Biofuels and sustainability

2016

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are changing our Earth's climate very rapidly and causing global warming phenomenon. ere is scienti c, social, and political consensus that 20% of global GHG emissions are due to the transport sector that is also blamed for increasing oil demand worldwide. e growth in the transport sector is estimated to increase by 1.3% per year until 2030. e increase in GHG emissions and high demand for fuel in the transport sector can be reduced signi cantly by replacing fossil fuels with liquid biofuels, which are derived from plant materials and appear to be carbon-neutral, renewable, and capable for cultivation under harsh environments. e plant materials used in producing liquid biofuels are also a potential source of value-added products such as feed, materials and chemicals, in addition to biofuels. is chapter reviews the current trends in liquid biofuel systems on global platform and criteria for sustainability pertaining to liquid biofuels. e three types of sustainability criteria for liquid biofuels, including economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability are discussed in detail. 4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Feedstocks and Characteristics of Biofuels Biofuels are commonly classi ed as primary and secondary biofuels. Unprocessed forms of biomass such as fuelwood, wood chips, and pellets are categorized as primary biofuels (Lee and Lavoie 2013), whereas secondary biofuels are produced by processing of biomass into ethanol, biodiesel, and dimethyl ether (Cherubini and Ulgiati 2010). Moreover, based on raw materials, biofuels are divided into rst- ,

Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2009

Sustainable energy is the problem of the 21st century. If biofuels want to be part of the solution they must accept a degree of scrutiny unprecedented in the development of a new industry. That is because sustainability deals explicitly with the role of biofuels in ensuring the well-being of our planet, our economy, and our society both today and in the future. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been the standard framework for assessing sustainability of biofuels. These assessments show that corn ethanol has a marginally lower fossil energy and greenhouse gas footprint compared to petroleum fuel. Sugarcane ethanol and some forms of biodiesel offer substantially lower footprints. New biofuels may offer low footprints. The science of LCA is being stretched to its limits as policy makers consider direct and indirect effects of biofuels on global land and water resources, global ecosystems, air quality, public health, and social justice.

2008

2013

Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry

This article reports an overview of waste utilization and the biofuel production as a means for sustainable energy supply. The energy crisis that most developed and developing countries are experincing resulted in severe shortages, and a sharp increase in the prices of high demand oil-based products, notably petrol/gasoline. These have also increased interest from governments and academics in energy issues and biofuels. The drivers for biofuel research and development in any nation include rising oil prices, concerns over the potential oil peak, greenhouse gas emissions which causes global warming and climate change, rural development interests, and instability in the Middle East. Sustainable biofuel production practices would not hamper food and fibre production, nor cause water or environmental problems, and would actually enhance soil fertitlity. Therefore, using biofuels to replace a proportion of the fossil fuels that are burned for transportation can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. The effect of future biofuel market expansions on agriculture should also be monitored. Responsible poliCies and economic instruments would help to ensure that biofuel commercialization, including the development of new cellulosic technologies, is sustainable. Responsible commercialization of biofuels represents an opportunity to enhance sustainable economic prospects in Africa, Latin America and impoverished Asia.

CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 2009

Growing reliance on food-based biofuels has created considerable controversy about its impact on food prices and the environment and led to scepticism about its sustainability. This review describes the concept of sustainability in the context of biofuels and then discusses the factors affecting the economic viability of current and next-generation biofuels and their environmental and social sustainability. Cellulosic biofuels from dedicated energy crops offer considerable promise for reducing the competition for land and avoiding many of the negative environmental impacts associated with corn-ethanol. But the production of any type of biofuel is likely to involve trade-offs among the multi-dimensional aspects of sustainability. Technological innovation and policy incentives are needed to develop more sustainable biofuels and to guide the mix of feedstocks, their methods and locations of production.

Review of Agricultural Economics, 2008

In recent years, bioenergy has drawn attention as a sustainable energy source that may help cope with rising energy prices, but also maybe provide income to poor farmers and rural communities around the globe. Rising fuel prices, growing energy demand, concerns over global warming from GHG emissions and increased openness to renewable energy resources, domestic energy security, and the push for expansion into new markets for crops in the face of world trade outlooks are all factors driving interest in expanding bioenergy use. Despite keen interest in this sector, there are currently few players in this field: In 2005, Brazil and the United States together accounted for 99 percent of global ethanol production, whereas Germany and France accounted for 69 percent of global biodiesel production. However, developing countries with tropical climates may have a comparative advantage in growing energyrich biomass; and second generation technologies could enable expansion of the range of feedstock used from the traditional sugarcane, maize, and rapeseed to grasses and trees that can thrive in less fertile and more droughtprone regions. Potentially adverse impacts from a rapid bioenergy expansion include upward pressure on international food prices, making staple crops less affordable for poor consumers; potentially significant adverse impacts on both land (soil quality and fertility) and water resources; and on biodiversity and ecosystems, in general. Given the numerous and high level of uncertainties regarding future biofuel supply, demand, and technologies, the paper examines three alternative scenarios: a conventional scenario, which focuses on rapid global growth in biofuel production under conventional conversion technologies; a second generation scenario, which incorporates a 'softening' of demand on food crops due to 2nd generation, lignocellulosic technologies coming online; and a 'second generation plus scenario', which adds crop productivity improvements to the second generation scenario, which essentially further reduce potentially adverse impacts from expansion of biofuels. Results from the analysis show a potential food and waterversusfuel tradeoff if innovations and technology investments in crop productivity are slow, and if reliance is placed solely on conventional feedstock conversion technologies to meet future blending requirements of fossil fuels with biofuels. This situation changes considerably with increased investments in biofuel conversion and crop productivity improvements. To mitigate potentially adverse impacts from aggressive increases in biofuel production therefore requires a renewed focus of crop breeding for productivity improvement in wheat, maize and even sugar crops. While some crops may be more favorable from the perspective of profitability, they may encounter binding environmental constraints, in particular water, for example, for sugarcane in India, and wheat or maize in Northern China. And even where water might be available, other natural resource constraints, such as land availability can constrain expansion, such as in Southern China. Impacts of global biofuel development and growth on rural poor can be both positive and negative. Biofuel crops do not necessarily crowd out food crops, at least not under the alternative scenarios examined here. Instead there is room for complementarities and synergy and rural agricultural development and socioeconomic growth can go handinhand with enhancement of bioenergy production capacity.