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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #434218
Research Project: Integrated Agricultural Systems for a Resilient Circular Bioeconomy in the Central Plains

Location: Agroecosystem Management Research

Title: Data from: Corn and switchgrass derived sustainable aviation fuel carbon intensity

Author
item Ramirez Ii, Salvador
item Schmer, Marty
item Jin, Virginia
item Mitchell, Robert
item Stewart, Catherine
item REDFEARN, DAREN - University Of Nebraska
item QUINN, JOHN - Argonne National Laboratory
item MAROUA, AFI - University Of Nebraska

Submitted to: Ag Data Commons
Publication Type: Database / Dataset
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/19/2026
Publication Date: 4/24/2026
Citation: Ramirez Ii, S., Schmer, M.R., Jin, V.L., Mitchell, R., Stewart, C.E., Redfearn, D., Quinn, J., Maroua, A. 2026. Data from: Corn and switchgrass derived sustainable aviation fuel carbon intensity. Ag Data Commons. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/32034939.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/32034939

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) could lower aviation’s carbon footprint. Feedstock agricultural management can optimize—or potentially determine—SAF sustainability and profitability, but long-term SAF feedstock comparisons are limited. Life cycle assessments (LCA) are commonly used to estimate the carbon intensity of producing SAF from emerging feedstocks due to the limited availability of long-term, primary field data. We quantified the agricultural phase and well-to-wake (WTWa) carbon intensities of producing SAF from no-till, continuous corn (Zea mays L.) under 120 kg N ha-1 yr-1 (120N corn) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) under 60 or 120 kg N ha-1 yr-1 (60N and 120N SWG, respectively) via LCAs based on measured data from a long-term (1998-present) field experiment on marginally productive cropland located in Eastern NE, USA. Measured data included crop productivity, long-term changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks (0-150 cm), annual soil N2O emissions, and field management practices. Both 120N corn (2,078 L ha-1) and 120N SWG (1,752 L ha-1) produced more SAF than 60N SWG (1,229 L ha-1) (P<0.0001). However, making SAF from corn had greater life cycle GHG emissions (i.e., WTWa carbon intensity) than making SAF from 120N and 60N SWG (61.5>–14.5 and –27.5 g CO2e MJ-1 SAF, respectively; P=0.0007), primarily due to SOC accrual during crop production. Here, we demonstrate that agricultural management (e.g., crop type, fertilizer use) can determine the sustainably and productivity of producing SAF by using long-term, measured field data in LCAs.