop Planning Guides and Specialty Crop Reports. Supplementary information is obtained from national statistics, provincial field crop budgets and agricultural surveys, data from provincial agricultural associations and literature data.

There is no methodological change associated with the oil extraction modelling.

For more information on the methodology, see Annex B.

4. Instructions on how to upload the Module into openLCA

The module is available in the “2024.03 Updated Carbon Intensities for certain crops and oil from oilseed processes” folder of the ECCC Data Catalogue and can be imported either into an empty database or into the Model Database.

Importing the module in an empty database allows users to see only the new and revised processes. No CI calculations can be performed when importing the module in an empty database.

When importing the module in the Model database users can recalculate their CIs without any additional steps. However, it is important to note that the import of the module in the Model database will update the values of the existing processes and the changes are irreversible. Consequently, users should always import the module into a copy of their original database.

Please refer to the Instructions on how to import a module into openLCA.

5. How to submit comments on this pre-publication

Stakeholders are invited to review this pre-publication and provide comments to ECCC within 30 days following the pre-publication at modeleacvcarburant-fuellcamodel@ec.gc.ca.

Please indicate the following in the subject line: Comments on the pre-publication: Updated Carbon Intensities for certain crops and oil from oilseed processes.

Comments submitted will be considered for the development of the next formal version of the Fuel LCA Model.

For any questions related to this pre-publication, please contact modeleacvcarburant-fuellcamodel@ec.gc.ca with the following subject line: Questions on the pre-publication: Updated Carbon Intensities for certain crops and oil from oilseed processes.

Annex A: CI Comparison

The CIs presented in this Annex use the global warming potential (GWP) for the 100-year time horizon of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (AR5).

Annex B: Proposed revised methodology for the crops and oil from oilseed processes

The methodology for the crops and oil from oilseed processes in the Model can be found in Chapter 3.3 of the Fuel LCA Model Methodology (January 2023).

The following sections provide the proposed updates to the Methodology for the next formal version of the Model that reflect the proposed changes to the Model discussed in the pre-publications.

Note that the section numbers and text could change for the next formal version of the Fuel LCA Model Methodology.

3.5.2. Cultivation of agricultural crops

For each of the feedstocks below, the functional unit is 1 kg of dry-mass crop at the farm gate.

Modelling approach for corn, wheat, barley, and field peas cultivation

The boundaries of each crop dataset include all field activities related to crop production (from soil preparation to harvest and storage). It excludes the subsequent transportation, distribution, processing and use phase of the harvested crops. The LCI for each crop was modelled based on the 2022 LCA studies for major crops from the CRSC.

Each crop was modelled using eight production processes: tillage, seeding, irrigation^{Footnote 3} , fertilizer and pesticide application, harvesting, transportation of the product from the field to the on-farm storage bin, and storage (including aeration/drying). Fuel and energy consumption as well as agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds were considered for all processes.

Tillage techniques (i.e. conventional tillage or intensive tillage, reduced tillage and direct seeding or no-tillage) were considered for the calculation of energy use in the form of diesel fuel consumption, direct N₂O emissions and soil carbon changes.

The scope of the Model also includes direct and indirect N₂O emissions from nitrogen inputs (nitrogen- fertilizers, crop residues and mineralized nitrogen from soil) as well as CO₂ sequestration and emissions from land management practices. N₂O emissions for Canadian grown crops were calculated using Tier 2 emission factors from the CRSC reports which take into account tillage type, irrigation practices, and topography.

In accordance with the approach in the NIR (2022), carbon emissions associated with SOC changes in Canada are included for the two following land management practices:

• Changes in crop residue inputs
• Change in tillage practices (i.e. no till, reduced till and conventional till)

The CRSC data on SOC that was included in the Model covered changes in soil carbon up to the year 2019.

As justified in the CRSC report, the following elements were either excluded from the scope of the LCI due to lack of data or because the contribution of some of these inputs to the CI was negligible:

• on-farm production of renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and biomass combustion
• on-farm ancillary operations, such as work area lighting and heating
• manufacture, maintenance and decommissioning of capital equipment (e.g. machinery, trucks, infrastructure)
• transport of pesticides and fertilizers between the manufacturing plant and the farm
• waste or co-products, such as:
  • disposal of process wastes
  • straw and stover co-products
  • emissions related to manure application

In addition, carbon emissions from changes in the proportion of annual and perennial crops were excluded because of concerns raised related to differences in interprovincial CI and the application of Canadian soil SOC values to U.S. crops.

Regarding the exclusion of organic fertilizers such as manure, the Model uses the default approach from the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance guidelines^{Footnote 4}  which is to consider manure as a residue co-product of livestock systems. Emissions and resource use related to manure storage and application are therefore allocated to the livestock farm. In this approach the N₂O emissions associated with the application of the manure are also attributed to the livestock production.

Geographical scope for Canadian grown agricultural crop cultivation

There is one system process available for each crop, with each crop having a unique CI, and each process can be used regardless of geographical location. Agricultural feedstock LCI data was collected and compiled for each province, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador. A weighted average of the provincial datasets was then calculated for each crop using 2018/2020 average production data from Statistics Canada.

The provincial datasets were calculated using weighted averages of regional data at the reconciliation unit (RU) level when available. RUs are the geographic entities formed by the intersection of terrestrial ecozones of Canada with the provincial and territorial boundaries. They are used to reconcile data from multiple agencies of the Government of Canada.

Allocation for Canadian grown agricultural crop cultivation

Crop cultivation results in agricultural residues that are left on the field. The Model considers these residues as a waste (i.e. not co-product) from the crop cultivation and the “cut-off” allocation approach is applied. No other allocation procedure was applied to the LCI dataset of agricultural crops.

Data sources for Canadian grown agricultural crop cultivation

The Carbon Footprint Methodology report from the CRSC carbon footprint studies, along with the crop-specific CRSC reports for wheat, barley and field peas were the main sources of data for compiling these LCI. The CRSC report for corn is unavailable. Nevertheless, most of the LCI for corn were built using the same data sources from the CRSC reports and the modelling approach remained the same ((S&T)² Consultants Inc. 2022f). The CRSC reports represent the current best available source of Canadian field crop LCI data.

The CRSC reports detail carbon footprints of wheat, barley, and field peas in Canada using a variety of data sources: national statistics, provincial field crop budgets and agricultural surveys, data from provincial agricultural associations and literature data. The reports contain detailed information regarding fertilizer, pesticide and seeding rates as well as energy consumption values for crop production. Although data sources sometimes vary between crops depending on data availability, the modelling approach is consistent for all crops. The methodology and data sources are also consistent with those used in the NIR with respect to N₂O emissions from managed soils and land management practices.

4.2.5. Modelling approach for oil from oilseed configurable processes

The oil from oilseed configurable processes were modelled based on an average of vegetable oil production processes from canola oil, soybean oil, and camelina oil. Model users can use one of the configurable processes to model the oil production from oilseeds in a given region. Oilseed cultivation, transportation, and oil extraction were modelled in the development of the configurable processes.

Oilseed cultivation was modelled as described above, using the same design and data sources as corn, wheat, barley, and field peas.

The CRSC reports did not contain information for camelina and soybeans. Nevertheless, most of the LCI for camelina and soybeans were built using the same data sources from the CRSC reports and the modelling approach remained the same ((S&T)² Consultants Inc. 2022f). Data gaps were filled in using data from the Government of Saskatchewan’s Crop Planning Guide and Specialty Crop Reports (Agriculture 2018-2020 reports).

After oilseed cultivation, oilseed transportation was modelled by truck over an assumed distance of 100 km. During the oil extraction process, a protein-rich meal is produced as a co-product.

Oil extraction data was compiled from U.S and Canadian literature review for camelina oil (Shonnard 2010), canola oil ((S&T)² Consultants Inc. 2010) and soybean oil production (Chen 2018).

The allocation of burdens to the meal protein and oil in the oil extraction is performed according to the dry-mass content of the products.

For coherence among all types of oil extraction processes, the total thermal energy requirement for all oil extraction processes is assumed to be always supplied through the combustion of natural gas.

The configurable process was modelled by calculating the LCI of the oilseed extraction process excluding the electricity inputs for oilseed extraction. The LCI results were then added to the output of the configurable process, while an electricity dummy flow was added as an input. The user can replace the dummy flow with an electricity flow representing their desired grid mix.

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