EPA Issues Supplemental Determination
for Renewable Fuels Produced under
the Final RFS2 Program from Grain
Sorghum
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a
supplemental rule associated with the Renewable Fuel Standard
(RES) program. This final rule contains a lifecycle greenhouse gas
(GHG) analysis for grain sorghum ethanol and a regulatory determi-
nation that grain sorghum ethanol qualifies as a renewable fuel under
the RES Program.
EPA's analysis indicates that ethanol made from grain sorghum at dry
mill facilities that use natural gas for process energy meets the life*
cycle GHG emissions reduction threshold of 20% compared to the
baseline petroleum fuel it would replace, and therefore qualifies as
a renewable fuel. It also contains our regulatory determination that
grain sorghum ethanol produced at dry mill facilities using specified
forms of biogas for both process energy and most electricity produc-
tion, has lifecycle GHG emission reductions of more than 50% com'
pared to the baseline petroleum fuel it would replace, and that such
grain sorghum ethanol qualifies as an advanced biofuel under the RES
program.
General Background
In the March, 2010 RFS2 final rule, EPA assessed the lifecycle GHG emissions of
multiple renewable fuel pathways (defined as feedstock, fuel type, and fuel produc-
tion process). Assessment of lifecycle GHG emissions is necessary to determine
which fuel pathways meet the GHG reduction thresholds for the four renewable fuel
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-12-078
November 2012
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categories specified in Clear Air Act (CAA) Section 211 (o), as amended by the Energy Inde-
pendence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The CAA requires a 20% reduction in lifecycle
GHG emissions for renewable fuel produced at new facilities (those constructed after EISA
enactment), a 50% reduction for biomass-based diesel or advanced biofuel, and a 60% reduction
for cellulosic biofuel,
Assessing whether a fuel pathway meets these thresholds requires a comprehensive evaluation of
the lifecycle GHGG emissions of the renewable fuel as compared to the lifecycle GHG emis-
sions of the gasoline or diesel fuel that it replaces. The CAA defines lifecycle GHG emissions
as follows:
The term 'lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions' means the aggregate quantity of green-
house gas emissions (including direct emissions and significant indirect emissions such
as significant emissions from land use changes), as determined by the Administrator,
related to the full fuel lifecycle, including all stages of fuel and feedstock production and
distribution, from feedstock generation or extraction through the distribution and deliv-
ery and use of the finished fuel to the ultimate consumer, where the mass values for all
greenhouse gases are adjusted to account for their relative global warming potential.1
In the March, 2010 RFS2 final rule, EPA focused our lifecycle analysis on fuels that were an-
ticipated to contribute relatively large volumes of renewable fuel by 2022, and thus did not
cover all fuels that either are contributing or could potentially contribute to the program. In the
preamble to the March, 2010 RFS2 final rule, EPA indicated that we would continue to exam-
ine several additional pathways not analyzed for the final rule, including those from grain sor-
ghum, and would complete this process through a supplemental rulemaking process. On June 12,
2012, EPA published a Notice of Data Availability Concerning Renewable Fuels Produced From
Grain Sorghum Under the RFS Program (see 77 FR 34915). In that notice of data availability,
we provided an opportunity for comment on EPA's analysis of grain sorghum used as a feedstock
to produce ethanol under the RFS program. This supplemental rulemaking finalizes our analysis
of potential pathways for ethanol produced from a grain sorghum feedstock,
Lifecycle Analysis
In order to calculate lifecycle GHG emissions for the supplemental final rulemaking regarding
grain sorghum biofuel pathways, EPA utilized models developed for the March, 2010 RFS2 final
rule. These models take into account energy and emissions inputs for fuel and feedstock pro-
duction, distribution, and use, as well as economic models that predict changes in agricultural
markets,
EPA used the same general approach to estimate global land use change GHG emissions from
using grain sorghum as a feedstock as we have used to analyze other biofuel pathways.
Clean Air Act Section 211(o)(l)
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Pathway Determinations
EPA's analysis found that ethanol produced from grain sorghum has an estimated lifecycle GHG
emissions reduction of 32% when produced at dry mill ethanol facilities that use natural gas
and produced an industry average of 92% wet distillers grains, and 52% when produced at dry
mill ethanol facilities that use only biogas for process energy and purchase/receive from an off-
site supplier 0.15 kWh of electricity per gallon of ethanol produced, compared to the baseline
gasoline fuel it would replace. Therefore, grain sorghum ethanol produced at dry mill ethanol
facilities using natural gas meets the minimum 20% GHG emissions reduction threshold for
conventional biofuels, and grain sorghum ethanol produced at plants using only biogas for pro-
cess energy and purchasing/receiving from an off-site supplier no more than 0.15 kWh of elec-
tricity per gallon of ethanol produced, meets the 50% GHG emissions reduction threshold for
advanced biofuels as required by EISA,
For More Information
You can access documents on RES regulations on EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality
(OTAQ) website at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm
To submit a question on the RES program, and to view Frequently Asked Questions, please visit:
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/compliancehelp/index.htm
You can also contact the OTAQ library for document information at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality Library
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI48105
734-214-4311& 214-4434
E-mail: Group_AALibrary@epa.gov
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