Abstract

Solid biomass is expected to remain a relevant option for heat decarbonisation in Serbia, yet its environmental performance depends strongly on supply-chain design, including non-road machinery, logistics, and the electricity mix used in processing. This study provides a comparative life cycle assessment of two technically feasible supply chains operating under Serbian conditions: (i) beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood chips produced in high natural forests using a tree-length system (felling and processing, extraction, chipping, and long-distance trucking), and (ii) Miscanthus × giganteus briquettes produced from a perennial energy crop (harvesting, baling and loading, short-distance tractor hauling, electricity-driven briquetting, and trucking to market). The primary functional unit is one tonne of processed biomass delivered to the market or end user, consistent with operation-level foreground data (productivity and fuel use per tonne). In addition, results are expressed per unit of useful heat delivered by combining the as-delivered lower heating value with an assumed end-use efficiency, to support screening across household, district-heating, and industrial heat applications. Midpoint impacts are quantified for climate change, ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, photochemical ozone formation, and particulate matter formation. Per tonne delivered biomass, climate change impacts are comparable, amounting to 35.0 kg CO₂-equivalent for beech wood chips and 33.5 kg CO₂-equivalent for Miscanthus briquettes. On an energy-service basis, using the derived as-delivered lower heating values and a representative district-heating efficiency η = 0.88, climate change impacts are 3.43 kg CO₂-equivalent/GJ useful heat for beech wood chips and 2.75 kg CO₂-equivalent/GJ useful heat for Miscanthus briquettes, indicating a clearer separation than on a mass basis due to differences in delivered energy per tonne. Non-climate categories show pronounced trade-offs: beech wood chips exhibit higher ozone depletion and photochemical ozone formation, whereas Miscanthus briquettes exhibit higher terrestrial acidification and particulate matter formation under the current Serbian electricity mix due to electricity demand during briquetting. The results are intended for screening-level hotspot identification and prioritisation of improvement levers, rather than for product declarations or comparative marketing claims.