Assessing the environmental sustainability of biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazamia, Elena; Smith, Alison G

2014-10-01

Biofuels vary in their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when displacing fossil fuels. Savings depend primarily on the crop used for biofuel production, and on the effect that expanding its cultivation has on land use. Evidence-based policies should be used to ensure that maximal sustainability benefits result from the development of biofuels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biofuels and sustainability in Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amigun, Bamikole; Stafford, William [Sustainable Energy Futures, Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 7599 Stellenbosch (South Africa); Musango, Josephine Kaviti [Resource Based Sustainable Development, Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 7599 Stellenbosch (South Africa)

2011-02-15

The combined effects of climate change, the continued volatility of fuel prices, the recent food crisis and global economic turbulence have triggered a sense of urgency among policymakers, industries and development practitioners to find sustainable and viable solutions in the area of biofuels. This sense of urgency is reflected in the rapid expansion of global biofuels production and markets over the past few years. Biofuels development offers developing countries some prospect of self-reliant energy supplies at national and local levels, with potential economic, ecological, social, and security benefits. Forty-two African countries are net oil importers. This makes them particularly vulnerable to volatility in global fuel prices and dependent on foreign exchange to cover their domestic energy needs. The goal therefore is to reduce the high dependence on imported petroleum by developing domestic, renewable energy. But can this objective be achieved while leaving a minimal social and environmental footprint? A fundamental question is if biofuels can be produced with consideration of social, economic and environmental factors without setting unrealistic expectation for an evolving renewable energy industry that holds such great promise. The overall performance of different biofuels in reducing non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions varies when considering the entire lifecycle from production through to use. The net performance depends on the type of feedstock, the production process and the amount of non-renewable energy needed. This paper presents an overview of the development of biofuels in Africa, and highlights country-specific economic, environmental and social issues. It proposes a combination framework of policy incentives as a function of technology maturity, discusses practices, processes and technologies that can improve efficiency, lower energy and water demand, and further reduce the social and environmental footprint of biofuels

Biofuels and sustainability in Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amigun, Bamikole; Stafford, William; Musango, Josephine Kaviti

2011-01-01

The combined effects of climate change, the continued volatility of fuel prices, the recent food crisis and global economic turbulence have triggered a sense of urgency among policymakers, industries and development practitioners to find sustainable and viable solutions in the area of biofuels. This sense of urgency is reflected in the rapid expansion of global biofuels production and markets over the past few years. Biofuels development offers developing countries some prospect of self-reliant energy supplies at national and local levels, with potential economic, ecological, social, and security benefits. Forty-two African countries are net oil importers. This makes them particularly vulnerable to volatility in global fuel prices and dependent on foreign exchange to cover their domestic energy needs. The goal therefore is to reduce the high dependence on imported petroleum by developing domestic, renewable energy. But can this objective be achieved while leaving a minimal social and environmental footprint? A fundamental question is if biofuels can be produced with consideration of social, economic and environmental factors without setting unrealistic expectation for an evolving renewable energy industry that holds such great promise. The overall performance of different biofuels in reducing non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions varies when considering the entire lifecycle from production through to use. The net performance depends on the type of feedstock, the production process and the amount of non-renewable energy needed. This paper presents an overview of the development of biofuels in Africa, and highlights country-specific economic, environmental and social issues. It proposes a combination framework of policy incentives as a function of technology maturity, discusses practices, processes and technologies that can improve efficiency, lower energy and water demand, and further reduce the social and environmental footprint of biofuels

Biobutanol as a Potential Sustainable Biofuel - Assessment of Lignocellulosic and Waste-based Feedstocks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna Niemisto

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces the production process of an alternative transportation biofuel, biobutanol. European legislation concerning biofuels and their sustainability criteria are also briefly described. The need to develop methods to ensure more sustainable and efficient biofuel production processes is recommended. In addition, the assessment method to evaluate the sustainability of biofuels is considered and sustainability assessment of selected feedstocks for biobutanol production is performed. The benefits and potential of using lignocellulosic and waste materials as feedstocks in the biobutanol production process are also discussed. Sustainability assessment in this paper includes cultivation, harvest/collection and upstream processing (pretreatment of feedstocks, comparing four main biomass sources: food crops, non-food crops, food industry by-product and wood-based biomass. It can be concluded that the highest sustainable potential in Finland is when biobutanol production is integrated into pulp & paper mills.

Biofuels Fuels Technology Pathway Options for Advanced Drop-in Biofuels Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kevin L Kenney

2011-09-01

Advanced drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels require biofuel alternatives for refinery products other than gasoline. Candidate biofuels must have performance characteristics equivalent to conventional petroleum-based fuels. The technology pathways for biofuel alternatives also must be plausible, sustainable (e.g., positive energy balance, environmentally benign, etc.), and demonstrate a reasonable pathway to economic viability and end-user affordability. Viable biofuels technology pathways must address feedstock production and environmental issues through to the fuel or chemical end products. Potential end products include compatible replacement fuel products (e.g., gasoline, diesel, and JP8 and JP5 jet fuel) and other petroleum products or chemicals typically produced from a barrel of crude. Considering the complexity and technology diversity of a complete biofuels supply chain, no single entity or technology provider is capable of addressing in depth all aspects of any given pathway; however, all the necessary expert entities exist. As such, we propose the assembly of a team capable of conducting an in-depth technology pathway options analysis (including sustainability indicators and complete LCA) to identify and define the domestic biofuel pathways for a Green Fleet. This team is not only capable of conducting in-depth analyses on technology pathways, but collectively they are able to trouble shoot and/or engineer solutions that would give industrial technology providers the highest potential for success. Such a team would provide the greatest possible down-side protection for high-risk advanced drop-in biofuels procurement(s).

Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, Nicolae; Dallemand, Jean-Francois

2011-01-01

The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest developments on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification for biofuels and/or bioenergy. A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use. Finally, the possible way forward for biofuel certification is discussed. Certification has the potential to influence positively direct environmental and social impact of bioenergy production. Key recommendations to ensure sustainability of biofuels/bioenergy through certification include the need of an international approach and further harmonisation, combined with additional measures for global monitoring and control. The effects of biofuels/bioenergy production on indirect land use change (ILUC) is still very uncertain; addressing the unwanted ILUC requires sustainable land use planning and adequate monitoring tools such as remote sensing, regardless of the end-use of the product. - Research highlights: → There is little harmonisation between certification initiatives. → Certification alone is probably not able to avoid certain indirect effects. → Sustainability standards should be applied globally to all agricultural commodities. → A critical issue to certification is implementation and verification. → Monitoring and control of land use changes through remote sensing are needed.

Space for innovation for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use: Lessons learned for policy from Nhambita community, Mozambique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schut, Marc; Paassen, Annemarie van; Leeuwis, Cees; Bos, Sandra; Leonardo, Wilson; Lerner, Anna

2011-01-01

This paper provides insights and recommendations for policy on the opportunities and constrains that influence the space for innovation for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use. Promoted by the Mozambican government, Nhambita community established jatropha trials in 2005. Initial results were promising, but crop failure and the absence of organized markets led to scepticism amongst farmers. We start from the idea that the promotion of community-based biofuel production and use requires taking interactions between social-cultural, biophysical, economic, political and legal subsystems across different scales and levels of analysis through time into account. Our analysis demonstrates that heterogeneous farming strategies and their synergies at community level should be carefully assessed. Furthermore, national and international political and legal developments, such as the development of biofuel sustainability criteria, influence the local space in which community-based biofuel developments take place. We conclude that ex-ante integrated assessment and creating an enabling environment can enhance space for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use. It may provide insights into the opportunities and constraints for different types of smallholders, and promote the development of adequate policy mechanisms to prevent biofuels from becoming a threat rather than an opportunity for smallholders. - Highlights: → This paper explores space for innovation for community-based biofuel production and use. → Heterogeneous farming strategies and their synergies at community level are key. → Farmers have little trust in jatropha due to crop failure and absence of markets. → (Inter)national biofuel policies influence space for local biofuel production and use. → Policies should focus on ex-ante integrated assessment and creating an enabling environment.

Sustainable Production of Second-Generation Biofuels. Potential and perspectives in major economies and developing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisentraut, A

2010-02-15

The paper focuses on opportunities and risks presented by second-generation biofuels technologies in eight case study countries: Brazil, Cameroon, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. The report begins by exploring the state of the art of second-generation technologies and their production, followed by projections of future demand and a discussion of drivers of that demand. The report then delves into various feedstock options and the global potential for bioenergy production. The final chapter offers a look at the potential for sustainable second-generation biofuel production in developing countries including considerations of economic, social and environmental impacts. Key findings of the report include that: second-generation biofuels produced from agricultural and forestry residues can play a crucial role in the transport sector without competing with food production; the potential for second-generation biofuels should be mobilized in emerging and developing countries where a large share of global residues is produced; less-developed countries will first need to invest in agricultural production and infrastructure in order to improve the framework conditions for the production of second-generation biofuels; financial barriers to production exist in many developing countries; and the suitability of second-generation biofuels against individual developing countries' needs should be evaluated.

Sustainable Production of Second-Generation Biofuels. Potential and perspectives in major economies and developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisentraut, A.

2010-02-01

The paper focuses on opportunities and risks presented by second-generation biofuels technologies in eight case study countries: Brazil, Cameroon, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. The report begins by exploring the state of the art of second-generation technologies and their production, followed by projections of future demand and a discussion of drivers of that demand. The report then delves into various feedstock options and the global potential for bioenergy production. The final chapter offers a look at the potential for sustainable second-generation biofuel production in developing countries including considerations of economic, social and environmental impacts. Key findings of the report include that: second-generation biofuels produced from agricultural and forestry residues can play a crucial role in the transport sector without competing with food production; the potential for second-generation biofuels should be mobilized in emerging and developing countries where a large share of global residues is produced; less-developed countries will first need to invest in agricultural production and infrastructure in order to improve the framework conditions for the production of second-generation biofuels; financial barriers to production exist in many developing countries; and the suitability of second-generation biofuels against individual developing countries' needs should be evaluated.

Sustainable Production of Second-Generation Biofuels. Potential and perspectives in major economies and developing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisentraut, A.

2010-02-15

The paper focuses on opportunities and risks presented by second-generation biofuels technologies in eight case study countries: Brazil, Cameroon, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. The report begins by exploring the state of the art of second-generation technologies and their production, followed by projections of future demand and a discussion of drivers of that demand. The report then delves into various feedstock options and the global potential for bioenergy production. The final chapter offers a look at the potential for sustainable second-generation biofuel production in developing countries including considerations of economic, social and environmental impacts. Key findings of the report include that: second-generation biofuels produced from agricultural and forestry residues can play a crucial role in the transport sector without competing with food production; the potential for second-generation biofuels should be mobilized in emerging and developing countries where a large share of global residues is produced; less-developed countries will first need to invest in agricultural production and infrastructure in order to improve the framework conditions for the production of second-generation biofuels; financial barriers to production exist in many developing countries; and the suitability of second-generation biofuels against individual developing countries' needs should be evaluated.

setting sustainable standards for biofuel production

African Journals Online (AJOL)

OLAWUYI

Director for Research, Training and International Development, Institute for Oil, Gas, ..... Table 3 presents the five stages in the product lifecycle for biofuel production ..... Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessments of Trade and Investment.

Sustainable Biofuels Development Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reardon, Kenneth F. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)

2015-03-01

The mission of the Sustainable Bioenergy Development Center (SBDC) is to enhance the capability of America’s bioenergy industry to produce transportation fuels and chemical feedstocks on a large scale, with significant energy yields, at competitive cost, through sustainable production techniques. Research within the SBDC is organized in five areas: (1) Development of Sustainable Crops and Agricultural Strategies, (2) Improvement of Biomass Processing Technologies, (3) Biofuel Characterization and Engine Adaptation, (4) Production of Byproducts for Sustainable Biorefining, and (5) Sustainability Assessment, including evaluation of the ecosystem/climate change implication of center research and evaluation of the policy implications of widespread production and utilization of bioenergy. The overall goal of this project is to develop new sustainable bioenergy-related technologies. To achieve that goal, three specific activities were supported with DOE funds: bioenergy-related research initiation projects, bioenergy research and education via support of undergraduate and graduate students, and Research Support Activities (equipment purchases, travel to attend bioenergy conferences, and seminars). Numerous research findings in diverse fields related to bioenergy were produced from these activities and are summarized in this report.

Optimizing root system architecture in biofuel crops for sustainable energy production and soil carbon sequestration.

Science.gov (United States)

To, Jennifer Pc; Zhu, Jinming; Benfey, Philip N; Elich, Tedd

2010-09-08

Root system architecture (RSA) describes the dynamic spatial configuration of different types and ages of roots in a plant, which allows adaptation to different environments. Modifications in RSA enhance agronomic traits in crops and have been implicated in soil organic carbon content. Together, these fundamental properties of RSA contribute to the net carbon balance and overall sustainability of biofuels. In this article, we will review recent data supporting carbon sequestration by biofuel crops, highlight current progress in studying RSA, and discuss future opportunities for optimizing RSA for biofuel production and soil carbon sequestration.

Perspectives for Sustainable Aviation Biofuels in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luís A. B. Cortez

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aviation industry has set ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions in coming decades. The strategy involves the use of sustainable biofuels, aiming to achieve benefits from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. In this context, Brazilian conditions are favorable, with a mature agroindustry that regularly produces automotive biofuel largely adopted by Brazilian road vehicles, while air transportation has been growing at an accelerating pace and a modern aircraft industry is in place. This paper presents the main conclusions and recommendations from a broad assessment of the technological, economic, and sustainability challenges and opportunities associated with the development of drop-in aviation biofuels in Brazil. It was written by a research team that prepared the initial reports and conducted eight workshops with the active participation of more than 30 stakeholders encompassing the private sector, government institutions, NGOs, and academia. The main outcome was a set of guidelines for establishing a new biofuels industry, including recommendations for (a filling the identified research and development knowledge gaps in the production of sustainable feedstock; (b overcoming the barriers in conversion technology, including scaling-up issues; (c promoting greater involvement and interaction between private and government stakeholders; and (d creating a national strategy to promote the development of aviation biofuels.

Stabilizing the agricultural frontier: Leveraging REDD with biofuels for sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Killeen, Timothy J.; Schroth, Goetz; Turner, Will; Harvey, Celia A.; Steininger, Marc K.; Dragisic, Christine; Mittermeier, Russell A.

2011-01-01

We evaluate the potential of a proposed policy model that would explicitly link the cultivation of biofuels with forest conservation (Biofuel + FC) as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The model postulates that a ratio of 4:1 forest conservation to biofuel cultivation be linked to proposals for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD + Biofuel), while a ratio of 9:1 biofuel cultivation to reforestation on degraded landscape (RDL + Biofuel) be linked to the afforestation/reforestation component of the Clean Development Mechanism. Both biofuel production options would be limited to the cultivation of woody perennial biofuel species on low biomass landscapes in order to maximize the carbon benefits of the proposed policy model. The potential to conserve forest, avoid GHG emissions, improve carbon sequestration, and produce renewable energy are evaluated by an illustrative model for five case studies (Pará – Brazil, East Kalimantan – Indonesia, Madagascar, Colombia and Liberia). The Biofuel + FC policy model is then compared with three counterfactual scenarios: REDD Alone with no biofuel cultivation; Biofuel Alone with expanded biofuel cultivation in the absence of REDD and a Most Likely scenario where REDD and biofuel cultivation are implemented without explicit regulatory linkages. The proposed policy model would leverage forest carbon with biofuel markets, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve biodiversity, as well as improve human welfare in developing countries, a win–win–win strategy for sustainable development. -- Highlights: ► We propose to link biofuel cultivation with forest conservation (REDD + Biofuels). ► A similar proposal to support reforestation on degraded landscapes (RDL + Biofuels). ► Woody perennial biofuel species on low biomass landscapes maximize carbon benefits. ► REDD+ revenues can subsidize and foster sustainable biofuels. ► Production of

Designing Sustainable Supply Chains for Biofuels

Science.gov (United States)

Driven by the Energy and Independence Act of 2007 mandate to increase production of alternative fuels and to ensure that this increase causes minimal environmental impact, a project to design sustainable biofuel supply chains has been developed. This effort uses life cycle asses...

Biofuels and the role of space in sustainable innovation journeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Sujatha; Mohr, Alison

2014-02-15

This paper aims to identify the lessons that should be learnt from how biofuels have been envisioned from the aftermath of the oil shocks of the 1970s to the present, and how these visions compare with biofuel production networks emerging in the 2000s. Working at the interface of sustainable innovation journey research and geographical theories on the spatial unevenness of sustainability transition projects, we show how the biofuels controversy is linked to characteristics of globalised industrial agricultural systems. The legitimacy problems of biofuels cannot be addressed by sustainability indicators or new technologies alone since they arise from the spatial ordering of biofuel production. In the 1970-80s, promoters of bioenergy anticipated current concerns about food security implications but envisioned bioenergy production to be territorially embedded at national or local scales where these issues would be managed. Where the territorial and scalar vision was breached, it was to imagine poorer countries exporting higher-value biofuel to the North rather than the raw material as in the controversial global biomass commodity chains of today. However, controversy now extends to the global impacts of national biofuel systems on food security and greenhouse gas emissions, and to their local impacts becoming more widely known. South/South and North/North trade conflicts are also emerging as are questions over biodegradable wastes and agricultural residues as global commodities. As assumptions of a food-versus-fuel conflict have come to be challenged, legitimacy questions over global agri-business and trade are spotlighted even further. In this context, visions of biofuel development that address these broader issues might be promising. These include large-scale biomass-for-fuel models in Europe that would transform global trade rules to allow small farmers in the global South to compete, and small-scale biofuel systems developed to address local energy needs in the

Biofuels and the role of space in sustainable innovation journeys☆

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Sujatha; Mohr, Alison

2014-01-01

This paper aims to identify the lessons that should be learnt from how biofuels have been envisioned from the aftermath of the oil shocks of the 1970s to the present, and how these visions compare with biofuel production networks emerging in the 2000s. Working at the interface of sustainable innovation journey research and geographical theories on the spatial unevenness of sustainability transition projects, we show how the biofuels controversy is linked to characteristics of globalised industrial agricultural systems. The legitimacy problems of biofuels cannot be addressed by sustainability indicators or new technologies alone since they arise from the spatial ordering of biofuel production. In the 1970–80s, promoters of bioenergy anticipated current concerns about food security implications but envisioned bioenergy production to be territorially embedded at national or local scales where these issues would be managed. Where the territorial and scalar vision was breached, it was to imagine poorer countries exporting higher-value biofuel to the North rather than the raw material as in the controversial global biomass commodity chains of today. However, controversy now extends to the global impacts of national biofuel systems on food security and greenhouse gas emissions, and to their local impacts becoming more widely known. South/South and North/North trade conflicts are also emerging as are questions over biodegradable wastes and agricultural residues as global commodities. As assumptions of a food-versus-fuel conflict have come to be challenged, legitimacy questions over global agri-business and trade are spotlighted even further. In this context, visions of biofuel development that address these broader issues might be promising. These include large-scale biomass-for-fuel models in Europe that would transform global trade rules to allow small farmers in the global South to compete, and small-scale biofuel systems developed to address local energy needs in the

Coupling of Algal Biofuel Production with Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neha Chamoli Bhatt

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Microalgae have gained enormous consideration from scientific community worldwide emerging as a viable feedstock for a renewable energy source virtually being carbon neutral, high lipid content, and comparatively more advantageous to other sources of biofuels. Although microalgae are seen as a valuable source in majority part of the world for production of biofuels and bioproducts, still they are unable to accomplish sustainable large-scale algal biofuel production. Wastewater has organic and inorganic supplements required for algal growth. The coupling of microalgae with wastewater is an effective way of waste remediation and a cost-effective microalgal biofuel production. In this review article, we will primarily discuss the possibilities and current scenario regarding coupling of microalgal cultivation with biofuel production emphasizing recent progress in this area.

Biofuels – On the way to sustainability?: Opinion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Kaltschmitt

2016-12-01

and income in rural areas as well as development of perspectives for farmers;Convenient inclusion into existing technology and market structures of transportation based on fossil fuels;Development and demonstration of technological processes with a high export potential and thus the option of creation of value.These arguments were always questioned critically by parts of the public and especially by environmental NGOs. Among others, the following arguments have been presented:The GHG savings are marginal because the production process for biofuels is quite energy consuming (i.e. no or only negligible net GHG savings;Due to direct and indirect land use change effects (LUC and iLUC possible GHG reductions are inverted  to  (significantly  higher  GHG  emissions compared to  fossil fuel  use  (i.e.  biofuels contribute to rain forest clearing;Biofuels contribute to food scarcity and hunger especially in less developed countries due to increasing food prices that are triggered by an increasing demand for land and agricultural products as well certain political instruments that distort the market (e.g. subsidies;Biofuels contribute to monoculture and industrial agriculture as well as to the reduction of biodiversity.Due to this ongoing social debate, significant efforts to minimize negative consequences and to increase acceptance have been made especially within the European Union (EU in recent years. For example, the following measures have been implemented by the European Commission (EC:Agricultural feedstocks used for biofuel production need to come from sustainable sources; this has to be certified by an independent body. In contrast, no legal sustainability requirements for agricultural feed and food products exist.The subsidies for biofuels are tied up with an assessment of the achieved GHG savings, which are calculated based on a pre-defined mandatory methodology [4]. By decision of the European Parliament, indirect land use change effects are not taken

Meeting the global demand for biofuels in 2021 through sustainable land use change policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldemberg, José; Mello, Francisco F.C.; Cerri, Carlos E.P.; Davies, Christian A.; Cerri, Carlos C.

2014-01-01

The 2013 renewable energy policy mandates adopted in twenty-seven countries will increase the need for liquid biofuels. To achieve this, ethanol produced from corn and sugarcane will need to increase from 80 to approximately 200 billion l in 2021. This could be achieved by increasing the productivity of raw material per hectare, expansion of land into dedicated biofuels, or a combination of both. We show here that appropriate land expansion policies focused on conservationist programs and a scientific basis, are important for sustainable biofuel expansion whilst meeting the increasing demand for food and fiber. The Brazilian approach to biofuel and food security could be followed by other nations to provide a sustainable pathway to renewable energy and food production globally. One sentence summary: Conservationist policy programs with scientific basis are key to drive the expansion of biofuel production and use towards sustainability

From biomass to sustainable biofuels in southern Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Zyl, W.H.; Den Haan, R.; Rose, S.H.; La Grange, D.C.; Bloom, M. [Stellenbosch Univ., Matieland (South Africa). Dept. of Microbiology; Gorgens, J.F.; Knoetze, J.H. [Stellenbosch Univ., Matieland (South Africa). Dept. of Process Engineering; Von Blottnitz, H. [Cape Town Univ., Rondebosch (South Africa). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2009-07-01

This presentation reported on a global sustainable bioenergy project with particular reference to South Africa's strategy to develop biofuels. The current biofuel production in South Africa was presented along with the potential for biofuels production and other clean alternative fuels. The South African industrial biofuel strategy (IBS) was developed in 2007 with a mandate to create jobs in the energy-crop and biofuels value chain; attract investment into rural areas; promote agricultural development; and reduce the import of foreign oil. The proposed crops for bioethanol include sugar cane and sugar beet, while the proposed crops for biodiesel include sunflower, canola and soya beans. The exclusion of maize was based on food security concerns. Jatropha curcas was also excluded because it is considered to be an invasive species. In addition to environmental benefits, the production of biofuels from biomass in Africa offers improved energy security, economic development and social upliftment. All biofuel projects are evaluated to ensure that these benefits are realized. Although first generation technologies do not score well due to marginal energy balance, negative life cycle impacts or detriment to biodiversity, the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass scores well in terms of enabling the commercialization of second generation biofuels. This paper discussed both the biochemical and thermochemical technological interventions needed to develop commercially-viable second generation lignocellulose conversion technologies to biofuels. tabs., figs.

Sustainable Process Design of Lignocellulose based Biofuel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mangnimit, Saranya; Malakul, Pomthong; Gani, Rafiqul

the production and use of alternative and sustainable energy sources as rapidly as possible. Biofuel is a type of alternative energy that can be produced from many sources including sugar substances (such as sugarcane juice and molasses), starchy materials (such as corn and cassava), and lignocellulosic...... materials such as agricultural residual, straw and wood chips, the residual from wood industry. However, those sugar and starchy materials can be used not only to make biofuels but they are also food sources. Thus, lignocellulosic materials are interesting feed-stocls as they are inexpensive, abundantly...... available, and are also non-food crops. In this respect, Cassava rhizome has several characteristics that make it a potential feedstock for fuel ethanol production. It has high content of cellulose and hemicelluloses . The objective of this paper is to present a study focused on the sustainable process...

Sustainable production of a new generation biofuel by lipase-catalyzed esterification of fatty acids from liquid industrial waste biomass.

Science.gov (United States)

Foukis, Athanasios; Gkini, Olga A; Stergiou, Panagiota-Yiolanda; Sakkas, Vasilios A; Dima, Agapi; Boura, Konstantina; Koutinas, Athanasios; Papamichael, Emmanuel M

2017-08-01

In this work we suggest a methodology comprising the design and use of cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly process for biofuel production compatible with the market demands. A new generation biofuel is produced using fatty acids, which were generated from acidogenesis of industrial wastes of bioethanol distilleries, and esterified with selected alcohols by immobilized Candida antarctica Lipase-B. Suitable reactors with significant parameters and conditions were studied through experimental design, and novel esterification processes were suggested; among others, the continuous removal of the produced water was provided. Finally, economically sustainable biofuel production was achieved providing high ester yield (<97%) along with augmented concentration (3.35M) in the reaction mixtures at relatively short esterification times, whereas the immobilized lipase maintained over 90% of its initial esterifying ability after reused for ten cycles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the evolution of sustainable development in biofuels industry in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Rosa Loayza Rollano

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an evaluation of sustainable development in the biofuel production sector. The Energy Indicators Tool for Sustainable Development (EISD and the Sustainability Indicators Tool Global Association for Bioenergy (GBEP were applied. Performing a comparison of indicators in each performance (economic, social and environmental, it was found that the production of biofuels in Brazil is positive in most of them. Biofuels showed a favorable trend in economic indicators, not only in terms of cost, but also through the use of energy available to the consumer market. Environmental indicators showed an improvement in the efficient use of land, water and energy resources, while pesticide applications are relatively low in relation to the limits. In addition, it appears that the biofuels industries have contributed positively to rural economies, since the social indicators showed a relatively significant and positive increase in labor supply and salary level of the labor market in this sector. Also appears that existing tools are complementary and the results provide a basis for future discussions and the development of sustainability assessments in systems and bioenergy-related projects.

Three generation production biotechnology of biomass into bio-fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaocheng

2017-08-01

The great change of climate change, depletion of natural resources, and scarcity of fossil fuel in the whole world nowadays have witnessed a sense of urgency home and abroad among scales of researchers, development practitioners, and industrialists to search for completely brand new sustainable solutions in the area of biomass transforming into bio-fuels attributing to our duty-that is, it is our responsibility to take up this challenge to secure our energy in the near future with the help of sustainable approaches and technological advancements to produce greener fuel from nature organic sources or biomass which comes generally from organic natural matters such as trees, woods, manure, sewage sludge, grass cuttings, and timber waste with a source of huge green energy called bio-fuel. Biomass includes most of the biological materials, livings or dead bodies. This energy source is ripely used industrially, or domestically for rather many years, but the recent trend is on the production of green fuel with different advance processing systems in a greener. More sustainable method. Biomass is becoming a booming industry currently on account of its cheaper cost and abundant resources all around, making it fairly more effective for the sustainable use of the bio-energy. In the past few years, the world has witnessed a remarkable development in the bio-fuel production technology, and three generations of bio-fuel have already existed in our society. The combination of membrane technology with the existing process line can play a vital role for the production of green fuel in a sustainable manner. In this paper, the science and technology for sustainable bio-fuel production will be introduced in detail for a cleaner world.

Evaluation of biofuels sustainability: can we keep biofuel appropriate and green?

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Amigun, B

2009-11-01

Full Text Available and Industrial Research (CSIR) Pretoria, South Africa bamigun@csir.co.za Outlines • State of biofuels in Africa - Biofuels initiatives in Africa • Barriers to biofuels market penetration and policy incentives to stimulate the market. • Sustainability... are then motivated to put these ideas into practice. The end of Phase I is the political decision to invest money and other resources into biofuel research. Biofuels developmental stages in Africa…explanation © CSIR 2009 www...

Multi-actor governance of sustainable biofuels in developing countries: The case of Mozambique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schut, Marc; Cunha Soares, Núria; Ven, Gerrie van de; Slingerland, Maja

2014-01-01

This paper describes and analyses the multi-actor governance process that made Mozambique the first African nation-state to develop a national policy framework for sustainable biofuels. The paper draws on findings from action research conducted in Mozambique between December 2008 and July 2012. We analyse interactions between the changing governance context, the course of the multi-actor governance process, and the choices in relation to governance framework characteristics and content for four successive stages of governance framework development. This provides the basis for reflection on the competences required for effective multi-actor sustainability governance, and a discussion about the role of the nation-state in sustainability governance of global economies such as biofuels. The governance framework for sustainable biofuels has contributed to a more transparent and secure investment climate for biofuels in Mozambique. Key factors for success were (1) the presence of different types of competences during the various stages of the governance framework development, (2) closing the gap between ‘licences to sell’ and ‘licences to produce’ across different governance levels, and (3) balancing between the short- and long-term objectives for biofuel production in Mozambique and requirements of global biofuel markets. Developing-country nation-states can provide an essential contribution to these success-factors for global governance of sustainable biofuels. - Highlights: • Mozambique is the first African country that developed a national governance framework for sustainable biofuels. • Independence, representation, expertise and operational capacity are essential competences in multi-actor sustainability governance. • Developing country's nation-states play an essential role in harmonizing short- and long-term objectives across different governance levels. • Synergies between licences to sell and licences to produce biofuels sustainably should

Sustainability development: Biofuels in agriculture

OpenAIRE

Cheteni, Priviledge

2017-01-01

Biofuels are socially and politically accepted as a form of sustainable energy in numerous countries. However, cases of environmental degradation and land grabs have highlighted the negative effects to their adoption. Smallholder farmers are vital in the development of a biofuel industry. The study sort to assess the implications in the adoption of biofuel crops by smallholder farmers. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 129 smallholder farmers who were sampled from the Easter...

Integrated microbial processes for biofuels and high value-added products: the way to improve the cost effectiveness of biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Teresa Lopes; Gouveia, Luísa; Reis, Alberto

2014-02-01

The production of microbial biofuels is currently under investigation, as they are alternative sources to fossil fuels, which are diminishing and their use has a negative impact on the environment. However, so far, biofuels derived from microbes are not economically competitive. One way to overcome this bottleneck is the use of microorganisms to transform substrates into biofuels and high value-added products, and simultaneously taking advantage of the various microbial biomass components to produce other products of interest, as an integrated process. In this way, it is possible to maximize the economic value of the whole process, with the desired reduction of the waste streams produced. It is expected that this integrated system makes the biofuel production economically sustainable and competitive in the near future. This review describes the investigation on integrated microbial processes (based on bacteria, yeast, and microalgal cultivations) that have been experimentally developed, highlighting the importance of this approach as a way to optimize microbial biofuel production process.

How sustainable are 1{sup st} and 2{sup nd} generation biofuels for transportation?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinhardt, Guido; Hienz, Gunnar [ifeu-Institut fuer Energie- und Umweltforschung GmbH, Heidelberg (Germany)

2013-06-01

After the successful implementation of 1{sup st} generation biofuels in the transport sector of several countries all over the world, 2{sup nd} generation biofuels are also being produced in the meantime. Recently, there is a distinct increase in publications on the question and the concerns of many stakeholders whether these biofuels are sustainable and public awareness of this issue is prevalent. This paper summarises the state of the art of the debate whether 1{sup st} and 2{sup nd} generation biofuels are a sustainable alternative for fossil fuels for transportation. Results of several life cycle assessments are compared and conclusions are stated. An environmental assessment identifies the potentials for a sustainable development of biofuels for transportation. Conclusions are that 1{sup st} and 2{sup nd} generation biofuels show both environmental advantages and disadvantages. The analyses of energy and greenhouse gas balances show a wide range of results. Lifecycle assessments and environmental impact assessments provide a method to determine whether biofuels are environmentally sustainable. Impacts on sustainable development are exemplified in the categories land use competition, biomass use competition and CO{sub 2} avoidance costs. Not all biofuels are regarded as being advantageous from an environmental perspective. However, 1{sup st} and 2{sup nd} generation biofuels for transportation show a great potential that needs to be harmonised with other needs (e.g. land for food production or biomass use for industry and chemistry towards an overall sustainable approach). (orig.)

Spatial optimization of cropping pattern for sustainable food and biofuel production with minimal downstream pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Femeena, P V; Sudheer, K P; Cibin, R; Chaubey, I

2018-04-15

compromising on food and biofuel production. Optimization runs yielded an optimal cropping pattern with 32% of watershed area in stover removal, 15% in switchgrass and 2% in Miscanthus. The optimal scenario resulted in 14% reduction in nitrate and 22% reduction in total phosphorus from the baseline. This framework can be used as an effective tool to take decisions regarding environmentally and economically sustainable strategies to minimize the nutrient delivery at minimal biomass production cost, while simultaneously meeting food and biofuel production targets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohr, Alison; Raman, Sujatha

2013-01-01

Aims: The emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed to address broader societal concerns. This paper examines lessons drawn from the 1G controversy to assess implications for the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels. Scope: We present an overview of key 1G sustainability challenges, assess their relevance for 2G, and highlight the challenges for policy in managing the transition. We address limitations of existing sustainability assessments by exploring where challenges might emerge across the whole system of bioenergy and the wider context of the social system in which bioenergy research and policy are done. Conclusions: Key lessons arising from 1G are potentially relevant to the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels depending on the particular circumstances or conditions under which 2G is introduced. We conclude that sustainability challenges commonly categorised as either economic, environmental or social are, in reality, more complexly interconnected (so that an artificial separation of these categories is problematic). - Highlights: • Controversy surrounding 1G biofuels is relevant to sustainability appraisal of 2G. • Challenges for policy in managing the transition to 2G biofuels are highlighted. • A key lesson is that sustainability challenges are complexly interconnected

Molecular Breeding of Advanced Microorganisms for Biofuel Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Sakuragi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Large amounts of fossil fuels are consumed every day in spite of increasing environmental problems. To preserve the environment and construct a sustainable society, the use of biofuels derived from different kinds of biomass is being practiced worldwide. Although bioethanol has been largely produced, it commonly requires food crops such as corn and sugar cane as substrates. To develop a sustainable energy supply, cellulosic biomass should be used for bioethanol production instead of grain biomass. For this purpose, cell surface engineering technology is a very promising method. In biobutanol and biodiesel production, engineered host fermentation has attracted much attention; however, this method has many limitations such as low productivity and low solvent tolerance of microorganisms. Despite these problems, biofuels such as bioethanol, biobutanol, and biodiesel are potential energy sources that can help establish a sustainable society.

Bio-fuels production and the environmental indicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomes, Marcos Sebastiao de Paula [Mechanical Engineering Department/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio, Rua Marques de Sao Vicente 225, Gavea, CEP 22453-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Muylaert de Araujo, Maria Silvia [Energy and Environment Planning Program/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - COPPE/UFRJ, Cidade Universitaria, Centro de Tecnologia, Bloco C, sala 211, Ilha do Fundao, CEP: 21945-970, Caixa Postal: 68501, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2009-10-15

The paper evaluates the role of the bio-fuels production in the transportation sector in the world, for programs of greenhouse gases emissions reductions and sustainable environmental performance. Depending on the methodology used to account for the local pollutant emissions and the global greenhouse gases emissions during the production and consumption of both the fossil and bio-fuels, the results can show huge differences. If it is taken into account a life cycle inventory approach to compare the different fuel sources, these results can present controversies. A comparison study involving the American oil diesel and soybean diesel developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory presents CO{sub 2} emissions for the bio-diesel which are almost 20% of the emissions for the oil diesel: 136 g CO{sub 2}/bhp-h for the bio-diesel from soybean and 633 g CO{sub 2}/bhp-h for the oil diesel [National Renewable Energy Laboratory - NREL/SR-580-24089]. Besides that, important local environmental impacts can also make a big difference. The water consumption in the soybean production is much larger in comparison with the water consumption for the diesel production [National Renewable Energy Laboratory - NREL/SR-580-24089]. Brazil has an important role to play in this scenario because of its large experience in bio-fuels production since the seventies, and the country has conditions to produce bio-fuels for attending great part of the world demand in a sustainable pathway. (author)

Biogeochemical Research Priorities for Sustainable Biofuel and Bioenergy Feedstock Production in the Americas.

Science.gov (United States)

Gollany, Hero T; Titus, Brian D; Scott, D Andrew; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Resh, Sigrid C; Chimner, Rodney A; Kaczmarek, Donald J; Leite, Luiz F C; Ferreira, Ana C C; Rod, Kenton A; Hilbert, Jorge; Galdos, Marcelo V; Cisz, Michelle E

2015-12-01

Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems incrementally remove greater quantities of organic matter, which in turn affects soil organic matter and associated carbon and nutrient storage (and hence long-term soil productivity) and off-site impacts. While these consequences have been extensively studied for some crops and sites, the ongoing and impending impacts of biomass removal require management strategies for ensuring that soil properties and functions are sustained for all combinations of crops, soils, sites, climates, and management systems, and that impacts of biomass management (including off-site impacts) are environmentally acceptable. In a changing global environment, knowledge of cumulative impacts will also become increasingly important. Long-term experiments are essential for key crops, soils, and management systems because short-term results do not necessarily reflect long-term impacts, although improved modeling capability may help to predict these impacts. Identification and validation of soil sustainability indicators for both site prescriptions and spatial applications would better inform commercial and policy decisions. In an increasingly inter-related but constrained global context, researchers should engage across inter-disciplinary, inter-agency, and international lines to better ensure the long-term soil productivity across a range of scales, from site to landscape.

Water quality under increased biofuel production and future climate change and uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Demissie, Y. K.; Yan, E.

2015-12-01

Over the past decade, biofuel has emerged as an important renewable energy source to supplement gasoline and reduce the associated greenhouse gas emission. Many countries, for instant, have adopted biofuel production goals to blend 10% or more of gasoline with biofuels within 10 to 20 years. However, meeting these goals requires sustainable production of biofuel feedstock which can be challenging under future change in climate and extreme weather conditions, as well as the likely impacts of biofuel feedstock production on water quality and availability. To understand this interrelationship and the combined effects of increased biofuel production and climate change on regional and local water resources, we have performed watershed hydrology and water quality analyses for the Ohio River Basin. The basin is one of the major biofuel feedstock producing region in the United States, which also currently contributes about half of the flow and one third of phosphorus and nitrogen loadings to the Mississippi River that eventually flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The analyses integrate future scenarios and climate change and biofuel development through various mixes of landuse and agricultural management changes and examine their potential impacts on regional and local hydrology, water quality, soil erosion, and agriculture productivity. The results of the study are expected to provide much needed insight about the sustainability of large-scale biofuel feedstock production under the future climate change and uncertainty, and helps to further optimize the feedstock production taking into consideration the water-use efficiency.

Sustainable multipurpose biorefineries for third-generation biofuels and value-added co-products

Science.gov (United States)

Modern biorefinery facilities conduct many types of processes, including those producing advanced biofuels, commodity chemicals, biodiesel, and value-added co-products such as sweeteners and bioinsecticides, with many more co-products, chemicals and biofuels on the horizon. Most of these processes ...

The South's outlook for sustainable forest bioenergy and biofuels production

Science.gov (United States)

David Wear; Robert Abt; Janaki Alavalapati; Greg Comatas; Mike Countess; Will McDow

2010-01-01

The future of a wood-based biofuel/bioenergy sector could hold important implications for the use, structure and function of forested landscapes in the South. This paper examines a set of questions regarding the potential effects of biofuel developments both on markets for traditional timber products and on the provision of various non-timber ecosystem services. In...

legal analysis of the european union sustainability criteria for biofuels

African Journals Online (AJOL)

State.3 Renewable energy could come from a variety of sources, but for the .... Sustainability Restrictions Defined by the European Renewable Energy Directive .... the GHG emissions during the production of biofuels and the impact of the.

Towards a sustainably certifiable futures contract for biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathews, John A.

2008-01-01

How are biofuels to be certified as produced in a sustainable and responsible fashion? In the global debate over this issue, one party to the proceedings seems rarely to be mentioned-namely the commodities exchanges through which a global biofuels market is being created. In this contribution, I propose a solution to the problem of sustainability certification through a biofuels futures contract equipped with 'proof of origin' documentation. The proposal does not call for any radical break with current practice, extending existing certification procedures with a requirement for the vendor to provide documentation, probably in barcoded form, of the history of the biofuel offered for sale, including plantation and biorefinery where the biofuel was produced and subsequent blendings it may have undergone. The proposal is thus compatible with the blending practices of large global traders, whose activities are the source of the difficulties of other approaches to certification. It is argued that if such a sustainable futures contract for bioethanol (in the first instance) were to be introduced, then it would likely trade at a premium and become the primary vehicle for North-South trade in biofuels

Assessing biofuels: Aiming for sustainable development or complying with the market?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz-Chavez, Rocio A.

2011-01-01

The growing interest in biofuels has led to increasing concern about their wider implications, particularly if grown for transport use in large scale. Such concerns include environmental, social and economic issues. To counterbalance the possible negative effects, a series of measures are being put in place to help their sustainability. Nevertheless, considering the different meanings of sustainability in different parts of the world and the need to expand productive rural activities, the differences between trying to assure a commodity and the benefits or impacts at local level raise the questions between the aims of sustainability and the need to comply with a market. The ideal situation would be to reconcile both aspects, which in practise represent a major challenge for governments and industry. This paper provides an overview on the sustainability assessment of biofuels to consider a possible way forward. - Highlights: → Multi-interactions in biomass production for bioenergy are a new paradigm to develop policies. → Certification and verification schemes are limited to assess broader sustainability issues. → Improved agricultural and forestry systems for biomass use will boost policies and investment.

External governance and the EU policy for sustainable biofuels, the case of Mozambique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Lucia, Lorenzo

2010-01-01

Growing demand for transport biofuels in the EU is driving an expansion of the industry in developing countries. Large-scale production of energy crops for biofuel, if mismanaged, could cause detrimental environmental and social impacts. The aim of this study is to examine whether the newly adopted EU Directive 2009/28/EC and its sustainability certification system can effectively ensure sustainable production of biofuels outside the EU. Mozambique, a least developed country with biofuels ambitions, is selected as empirical case. The effectiveness of the EU policy in analysed employing ideal models of external governance (hierarchical, market and network governance) as analytical framework. The findings show that the EU attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade. The market approach adopted by the EU is expected to produce only unstable (subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand) and thin (limited to climate and biodiversity issues) policy results. Stronger emphasis on a network oriented approach based on substantial involvement of foreign actors, and on international policy legitimacy is suggested as a way forward. - Research highlights: →The EU attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade. →The market approach adopted by the EU is expected to produce only unstable (subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand) and thin (limited to climate and biodiversity issues) policy results.→In order to promote simultaneously stable and substantial impacts, the EU governance approach based on market access should be integrated with a network mode of governance based on policy legitimacy.

Policies for the Sustainable Development of Biofuels in the Pan American Region: A Review and Synthesis of Five Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Barry D; Banerjee, Aparajita; Acevedo, Alberto; Halvorsen, Kathleen E; Eastmond, Amarella

2015-12-01

Rapid growth of biofuel production in the United States and Brazil over the past decade has increased interest in replicating this success in other nations of the Pan American region. However, the continued use of food-based feedstock such as maize is widely seen as unsustainable and is in some cases linked to deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions, raising further doubts about long-term sustainability. As a result, many nations are exploring the production and use of cellulosic feedstock, though progress has been extremely slow. In this paper, we will review the North-South axis of biofuel production in the Pan American region and its linkage with the agricultural sectors in five countries. Focus will be given to biofuel policy goals, their results to date, and consideration of sustainability criteria and certification of producers. Policy goals, results, and sustainability will be highlighted for the main biofuel policies that have been enacted at the national level. Geographic focus will be given to the two largest producers-the United States and Brazil; two smaller emerging producers-Argentina and Canada; and one stalled program-Mexico. However, several additional countries in the region are either producing or planning to produce biofuels. We will also review alternative international governance schemes for biofuel sustainability that have been recently developed, and whether the biofuel programs are being managed to achieve improved environmental quality and sustainable development.

The role of sustainability and life cycle thinking in U.S. biofuels policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soratana, Kullapa; Harden, Cheyenne L.; Zaimes, George G.; Rasutis, Daina; Antaya, Claire L.; Khanna, Vikas; Landis, Amy E.

2014-01-01

A comprehensive review of the U.S. federal biofuel-related policies, from 1955 to 2012, was conducted to examine the progression of life cycle thinking within the policies. Over 1300 past and present federal and state biofuel laws and incentives were analyzed to identify the establishment of Life-cycle thinking (LCT) in the biofuel policies. The policies were searched for search terms representing the three themes: life cycle assessment, environmental impact and sustainability. LCT in policies was first seen in the Renewable Fuel Standard under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, where life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction of biofuels was required. Existing U.S. biofuel policies were also characterized to define types of policy as tax incentive, grants, mandate, etc. The results suggested that climate change or energy incentives, air quality or emissions, etc. should be more emphasized in fuel legislation for a continuous improvement of biofuels industry. Only 13% of both the federal and state policies reviewed in this study employed some aspect of LCT. Policies that incorporate LCT often only focused on greenhouse gas emissions; policies should include other environmental impacts to avoid any environmental tradeoffs and unintended consequences from biofuel production. - Highlights: • Identified the establishment of sustainability and life-cycle thinking in biofuel policy. • Presented the spatial distribution of state U.S. biofuels policies and production via GIS. • Analyzed past and present federal and state environmental policies progression toward biofuels. • Life-cycle thinking was only present in 13% of federal and state policies current as of 2013

Biofuel Sustainability and the Formation of Transnational Hybrid Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ponte, Stefano; Daugbjerg, Carsten

2015-01-01

We examine the transnational governance of biofuel sustainability and its coexistence with the WTO trade regime. The way in which the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) is shaping transnational biofuel governance shows deep and mutual dependence between public and private. The EU relies on a pri......We examine the transnational governance of biofuel sustainability and its coexistence with the WTO trade regime. The way in which the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) is shaping transnational biofuel governance shows deep and mutual dependence between public and private. The EU relies...

Microbial conversion of pyrolytic products to biofuels: a novel and sustainable approach toward second-generation biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Zia Ul; Zhisheng, Yu; Hassan, El Barbary; Dongdong, Chang; Hongxun, Zhang

2015-12-01

This review highlights the potential of the pyrolysis-based biofuels production, bio-ethanol in particular, and lipid in general as an alternative and sustainable solution for the rising environmental concerns and rapidly depleting natural fuel resources. Levoglucosan (1,6-anhydrous-β-D-glucopyranose) is the major anhydrosugar compound resulting from the degradation of cellulose during the fast pyrolysis process of biomass and thus the most attractive fermentation substrate in the bio-oil. The challenges for pyrolysis-based biorefineries are the inefficient detoxification strategies, and the lack of naturally available efficient and suitable fermentation organisms that could ferment the levoglucosan directly into bio-ethanol. In case of indirect fermentation, acid hydrolysis is used to convert levoglucosan into glucose and subsequently to ethanol and lipids via fermentation biocatalysts, however the presence of fermentation inhibitors poses a big hurdle to successful fermentation relative to pure glucose. Among the detoxification strategies studied so far, over-liming, extraction with solvents like (n-butanol, ethyl acetate), and activated carbon seem very promising, but still further research is required for the optimization of existing detoxification strategies as well as developing new ones. In order to make the pyrolysis-based biofuel production a more efficient as well as cost-effective process, direct fermentation of pyrolysis oil-associated fermentable sugars, especially levoglucosan is highlly desirable. This can be achieved either by expanding the search to identify naturally available direct levoglusoan utilizers or modify the existing fermentation biocatalysts (yeasts and bacteria) with direct levoglucosan pathway coupled with tolerance engineering could significantly improve the overall performance of these microorganisms.

Biofuel sustainability standards and public policy: A case study of Swedish ethanol imports from Brazil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon; Gibbon, Peter

sustainability standards for those fuels. Central to these standards are criteria addressing the direct, and sometimes also indirect, greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production, transport and use of the biofuels. This case study examines the first scheme applied to a traded biofuel, the Verified...... Sustainable Ethanol Initiative (VSEI), a private initiative of the Swedish fuel-ethanol supplier, SEKAB. VSEI went into operation in August 2008 to verify that the ethanol it was importing from Brazil met its own minimum standards for ―field-to-wheel‖ (life-cycle) greenhouse-gas emission standards...... is that it reduces consumer doubts about their product, and reduces competition from producers not participating in the Initiative; for SEKAB it increases the company’s credibility in various private and public forums working on sustainability standards for biofuels, and gives it a first-mover advantage once...

Integrating sustainable biofuel and silver nanomaterial production for in situ upgrading of cellulosic biomass pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue, Junjie; Dou, Guolan; Ziade, Elbara; Goldfarb, Jillian L.

2017-01-01

Graphical abstract: Integrated production of biotemplated nanomaterials and upgraded biofuels (solid lines indicate current processes, dashed lines indicated proposed pathway). - Highlights: • Novel integrated process to co-produce nanomaterials and biofuels via pyrolysis. • Impregnation of biomass with silver nitrate upgrades bio-oil during pyrolysis. • Co-synthesis enhances syngas produced with more hydrogen. • Biomass template impacts bio-fuels and morphology of resulting nanomaterials. - Abstract: Replacing fossil fuels with biomass-based alternatives is a potential carbon neutral, renewable and sustainable option for meeting the world’s growing energy demand. However, pyrolytic conversions of biomass-to-biofuels suffer marginal total energy gain, and technical limitations such as bio-oils’ high viscosity and oxygen contents that result in unstable, corrosive and low-value fuels. This work demonstrates a new integrated biorefinery process for the co-production of biofuels and silver nanomaterials. By impregnating pure cellulose and corn stalk with silver nitrate, followed by pyrolysis, the gas yield (especially hydrogen) increases substantially. The condensable bio-oil components of the impregnated samples are considerably higher in furfurals (including 5-hydroxymethylfurfural). Though the overall activation energy barrier, as determined via the Distributed Activation Energy Model, does not change significantly with the silver nitrate pre-treatment, the increase in gases devolatilized, and improved 5-hydroxymethylfurfural yield, suggest a catalytic effect, potentially increasing decarboxylation reactions. After using this metal impregnation to improve pyrolysis fuel yield, following pyrolysis, the silver-char composite materials are calcined to remove the biomass template to yield silver nanomaterials. While others have demonstrated the ability to biotemplate such nanosilver on cellulosic biomass, they consider only impregnation and oxidation of the

The potential of C4 grasses for cellulosic biofuel production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim eWeijde

2013-05-01

Full Text Available With the advent of biorefinery technologies enabling plant biomass to be processed into biofuel, many researchers set out to study and improve candidate biomass crops. Many of these candidates are C4 grasses, characterized by a high productivity and resource use efficiency. In this review the potential of five C4 grasses as lignocellulose feedstock for biofuel production is discussed. These include three important field crops - maize, sugarcane and sorghum - and two undomesticated perennial energy grasses - miscanthus and switchgrass. Although all these grasses are high yielding, they produce different products. While miscanthus and switchgrass are exploited exclusively for lignocellulosic biomass, maize, sorghum and sugarcane are dual-purpose crops. It is unlikely that all the prerequisites for the sustainable and economic production of biomass for a global cellulosic biofuel industry will be fulfilled by a single crop. High and stable yields of lignocellulose are required in diverse environments worldwide, to sustain a year-round production of biofuel. A high resource use efficiency is indispensable to allow cultivation with minimal inputs of nutrients and water and the exploitation of marginal soils for biomass production. Finally, the lignocellulose composition of the feedstock should be optimized to allow its efficient conversion into biofuel and other by-products. Breeding for these objectives should encompass diverse crops, to meet the demands of local biorefineries and provide adaptability to different environments. Collectively, these C4 grasses are likely to play a central role in the supply of lignocellulose for the cellulosic ethanol industry. Moreover, as these species are evolutionary closely related, advances in each of these crops will expedite improvements in the other crops. This review aims to provide an overview of their potential, prospects and research needs as lignocellulose feedstocks for the commercial production of

Comprehensive Evaluation of Algal Biofuel Production: Experimental and Target Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colin M. Beal

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Worldwide, algal biofuel research and development efforts have focused on increasing the competitiveness of algal biofuels by increasing the energy and financial return on investments, reducing water intensity and resource requirements, and increasing algal productivity. In this study, analyses are presented in each of these areas—costs, resource needs, and productivity—for two cases: (1 an Experimental Case, using mostly measured data for a lab-scale system, and (2 a theorized Highly Productive Case that represents an optimized commercial-scale production system, albeit one that relies on full-price water, nutrients, and carbon dioxide. For both cases, the analysis described herein concludes that the energy and financial return on investments are less than 1, the water intensity is greater than that for conventional fuels, and the amounts of required resources at a meaningful scale of production amount to significant fractions of current consumption (e.g., nitrogen. The analysis and presentation of results highlight critical areas for advancement and innovation that must occur for sustainable and profitable algal biofuel production can occur at a scale that yields significant petroleum displacement. To this end, targets for energy consumption, production cost, water consumption, and nutrient consumption are presented that would promote sustainable algal biofuel production. Furthermore, this work demonstrates a procedure and method by which subsequent advances in technology and biotechnology can be framed to track progress.

Sustainable Liquid Biofuels from Biomass Biorefining (SUNLIBB). Policy Brief No. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-03-01

The SUNLIBB project is funded under the European Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) within the Energy theme: Second Generation Biofuels -- EU Brazil Coordinated Call. SUNLIBB started on 1 October 2010 for 4 years and collaborates with a parallel project in Brazil, CeProBIO. First generation biofuels -- which are mainly produced from food crops such as grains, sugarcane and vegetable oils -- have triggered one of the most highly contentious debates on the current international sustainability agenda, given their links to energy security, transport, trade, food security, land-use impacts and climate change concerns. Developing second generation biofuels has emerged as a more attractive option, as these are manufactured from inedible sources, such as woody crops, energy grasses, or even agricultural and forestry residues. Residues from sugarcane and biomass from maize, as well as 'whole-crop' miscanthus are all potential raw material (called 'feedstock') for second generation bioethanol production. Because these three plants are all closely related, processing the biomass from these crops raises common technical challenges, which offers the opportunity for breakthroughs in one species to be rapidly exploited in the others. Despite the potential sustainability benefits of second generation bioethanol, the current inefficiency of production makes it economically uncompetitive. Taking up this challenge, the SUNLIBB consortium's multidisciplinary team of scientists -- in cooperation with CeProBIO, the sister project in Brazil -- combines European and Brazilian research strengths so as to open the way for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable second generation bioethanol production.

A critical review of the applicability of biodiesel and grass biomethane as biofuels to satisfy both biofuel targets and sustainability criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thamsiriroj, Thanasit; Murphy, Jerry D. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork (UCC), Cork (Ireland); Environmental Research Institute (ERI), University College Cork, Cork (Ireland)

2011-04-15

There are numerous ways to assess and compare biofuels. Gross energy per hectare reflects the quantity of product produced per unit of land. Net energy per hectare reflects the parasitic demand associated with the product per hectare. Gross and net energy per hectare are far superior for grass biomethane than rape seed biodiesel. For a biofuel made from residues the descriptor MJGJ{sub fuel}{sup -1} (MJ of biofuel produced per GJ of fossil fuel displaced) is more instructive; this reflects the relative efficiency of the biofuel. Of issue in the assessment is how to deal with co-products, by-products and residues. The allocation methodology allows for a variety of answers to be generated. UCO biodiesel has a good energy balance for any allocation approach; tallow biodiesel has a poor net energy unless credit is given for the co-production of meat and bone meal as a substitute fuel. To be deemed sustainable by the EU Renewable Energy Directive a value of 60% GHG savings is required for facilities built post 2017. A further crucial consideration is: how much fuel can be produced? This study shows that indigenous biodiesel produced in Ireland and grass biomethane may be deemed sustainable but only grass biomethane may produce a significant quantity, potentially satisfying the 10% renewable energy in transport target for 2020 as opposed to only 1.23% in total from all indigenous biodiesel systems. (author)

Biofuel production and implications for land use, food production and environment in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravindranath, N.H.; Sita Lakshmi, C.; Manuvie, Ritumbra; Balachandra, P.

2011-01-01

There is a large interest in biofuels in India as a substitute to petroleum-based fuels, with a purpose of enhancing energy security and promoting rural development. India has announced an ambitious target of substituting 20% of fossil fuel consumption by biodiesel and bioethanol by 2017. India has announced a national biofuel policy and launched a large program to promote biofuel production, particularly on wastelands: its implications need to be studied intensively considering the fact that India is a large developing country with high population density and large rural population depending upon land for their livelihood. Another factor is that Indian economy is experiencing high growth rate, which may lead to enhanced demand for food, livestock products, timber, paper, etc., with implications for land use. Studies have shown that area under agriculture and forest has nearly stabilized over the past 2-3 decades. This paper presents an assessment of the implications of projected large-scale biofuel production on land available for food production, water, biodiversity, rural development and GHG emissions. The assessment will be largely focused on first generation biofuel crops, since the Indian program is currently dominated by these crops. Technological and policy options required for promoting sustainable biofuel production will be discussed.

Biofuel production and implications for land use, food production and environment in India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravindranath, N.H.; Sita Lakshmi, C.; Manuvie, Ritumbra [Center for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Balachandra, P., E-mail: patilb@mgmt.iisc.ernet.in [Center for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India)

2011-10-15

There is a large interest in biofuels in India as a substitute to petroleum-based fuels, with a purpose of enhancing energy security and promoting rural development. India has announced an ambitious target of substituting 20% of fossil fuel consumption by biodiesel and bioethanol by 2017. India has announced a national biofuel policy and launched a large program to promote biofuel production, particularly on wastelands: its implications need to be studied intensively considering the fact that India is a large developing country with high population density and large rural population depending upon land for their livelihood. Another factor is that Indian economy is experiencing high growth rate, which may lead to enhanced demand for food, livestock products, timber, paper, etc., with implications for land use. Studies have shown that area under agriculture and forest has nearly stabilized over the past 2-3 decades. This paper presents an assessment of the implications of projected large-scale biofuel production on land available for food production, water, biodiversity, rural development and GHG emissions. The assessment will be largely focused on first generation biofuel crops, since the Indian program is currently dominated by these crops. Technological and policy options required for promoting sustainable biofuel production will be discussed.

Environmental effect of constructed wetland as biofuel production system

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dong

2017-04-01

Being as a renewable energy, biofuel has attracted worldwide attention. Clean biofuel production is an effective way to mitigate global climate change and energy crisis. Biofuel may offer a promising alternative to fossil fuels, but serious concerns arise about the adverse greenhouse gas consequences from using nitrogen fertilizers. Waste-nitrogen recycling is an attractive idea. Here we advocate a win-win approach to biofuel production which takes advantage of excessive nitrogen in domestic wastewater treated via constructed wetland (CW) in China. This study will carry on environmental effect analysis of CW as a biomass generation system through field surveys and controllable simulated experiments. This study intends to evaluate net energy balance, net greenhouse effect potential and ecosystem service of CW as biomass generation system, and make comparation with traditional wastewater treatment plant and other biofuel production systems. This study can provide a innovation mode in order to solve the dilemma between energy crops competed crops on production land and excessive nitrogen fertilizer of our traditional energy plant production. Data both from our experimental CWs in China and other researches on comparable CWs worldwide showed that the biomass energy yield of CWs can reach 182.3 GJ ha-1 yr-1, which was two to eight times higher than current biofuel-production systems. Energy output from CW was ˜137% greater than energy input for biofuel production. If CWs are designed with specific goal of biofuel production, biofuel production can be greatly enhanced through the optimization of N supply, hydraulic structures, and species selection in CWs. Assuming that 2.0 Tg (1 Tg = 1012 g) waste nitrogen contained in domestic wastewater is treated by CWs, biofuel production can account for 1.2% of national gasoline consumption in China. The proportion would increase to 6.7% if extra nitrogen (9.5 Tg) from industrial wastewater and agricultural runoff was included

Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Biodiesel Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Hauschild, Michael Michael Zwicky; Birkved, Morten

Due to their generally positive carbon dioxide balance, biofuels are seen as one of the energy carriers in a more sustainable future transportation energy system, but how good is their environmental sustainability, and where lie the main potentials for improvement of their sustainability? Questions...... like these require a life cycle perspective on the biofuel - from the cradle (production of the agricultural feedstock) to the grave (use as fuel). An environmental life cycle assessment is performed on biodiesel to compare different production schemes including chemical and enzymatic esterification...... with the use of methanol or ethanol. The life cycle assessment includes all processes needed for the production, distribution and use of the biodiesel (the product system), and it includes all relevant environmental impacts from the product system, ranging from global impacts like climate change and loss...

A review of social sustainability considerations among EU-approved voluntary schemes for biofuels, with implications for rural livelihoods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

German, Laura; Schoneveld, George

2012-01-01

The rapid expansion of biofuel production and consumption has raised concerns over the social and environmental sustainability of biofuel feedstock production, processing and trade. The European Union (EU) has thus balanced its commitment to biofuels as one option for meeting its renewable energy targets with sustainability criteria for economic operators supplying biofuels to member states. Seven voluntary “EU sustainability schemes” were approved in July, 2011 as a means to verify compliance. While mandated sustainability criteria have a strong environmental focus, a number of these voluntary schemes have social sustainability as a significant component of the requirements put forward for achieving certification. As several of these voluntary schemes are incipient, thereby limiting evidence on their effectiveness in practice, this analysis is based on a comparative analysis of the substantive content or ‘scope’ of these schemes and the likely procedural effectiveness of the same. Findings show that while some schemes have considerable coverage of social sustainability concerns, poor coverage of some critical issues, the presence of schemes lacking any social sustainability requirements, and gaps in procedural rules are likely to undermine the likelihood that social sustainability is achieved through these schemes or the EU sustainability policies lending credibility to them. - Highlights: ► Among 7 voluntary schemes approved by EC-RED for biofuel, social sustainability is sorely lacking. ► 2 Schemes lacking any social sustainability criteria collectively cover all feedstock/regions. ► The strong climate metric effectively sidelines development aspirations of southern producers. ► Only one of 7 standards will leverage the industry's potential as a stimulus to rural development. ► Policies in consumer markets are critical to give teeth to industry-led sustainability schemes.

Main factors influencing the production of biofuels in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alin Paul OLTEANU

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Despite the considerable progress achieved by Romania in regenerative energies, especially for the hydro energy, the energy production from biomass still has a great unused potential compared with other EU countries. The interest for biomass has increased over the last years in the EU also in the context of biofuels for the transport sector and has lead to a series of strategic choices to increase their use in the economy. Biofuel production in Romania is at a low level compared with other more developed countries like Germany or France. Thus, outlining the country profile of Romania from the perspective of a national production of biofuels becomes imperative for the integration in the EU market and the development of a new industrial branch, with high growth rates and a positive impact on other economic branches (e.g. agriculture. The present study aims at laying the foundation for a strategic analysis of the biofuels production in Romania. In this regard different factors with a direct impact on the sustainable biofuels production were identified and analyzed. For the purpose of this study information from various reports, issued by both governmental and non-governmental bodies from Romania and internationally, were used.

Sustainable production of grain crops for biofuels

Science.gov (United States)

Grain crops of the Gramineae are grown for their edible, starchy seeds. Their grain is used directly for human food, livestock feed, and as raw material for many industries, including biofuels. Using grain crops for non-food uses affects the amount of food available to the world. Grain-based biofuel...

The promising future of microalgae: current status, challenges, and optimization of a sustainable and renewable industry for biofuels, feed, and other products.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Muhammad Imran; Shin, Jin Hyuk; Kim, Jong Deog

2018-03-05

Microalgae have recently attracted considerable interest worldwide, due to their extensive application potential in the renewable energy, biopharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. Microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of biofuels, bioactive medicinal products, and food ingredients. Several microalgae species have been investigated for their potential as value-added products with remarkable pharmacological and biological qualities. As biofuels, they are a perfect substitute to liquid fossil fuels with respect to cost, renewability, and environmental concerns. Microalgae have a significant ability to convert atmospheric CO 2 to useful products such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other bioactive metabolites. Although microalgae are feasible sources for bioenergy and biopharmaceuticals in general, some limitations and challenges remain, which must be overcome to upgrade the technology from pilot-phase to industrial level. The most challenging and crucial issues are enhancing microalgae growth rate and product synthesis, dewatering algae culture for biomass production, pretreating biomass, and optimizing the fermentation process in case of algal bioethanol production. The present review describes the advantages of microalgae for the production of biofuels and various bioactive compounds and discusses culturing parameters.

Renewable energy progress and biofuels sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamelinck, C.; De Lovinfosse, I.; Koper, M.; Beestermoeller, C.; Nabe, C.; Kimmel, M.; Van den Bos, A.; Yildiz, I.; Harteveld, M. [Ecofys Netherlands, Utrecht (Netherlands); Ragwitz, M.; Steinhilber, S. [Fraunhofer Institut fuer System- und Innovationsforschung ISI, Karlsruhe (Germany); Nysten, J.; Fouquet, D. [Becker Buettner Held BBH, Munich (Germany); Resch, G.; Liebmann, L.; Ortner, A.; Panzer, C. [Energy Economics Group EEG, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna (Austria); Walden, D.; Diaz Chavez, R.; Byers, B.; Petrova, S.; Kunen, E. [Winrock International, Brussels (Belgium); Fischer, G.

2013-03-15

On 27 March 2013, the European Commission published its first Renewable Energy Progress Report under the framework of the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive. Since the adoption of this directive and the introduction of legally binding renewable energy targets, most Member States experienced significant growth in renewable energy consumption. 2010 figures indicate that the EU as a whole is on its trajectory towards the 2020 targets with a renewable energy share of 12.7%. Moreover, in 2010 the majority of Member States already reached their 2011/2012 interim targets set in the Directive. However, as the trajectory grows steeper towards the end, more efforts will still be needed from the Member States in order to reach the 2020 targets. With regard to the EU biofuels and bioliquids sustainability criteria, Member States' implementation of the biofuels scheme is considered too slow. In accordance with the reporting requirements set out in the 2009 Directive on Renewable Energy, every two years the European Commission publishes a Renewable Energy Progress Report. The report assesses Member States' progress in the promotion and use of renewable energy along the trajectory towards the 2020 renewable energy targets. The report also describes the overall renewable energy policy developments in each Member State and their compliance with the measures outlined in the Directive and the National Renewable Energy Action Plans. Moreover, in accordance with the Directive, it reports on the sustainability of biofuels and bioliquids consumed in the EU and the impacts of this consumption. A consortium led by Ecofys was contracted by the European Commission to perform support activities concerning the assessment of progress in renewable energy and sustainability of biofuels.

Renewable energy progress and biofuels sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamelinck, C.; De Lovinfosse, I.; Koper, M.; Beestermoeller, C.; Nabe, C.; Kimmel, M.; Van den Bos, A.; Yildiz, I.; Harteveld, M. [Ecofys Netherlands, Utrecht (Netherlands); Ragwitz, M.; Steinhilber, S. [Fraunhofer Institut fuer System- und Innovationsforschung ISI, Karlsruhe (Germany); Nysten, J.; Fouquet, D. [Becker Buettner Held BBH, Munich (Germany); Resch, G.; Liebmann, L.; Ortner, A.; Panzer, C. [Energy Economics Group EEG, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna (Austria); Walden, D.; Diaz Chavez, R.; Byers, B.; Petrova, S.; Kunen, E. [Winrock International, Brussels (Belgium); Fischer, G.

2013-03-15

On 27 March 2013, the European Commission published its first Renewable Energy Progress Report under the framework of the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive. Since the adoption of this directive and the introduction of legally binding renewable energy targets, most Member States experienced significant growth in renewable energy consumption. 2010 figures indicate that the EU as a whole is on its trajectory towards the 2020 targets with a renewable energy share of 12.7%. Moreover, in 2010 the majority of Member States already reached their 2011/2012 interim targets set in the Directive. However, as the trajectory grows steeper towards the end, more efforts will still be needed from the Member States in order to reach the 2020 targets. With regard to the EU biofuels and bioliquids sustainability criteria, Member States' implementation of the biofuels scheme is considered too slow. In accordance with the reporting requirements set out in the 2009 Directive on Renewable Energy, every two years the European Commission publishes a Renewable Energy Progress Report. The report assesses Member States' progress in the promotion and use of renewable energy along the trajectory towards the 2020 renewable energy targets. The report also describes the overall renewable energy policy developments in each Member State and their compliance with the measures outlined in the Directive and the National Renewable Energy Action Plans. Moreover, in accordance with the Directive, it reports on the sustainability of biofuels and bioliquids consumed in the EU and the impacts of this consumption. A consortium led by Ecofys was contracted by the European Commission to perform support activities concerning the assessment of progress in renewable energy and sustainability of biofuels.

Chlamydomonas as a model for biofuels and bio-products production.

Science.gov (United States)

Scranton, Melissa A; Ostrand, Joseph T; Fields, Francis J; Mayfield, Stephen P

2015-05-01

Developing renewable energy sources is critical to maintaining the economic growth of the planet while protecting the environment. First generation biofuels focused on food crops like corn and sugarcane for ethanol production, and soybean and palm for biodiesel production. Second generation biofuels based on cellulosic ethanol produced from terrestrial plants, has received extensive funding and recently pilot facilities have been commissioned, but to date output of fuels from these sources has fallen well short of what is needed. Recent research and pilot demonstrations have highlighted the potential of algae as one of the most promising sources of sustainable liquid transportation fuels. Algae have also been established as unique biofactories for industrial, therapeutic, and nutraceutical co-products. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii's long established role in the field of basic research in green algae has paved the way for understanding algal metabolism and developing genetic engineering protocols. These tools are now being utilized in C. reinhardtii and in other algal species for the development of strains to maximize biofuels and bio-products yields from the lab to the field. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bio-Products Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olivares, Jose A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Baxter, Ivan [US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)., Washington, DC (United States); Brown, Judith [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Carleton, Michael [Matrix Genetics, Seattle, WA (United States); Cattolico, Rose Anne [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Taraka, Dale [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Detter, John C. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Devarenne, Timothy P. [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Dutcher, Susan K. [Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Fox, David T. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Goodenough, Ursula [Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Jaworski, Jan [Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO (United States); Kramer, David [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Lipton, Mary S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); McCormick, Margaret [Matrix Genetics, Seattle, WA (United States); Merchant, Sabeeha [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Molnar, Istvan [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Panisko, Ellen A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Pellegrini, Matteo [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Polle, Juergen [City Univ. (CUNY), NY (United States). Brooklyn College; Sabarsky, Martin [Cellana, Inc., San Diego, CA (United States); Sayre, Richard T. [New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Starkenburg,, Shawn [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Stormo, Gary [Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Twary, Scott N. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Unkefer, Clifford J. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Unkefer, Pat J. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Yuan, Joshua S. [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Arnold, Bob [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Bai, Xuemei [Cellana, Inc., San Diego, CA (United States); Boeing, Wiebke [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Brown, Lois [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Gujarathi, Ninad [Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai (India); Huesemann, Michael [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lammers, Pete [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Laur, Paul [Eldorado Biofuels, Santa Fe, NM (United States); Khandan, Nirmala [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Parsons, Ronald [Solix BioSystems, Fort Collins, CO (United States); Samocha, Tzachi [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Thomasson, Alex [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Unc, Adrian [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Waller, Pete [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Bonner, James [Clarkson Univ., Potsdam, NY (United States); Coons, Jim [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fernando, Sandun [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Goodall, Brian [Valicor Renewables, Dexter, MI (United States); Kadam, Kiran [Valicor Renewables, Dexter, MI (United States); Lacey, Ronald [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Wei, Liu [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Marrone, Babs [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Nikolov, Zivko [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Trewyn, Brian [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Albrecht, Karl [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Capareda, Sergio [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Cheny, Scott [Diversified Energy, Gilbert, AZ (United States); Deng, Shuguang [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Elliott, Douglas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cesar, Granda [Terrabon, LLC, Bryan, TX (United States); Hallen, Richard [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lupton, Steven [UOP Honeywell Co, LLC, Des Plaines, IL (United States); Lynch, Sharry [UOP Honeywell Co, LLC, Des Plaines, IL (United States); Marchese, Anthony [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Nieweg, Jennifer [Albemarle Catilin, Ames, IA (United States); Ogden, Kimberly [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Oyler, James [Genifuel, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Reardon, Ken [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Roberts, William [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Sams, David [Albemarle Catilin, Ames, IA (United States); Schaub, Tanner [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Silks, Pete [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Archibeque, Shawn [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Foster, James [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Gaitlan, Delbert [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Lawrence, Addison [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Lodge-Ivey, Shanna [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Wickersham, Tyron [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Blowers, Paul [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Davis, Ryan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Downes, C. Meghan [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Dunlop, Eric [Pan Pacific Technologies Pty. Ltd., Adelaide (Australia); Frank, Edward [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Handler, Robert [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States); Newby, Deborah [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Pienkos, Philip [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Richardson, James [Texas Agrilife Research, College Station, TX (United States); Seider, Warren [Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Shonnard, David [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States); Skaggs, Richard [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2014-09-30

The main objective of NAABB was to combine science, technology, and engineering expertise from across the nation to break down critical technical barriers to commercialization of algae-based biofuels. The approach was to address technology development across the entire value chain of algal biofuels production, from selection of strains to cultivation, harvesting, extraction, fuel conversion, and agricultural coproduct production. Sustainable practices and financial feasibility assessments ununderscored the approach and drove the technology development.

The Use of Biofuel for Sustainable Growth in Developing Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Tsang, J.

2014-12-01

The biofuel industry is divided into four categories comprising of feedstocks used in 1st and 2nd generation bioethanol and biodiesel. In order to identify and quantify each biofuel feedstock's potential for sustainable growth, each were evaluated according to self-developed social, financial, and environmental criteria. From the investigation and analysis carried out, 1st generation biodiesel and bioethanol were determined to be feedstocks not capable of facilitating sustainable growth. Results showed low earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of -0.5 to 1 USD per gallon for biodiesel and 0.25 to 0.5 USD per gallon for bioethanol. Results also showed a poor return on asset (ROA). The energy required to produce one MJ of 1st generation biofuel fuel was at least 0.4 MJ, showing poor energy balance. Furthermore, high land, water, pesticide, and fertilizer requirements strained surrounding ecosystems by affecting the food web, thus reducing biodiversity. Over 55% of land used by the biodiesel industry in Indonesia and Malaysia involved the deforestation of local rainforests. This not only displaced indigenous organisms from their habitat and decreased their scope of nutrition, but also contributed to soil erosion and increased the probability of flooding. If left unregulated, imbalances in the ecosystem due to unsustainable growth will result in a permanent reshaping of tropical rainforest ecosystems in Southeast Asia. Algae, an example of 2nd generation biodiesel feedstock, was concluded to be the biofuel feedstock most capable of supporting sustainable growth. This is due to its low production costs of $1-1.5/gal, high biological productivity of 5000 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year, and high ROA of 25-35%. Additionally, algae's adaptability to varying environmental conditions also makes it an appealing candidate for businesses in developing countries, where access to resource supplies is unstable. Additionally, its reduced net

The Legal Design of Sustainability Criteria on Biofuels Used by the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basse, Ellen Margrethe

2013-01-01

This article describes the legal power of the European Union - and the use of this power - to promote the sustainable use of biofuels by formally binding criteria in the Renewable Energy Directive. The use of the criteria has the twofold goal of making it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...... caused by the use of fuels and to prevent the conversion of land characterized by high carbon stock and high biodiversity for biofuel production....

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia

Science.gov (United States)

Selfa, Theresa; Bain, Carmen; Moreno, Renata; Eastmond, Amarella; Sweitz, Sam; Bailey, Conner; Pereira, Gustavo Simas; Souza, Tatiana; Medeiros, Rodrigo

2015-12-01

Across the Americas, biofuels production systems are diverse due to geographic conditions, historical patterns of land tenure, different land use patterns, government policy frameworks, and relations between the national state and civil society, all of which shape the role that biofuels play in individual nations. Although many national governments throughout the Americas continue to incentivize growth of the biofuels industry, one key challenge for biofuels sustainability has been concern about its social impacts. In this article, we discuss some of the key social issues and tensions related to the recent expansion of biofuels production in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. We argue that a process of "simplification" of ecological and cultural diversity has aided the expansion of the biofuels frontier in these countries, but is also undermining their viability. We consider the ability of governments and non-state actors in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) to address social and environmental concerns that affect rural livelihoods as a result of biofuels expansion. We analyze the tensions between global sustainability standards, national level policies for biofuels development, and local level impacts and visions of sustainability. We find that both government and MSI efforts to address sustainability concerns have limited impact, and recommend greater incorporation of local needs and expertise to improve governance.

Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions Between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Selfa, Theresa; Bain, Carmen; Moreno, Renata; Eastmond, Amarella; Sweitz, Sam; Bailey, Conner; Pereira, Gustavo Simas; Souza, Tatiana; Medeiros, Rodrigo

2015-12-01

Across the Americas, biofuels production systems are diverse due to geographic conditions, historical patterns of land tenure, different land use patterns, government policy frameworks, and relations between the national state and civil society, all of which shape the role that biofuels play in individual nations. Although many national governments throughout the Americas continue to incentivize growth of the biofuels industry, one key challenge for biofuels sustainability has been concern about its social impacts. In this article, we discuss some of the key social issues and tensions related to the recent expansion of biofuels production in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. We argue that a process of "simplification" of ecological and cultural diversity has aided the expansion of the biofuels frontier in these countries, but is also undermining their viability. We consider the ability of governments and non-state actors in multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) to address social and environmental concerns that affect rural livelihoods as a result of biofuels expansion. We analyze the tensions between global sustainability standards, national level policies for biofuels development, and local level impacts and visions of sustainability. We find that both government and MSI efforts to address sustainability concerns have limited impact, and recommend greater incorporation of local needs and expertise to improve governance.

Fatty acid-derived biofuels and chemicals production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongjin J. Zhou

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Volatile energy costs and environmental concerns have spurred interest in the development of alternative, renewable, sustainable and cost-effective energy resources. Advanced biofuels have potential to replace fossil fuels in supporting high-power demanding machinery such as aircrafts and trucks. Microbial biosynthesis is generally considered as an environmental friendly refinery process, and fatty acid biosynthesis is an attractive route to synthesize chemicals and especially drop-in biofuels due to the high degree of reduction of fatty acids. The robustness and excellent accessibility to molecular genetics make the yeast S. cerevisiae a suitable host for the production of biofuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and recent advances in metabolic engineering as well as systems and synthetic biology allow us to engineer the yeast fatty acid metabolism and modification pathways for production of advanced biofuels and chemicals.

Physiology limits commercially viable photoautotrophic production of microalgal biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenny, Philip; Flynn, Kevin J

2017-01-01

Algal biofuels have been offered as an alternative to fossil fuels, based on claims that microalgae can provide a highly productive source of compounds as feedstocks for sustainable transport fuels. Life cycle analyses identify algal productivity as a critical factor affecting commercial and environmental viability. Here, we use mechanistic modelling of the biological processes driving microalgal growth to explore optimal production scenarios in an industrial setting, enabling us to quantify limits to algal biofuels potential. We demonstrate how physiological and operational trade-offs combine to restrict the potential for solar-powered algal-biodiesel production in open ponds to a ceiling of ca. 8000 L ha -1 year -1 . For industrial-scale operations, practical considerations limit production to ca. 6000 L ha -1 year -1 . According to published economic models and life cycle analyses, such production rates cannot support long-term viable commercialisation of solar-powered cultivation of natural microalgae strains exclusively as feedstock for biofuels. The commercial viability of microalgal biofuels depends critically upon limitations in microalgal physiology (primarily in rates of C-fixation); we discuss the scope for addressing this bottleneck concluding that even deployment of genetically modified microalgae with radically enhanced characteristics would leave a very significant logistical if not financial burden.

From first generation biofuels to advanced solar biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Aro, Eva-Mari

2016-01-01

Roadmaps towards sustainable bioeconomy, including the production of biofuels, in many EU countries mostly rely on biomass use. However, although biomass is renewable, the efficiency of biomass production is too low to be able to fully replace the fossil fuels. The use of land for fuel production also introduces ethical problems in increasing the food price. Harvesting solar energy by the photosynthetic machinery of plants and autotrophic microorganisms is the basis for all biomass production. This paper describes current challenges and possibilities to sustainably increase the biomass production and highlights future technologies to further enhance biofuel production directly from sunlight. The biggest scientific breakthroughs are expected to rely on a new technology called "synthetic biology", which makes engineering of biological systems possible. It will enable direct conversion of solar energy to a fuel from inexhaustible raw materials: sun light, water and CO2. In the future, such solar biofuels are expected to be produced in engineered photosynthetic microorganisms or in completely synthetic living factories.

Allies in Biofuels. Opportunities in the Dutch - Argentinean biofuels trade relation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verhagen, M.

2007-01-01

First generation biofuels as an environmental solution are showing their own negative environmental, social and economic side effects. These need to be dealt with, because it is apparent that those same biofuels can be produced in a sustainable manner, thereby contributing to a healthier planet. Since both Argentina and the Netherlands would benefit from sustainable biofuels trade, policy measures need to be taken to guide the proper way. In what manner could bilateral cooperation concerning biofuels, optimize trade and policy output in both countries? By answering this question, one can hand solutions to upcoming problems - barriers to a sustainable energy structure - while at the same time facilitating trade between Argentina and the Netherlands. Besides providing information about the European, Dutch and Argentine market, this report presents an overview of biofuel policies. Special attention is given to the issue of sustainable biofuel production, in order to spread the necessary awareness, create wide support for corresponding politics, and offer opportunities for cooperation to prevent future entrapment. An entrapment, which could easily occur when actors in politics and business ignore international requirements for sustainable biofuel production. The research aims to produce the following output: Policy recommendations regarding the promotion of environmentally sound biofuels in both countries; A set arena to support a policy dialogue between both countries; An overview of current Dutch and Argentinean biofuel policies; Up to date information on current volumes of production, consumption and trade; Data with contact information of partners in both countries. Argentina shows an extremely professional agricultural sector, producing large quantities of vegetable oils, specifically of soybean. This sector has started to turn its attention towards biofuels - particularly to biodiesel. Projected production (for 2007-2008) is astonishingly high. The sector mainly

Sustainable Liquid Biofuels from Biomass Biorefining (SUNLIBB). Policy Brief No. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-09-15

The SUNLIBB project is funded under the European Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) within the Energy theme: Second Generation Biofuels -- EU Brazil Coordinated Call. SUNLIBB started on 1 October 2010 for 4 years and collaborates with a parallel project in Brazil, CeProBIO. This is the second in a series of policy briefs providing an update on the project. The first brief was issued in March 2012. The project focus is on looking at developing second generation biofuels that hope to improve on issues seen with the first generation options. Second generation biofuels are manufactured from inedible sources, such as woody crops, energy grasses, or even agricultural and forestry residues. Residues from sugarcane and biomass from maize, as well as 'whole-crop' miscanthus are all potential raw material (called 'feedstock') for second generation bioethanol production. Because these three plants are all closely related, processing the biomass from these crops raises common technical challenges, which offers the opportunity for breakthroughs in one species to be rapidly exploited in the others. Despite the potential sustainability benefits of second generation bioethanol, the current inefficiency of production makes it economically uncompetitive. Taking up this challenge, the SUNLIBB consortium's multidisciplinary team of scientists -- in cooperation with CeProBIO, the sister project in Brazil -- combines European and Brazilian research strengths so as to open the way for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable second generation bioethanol production.

Metabolic engineering of microalgal based biofuel production: prospects and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiranjib eBanerjee

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The current scenario in renewable energy is focused on development of alternate and sustainable energy sources, amongst which microalgae stands as one of the promising feedstock for biofuel production. It is well known that microalgae generate much larger amounts of biofuels in a shorter time than other sources based on plant seeds. However, the greatest challenge in a transition to algae-based biofuel production is the various other complications involved in microalgal cultivation, its harvesting, concentration, drying and lipid extraction. Several green microalgae accumulate lipids, especially triacylglycerols (TAGs, which are main precursors in the production of lipid. The various aspects on metabolic pathway analysis of an oleaginous microalgae i.e. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have elucidated some novel metabolically important genes and this enhances the lipid production in this microalgae. Adding to it, various other aspects in metabolic engineering using OptFlux and effectual bioprocess design also gives an interactive snapshot of enhancing lipid production which ultimately improvises the oil yield. This article reviews the current status of microalgal based technologies for biofuel production, bioreactor process design, flux analysis and it also provides various strategies to increase lipids accumulation via metabolic engineering.

Molecular Breeding of Advanced Microorganisms for Biofuel Production

OpenAIRE

Sakuragi, Hiroshi; Kuroda, Kouichi; Ueda, Mitsuyoshi

2011-01-01

Large amounts of fossil fuels are consumed every day in spite of increasing environmental problems. To preserve the environment and construct a sustainable society, the use of biofuels derived from different kinds of biomass is being practiced worldwide. Although bioethanol has been largely produced, it commonly requires food crops such as corn and sugar cane as substrates. To develop a sustainable energy supply, cellulosic biomass should be used for bioethanol production instead of grain bio...

Technology Roadmaps: Biofuels for Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

Biofuels could provide up to 27% of total transport fuel worldwide by 2050. The use of transport fuels from biomass, when produced sustainably, can help cut petroleum use and reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, especially in heavy transport. Sustainable biofuel technologies, in particular advanced biofuels, will play an important role in achieving this roadmap vision. The roadmap describes the steps necessary to realise this ambitious biofuels target; identifies key actions by different stakeholders, and the role for government policy to adopt measures needed to ensure the sustainable expansion of both conventional and advanced biofuel production.

Governance and legitimacy aspects of the UK biofuel carbon and sustainability reporting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Upham, Paul; Tomei, Julia; Dendler, Leonie

2011-01-01

Biofuel policy has become highly contentious in Europe. In this paper we discuss the governance and legitimacy aspects of the carbon and sustainability system of the UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), both before and after implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive. RTFO certification is of a meta-type, being built upon existing certification and labelling schemes, each of which are more or less contested by NGOs. Despite the RTFO being based on these non-state initiatives, so far the concerns of environment and development NGOs and others have not been given serious expression in regulatory terms. Indeed, biofuel policy development in the UK has arguably been unduly non-responsive to critical opinion, given the limited scientific base on biofuel impacts and the reliance of RTFO sustainability certification on non-state actors and schemes. Drawing on documentary evidence, interviews and three sets of literatures - co-production of regulation; post-normal science; and legitimacy of non-state certification and labelling processes - we suggest that until concerned voices are given a stronger expression in UK and EC biofuel policy development, the policy cannot yet be said to have achieved a wide social mandate. - Research highlights: → Interviews with largely non-commercial actors show a high level of concern about EC/UK biofuel policy. → The scientific uncertainties and complexity of biofuels justify inclusive policy development. → Statutory UK and EC biofuel certification will rely heavily on non-state actors and processes.→ EC/UK biofuel certification can learn from legitimisation processes more usually relevant to non-state initiatives.

Governance and legitimacy aspects of the UK biofuel carbon and sustainability reporting system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upham, Paul, E-mail: Paul.upham@manchester.ac.u [Manchester Institute for Innovation Research and Tyndall Centre Manchester, Pariser Building, University of Manchester, M60 1QD (United Kingdom); Tomei, Julia, E-mail: j.tomei@ucl.ac.u [UCL Energy Institute, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0HY (United Kingdom); Dendler, Leonie, E-mail: Leonie.Dendler@postgrad.manchester.ac.u [Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI), University of Manchester, 188 Waterloo Place, Oxford Road, Manchester M139PL (United Kingdom)

2011-05-15

Biofuel policy has become highly contentious in Europe. In this paper we discuss the governance and legitimacy aspects of the carbon and sustainability system of the UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), both before and after implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive. RTFO certification is of a meta-type, being built upon existing certification and labelling schemes, each of which are more or less contested by NGOs. Despite the RTFO being based on these non-state initiatives, so far the concerns of environment and development NGOs and others have not been given serious expression in regulatory terms. Indeed, biofuel policy development in the UK has arguably been unduly non-responsive to critical opinion, given the limited scientific base on biofuel impacts and the reliance of RTFO sustainability certification on non-state actors and schemes. Drawing on documentary evidence, interviews and three sets of literatures - co-production of regulation; post-normal science; and legitimacy of non-state certification and labelling processes - we suggest that until concerned voices are given a stronger expression in UK and EC biofuel policy development, the policy cannot yet be said to have achieved a wide social mandate. - Research highlights: {yields} Interviews with largely non-commercial actors show a high level of concern about EC/UK biofuel policy. {yields} The scientific uncertainties and complexity of biofuels justify inclusive policy development. {yields} Statutory UK and EC biofuel certification will rely heavily on non-state actors and processes.{yields} EC/UK biofuel certification can learn from legitimisation processes more usually relevant to non-state initiatives.

Biofuels Baseline 2008

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamelinck, C.; Koper, M.; Berndes, G.; Englund, O.; Diaz-Chavez, R.; Kunen, E.; Walden, D.

2011-10-15

The European Union is promoting the use of biofuels and other renewable energy in transport. In April 2009, the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) was adopted that set a 10% target for renewable energy in transport in 2020. The directive sets several requirements to the sustainability of biofuels marketed in the frame of the Directive. The Commission is required to report to the European Parliament on a regular basis on a range of sustainability impacts resulting from the use of biofuels in the EU. This report serves as a baseline of information for regular monitoring on the impacts of the Directive. Chapter 2 discusses the EU biofuels market, the production and consumption of biofuels and international trade. It is derived where the feedstock for EU consumed biofuels originally come from. Chapter 3 discusses the biofuel policy framework in the EU and major third countries of supply. It looks at various policy aspects that are relevant to comply with the EU sustainability requirements. Chapter 4 discusses the environmental and social sustainability aspects associated with EU biofuels and their feedstock. Chapter 5 discusses the macro-economic effects that indirectly result from increased EU biofuels consumption, on commodity prices and land use. Chapter 6 presents country factsheets for main third countries that supplied biofuels to the EU market in 2008.

Development of synthetic chromosomes and improved microbial strains to utilize cellulosic feedstocks and express valuable coproducts for sustainable production of biofuels from corn

Science.gov (United States)

A sustainable biorefinery must convert a broad range of renewable feedstocks into a variety of product streams, including fuels, power, and value-added bioproducts. To accomplish this, microbial-based technologies that enable new commercially viable coproducts from corn-to-ethanol biofuel fermentati...

Lignocellulosic residues for production of electricity, biogas or second generation biofuel: A case study of technical and sustainable potential of rice straw in Mali

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nygaard, Ivan; Dembelé, Filifing; Daou, Ibrahima

2016-01-01

Biomass from agricultural residues, especially lignocellulosic biomass, is not only seen as a sustainable biomass source for the production of electricity, but increasingly as a resource for the production of biogas and second generation biofuel in developing countries. Based on empirical research...... in an irrigated rice-growing area, Office du Niger, in Mali, this article builds scenarios for the sustainable potential of rice straw. The paper concludes that there is great uncertainty regarding the size of the sustainable resources of rice straw available for energy, but that the most likely scenario...

Biofuel Supply Chains: Impacts, Indicators and Sustainability Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development has introduced a program to study the environmental impacts and sustainability of biofuel supply chains. Analyses will provide indicators and metrics for valuating sustainability. In this context, indicators are supply chain rat...

Protein engineering in designing tailored enzymes and microorganisms for biofuels production

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Fei; Nair, Nikhil U; Zhao, Huimin

2009-01-01

Summary Lignocellulosic biofuels represent a sustainable, renewable, and the only foreseeable alternative energy source to transportation fossil fuels. However, the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose poses technical hurdles to an economically viable biorefinery. Low enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and low productivity, yield, and titer of biofuels are among the top cost contributors. Protein engineering has been used to improve the performances of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes, as well as proteins involved in biofuel synthesis pathways. Unlike its great success seen in other industrial applications, protein engineering has achieved only modest results in improving the lignocellulose-to-biofuels efficiency. This review will discuss the unique challenges that protein engineering faces in the process of converting lignocellulose to biofuels and how they are addressed by recent advances in this field. PMID:19660930

Integrating social and value dimensions into sustainability assessment of lignocellulosic biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Sujatha; Mohr, Alison; Helliwell, Richard; Ribeiro, Barbara; Shortall, Orla; Smith, Robert; Millar, Kate

2015-11-01

The paper clarifies the social and value dimensions for integrated sustainability assessments of lignocellulosic biofuels. We develop a responsible innovation approach, looking at technology impacts and implementation challenges, assumptions and value conflicts influencing how impacts are identified and assessed, and different visions for future development. We identify three distinct value-based visions. From a techno-economic perspective, lignocellulosic biofuels can contribute to energy security with improved GHG implications and fewer sustainability problems than fossil fuels and first-generation biofuels, especially when biomass is domestically sourced. From socio-economic and cultural-economic perspectives, there are concerns about the capacity to support UK-sourced feedstocks in a global agri-economy, difficulties monitoring large-scale supply chains and their potential for distributing impacts unfairly, and tensions between domestic sourcing and established legacies of farming. To respond to these concerns, we identify the potential for moving away from a one-size-fits-all biofuel/biorefinery model to regionally-tailored bioenergy configurations that might lower large-scale uses of land for meat, reduce monocultures and fossil-energy needs of farming and diversify business models. These configurations could explore ways of reconciling some conflicts between food, fuel and feed (by mixing feed crops with lignocellulosic material for fuel, combining livestock grazing with energy crops, or using crops such as miscanthus to manage land that is no longer arable); different bioenergy applications (with on-farm use of feedstocks for heat and power and for commercial biofuel production); and climate change objectives and pressures on farming. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews, literature synthesis and discussions with an expert advisory group.

Transitioning to sustainable use of biofuel in Australia★

OpenAIRE

Sasongko Nugroho Adi; Thorns Charlotte; Sankoff Irina; Chew Shu Teng; Bista Sangita

2017-01-01

Biofuel is identified as one of the key renewable energy sources for sustainable development, and can potentially replace fossil-based fuels. Anticipating the competition between food and energy security, the Australian Government is intensively exploring other biofuel resources. There have been numerous research projects in Australia using the second and third generation model based on different feedstocks including lignocellulosic and microalgae. Such projects have been successfully demonst...

Applications of Cyanobacteria in Biofuel Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Möllers, K. Benedikt

and to evolve from a wasteful petrochemical system into a sustainable bio-based society, biofuels and the introduction of bio-refineries play an essential role. Aquatic phototrophs are promising organisms to employ photosynthetic capacities as well as the derived carbohydrates for the production of biofuels......, enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass for further fermentation or as a platform chemical in a bio-refinery concept. Autotrophically cultivated cells of the marine model cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 (Synechococcus) were exposed to mild nitrogen starvation which has been identified...... for fermentation of plant waste material or a substitute for yeast extract. By mimicking photosynthetic electron transport from light excited photo pigments to LPMOs in combination with a reductant and cellulose as substrate, a 100-fold increase in catalytic activity of LPMOs was observed. Also, it was found...

Strategic environmental assessment for sustainable expansion of palm oil biofuels in Brazilian north region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, Carolina

2010-09-15

Biofuels development in Brazil is a key factor for the environment and sustainable development of the country. Brazil has great potential of available areas and has favourable climate and geography for biofuel production, such as palm oil, soy, sugar cane, etc. This research aims to evaluate palm oil production and expansion in Para state, in the north of Brazil and also Amazonian territory. Degraded land will be evaluated through remote sensing, because palm oil crops should be placed in these lands, and secondly, expansion scenarios would be created. This PhD research will be a decision support tool for public policies.

Limits to biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johansson S.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Biofuel production is dependent upon agriculture and forestry systems, and the expectations of future biofuel potential are high. A study of the global food production and biofuel production from edible crops implies that biofuel produced from edible parts of crops lead to a global deficit of food. This is rather well known, which is why there is a strong urge to develop biofuel systems that make use of residues or products from forest to eliminate competition with food production. However, biofuel from agro-residues still depend upon the crop production system, and there are many parameters to deal with in order to investigate the sustainability of biofuel production. There is a theoretical limit to how much biofuel can be achieved globally from agro-residues and this amounts to approximately one third of todays’ use of fossil fuels in the transport sector. In reality this theoretical potential may be eliminated by the energy use in the biomass-conversion technologies and production systems, depending on what type of assessment method is used. By surveying existing studies on biofuel conversion the theoretical limit of biofuels from 2010 years’ agricultural production was found to be either non-existent due to energy consumption in the conversion process, or up to 2–6000TWh (biogas from residues and waste and ethanol from woody biomass in the more optimistic cases.

Limits to biofuels

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, S.

2013-06-01

Biofuel production is dependent upon agriculture and forestry systems, and the expectations of future biofuel potential are high. A study of the global food production and biofuel production from edible crops implies that biofuel produced from edible parts of crops lead to a global deficit of food. This is rather well known, which is why there is a strong urge to develop biofuel systems that make use of residues or products from forest to eliminate competition with food production. However, biofuel from agro-residues still depend upon the crop production system, and there are many parameters to deal with in order to investigate the sustainability of biofuel production. There is a theoretical limit to how much biofuel can be achieved globally from agro-residues and this amounts to approximately one third of todays' use of fossil fuels in the transport sector. In reality this theoretical potential may be eliminated by the energy use in the biomass-conversion technologies and production systems, depending on what type of assessment method is used. By surveying existing studies on biofuel conversion the theoretical limit of biofuels from 2010 years' agricultural production was found to be either non-existent due to energy consumption in the conversion process, or up to 2-6000TWh (biogas from residues and waste and ethanol from woody biomass) in the more optimistic cases.

Efficient eucalypt cell wall deconstruction and conversion for sustainable lignocellulosic biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam L. Healey

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In order to meet the world’s growing energy demand and reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, renewable plant-based feedstocks for biofuel production must be considered. First generation biofuels, derived from starches of edible feedstocks such as corn, creates competition between food and fuel resources, both for the crop itself and the land on which it is grown. As such, biofuel synthesized from non-edible plant biomass (lignocellulose generated on marginal agricultural land, will help to alleviate this competition. Eucalypts, the broadly defined taxa encompassing over 900 species of Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora, are the most widely planted hardwood tree in the world, harvested mainly for timber, pulp and paper, and biomaterial products. More recently, due to their exceptional growth rate and amenability to grow under a wide range of environmental conditions, eucalypts are a leading option for the development of a sustainable lignocellulosic biofuels. However, efficient conversion of woody biomass into fermentable monomeric sugars is largely dependent on pretreatment of the cell wall, whose formation and complexity lends itself towards natural recalcitrance against its efficient deconstruction. A greater understanding of this complexity within the context of various pretreatments will allow the design of new and effective deconstruction processes for bioenergy production. In this review, we present the various pretreatment options for eucalypts, including research into understanding structure and formation of the eucalypt cell wall.

Efficient Eucalypt Cell Wall Deconstruction and Conversion for Sustainable Lignocellulosic Biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Healey, Adam L; Lee, David J; Furtado, Agnelo; Simmons, Blake A; Henry, Robert J

2015-01-01

In order to meet the world's growing energy demand and reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, renewable plant-based feedstocks for biofuel production must be considered. The first-generation biofuels, derived from starches of edible feedstocks, such as corn, create competition between food and fuel resources, both for the crop itself and the land on which it is grown. As such, biofuel synthesized from non-edible plant biomass (lignocellulose) generated on marginal agricultural land will help to alleviate this competition. Eucalypts, the broadly defined taxa encompassing over 900 species of Eucalyptus, Corymbia, and Angophora are the most widely planted hardwood tree in the world, harvested mainly for timber, pulp and paper, and biomaterial products. More recently, due to their exceptional growth rate and amenability to grow under a wide range of environmental conditions, eucalypts are a leading option for the development of a sustainable lignocellulosic biofuels. However, efficient conversion of woody biomass into fermentable monomeric sugars is largely dependent on pretreatment of the cell wall, whose formation and complexity lend itself toward natural recalcitrance against its efficient deconstruction. A greater understanding of this complexity within the context of various pretreatments will allow the design of new and effective deconstruction processes for bioenergy production. In this review, we present the various pretreatment options for eucalypts, including research into understanding structure and formation of the eucalypt cell wall.

Biofuel production in Escherichia coli. The role of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clomburg, James M. [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Gonzalez, Ramon [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Bioengineering

2010-03-15

The microbial production of biofuels is a promising avenue for the development of viable processes for the generation of fuels from sustainable resources. In order to become cost and energy effective, these processes must utilize organisms that can be optimized to efficiently produce candidate fuels from a variety of feedstocks. Escherichia coli has become a promising host organism for the microbial production of biofuels in part due to the ease at which this organism can be manipulated. Advancements in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have led to the ability to efficiently engineer E. coli as a biocatalyst for the production of a wide variety of potential biofuels from several biomass constituents. This review focuses on recent efforts devoted to engineering E. coli for the production of biofuels, with emphasis on the key aspects of both the utilization of a variety of substrates as well as the synthesis of several promising biofuels. Strategies for the efficient utilization of carbohydrates, carbohydrate mixtures, and noncarbohydrate carbon sources will be discussed along with engineering efforts for the exploitation of both fermentative and nonfermentative pathways for the production of candidate biofuels such as alcohols and higher carbon biofuels derived from fatty acid and isoprenoid pathways. Continued advancements in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology will help improve not only the titers, yields, and productivities of biofuels discussed herein, but also increase the potential range of compounds that can be produced. (orig.)

An assessment of Thailand's biofuel development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar, S.; Salam, P. Abdul; Shrestha, Pujan

2013-01-01

The paper provides an assessment of first generation biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) development in Thailand in terms of feedstock used, production trends, planned targets and policies and discusses the biofuel sustainability issues-environmental, socio-economic and food security aspects. The pol......The paper provides an assessment of first generation biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) development in Thailand in terms of feedstock used, production trends, planned targets and policies and discusses the biofuel sustainability issues-environmental, socio-economic and food security aspects...... to land and water use and food security are important considerations to be addressed for its large scale application. Second generation biofuels derived from agricultural residues perform favorably on environmental and social sustainability issues in comparison to first generation biofuel sources...... as transportation fuel. Alternatively, the same amount of residue could provide 0.8-2.1 billion liters per year of diesel (biomass to Fischer-Tropsch diesel) to potentially offset 6%-15% of national diesel consumption in the transportation sector....

Sustainable Biofuel Contributions to Carbon Mitigation and Energy Independence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillip Steele

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The growing interest in US biofuels has been motivated by two primary national policy goals, (1 to reduce carbon emissions and (2 to achieve energy independence. However, the current low cost of fossil fuels is a key barrier to investments in woody biofuel production capacity. The effectiveness of wood derived biofuels must consider not only the feedstock competition with low cost fossil fuels but also the wide range of wood products uses that displace different fossil intensive products. Alternative uses of wood result in substantially different unit processes and carbon impacts over product life cycles. We developed life cycle data for new bioprocessing and feedstock collection models in order to make life cycle comparisons of effectiveness when biofuels displace gasoline and wood products displace fossil intensive building materials. Wood products and biofuels can be joint products from the same forestland. Substantial differences in effectiveness measures are revealed as well as difficulties in valuing tradeoffs between carbon mitigation and energy independence.

Review and experimental study on pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae for biofuel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiaramonti, David; Prussi, Matteo; Buffi, Marco; Rizzo, Andrea Maria; Pari, Luigi

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A review of microalgae thermochemical conversion to bioliquids was carried out. • We focused on pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction for biocrude/biofuels. • Original experimental research on microalgae pyrolysis was also carried out. • Starvation does not impact significant on the energy content of the biocrude. • This result is relevant for designing full scale microalgae production plants. - Abstract: Advanced Biofuels steadily developed during recent year, with several highly innovative processes and technologies explored at various scales: among these, lignocellulosic ethanol and CTO (Crude Tall Oil)-biofuel technologies already achieved early-commercial status, while hydrotreating of vegetable oils is today fully commercial, with almost 3.5 Mt/y installed capacity worldwide. In this context, microalgae grown in salt-water and arid areas represent a promising sustainable chain for advanced biofuel production but, at the same time, they also represent a considerable challenge. Processing microalgae in an economic way into a viable and sustainable liquid biofuel (a low-cost mass-product) is not trivial. So far, the most studied microalgae-based biofuel chain is composed by microorganism cultivation, lipid accumulation, oil extraction, co-product valorization, and algae oil conversion through conventional esterification into Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAME), i.e. Biodiesel, or Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), the latter representing a very high quality drop-in biofuel (suitable either for road transport or for aviation). However, extracting the algae oil at low cost and industrial scale is not yet a mature process, and there is not yet industrial production of algae-biofuel from these two lipid-based chains. Another option can however be considered: processing the algae through dedicated thermochemical reactors into advanced biofuels, thus approaching the downstream processing of algae in a completely different way than

Flotation: A promising microalgae harvesting and dewatering technology for biofuels production.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndikubwimana, Theoneste; Chang, Jingyu; Xiao, Zongyuan; Shao, Wenyao; Zeng, Xianhai; Ng, I-Son; Lu, Yinghua

2016-03-01

Microalgal biomass as renewable energy source is believed to be of great potential for reliable and sustainable biofuels production. However, microalgal biomass production is pinned by harvesting and dewatering stage thus hindering the developing and growing microalgae biotechnology industries. Flotation technology applied in mineral industry could be potentially applied in microalgae harvesting and dewatering, however substantial knowledge on different flotation units is essential. This paper presents an overview on different flotation units as promising cost-effective technologies for microalgae harvesting thus bestowing for further research in development and commercialization of microalgae based biofuels. Dispersed air flotation was found to be less energy consuming. Moreover, Jameson cell flotation and dispersed ozone flotation are believed to be energy efficient microalgae flotation approaches. Microalgae harvesting and dewatering by flotation is still at embryonic stage, therefore extended studies with the focus on life cycle assessment, sustainability of the flotation unit, optimization of the operating parameters using different algal species is imperative. Though there are a number of challenges in microalgae harvesting and dewatering, with well designed and developed cultivation, harvesting/dewatering, extraction and conversion technologies, progressively, microalgae technology will be of great potential for biological carbon sequestration, biofuels and biochemicals production. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Alternative Crops and Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kenkel, Philip [Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States); Holcomb, Rodney B. [Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States)

2013-03-01

In order for the biofuel industry to meet the RFS benchmarks for biofuels, new feedstock sources and production systems will have to be identified and evaluated. The Southern Plains has the potential to produce over a billion gallons of biofuels from regionally produced alternative crops, agricultural residues, and animal fats. While information on biofuel conversion processes is available, it is difficult for entrepreneurs, community planners and other interested individuals to determine the feasibility of biofuel processes or to match production alternatives with feed stock availability and community infrastructure. This project facilitates the development of biofuel production from these regionally available feed stocks. Project activities are concentrated in five major areas. The first component focused on demonstrating the supply of biofuel feedstocks. This involves modeling the yield and cost of production of dedicated energy crops at the county level. In 1991 the DOE selected switchgrass as a renewable source to produce transportation fuel after extensive evaluations of many plant species in multiple location (Caddel et al,. 2010). However, data on the yield and cost of production of switchgrass are limited. This deficiency in demonstrating the supply of biofuel feedstocks was addressed by modeling the potential supply and geographic variability of switchgrass yields based on relationship of available switchgrass yields to the yields of other forage crops. This model made it possible to create a database of projected switchgrass yields for five different soil types at the county level. A major advantage of this methodology is that the supply projections can be easily updated as improved varieties of switchgrass are developed and additional yield data becomes available. The modeling techniques are illustrated using the geographic area of Oklahoma. A summary of the regional supply is then provided.

Frames in the Ethiopian Debate on Biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brigitte Portner

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Biofuel production, while highly contested, is supported by a number of policies worldwide. Ethiopia was among the first sub-Saharan countries to devise a biofuel policy strategy to guide the associated demand toward sustainable development. In this paper, I discuss Ethiopia’s biofuel policy from an interpretative research position using a frames approach and argue that useful insights can be obtained by paying more attention to national contexts and values represented in the debates on whether biofuel production can or will contribute to sustainable development. To this end, I was able to distinguish three major frames used in the Ethiopian debate on biofuels: an environmental rehabilitation frame, a green revolution frame and a legitimacy frame. The article concludes that actors advocating for frames related to social and human issues have difficulties entering the debate and forming alliances, and that those voices need to be included in order for Ethiopia to develop a sustainable biofuel sector.

Reconciling biofuels, sustainability and commodities demand. Pitfalls and policy options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uslu, A.; Bole, T.; Londo, M.; Pelkmans, L.; Berndes, G.; Prieler, S.; Fischer, G.; Cueste Cabal, H.

2010-06-01

Increasing fossil fuel prices, energy security considerations and environmental concerns, particularly concerning climate change, have motivated countries to explore alternative energy sources including biofuels. Global demand for biofuels has been rising rapidly due to biofuel support policies established in many countries. However, proposed strong links between biofuels demand and recent years' high food commodity prices, and notions that increasing biofuels production might bring about serious negative environmental impacts, in particularly associated with the land use change to biofuel crops, have shifted public enthusiasm about biofuels. In this context, the ELOBIO project aims at shedding further light to these aspects of biofuel expansion by collecting and reviewing the available data, and also developing strategies to decrease negative effects of biofuels while enabling their positive contribution to climate change, security of supply and rural development. ELOBIO considers aspects associated with both 1st and 2nd generation biofuels, hence analyses effects on both agricultural commodity markets and lignocellulosic markets. This project, funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, consists of a review of current experiences with biofuels and other renewable energy policies and their impacts on other markets, iterative stakeholder-supported development of low-disturbing biofuels policies, model supported assessment of these policies' impacts on food, feed and lignocellulosic markets, and finally an assessment of the effects of selected optimal policies on biofuels costs and potentials. Results of the ELOBIO study show that rapid biofuel deployment without careful monitoring of consequences and implementation of mitigating measures risks leading to negative consequences. Implementing ambitious global biofuel targets for 2020, based on current 1st generation technologies, can push international agricultural commodity prices upwards and increase crop

Microalgae as a raw material for biofuels production.

Science.gov (United States)

Gouveia, Luisa; Oliveira, Ana Cristina

2009-02-01

Biofuels demand is unquestionable in order to reduce gaseous emissions (fossil CO(2), nitrogen and sulfur oxides) and their purported greenhouse, climatic changes and global warming effects, to face the frequent oil supply crises, as a way to help non-fossil fuel producer countries to reduce energy dependence, contributing to security of supply, promoting environmental sustainability and meeting the EU target of at least of 10% biofuels in the transport sector by 2020. Biodiesel is usually produced from oleaginous crops, such as rapeseed, soybean, sunflower and palm. However, the use of microalgae can be a suitable alternative feedstock for next generation biofuels because certain species contain high amounts of oil, which could be extracted, processed and refined into transportation fuels, using currently available technology; they have fast growth rate, permit the use of non-arable land and non-potable water, use far less water and do not displace food crops cultures; their production is not seasonal and they can be harvested daily. The screening of microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina maxima, Nannochloropsis sp., Neochloris oleabundans, Scenedesmus obliquus and Dunaliella tertiolecta) was done in order to choose the best one(s), in terms of quantity and quality as oil source for biofuel production. Neochloris oleabundans (fresh water microalga) and Nannochloropsis sp. (marine microalga) proved to be suitable as raw materials for biofuel production, due to their high oil content (29.0 and 28.7%, respectively). Both microalgae, when grown under nitrogen shortage, show a great increase (approximately 50%) in oil quantity. If the purpose is to produce biodiesel only from one species, Scenedesmus obliquus presents the most adequate fatty acid profile, namely in terms of linolenic and other polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, the microalgae Neochloris oleabundans, Nannochloropsis sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta can also be used if associated with other

Field emissions of N2O during biomass production may affect the sustainability of agro-biofuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carter, Mette Sustmann; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Heiske, Stefan

relate measured field emissions of N2O to the reduction in fossil fuel‐derived CO2, which is obtained when agricultural biomasses are used for biofuel production. The analysis includes five organically managed crops (viz. maize, rye, rye‐vetch, vetch and grass‐clover) and three scenarios for conversion...... of biomass to biofuel. The scenarios are 1) bioethanol, 2) biogas and 3) co‐production of bioethanol and biogas. In scenarios 3, the biomass is first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the residue from this process is utilized for biogas production. The net reduction in greenhouse gas...... emissions is calculated as the avoided fossil fuel‐derived CO2, where the N2O emission has been subtracted. This value does not account for CO2 emissions from farm machinery and during biofuel production. We obtained the greatest net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by co‐production of bioethanol...

Transporter-mediated biofuel secretion.

Science.gov (United States)

Doshi, Rupak; Nguyen, Tuan; Chang, Geoffrey

2013-05-07

Engineering microorganisms to produce biofuels is currently among the most promising strategies in renewable energy. However, harvesting these organisms for extracting biofuels is energy- and cost-intensive, limiting the commercial feasibility of large-scale production. Here, we demonstrate the use of a class of transport proteins of pharmacological interest to circumvent the need to harvest biomass during biofuel production. We show that membrane-embedded transporters, better known to efflux lipids and drugs, can be used to mediate the secretion of intracellularly synthesized model isoprenoid biofuel compounds to the extracellular milieu. Transporter-mediated biofuel secretion sustainably maintained an approximate three- to fivefold boost in biofuel production in our Escherichia coli test system. Because the transporters used in this study belong to the ubiquitous ATP-binding cassette protein family, we propose their use as "plug-and-play" biofuel-secreting systems in a variety of bacteria, cyanobacteria, diatoms, yeast, and algae used for biofuel production. This investigation showcases the potential of expressing desired membrane transport proteins in cell factories to achieve the export or import of substances of economic, environmental, or therapeutic importance.

Transitioning to sustainable use of biofuel in Australia★

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasongko Nugroho Adi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Biofuel is identified as one of the key renewable energy sources for sustainable development, and can potentially replace fossil-based fuels. Anticipating the competition between food and energy security, the Australian Government is intensively exploring other biofuel resources. There have been numerous research projects in Australia using the second and third generation model based on different feedstocks including lignocellulosic and microalgae. Such projects have been successfully demonstrated but are yet to be commercially viable. Moreover, transition pathways to realize the potential benefits of these value chains are not well understood. This preliminary study tried to provide an alternative framework and proposes future long-term transport biofuel pathways in Australia which can be seen as a solution for a post-carbon society. The study is targeted to outline the milestone of the Australian biofuel industry and its roadmap into the future. An investigation has been carried out on biofuel status and barrier, technology development, market and the chronology of biofuel related policies in Australia to understand the current situation and possibilities to develop further strategies, while also providing an insight into the consequences of producing biofuel for transportation. Several methods have been proposed to introduce the transition into a post-carbon society. Seven scenarios were divided, covering the roadmap of first, second and third generation of biofuel, alternative transportation modes such as electric vehicles (EVs and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs and the elimination of the fossil fuel running vehicles within a time frame of 20 years. The utilization of biofuel can be seen as a short to medium mode for transition into a green transportation society. Our investigation also showed that microalgae gave a better ecological footprint which offers the strongest potential for future Australian biofuel industry and aviation. Meanwhile, EVs

A modelling approach to estimate the European biofuel production: from crops to biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clodic, Melissa [Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (IFP/INRA), Paris (France). Instituto Frances do Petroleo

2008-07-01

Today, in the context of energy competition and climate change, biofuels are promoted as a renewable resource to diversify the energy supply. However, biofuel development remains controversial. Here, we will present a way to make an environmental and economic cost and benefit analysis of European biofuels, from the crops until the marketed products, by using a linear programming optimization modelling approach. To make this European biofuel production model, named AGRAF, possible, we decided to use different independent linear programming optimization models which represent the separate parts of the process: European agricultural production, production of transforming industries and refinery production. To model the agricultural and the refining sections, we have chosen to improve existing and experimented models by adding a biofuel production part. For the transforming industry, we will create a new partial equilibrium model which will represent stake holders such as Sofiproteol, Stereos, etc. Data will then be exchanged between the models to coordinate all the biofuel production steps. Here, we will also focus on spatialization in order to meet certain of our requirements, such as the exchange flux analysis or the determination of transport costs, usually important in an industrial optimization model. (author)

Development of a sustainability reporting scheme for biofuels: A UK case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalmers, Jessica; Archer, Greg

2011-01-01

In 2008, the UK launched the first regulatory sustainability reporting scheme for biofuels. The development of the scheme, managed by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership for the Department for Transport, involved extensive stakeholder engagement. The scheme has significantly increased understanding by policy-makers, the biofuels industry and its supply chains on how to monitor and manage the sustainability risks of biofuels and increase their greenhouse-gas benefits. It is providing a practical model for similar developments globally. To receive certificates in order to meet volume obligations under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), suppliers must provide a monthly carbon and sustainability report on individual batches of renewable fuels they supply into the UK. The Renewable Fuels Agency produces aggregate monthly reports of overall performance and quarterly updates of individual supplier performance. This scheme is an important first step to assist the biofuels industry to demonstrate its environmental credentials and justify the subsidies received. The paper provides a case study of the development of the scheme, its initial outcomes and outstanding challenges.

Key issues in estimating energy and greenhouse gas savings of biofuels: challenges and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dheeraj Rathore

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The increasing demand for biofuels has encouraged the researchers and policy makers worldwide to find sustainable biofuel production systems in accordance with the regional conditions and needs. The sustainability of a biofuel production system includes energy and greenhouse gas (GHG saving along with environmental and social acceptability. Life cycle assessment (LCA is an internationally recognized tool for determining the sustainability of biofuels. LCA includes goal and scope, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation as major steps. LCA results vary significantly, if there are any variations in performing these steps. For instance, biofuel producing feedstocks have different environmental values that lead to different GHG emission savings and energy balances. Similarly, land-use and land-use changes may overestimate biofuel sustainability. This study aims to examine various biofuel production systems for their GHG savings and energy balances, relative to conventional fossil fuels with an ambition to address the challenges and to offer future directions for LCA based biofuel studies. Environmental and social acceptability of biofuel production is the key factor in developing biofuel support policies. Higher GHG emission saving and energy balance of biofuel can be achieved, if biomass yield is high, and ecologically sustainable biomass or non-food biomass is converted into biofuel and used efficiently.

Catalyst technology for biofuel production: Conversion of renewable lipids into biojet and biodiesel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scharff Yves

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Renewable lipids based biofuels are an important tool to address issues raised by policies put in place in order to reduce the dependence of transportation sector on fossil fuels and to promote the development of non-food based, sustainable and eco-friendly fuels. This paper presents the main features of the heterogeneous catalysis technologies Axens has developed for the production of biofuels from renewable lipids: the first by transesterification to produce fatty acid methyl esters or biodiesel and the second by hydrotreating to produce isoparaffinic hydroprocessed ester and fatty acids, high blending rate drop-in diesel and jet biofuels.

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Three Biofuel Pathways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacob J. Jacobson; Erin Searcy; Kara Cafferty; Jennifer B. Dunn; Michael Johnson; Zhichao Wang; Michael Wang; Mary Biddy; Abhijit Dutta; Daniel Inman; Eric Tan; Sue Jones; Lesley Snowden-Swan

2013-11-01

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) collaborates with industrial, agricultural, and non-profit partners to develop and deploy biofuels and other biologically-derived products. As part of this effort, BETO and its national laboratory teams conduct in-depth techno-economic assessments (TEA) of technologies to produce biofuels as part state of technology (SOT) analyses. An SOT assesses progress within and across relevant technology areas based on actual experimental results relative to technical targets and cost goals from design cases and includes technical, economic, and environmental criteria as available. Overall assessments of biofuel pathways begin with feedstock production and the logistics of transporting the feedstock from the farm or plantation to the conversion facility or biorefinery. The conversion process itself is modeled in detail as part of the SOT analysis. The teams then develop an estimate of the biofuel minimum selling price (MSP) and assess the cost competitiveness of the biofuel with conventional fuels such as gasoline.

Optimal localisation of next generation Biofuel production in Sweden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wetterlund, Elisabeth [Linkoeping Univ., Linkoeping (Sweden); Pettersson, Karin [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden); Mossberg, Johanna [SP Technical Research Inst. of Sweden, Boraas (Sweden)] [and others

2013-09-01

With a high availability of lignocellulosic biomass and various types of cellulosic by-products, as well as a large number of industries, Sweden is a country of great interest for future large scale production of sustainable, next generation biofuels. This is most likely also a necessity as Sweden has the ambition to be independent of fossil fuels in the transport sector by the year 2030 and completely fossil free by 2050. In order to reach competitive biofuel production costs, plants with large production capacities are likely to be required. Feedstock intake capacities in the range of about 1-2 million tonnes per year, corresponding to a biomass feed of 300-600 MW, can be expected, which may lead to major logistical challenges. To enable expansion of biofuel production in such large plants, as well as provide for associated distribution requirements, it is clear that substantial infrastructure planning will be needed. The geographical location of the production plant facilities is therefore of crucial importance and must be strategic to minimise the transports of raw material as well as of final product. Competition for the available feedstock, from for example forest industries and CHP plants (combined heat and power) further complicates the localisation problem. Since the potential for an increased biomass utilisation is limited, high overall resource efficiency is of great importance. Integration of biofuel production processes in existing industries or in district heating systems may be beneficial from several aspects, such as opportunities for efficient heat integration, feedstock and equipment integration, as well as access to existing experience and know-how. This report describes the development of Be Where Sweden, a geographically explicit optimisation model for localisation of next generation biofuel production plants in Sweden. The main objective of developing such a model is to be able to assess production plant locations that are robust to varying

Biofuels production for smallholder producers in the Greater Mekong Sub-region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malik, Urooj S.; Ahmed, Mahfuz [Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 (Philippines); Sombilla, Mercedita A. [Southeast Asian Center for Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Consulting Services Department, 4031 College, Laguna (Philippines); Cueno, Sarah L. [Agricultural Economist and Regional Program Coordinator Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program Working Group on Agriculture, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 (Philippines)

2009-11-15

Looming concerns on rising food prices and food security has slowed down the impetus in biofuel production. The development of the sub-sector, however, remains an important agenda among developing countries like those of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) that have abundant labour and natural resources but have limited supply of fossil fuels which continues to serve as a constraint to economic growth. Five crops have been selected to be further developed and use for biofuel production in the GMS, namely sugarcane, cassava, oil palm, sweet sorghum and Jathropa curcas. The expanded use of sugarcane, cassava, and oil palm for biofuel production can cause problems in the food sector. The other two crops, sweet sorghum and J. curcas, are non-food crops but could still compete with the food crops in terms of resource use for production. In all cases, the GMS needs to formulate a sustainable strategy for the biofuel development that will not compete with the food sector but will rather help achieve energy security, promote rural development and protect the environment. Except for People's Republic of China (PRC) and Thailand that already have fairly developed biofuel sub-sector, the other GMS countries are either poised to start (Lao PDR and Cambodia) or ready to enhance existing initiatives on biofuel production (Myanmar and Vietnam), with support from their respective governments. Biofuel development in these countries has to be strongly integrated with smallholder producers in order to have an impact on improving livelihood. At this initial stage, the sub-sector does not need to compete on a price basis but should rather aim to put up small-scale biofuel processing plants in remote rural areas that can offer an alternative to high-priced diesel and kerosene for local electricity grids serving homes and small enterprises. The social and economic multiplier effects are expected to be high when farmers that produce the energy crops also produce the biofuels to

Biofuels production for smallholder producers in the Greater Mekong Sub-region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malik, Urooj S.; Ahmed, Mahfuz; Sombilla, Mercedita A.; Cueno, Sarah L.

2009-01-01

Looming concerns on rising food prices and food security has slowed down the impetus in biofuel production. The development of the sub-sector, however, remains an important agenda among developing countries like those of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) that have abundant labour and natural resources but have limited supply of fossil fuels which continues to serve as a constraint to economic growth. Five crops have been selected to be further developed and use for biofuel production in the GMS, namely sugarcane, cassava, oil palm, sweet sorghum and Jathropa curcas. The expanded use of sugarcane, cassava, and oil palm for biofuel production can cause problems in the food sector. The other two crops, sweet sorghum and J. curcas, are non-food crops but could still compete with the food crops in terms of resource use for production. In all cases, the GMS needs to formulate a sustainable strategy for the biofuel development that will not compete with the food sector but will rather help achieve energy security, promote rural development and protect the environment. Except for People's Republic of China (PRC) and Thailand that already have fairly developed biofuel sub-sector, the other GMS countries are either poised to start (Lao PDR and Cambodia) or ready to enhance existing initiatives on biofuel production (Myanmar and Vietnam), with support from their respective governments. Biofuel development in these countries has to be strongly integrated with smallholder producers in order to have an impact on improving livelihood. At this initial stage, the sub-sector does not need to compete on a price basis but should rather aim to put up small-scale biofuel processing plants in remote rural areas that can offer an alternative to high-priced diesel and kerosene for local electricity grids serving homes and small enterprises. The social and economic multiplier effects are expected to be high when farmers that produce the energy crops also produce the biofuels to generate

Bio-fuel production potential in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurentiu, F.; Silvian, F.; Dumitru, F.

2006-01-01

The paper is based on the ESTO Study: Techno- Economic Feasibility of Large-Scale Production of Bio-Fuels in EU-Candidate Countries. Bio-fuel production has not been taken into account significantly until now in Romania, being limited to small- scale productions of ethanol, used mostly for various industrial purposes. However the climatic conditions and the quality of the soil are very suitable in the country for development of the main crops (wheat, sugar-beet, sunflower and rape-seed) used in bio-ethanol and bio-diesel production. The paper intended to consider a pertinent discussion of the present situation in Romania's agriculture stressing on the following essential items in the estimation of bio-fuels production potential: availability of feed-stock for bio-fuel production; actual productions of bio-fuels; fuel consumption; cost assessment; SWOT approach; expected trends. Our analysis was based on specific agricultural data for the period 1996-2000. An important ethanol potential (due to wheat, sugar-beet and maize cultures), as well as bio-diesel one (due to sun-flower and rape-seed) were predicted for the period 2005-2010 which could be exploited with the support of an important financial and technological effort, mainly from EU countries

Biofuels and climate neutrality - system analysis of production and utilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmgren, Kristina; Eriksson, Erik; Olsson, Olle; Olsson, Mats; Hillring, Bengt; Parikka, Matti

2007-06-01

the energy input at production (working machines, chipping and transport) and the expected reduction in soil carbon from utilising the residues. This means that biofuels with a short rotation period will result in lower radiative forcing than fuels with a longer rotation period, assuming all other factors equal. In order to estimate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from a biofuel chain a life cycle analysis is needed. How system boundaries are set in such a life cycle assessment are of significant importance. Examples of important boundary definitions are whether the fuel is regarded as a bi-product or not and how soil emissions from the production area should be treated. Another important system boundary is the time perspective applied. In its fourth report on climate change the IPCC gives no explicit recommendation on what time perspective should be applied when comparing greenhouse gas emissions by the use of GWP-factors (Global Warming Potentials)Within the Kyoto-framework a 100-year perspective has been chosen. A 100-year perspective will include the thermal inertia of the oceans and their impact on global average temperatures. Carbon cycle models also show that within this time frame a considerable part of an emission of CO 2 has left the atmosphere. These facts speak in favour of a long time perspective when comparing different fuel chains. In this study, net greenhouse gas emissions from imported biofuels have also been analysed. Focus was on emissions related to transports and forest legislation of the exporting countries. Sustainability in fuel production systems is of great importance since that ensures a continuous production potential and a continuous circulation of carbon between growing biomass and the atmosphere, which does not increase the atmospheric concentration of the gas. This makes the question of reforestation and sustainable management important. According to reviewed literature, the reforestation policies in Finland and Lithuania seem

European biofuel policies in retrospect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Thuijl, E.; Deurwaarder, E.P.

2006-05-01

Despite the benefits of the production and use of biofuels in the fields of agriculture, security of energy supply and the environment, in India and surrounding countries, the barriers to the use of biofuels are still substantial. The project ProBios (Promotion of Biofuels for Sustainable Development in South and South East Asia) aims at promoting biofuels in the view of sustainable development in the Southern and South eastern Asian countries. The first stage of this project concerns a study, which will provide a thorough review of the complicated and sector-overarching issue of biofuels in India and surrounding countries. This report describes past experiences with the policy context for a selection of EU countries, with the purpose of identifying conclusions from the European experience that may be valuable for Indian and South East Asian policy makers and other biofuels stakeholders

International Perspectives and Implementation of Sustainability Criteria in the Development of Biofuels for Transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meza, Maria Josefina Figueroa; Gudmundsson, Henrik

Establishing sustainability criteria for the development of biofuels is an important step for the consolidation of an international market on biofuels for transport for several reasons: Biofuels are expected to play a significant role in a transition to low carbon future in transport in particular...

Different paths towards sustainable biofuels? : A comparative study of the International, EU, and Chinese regulation of the sustainability of biofuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yue, Taotao

2016-01-01

Biofuels are promoted as a type of renewable energy from biomass that replaces fossil fuels in transportation, in an attempt to achieve the three-fold objectives of energy security, rural development, and GHG emission reductions. However, the increased consumption and production of biofuels have

Interactions of woody biofuel feedstock production systems with water resources: considerations for sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Carl C. Trettin; Devendra Amatya; Mark Coleman

2008-01-01

Water resources are important for the production of woody biofuel feedstocks. It is necessary to ensure that production systems do not adversely affect the quantity or quality of surface and ground water. The effects of woody biomass plantations on water resources are largely dependent on the prior land use and the management regime. Experience from both irrigated and...

Biofuels barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2012-01-01

The European Union governments no longer view the rapid increase in biofuel consumption as a priority. Between 2010 and 2011 biofuel consumption increased by only 3%, which translates into 13.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) used in 2011 compared to 13.2 million toe in 2010. In 2011 6 European countries had a biofuel consumption in transport that went further 1 million toe: Germany (2,956,746 toe), France (2,050,873 toe), Spain (1,672,710 toe), Italy (1,432,455 toe), United Kingdom (1,056,105 toe) and Poland (1,017,793 toe). The breakdown of the biofuel consumption for transport in the European Union in 2011 into types of biofuels is: bio-diesel (78%), bio-ethanol (21%), biogas (0.5%) and vegetable oil (0.5%). In 2011, 4 bio-diesel producers had a production capacity in Europe that passed beyond 900,000 tonnes: Diester Industrie International (France) with 3,000,000 tonnes, Neste Oil (Finland) with 1,180,000 tonnes, ADM bio-diesel (Germany) with 975,000 tonnes, and Infinita (Spain) with 900,000 tonnes. It seems that the European Union's attention has shifted to setting up sustainability systems to verify that the biofuel used in the various countries complies with the Renewable Energy Directive's sustainability criteria

Bioprospecting of functional cellulases from metagenome for second generation biofuel production: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Rameshwar; Nain, Lata; Labrou, Nikolaos E; Shukla, Pratyoosh

2018-03-01

Second generation biofuel production has been appeared as a sustainable and alternative energy option. The ultimate aim is the development of an industrially feasible and economic conversion process of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuel molecules. Since, cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer and also represented as the photosynthetically fixed form of carbon, the efficient hydrolysis of cellulose is the most important step towards the development of a sustainable biofuel production process. The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose by suites of hydrolytic enzymes underlines the importance of cellulase enzyme system in whole hydrolysis process. However, the selection of the suitable cellulolytic enzymes with enhanced activities remains a challenge for the biorefinery industry to obtain efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass. The present review focuses on deciphering the novel and effective cellulases from different environmental niches by unculturable metagenomic approaches. Furthermore, a comprehensive functional aspect of cellulases is also presented and evaluated by assessing the structural and catalytic properties as well as sequence identities and expression patterns. This review summarizes the recent development in metagenomics based approaches for identifying and exploring novel cellulases which open new avenues for their successful application in biorefineries.

The Compatibility of EU Biofuel Policies with Global Sustainability and the WTO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burrel, A.; Gay, S.H.; Kavallari, A.

2012-01-01

The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28) requires that by 2020, biofuels should account for at least 10 per cent of transport fuel consumption. EU legislation sets out sustainability criteria for biofuels to qualify for this target and procedures for verifying that they are met. Using the

Sustainable Process Design of Biofuels: Bioethanol Production from Cassava rhizome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mangnimit, S.; Malakul, P.; Gani, Rafiqul

2013-01-01

This study is focused on the sustainable process design of bioethanol production from cassava rhizome. The study includes: process simulation, sustainability analysis, economic evaluation and life cycle assessment (LCA). A steady state process simulation if performed to generate a base case design........ Also, simultaneously with sustainability analysis, the life cycle impact on environment associated with bioethanol production is performed. Finally, candidate alternative designs are generated and compared with the base case design in terms of LCA, economics, waste, energy usage and enviromental impact...... in order to identify the most sustainable design for the production of ethanol. The capacity for ethanol production from cassava rhizome is set to 150,000 liters/day, which is about 1.3 % of the total demand of ethanol in Thailand. LCA on the base case design pointed to large amounts of CO2 and CO...

Protein engineering for biofuel production: Recent development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nisha Singh

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The unstable and unsure handiness of crude oil sources moreover the rising price of fuels have shifted international efforts to utilize renewable resources for the assembly of greener energy and a replacement which might additionally meet the high energy demand of the globe. Biofuels represent a sustainable, renewable, and also the solely predictable energy supply to fossil fuels. During the green production of Biofuels, several in vivo processes place confidence in the conversion of biomass to sugars by engineered enzymes, and the subsequent conversion of sugars to chemicals via designed proteins in microbial production hosts. Enzymes are indispensable within the effort to provide fuels in an ecologically friendly manner. They have the potential to catalyze reactions with high specificity and potency while not using dangerous chemicals. Nature provides an in depth assortment of enzymes, however usually these should be altered to perform desired functions in needed conditions. Presently available enzymes like cellulose are subject to tight induction and regulation systems and additionally suffer inhibition from numerous end products. Therefore, more impregnable and economical catalyst preparations ought to be developed for the enzymatic method to be more economical. Approaches like protein engineering, reconstitution of protein mixtures and bio prospecting for superior enzymes are gaining importance. Advances in enzyme engineering allow the planning and/or directed evolution of enzymes specifically tailored for such industrial applications. Recent years have seen the production of improved enzymes to help with the conversion of biomass into fuels. The assembly of the many of those fuels is feasible due to advances in protein engineering. This review discusses the distinctive challenges that protein engineering faces in the method of changing lignocellulose to biofuels and the way they're addressed by recent advances in this field.

The Role of Small-Scale Biofuel Production in Brazil: Lessons for Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arielle Muniz Kubota

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Small-scale biofuel initiatives to produce sugarcane ethanol are claimed to be a sustainable opportunity for ethanol supply, particularly for regions with price-restricted or no access to modern biofuels, such as communities located far from the large ethanol production centers in Brazil and family-farm communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. However, smallholders often struggle to achieve economic sustainability with ethanol microdistilleries. The aim of this paper is to provide an assessment of the challenges faced by small-scale bioenergy initiatives and discuss the conditions that would potentially make these initiatives economically feasible. Ethanol microdistilleries were assessed through a critical discussion of existent models and through an economic analysis of different sugarcane ethanol production models. The technical-economic analysis showed that the lack of competitiveness against large-scale ethanol distillery, largely due to both low crop productivity and process efficiency, makes it unlikely that small-scale distilleries can compete in the national/international ethanol market without governmental policies and subsidies. Nevertheless, small-scale projects intended for local supply and integrated food–fuel systems seem to be an interesting alternative that can potentially make ethanol production in small farms viable as well as increase food security and project sustainability particularly for local communities in developing countries.

Next generation biofuel engineering in prokaryotes

Science.gov (United States)

Gronenberg, Luisa S.; Marcheschi, Ryan J.; Liao, James C.

2014-01-01

Next-generation biofuels must be compatible with current transportation infrastructure and be derived from environmentally sustainable resources that do not compete with food crops. Many bacterial species have unique properties advantageous to the production of such next-generation fuels. However, no single species possesses all characteristics necessary to make high quantities of fuels from plant waste or CO2. Species containing a subset of the desired characteristics are used as starting points for engineering organisms with all desired attributes. Metabolic engineering of model organisms has yielded high titer production of advanced fuels, including alcohols, isoprenoids and fatty acid derivatives. Technical developments now allow engineering of native fuel producers, as well as lignocellulolytic and autotrophic bacteria, for the production of biofuels. Continued research on multiple fronts is required to engineer organisms for truly sustainable and economical biofuel production. PMID:23623045

Innovative business models for sustainable biofuel production : the case of Tanzanian smallholder jatropha farmers in the global biofuel chain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balkema, A.J.; Romijn, H.A.

2011-01-01

This paper focuses on the smallholder outgrower model for jatropha biofuel cultivation in Tanzania. This model is based on seed production by small farmers who sell to a processing company that presses the bio-oil from the seeds locally, either for the local market or for export. This model has been

Current and future sustainable biofuels; Dagens och framtidens haallbara biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal [Lunds Univ., Lund (Sweden); Lundgren, Joakim [Luleaa Univ. of Technology Bio4Energy, Luleaa (Sweden); Ahlgren, Serina [Sveriges Lantbruksuniv., Uppsala (Sweden)

2013-07-01

This report has been prepared as a background paper for the government study of Fossil-Free Vehicle traffic (FFF investigation). The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the current knowledge on the production of biofuels and linkages to sustainability issues such as energy and land efficiency, GHG performance and costs. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international outlooks. The report's analysis of energy efficiency, GHG performance and production costs are based on system analysis and a life-cycle perspective. The focus is on the production chain up to produced fuel (well-to-tank). Results are based on current research and production chains and is based primarily on standardized LCA and for some systems also on industrial systems analysis.

Current and future sustainable biofuels; Dagens och framtidens haallbara biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal [Lunds Univ., Lund (Sweden); Lundgren, Joakim [Luleaa Univ. of Technology Bio4Energy, Luleaa (Sweden); Ahlgren, Serina [Sveriges Lantbruksuniv., Uppsala (Sweden)

2013-07-01

This report has been prepared as a background paper for the government study of Fossil-Free Vehicle traffic (FFF investigation). The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the current knowledge on the production of biofuels and linkages to sustainability issues such as energy and land efficiency, GHG performance and costs. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international outlooks. The report's analysis of energy efficiency, GHG performance and production costs are based on system analysis and a life-cycle perspective. The focus is on the production chain up to produced fuel (well-to-tank). Results are based on current research and production chains and is based primarily on standardized LCA and for some systems also on industrial systems analysis.

Global Biofuels at the Crossroads: An Overview of Technical, Policy, and Investment Complexities in the Sustainability of Biofuel Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen Araújo

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Biofuels have the potential to alter the transport and agricultural sectors of decarbonizing societies. Yet, the sustainability of these fuels has been questioned in recent years in connection with food versus fuel trade-offs, carbon accounting, and land use. Recognizing the complicated playing field for current decision-makers, we examine the technical attributes, policy, and global investment activity for biofuels (primarily liquids. Differences in feedstock and fuel types are considered, in addition to policy approaches of major producer countries. Issues with recent, policy-driven trade developments are highlighted to emphasize how systemic complexities associated with sustainability must also be managed. We conclude with near-term areas to watch.

Microalgae: biofuel production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babita Kumari

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In the present day, microalgae feedstocks are gaining interest in energy scenario due to their fast growth potential coupled with relatively high lipid, carbohydrate and nutrients contents. All of these properties render them an excellent source for biofuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol and biomethane; as well as a number of other valuable pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. The present review is a critical appraisal of the commercialization potential of microalgae biofuels. The available literature on various aspects of microalgae for e.g. its cultivation, life cycle assessment, and conceptualization of an algal biorefinery, has been done. The evaluation of available information suggests the operational and maintenance cost along with maximization of oil-rich microalgae production is the key factor for successful commercialization of microalgae-based fuels.

Land availability for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ximing; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Dingbao

2011-01-01

Marginal agricultural land is estimated for biofuel production in Africa, China, Europe, India, South America, and the continental United States, which have major agricultural production capacities. These countries/regions can have 320-702 million hectares of land available if only abandoned and degraded cropland and mixed crop and vegetation land, which are usually of low quality, are accounted. If grassland, savanna, and shrubland with marginal productivity are considered for planting low-input high-diversity (LIHD) mixtures of native perennials as energy crops, the total land availability can increase from 1107-1411 million hectares, depending on if the pasture land is discounted. Planting the second generation of biofuel feedstocks on abandoned and degraded cropland and LIHD perennials on grassland with marginal productivity may fulfill 26-55% of the current world liquid fuel consumption, without affecting the use of land with regular productivity for conventional crops and without affecting the current pasture land. Under the various land use scenarios, Africa may have more than one-third, and Africa and Brazil, together, may have more than half of the total land available for biofuel production. These estimations are based on physical conditions such as soil productivity, land slope, and climate.

Modifying plants for biofuel and biomaterial production.

Science.gov (United States)

Furtado, Agnelo; Lupoi, Jason S; Hoang, Nam V; Healey, Adam; Singh, Seema; Simmons, Blake A; Henry, Robert J

2014-12-01

The productivity of plants as biofuel or biomaterial crops is established by both the yield of plant biomass per unit area of land and the efficiency of conversion of the biomass to biofuel. Higher yielding biofuel crops with increased conversion efficiencies allow production on a smaller land footprint minimizing competition with agriculture for food production and biodiversity conservation. Plants have traditionally been domesticated for food, fibre and feed applications. However, utilization for biofuels may require the breeding of novel phenotypes, or new species entirely. Genomics approaches support genetic selection strategies to deliver significant genetic improvement of plants as sources of biomass for biofuel manufacture. Genetic modification of plants provides a further range of options for improving the composition of biomass and for plant modifications to assist the fabrication of biofuels. The relative carbohydrate and lignin content influences the deconstruction of plant cell walls to biofuels. Key options for facilitating the deconstruction leading to higher monomeric sugar release from plants include increasing cellulose content, reducing cellulose crystallinity, and/or altering the amount or composition of noncellulosic polysaccharides or lignin. Modification of chemical linkages within and between these biomass components may improve the ease of deconstruction. Expression of enzymes in the plant may provide a cost-effective option for biochemical conversion to biofuel. © 2014 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Optimal production scheduling for energy efficiency improvement in biofuel feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Lin; Sun, Zeyi; Yao, Xufeng; Wang, Donghai

2016-01-01

Biofuel is considered a promising alternative to traditional liquid transportation fuels. The large-scale substitution of biofuel can greatly enhance global energy security and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. One major concern of the broad adoption of biofuel is the intensive energy consumption in biofuel manufacturing. This paper focuses on the energy efficiency improvement of biofuel feedstock preprocessing, a major process of cellulosic biofuel manufacturing. An improved scheme of the feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation is introduced to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency. A scheduling model based on the improved scheme is also developed to identify an optimal production schedule that can minimize the energy consumption of the feedstock preprocessing under production target constraint. A numerical case study is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The research outcome is expected to improve the energy efficiency and enhance the environmental sustainability of biomass feedstock preprocessing. - Highlights: • A novel method to schedule production in biofuel feedstock preprocessing process. • Systems modeling approach is used. • Capable of optimize preprocessing to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency. • A numerical case is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the method. • Energy consumption per unit production can be significantly reduced.

Long-term sustainability of bio-components production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souček Ivan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Biofuels play an increasingly important role in motor fuel market. The list of biofuels (bio-components in accordance with EU legislations contains a number of substances not widely used in the market. Traditionally these include: fatty acid methyl esters (FAME, in the Czech Republic methyl ether of rape seed oil and bioethanol (also ethyl terc. buthyl ether ETBE, based on bioethanol. The availability and possible utilizations of bio-component fuels in Czech Republic and Serbia are discussed. Additional attention is paid on the identification of the possibilities to improve effectiveness of rape seeds cultivation and utilization of by-products from FAME production (utilization of sew, rape-meal and glycerol which will allow fulfilment of the sustainability criteria for the first generation biofuels. The new approaches on renewable co-processing are commented. The concept of 3E (emissions, energy demand, and economics is introduced specifying three main attributes for effective production of FAME production in accordance with legal compliances. Bio-components price change is analyzed in comparison to the price of motor fuels, identifying possible (speculative crude price break-even point at the level of 149-176 USD/bbl at which point bio-fuels would become economically cost effective for the use by refiners.

Sustainable bio kerosene: Process routes and industrial demonstration activities in aviation biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiaramonti, David; Prussi, Matteo; Buffi, Marco; Tacconi, Daniela

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Routes to aviation biofuels are examined, focusing on drop-in biofuels, capable of high blend levels with fossil kerosene. • Industrial demonstration activities are reported. • Used cooking oil is considered as alternative sustainable biomass feedstock for paraffinic fuel production. - Abstract: Alternative fuels are expected to play a major role in EU in the coming years due European Directives on the promotion of renewable energies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in transports. However, while in road transports a variety of possible renewable fuels (mainly biofuels, but also electricity) can be considered, in aviation only high quality paraffinic biofuels can be adopted. This means that biomass must be converted through advanced processes into pure hydrocarbon fuels, fully compatible with the existing systems. The aviation sector is responsible for the 2% of the world anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and the 10% of the fuel consumption: airlines’ costs for fuel reach 30% of operating costs. In addition, the aviation traffic is expected to double within 15 years from 2012, while fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions should double in 25 years. Thus, more than 2 billion people and 40 Mt of good/cargo will have to be moved every year. In this context, the EU Flightpath set a target of 2 Mt per year for aviation alternative fuel by 2020 (i.e. 4% of annual fuel consumption). New processes towards bio-hydrocarbons are being developed, demonstrated and soon industrialized. The present work explores the possible routes from biomass feedstock to sustainable paraffinic fuels, either through bio or thermo-chemical processes, as well as discusses those more mature, focusing on industrial demonstration initiatives. In fact, while the number of possible options towards paraffinic biofuel production is very large, and covers both thermochemical and biochemical routes, as well as hybrid one, only two pathways are today ready for testing a significant

An Assessment of Thailand’s Biofuel Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pujan Shrestha

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The paper provides an assessment of first generation biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel development in Thailand in terms of feedstock used, production trends, planned targets and policies and discusses the biofuel sustainability issues—environmental, socio-economic and food security aspects. The policies, measures and incentives for the development of biofuel include targets, blending mandates and favorable tax schemes to encourage production and consumption of biofuels. Biofuel development improves energy security, rural income and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG emissions, but issues related to land and water use and food security are important considerations to be addressed for its large scale application. Second generation biofuels derived from agricultural residues perform favorably on environmental and social sustainability issues in comparison to first generation biofuel sources. The authors estimate that sustainably-derived agricultural crop residues alone could amount to 10.4 × 106 bone dry tonnes per year. This has the technical potential of producing 1.14–3.12 billion liters per year of ethanol to possibly displace between 25%–69% of Thailand’s 2011 gasoline consumption as transportation fuel. Alternatively, the same amount of residue could provide 0.8–2.1 billion liters per year of diesel (biomass to Fischer-Tropsch diesel to potentially offset 6%–15% of national diesel consumption in the transportation sector.

Evaluation of carbon fluxes and trends (2000-2008) in the Greater Platte River Basin: a sustainability study on the potential biofuel feedstock development

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yingxin; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhang, Li; Gilmanov, Tagir G.

2012-01-01

This study evaluates the carbon fluxes and trends and examines the environmental sustainability (e.g., carbon budget, source or sink) of the potential biofuel feedstock sites identified in the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB). A 9-year (2000–2008) time series of net ecosystem production (NEP), a measure of net carbon absorption or emission by ecosystems, was used to assess the historical trends and budgets of carbon flux for grasslands in the GPRB. The spatially averaged annual NEP (ANEP) for grassland areas that are possibly suitable for biofuel expansion (productive grasslands) was 71–169 g C m−2 year−1 during 2000–2008, indicating a carbon sink (more carbon is absorbed than released) in these areas. The spatially averaged ANEP for areas not suitable for biofuel feedstock development (less productive or degraded grasslands) was −47 to 69 g C m−2 year−1 during 2000–2008, showing a weak carbon source or a weak carbon sink (carbon emitted is nearly equal to carbon absorbed). The 9-year pre-harvest cumulative ANEP was 1166 g C m−2 for the suitable areas (a strong carbon sink) and 200 g C m−2 for the non-suitable areas (a weak carbon sink). Results demonstrate and confirm that our method of dynamic modeling of ecosystem performance can successfully identify areas desirable and sustainable for future biofuel feedstock development. This study provides useful information for land managers and decision makers to make optimal land use decisions regarding biofuel feedstock development and sustainability.

The National Biofuels Strategy - Importance of sustainable feedstock production systems in regional-based supply chains

Science.gov (United States)

Region-based production systems are needed to produce the feedstocks that will be turned into the biofuels required to meet Federal mandated targets. Executive and Legislative actions have put into motion significant government responses designed to advance the development and production of domestic...

Global assessment of research and development for algae biofuel production and its potential role for sustainable development in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adenle, Ademola A.; Haslam, Gareth E.; Lee, Lisa

2013-01-01

The possibility of economically deriving fuel from cultivating algae biomass is an attractive addition to the range of measures to relieve the current reliance on fossil fuels. Algae biofuels avoid some of the previous drawbacks associated with crop-based biofuels as the algae do not compete with food crops. The favourable growing conditions found in many developing countries has led to a great deal of speculation about their potentials for reducing oil imports, stimulating rural economies, and even tackling hunger and poverty. By reviewing the status of this technology we suggest that the large uncertainties make it currently unsuitable as a priority for many developing countries. Using bibliometric and patent data analysis, we indicate that many developing countries lack the human capital to develop their own algae industry or adequately prepare policies to support imported technology. Also, we discuss the potential of modern biotechnology, especially genetic modification (GM) to produce new algal strains that are easier to harvest and yield more oil. Controversy surrounding the use of GM and weak biosafety regulatory system represents a significant challenge to adoption of GM technology in developing countries. A range of policy measures are also suggested to ensure that future progress in algae biofuels can contribute to sustainable development. - Highlights: • Algae biofuels can make positive contribution to sustainable development in developing countries. • Bibliometric and patent data indicate that many lack the human capital to develop their own algae industry. • Large uncertainties make algae biofuels currently unsuitable as a priority for many developing countries

Institutional analysis of biofuel production in Northern Ghana

OpenAIRE

Kwoyiga, Lydia

2013-01-01

The thesis studied the nature of institutional arrangement around biofuel production and how this arrangement has shaped the production outcome of biofuel companies and community development. The study was conducted in two communities of the Yendi Municipal Assembly of the Northern Region of Ghana. In this area, a biofuel company called Biofuel Africa Limited has acquired areas of land and cultivated Jatropha plantations. A total of 32 informants were interviewed to arrive at information ne...

Thermodynamic evaluation of biomass-to-biofuels production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piekarczyk, Wodzisław; Czarnowska, Lucyna; Ptasiński, Krzysztof; Stanek, Wojciech

2013-01-01

Biomass is a renewable feedstock for producing modern energy carriers. However, the usage of biomass is accompanied by possible drawbacks, mainly due to limitation of land and water, and competition with food production. In this paper, the analysis concerns so-called second generation biofuels, like Fischer–Tropsch fuels or Substitute Natural Gas which are produced either from wood or from waste biomass. For these biofuels the most promising conversion case is the one which involves production of syngas from biomass gasification, followed by synthesis of biofuels. The thermodynamic efficiency of biofuels production is analyzed and compared using both the direct exergy analysis and the thermo-ecological cost. This analysis leads to the detection of exergy losses in various elements which forms the starting point to the improvement of conversion efficiency. The efficiency of biomass conversion to biofuels is also evaluated for the whole production chain, including biomass cultivation, transportation and conversion. The global effects of natural resources management are investigated using the thermo-ecological cost. The energy carriers' utilities such as electricity and heat are externally generated either from fossil fuels or from renewable biomass. In the former case the production of biofuels not always can be considered as a renewable energy source whereas in the latter case the production of biofuels leads always to the reduction of depletion of non-renewable resources

Guidance to the regulations on sustainability criteria for biofuels and liquid biofuels. Version 2.0; Vaegledning till regelverket om haallbarhetskriterier foer biodrivmedel och flytande biobraenslen. Version 2.0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstroem, Lina; Jozsa, Emmi; Hagberg, Linus; Wollin, Per; Petren Axner, Margareta

2012-11-01

For biofuels and liquid biofuels: Swedish Energy Agency's guidance on the regulatory framework on sustainability criteria have been updated and expanded with new sections on control systems, independent auditing, sustainability statements and verification of land criteria in Sweden.

Solvent production by engineered Ralstonia eutropha: channeling carbon to biofuel.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarty, Jayashree; Brigham, Christopher J

2018-06-01

Microbial production of solvents like acetone and butanol was a couple of the first industrial fermentation processes to gain global importance. These solvents are important feedstocks for the chemical and biofuel industry. Ralstonia eutropha is a facultatively chemolithoautotrophic bacterium able to grow with organic substrates or H 2 and CO 2 under aerobic conditions. This bacterium is a natural producer of polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers. Recently, with the advances in the development of genetic engineering tools, the range of metabolites R. eutropha can produce has enlarged. Its ability to utilize various carbon sources renders it an interesting candidate host for synthesis of renewable biofuel and solvent production. This review focuses on progress in metabolic engineering of R. eutropha for the production of alcohols, terpenes, methyl ketones, and alka(e)nes using various resources. Biological synthesis of solvents still presents the challenge of high production costs and competition from chemical synthesis. Better understanding of R. eutropha biology will support efforts to engineer and develop superior microbial strains for solvent production. Continued research on multiple fronts is required to engineer R. eutropha for truly sustainable and economical solvent production.

Biofuels in Central America, a real potential for commercial production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, O.L. (Regional Coordinator Energy and Environmental Partnership with Central America EEP (El Salvador))

2007-07-01

The purpose of this paper is to show the current capabilities of the Central American countries regarding the production of biofuels, and the real potential in increasing the volumes produced and the impacts that can be generated if a non sustainable policy is followed for achieving the targets of biofuel production. Due to the world oil price crisis, and the fact that Central American counties are fully dependant on oil imports (just Guatemala and Belize produce little amounts of oil), just to mention, in some countries the imports of oil is equivalent to the 40% of the total exports, the region started to look for massive production of biofuels, something that it is not new for us. The countries have started with programs for producing ethanol from sugar cane, because it is one of the most strongest industries in Central America and they have all the infrastructure and financial sources to develop this project. The ethanol is a biofuel that can be mixed with gasoline or a complete substitute. Another biofuel that is currently under develop, is the production of biodiesel, and the main source for it nowadays is the Palm oil, where Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala have already commercial productions of crude palm oil, but the principal use of it is for the food industry, but now it is under assessment for using part of it for biodiesel. EEP is now developing pilot programs for production of biodiesel from a native plant named Jatropha curcas, and up to now we have a commercial plantation in Guatemala, and we started as well in Honduras for start spreading this plantations. In El Salvador we installed a pilot processing plant for biodiesel that can be operated with multiple feed stock, such as Jatropha, palm oil, castor oil, vegetable used oil and others. Currently we have interesting and good results regarding the production of Jatropha, we have developed a methodology for its cropping, harvesting and processing. All the vehicles and equipment involved in the

Alternative spatial allocation of suitable land for biofuel production in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jianjun; Chen, Yang; Rao, Yongheng

2017-01-01

How to select locations for biofuel production is still a critical consideration for balance of crop and biofuel productions as well as of energy consumption and environmental conservation. Biofuels are widely produced all over the world, but this practice in China is still at the initial stage....... Based on China's current stage on food security and changing biofuel demands, this paper selected agro-environmental and socio-economic factors of biofuel production, and simulated and spatially allocated areas suited for biofuel production under the two scenarios of planning-oriented scenario (Po......S) and biofuel-oriented scenario (BoS) by the target year 2020. It also estimated biofuel production potentials and zones across China's provinces. The results show that land suited for biofuel production is primarily located in Northwestern, Northern, Northeastern, Central and Southwestern China...

Sustainability of biofuels and bioproducts: socio-economic impact assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rutz, D.; van Eijck, J.A.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/297954296; Faaij, A.P.C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/10685903X

2011-01-01

Many countries worldwide are increasingly engaging in the promotion of biomass production for industrial uses such as biofuels and bioproducts (chemicals, bioplastics, etc.). Until today, mainly biofuels were supported by European policies, but support for bioproducts is still lacking behind. Thus,

Biodelignification of lignocellulose substrates: An intrinsic and sustainable pretreatment strategy for clean energy production.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandel, Anuj K; Gonçalves, Bruna C M; Strap, Janice L; da Silva, Silvio S

2015-01-01

Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is a promising sugar feedstock for biofuels and other high-value chemical commodities. The recalcitrance of LB, however, impedes carbohydrate accessibility and its conversion into commercially significant products. Two important factors for the overall economization of biofuel production is LB pretreatment to liberate fermentable sugars followed by conversion into ethanol. Sustainable biofuel production must overcome issues such as minimizing water and energy usage, reducing chemical usage and process intensification. Amongst available pretreatment methods, microorganism-mediated pretreatments are the safest, green, and sustainable. Native biodelignifying agents such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pycnoporous cinnabarinus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and Cyathus stercoreus can remove lignin, making the remaining substrates amenable for saccharification. The development of a robust, integrated bioprocessing (IBP) approach for economic ethanol production would incorporate all essential steps including pretreatment, cellulase production, enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation of the released sugars into ethanol. IBP represents an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, low energy and low capital approach for second-generation ethanol production. This paper reviews the advancements in microbial-assisted pretreatment for the delignification of lignocellulosic substrates, system metabolic engineering for biorefineries and highlights the possibilities of process integration for sustainable and economic ethanol production.

Synthetic biology for microbial production of lipid-based biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

d'Espaux, Leo; Mendez-Perez, Daniel; Li, Rachel; Keasling, Jay D

2015-12-01

The risks of maintaining current CO2 emission trends have led to interest in producing biofuels using engineered microbes. Microbial biofuels reduce emissions because CO2 produced by fuel combustion is offset by CO2 captured by growing biomass, which is later used as feedstock for biofuel fermentation. Hydrocarbons found in petroleum fuels share striking similarity with biological lipids. Here we review synthetic metabolic pathways based on fatty acid and isoprenoid metabolism to produce alkanes and other molecules suitable as biofuels. We further discuss engineering strategies to optimize engineered biosynthetic routes, as well as the potential of synthetic biology for sustainable manufacturing. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Synthetic biology for microbial production of lipid-based biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

d' Espaux, L; Mendez-Perez, D; Li, R; Keasling, JD

2015-10-23

The risks of maintaining current CO₂ emission trends have led to interest in producing biofuels using engineered microbes. Microbial biofuels reduce emissions because CO₂ produced by fuel combustion is offset by CO2 captured by growing biomass, which is later used as feedstock for biofuel fermentation. Hydrocarbons found in petroleum fuels share striking similarity with biological lipids. Here in this paper we review synthetic metabolic pathways based on fatty acid and isoprenoid metabolism to produce alkanes and other molecules suitable as biofuels. Lastly, we further discuss engineering strategies to optimize engineered biosynthetic routes, as well as the potential of synthetic biology for sustainable manufacturing.

Spatial analysis of the potential crops for the production of biofuels in Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carballo, Stella; Marco, Noelia Flores; Anschau, Alicia [Centro de Investigaciones de Recursos Naturales (CIRN/INTA), Buenos Aires (Argentina). Inst. de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Inst. de Clima y Agua], E-mail: scarballo@cnia.inta.gov.ar; Hilbert, Jorge [Instiuto de Ingenieria Rural (CIA/INTA), Buenos Aires (Argentina)], E-mail: hilbert@cnia.inta.gov.ar

2008-07-01

The increase in biofuels production has been rising in the last ten years at a high rate. Argentina as one of the main crop producers in the world has a great potential to contribute with high volumes of biofuels. At present time common crops are used for large scale production but new alternatives are under study in different regions of the country. The increase in pressure for expansion also raises concerns on the impact on ecology issues such as soil erosion and biodiversity. Looking at a national level INTA has been working on the construction of a GIS were different crops were placed. The purpose is to identify critical information, to raise a methodology to obtain accurate and up-to date thematic maps using satellite images, to feed a GIS and to integrate the different layers to estimate biomass potentials for energy supply in our country, assessing potential land availability for biofuel crops or plantations to be made with ecological, economic and social sustainability bases. (author)

Conventional and advanced liquid biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurišić-Mladenović Nataša L.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Energy security and independence, increase and fluctuation of the oil price, fossil fuel resources depletion and global climate change are some of the greatest challanges facing societies today and in incoming decades. Sustainable economic and industrial growth of every country and the world in general requires safe and renewable resources of energy. It has been expected that re-arrangement of economies towards biofuels would mitigate at least partially problems arised from fossil fuel consumption and create more sustainable development. Of the renewable energy sources, bioenergy draws major and particular development endeavors, primarily due to the extensive availability of biomass, already-existence of biomass production technologies and infrastructure, and biomass being the sole feedstock for liquid fuels. The evolution of biofuels is classified into four generations (from 1st to 4th in accordance to the feedstock origin; if the technologies of feedstock processing are taken into account, than there are two classes of biofuels - conventional and advanced. The conventional biofuels, also known as the 1st generation biofuels, are those produced currently in large quantities using well known, commercially-practiced technologies. The major feedstocks for these biofuels are cereals or oleaginous plants, used also in the food or feed production. Thus, viability of the 1st generation biofuels is questionable due to the conflict with food supply and high feedstocks’ cost. This limitation favoured the search for non-edible biomass for the production of the advanced biofuels. In a general and comparative way, this paper discusses about various definitions of biomass, classification of biofuels, and brief overview of the biomass conversion routes to liquid biofuels depending on the main constituents of the biomass. Liquid biofuels covered by this paper are those compatible with existing infrastructure for gasoline and diesel and ready to be used in

Prospects of using algae in biofuel production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. I. Maltsev

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The development of industry, agriculture and the transport sector is associated with the use of various energy sources. Renewable energy sources, including biofuels, are highly promising in this respect. As shown by a number of scientific studies, a promising source for biofuel production that would meet modern requirements may be algal biomass. After activation of the third generation biodiesel production it was assumed that the algae would become the most advantageous source, because it is not only able to accumulate significant amounts of lipids, but could reduce the of agricultural land involved in biofuel production and improve air quality by sequestering CO2. However, a major problem is presented by the cost of algae biomass cultivation and its processing compared to the production of biodiesel from agricultural crops. In this regard, there are several directions of increasing the efficiency of biodiesel production from algae biomass. The first direction is to increase lipid content in algae cells by means of genetic engineering. The second direction is connected with the stimulation of increased accumulation of lipids by stressing algae. The third direction involves the search for new, promising strains of algae that will be characterized by faster biomass accumulation rate, higher content of TAG and the optimal proportions of accumulated saturated and unsaturated fatty acids compared to the already known strains. Recently, a new approach in the search for biotechnologically valuable strains of algae has been formed on the basis of predictions of capacity for sufficient accumulation of lipids by clarifying the evolutionary relationships within the major taxonomic groups of algae. The outcome of these studies is the rapid cost reduction of biofuel production based on algae biomass. All this emphasizes the priority of any research aimed at both improving the process of production of biofuels from algae, and the search for new sources for

Recommendations for a sustainable development of biofuels in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douaud, A.; Gruson, J.F.

2006-01-01

The biofuels are presented as a solution to the greenhouse gases and the petroleum consumption decrease. The development of the biofuels needs an active research of the production, transformation and use costs improvement. It will be necessary to prepare the market of the biofuels to the globalization. Some recommendations are also provided in the domains of the vegetal oil ester, the ethanol for the diesel and for the development of simulation tools to evaluate the costs. (A.L.B.)

The Renewable Energy Directive: biofuels, biomass and sustainable development criteria. How to check in France the compliance of marketed biofuels with sustainability criteria defined by the Directive on renewable energies? (Phase 1: biofuels and bio-liquids)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-06-01

After having recalled and commented the main principles of the European directive which sets objectives in terms of renewable energy promotion and consumption, this report analyses the quantitative and qualitative sustainability criteria which must be applied particularly to biofuels and bio-liquids produced from agricultural activities, and their application perspectives. It gives recommendations to assess these criteria. It also comments the modalities used to control the compliance of biofuels with these criteria

Biofuels from food processing wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhanying; O'Hara, Ian M; Mundree, Sagadevan; Gao, Baoyu; Ball, Andrew S; Zhu, Nanwen; Bai, Zhihui; Jin, Bo

2016-04-01

Food processing industry generates substantial high organic wastes along with high energy uses. The recovery of food processing wastes as renewable energy sources represents a sustainable option for the substitution of fossil energy, contributing to the transition of food sector towards a low-carbon economy. This article reviews the latest research progress on biofuel production using food processing wastes. While extensive work on laboratory and pilot-scale biosystems for energy production has been reported, this work presents a review of advances in metabolic pathways, key technical issues and bioengineering outcomes in biofuel production from food processing wastes. Research challenges and further prospects associated with the knowledge advances and technology development of biofuel production are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Application of US and EU Sustainability Criteria to Analysis of Biofuels-Induced Land Use Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krissana Treesilvattanakul

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This research asks and answers a question that had been avoided by all the previous research on biofuels impacts. That is, to what extent are the US and EU biofuels sustainability criteria binding in the sense that if applied, sufficient land would be available to implement the programs? In answering the question, we simulate the global land by agro-ecological zone that would be needed to supply feedstocks for the US and EU biofuel programs using an advanced version of the GTAP-BIO model. Then we estimate the global area of land that would not be available due to sustainability criteria restrictions, again by agro-ecological zone. Finally, we determine the extent to which the US and EU sustainability criteria are binding and find that they are not binding at the biofuel levels currently targeted by the US and EU. In addition, we evaluate the same question, but this time freezing global food consumption, and get the same answer—plenty of land is available to meet the targets and supply food demands.

Recent Advances and Challenges towards Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kourmentza, Constantina; Plácido, Jersson; Venetsaneas, Nikolaos

2017-01-01

Sustainable biofuels, biomaterials, and fine chemicals production is a critical matter that research teams around the globe are focusing on nowadays. Polyhydroxyalkanoates represent one of the biomaterials of the future due to their physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility...

Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems (CABS) Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kutchan, Toni M. [Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO (United States)

2015-12-02

One of the great challenges facing current and future generations is how to meet growing energy demands in an environmentally sustainable manner. Renewable energy sources, including wind, geothermal, solar, hydroelectric, and biofuel energy systems, are rapidly being developed as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Biofuels are particularly attractive to the U.S., given its vast agricultural resources. The first generation of biofuel systems was based on fermentation of sugars to produce ethanol, typically from food crops. Subsequent generations of biofuel systems, including those included in the CABS project, will build upon the experiences learned from those early research results and will have improved production efficiencies, reduced environmental impacts and decreased reliance on food crops. Thermodynamic models predict that the next generations of biofuel systems will yield three- to five-fold more recoverable energy products. To address the technological challenges necessary to develop enhanced biofuel systems, greater understanding of the non-equilibrium processes involved in solar energy conversion and the channeling of reduced carbon into biofuel products must be developed. The objective of the proposed Center for Advanced Biofuel Systems (CABS) was to increase the thermodynamic and kinetic efficiency of select plant- and algal-based fuel production systems using rational metabolic engineering approaches grounded in modern systems biology. The overall strategy was to increase the efficiency of solar energy conversion into oils and other specialty biofuel components by channeling metabolic flux toward products using advanced catalysts and sensible design:1) employing novel protein catalysts that increase the thermodynamic and kinetic efficiencies of photosynthesis and oil biosynthesis; 2) engineering metabolic networks to enhance acetyl-CoA production and its channeling towards lipid synthesis; and 3) engineering new metabolic networks for the

The rationality of biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horta Nogueira, Luiz Augusto; Moreira, Jose Roberto; Schuchardt, Ulf; Goldemberg, Jose

2013-01-01

In an editorial of a recent issue of a known academic journal, Prof. Hartmut Michel affirmed that “…the production of biofuels constitutes an extremely inefficient land use… We should not grow plants for biofuel production.”, after comparing the area occupied with plants for bioenergy production with the one required for photovoltaic cells to supply the same amount of energy for transportation. This assertion is not correct for all situations and this comparison deserves a more careful analysis, evaluating the actual and prospective technological scenarios and other relevant aspects, such as capacity requirements, energy consumed during the life cycle of energy systems and the associated impacts. In this communication this comparison is revaluated, presenting a different perspective, more favorable for the bioenergy routes. - Highlights: • Energy systems and life cycle impacts are compared under equal conditions. • The comparison is done between biofuels and photovoltaic/battery in mobility uses. • Biofuels are a valuable option when produced sustainably by efficient routes

Sustainable Biofuel Project: Emergy Analysis of South Florida Energy Crops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amponsah, Nana Yaw [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Izursa, Jose-Luis [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Hanlon, Edward A. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Soil and Water Sciences Dept.; Capece, John C. [Intelligentsia International, Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States)

2012-11-15

This study evaluates the sustainability of various farming systems, namely (1) sugarcane on organic and mineral soils and (2) energycane and sweet sorghum on mineral soils. The primary objective of the study is to compare the relative sustainability matrices of these energy crops and their respective farming systems. These matrices should guide decision and policy makers to determine the overall sustainability of an intended or proposed bioethanol project related to any of these studied crops. Several different methods of energy analysis have been proposed to assess the feasibility or sustainability of projects exploiting natural resources (such as (Life Cycle Analysis, Energy Analysis, Exergy Analysis, Cost Benefit Analysis, Ecological Footprint, etc.). This study primarily focused on the concept of Emergy Analysis, a quantitative analytical technique for determining the values of nonmonied and monied resources, services and commodities in common units of the solar energy it took to make them. With this Emergy Analysis study, the Hendry County Sustainable Biofuels Center intends to provide useful perspective for different stakeholder groups to (1) assess and compare the sustainability levels of above named crops cultivation on mineral soils and organic soils for ethanol production and (2) identify processes within the cultivation that could be targeted for improvements. The results provide as much insight into the assumptions inherent in the investigated approaches as they do into the farming systems in this study.

Microalgae for biofuels production and environmental applications ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This review presents the current classification of biofuels, with special focus on microalgae and their applicability for the production of biodiesel. The paper considered issues related with the processing and culturing of microalgae, for not only those that are involved in biofuel production, but as well as the possibility of their ...

Carbon and environmental footprinting of global biofuel production

OpenAIRE

Hammond, Geoff P.; Seth, S.M.

2013-01-01

The carbon and environmental footprints associated with the global production of biofuels have been computed from a baseline of 2007-2009 out until 2019. Estimates of future global biofuel production were adopted from OECD-FAO and related projections. In order to determine the footprints associated with these (essentially 'first generation') biofuel resources, the overall environmental footprint was disaggregated into bioproductive land, built land, carbon, embodied energy, materials and wast...

Spatio-Temporal Impacts of Biofuel Production and Climate Variability on Water Quantity and Quality in Upper Mississippi River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debjani Deb

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Impact of climate change on the water resources of the United States exposes the vulnerability of feedstock-specific mandated fuel targets to extreme weather conditions that could become more frequent and intensify in the future. Consequently, a sustainable biofuel policy should consider: (a how climate change would alter both water supply and demand; and (b in turn, how related changes in water availability will impact the production of biofuel crops; and (c the environmental implications of large scale biofuel productions. Understanding the role of biofuels in the water cycle is the key to understanding many of the environmental impacts of biofuels. Therefore, the focus of this study is to model the rarely explored interactions between land use, climate change, water resources and the environment in future biofuel production systems. Results from this study will help explore the impacts of the US biofuel policy and climate change on water and agricultural resources. We used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT to analyze the water quantity and quality consequences of land use and land management related changes in cropping conditions (e.g., more use of marginal lands, greater residue harvest, increased yields, plus management practices due to biofuel crops to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard target on water quality and quantity.

Toward the lowest energy consumption and emission in biofuel production: combination of ideal reactors and robust hosts.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ke; Lv, Bo; Huo, Yi-Xin; Li, Chun

2018-04-01

Rising feedstock costs, low crude oil prices, and other macroeconomic factors have threatened biofuel fermentation industries. Energy-efficient reactors, which provide controllable and stable biological environment, are important for the large-scale production of renewable and sustainable biofuels, and their optimization focus on the reduction of energy consumption and waste gas emission. The bioreactors could either be aerobic or anaerobic, and photobioreactors were developed for the culture of algae or microalgae. Due to the cost of producing large-volume bioreactors, various modeling strategies were developed for bioreactor design. The achievement of ideal biofuel reactor relies on not only the breakthrough of reactor design, but also the creation of super microbial factories with highest productivity and metabolic pathway flux. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of environmental stresses for enhanced microalgal biofuel production-an overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan eCheng

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Microalgal biofuels are currently considered to be the most promising alternative to future renewable energy source. Microalgae have great potential to produce various biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol, biomethane, and biohydrogen. Cultivation of biofuel-producing microalgae demands favorable environmental conditions, such as suitable light, temperature, nutrients, salinity, and pH. However, these conditions are not always compatible with the conditions beneficial to biofuel production, because biofuel-related compounds (such as lipids and carbohydrates tend to accumulate under environmental-stress conditions of light, temperature, nutrient, and salt. This paper presents a brief overview of the effects of environmental conditions on production of microalgal biomass and biofuel, with specific emphasis on how to utilize environmental stresses to improve biofuel productivity. The potential avenues of reaping the benefits of enhanced biofuel production by environmental stresses while maintaining high yields of biomass production have been discussed.

Biofuels for sustainable transportation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neufeld, S.

2000-05-23

Biomass is an attractive energy source, and transportation fuels made from biomass offer a number of benefits. Developing the technology to produce and use biofuels will create transportation fuel options that can positively impact the national energy security, the economy, and the environment. Biofuels include ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, biocrude, and methane.

Positive and negative impacts of agricultural production of liquid biofuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijnders, L.; Hester, R.E.; Harrison, R.M.

2012-01-01

Agricultural production of liquid biofuels can have positive effects. It can decrease dependence on fossil fuels and increase farmers’ incomes. Agricultural production of mixed perennial biofuel crops may increase pollinator and avian richness. Most types of agricultural crop-based liquid biofuel

Biofuel potential production from the Orbetello lagoon macroalgae: A comparison with sunflower feedstock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bastianoni, Simone; Coppola, Fazio; Tiezzi, Enzo [Department of Chemical and Biosystems Sciences, Siena University, via della Diana, 2A, 53100 Siena (Italy); Colacevich, Andrea; Borghini, Francesca; Focardi, Silvano [Department of Environmental Sciences, Siena University, via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena (Italy)

2008-07-15

The diversification of different types and sources of biofuels has become an important energy issue in recent times. The aim of this work is to evaluate the use of two kinds of renewable feedstocks in order to produce biodiesel. We have analyzed the potential production of oil from two species of macroalgae considered as waste coming out from a lagoon system involved in eutrophication and from sunflower seeds. We have tested oil extraction yields of both feedstock. Furthermore, a comparison has been carried out based on the emergy approach, in order to evaluate the sustainability and environmental performance of both processes. The results show that, under present conditions, considering oil extraction yields, the production of oil from sunflower seeds is feasible, because of the lower value of transformity of the final product with respect to macroalgae. On the other hand, the results demonstrate that with improvements of oil extraction methodology, macroalgae could be considered a good residual biomass usable for biofuel production. (author)

Economic and social implications of biofuel use and production in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, K.

2005-01-01

The potential role of biofuels in meeting Canadian commitments to greenhouse gas emissions was discussed. The characteristics of various biofuels were presented, including ethanol, methanol, biodiesel and biogas. Benefits of biofuels included a reduction in air contaminants as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions. Federal and provincial programs are currently in place to encourage production and use of biofuels. The Federal Ethanol Expansion Plan was outlined with reference to its target to increase ethanol production from 238 m litres to 1400 m litres by 2010. The main instruments of the program include excision of the gasoline tax exemption, ethanol expansion and the fact that ethanol can operate a polyfuels vehicle fleet. Provincial policies on ethanol were outlined, driven by characteristics of provincial economies. Provincial tax exemptions for ethanol were provided and an overview of the global ethanol market was presented. A map of existing and projected ethanol projects in Canada was presented, along with a forecast of Canadian ethanol production capacity. A time-line of Nebraska's ethanol production from the years 1985 to 2004 was provided. Economic drivers for ethanol include additional markets for products of agricultural, marine and forestry industries; the enhancement and diversification of rural and regional economies; employment; and energy security. Challenges to growth in biofuel production include technological knowledge and a lack of public awareness concerning the benefits of biofuel. The production and use of biofuels may increase environmental amenities but decrease economic growth. Issues concerning the economics of biofuel research were reviewed. The demand for biofuels has grown slowly in Canada, but has been promoted or mandated federally and in several provinces. The costs of biofuel production were reviewed, with a chart presenting ethanol production costs by plant size. Barriers to trade include the complexity of provincial tax

Cyanobacterial metabolic engineering for biofuel and chemical production.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Neal J; Rabinovitch-Deere, Christine A; Carroll, Austin L; Nozzi, Nicole E; Case, Anna E; Atsumi, Shota

2016-12-01

Rising levels of atmospheric CO 2 are contributing to the global greenhouse effect. Large scale use of atmospheric CO 2 may be a sustainable and renewable means of chemical and liquid fuel production to mitigate global climate change. Photosynthetic organisms are an ideal platform for efficient, natural CO 2 conversion to a broad range of chemicals. Cyanobacteria are especially attractive for these purposes, due to their genetic malleability and relatively fast growth rate. Recent years have yielded a range of work in the metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria and have led to greater knowledge of the host metabolism. Understanding of endogenous and heterologous carbon regulation mechanisms leads to the expansion of productive capacity and chemical variety. This review discusses the recent progress in metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for biofuel and bulk chemical production since 2014. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An outlook for sustainable forest bioenergy production in the Lake States

Science.gov (United States)

Dennis R. Becker; Kenneth Skog; Allison Hellman; Kathleen E. Halvorsen; Terry Mace

2009-01-01

The Lake States region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan offers significant potential for bioenergy production. We examine the sustainability of regional forest biomass use in the context of existing thermal heating, electricity, and biofuels production, projected resource needs over the next decade including existing forest product market demand, and impacts on...

Biofuel technology handbook. 2. ed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rutz, Dominik; Janssen, Rainer

2008-01-15

This comprehensive handbook was created in order to promote the production and use of biofuels and to inform politicians, decision makers, biofuel traders and all other relevant stakeholders about the state-of-the-art of biofuels and relevant technologies. The large variety of feedstock types and different conversion technologies are described. Explanations about the most promising bio fuels provide a basis to discuss about the manifold issues of biofuels. The impartial information in this handbook further contributes to diminish existing barriers for the broad use of biofuels. Emphasis of this handbook is on first generation biofuels: bio ethanol, Biodiesel, pure plant oil, and bio methane. It also includes second generation biofuels such as BTL-fuels and bio ethanol from lingo-cellulose as well as bio hydrogen. The whole life cycle of bio fuels is assessed under technical, economical, ecological, and social aspect. Characteristics and applications of bio fuels for transport purposes are demonstrated and evaluated. This is completed by an assessment about the most recent studies on biofuel energy balances. This handbook describes the current discussion about green house gas (GHG) balances and sustainability aspects. GHG calculation methods are presented and potential impacts of biofuel production characterized: deforestation of rainforests and wetlands, loss of biodiversity, water pollution, human health, child labour, and labour conditions.

White paper report from working groups attending the international conference on research and educational opportunities in bio-fuel crop production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morgan, K.T. [University of Florida, Soil and Water Science Dep., Southwest Florida Res. and Educ. Center, Immokalee, FL 34142 (United States); Gilbert, R.A. [University of Florida, Agronomy Dep., Everglades Res. and Educ. Center, Belle Glade, FL 33430 (United States); Helsel, Z.A. [Rutgers University, Plant Biology and Pathology Dep., New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520 (United States); Buacum, L. [University of Florida, Hendry County Extension, LaBelle, FL 33935 (United States); Leon, R.; Perret, J. [EARTH University, Apto. 4442-1000, San Jose (Costa Rica)

2010-12-15

A conference on current research and educational programs in production of crops for bio-fuel was sponsored and organized by the EARTH University and the University of Florida in November, 2008. The meeting addressed current research on crops for bio-fuel production with discussions of research alternatives for future crop production systems, land use issues, ethics of food vs. fuel production, and carbon sequestration in environmentally sensitive tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Americas. The need and potential for development of graduate and undergraduate curricula and inter-institutional cooperation among educational institutions in the region were also discussed. Delegations from Belize, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Panama, The Dominican Republic, and the United States including ministers of Agriculture and Energy attended this meeting. Over a two-day period, four working groups provided a framework to facilitate networking, motivate task oriented creative thinking, and maintain a timely accomplishment of assigned duties in the context of the conference themes. Participants in the conference were assigned to one of four working groups, each following given topics: Agronomy, Environment, Socio-Economics and Education/Extension. It was the consensus of representatives of industry, academic and regulatory community assembled in Costa Rica that significant research, education and socio-economic information is needed to make production of bio-fuel crops sustainable. Agronomic research should include better crop selection based on local conditions, improved production techniques, pest and disease management, and mechanical cultivation and harvesting. Another conclusion was that tailoring of production systems to local soil characteristics and use of bio-fuel by-products to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduction of environmental impact on water quantity and quality is critical to sustainability of bio-fuel crop production. (author)

The watershed-scale optimized and rearranged landscape design (WORLD) model and local biomass processing depots for sustainable biofuel production: Integrated life cycle assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eranki, Pragnya L.; Manowitz, David H.; Bals, Bryan D.; Izaurralde, Roberto C.; Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E.

2013-07-23

An array of feedstock is being evaluated as potential raw material for cellulosic biofuel production. Thorough assessments are required in regional landscape settings before these feedstocks can be cultivated and sustainable management practices can be implemented. On the processing side, a potential solution to the logistical challenges of large biorefi neries is provided by a network of distributed processing facilities called local biomass processing depots. A large-scale cellulosic ethanol industry is likely to emerge soon in the United States. We have the opportunity to influence the sustainability of this emerging industry. The watershed-scale optimized and rearranged landscape design (WORLD) model estimates land allocations for different cellulosic feedstocks at biorefinery scale without displacing current animal nutrition requirements. This model also incorporates a network of the aforementioned depots. An integrated life cycle assessment is then conducted over the unified system of optimized feedstock production, processing, and associated transport operations to evaluate net energy yields (NEYs) and environmental impacts.

Systems-Level Synthetic Biology for Advanced Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruffing, Anne [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jensen, Travis J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Strickland, Lucas Marshall [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Meserole, Stephen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Tallant, David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-03-01

Cyanobacteria have been shown to be capable of producing a variety of advanced biofuels; however, product yields remain well below those necessary for large scale production. New genetic tools and high throughput metabolic engineering techniques are needed to optimize cyanobacterial metabolisms for enhanced biofuel production. Towards this goal, this project advances the development of a multiple promoter replacement technique for systems-level optimization of gene expression in a model cyanobacterial host: Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. To realize this multiple-target approach, key capabilities were developed, including a high throughput detection method for advanced biofuels, enhanced transformation efficiency, and genetic tools for Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Moreover, several additional obstacles were identified for realization of this multiple promoter replacement technique. The techniques and tools developed in this project will help to enable future efforts in the advancement of cyanobacterial biofuels.

Livelihood implications of biofuel crop production: Implications for governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hunsberger, Carol; Bolwig, Simon; Corbera, Esteve

2014-01-01

While much attention has focused on the climate change mitigation potential of biofuels, research from the social sciences increasingly highlights the social and livelihood impacts of their expanded production. Policy and governance measures aimed at improving the social effects of biofuels have...... by their cultivation in the global South – income, food security, access to land-based resources, and social assets – revealing that distributional effects are crucial to evaluating the outcomes of biofuel production across these dimensions. Second, we ask how well selected biofuel governance mechanisms address...

Microalgae biofuel potentials (review).

Science.gov (United States)

Ghasemi, Y; Rasoul-Amini, S; Naseri, A T; Montazeri-Najafabady, N; Mobasher, M A; Dabbagh, F

2012-01-01

With the decrease of fossil based fuels and the environmental impact of them over the planet, it seems necessary to seek the sustainable sources of clean energy. Biofuels, is becoming a worldwide leader in the development of renewable energy resources. It is worthwhile to say that algal biofuel production is thought to help stabilize the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and decrease global warming impacts. Also, among algal fuels' attractive characteristics, algal biodiesel is non toxic, with no sulfur, highly biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. Algae are capable of producing in excess of 30 times more oil per acre than corn and soybean crops. Currently, algal biofuel production has not been commercialized due to high costs associated with production, harvesting and oil extraction but the technology is progressing. Extensive research was conducted to determine the utilization of microalgae as an energy source and make algae oil production commercially viable.

Integrated biofuels process synthesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Torres-Ortega, Carlo Edgar; Rong, Ben-Guang

2017-01-01

Second and third generation bioethanol and biodiesel are more environmentally friendly fuels than gasoline and petrodiesel, andmore sustainable than first generation biofuels. However, their production processes are more complex and more expensive. In this chapter, we describe a two-stage synthesis......% used for bioethanol process), and steam and electricity from combustion (54%used as electricity) in the bioethanol and biodiesel processes. In the second stage, we saved about 5% in equipment costs and 12% in utility costs for bioethanol separation. This dual synthesis methodology, consisting of a top......-level screening task followed by a down-level intensification task, proved to be an efficient methodology for integrated biofuel process synthesis. The case study illustrates and provides important insights into the optimal synthesis and intensification of biofuel production processes with the proposed synthesis...

Assessment of Environmental Stresses for Enhanced Microalgal Biofuel Production – An Overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Dan; He, Qingfang

2014-01-01

Microalgal biofuels are currently considered to be the most promising alternative to future renewable energy source. Microalgae have great potential to produce various biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol, biomethane, and biohydrogen. Cultivation of biofuel-producing microalgae demands favorable environmental conditions, such as suitable light, temperature, nutrients, salinity, and pH. However, these conditions are not always compatible with the conditions beneficial to biofuel production, because biofuel-related compounds (such as lipids and carbohydrates) tend to accumulate under environmental-stress conditions of light, temperature, nutrient, and salt. This paper presents a brief overview of the effects of environmental conditions on production of microalgal biomass and biofuel, with specific emphasis on how to utilize environmental stresses to improve biofuel productivity. The potential avenues of reaping the benefits of enhanced biofuel production by environmental stresses while maintaining high yields of biomass production have been discussed.

Assessment of Environmental Stresses for Enhanced Microalgal Biofuel Production – An Overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Dan, E-mail: dxcheng@ualr.edu; He, Qingfang, E-mail: dxcheng@ualr.edu [Department of Applied Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR (United States)

2014-07-07

Microalgal biofuels are currently considered to be the most promising alternative to future renewable energy source. Microalgae have great potential to produce various biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol, biomethane, and biohydrogen. Cultivation of biofuel-producing microalgae demands favorable environmental conditions, such as suitable light, temperature, nutrients, salinity, and pH. However, these conditions are not always compatible with the conditions beneficial to biofuel production, because biofuel-related compounds (such as lipids and carbohydrates) tend to accumulate under environmental-stress conditions of light, temperature, nutrient, and salt. This paper presents a brief overview of the effects of environmental conditions on production of microalgal biomass and biofuel, with specific emphasis on how to utilize environmental stresses to improve biofuel productivity. The potential avenues of reaping the benefits of enhanced biofuel production by environmental stresses while maintaining high yields of biomass production have been discussed.

A model for improving microbial biofuel production using a synthetic feedback loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunlop, Mary; Keasling, Jay; Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila

2011-07-14

Cells use feedback to implement a diverse range of regulatory functions. Building synthetic feedback control systems may yield insight into the roles that feedback can play in regulation since it can be introduced independently of native regulation, and alternative control architectures can be compared. We propose a model for microbial biofuel production where a synthetic control system is used to increase cell viability and biofuel yields. Although microbes can be engineered to produce biofuels, the fuels are often toxic to cell growth, creating a negative feedback loop that limits biofuel production. These toxic effects may be mitigated by expressing efflux pumps that export biofuel from the cell. We developed a model for cell growth and biofuel production and used it to compare several genetic control strategies for their ability to improve biofuel yields. We show that controlling efflux pump expression directly with a biofuel-responsive promoter is a straight forward way of improving biofuel production. In addition, a feed forward loop controller is shown to be versatile at dealing with uncertainty in biofuel production rates.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal wastewater cultivated algae: Increasing overall sustainability and value streams of algal biofuels

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Griffin William

The forefront of the 21st century presents ongoing challenges in economics, energy, and environmental remediation, directly correlating with priorities for U.S. national security. Displacing petroleum-derived fuels with clean, affordable renewable fuels represents a solution to increase energy independence while stimulating economic growth and reducing carbon-based emissions. The U.S. government embodied this goal by passing the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in 2007, mandating 36 billion gallons of annual biofuel production by 2022. Algae possess potential to support EISA goals and have been studied for the past 30-50 years as an energy source due to its fast growth rates, noncompetitive nature to food markets, and ability to grow using nutrient waste streams. Algae biofuels have been identified by the National Research Council to have significant sustainability concerns involving water, nutrient, and land use. Utilizing municipal wastewater to cultivate algae provides both water and nutrients needed for growth, partially alleviating these concerns. This dissertation demonstrates a pathway for algae biofuels which increases both sustainability and production of high-value products. Algae are cultivated in pilot-scale open ponds located at the Lawrence Wastewater Treatment Plant (Lawrence, KS) using solely effluent from the secondary clarifier, prior to disinfection and discharge, as both water and nutrient sources. Open ponds were self-inoculated by wastewater effluent and produced a mixed-species culture of various microalgae and macroalgae. Algae cultivation provided further wastewater treatment, removing both nitrogen and phosphorus, which have devastating pollution effects when discharged to natural watersheds, especially in large draining watersheds like the Gulf Coast. Algae demonstrated significant removal of other trace metals such as iron, manganese, barium, aluminum, and zinc. Calcium did not achieve high removal rate but did present a

Innovation subject to sustainability: the European policy on biofuels and its effects on innovation in the Brazilian bioethanol industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Pacini

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Biofuels are a suitable complement for fossil energy in the transport sector and bioethanol is the main biofuel traded worldwide. Based on the assumption that innovation can be influenced by regulation, the Brazilian bioethanol industry is facing new requirements from external actors while reaching for international markets. Until 2010, national environmental laws were the main sustainability instrument that the biofuel industry faced. With the introduction of sustainability criteria for biofuels in the European Fuels Quality Directive (FQD and Renewable Energy Directive (RED of 2009, bioethanol producers have been pressured to innovate in respect of the requirements of future markets. Here, the aim is to analyse the case of Brazil, given the potential exports of sugarcane-based ethanol from this country to the EU. Brazil provides an interesting overview of how a bioethanol industry innovated while facing sustainability requirements in the past. A comparison between the European requirements and the industry´s status quo is then explored. The EU criteria are likely to have effects on the Brazilian bioethanol industry and incremental improvements in sustainability levels might take place based on the sustainability requirements. In addition, the industry could follow two other paths, namely risk diversification by engaging in multi-output models; and market leakage towards less-regulated markets. At the same time, an environmental overregulation of the biofuel market may make it more difficult for emerging biofuel industries in other countries, especially in Africa, by creating a barrier rather than contributing to its expansion. The results of this analysis show the main challenges to be addressed and the potential positive and negative impacts of the European Union biofuels policy on the Brazilian bioethanol industry.

Cyanobacteria and Microalgae: Thermoeconomic Considerations in Biofuel Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umberto Lucia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In thermodynamics, the useful work in any process can be evaluated by using the exergy quantity. The analyses of irreversibility are fundamental in the engineering design and in the productive processes’ development in order to obtain the economic growth. Recently, the use has been improved also in the thermodynamic analysis of the socio-economic context. Consequently, the exergy lost is linked to the energy cost required to maintain the productive processes themselves. The fundamental role of the fluxes and the interaction between systems and their environment is highlighted. The equivalent wasted primary resource value for the work-hour is proposed as an indicator to support the economic considerations on the biofuel production by using biomass and bacteria. The equivalent wasted primary resource value for the work-hour is proposed as an indicator to support the economic considerations of the biofuel production by using biomass and bacteria. Moreover, the technological considerations can be developed by using the exergy inefficiency. Consequently, bacteria use can be compared with other means of biofuel production, taking into account both the technologies and the economic considerations. Cyanobacteria results as the better organism for biofuel production.

Boundless Biofuels? Between Environmental Sustainability and Vulnerability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, A.P.J.

2007-01-01

Biofuels currently appear to be one of the major controversies in the agriculture/environment nexus, not unlike genetically modified organisms. While some countries (such as Brazil) have for quite some time supported successful large-scale programmes to improve the production and consumption of

Review of environmental issues in the context of biofuel sustainability frameworks

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Guariguata, MR

2011-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid growth of biofuel production and consumption, and the proliferation of policy decisions supporting this expansion, concerns about the biofuel sector’s environmental and social impacts are increasing. Consequently, a range of actors...

Biofuel Production in Ireland—An Approach to 2020 Targets with a Focus on Algal Biomass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fionnuala Murphy

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Under the Biofuels Obligation Scheme in Ireland, the biofuels penetration rate target for 2013 was set at 6% by volume from a previous 4% from 2010. In 2012 the fuel blend reached 3%, with approximately 70 million L of biodiesel and 56 million L of ethanol blended with diesel and gasoline, respectively. Up to and including April 2013, the current blend rate in Ireland for biodiesel was 2.3% and for bioethanol was 3.7% which equates to approximately 37.5 million L of biofuel for the first four months of 2013. The target of 10% by 2020 remains, which equates to approximately 420 million L yr−1. Achieving the biofuels target would require 345 ktoe by 2020 (14,400 TJ. Utilizing the indigenous biofuels in Ireland such as tallow, used cooking oil and oil seed rape leaves a shortfall of approximately 12,000 TJ or 350 million L (achieving only 17% of the 10% target that must be either be imported or met by other renewables. Other solutions seem to suggest that microalgae (for biodiesel and macroalgae (for bioethanol could meet this shortfall for indigenous Irish production. This paper aims to review the characteristics of algae for biofuel production based on oil yields, cultivation, harvesting, processing and finally in terms of the European Union (EU biofuels sustainability criteria, where, up to 2017, a 35% greenhouse gas (GHG emissions reduction is required compared to fossil fuels. From 2017 onwards, a 50% GHG reduction is required for existing installations and from 2018, a 60% reduction for new installations is required.

Biofuel alternatives to ethanol: pumping the microbial well

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortman, J.L.; Chhabra, Swapnil; Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila; Chou, Howard; Lee, Taek Soon; Steen, Eric; Keasling, Jay D.

2009-08-19

Engineered microorganisms are currently used for the production of food products, pharmaceuticals, ethanol fuel and more. Even so, the enormous potential of this technology has yet to be fully exploited. The need for sustainable sources of transportation fuels has generated a tremendous interest in technologies that enable biofuel production. Decades of work have produced a considerable knowledge-base for the physiology and pathway engineering of microbes, making microbial engineering an ideal strategy for producing biofuel. Although ethanol currently dominates the biofuel market, some of its inherent physical properties make it a less than ideal product. To highlight additional options, we review advances in microbial engineering for the production of other potential fuel molecules, using a variety of biosynthetic pathways.

Biofuel seeks endorsement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jongeneel, C.; Rentmeester, S.

2015-01-01

Biofuels such as ethanol from sugar cane and cellulose ‘waste’ are theoretically sustainable, as their combustion releases no more CO2 than is absorbed during production. Even so, they are also controversial, because they are believed to be grown at the expense of food crops, or because areas of

Microalgae: An alternative as sustainable source of biofuels?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaro, Helena M.; Macedo, Ângela C.; Malcata, F. Xavier

2012-01-01

microalgae for production of biofuels via synthesis of liquid endocellular metabolites (i.e. triglycerides) and gaseous extracellular ones (i.e. molecular hydrogen), and addresses technical and economic shortcomings and opportunities along the whole processing chain, at both microorganism and reactor levels. -- Highlights: ► Microalgal oil productivities are much higher than terrestrial plants. ► Metabolic engineering of microalgae permits sustained release of H 2 . ► Photosynthetic nature makes microalgae very economical alternative sources of biofuels. ► Technological bottlenecks on biocatalyst and bioreactor are reviewed.

Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels. An analysis of the arguments in the current debate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rathmann, Regis; Szklo, Alexandre; Schaeffer, Roberto [Energy Planning Program, Graduate School of Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Tecnologia, Bloco C, Sala 211, Cidade Universitaria, Ilha do Fundao, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-972 (Brazil)

2010-01-15

This article analyses the current state of the debate over competition for land use, by means of an index of the main arguments in favor and against the production of liquid biofuels and the impacts on food production. Based on this index, an analytic framework is constructed to establish the causal relations indicated by the existing studies on this competition. We find that the emergence of agro-energy has altered the land use dynamic, albeit not yet significantly, with a shift of areas traditionally used to grow foods over to crops to produce biofuels. This has been contributing to raise food prices in the short run. However, it is probable that this is not the only factor determining this trend, nor will it last over the long run. The challenge is to conciliate the production of biofuels with the production of foods in sustainable form. (author)

Recent developments on biofuels production from microalgae and macroalgae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar, Kanhaiya; Ghosh, Supratim; Angelidaki, Irini

2016-01-01

and infrastructure requirement. Hydrogen production by microalgae through biophotolysis seems interesting as it directly converts the solar energy into hydrogen. However, the process has not been scaled-up till today. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is more promising due to handling of wet biomass at moderate......Biofuels from algae are considered as promising alternatives of conventional fossil fuels, as they can eliminate most of the environmental problems. The present study focuses on all the possible avenues of biofuels production through biochemical and thermochemical conversion methods in one place......, bringing together both microalgae and macroalgae on the same platform. It provides a brief overview on the mechanism of different biofuel production from algae. Factors affecting the biofuel process and the associated challenges have been highlighted alongwith analysis of techno-economic study available...

Biofuel alternatives to ethanol: pumping the microbial well

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortman, J. L.; Chhabra, Swapnil; Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila; Chou, Howard; Lee, Taek Soon; Steen, Eric; Keasling, Jay D.

2009-12-02

Engineered microorganisms are currently used for the production of food products, pharmaceuticals, ethanol fuel and more. Even so, the enormous potential of this technology has yet to be fully exploited. The need for sustainable sources of transportation fuels has gener-ated a tremendous interest in technologies that enable biofuel production. Decades of work have produced a considerable knowledge-base for the physiology and pathway engineering of microbes, making microbial engineering an ideal strategy for producing biofuel. Although ethanol currently dominates the biofuel mar-ket, some of its inherent physical properties make it a less than ideal product. To highlight additional options, we review advances in microbial engineering for the production of other potential fuel molecules, using a variety of biosynthetic pathways.

Developing symbiotic consortia for lignocellulosic biofuel production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuroff, Trevor R.; Curtis, Wayne R. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2012-02-15

The search for petroleum alternatives has motivated intense research into biological breakdown of lignocellulose to produce liquid fuels such as ethanol. Degradation of lignocellulose for biofuel production is a difficult process which is limited by, among other factors, the recalcitrance of lignocellulose and biological toxicity of the products. Consolidated bioprocessing has been suggested as an efficient and economical method of producing low value products from lignocellulose; however, it is not clear whether this would be accomplished more efficiently with a single organism or community of organisms. This review highlights examples of mixtures of microbes in the context of conceptual models for developing symbiotic consortia for biofuel production from lignocellulose. Engineering a symbiosis within consortia is a putative means of improving both process efficiency and stability relative to monoculture. Because microbes often interact and exist attached to surfaces, quorum sensing and biofilm formation are also discussed in terms of consortia development and stability. An engineered, symbiotic culture of multiple organisms may be a means of assembling a novel combination of metabolic capabilities that can efficiently produce biofuel from lignocellulose. (orig.)

Current and future sustainable biofuels; Dagens och framtidens haallbara biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal [Lunds Univ., Lund (Sweden); Lundgren, Joakim [Luleaa Tekniska Univ., Luleaa (Sweden); Ahlgren, Serina [Sveriges Lantbruksuniv., Uppsala (Sweden); Nystroem, Ingrid [Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels, Goeteborg (Sweden); CIT Industriell Energi., Goeteborg (Sweden)

2013-09-01

This report has been prepared as a background paper for the state investigation 'Fossil Free Vehicle Traffic'. The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the current knowledge on production of biofuels and linkages to sustainability issues such as energy and land efficiency, GHG performance and costs. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development, and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report's analysis of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas performance and production costs is based on system analysis and a life-cycle perspective. The focus is on the production chain to the produced fuel (well-to-tank). Results are based on current research and commercial development of the respective chains. They are based primarily from standardized life cycle analysis and, in some production systems, also on industrial systems analysis. These two approaches have some differences in methodology, which are highlighted in the report. In the overview values and results have been compiled to make it possible to compare the results.

Current and future sustainable biofuels; Dagens och framtidens haallbara biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal [Lunds Univ., Lund (Sweden); Lundgren, Joakim [Luleaa Tekniska Univ., Luleaa (Sweden); Ahlgren, Serina [Sveriges Lantbruksuniv., Uppsala (Sweden); Nystroem, Ingrid [Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels, Goeteborg (Sweden); CIT Industriell Energi., Goeteborg (Sweden)

2013-09-01

This report has been prepared as a background paper for the state investigation 'Fossil Free Vehicle Traffic'. The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the current knowledge on production of biofuels and linkages to sustainability issues such as energy and land efficiency, GHG performance and costs. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development, and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report's analysis of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas performance and production costs is based on system analysis and a life-cycle perspective. The focus is on the production chain to the produced fuel (well-to-tank). Results are based on current research and commercial development of the respective chains. They are based primarily from standardized life cycle analysis and, in some production systems, also on industrial systems analysis. These two approaches have some differences in methodology, which are highlighted in the report. In the overview values and results have been compiled to make it possible to compare the results.

Innovative technological paradigm-based approach towards biofuel feedstock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Jiuping; Li, Meihui

2017-01-01

Highlights: • DAS was developed through an innovative approach towards literature mining and technological paradigm theory. • A novel concept of biofuel feedstock development paradigm (BFDP) is proposed. • The biofuel production diffusion velocity model gives predictions for the future. • Soft path appears to be the driving force for the new paradigm shift. • An integrated biofuel production feedstock system is expected to play a significant role in a low-carbon sustainable future. - Abstract: Biofuels produced from renewable energy biomass are playing a more significant role because of the environmental problems resulting from the use of fossil fuels. However, a major problem with biofuel production is that despite the range of feedstock that can be used, raw material availability varies considerably. By combining a series of theories and methods, the research objective of this study is to determine the current developments and the future trends in biofuel feedstock. By combining technological paradigm theory with literature mining, it was found that biofuel feedstock production development followed a three-stage trajectory, which was in accordance with the traditional technological paradigm – the S-curve. This new curve can be divided into BFDP (biofuel feedstock development paradigm) competition, BFDP diffusion, and BFDP shift. The biofuel production diffusion velocity model showed that there has been constant growth from 2000, with the growth rate reaching a peak in 2008, after which time it began to drop. Biofuel production worldwide is expected to remain unchanged until 2030 when a paradigm shift is expected. This study also illustrates the results of our innovative procedure – a combination of the data analysis system and the technological paradigm theory – for the present biofuel feedstock soft path that will lead to this paradigm shift, with integrated biofuel production feedstock systems expected to be a significant new trend.

Effects of Environmental Factors and Nutrient Availability on the Biochemical Composition of Algae for Biofuels Production: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ganti S. Murthy

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Due to significant lipid and carbohydrate production as well as other useful properties such as high production of useful biomolecular substrates (e.g., lipids and the ability to grow using non-potable water sources, algae are being explored as a potential high-yield feedstock for biofuels production. In both natural and engineered systems, algae can be exposed to a variety of environmental conditions that affect growth rate and cellular composition. With respect to the latter, the amount of carbon fixed in lipids and carbohydrates (e.g., starch is highly influenced by environmental factors and nutrient availability. Understanding synergistic interactions between multiple environmental variables and nutritional factors is required to develop sustainable high productivity bioalgae systems, which are essential for commercial biofuel production. This article reviews the effects of environmental factors (i.e., temperature, light and pH and nutrient availability (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace metals as well as cross-interactions on the biochemical composition of algae with a special focus on carbon fixation and partitioning of carbon from a biofuels perspective.

Meeting the Demand for Biofuels: Impact on Land Use and Carbon Mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khanna, Madhu; Jain, Atul; Onal, Hayri; Scheffran, Jurgen; Chen, Xiaoguang; Erickson, Matt; Huang, Haixiao; Kang, Seungmo.

2011-08-14

The purpose of this research was to develop an integrated, interdisciplinary framework to investigate the implications of large scale production of biofuels for land use, crop production, farm income and greenhouse gases. In particular, we examine the mix of feedstocks that would be viable for biofuel production and the spatial allocation of land required for producing these feedstocks at various gasoline and carbon emission prices as well as biofuel subsidy levels. The implication of interactions between energy policy that seeks energy independence from foreign oil and climate policy that seeks to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions for the optimal mix of biofuels and land use will also be investigated. This project contributes to the ELSI research goals of sustainable biofuel production while balancing competing demands for land and developing policy approaches needed to support biofuel production in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.

An Integrated Assessment of Location-Dependent Scaling for Microalgae Biofuel Production Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coleman, Andre M.; Abodeely, Jared; Skaggs, Richard; Moeglein, William AM; Newby, Deborah T.; Venteris, Erik R.; Wigmosta, Mark S.

2014-06-19

Successful development of a large-scale microalgae-based biofuels industry requires comprehensive analysis and understanding of the feedstock supply chain—from facility siting/design through processing/upgrading of the feedstock to a fuel product. The evolution from pilot-scale production facilities to energy-scale operations presents many multi-disciplinary challenges, including a sustainable supply of water and nutrients, operational and infrastructure logistics, and economic competitiveness with petroleum-based fuels. These challenges are addressed in part by applying the Integrated Assessment Framework (IAF)—an integrated multi-scale modeling, analysis, and data management suite—to address key issues in developing and operating an open-pond facility by analyzing how variability and uncertainty in space and time affect algal feedstock production rates, and determining the site-specific “optimum” facility scale to minimize capital and operational expenses. This approach explicitly and systematically assesses the interdependence of biofuel production potential, associated resource requirements, and production system design trade-offs. The IAF was applied to a set of sites previously identified as having the potential to cumulatively produce 5 billion-gallons/year in the southeastern U.S. and results indicate costs can be reduced by selecting the most effective processing technology pathway and scaling downstream processing capabilities to fit site-specific growing conditions, available resources, and algal strains.

Biofuels and Their Co-Products as Livestock Feed: Global Economic and Environmental Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Popp, József; Harangi-Rákos, Mónika; Gabnai, Zoltán; Balogh, Péter; Antal, Gabriella; Bai, Attila

2016-02-29

This review studies biofuel expansion in terms of competition between conventional and advanced biofuels based on bioenergy potential. Production of advanced biofuels is generally more expensive than current biofuels because products are not yet cost competitive. What is overlooked in the discussion about biofuel is the contribution the industry makes to the global animal feed supply and land use for cultivation of feedstocks. The global ethanol industry produces 44 million metric tonnes of high-quality feed, however, the co-products of biodiesel production have a moderate impact on the feed market contributing to just 8-9 million tonnes of protein meal output a year. By economically displacing traditional feed ingredients co-products from biofuel production are an important and valuable component of the biofuels sector and the global feed market. The return of co-products to the feed market has agricultural land use (and GHG emissions) implications as well. The use of co-products generated from grains and oilseeds can reduce net land use by 11% to 40%. The proportion of global cropland used for biofuels is currently some 2% (30-35 million hectares). By adding co-products substituted for grains and oilseeds the land required for cultivation of feedstocks declines to 1.5% of the global crop area.

The production-ecological sustainability of cassava, sugarcane and sweet sorghum cultivation for bioethanol in Mozambique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, de S.C.; Ven, van de G.W.J.; Ittersum, van M.K.; Giller, K.E.

2012-01-01

We present an approach for providing quantitative insight into the production-ecological sustainability of biofuel feedstock production systems. The approach is based on a simple crop-soil model and was used for assessing feedstock from current and improved production systems of cassava for

Water Resources Implications of Cellulosic Biofuel Production at a Regional Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher, S. F.; Schoenholtz, S. H.; Nettles, J. E.

2011-12-01

Recent increases in oil prices, a strong national interest in greater energy independence, and a concern for the role of fossil fuels in global climate change, have led to a dramatic expansion in use of alternative renewable energy sources in the U.S. The U.S. government has mandated production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, of which 16 billion gallons are required to be cellulosic biofuels. Production of cellulosic biomass offers a promising alternative to corn-based systems because large-scale production of corn-based ethanol often requires irrigation and is associated with increased erosion, excess sediment export, and enhanced leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus. Although cultivation of switchgrass using standard agricultural practices is one option being considered for production of cellulosic biomass, intercropping cellulosic biofuel crops within managed forests could provide feedstock without primary land use change or the water quality impacts associated with annual crops. Catchlight Energy LLC is examining the feasibility and sustainability of intercropping switchgrass in loblolly pine plantations in the southeastern U.S. Ongoing research is determining efficient operational techniques and information needed to evaluate effects of these practices on water resources in small watershed-scale (~25 ha) studies. Three sets of four to five sub-watersheds are fully instrumented and currently collecting calibration data in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. These watershed studies will provide detailed information to understand processes and guide management decisions. However, environmental implications of cellulosic systems need to be examined at a regional scale. We used the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a physically-based hydrologic model, to examine water quantity effects of various land use change scenarios ranging from switchgrass intercropping a small percentage of managed pine forest land to conversion of all managed

Land substitution effects of biofuel side products and implications on the land area requirement for EU 2020 biofuel targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozdemir, Enver Doruk; Haerdtlein, Marlies; Eltrop, Ludger

2009-01-01

The provision of biofuels today is based on energy crops rather than residual biomass, which results in the requirement of agricultural land area. The side products may serve as animal feed and thus prevent cultivation of other feedstock and the use of corresponding land area. These effects of biofuel provision have to be taken into account for a comprising assessment of land area requirement for biofuel provision. Between 18.5 and 21.1 Mio. hectares (ha) of land area is needed to meet the EU 2020 biofuel target depending on the biofuel portfolio when substitution effects are neglected. The utilization of the bioethanol side products distiller's dried grain and solubles (DDGS) and pressed beet slices may save up to 0.7 Mio. ha of maize cultivation area in the EU. The substitution effect due to the utilization of biodiesel side products (oil cakes of rape, palm and soy) as animal feed may account for up to 7.1 Mio. ha of soy cultivation area in Brazil. The results show that the substitution of land area due to use of side products might ease the pressures on land area requirement considerably and should therefore not be neglected in assessing the impacts of biofuel provision worldwide.

Valorization of agroindustrial solid residues and residues from biofuel production chains by thermochemical conversion: a review, citing Brazil as a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Virmond

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Besides high industrial development, Brazil is also an agribusiness country. Each year about 330 million metrics tons (Mg of biomass residues are generated, requiring tremendous effort to develop biomass systems in which production, conversion and utilization of bio-based products are carried out efficiently and under environmentally sustainable conditions. For the production of biofuels, organic chemicals and materials, it is envisaged to follow a biorefinery model which includes modern and proven green chemical technologies such as bioprocessing, pyrolysis, gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and other catalytic processes in order to make more complex molecules and materials on which a future sustainable society will be based. This paper presents promising options for valorization of Brazilian agroindustrial biomass sources and residues originating from the biofuel production chains as renewable energy sources and addresses the main aspects of the thermochemical technologies which have been applied.

Biofuels Sustainability Criteria. Relevant issues to the proposed Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. (COM(2008) 30 final). Consolidated study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Francis X.; Roman, Mikael (Stockholm Environment Institute, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)) (and others)

2008-06-15

The role envisioned for liquid biofuels for transport has come under increased scrutiny in the past year or two, due to the potential social and environmental impacts associated with scaling up biofuels production and use from its low level - currently representing about 1% of transport fuels globally. The proposed EU Directive setting a target of 10% biofuels in transport sector by 2020 has therefore raised a number of concerns. The concerns about sustainability are addressed within the proposed Directive through criteria related mainly to GHG emissions, but also to biodiversity and other environmental impacts. The use of first generation biofuels in temperate climates is land-intensive and inefficient in technical terms, whereas first generation biofuels in tropical climates and second generation biofuels in general - offer a much more effective use of land resources. The use of GHG reduction criteria can provide incentives for producers to rely on the most productive feedstocks when sourcing biofuels for the EU market, which will often mean import of biofuels. A threshold of 50% or more would tend to eliminate many of the first generation biofuels produced in temperate climates. Member States should be encouraged to link financial incentives to the GHG reduction capabilities. Moreover, such incentives could be better linked to development cooperation in the case of imports, so as to insure that Least Developed Countries (i.e. in Africa) can gain access to larger markets rather than only the major producers such as Brazil. The calculation of GHG emissions associated with biofuels is complicated by the addition of factors associated with land use change, since the GHG impacts of land use change are beset by uncertainty both in physical terms as well as in the attribution of particular changes to production of particular biofuels. A further complication is introduced when indirect land use changes are incorporated, since these occur through combinations of market

IEA Energy Technology Essentials: Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-01-15

The IEA Energy Technology Essentials series offers concise four-page updates on the different technologies for producing, transporting and using energy. Biofuel Production is the topic covered in this edition.

Biofuel greenhouse gas calculations under the European Renewable Energy Directive – A comparison of the BioGrace tool vs. the tool of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hennecke, Anna M.; Faist, Mireille; Reinhardt, Jürgen; Junquera, Victoria; Neeft, John; Fehrenbach, Horst

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We compare tools for biofuel CO 2 calculations under the Renewable Energy Directive. ► Results for the same biofuel differ up to 21% between tools. ► Hence a producer can enhance the CO 2 performance by 21% by using a different tool. ► Reasons: differences in background data and calculation of fertiliser N 2 O-emissions. ► Shows a regulatory gap: need for specification of method in current legislation. -- Abstract: The European Renewable Energy Directive (EU RED) requires biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 35% compared to fossil fuels in order to count towards mandatory biofuel quota or to be eligible for financial support schemes. This reduction target will rise to 50% in 2017. For biofuel producers this implies that they want or need to calculate their emissions. The purpose of this paper is to compare two calculation tools for economic operators that are on their way to the market: the “BioGrace tool” and the ”Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) GHG tool” for GHG calculations under the Renewable Energy Directive (both of which are freely available). Greenhouse gas emissions from four production pathways were calculated: ethanol from wheat, ethanol from sugarcane, biodiesel from rapeseed and biodiesel from palm oil. In addition, three land use change (LUC) scenarios were calculated: for expansion of the biofuel cultivation area to grassland and to forest (10–30% canopy cover) and for improvement of agricultural practices. Both tools follow the methodology of the European Renewable Energy Directive and exactly the same input data along the production chain was used. Despite this, the results were significantly different. GHG emissions of the pathway ethanol from wheat were 21% lower when calculated with the BioGrace tool than with the RSB GHG tool. Differences were most pronounced in the cultivation phase with 20% deviation between the tools for biodiesel from palm oil and 35% deviation for ethanol from

State of the art review of biofuels production from lignocellulose by thermophilic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yujia; Xin, Fengxue; Lu, Jiasheng; Dong, Weiliang; Zhang, Wenming; Zhang, Min; Wu, Hao; Ma, Jiangfeng; Jiang, Min

2017-12-01

Biofuels, including ethanol and butanol, are mainly produced by mesophilic solventogenic yeasts and Clostridium species. However, these microorganisms cannot directly utilize lignocellulosic materials, which are abundant, renewable and non-compete with human demand. More recently, thermophilic bacteria show great potential for biofuels production, which could efficiently degrade lignocellulose through the cost effective consolidated bioprocessing. Especially, it could avoid contamination in the whole process owing to its relatively high fermentation temperature. However, wild types thermophiles generally produce low levels of biofuels, hindering their large scale production. This review comprehensively summarizes the state of the art development of biofuels production by reported thermophilic microorganisms, and also concludes strategies to improve biofuels production including the metabolic pathways construction, co-culturing systems and biofuels tolerance. In addition, strategies to further improve butanol production are proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biofuel production potentials in Europe: sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures. Part II: Land use scenarios

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, G.; Prieler, S.; van Velthuizen, H.; Berndes, G.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Londo, H.M.; de Wit, M.P.

2009-01-01

Europe's agricultural land (including Ukraine) comprise of 164 million hectares of cultivated land and 76 million hectares of permanent pasture. A “food first” paradigm was applied in the estimations of land potentially available for the production of biofuel feedstocks, without putting at risk food

Comparative genomics of xylose-fermenting fungi for enhanced biofuel production

Science.gov (United States)

Dana J. Wolbach; Alan Kuo; Trey K. Sato; Katlyn M. Potts; Asaf A. Salamov; Kurt M. LaButti; Hui Sun; Alicia Clum; Jasmyn L. Pangilinan; Erika A. Lindquist; Susan Lucas; Alla Lapidus; Mingjie Jin; Christa Gunawan; Venkatesh Balan; Bruce E. Dale; Thomas W. Jeffries; Robert Zinkel; Kerrie W. Barry; Igor V. Grigoriev; Audrey P. Gasch

2011-01-01

Cellulosic biomass is an abundant and underused substrate for biofuel production. The inability of many microbes to metabolize the pentose sugars abundant within hemicellulose creates specific challenges for microbial biofuel production from cellulosic material. Although engineered strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use the pentose xylose, the fermentative...

Environmental assessment of mild bisulfite pretreatment of forest residues into fermentable sugars for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Nwaneshiudu, Ikechukwu C; Ganguly, Indroneil; Pierobon, Francesca; Bowers, Tait; Eastin, Ivan

2016-01-01

Sugar production via pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic feedstock, in this case softwood harvest residues, is a critical step in the biochemical conversion pathway towards drop-in biofuels. Mild bisulfite (MBS) pretreatment is an emerging option for the breakdown and subsequent processing of biomass towards fermentable sugars. An environmental assessment of this process is critical to discern its future sustainability in the ever-changing biofuels landscape. The subsequent cradle-to-gate assessment of a proposed sugar production facility analyzes sugar made from woody biomass using MBS pretreatment across all seven impact categories (functional unit 1 kg dry mass sugar), with a specific focus on potential global warming and eutrophication impacts. The study found that the eutrophication impact (0.000201 kg N equivalent) is less than the impacts from conventional beet and cane sugars, while the global warming impact (0.353 kg CO2 equivalent) falls within the range of conventional processes. This work discusses some of the environmental impacts of designing and operating a sugar production facility that uses MBS as a method of treating cellulosic forest residuals. The impacts of each unit process in the proposed facility are highlighted. A comparison to other sugar-making process is detailed and will inform the growing biofuels literature.

[Biofuels, food security and transgenic crops].

Science.gov (United States)

Acosta, Orlando; Chaparro-Giraldo, Alejandro

2009-01-01

Soaring global food prices are threatening to push more poor people back below the poverty line; this will probably become aggravated by the serious challenge that increasing population and climate changes are posing for food security. There is growing evidence that human activities involving fossil fuel consumption and land use are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and consequently changing the climate worldwide. The finite nature of fossil fuel reserves is causing concern about energy security and there is a growing interest in the use of renewable energy sources such as biofuels. There is growing concern regarding the fact that biofuels are currently produced from food crops, thereby leading to an undesirable competition for their use as food and feed. Nevertheless, biofuels can be produced from other feedstocks such as lingo-cellulose from perennial grasses, forestry and vegetable waste. Biofuel energy content should not be exceeded by that of the fossil fuel invested in its production to ensure that it is energetically sustainable; however, biofuels must also be economically competitive and environmentally acceptable. Climate change and biofuels are challenging FAO efforts aimed at eradicating hunger worldwide by the next decade. Given that current crops used in biofuel production have not been domesticated for this purpose, transgenic technology can offer an enormous contribution towards improving biofuel crops' environmental and economic performance. The present paper critically presents some relevant relationships between biofuels, food security and transgenic plant technology.

Layered double hydroxide catalyst for the conversion of crude vegetable oils to a sustainable biofuel

Science.gov (United States)

Mollaeian, Keyvan

Over the last two decades, the U.S. has developed the production of biodiesel, a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters, using chiefly vegetable oils as feedstocks. However, there is much concern about the availability of high-quality vegetable oils for longterm biodiesel production. Problems have also risen due to the production of glycerol, an unwanted byproduct, as well as the need for process wash water. Therefore, this study was initiated to produce not only fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) but also fatty acid glycerol carbonates (FAGCs) by replacing methanol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The process would have no unnecessary byproducts and would be a simplified process compared to traditional biodiesel. In addition, this altering of the methylating agent could convert triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids to a sustainable biofuel. In this project, Mg-Al Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) was optimized by calcination in different temperature varied from 250°C to 450°C. The gallery between layers was increased by intercalating sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). During catalyst preparation, the pH was controlled ~10. In our experiment, triazabicyclodecene (TBD) was attached with trimethoxysilane (3GPS) as a coupling agent, and N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was added to remove SDS from the catalyst. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of the heterogeneous catalyst on the conversion of canola oil, corn oil, and free fatty acids was investigated. To analyze the conversion of lipid oils to biofuel an in situ Raman spectroscopic method was developed. Catalyst synthesis methods and a proposed mechanism for converting triglycerides and free fatty acids to biofuel will be presented.

Genetic engineering, a hope for sustainable biofuel production: review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudip Paudel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The use of recently developed genetic engineering tools in combination with organisms that have the potential to produce precursors for the production of biodiesel, promises a sustainable and environment friendly energy source. Enhanced lipid production in wild type and/or genetically engineered organisms can offer sufficient raw material for industrial transesterification of plant-based triglycerides. Bio-diesel, produced with the help of genetically modified organisms, might be one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels and to mitigate various environmental hazards. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i2.10644 International Journal of the Environment Vol.3(2 2014: 311-323

Yeast synthetic biology toolbox and applications for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Ching-Sung; Kwak, Suryang; Turner, Timothy L; Jin, Yong-Su

2015-02-01

Yeasts are efficient biofuel producers with numerous advantages outcompeting bacterial counterparts. While most synthetic biology tools have been developed and customized for bacteria especially for Escherichia coli, yeast synthetic biological tools have been exploited for improving yeast to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass. Here we review the current status of synthetic biological tools and their applications for biofuel production, focusing on the model strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae We describe assembly techniques that have been developed for constructing genes, pathways, and genomes in yeast. Moreover, we discuss synthetic parts for allowing precise control of gene expression at both transcriptional and translational levels. Applications of these synthetic biological approaches have led to identification of effective gene targets that are responsible for desirable traits, such as cellulosic sugar utilization, advanced biofuel production, and enhanced tolerance against toxic products for biofuel production from renewable biomass. Although an array of synthetic biology tools and devices are available, we observed some gaps existing in tool development to achieve industrial utilization. Looking forward, future tool development should focus on industrial cultivation conditions utilizing industrial strains. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

Microbial engineering for the production of advanced biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Peralta-Yahya, Pamela P; Zhang, Fuzhong; del Cardayre, Stephen B; Keasling, Jay D

2012-08-16

Advanced biofuels produced by microorganisms have similar properties to petroleum-based fuels, and can 'drop in' to the existing transportation infrastructure. However, producing these biofuels in yields high enough to be useful requires the engineering of the microorganism's metabolism. Such engineering is not based on just one specific feedstock or host organism. Data-driven and synthetic-biology approaches can be used to optimize both the host and pathways to maximize fuel production. Despite some success, challenges still need to be met to move advanced biofuels towards commercialization, and to compete with more conventional fuels.

Current and potential sustainable corn stover feedstock for biofuel production in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Zhengxi; Liu, Shu-Guang; Tieszen, Larry L.; Bliss, Norman

2012-01-01

Increased demand for corn (Zea mays L.) stover as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol raises concerns about agricultural sustainability. Excessive corn stover harvesting could have long-term impacts on soil quality. We estimated current and future stover production and evaluated the potential harvestable stover amount (HSA) that could be used for biofuel feedstock in the United States by defining the minimum stover requirement (MSR) associated with the current soil organic carbon (SOC) content, tillage practices, and crop rotation systems. Here we show that the magnitude of the current HSA is limited (31 Tg y−1, dry matter) due to the high MSR for maintaining the current SOC content levels of soils that have a high carbon content. An alternative definition of MSR for soils with a moderate level of SOC content could significantly elevate the annual HSA to 68.7 Tg, or even to 132.2 Tg if the amount of currently applied manure is counted to partially offset the MSR. In the future, a greater potential for stover feedstock could come from an increase in stover yield, areal harvest index, and/or the total planted area. These results suggest that further field experiments on MSR should be designed to identify differences in MSR magnitude between maintaining SOC content and preventing soil erosion, and to understand the role of current SOC content level in determining MSR from soils with a wide range of carbon contents and climatic conditions.

Sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts value added engineering applications

CERN Document Server

Leeuwen, J; Brown, Robert

2012-01-01

Sustainable Bioenergy and Bioproducts considers the recent technological innovations and emerging concepts in biobased energy production and coproducts utilization. Each chapter in  this book has been carefully selected and contributed by experts in the field to provide a good understanding of the various challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable production of biofuel. Sustainable Bioenergy and Bioproducts covers a broad and detailed range of topics including: ·         production capacity of hydrocarbons in the plant kingdom, algae, and microbes; ·         biomass pretreatment for biofuel production; ·         microbial fuel cells; ·         sustainable use of biofuel co-products; ·         bioeconomy and transportation infrastructure impacts and ·         assessment of environmental risks and the life cycle of biofuels. Researchers, practitioners, undergraduate and graduate students engaged in the study of biorenewables, and members of th...

MAIN TRENDS OF BIOFUELS PRODUCTION IN UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myroslav PANCHUK

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The analysis of biological resources for biofuels production in Ukraine has been carried out, and it has been shown that usage of alternative energy sources has great potential for substantially improving energy supply of the state and solving environmental problems. The directions of development and new technologies of obtaining motor fuels from biomass are systematized. It has been established that usage of different types of biofuels and their mixtures for feeding internal combustion engines involves application of modified engines in terms of structure and algorithms and usage of traditional designs of cars without significant structural changes. Moreover, the impact of biofuels on the efficient operation of the engine requires further integrated research.

Biofuel and Bioenergy implementation scenarios. Final report of VIEWLS WP5, modelling studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakker, A.; Egging, R.; Van Thuijl, E.; Van Tilburg, X.; Deurwaarder, E.P.; De Lange, T.J.; Berndes, G.; Hansson, J.

2005-11-01

This report is published within the framework of the European Commission-supported project 'Clear Views on Clean Fuels' or VIEWLS. The overall objectives of this project are to provide structured and clear data on the availability and performance of biofuel and to identify the possibilities and strategies towards large-scale sustainable production, use and trading of biofuels for the transport sector in Europe, including Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). This reports constitutes the outcome of the Work Package 5 (WP5) of the VIEWLS project. In WP5 the EU biofuels and bioenergy markets are modelled with the aim to conduct quantitative analyses on the production and costs of biofuels and on the resulting market structure and supply chains. In a bigger context, where possible, WP5 aims also to provide insight into larger socio-economic impacts of bioenergy trade within Europe. The objective of this research is to develop a cost efficient biofuel strategy for Europe in terms of biofuel production, cost and trade, and to assess its larger impact on bioenergy markets and trade up to 2030. Based on the biomass availability and associated costs within EU25, under different conditions, scenarios for biofuels production and cost can be constructed using quantitative modelling tools. Combining this with (cost) data on biofuel conversion technologies and transport of biomass and biofuels, the lowest cost biofuel supply chain given a certain demand predetermined by the biofuels Directive can be designed. In a broader context, this is supplemented by a design of a sustainable bioenergy supply chain in view of the fact that biomass-heat, biomass-electricity and biofuels are competing for the same biomass resources. In other words, the scarcity of bioenergy crops, as manifested through overall bioenergy demand, is an essential variable in bioenergy scenarios

Metabolic engineering of yeast for lignocellulosic biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Yong-Su; Cate, Jamie Hd

2017-12-01

Production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass remains an unsolved challenge in industrial biotechnology. Efforts to use yeast for conversion face the question of which host organism to use, counterbalancing the ease of genetic manipulation with the promise of robust industrial phenotypes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains the premier host for metabolic engineering of biofuel pathways, due to its many genetic, systems and synthetic biology tools. Numerous engineering strategies for expanding substrate ranges and diversifying products of S. cerevisiae have been developed. Other yeasts generally lack these tools, yet harbor superior phenotypes that could be exploited in the harsh processes required for lignocellulosic biofuel production. These include thermotolerance, resistance to toxic compounds generated during plant biomass deconstruction, and wider carbon consumption capabilities. Although promising, these yeasts have yet to be widely exploited. By contrast, oleaginous yeasts such as Yarrowia lipolytica capable of producing high titers of lipids are rapidly advancing in terms of the tools available for their metabolic manipulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial bio-fuels: a solution to carbon emissions and energy crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Arun; Kaushal, Sumit; Saraf, Shubhini A; Singh, Jay Shankar

2018-06-01

Increasing energy demand, limited fossil fuel resources and climate change have prompted development of alternative sustainable and economical fuel resources such as crop-based bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. However, there is concern over use of arable land that is used for food agriculture for creation of biofuel. Thus, there is a renewed interest in the use of microbes particularly microalgae for bio-fuel production. Microbes such as micro-algae and cyanobacteria that are used for biofuel production also produce other bioactive compounds under stressed conditions. Microbial agents used for biofuel production also produce bioactive compounds with antimicrobial, antiviral, anticoagulant, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Because of importance of such high-value compounds in aquaculture and bioremediation, and the potential to reduce carbon emissions and energy security, the biofuels produced by microbial biotechnology might substitute the crop-based bio-ethanol and bio-diesel production.

From riches to rags : biofuels, media discourses and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sengers, F.H.; Raven, R.P.J.M.; Venrooij, A.

2010-01-01

This study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with practitioner

From riches to rags : biofuels, media discourse and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sengers, F.H.; Raven, R.P.J.M.; Venrooij, A.

2010-01-01

This study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with practitioner

From riches to rags: Biofuels, media discourses, and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.M.A. Sengers (Rozemarijn); R.P.J.M. Raven (Rob); A.T. van Venrooij (Alex)

2010-01-01

textabstractThis study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with

From riches to rags: biofuels, media discourses and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sengers, F.; Raven, R.P.J.M.; van Venrooij, A.

2010-01-01

This study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with practitioner

An Overview of Algae Biofuel Production and Potential Environmental Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Algae are among the most potentially significant sources of sustainable biofuels in the future of renewable energy. A feedstock with virtually unlimited applicability, algae can metabolize various waste streams (e.g., municipal wastewater, carbon dioxide from industrial flue gas)...

Potential impacts of biofuel development on food security in Botswana: A contribution to energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kgathi, Donald L.; Mfundisi, K.B.; Mmopelwa, G.; Mosepele, K.

2012-01-01

Biofuel development continues to be a critical development strategy in Africa because it promises to be an important part of the emerging bio-economy. However, there is a growing concern that the pattern of biofuel development is not always consistent with the principles of sustainable development. This paper assesses the potential of the impacts of biofuel development on food security in Botswana. Drawing on informal and semi-structured interviews, the paper concludes that there is potential for the development of biofuels in Botswana without adverse effects on food security due mainly to availability of idle land which accounted for 72% of agricultural land in the eastern part of the country in 2008. It is suggested that farmers could be incentivized to produce energy crops and more food from such land. Although it is hypothesized that the implementation of biofuel development programmes in other countries had an impact on local commodity prices during the period 2005–2008 in Botswana, it is argued that local biofuel production may not necessarily lead to a substantial increase in commodity food prices because land availability is not a major issue. The paper makes policy recommendations for sustainable biofuel development in Botswana. - Highlights: ► Biofuel development in Botswana can be pursued without harming food security. ► There is plenty idle land which could be used for biofuel and food production. ► Biofuel production will not lead to significant increases in food prices. ► There is need to define land for biofuels to avoid future scarcity of land for food production.

Production of biofuels obtained from microalgae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Carlos Fernández-Linares

2012-09-01

Full Text Available A review of the situation of bio-fuels in the world, mainly of biodiesel is made. A comparison among the different raw materials for the synthesis of biodiesel is done and it is emphasized in the production of biodiesel from microalgae. The different fresh and salt water micro-algae in its lipid content and productivity are compared. A review of the process of biosynthesis of lipids in microalgae and how to improve the production of lipids in microalgae is shown. It is discussed the importance of the genetic manipulation to highly lipid-producing microalgae (example: Botryrococuus braunni, Nannochloropsis sp, Noechlorisoleobundans and Nitschia sp.. A study of the advantages and disadvantages of the different systems of cultivation of microalgae is also made. Finally, it is shown a perspective of biofuels from microalgae. Among the main challenges to overcome to produce biodiesel from microalgae are: the cost of production of biomass, which involves the optimization of media, selection and manipulation of strains and photobioreactors design. The processof separation of biomass, the extraction of oils and by-products, the optimization of the process of transesterification, purification and use of by-products must also be considered.

Algal biofuels: key issues, sustainability and life cycle assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Anoop; Olsen, Stig Irving

2011-01-01

wastewater. Algae capture CO2 from atmosphere and industrial flue gases and transform it in to organic biomass that can be used for the production of biofuels. Like other biomass, algal biomass is also a carbon neutral source for the production of bioenergy. Therefore cultivation of algal biomass provides......In recent years research activities are intensively focused on renewable fuels in order to fulfill the increasing energy demand and to reduce the fossil fuels consumption and external oil dependency either in order to provide local energetic resources and or as a means for reducing greenhouse gases...... (GHG) emissions to reduce the climate change effects. Among the various renewable energy sources algal biofuels is a very promising source of biomass as algae sequester huge quantities of carbon from atmosphere and are very efficient in utilizing the nutrients from the industrial effluent and municipal...

Reduction of the THG emissions in agricultural productions for the generation of biofuels; Senkung der THG-Emissionen in landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsverfahren zur Erzeugung von Biokraftstoffen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schiemenz, Katja; Gurgel, Andreas [Landesforschungsanstalt fuer Landwirtschaft und Fischerei Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Guelzow-Pruezen (Germany). Inst. fuer Pflanzenproduktion und Betriebswirtschaft

2013-10-01

The Renewable Energy Directive (RED, 2009/128/EC) sets a binding goal of substituting at least 10% of fossil fuel consumption with renewable energy from 2020 onwards. Although biofuels of the second generation promise ecological and economic advantages, they are not yet available or (as with biomethane) available only to a very limited extent. It is therefore important to produce the currently available biofuels in a more environmentally friendly manner, particularly as biofuels must show a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to the fossil fuels they replace of 50% by 2017 and 60% by 2018 as per the German Biofuel Sustainability Ordinance. This concerns emissions from the whole biofuel production chain. In energy crop production the level of GHG emissions is particularly dependent on the amount of N fertilization and the intensity of soil tillage as well as indirectly on the amount of diesel consumption. A current LFA research project aims at the reduction of GHG field emissions in cultivation systems with energy crops (rape, ethanol wheat) for biofuel production. For this, the opportunities which arise from the use of crop rotation with multiple crop types appropriate for the location with the inclusion of N-fixing grain legumes and production technology should be grasped. (orig.)

Physiological and genetic studies towards biofuel production in cyanobacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuurmans, R.M.

2017-01-01

The main aim of this thesis was to contribute to the optimization of the cyanobacterial cell factory and to increase the production of cellulose as a biofuel (precursor) via a physiological and a transgenic approach. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the current state of cyanobacterial biofuel

Metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathway for production of renewable biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vijai; Mani, Indra; Chaudhary, Dharmendra Kumar; Dhar, Pawan Kumar

2014-02-01

Metabolic engineering is an important area of research that involves editing genetic networks to overproduce a certain substance by the cells. Using a combination of genetic, metabolic, and modeling methods, useful substances have been synthesized in the past at industrial scale and in a cost-effective manner. Currently, metabolic engineering is being used to produce sufficient, economical, and eco-friendly biofuels. In the recent past, a number of efforts have been made towards engineering biosynthetic pathways for large scale and efficient production of biofuels from biomass. Given the adoption of metabolic engineering approaches by the biofuel industry, this paper reviews various approaches towards the production and enhancement of renewable biofuels such as ethanol, butanol, isopropanol, hydrogen, and biodiesel. We have also identified specific areas where more work needs to be done in the future.

The sustainability of cassava-based bioethanol production in southern Mali

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Kjeld; Birch-Thomsen, Torben; Bruun, Thilde Bech

2015-01-01

of labour input. Analysis of the significance of current cassava production for food security shows that bioethanol production should be based on the attiéké variety of cassava, thereby avoiding interference with the important role of the bonouma in assuring food security in northern Mali. The key factor......The demand for biofuels has been rising, which has led developing countries to focus on production of feedstocks for biodiesel and bioethanol production. This has caused concerns for the impacts on food security, food prices and environmental sustainability. This paper examines a hypothetical case...

Downstream Processing of Synechocystis for Biofuel Production

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Jie

Lipids and free fatty acids (FFA) from cyanobacterium Synechocystis can be used for biofuel (e.g. biodiesel or renewable diesel) production. In order to utilize and scale up this technique, downstream processes including culturing and harvest, cell disruption, and extraction were studied. Several solvents/solvent systems were screened for lipid extraction from Synechocystis. Chloroform + methanol-based Folch and Bligh & Dyer methods were proved to be "gold standard" for small-scale analysis due to their highest lipid recoveries that were confirmed by their penetration of the cell membranes, higher polarity, and stronger interaction with hydrogen bonds. Less toxic solvents, such as methanol and MTBE, or direct transesterification of biomass (without preextraction step) gave only slightly lower lipid-extraction yields and can be considered for large-scale application. Sustained exposure to high and low temperature extremes severely lowered the biomass and lipid productivity. Temperature stress also triggered changes of lipid quality such as the degree of unsaturation; thus, it affected the productivities and quality of Synechocystis-derived biofuel. Pulsed electric field (PEF) was evaluated for cell disruption prior to lipid extraction. A treatment intensity > 35 kWh/m3 caused significant damage to the plasma membrane, cell wall, and thylakoid membrane, and it even led to complete disruption of some cells into fragments. Treatment by PEF enhanced the potential for the low-toxicity solvent isopropanol to access lipid molecules during subsequent solvent extraction, leading to lower usage of isopropanol for the same extraction efficiency. Other cell-disruption methods also were tested. Distinct disruption effects to the cell envelope, plasma membrane, and thylakoid membranes were observed that were related to extraction efficiency. Microwave and ultrasound had significant enhancement of lipid extraction. Autoclaving, ultrasound, and French press caused significant

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass for liquid biofuels production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yin, Chungen

2012-01-01

Production of 2nd-generation biofuels from biomass residues and waste feedstock is gaining great concerns worldwide. Pyrolysis, a thermochemical conversion process involving rapid heating of feedstock under oxygen-absent condition to moderate temperature and rapid quenching of intermediate products......, is an attractive way for bio-oil production. Various efforts have been made to improve pyrolysis process towards higher yield and quality of liquid biofuels and better energy efficiency. Microwave-assisted pyrolysis is one of the promising attempts, mainly due to efficient heating of feedstock by ‘‘microwave...

Perspectives of microalgal biofuels as a renewable source of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiran, Bala; Kumar, Ritunesh; Deshmukh, Devendra

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Microalgae offer solution of wastewater treatment, CO 2 sequestration, and energy crises. • Microalgal biofuel is renewable, nontoxic and environmentally friendly option. • Integration of wastewater treatment with biofuels production has made them more cost effective. • This article details out the potential production process and benefits of microalgal biofuels. - Abstract: Excessive use of fossil fuels to satisfy our rapidly increasing energy demand has created severe environmental problems, such as air pollution, acid rain and global warming. Biofuels are a potential alternative to fossil fuels. First- and second-generation biofuels face criticism due to food security and biodiversity issues. Third-generation biofuels, based on microalgae, seem to be a plausible solution to the current energy crisis, as their oil-producing capability is many times higher than that of various oil crops. Microalgae are the fastest-growing plants and can serve as a sustainable energy source for the production of biodiesel and several other biofuels by conversion of sunlight into chemical energy. Biofuels produced from microalgae are renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable and environment friendly. Microalgae can be grown in open pond systems or closed photobioreactors. Microalgal biofuels are a potential means to keep the development of human activities in synchronization with the environment. The integration of wastewater treatment with biofuel production using microalgae has made microalgal biofuels more attractive and cost effective. A biorefinery approach can also be used to improve the economics of biofuel production, in which all components of microalgal biomass (i.e., proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) are used to produce useful products. The integration of various processes for maximum economic and environmental benefits minimizes the amount of waste produced and the pollution level. This paper presents an overview of various aspects associated with

Environmental and energy aspects of liquid biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Boo, W.

1993-02-01

When spending public money to reduce CO 2 emissions, it is necessary to establish which alternative energy source results in the largest reduction of CO 2 emission per unit cost. Comparison of different biofuels with other energy resources is therefore important. Bioethanol is compared with leadfree gasoline, and rapeseed oil methylester (RME) is compared with diesel. Subsequently, biofuel production as a method to reduce CO 2 emission will be compared with other sustainable energy resources. This comparison is based on the energy balance in chapter two and the final costs of biofuels in chapter six. The comparison of biofuels and current fossil fuels is based on emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases and acidifying pollutants in chapter three. Pollution to soil and water by arable cropping is a specific characteristic of biofuel production and is difficult to compare with fossil fuels. On this subject biofuels are compared with other land uses in chapter four. This also applies to other adverse environmental aspects of agricultural production such as competition for land use with natural areas and recreation purposes. To explore future technological developments, a comparison is made in energy balances with estimated results after the year 2000. The overall conclusion is that there are far better options to achieve CO 2 reduction. 2 figs., 9 tabs., 14 appendices, 28 refs

Recent Inventions and Trends in Algal Biofuels Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Karemore, Ankush; Nayak, Manoranjan; Sen, Ramkrishna

2016-01-01

In recent times, when energy crisis compounded by global warming and climate change is receiving worldwide attention, the emergence of algae, as a better feedstock for third-generation biofuels than energy crops or plants, holds great promise. As compared to conventional biofuels feedstocks, algae offer several advantages and can alone produce a significant amount of biofuels sustainably in a shorter period to fulfill the rising demand for energy. Towards commercialisation, there have been numerous efforts put for- ward for the development of algae-derived biofuel. This article reviews and summarizes the recent inventions and the current trends that are reported and captured in relevant patents pertaining to the novel methods of algae biomass cultivation and processing for biofuels and value-added products. In addition, the recent advancement in techniques and technologies for microalgal biofuel production has been highlighted. Various steps involved in the production of algal biofuels have been considered in this article. Moreover, the work that advances to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the processes for the manufacture of biofuels has been presented. Our survey was conducted in the patent databases: WIPO, Spacenet and USPTO. There are still some technological bottlenecks that could be overcome by designing advanced photobioreactor and raceway ponds, developing new and low cost technologies for biomass cultivation, harvesting, drying and extraction. Recent advancement in algae biofuels methods is directed toward developing efficient and integrated systems to produce biofuels by overcoming the current challenges. However, further research effort is required to scale-up and improve the efficiency of these methods in the upstream and downstream technologies to make the cost of biofuels competitive with petroleum fuels.

Artificial neural networks: an efficient tool for modelling and optimization of biofuel production (a mini review)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sewsynker-Sukai, Yeshona; Faloye, Funmilayo; Kana, Evariste Bosco Gueguim

2016-01-01

In view of the looming energy crisis as a result of depleting fossil fuel resources and environmental concerns from greenhouse gas emissions, the need for sustainable energy sources has secured global attention. Research is currently focused towards renewable sources of energy due to their availability and environmental friendliness. Biofuel production like other bioprocesses is controlled by several process parameters including pH, temperature and substrate concentration; however, the improvement of biofuel production requires a robust process model that accurately relates the effect of input variables to the process output. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have emerged as a tool for modelling complex, non-linear processes. ANNs are applied in the prediction of various processes; they are useful for virtual experimentations and can potentially enhance bioprocess research and development. In this study, recent findings on the application of ANN for the modelling and optimization of biohydrogen, biogas, biodiesel, microbial fuel cell technology and bioethanol are reviewed. In addition, comparative studies on the modelling efficiency of ANN and other techniques such as the response surface methodology are briefly discussed. The review highlights the efficiency of ANNs as a modelling and optimization tool in biofuel process development

Aquatic plant Azolla as the universal feedstock for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Ana F; Biswas, Bijoy; Ramkumar, Narasimhan; Singh, Rawel; Kumar, Jitendra; James, Anton; Roddick, Felicity; Lal, Banwari; Subudhi, Sanjukta; Bhaskar, Thallada; Mouradov, Aidyn

2016-01-01

The quest for sustainable production of renewable and cheap biofuels has triggered an intensive search for domestication of the next generation of bioenergy crops. Aquatic plants which can rapidly colonize wetlands are attracting attention because of their ability to grow in wastewaters and produce large amounts of biomass. Representatives of Azolla species are some of the fastest growing plants, producing substantial biomass when growing in contaminated water and natural ecosystems. Together with their evolutional symbiont, the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, Azolla biomass has a unique chemical composition accumulating in each leaf including three major types of bioenergy molecules: cellulose/hemicellulose, starch and lipids, resembling combinations of terrestrial bioenergy crops and microalgae. The growth of Azolla filiculoides in synthetic wastewater led up to 25, 69, 24 and 40 % reduction of NH 4 -N, NO 3 -N, PO 4 -P and selenium, respectively, after 5 days of treatment. This led to a 2.6-fold reduction in toxicity of the treated wastewater to shrimps, common inhabitants of wetlands. Two Azolla species, Azolla filiculoides and Azolla pinnata, were used as feedstock for the production of a range of functional hydrocarbons through hydrothermal liquefaction, bio-hydrogen and bio-ethanol. Given the high annual productivity of Azolla, hydrothermal liquefaction can lead to the theoretical production of 20.2 t/ha-year of bio-oil and 48 t/ha-year of bio-char. The ethanol production from Azolla filiculoides, 11.7 × 10 3  L/ha-year, is close to that from corn stover (13.3 × 10 3  L/ha-year), but higher than from miscanthus (2.3 × 10 3  L/ha-year) and woody plants, such as willow (0.3 × 10 3  L/ha-year) and poplar (1.3 × 10 3  L/ha-year). With a high C/N ratio, fermentation of Azolla biomass generates 2.2 mol/mol glucose/xylose of hydrogen, making this species a competitive feedstock for hydrogen production compared with other bioenergy crops

ILUC mitigation case studies Tanzania. Applying the Low Indirect Impact Biofuel (LIIB) Methodology to Tanzanian projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van de Staaij, J.; Spoettle, M.; Weddige, U.; Toop, G. [Ecofys, Utrecht (Netherlands)

2012-10-15

NL Agency is supporting WWF and the Secretariat of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) with the development of a certification module for biofuels with a low risk of indirect land use change (ILUC), the Low Indirect Impact Biofuel (LIIB) methodology (www.LIIBmethodology.org). The LIIB methodology was developed to certify that biomass feedstock for biofuels has been produced with a low risk of indirect impacts. It is designed as an independent module that can be added to biofuel policies and existing certification systems for sustainable biofuel and/or feedstock production, such as the RSB Standard, RSPO or NTA8080. It presents detailed ILUC mitigation approaches for four different solution types field-tested and audited in international pilots. Within the Global Sustainable Biomass programme and the Sustainable Biomass Import programme, coordinated by NL Agency, three projects are working on sustainable jatropha in Tanzania. Ecofys has been commissioned by NL Agency to contribute to the further development of the LIIB methodology by applying it to these three jatropha projects in Tanzania. All three projects located in the North of Tanzania, address sustainability in one way or another, but focus on the direct effects of jatropha cultivation and use. Interestingly, they nevertheless seem to apply different methods that could also minimise negative indirect impacts, including ILUC. Bioenergy feedstock production can have unintended consequences well outside the boundary of production operations. These are indirect impacts, which cannot be directly attributed to a particular operation. The most cited indirect impacts are ILUC and food/feed commodity price increases (an indirect impact on food security). ILUC can occur when existing cropland is used to cover the feedstock demand of additional biofuel production. When this displaces the previous use of the land (e.g. food production) this can lead to expansion of land use to new areas (e.g. deforestation) when

How to ensure greenhouse gas emission reductions by increasing the use of biofuels? - Suitability of the European Union sustainability criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soimakallio, Sampo; Koponen, Kati

2011-01-01

Biofuels are promoted in many parts of the world. However, concern of environmental and social problems have grown due to increased production of biofuels. Therefore, many initiatives for sustainability criteria have been announced. As a part of the European Union (EU) renewable energy promotion directive (RED), the EU has introduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-saving requirements for biofuels along with the first-ever mandate methodology to calculate the GHG emission reduction. As explored in this paper, the RED methodology, based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach, excludes many critical issues. These include indirect impacts due to competition for land, biomass and other auxiliary inputs. Also, timing issues, allocation problems, and uncertainty of individual parameters are not yet considered adequately. Moreover, the default values provided in the RED for the GHG balances of biofuels may significantly underestimate their actual impacts. We conclude that the RED methodology cannot ensure the intended GHG emission reductions of biofuels. Instead, a more comprehensive approach is required along with additional data and indicators. Even if it may be very difficult to verify the GHG emission reductions of biofuels in practice, it is necessary to consider the uncertainties more closely, in order to mitigate climate change effectively. -- Highlights: → The EU introduced mandatory criteria for greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels. → The aim of the criteria is to ensure reduction in GHG emissions. → We analysed and discussed the suitability of the criteria. → The criteria may significantly underestimate the actual GHG emissions. → A more comprehensive approach is required along with additional data and indicators.

Biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poitrat, E.

2009-01-01

Biofuels are fuels made from non-fossil vegetal or animal materials (biomass). They belong to the renewable energy sources as they do not contribute to worsen some global environmental impacts, like the greenhouse effect, providing that their production is performed in efficient energy conditions with low fossil fuel consumption. This article presents: 1 - the usable raw materials: biomass-derived resources, qualitative and quantitative aspects, biomass uses; 2 - biofuels production from biomass: alcohols and ethers, vegetable oils and their esters, synthetic liquid or gaseous biofuels, biogas; 3 - characteristics of liquid biofuels and comparison with gasoline and diesel fuel; 4 - biofuel uses: alcohols and their esters, biofuels with oxygenated compounds; vegetable oils and their derivatives in diesel engines, biogas, example of global environmental impact: the greenhouse effect. (J.S.)

Biofuels - Illusion or Reality? - The european experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furfari, A.

2008-01-01

Environmental issues, rising prices and security of supply are putting energy at the centre of all attentions. Policy-makers pushed by various stakeholders are struggling to find more sustainable solutions to the world legitimate demand for energy. The transport sector is especially under pressure as it relies for 98% on oil. Despite vast research and development investments, no short-term solutions appeared to be reliable. Thanks to lawmakers support to biofuels, these substitutes for oil are now seen as the potential solution for a sustainable transport. This book analyses the real possibility of biofuels. Does Europe has enough land to produce the needed feedstock? What are the real gains in terms of greenhouse gases emissions and energy efficiency? Are biofuels really a sustainable solution? Will this policy succeed? Are the targets reachable? The reader will find some indications in this book to make up his mind on this complex, multifaceted and highly political subject. Contents: Summary. Introduction. Biofuels in the U.S.A. and Brazil. Do we have enough land in Europe? Biofuels life cycle analysis. Greenhouse gases reduction and efficiency. Case of the glycerin price. Variables affecting biofuels sustainability. Standard for Biofuels. Conclusion. General Bibliography. Annexes. References

Enhancing microbial production of biofuels by expanding microbial metabolic pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Ping; Chen, Xingge; Li, Peng

2017-09-01

Fatty acid, isoprenoid, and alcohol pathways have been successfully engineered to produce biofuels. By introducing three genes, atfA, adhE, and pdc, into Escherichia coli to expand fatty acid pathway, up to 1.28 g/L of fatty acid ethyl esters can be achieved. The isoprenoid pathway can be expanded to produce bisabolene with a high titer of 900 mg/L in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Short- and long-chain alcohols can also be effectively biosynthesized by extending the carbon chain of ketoacids with an engineered "+1" alcohol pathway. Thus, it can be concluded that expanding microbial metabolic pathways has enormous potential for enhancing microbial production of biofuels for future industrial applications. However, some major challenges for microbial production of biofuels should be overcome to compete with traditional fossil fuels: lowering production costs, reducing the time required to construct genetic elements and to increase their predictability and reliability, and creating reusable parts with useful and predictable behavior. To address these challenges, several aspects should be further considered in future: mining and transformation of genetic elements related to metabolic pathways, assembling biofuel elements and coordinating their functions, enhancing the tolerance of host cells to biofuels, and creating modular subpathways that can be easily interconnected. © 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Fostering sustainable feedstock production for advanced biofuels on underutilised land in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Mergner, Rita; Janssen, Rainer; Rutz, Dominik; Knoche, Dirk; Köhler, Raul; Colangeli, Marco; Gyuris, Peter

2017-04-01

Background In context of growing competition between land uses, bioenergy development is often seen as one of possible contributors to such competition. However, the potential of underutilized land (contaminated, abandoned, marginal, fallow land etc.) which is not used or cannot be used for productive activities is not exhausted and offers an attractive alternative for sustainable production of different biomass feedstocks in Europe. Depending on biomass feedstocks, different remediation activities can be carried out in addition. Bioenergy crops have the potential to be grown profitably on underutilized land and can therefore offer an attractive source of income on the local level contributing to achieving the targets of the Renewable Energy Directive (EC/2009). The FORBIO project The FORBIO project demonstrates the viability of using underutilised land in EU Member States for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production that does not affect the supply of food, feed and land currently used for recreational or conservation purposes. Project activities will serve to build up and strengthen local bioenergy value chains that are competitive and that meet the highest sustainability standards, thus contributing to the market uptake of sustainable bioenergy in the EU. Presented results The FORBIO project will develop a methodology to assess the sustainable bioenergy production potential on available underutilized lands in Europe at local, site-specific level. Based on this methodology, the project will produce multiple feasibility studies in three selected case study locations: Germany (lignite mining and sewage irrigation fields in the metropolis region of Berlin and Brandenburg), Italy (contaminated land from industrial activities in Sulcis, Portoscuso) and Ukraine (underutilised marginal agricultural land in the North of Kiev). The focus of the presentation will be on the agronomic and techno-economic feasibility studies in Germany, Italy and Ukraine. Agronomic

Efficient production of automotive biofuels; Effektiv produktion av biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gode, Jenny; Hagberg, Linus; Rydberg, Tomas; Raadberg, Henrik; Saernholm, Erik

2008-07-01

The report describes opportunities and consequences associated with biomass polygeneration plants, in particular the role that heat plants (HP) or combined heat and power plants (CHP) in district heating systems can play in the production of automotive biofuels. The aim of the report is to provide a knowledge base to stakeholders to help assess energy and environmental benefits associated with collaborative approaches in planning, constructing and operating energy plants. Several configurations are possible for an energy polygeneration plant, but this report focuses on configurations in which a plant for automotive biofuel production and a district heating system with HPs or CHPs have been integrated in some way in order to achieve added value. The modes of integration are several, e.g.: - Supply of process steam from the CHP to the fuel plant, by which the time of operation for the CHP can be extended; Supply of surplus heat from the fuel plant to the district heating system; Material exchange between the systems, by use of residue streams from the fuel plant as fuel in the HP/CHP; Surplus heat from the fuel plant used for drying of the solid fuel to the HP/CHP or for drying of raw material for pellets production; Co-location providing opportunities for shared infrastructure for raw material handling, service systems, utilities and/or logistics. The report principally addresses integration options of the first three types, but describes briefly also pellets production. The starting point for the analysis of integration options is the description of technologies of interest for the production of automotive biofuels. Commercially available technologies are of prime interest, but also a couple of technologies under development are included in this part of the study. In addition to outlining the process characteristics for these processes, surrounding conditions and system requirements are briefly outlined. The results are summarized in Table S1. Ethanol fermentation

Recent Advances and Challenges towards Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Kourmentza, Constantina; Plácido, Jersson; Venetsaneas, Nikolaos; Burniol-Figols, Anna; Varrone, Cristiano; Gavala, Hariklia N; Reis, Maria A M

2017-06-11

Sustainable biofuels, biomaterials, and fine chemicals production is a critical matter that research teams around the globe are focusing on nowadays. Polyhydroxyalkanoates represent one of the biomaterials of the future due to their physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. Designing efficient and economic bioprocesses, combined with the respective social and environmental benefits, has brought together scientists from different backgrounds highlighting the multidisciplinary character of such a venture. In the current review, challenges and opportunities regarding polyhydroxyalkanoate production are presented and discussed, covering key steps of their overall production process by applying pure and mixed culture biotechnology, from raw bioprocess development to downstream processing.

Current and future sustainable biofuels - Summary; Dagens och framtidens haallbara biodrivmedel - Sammanfattning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal [Lunds Univ., Lund (Sweden); Lundgren, Joakim [Luleaa Tekniska Univ., Luleaa (Sweden); Ahlgren, Serina [Sveriges Lantbruksuniv., Uppsala (Sweden); Nystroem, Ingrid [Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels, Goeteborg (Sweden); CIT Industriell Energi., Goeteborg (Sweden)

2013-09-01

This report has been prepared as a background paper for the state investigation 'Fossil Free Vehicle Traffic'. The purpose of this study is to describe and summarize the current knowledge on production of biofuels and linkages to sustainability issues such as energy and land efficiency, GHG performance and costs. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report includes both existing and future fuel systems under development, and based on different raw materials and production processes. The study has primarily a Swedish perspective, but with international views. The report's analysis of energy efficiency, greenhouse gas performance and production costs is based on system analysis and a life-cycle perspective. The focus is on the production chain to the produced fuel (well-to-tank). Results are based on current research and commercial development of the respective chains. They are based primarily from standardized life cycle analysis and, in some production systems, also on industrial systems analysis. These two approaches have some differences in methodology, which are highlighted in the report. In the overview values and results have been compiled to make it possible to compare the results.

Beyond commonplace biofuels: Social aspects of ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, Barbara Esteves

2013-01-01

Biofuels policies and projects may lead to environmental, economic and social impacts. A number of studies point out the need to deliver comprehensive sustainability assessments regarding biofuels, with some presenting analytical frameworks that claim to be exhaustive. However, what is often found in the literature is an overexploitation of environmental and economic concerns, by contrast to a limited appraisal of the social aspects of biofuels. Building on a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature, this paper discusses the social constraints and strengths of ethanol, with regard to the product's lifecycle stages and the actors involved. Its objective is to contribute to the development of social frameworks to be used in assessing the impact of ethanol. Main findings indicate that ethanol developments can increase the levels of social vulnerability, although there is little evidence in the literature regarding the positive and negative social impacts of 1st-generation ethanol and potential impacts of cellulosic ethanol. Further work is needed on the formulation of social criteria and indicators for a comprehensive sustainability assessment of this biofuel. Policy makers need to internalise the social dimension of ethanol in decision-making to prevent public opposition and irreversible social costs in the future. - Highlights: ► The literature lacks evidence on the social impacts of ethanol. ► Further work is needed on social criteria and indicators for assessment. ► Ethanol developments can increase the levels of social vulnerability. ► Decision-making should internalise the social dimension of biofuels sustainability

Next-generation biofuels: a new challenge for yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrovič, Uroš

2015-09-01

Economic growth depends strongly on the availability and price of fuels. There are various reasons in different parts of the world for efforts to decrease the consumption of fossil fuels, but biofuels are one of the main solutions considered towards achieving this aim globally. As the major bioethanol producer, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a central position among biofuel-producing organisms. However, unprecedented challenges for yeast biotechnology lie ahead, as future biofuels will have to be produced on a large scale from sustainable feedstocks that do not interfere with food production, and which are generally not the traditional carbon source for S. cerevisiae. Additionally, the current trend in the development of biofuels is to synthesize molecules that can be used as drop-in fuels for existing engines. Their properties should therefore be more similar to those of oil-derived fuels than those of ethanol. Recent developments and challenges lying ahead for cost-effective production of such designed biofuels, using S. cerevisiae-based cell factories, are presented in this review. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Resource use efficiency and environmental performance of nine major biofuel crops, processed by first-generation conversion techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

de Vries, Sander C.; van de Ven, Gerrie W.J.; van Ittersum, Martin K.; Giller, Ken E. [Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 430, 6700 AK Wageningen (Netherlands)

2010-05-15

We compared the production-ecological sustainability of biofuel production from several major crops that are also commonly used for production of food or feed, based on current production practices in major production areas. The set of nine sustainability indicators focused on resource use efficiency, soil quality, net energy production and greenhouse gas emissions, disregarding socio-economic or biodiversity aspects and land use change. Based on these nine production-ecological indicators and attributing equal importance to each indicator, biofuel produced from oil palm (South East Asia), sugarcane (Brazil) and sweet sorghum (China) appeared most sustainable: these crops make the most efficient use of land, water, nitrogen and energy resources, while pesticide applications are relatively low in relation to the net energy produced. Provided there is no land use change, greenhouse gas emissions of these three biofuels are substantially reduced compared with fossil fuels. Oil palm was most sustainable with respect to the maintenance of soil quality. Maize (USA) and wheat (Northwest Europe) as feedstock for ethanol perform poorly for nearly all indicators. Sugar beet (Northwest Europe), cassava (Thailand), rapeseed (Northwest Europe) and soybean (USA) take an intermediate position. (author)

Biofuels in the long-run global energy supply mix for transportation.

Science.gov (United States)

Timilsina, Govinda R

2014-01-13

Various policy instruments along with increasing oil prices have contributed to a sixfold increase in global biofuels production over the last decade (2000-2010). This rapid growth has proved controversial, however, and has raised concerns over potential conflicts with global food security and climate change mitigation. To address these concerns, policy support is now focused on advanced or second-generation biofuels instead of crop-based first-generation biofuels. This policy shift, together with the global financial crisis, has slowed the growth of biofuels production, which has remained stagnant since 2010. Based upon a review of the literature, this paper examines the potential long-run contribution of biofuels to the global energy mix, particularly for transportation. We find that the contribution of biofuels to global transportation fuel demand is likely to be limited to around 5% over the next 10-15 years. However, a number of studies suggest that biofuels could contribute up to a quarter of global transportation fuel demand by 2050, provided technological breakthroughs reduce the costs of sustainably produced advanced biofuels to a level where they can compete with petroleum fuels.

GHG sustainability compliance of rapeseed-based biofuels produced in a Danish multi-output biorefinery system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boldrin, Alessio; Astrup, Thomas

2015-01-01

Biofuels are likely to play an increasingly important role in the transportation sector in the coming decades. To ensure the sustainability of the biofuel chain, regulatory criteria and reduction targets for greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions have been defined in different legislative frameworks (e.g. the European Renewable Energy Directive, RED). The provided calculation methods, however, leave room for interpretation regarding methodological choices, which could significantly affect the resulting emission factors. In this study, GHG reduction factors for a range of biofuels produced in a Danish biorefinery system were determined using five different emission allocation principles. The results show that emission savings ranged from −34 % to 71 %, indicating the need for a better definition of regulatory calculation principles. The calculated emission factors differed significantly from default values provided in the literature, suggesting that case-specific local conditions should be taken into consideration. A more holistic LCA-based approach proved useful in overcoming some of the issues inherent in the regulatory allocation principles. On this basis, indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions were shown to have the same magnitude as the direct emissions, thus indicating that the overall system should be included when assessing biofuel sustainability criteria. - Highlights: • Fulfillment of the GHG compliance criteria may depend on the calculation criteria. • Default factors may not be representative of local conditions. • Zero burden approach should be excluded. • ILUC should not be neglected

Computational metabolic engineering strategies for growth-coupled biofuel production by Synechocystis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiyan Shabestary

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Chemical and fuel production by photosynthetic cyanobacteria is a promising technology but to date has not reached competitive rates and titers. Genome-scale metabolic modeling can reveal limitations in cyanobacteria metabolism and guide genetic engineering strategies to increase chemical production. Here, we used constraint-based modeling and optimization algorithms on a genome-scale model of Synechocystis PCC6803 to find ways to improve productivity of fermentative, fatty-acid, and terpene-derived fuels. OptGene and MOMA were used to find heuristics for knockout strategies that could increase biofuel productivity. OptKnock was used to find a set of knockouts that led to coupling between biofuel and growth. Our results show that high productivity of fermentation or reversed beta-oxidation derived alcohols such as 1-butanol requires elimination of NADH sinks, while terpenes and fatty-acid based fuels require creating imbalances in intracellular ATP and NADPH production and consumption. The FBA-predicted productivities of these fuels are at least 10-fold higher than those reported so far in the literature. We also discuss the physiological and practical feasibility of implementing these knockouts. This work gives insight into how cyanobacteria could be engineered to reach competitive biofuel productivities. Keywords: Cyanobacteria, Modeling, Flux balance analysis, Biofuel, MOMA, OptFlux, OptKnock

75 FR 42745 - Production Incentives for Cellulosic Biofuels: Notice of Program Intent

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-22

... Cellulosic Biofuels: Notice of Program Intent AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy...). Through this notice, biofuels producers and other interested parties are invited to submit pre-auction..., ``Production Incentives for Cellulosic Biofuels; Reverse Auction Procedures and Standards,'' (74 FR 52867...

Biofuels and their by-products: Global economic and environmental implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taheripour, Farzad; Hertel, Thomas W.; Tyner, Wallace E.; Beckman, Jayson F.; Birur, Dileep K.

2010-01-01

Recently a number of papers have used general equilibrium models to study the economy-wide and environmental consequences of the first generation of biofuels (FGB). In this paper, we argue that nearly all of these studies have overstated the impacts of FGB on global agricultural and land markets due to the fact that they have ignored the role of biofuel by-products. Feed by-products of FGB, such as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and oilseed meals (VOBP), are used in the livestock industry as protein and energy sources. Their presence mitigates the price impacts of biofuel production. More importantly, they reduce the demand for cropland and moderate the indirect land use consequences of FGB. This paper explicitly introduces DDGS and VOBP into a global computational general equilibrium (CGE) model, developed at the Center for Global Trade Analysis at Purdue University, to examine the economic and environmental impacts of regional and international mandate policies designed to stimulate bioenergy production and use. We show that models with and without by-products reveal different portraits of the economic impacts of the US and EU biofuel mandates for the world economy in 2015. While both models demonstrate significant changes in the agricultural production pattern across the world, the model with by-products shows smaller changes in the production of cereal grains and larger changes for oilseeds products in the US and EU, and the reverse for Brazil. Models that omit by-products are found to overstate cropland conversion from US and EU mandates by about 27%. (author)

The impact of extreme drought on the biofuel feedstock production

Science.gov (United States)

hussain, M.; Zeri, M.; Bernacchi, C.

2013-12-01

Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) have been identified as the primary targets for second-generation cellulosic biofuel crops. Prairie managed for biomass is also considered as one of the alternative to conventional biofuel and promised to provide ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. These perennial grasses possess a number of traits that make them desirable biofuel crops and can be cultivated on marginal lands or interspersed with maize and soybean in the Corn Belt region. The U.S. Corn Belt region is the world's most productive and expansive maize-growing region, approximately 20% of the world's harvested corn hectares are found in 12 Corn Belt states. The introduction of a second generation cellulosic biofuels for biomass production in a landscape dominated by a grain crop (maize) has potential implications on the carbon and water cycles of the region. This issue is further intensified by the uncertainty in the response of the vegetation to the climate change induced drought periods, as was seen during the extreme droughts of 2011 and 2012 in the Midwest. The 2011 and 2012 growing seasons were considered driest since the 1932 dust bowl period; temperatures exceeded 3.0 °C above the 50- year mean and precipitation deficit reached 50 %. The major objective of this study was to evaluate the drought responses (2011 and 2012) of corn and perennial species at large scale, and to determine the seasonability of carbon and water fluxes in the response of controlling factors. We measured net CO2 ecosystem exchange (NEE) and water fluxes of maize-maize-soybean, and perennial species such as miscanthus, switchgrass and mixture of prairie grasses, using eddy covariance in the University of Illinois energy farm at Urbana, IL. The data presented here were for 5 years (2008- 2012). In the first two years, higher NEE in maize led to large CO2 sequestration. NEE however, decreased in dry years, particularly in 2012. On the other

Harnessing biofuels. A global Renaissance in energy production?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jegannathan, Kenthorai Raman; Chan, Eng-Seng; Ravindra, Pogaku [Centre of Materials and Minerals, School of Engineering and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Malaysia)

2009-10-15

Biofuel, peoples' long awaiting alternative fuel, is yet to struggle a long way to reach in retail outlet all over the world as an economical and environmental friendly fuel. Biofuels include bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, bio-synthetic gas (bio-syngas), bio-oil, bio-char, Fischer-Tropsch liquids, and biohydrogen. Among these bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas are predominant which can be produced either using chemical catalyst or biocatalyst from biomass. At present, the conventional process involves the chemical catalyst while a rigorous research is focused on using a biocatalyst. This review brings out the advantages and disadvantages of using different type of catalyst in biofuel production and emphasis on new technologies as an alternative to conventional technologies. (author)

Toward nitrogen neutral biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Yi-Xin; Wernick, David G; Liao, James C

2012-06-01

Environmental concerns and an increasing global energy demand have spurred scientific research and political action to deliver large-scale production of liquid biofuels. Current biofuel processes and developing approaches have focused on closing the carbon cycle by biological fixation of atmospheric carbon dioxide and conversion of biomass to fuels. To date, these processes have relied on fertilizer produced by the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, and have not addressed the global nitrogen cycle and its environmental implications. Recent developments to convert protein to fuel and ammonia may begin to address these problems. In this scheme, recycling ammonia to either plant or algal feedstocks reduces the demand for synthetic fertilizer supplementation. Further development of this technology will realize its advantages of high carbon fixation rates, inexpensive and simple feedstock processing, in addition to reduced fertilizer requirements. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Streamflow impacts of biofuel policy-driven landscape change.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Khanal

Full Text Available Likely changes in precipitation (P and potential evapotranspiration (PET resulting from policy-driven expansion of bioenergy crops in the United States are shown to create significant changes in streamflow volumes and increase water stress in the High Plains. Regional climate simulations for current and biofuel cropping system scenarios are evaluated using the same atmospheric forcing data over the period 1979-2004 using the Weather Research Forecast (WRF model coupled to the NOAH land surface model. PET is projected to increase under the biofuel crop production scenario. The magnitude of the mean annual increase in PET is larger than the inter-annual variability of change in PET, indicating that PET increase is a forced response to the biofuel cropping system land use. Across the conterminous U.S., the change in mean streamflow volume under the biofuel scenario is estimated to range from negative 56% to positive 20% relative to a business-as-usual baseline scenario. In Kansas and Oklahoma, annual streamflow volume is reduced by an average of 20%, and this reduction in streamflow volume is due primarily to increased PET. Predicted increase in mean annual P under the biofuel crop production scenario is lower than its inter-annual variability, indicating that additional simulations would be necessary to determine conclusively whether predicted change in P is a response to biofuel crop production. Although estimated changes in streamflow volume include the influence of P change, sensitivity results show that PET change is the significantly dominant factor causing streamflow change. Higher PET and lower streamflow due to biofuel feedstock production are likely to increase water stress in the High Plains. When pursuing sustainable biofuels policy, decision-makers should consider the impacts of feedstock production on water scarcity.

Biofuels and certification. A workshop at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devereaux, Charan; Lee, Henry

2009-06-01

Liquid biofuels can provide a substitute for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Many countries have mandated the use of biofuels, by creating targets for their use. If not implemented with care, however, actions that increase biofuel production can put upward pressure on food prices, increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and exacerbate degradation of land, forest, and water sources. A strong global biofuels industry will not emerge unless these environmental and social concerns are addressed. Interested parties around the world are actively debating the design and implementation of policies to meet the biofuel goals, particularly those established in the United States and Europe. In general, policy options for managing the potential risks and benefits of biofuel development should specify not only clear standards governing biofuel content and production processes, but also certification processes for verifying whether particular biofuels meet those standards, and specific metrics or indicators on which to base the certification. Historically, many standards in the energy and environment fields have ultimately been set or supported by governments. Many of the certification processes have been voluntary, carried out by independent third parties. The biofuels case is a young one, however, with questions of goals, standards, certification, and metrics still in interdependent flux. The workshop focused its discussions on certification issues, but found the discussions naturally reaching into ongoing debates regarding possible goals, standards, and metrics. Many countries are proposing that for a biofuel to qualify as contributing to government-mandated targets or goals, it must be certified to meet certain standards. These standards could be limited to the amount of GHG emitted in the production process or could include a number of other environmental sustainability concerns ranging from deforestation and biodiversity to water resources. While the threat to

Life cycle environmental impacts of wastewater-based algal biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Dongyan; Min, Min; Krohn, Brian; Mullins, Kimberley A; Ruan, Roger; Hill, Jason

2014-10-07

Recent research has proposed integrating wastewater treatment with algae cultivation as a way of producing algal biofuels at a commercial scale more sustainably. This study evaluates the environmental performance of wastewater-based algal biofuels with a well-to-wheel life cycle assessment (LCA). Production pathways examined include different nutrient sources (municipal wastewater influent to the activated sludge process, centrate from the sludge drying process, swine manure, and freshwater with synthetic fertilizers) combined with emerging biomass conversion technologies (microwave pyrolysis, combustion, wet lipid extraction, and hydrothermal liquefaction). Results show that the environmental performance of wastewater-based algal biofuels is generally better than freshwater-based algal biofuels, but depends on the characteristics of the wastewater and the conversion technologies. Of 16 pathways compared, only the centrate cultivation with wet lipid extraction pathway and the centrate cultivation with combustion pathway have lower impacts than petroleum diesel in all environmental categories examined (fossil fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, and consumptive water use). The potential for large-scale implementation of centrate-based algal biofuel, however, is limited by availability of centrate. Thus, it is unlikely that algal biofuels can provide a large-scale and environmentally preferable alternative to petroleum transportation fuels without considerable improvement in current production technologies. Additionally, the cobenefit of wastewater-based algal biofuel production as an alternate means of treating various wastewaters should be further explored.

Energy valuation methods for biofuels in South Florida: Introduction to life cycle assessment and emergy approaches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Treese II, J. Van [Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee, FL (United States); Hanlon, Edward A. [Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee, FL (United States); Amponsah, Nana [Intelligentsia International, LaBelle, FL (United States); Izursa, Jose -Luis [Intelligentsia International, LaBelle, FL (United States); Capece, John C. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2013-03-01

Here, recent changes in the United States requiring the use of ethanol in gasoline for most vehicular transportation have created discussion about important issues, such as shifting the use of certain plants from food production to energy supply, related federal subsidies, effects on soil, water and atmosphere resources, tradeoffs between food production and energy production, speculation about biofuels as a possible means for energy security, potential reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or development and expansion of biofuels industry. A sustainable approach to biofuel production requires understanding inputs (i.e., energy required to carry out a process, both natural and anthropogenic) and outputs (i.e., energy produced by that process) and cover the entire process, as well as environmental considerations that can be overlooked in a more traditional approach. This publication gives an overview of two methods for evaluating energy transformations in biofuels production: (1) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and (2) Emergy Assessment (EA). The LCA approach involves measurements affecting greenhouse gases (GHG), which can be linked to the energy considerations used in the EA. Although these two methods have their basis in energy or GHG evaluations, their approaches can lead to a reliable judgment regarding a biofuel process. Using these two methods can ensure that the energy components are well understood and can help to evaluate the economic environmental component of a biofuel process. In turn, using these two evaluative tools will allow for decisions about biofuel processes that favor sustainability

Biofuel market and carbon modeling to evaluate French biofuel policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernard, F.; Prieur, A.

2006-10-01

In order to comply with European objectives, France has set up an ambitious biofuel plan. This plan is evaluated considering two criteria: tax exemption need and GHG emission savings. An economic marginal analysis and a life cycle assessment (LCA) are provided using a coupling procedure between a partial agro-industrial equilibrium model and a refining optimization model. Thus, we are able to determine the minimum tax exemption needed to place on the market a targeted quantity of biofuel by deducing the agro-industrial marginal cost of biofuel production to the biofuel refining long-run marginal revenue. In parallel, a biofuels LCA is carried out using model outputs. Such a method avoid common allocation problems between joint products. The French biofuel plan is evaluated for 2008, 2010 and 2012 using prospective scenarios. Results suggest that biofuel competitiveness depends on crude oil prices and petroleum products demands. Consequently, biofuel tax exemption does not always appear to be necessary. LCA results show that biofuels production and use, from 'seed to wheel', would facilitate the French Government's to compliance with its 'Plan Climat' objectives by reducing up to 5% GHG emissions in the French road transport sector by 2010. (authors)

Biofuels from algae for sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demirbas, M. Fatih

2011-01-01

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can produce lipids, proteins and carbohydrates in large amounts over short periods of time. These products can be processed into both biofuels and useful chemicals. Two algae samples (Cladophora fracta and Chlorella protothecoid) were studied for biofuel production. Microalgae appear to be the only source of renewable biodiesel that is capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuels. Microalgae can be converted to biodiesel, bioethanol, bio-oil, biohydrogen and biomethane via thermochemical and biochemical methods. Industrial reactors for algal culture are open ponds, photobioreactors and closed systems. Algae can be grown almost anywhere, even on sewage or salt water, and does not require fertile land or food crops, and processing requires less energy than the algae provides. Microalgae have much faster growth-rates than terrestrial crops. the per unit area yield of oil from algae is estimated to be from 20,000 to 80,000 liters per acre, per year; this is 7-31 times greater than the next best crop, palm oil. Algal oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and airplanes. The lipid and fatty acid contents of microalgae vary in accordance with culture conditions. The effect of temperature on the yield of hydrogen from two algae (C. fracta and C. protothecoid) by pyrolysis and steam gasification were investigated in this study. In each run, the main components of the gas phase were CO 2 , CO, H 2 , and CH 4 .The yields of hydrogen by pyrolysis and steam gasification processes of the samples increased with temperature. The yields of gaseous products from the samples of C. fracta and C. protothecoides increased from 8.2% to 39.2% and 9.5% to 40.6% by volume, respectively, while the final pyrolysis temperature was increased from 575 to 925 K. The percent of hydrogen in gaseous products from the samples of C. fracta and C. protothecoides increased from 25.8% to 44.4% and 27.6% to 48.7% by volume

Engineering industrial yeast for renewable advanced biofuels applications

Science.gov (United States)

The industrial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a candidate for the next-generation biocatalyst development due to its unique genomic background and robust performance in fermentation-based production. In order to meet challenges of renewable and sustainable advanced biofuels conversion including ...

Impacts of biofuels production alternatives on water quantity and quality in the Iowa River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Y.; Liu, S.

2012-01-01

Corn stover as well as perennial grasses like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and miscanthus are being considered as candidates for the second generation biofuel feedstocks. However, the challenges to biofuel development are its effects on the environment, especially water quality. This study evaluates the long-term impacts of biofuel production alternatives (e.g., elevated corn stover removal rates and the potential land cover change) on an ecosystem with a focus on biomass production, soil erosion, water quantity and quality, and soil nitrate nitrogen concentration at the watershed scale. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was modified for setting land cover change scenarios and applied to the Iowa River Basin (a tributary of the Upper Mississippi River Basin). Results show that biomass production can be sustained with an increased stover removal rate as long as the crop demand for nutrients is met with appropriate fertilization. Although a drastic increase (4.7–70.6%) in sediment yield due to erosion and a slight decrease (1.2–3.2%) in water yield were estimated with the stover removal rate ranging between 40% and 100%, the nitrate nitrogen load declined about 6–10.1%. In comparison to growing corn, growing either switchgrass or miscanthus can reduce sediment erosion greatly. However, land cover changes from native grass to switchgrass or miscanthus would lead to a decrease in water yield and an increase in nitrate nitrogen load. In contrast to growing switchgrass, growing miscanthus is more productive in generating biomass, but its higher water demand may reduce water availability in the study area.

A Techno-Economic Analysis of Emission Controls on Hydrocarbon Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhatt, Arpit; Zhang, Yimin; Davis, Ryan; Eberle, Annika; Heath, Garvin

2016-06-23

Biofuels have the potential to reduce our dependency on petroleum-derived transportation fuels and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although the overall GHG emissions from biofuels are expected to be lower when compared to those of petroleum fuels, the process of converting biomass feedstocks into biofuels emits various air pollutants, which may be subject to federal air quality regulation or emission limits. While prior research has evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of biofuel technologies, gaps still exist in understanding the regulatory issues associated with the biorefineries and their economic implications on biofuel production costs (referred to as minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) in this study). The aim of our research is to evaluate the economic impact of implementing emission reduction technologies at biorefineries and estimate the cost effectiveness of two primary control technologies that may be required for air permitting purposes. We analyze a lignocellulosic sugars-to-hydrocarbon biofuel production pathway developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and implement air emission controls in Aspen Plus to evaluate how they affect the MFSP. Results from this analysis can help inform decisions about biorefinery siting and sizing, as well as mitigate the risks associated with air permitting.

The biofuel potential of crop based biomass in Denmark in 2020; Danmarks potentiale for afgroedebaseret biobraendstofproduktion i aar 2020

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertelsen Blume, S

2008-02-15

According to climate change observations and foresights several countries including Denmark have committed to reduce GHGemissions. However, the transport sector is still increasing its GHGemissions. Substitution of fossil fuels with biofuels seems to be the best way to reduce CO{sub 2}-emission from this sector on the shorter term. This project evaluates how Denmark can produce enough biofuels to fulfil the political goal of 10 % substitution of the fossil fuel consumption in the year of 2020. This project also approaches the suitability of different crop species to the biofuel industry. Maize and sugar beet are the most suitable crops for biofuel production when only focusing on maximum biofuel yield. Alfalfa is likewise showings great potential and is the most suitable crop in terms of sustainable biofuel production, because of low energy requirements (diesel, fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation) during cropping. Even though maize has higher needs for energy during cropping, it will still be suitable for sustainable biofuel production because of the high biofuel yield. Present calculations show that it is possible to meet the required amount of biofuels by using domestic biomass, which is currently exported (cereal grain) or not utilized (eg. straw). However, these calculations assume that it will become possible to convert the whole amount of carbohydrates into biofuel before 2020. In terms of assessing the biofuel production potential three storylines are defined for the development until 2020. Changes in land use and crop composition are suggested for each storyline to adjust the biofuel production to Danish agriculture. The biofuel production potential is also assessed for two regions in Denmark. Here the region of Storstroem shows greater potential than the region of Soenderjylland because of low density of domestic animals. (au)

Forecasting China’s Annual Biofuel Production Using an Improved Grey Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nana Geng

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Biofuel production in China suffers from many uncertainties due to concerns about the government’s support policy and supply of biofuel raw material. Predicting biofuel production is critical to the development of this energy industry. Depending on the biofuel’s characteristics, we improve the prediction precision of the conventional prediction method by creating a dynamic fuzzy grey–Markov prediction model. Our model divides random time series decomposition into a change trend sequence and a fluctuation sequence. It comprises two improvements. We overcome the problem of considering the status of future time from a static angle in the traditional grey model by using the grey equal dimension new information and equal dimension increasing models to create a dynamic grey prediction model. To resolve the influence of random fluctuation data and weak anti-interference ability in the Markov chain model, we improve the traditional grey–Markov model with classification of states using the fuzzy set theory. Finally, we use real data to test the dynamic fuzzy prediction model. The results prove that the model can effectively improve the accuracy of forecast data and can be applied to predict biofuel production. However, there are still some defects in our model. The modeling approach used here predicts biofuel production levels based upon past production levels dictated by economics, governmental policies, and technological developments but none of which can be forecast accurately based upon past events.

The Energy Challenge for Pacific Island Countries: Sustainable Development and Energy Security through Bio-fuel Substitution for Remote Populations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mace, M.J.

2006-10-15

Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face a number of development challenges as a result of their small size and geographically-remote locations. One of the most prominent is access to affordable energy supplies. The high cost of petroleum products affects all sectors, impacting islanders' day to day life and undermining achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Measures are needed that can support energy security and fair pricing in PICs, through improved regulatory frameworks and the substitution of local energy resources for imported fuels wherever possible. At the macro level, regional bulk procurement contracts offer one option to address the challenge of expensive imported petroleum products. At the micro level, biofuel substitution may offer another opportunity. Coconut biodiesel, produced from locally-harvested coconuts, may enable these remote island populations to develop their own sustainable energy supplies, and provide sustainable livelihoods for their people.

Laccase applications in biofuels production: current status and future prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudanga, Tukayi; Le Roes-Hill, Marilize

2014-08-01

The desire to reduce dependence on the ever diminishing fossil fuel reserves coupled with the impetus towards green energy has seen increased research in biofuels as alternative sources of energy. Lignocellulose materials are one of the most promising feedstocks for advanced biofuels production. However, their utilisation is dependent on the efficient hydrolysis of polysaccharides, which in part is dependent on cost-effective and benign pretreatment of biomass to remove or modify lignin and release or expose sugars to hydrolytic enzymes. Laccase is one of the enzymes that are being investigated not only for potential use as pretreatment agents in biofuel production, mainly as a delignifying enzyme, but also as a biotechnological tool for removal of inhibitors (mainly phenolic) of subsequent enzymatic processes. The current review discusses the major advances in the application of laccase as a potential pretreatment strategy, the underlying principles as well as directions for future research in the search for better enzyme-based technologies for biofuel production. Future perspectives could include synergy between enzymes that may be required for optimal results and the adoption of the biorefinery concept in line with the move towards the global implementation of the bioeconomy strategy.

Subsidy modes, waste cooking oil and biofuel: Policy effectiveness and sustainable supply chains in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Huiming; Li, Lianshui; Zhou, Peng; Hou, Jianmin; Qiu, Yueming

2014-01-01

Many countries are concerned with the waste-to-energy for economic development and societal welfare. This paper constructs a dynamic game model that, for the first time compares the incentive effects of four common subsidy modes on waste cooking oil supply for biofuel refining and sales of waste cooking oil refined products. The model considers the impact of preferential tax treatment, a raw material subsidy, a sales subsidy and an investment subsidy on the profits of biofuel enterprises and waste cooking oil recyclers. Results indicate that common approaches adopted in developed economies such as raw material price subsidies and finished products sales subsidies increase the profits of both biofuel enterprises and recyclers. On the contrary, investment subsidies, which are relatively common in some regions of China, increase the profits of recyclers, while reducing revenues achieved by biofuel enterprises. To promote the supply chain, policy should give priority to raw material price subsidies and finished products sales subsidies, and for investment subsidies, however, the government should be cautious

Oil crops in biofuel applications: South Africa gearing up for a bio-based economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BB Marvey

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Large fluctuations in crude oil prices and the diminishing oil supply have left economies vulnerable to energy shortages thus placing an enormous pressure on nations around the world to seriously consider alternative renewable resources as feedstock in biofuel applications. Apart from energy security reasons, biofuels offer other advantages over their petroleum counterparts in that they contribute to the reduction in green- house gas emissions and to sustainable development. Just a few decades after discontinuing its large scale production of bioethanol for use as en- gine fuel, South Africa (SA is again on its way to resuscitating its biofuel industry. Herein an overview is presented on South Africa’s oilseed and biofuel production, biofuels industrial strategy, industry readiness, chal- lenges in switching to biofuels and the strategies to overcome potential obstacles.

Facing the challenge of sustainable bioenergy production: Could halophytes be part of the solution?

Science.gov (United States)

Debez, Ahmed; Belghith, Ikram; Friesen, Jan; Montzka, Carsten; Elleuche, Skander

2017-01-01

Due to steadily growing population and economic transitions in the more populous countries, renewable sources of energy are needed more than ever. Plant biomass as a raw source of bioenergy and biofuel products may meet the demand for sustainable energy; however, such plants typically compete with food crops, which should not be wasted for producing energy and chemicals. Second-generation or advanced biofuels that are based on renewable and non-edible biomass resources are processed to produce cellulosic ethanol, which could be further used for producing energy, but also bio-based chemicals including higher alcohols, organic acids, and bulk chemicals. Halophytes do not compete with conventional crops for arable areas and freshwater resources, since they grow naturally in saline ecosystems, mostly in semi-arid and arid areas. Using halophytes for biofuel production may provide a mid-term economically feasible and environmentally sustainable solution to producing bioenergy, contributing, at the same time, to making saline areas - which have been considered unproductive for a long time - more valuable. This review emphasises on halophyte definition, global distribution, and environmental requirements. It also examines their enzymatic valorization, focusing on salt-tolerant enzymes from halophilic microbial species that may be deployed with greater advantage compared to their conventional mesophilic counterparts for faster degradation of halophyte biomass.

From riches to rags: Biofuels, media discourses, and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sengers, F. [Eindhoven University of Technology, School of Innovation Sciences, PO Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Raven, R.P.J.M., E-mail: r.p.j.m.raven@tue.n [Eindhoven University of Technology, School of Innovation Sciences, PO Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Van Venrooij, A. [Erasmus University, Department for the Study of Arts and Culture, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2010-09-15

This study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with practitioner interviews. The quantitative analyses reveal the dynamics in the content of media discourse, but also its underlying structure in the form of two axes, each representing opposite socio-cognitive frames: 'techno-economic vs. social-ecological' and 'regional vs. global'. In-depth interviews with key practitioners in the Dutch biofuels field support these finding and provide additional insights with regard to (a) perceived shifts in media coverage; (b) cognitive pluralism; (c) the politics involved; and (d) resistance in practice.

From riches to rags: Biofuels, media discourses, and resistance to sustainable energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sengers, F.; Raven, R.P.J.M.; Van Venrooij, A.

2010-01-01

This study aims to open the black box of resistance to sustainable energy technologies by analyzing (shifts in) media discourse. To this end, media coverage on biofuels in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2008 is analyzed by means of combining novel quantitative approaches with practitioner interviews. The quantitative analyses reveal the dynamics in the content of media discourse, but also its underlying structure in the form of two axes, each representing opposite socio-cognitive frames: 'techno-economic vs. social-ecological' and 'regional vs. global'. In-depth interviews with key practitioners in the Dutch biofuels field support these finding and provide additional insights with regard to (a) perceived shifts in media coverage; (b) cognitive pluralism; (c) the politics involved; and (d) resistance in practice.

Cascading biomethane energy systems for sustainable green gas production in a circular economy

OpenAIRE

Wall, David M.; McDonagh, Shane; Murphy, Jerry D.

2017-01-01

Biomethane is a flexible energy vector that can be used as a renewable fuel for both the heat and transport sectors. Recent EU legislation encourages the production and use of advanced, third generation biofuels with improved sustainability for future energy systems. The integration of technologies such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, and power to gas, along with advanced feedstocks such as algae will be at the forefront in meeting future sustainability criteria and achieving a green ga...

Land and agronomic potential for biofuel production in Southern Africa

OpenAIRE

von Maltitz, Graham; van der Merwe, Marna

2017-01-01

The Southern African region, from a purely biophysical perspective, has huge potential for biofuel production, especially in Mozambique and Zambia. Although many of the soils are sandy and acidic, with careful management and correct fertilization, they should be highly productive. We suggest that sugarcane is the crop most easily mobilized for biofuel. A number of other crops, such as sweet sorghum, cassava, and tropical sugar beet, have good potential but will need further agronomic and proc...

Examining the potential for liquid biofuels production and usage in Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afrane, George

2012-01-01

The perennial political and social upheavals in major oil-producing regions, the increasing energy demand from emerging economies, the global economic crisis and even environmental disasters, like the recent major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all contribute to price fluctuations and escalations. Usually price instability affects the least-developed countries with the most fragile economies, like Ghana, the most. This paper gives a brief overview of the Ghanaian energy situation, describes the liquid biofuel production processes and examines the possibility of replacing some of the fossil fuels consumed annually, with locally produced renewable biofuels. Various scenarios for substituting different portions of petrol and diesel with biofuels derived from cassava and palm oil are examined. Based on 2009 crop production and fuel consumption data, replacement of 5% of both petrol and diesel with biofuels would require 1.96% and 17.3% of the cassava and palm oil produced in that year, respectively; while replacement of 10% of both fossil fuels would need 3.91% and 34.6% of the corresponding biofuels. Thus while petrol replacement could be initiated with little difficulty, regarding raw material availability, biodiesel would require enhanced palm oil production and/or oil supplement from other sources, including, potentially, jatropha. An implementation strategy is proposed.

Bio-fuel co-products in France: perspectives and consequences for cattle food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The development of bio-fuels goes along with that of co-products which can be used to feed animals. After having recalled the political context which promotes the development of renewable energies, this document aims at giving an overview of the impact of bio-fuel co-products on agriculture economy. It discusses the production and price evolution for different crops

Biofuel market and carbon modeling to analyse French biofuel policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernard, F.; Prieur, A.

2007-01-01

In order to comply with European Union objectives, France has set up an ambitious biofuel plan. This plan is evaluated on the basis of two criteria: tax exemption on fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission savings. An economic marginal analysis and a life cycle assessment (LCA) are provided using a coupling procedure between a partial agro-industrial equilibrium model and an oil refining optimization model. Thus, we determine the minimum tax exemption needed to place on the market a targeted quantity of biofuel by deducting the biofuel long-run marginal revenue of refiners from the agro-industrial marginal cost of biofuel production. With a clear view of the refiner's economic choices, total pollutant emissions along the biofuel production chains are quantified and used to feed an LCA. The French biofuel plan is evaluated for 2008, 2010 and 2012 using prospective scenarios. Results suggest that biofuel competitiveness depends on crude oil prices and demand for petroleum products and consequently these parameters should be taken into account by authorities to modulate biofuel tax exemption. LCA results show that biofuel production and use, from 'seed to wheel', would facilitate the French Government's compliance with its 'Plan Climat' objectives by reducing up to 5% GHG emissions in the French road transport sector by 2010

Bio-fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This report presents an overview of the technologies which are currently used or presently developed for the production of bio-fuels in Europe and more particularly in France. After a brief history of this production since the beginning of the 20. century, the authors describe the support to agriculture and the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy, outline the influence of the present context of struggle against the greenhouse effect, and present the European legislative context. Data on the bio-fuels consumption in the European Union in 2006 are discussed. An overview of the evolution of the activity related to bio-fuels in France, indicating the locations of ethanol and bio-diesel production facilities, and the evolution of bio-fuel consumption, is given. The German situation is briefly presented. Production of ethanol by fermentation, the manufacturing of ETBE, the bio-diesel production from vegetable oils are discussed. Second generation bio-fuels are then presented (cellulose enzymatic processing), together with studies on thermochemical processes and available biomass resources

Biorefineries for chemical and biofuel production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fjerbæk Søtoft, Lene

crops for biofuel production is research in biorefineries using a whole-crop approach with the aim of having an optimal use of all the components of the specific crop. Looking at rape as a model crop, the components can be used for i.e. bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, biohydrogen, feed, food and plant...

Cyanobacterial Biofuels: Strategies and Developments on Network and Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Klanchui, Amornpan; Raethong, Nachon; Prommeenate, Peerada; Vongsangnak, Wanwipa; Meechai, Asawin

Cyanobacteria, the phototrophic microorganisms, have attracted much attention recently as a promising source for environmentally sustainable biofuels production. However, barriers for commercial markets of cyanobacteria-based biofuels concern the economic feasibility. Miscellaneous strategies for improving the production performance of cyanobacteria have thus been developed. Among these, the simple ad hoc strategies resulting in failure to optimize fully cell growth coupled with desired product yield are explored. With the advancement of genomics and systems biology, a new paradigm toward systems metabolic engineering has been recognized. In particular, a genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction and modeling is a crucial systems-based tool for whole-cell-wide investigation and prediction. In this review, the cyanobacterial genome-scale metabolic models, which offer a system-level understanding of cyanobacterial metabolism, are described. The main process of metabolic network reconstruction and modeling of cyanobacteria are summarized. Strategies and developments on genome-scale network and modeling through the systems metabolic engineering approach are advanced and employed for efficient cyanobacterial-based biofuels production.

DETERMINANTS FOR LIQUID BIOFUELS PRODUCTION IN POLAND AFTER 2006 – MODEL APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Borychowski

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Liquid biofuels from agricultural raw materials (mainly cereals and oilseeds are produced in Poland on an industrial scale since 2005. Poland, implementing guidelines for the energy policy of the European Union, is committed to ensure the share of liquid biofuels in the total fuel consumption in transport in at least 10% by 2020. The development of liquid biofuels market is therefore dependent on the one hand on institutional factors (legal and administrative regulations, and on the other hand, primarily on the situation of agricultural raw materials markets (supply-demand relationships and prices and macroeconomic factors, mainly crude oil prices. The aim of the paper is empirical identification of determinants for the production of liquid biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel in Poland. For this purpose there were built two econometric models based on multiple regression, indicating exactly which factors contribute to the increase or decrease in the production of liquid biofuels. For the bioethanol production importance are mainly sales of bioethanol, the variables concerning the cereals market (prices, purchase and export and macroeconomic factors – interest rate, GDP growth rate (change and USD / PLN exchange rate. Important determinants for the biodiesel production include total sale of biodiesel, production of rapeseed oil, import of rapeseed and vegetable oils (rapeseed oil and palm oil and their prices, as well as crude oil prices, which represent the macroeconomic environment. 

Ensuring sustainability in developing world biofuel productoin

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Von Maltitz, Graham P

2009-06-01

Full Text Available el N at io n al an d in te rn at io n al liq u id fu el s bl en ds Type 1 projects E.g. Mali Folkecentre Ghana Dumpong Biofuels See text box A and B Type 4 projects E.g. Large scale commercial plantations... approach Mali farmer growing jatropha as a fuel source to fuel 3 X 100 KW generators that will provide power to his village Brazilian ethanol production from large scale mechanised sugar cane fields Is certification and setting...

Metabolic engineering of microorganisms for biofuels production: from bugs to synthetic biology to fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuk Lee, Sung; Chou, Howard; Ham, Timothy S.; Soon Lee, Taek; Keasling, Jay D.

2009-12-02

The ability to generate microorganisms that can produce biofuels similar to petroleum-based transportation fuels would allow the use of existing engines and infrastructure and would save an enormous amount of capital required for replacing the current infrastructure to accommodate biofuels that have properties significantly different from petroleum-based fuels. Several groups have demonstrated the feasibility of manipulating microbes to produce molecules similar to petroleum-derived products, albeit at relatively low productivity (e.g. maximum butanol production is around 20 g/L). For cost-effective production of biofuels, the fuel-producing hosts and pathways must be engineered and optimized. Advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology will provide new tools for metabolic engineers to better understand how to rewire the cell in order to create the desired phenotypes for the production of economically viable biofuels.

Genes related to xylose fermentation and methods of using same for enhanced biofuel production

Science.gov (United States)

Wohlbach, Dana J.; Gasch, Audrey P.

2014-08-05

The present invention provides isolated gene sequences involved in xylose fermentation and related recombinant yeast which are useful in methods of enhanced biofuel production, particularly ethanol production. Methods of bioengineering recombinant yeast useful for biofuel production are also provided.

Synthetic Biology Guides Biofuel Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R. Connor

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The advancement of microbial processes for the production of renewable liquid fuels has increased with concerns about the current fuel economy. The development of advanced biofuels in particular has risen to address some of the shortcomings of ethanol. These advanced fuels have chemical properties similar to petroleum-based liquid fuels, thus removing the need for engine modification or infrastructure redesign. While the productivity and titers of each of these processes remains to be improved, progress in synthetic biology has provided tools to guide the engineering of these processes through present and future challenges.

Microalgal cultivation with biogas slurry for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Liandong; Yan, Cheng; Li, Zhaohua

2016-11-01

Microalgal growth requires a substantial amount of chemical fertilizers. An alternative to the utilization of fertilizer is to apply biogas slurry produced through anaerobic digestion to cultivate microalgae for the production of biofuels. Plenty of studies have suggested that anaerobic digestate containing high nutrient contents is a potentially feasible nutrient source to culture microalgae. However, current literature indicates a lack of review available regarding microalgal cultivation with biogas slurry for the production of biofuels. To help fill this gap, this review highlights the integration of digestate nutrient management with microalgal production. It first unveils the current status of microalgal production, providing basic background to the topic. Subsequently, microalgal cultivation technologies using biogas slurry are discussed in detail. A scale-up scheme for simultaneous biogas upgrade and digestate application through microalgal cultivation is then proposed. Afterwards, several uncertainties that might affect this practice are explored. Finally, concluding remarks are put forward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The biofuels excellence network; Rede de excelencia em biocombustiveis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Paulo de Tarso; Nascimento Filho, Lenart Palmeira do; Campos, Michel Fabianski [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Freire, Luiz Gustavo de Melo [Accenture, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

The organization of the Biofuels Excellence Network, inside PROMINP - the Program of Mobilization of the National Industry of Oil and Natural Gas, has the objective of improving the actions of technical innovation and management in the chain of Oil, Gas Natural and Biofuels, through the optimized use of physical, financial, technological resources, of information and staff, with maximum qualification in areas of the human knowledge, whose purpose is to make decisions on specific problems of improvement of processes and/or products, besides promoting actions for the development and reinforcement of the markets of ethanol and biodiesel. The organization of the Biofuels Excellence Network became necessary, in order to enable Brazil to reach vanguard standards in biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) in a sustainable, competitive and environmentally responsible way. Among the main reasons for the creation of the Biofuels Excellence Network are: to speed up the acquisition of knowledge and innovation, through partnerships with academical, technological, and government institutions; to contribute with PETROBRAS Strategical Planning planned goals; to capture synergies through the accomplishment of Projects of the Strategical Partners interest; to create sustainable economic value as a result of the Network Projects; to foster specialized professional qualification for the alcohol industry. (author)

Compositional analysis and projected biofuel potentials from common West African agricultural residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Sune Tjalfe; Kádár, Zsófia; Schmidt, Jens Ejbye

2014-01-01

In recent years the focus on sustainable biofuel production from agricultural residues has increased considerably. However, the scientific work within this field has predominantly been concentrated upon bioresources from industrialised and newly industrialised countries, while analyses of the res......In recent years the focus on sustainable biofuel production from agricultural residues has increased considerably. However, the scientific work within this field has predominantly been concentrated upon bioresources from industrialised and newly industrialised countries, while analyses......, cassava stalks, plantain peelings, plantain trunks, plantain leaves, cocoa husks, cocoa pods, maize cobs, maize stalks, rice straw, groundnut straw and oil palm empty fruit bunches. The yam peelings showed the highest methane and bioethanol potentials, with 439 L methane (kg Total Solids)−1 and 0.61 L...... bioethanol (kg TS)−1 based on starch and cellulose alone due to their high starch content and low content of un-biodegradable lignin and ash. A complete biomass balance was done for each of the 13 residues, providing a basis for further research into the production of biofuels or biorefining from West...

Tailoring next-generation biofuels and their combustion in next-generation engines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gladden, John Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wu, Weihua [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Taatjes, Craig A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Scheer, Adam Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Turner, Kevin M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Yu, Eizadora T. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); O' Bryan, Greg [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Powell, Amy Jo [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gao, Connie W. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2013-11-01

Increasing energy costs, the dependence on foreign oil supplies, and environmental concerns have emphasized the need to produce sustainable renewable fuels and chemicals. The strategy for producing next-generation biofuels must include efficient processes for biomass conversion to liquid fuels and the fuels must be compatible with current and future engines. Unfortunately, biofuel development generally takes place without any consideration of combustion characteristics, and combustion scientists typically measure biofuels properties without any feedback to the production design. We seek to optimize the fuel/engine system by bringing combustion performance, specifically for advanced next-generation engines, into the development of novel biosynthetic fuel pathways. Here we report an innovative coupling of combustion chemistry, from fundamentals to engine measurements, to the optimization of fuel production using metabolic engineering. We have established the necessary connections among the fundamental chemistry, engine science, and synthetic biology for fuel production, building a powerful framework for co-development of engines and biofuels.

Metabolic engineering for the microbial production of isoprenoids: Carotenoids and isoprenoid-based biofuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fu-Xing Niu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Isoprenoids are the most abundant and highly diverse group of natural products. Many isoprenoids have been used for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, flavors, cosmetics, food additives and biofuels. Carotenoids and isoprenoid-based biofuels are two classes of important isoprenoids. These isoprenoids have been produced microbially through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology efforts. Herein, we briefly review the engineered biosynthetic pathways in well-characterized microbial systems for the production of carotenoids and several isoprenoid-based biofuels.

Land Use Change under Biofuel Policies and a Tax on Meat and Dairy Products: Considering Complexity in Agricultural Production Chains Matters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Delzeit

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Growing demand for meat and dairy products (MDP, biofuels, and scarcity of agricultural land are drivers of global land use competition. Impacts of policies targeting demand for MDP or biofuels have only been analysed separately. We use the computable general equilibrium model DART-BIO to investigate combined effects, since MDP and biofuel production are closely related via feestock use and co-production of animal feed. We implement four scenarios: (a a baseline scenario; (b halving MDP consumption in industrialised countries by a tax; (c abolishing current biofuel policies; and (d no exogenous land use change. We find that a MDP tax and exogenous land use change have larger effects on land use and food markets than biofuel policies. International trade is affected in all scenarios. With respect to combined effects of a MDP tax and biofuel policies, we find decreasing biodiesel but increasing bioethanol production. In addition, the MDP tax decreases the impact of biofuel policies on agricultural markets and land use. Our results highlight the importance of a detailed representation of different vegetable oils used in biodiesel production and related by-products. Finally, since the MDP tax increases the use of fossil fuels, the net climate mitigation potentials of such a tax should be investigated further.

Integrated automation for continuous high-throughput synthetic chromosome assembly and transformation to identify improved yeast strains for industrial production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals

Science.gov (United States)

An exponential increase in our understanding of genomes, proteomes, and metabolomes provides greater impetus to address critical biotechnological issues such as sustainable production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals and, in particular, the development of improved microbial biocatalysts for use i...

Trade-offs between Biofuels Energy Production, Land Use and Water Use in Florida

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fidler, Michal [Intelligentsia International Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Capece, John [Intelligentsia International Inc., LaBelle, FL (United States); Hanlon, Edward [Univ. of Florida, Immokalee, FL (United States); Alsharif, Kamal [Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL (United States)

2014-02-11

Objective of the presentation is to document land use and water use implications of biomass production to demonstrate the overall resources implications associated with bioethanol production for Florida’s transportation sector needs. Rationale for using biofuels (BF) is explained, so are advantages & challenges of BF production and use. Land use changes (LUC) in Florida are presented and consequences outlined. It is documented that Florida’s agricultural land is a very limited resource, with only 0.43 ac/person comparing to the global average of 1.71 ac/person. The direct relation of increased biofuels production causing increased water use is explained. Favorable climate, water resources, advanced research, traditional leading agricultural role, minor oil reserves, no refineries and increasing energy demands are the main reasons why Florida considers pursuing BF production in large scale. Eight various bioethanol crops produced in Florida were considered in this study (Miscanthus, Switchgrass, Sweet Sorghum, Corn, Elephantgrass, Sugarcane, Energycane, Eucalyptus). Biomass yield and bioethanol yield of these crops are documented. Bioethanol needs of Florida are estimated and related land requirements for the needed bioethanol production calculated. Projections for various bioethanol blends (E15 to E85) are then presented. Finally, water demand for biofuels production is quantified. It is concluded that land use requirement for production of all ethanol in E85 fuel blend in Florida is roughly the same as the total available ag land in Florida for the best yielding biofuels crops (energycane, eucalyptus). Water demand for production of all ethanol needed for E100 would increase current overall water consumption in Florida between 65% and 100% for the most common biofuels crops. Vehicular energy is only 33% of Floridians energy consumption, so even all Florida’s agricultural land was given up for biofuels, it would still produce only 33% of Florida’s total

Improving Biofuels Recovery Processes for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Biofuels are made from living or recently living organisms. For example, ethanol can be made from fermented plant materials. Biofuels have a number of important benefits when compared to fossil fuels. Biofuels are produced from renewable energy sources such as agricultural resou...

Industrial-strength ecology: trade-offs and opportunities in algal biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Shurin, Jonathan B; Abbott, Rachel L; Deal, Michael S; Kwan, Garfield T; Litchman, Elena; McBride, Robert C; Mandal, Shovon; Smith, Val H

2013-11-01

Microalgae represent one of the most promising groups of candidate organisms for replacing fossil fuels with contemporary primary production as a renewable source of energy. Algae can produce many times more biomass per unit area than terrestrial crop plants, easing the competing demands for land with food crops and native ecosystems. However, several aspects of algal biology present unique challenges to the industrial-scale aquaculture of photosynthetic microorganisms. These include high susceptibility to invading aquatic consumers and weeds, as well as prodigious requirements for nutrients that may compete with the fertiliser demands of other crops. Most research on algal biofuel technologies approaches these problems from a cellular or genetic perspective, attempting either to engineer or select algal strains with particular traits. However, inherent functional trade-offs may limit the capacity of genetic selection or synthetic biology to simultaneously optimise multiple functional traits for biofuel productivity and resilience. We argue that a community engineering approach that manages microalgal diversity, species composition and environmental conditions may lead to more robust and productive biofuel ecosystems. We review evidence for trade-offs, challenges and opportunities in algal biofuel cultivation with a goal of guiding research towards intensifying bioenergy production using established principles of community and ecosystem ecology. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Panorama 2017 - 2016 overview and outlook for biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorne, Daphne

2016-06-01

With falling fossil fuel prices, 2015 was marked by a general decline in the appeal of alternative fuels. But although growth in worldwide volume of biofuel production and consumption is slowing, blending requirements continue to increase and investment, though declining, is still taking place. To ensure the long-term sustainability of biofuel processes, a variety of conditions must be met, such as an increase in fossil energy prices and/or CO_2 taxation, the use of policy levers including implementation of post-2020 objectives (incorporation levels, reduction of greenhouse gases, etc.) and fuel blending standards

Sustainable Harvest for Food and Fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grosshans, Raymond R.; Kostelnik, Kevin, M.; Jacobson, Jacob J.

2007-04-01

The DOE Biomass Program recently implemented the Biofuels Initiative, or 30x30 program, with the dual goal of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by making cellulosic ethanol cost competitive with gasoline by 2012 and by replacing 30 percent of gasoline consumption with biofuels by 2030. Experience to date with increasing ethanol production suggests that it distorts agricultural markets and therefore raises concerns about the sustainability of the DOE 30 X 30 effort: Can the U.S. agricultural system produce sufficient feedstocks for biofuel production and meet the food price and availability expectations of American consumers without causing environmental degradation that would curtail the production of both food and fuel? Efforts are underway to develop computer-based modeling tools that address this concern and support the DOE 30 X 30 goals. Beyond technical agronomic and economic concerns, however, such models must account for the publics’ growing interest in sustainable agriculture and in the mitigation of predicted global climate change. This paper discusses ongoing work at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies that investigates the potential consequences and long-term sustainability of projected biomass harvests by identifying and incorporating “sustainable harvest indicators” in a computer modeling strategy.

The GHG balance of biofuels taking into account land use change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lange, Mareike

2011-01-01

The contribution of biofuels to the saving of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has recently been questioned because of emissions resulting from land use change (LUC) for bioenergy feedstock production. We investigate how the inclusion of the carbon effect of LUC into the carbon accounting framework, as scheduled by the European Commission, impacts on land use choices for an expanding biofuel feedstock production. We first illustrate the change in the carbon balances of various biofuels, using methodology and data from the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. It becomes apparent that the conversion of natural land, apart from grassy savannahs, impedes meeting the EU's 35% minimum emissions reduction target for biofuels. We show that the current accounting method mainly promotes biofuel feedstock production on former cropland, thus increasing the competition between food and fuel production on the currently available cropland area. We further discuss whether it is profitable to use degraded land for commercial bioenergy production as requested by the European Commission to avoid undesirable LUC and conclude that the current regulation provides little incentive to use such land. The exclusive consideration of LUC for bioenergy production minimizes direct LUC at the expense of increasing indirect LUC. - Research highlights: → We analyzed the EC's current sustainability regulations for biofuels with respect to land use change (LUC). → The current regulatory system taking LUCs into account minimizes direct LUC at the cost of increasing indirect LUC. → We propose subjecting all agricultural activities to a carbon accounting system. → In the short run, the indirect LUC risk can be reduced by promoting high energy productive crops and biofuel feedstock production on degraded land.

Comprehensive techno-economic analysis of wastewater-based algal biofuel production: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Chunhua; Addy, Min M; Zhao, Jinyu; Cheng, Yanling; Cheng, Sibo; Mu, Dongyan; Liu, Yuhuan; Ding, Rijia; Chen, Paul; Ruan, Roger

2016-07-01

Combining algae cultivation and wastewater treatment for biofuel production is considered the feasible way for resource utilization. An updated comprehensive techno-economic analysis method that integrates resources availability into techno-economic analysis was employed to evaluate the wastewater-based algal biofuel production with the consideration of wastewater treatment improvement, greenhouse gases emissions, biofuel production costs, and coproduct utilization. An innovative approach consisting of microalgae cultivation on centrate wastewater, microalgae harvest through flocculation, solar drying of biomass, pyrolysis of biomass to bio-oil, and utilization of co-products, was analyzed and shown to yield profound positive results in comparison with others. The estimated break even selling price of biofuel ($2.23/gallon) is very close to the acceptable level. The approach would have better overall benefits and the internal rate of return would increase up to 18.7% if three critical components, namely cultivation, harvest, and downstream conversion could achieve breakthroughs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring new strategies for cellulosic biofuels production

Science.gov (United States)

Paul Langan; S. Gnankaran; Kirk D. Rector; Norma Pawley; David T. Fox; Dae Won Cho; Kenneth E. Hammel

2011-01-01

A research program has been initiated to formulate new strategies for efficient low-cost lignocellulosic biomass processing technologies for the production of biofuels. This article reviews results from initial research into lignocellulosic biomass structure, recalcitrance, and pretreatment. In addition to contributing towards a comprehensive understanding of...

Integrating sustainable biofuels and byproducts into forest industry supply chains

Science.gov (United States)

Reid Hensen; Maureen Essen; Nathaniel Anderson; Larry Peters; April Kimmerly

2016-01-01

Forest biomass is a promising feedstock for the production of bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts because it is renewable and widely available as a byproduct of forest management. Its harvest and use also has the potential to positively impact rural communities, especially those negatively impacted by upheaval in the forest sector.

The Jatropha biofuels sector in Tanzania 2005-9 : evolution towards sustainability?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Romijn, H.A.; Caniëls, M.C.J.

2011-01-01

Biofuel production has recently attracted much attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are doubtful, envisaging large trade-offs between the pursuit of social, environmental and economic

Biofuels are (Not the Future! Legitimation Strategies of Sustainable Ventures in Complex Institutional Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neil A. Thompson

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainable ventures often lack legitimacy (perceived to be desirable and appropriate because various stakeholder groups use contradictory institutions (rules and norms to make their judgements, which leads to there being fewer resources available and higher failure rates. Using an institutional theory framework and a multi-case research design with 15 biofuel ventures operating in the Netherlands, this study asks how sustainable entrepreneurs attempt to gain legitimacy in these circumstances. Analysis reveals that the entrepreneurs use a combination of rhetorical, reconciliatory and institutional change strategies to obtain legitimacy from different stakeholder groups. These findings further our understanding of sustainable entrepreneurial behavior by revealing how and why different legitimation strategies are used in complex institutional environments.

Mathematical modeling of unicellular microalgae and cyanobacteria metabolism for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Baroukh, Caroline; Muñoz-Tamayo, Rafael; Bernard, Olivier; Steyer, Jean-Philippe

2015-06-01

The conversion of microalgae lipids and cyanobacteria carbohydrates into biofuels appears to be a promising source of renewable energy. This requires a thorough understanding of their carbon metabolism, supported by mathematical models, in order to optimize biofuel production. However, unlike heterotrophic microorganisms that utilize the same substrate as sources of energy and carbon, photoautotrophic microorganisms require light for energy and CO2 as carbon source. Furthermore, they are submitted to permanent fluctuating light environments due to outdoor cultivation or mixing inducing a flashing effect. Although, modeling these nonstandard organisms is a major challenge for which classical tools are often inadequate, this step remains a prerequisite towards efficient optimization of outdoor biofuel production at an industrial scale. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Jatropha biofuels sector in Tanzania 2005-9 : evolution towards sustainability?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caniëls, M.C.J.; Romijn, H.A.

2010-01-01

Biofuel production has recently attracted a great deal of attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are more doubtful, envisaging large trade-offs between the pursuit of social, environmental

The role of biochemical engineering in the production of biofuels from microalgae.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Jorge Alberto Vieira; de Morais, Michele Greque

2011-01-01

Environmental changes that have occurred due to the use of fossil fuels have driven the search for alternative sources that have a lower environmental impact. First-generation biofuels were derived from crops such as sugar cane, corn and soybean, which contribute to water scarcity and deforestation. Second-generation biofuels originated from lignocellulose agriculture and forest residues, however these needed large areas of land that could be used for food production. Based on technology projections, the third generation of biofuels will be derived from microalgae. Microalgae are considered to be an alternative energy source without the drawbacks of the first- and second-generation biofuels. Depending upon the growing conditions, microalgae can produce biocompounds that are easily converted into biofuels. The biofuels from microalgae are an alternative that can keep the development of human activity in harmony with the environment. This study aimed to present the main biofuels that can be derived from microalgae. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Possibilities and limitations for sustainable bioenergy production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smeets, Edward Martinus Wilhelmus Utrecht University

2008-05-01

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the possibilities and limitations of sustainable bioenergy production. To this end, the following research questions have been formulated: (1). What is the potential of different world regions to produce biomass for energy generation in the year 2050, taking account of biological and climatological limitations, the use of biomass to produce food, materials and traditional bioenergy, as well as the need to maintain existing forests and thus protect biodiversity?; (2) What are the main bottlenecks to formulating and implementing sustainability criteria for bioenergy production?; (3) To what extent does complying with sustainability criteria have impacts on the costs and potential of bioenergy production?; (4) To what extent do fertilizer- and manure-induced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions due to energy crop production have an impact on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when conventional transportation fuels are replaced by first-generation biofuels?; (5) In terms of economic and environmental performance, how does Europe's production, storage and transport of miscanthus and switchgrass in 2004 compare to that in 2030? Throughout this thesis, specific attention is paid to knowledge gaps and their potential impact on results, the aim being to identify priorities for future research and development. Another key element of our research is that we evaluate the possibilities and limitations of strategies that are designed to improve the performance of bioenergy production systems and that may be incorporated in bioenergy certification schemes and bioenergy promoting policies

Biofuels: which interest, which perspectives?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This paper is a synthesis of several studies concerning the production and utilization of bio-fuels: energy balance and greenhouse effect of the various bio-fuel systems; economical analysis and profitability of bio-fuel production; is the valorization of bio-fuel residues and by-products in animal feeding a realistic hypothesis?; assessment of the cost for the community due to tax exemption for bio-fuels

Product quality optimization in an integrated biorefinery: Conversion of pistachio nutshell biomass to biofuels and activated biochars via pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Işıtan, Seçil; Ceylan, Selim; Topcu, Yıldıray; Hintz, Chloe; Tefft, Juliann; Chellappa, Thiago; Guo, Jicheng; Goldfarb, Jillian L.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Pyrolysis temperature key variable in manipulating biofuel quality. • Pyrolysis temperature does not impact activated biochar surface area. • Activation temperature key variable to optimize surface area of pistachio biochar. • Statistical model accurately predicts surface area of biochar, especially above 600 m"2/g. - Abstract: An economically viable transition to a renewable, sustainable energy future hinges on the ability to simultaneously produce multiple high value products from biomass precursors. Though there is considerable literature on the thermochemical conversion of biomass to biofuels and biochars, there are few holistic examinations that seek to understand trade-offs between biofuel quality and the associated pyrolysis conditions on activated carbons made from the resulting biochars. Using an Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis, this study probes the impact of pyrolysis and activation temperature on surface areas and pore volumes for 28 carbon dioxide-activated carbons. Activation temperature has the largest single impact of any other variable; increasing the temperature from 800 to 900 °C leads to an increase in surface area of more than 300 m"2/g. Contrary to some prior results, pyrolysis temperature has minimal effect on the resulting surface area and pore volume, suggesting that optimizing the temperature at which biofuels are extracted will have little impact on carbon dioxide-activated carbons. Increasing pyrolysis temperature increases methane formation but decreases gaseous hydrocarbons. Bio-oil obtained at lower pyrolysis temperatures shows fewer oxygenated compounds, indicating a greater stability, but higher pyrolysis temperatures maximize production of key biorefinery intermediaries such as furans. By analyzing data in such a holistic manner, it may be possible to optimize the production of biofuels and activated carbons from biomass by minimizing the amount of raw materials and energy necessary to maximize

National Geo-Database for Biofuel Simulations and Regional Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Izaurralde, Roberto C.; Zhang, Xuesong; Sahajpal, Ritvik; Manowitz, David H.

2012-04-01

The goal of this project undertaken by GLBRC (Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Area 4 (Sustainability) modelers is to develop a national capability to model feedstock supply, ethanol production, and biogeochemical impacts of cellulosic biofuels. The results of this project contribute to sustainability goals of the GLBRC; i.e. to contribute to developing a sustainable bioenergy economy: one that is profitable to farmers and refiners, acceptable to society, and environmentally sound. A sustainable bioenergy economy will also contribute, in a fundamental way, to meeting national objectives on energy security and climate mitigation. The specific objectives of this study are to: (1) develop a spatially explicit national geodatabase for conducting biofuel simulation studies; (2) model biomass productivity and associated environmental impacts of annual cellulosic feedstocks; (3) simulate production of perennial biomass feedstocks grown on marginal lands; and (4) locate possible sites for the establishment of cellulosic ethanol biorefineries. To address the first objective, we developed SENGBEM (Spatially Explicit National Geodatabase for Biofuel and Environmental Modeling), a 60-m resolution geodatabase of the conterminous USA containing data on: (1) climate, (2) soils, (3) topography, (4) hydrography, (5) land cover/ land use (LCLU), and (6) ancillary data (e.g., road networks, federal and state lands, national and state parks, etc.). A unique feature of SENGBEM is its 2008-2010 crop rotation data, a crucially important component for simulating productivity and biogeochemical cycles as well as land-use changes associated with biofuel cropping. We used the EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate) model to simulate biomass productivity and environmental impacts of annual and perennial cellulosic feedstocks across much of the USA on both croplands and marginal lands. We used data from LTER and eddy-covariance experiments within the study region to test the

The Jathopha biofuels sector in Tanzania 2005-9 : evolution towards sustainability?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Caniëls, M.C.J.; Romijn, H.A.

2009-01-01

Biofuel production from the tropical plant Jatropha curcas L. has recently attracted a great deal of attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits from its cultivation, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are more doubtful, envisaging

Can biofuel crops alleviate tribal poverty in India's drylands?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agoramoorthy, Govindasamy; Hsu, Minna J.; Chaudhary, Sunita; Shieh, Po-Chuen

2009-01-01

The on-going climate change concerns have stimulated heavy interest in biofuels, and supporters of biofuels hail that they are considered naturally carbon-neutral. Critiques on the other hand cry that the large-scale production of biofuels can not only strain agricultural resources, but also threaten future food security. People who live in the drylands of India are often faced with challenges and constraints of poverty. Foremost among the challenges are the marginal environmental conditions for agriculture, often influenced by low and erratic rainfall, frequent droughts, poor soil condition, unreliable irrigation water supply, and rural migration to urban areas in search of work. In this paper, we have analyzed a case study of community lift irrigation practiced in India and its impact in boosting agricultural productivity and enhancing local food security. The lift-irrigation model practiced in the drylands of India to grow food crops can be adopted for the expansion of biofuel crops that has the potential to eradicate poverty among farming communities if appropriate sustainable development measures are carefully implemented. (author)

Increasing Feedstock Production for Biofuels: Economic Drivers, Environmental Implications, and the Role of Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2009-10-27

The Biomass Research and Development Board (Board) commissioned an economic analysis of feedstocks to produce biofuels. The Board seeks to inform investments in research and development needed to expand biofuel production. This analysis focuses on feedstocks; other interagency teams have projects underway for other parts of the biofuel sector (e.g., logistics). The analysis encompasses feedstocks for both conventional and advanced biofuels from agriculture and forestry sources.

A comprehensive review of biomass resources and biofuel production in Nigeria: potential and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Sokan-Adeaga, Adewale Allen; Ana, Godson R E E

2015-01-01

The quest for biofuels in Nigeria, no doubt, represents a legitimate ambition. This is so because the focus on biofuel production has assumed a global dimension, and the benefits that may accrue from such effort may turn out to be enormous if the preconditions are adequately satisfied. As a member of the global community, it has become exigent for Nigeria to explore other potential means of bettering her already impoverished economy. Biomass is the major energy source in Nigeria, contributing about 78% of Nigeria's primary energy supply. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the potential of biomass resources and biofuel production in Nigeria is given. The study adopted a desk review of existing literatures on major energy crops produced in Nigeria. A brief description of the current biofuel developmental activities in the country is also given. A variety of biomass resources exist in the country in large quantities with opportunities for expansion. Biomass resources considered include agricultural crops, agricultural crop residues, forestry resources, municipal solid waste, and animal waste. However, the prospects of achieving this giant stride appear not to be feasible in Nigeria. Although the focus on biofuel production may be a worthwhile endeavor in view of Nigeria's development woes, the paper argues that because Nigeria is yet to adequately satisfy the preconditions for such program, the effort may be designed to fail after all. To avoid this, the government must address key areas of concern such as food insecurity, environmental crisis, and blatant corruption in all quarters. It is concluded that given the large availability of biomass resources in Nigeria, there is immense potential for biofuel production from these biomass resources. With the very high potential for biofuel production, the governments as well as private investors are therefore encouraged to take practical steps toward investing in agriculture for the production of energy crops and the

Vermont Biofuels Initiative: Local Production for Local Use to Supply a Portion of Vermont's Energy Needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sawyer, Scott; Kahler, Ellen

2009-05-31

The Vermont Biofuels initiative (VBI) is the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund's (VSJF) biomass-to-biofuels market development program. Vermont is a small state with a large petroleum dependency for transportation (18th in per capita petroleum consumption) and home heating (55% of all households use petroleum for heating). The VBI marks the first strategic effort to reduce Vermont's dependency on petroleum through the development of homegrown alternatives. As such, it supports the four key priorities of the U.S. Department of Energy's Multi-year Biomass Plan: 1.) Dramatically reduce dependence on foreign oil; 2.) Promote the use of diverse, domestic and sustainable energy resources; 3.) Reduce carbon emissions from energy production and consumption; 4.) Establish a domestic bioindustry. In 2005 VSJF was awarded with a $496,000 Congressionally directed award from U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. This award was administered through the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-FG36- 05GO85017, hereafter referred to as DOE FY05) with $396,000 to be used by VSJF for biodiesel development and $100,000 to be used by the Vermont Department of Public Service for methane biodigester projects. The intent and strategic focus of the VBI is similar to another DOE funded organization-the Biofuels Center of North Carolina-in that it is a nonprofit driven, statewide biofuels market development effort. DOE FY05 funds were expensed from 2006 through 2008 for seven projects: 1) a feedstock production, logistics, and biomass conversion research project conducted by the University of Vermont Extension; 2) technical assistance in the form of a safety review and engineering study of State Line Biofuels existing biodiesel production facility; 3) technical assistance in the form of a safety review and engineering study of Borderview Farm's proposed biodiesel production facility; 4) technology and infrastructure purchases for capacity expansion at Green Technologies, LLC, a waste vegetable

Biofuels sources, biofuel policy, biofuel economy and global biofuel projections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demirbas, Ayhan

2008-01-01

The term biofuel is referred to liquid, gas and solid fuels predominantly produced from biomass. Biofuels include energy security reasons, environmental concerns, foreign exchange savings, and socioeconomic issues related to the rural sector. Biofuels include bioethanol, biomethanol, vegetable oils, biodiesel, biogas, bio-synthetic gas (bio-syngas), bio-oil, bio-char, Fischer-Tropsch liquids, and biohydrogen. Most traditional biofuels, such as ethanol from corn, wheat, or sugar beets, and biodiesel from oil seeds, are produced from classic agricultural food crops that require high-quality agricultural land for growth. Bioethanol is a petrol additive/substitute. Biomethanol can be produced from biomass using bio-syngas obtained from steam reforming process of biomass. Biomethanol is considerably easier to recover than the bioethanol from biomass. Ethanol forms an azeotrope with water so it is expensive to purify the ethanol during recovery. Methanol recycles easier because it does not form an azeotrope. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative liquid fuel that can be used in any diesel engine without modification. There has been renewed interest in the use of vegetable oils for making biodiesel due to its less polluting and renewable nature as against the conventional petroleum diesel fuel. Due to its environmental merits, the share of biofuel in the automotive fuel market will grow fast in the next decade. There are several reasons for biofuels to be considered as relevant technologies by both developing and industrialized countries. Biofuels include energy security reasons, environmental concerns, foreign exchange savings, and socioeconomic issues related to the rural sector. The biofuel economy will grow rapidly during the 21st century. Its economy development is based on agricultural production and most people live in the rural areas. In the most biomass-intensive scenario, modernized biomass energy contributes by 2050 about one half of total energy

Energy security for India: Biofuels, energy efficiency and food productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunatilake, Herath; Roland-Holst, David; Sugiyarto, Guntur

2014-01-01

The emergence of biofuel as a renewable energy source offers opportunities for significant climate change mitigation and greater energy independence to many countries. At the same time, biofuel represents the possibility of substitution between energy and food. For developing countries like India, which imports over 75% of its crude oil, fossil fuels pose two risks—global warming pollution and long-term risk that oil prices will undermine real living standards. This paper examines India's options for managing energy price risk in three ways: biofuel development, energy efficiency promotion, and food productivity improvements. Our salient results suggest that biodiesel shows promise as a transport fuel substitute that can be produced in ways that fully utilize marginal agricultural resources and hence promote rural livelihoods. First-generation bioethanol, by contrast, appears to have a limited ability to offset the impacts of oil price hikes. Combining the biodiesel expansion policy with energy efficiency improvements and food productivity increases proved to be a more effective strategy to enhance both energy and food security, help mitigate climate change, and cushion the economy against oil price shocks. - Highlights: • We investigate the role of biofuels in India applying a CGE model. • Biodiesel enhances energy security and improve rural livelihoods. • Sugarcane ethanol does not show positive impact on the economy. • Biodiesel and energy efficiency improvements together provide better results. • Food productivity further enhances biodiesel, and energy efficiency impacts

2016 National Algal Biofuels Technology Review Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2016-06-01

Algae-based biofuels and bioproducts offer great promise in contributing to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO’s) vision of a thriving and sustainable bioeconomy fueled by innovative technologies. The state of technology for producing algal biofuels continues to mature with ongoing investment by DOE and the private sector, but additional research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) is needed to achieve widespread deployment of affordable, scalable, and sustainable algal biofuels.

Chromatin landscaping in algae reveals novel regulation pathway for biofuels production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngan, Chew Yee; Wong, Chee-Hong; Choi, Cindy; Pratap, Abhishek; Han, James; Wei, Chia-Lin

2013-02-19

The diminishing reserve of fossil fuels calls for the development of biofuels. Biofuels are produced from renewable resources, including photosynthetic organisms, generating clean energy. Microalgae is one of the potential feedstock for biofuels production. It grows easily even in waste water, and poses no competition to agricultural crops for arable land. However, little is known about the algae lipid biosynthetic regulatory mechanisms. Most studies relied on the homology to other plant model organisms, in particular Arabidopsis or through low coverage expression analysis to identify key enzymes. This limits the discovery of new components in the biosynthetic pathways, particularly the genetic regulators and effort to maximize the production efficiency of algal biofuels. Here we report an unprecedented and de novo approach to dissect the algal lipid pathways through disclosing the temporal regulations of chromatin states during lipid biosynthesis. We have generated genome wide chromatin maps in chlamydomonas genome using ChIP-seq targeting 7 histone modifications and RNA polymerase II in a time-series manner throughout conditions activating lipid biosynthesis. To our surprise, the combinatory profiles of histone codes uncovered new regulatory mechanism in gene expression in algae. Coupled with matched RNA-seq data, chromatin changes revealed potential novel regulators and candidate genes involved in the activation of lipid accumulations. Genetic perturbation on these candidate regulators further demonstrated the potential to manipulate the regulatory cascade for lipid synthesis efficiency. Exploring epigenetic landscape in microalgae shown here provides powerful tools needed in improving biofuel production and new technology platform for renewable energy generation, global carbon management, and environmental survey.

Metabolomics of Clostridial Biofuel Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabinowitz, Joshua D [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Aristilde, Ludmilla [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Amador-Noguez, Daniel [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

2015-09-08

Members of the genus Clostridium collectively have the ideal set of the metabolic capabilities for fermentative biofuel production: cellulose degradation, hydrogen production, and solvent excretion. No single organism, however, can effectively convert cellulose into biofuels. Here we developed, using metabolomics and isotope tracers, basic science knowledge of Clostridial metabolism of utility for future efforts to engineer such an organism. In glucose fermentation carried out by the biofuel producer Clostridium acetobutylicum, we observed a remarkably ordered series of metabolite concentration changes as the fermentation progressed from acidogenesis to solventogenesis. In general, high-energy compounds decreased while low-energy species increased during solventogenesis. These changes in metabolite concentrations were accompanied by large changes in intracellular metabolic fluxes, with pyruvate directed towards acetyl-CoA and solvents instead of oxaloacetate and amino acids. Thus, the solventogenic transition involves global remodeling of metabolism to redirect resources from biomass production into solvent production. In contrast to C. acetobutylicum, which is an avid fermenter, C. cellulolyticum metabolizes glucose only slowly. We find that glycolytic intermediate concentrations are radically different from fast fermenting organisms. Associated thermodynamic and isotope tracer analysis revealed that the full glycolytic pathway in C. cellulolyticum is reversible. This arises from changes in cofactor utilization for phosphofructokinase and an alternative pathway from phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate. The net effect is to increase the high-energy phosphate bond yield of glycolysis by 150% (from 2 to 5) at the expense of lower net flux. Thus, C. cellulolyticum prioritizes glycolytic energy efficiency over speed. Degradation of cellulose results in other sugars in addition to glucose. Simultaneous feeding of stable isotope-labeled glucose and unlabeled pentose sugars

Microalgae for third generation biofuel production, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and wastewater treatment: Present and future perspectives – A mini review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maity, Jyoti Prakash; Bundschuh, Jochen; Chen, Chien-Yen; Bhattacharya, Prosun

2014-01-01

The extensive use of fossil fuels is increasingly recognized as unsustainable as a consequence of depletion of supplies and the contribution of these fuels to climate change by GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions into the atmosphere. Microalgae indicate alternative renewable sustainable energy sources as they have a high potential for producing large amounts of biomass which in turn can be used for production of different third-generation biofuels at large scale. Microalgae transform the solar energy into the carbon storage products, leads to lipid accumulation, including TAG (triacylglycerols), which then can be transformed into biodiesel, bioethanol and biomethanol. This paper reviews the selection, production and accumulation of target bioenergy carrier's strains and their advantages as well as the technological development for oil, biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, biogas production and GHG mitigation. The feedstock of promising algal strain exhibits the suitable biofuel production. The current progress of hybrid-technologies (biomass production, wastewater treatment, GHG mitigation) for production of prime-products as biofuels offer atmospheric pollution control such as the reduction of GHG (CO 2 fixation) coupling wastewater treatment with microalgae growth. The selection of efficient strain, microbial metabolism, cultivation systems, biomass production are key parameters of viable technology for microalgae-based biodiesel-production. - Highlights: • Microalgae are promising feedstock for biofuel production within lower farming area. • Production rate (L/ha) of oil from microalgae is much higher than other feedstock. • Lipid of Chlorella emersonii, Botryococcus braunii, Dunaliella tertiolecta, are high (>60% of dw biomass). • Remove pollutant from wastewater during feedstock production by selective strains. • Ecofriendly route to mitigate GHG (greenhouse gas) and water pollution during microalgae production

Genetic Resources for Advanced Biofuel Production Described with the Gene Ontology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trudy eTorto-Alalibo

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Dramatic increases in research in the area of microbial biofuel production coupled with high-throughput data generation on bioenergy-related microbes has led to a deluge of information in the scientific literature and in databases. Consolidating this information and making it easily accessible requires a unified vocabulary. The Gene Ontology (GO fulfills that requirement, as it is a well-developed structured vocabulary that describes the activities and locations of gene products in a consistent manner across all kingdoms of life. The Microbial Energy Gene Ontology (MENGO: http://www.mengo.biochem.vt.edu project is extending the GO to include new terms to describe microbial processes of interest to bioenergy production. Our effort has added over 600 bioenergy related terms to the Gene Ontology. These terms will aid in the comprehensive annotation of gene products from diverse energy-related microbial genomes. An area of microbial energy research that has received a lot of attention is microbial production of advanced biofuels. These include alcohols such as butanol, isopropanol, isobutanol, and fuels derived from fatty acids, isoprenoids, and polyhydroxyalkanoates. These fuels are superior to first generation biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel esterified from vegetable oil or animal fat, can be generated from non-food feedstock sources, can be used as supplements or substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuels, and can be stored and distributed using existing infrastructure. Here we review the roles of genes associated with synthesis of advanced biofuels, and at the same time introduce the use of the GO to describe the functions of these genes in a standardized way.

Advice on the accelerated market implementation of advanced biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-04-01

The Platform for Sustainable Mobility aims to promote the accelerated market introduction of more sustainable motor fuels and vehicle technology. The Platform distinguishes four transition paths: hybridization of the fleet of cars; implementation of biofuels; hydrogen-fuelled driving (driving on natural gas and biogas); intelligent transport systems (ITS). This advice involves part of the transition path for the implementation of biofuels, i.e. accelerated market introduction of advances biofuels. [mk] [nl

World Biofuels Production Potential Understanding the Challenges to Meeting the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sastri, B.; Lee, A.

2008-09-15

This study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates the worldwide potential to produce biofuels including biofuels for export. It was undertaken to improve our understanding of the potential for imported biofuels to satisfy the requirements of Title II of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in the coming decades. Many other countries biofuels production and policies are expanding as rapidly as ours. Therefore, we modeled a detailed and up-to-date representation of the amount of biofuel feedstocks that are being and can be grown, current and future biofuels production capacity, and other factors relevant to the economic competitiveness of worldwide biofuels production, use, and trade. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) identified and prepared feedstock data for countries that were likely to be significant exporters of biofuels to the U.S. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) calculated conversion costs by conducting material flow analyses and technology assessments on biofuels technologies. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) integrated the country specific feedstock estimates and conversion costs into the global Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) model. The model uses least-cost optimization to project the future state of the global energy system in five year increments. World biofuels production was assessed over the 2010 to 2030 timeframe using scenarios covering a range U.S. policies (tax credits, tariffs, and regulations), as well as oil prices, feedstock availability, and a global CO{sub 2} price. All scenarios include the full implementation of existing U.S. and selected other countries biofuels policies (Table 4). For the U.S., the most important policy is the EISA Title II Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It progressively increases the required volumes of renewable fuel used in motor vehicles (Appendix B). The RFS requires 36 billion (B) gallons (gal) per year of renewable fuels by 2022

Effects of US biofuel policies on US and world petroleum product markets with consequences for greenhouse gas emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, Wyatt; Whistance, Jarrett; Meyer, Seth

2011-01-01

US biofuel policy includes greenhouse gas reduction targets. Regulators do not address the potential that biofuel policy can have indirect impacts on greenhouse gases through its impacts on petroleum product markets, and scientific research only partially addresses this question. We use economic models of US biofuel and agricultural markets and US and world petroleum and petroleum product markets to show that discontinuing biofuel tax credits and ethanol tariff lower biofuel use could lead to increased US petroleum product use, and a reduction in petroleum product use in other parts of the world. The net effect is lower greenhouse gas emissions. Under certain assumptions, we show that biofuel use mandate elimination can have positive or negative impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. The magnitude and the direction of effects depend on how US biofuel trade affects biofuel in other countries with different emissions, context that determines how important use mandates are in the first place, who pays mandate costs, and the price responsiveness of global petroleum supplies and uses. However, our results show that counter-intuitive effects are possible and discourage broad conclusions about the greenhouse gas impacts of removing these elements of US biofuel policy. - Highlights: → Biofuel policy has counter-intuitive greenhouse gas effects under certain conditions. → US biofuel policies affect global petroleum markets, with implications for GHGs. → US biofuel use mandate GHG effects depend on whether they are binding and who pays. → US biofuel GHGs are sensitive to policy, petroleum market responses, and biofuel trade.

Biofuels barometer - EurObserv'ER - July 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-07-01

The European Union governments no longer view the rapid increase in biofuel consumption as a priority. Between 2010 and 2011 biofuel consumption increased by 3.1%, which translates into 14 million tons of oil equivalent (toe) used in 2011 compared to 13.6 million toe in 2010. The European Union's attention has shifted to setting up sustainability systems to verify that the biofuel used in the various countries complies with the Renewable Energy Directive's sustainability criteria

Can biofuels be sustainable by 2020? An assessment for an obligatory blending target of 10% in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bindraban, P.; Bulte, E.; Conijn, S.; Eickhout B; Hoogwijk M; Londo, M.

2009-06-01

The expectation is that globally more land will be needed for agriculture for food and feed during the coming decade or more. The rate of productivity increase is not likely to keep up with the strongly increasing demand for food and feed. Moreover, in addition to the demand for food as projected by economic models, higher supply rates are needed to adequately feed food insecure people. An additional demand for biofuels before 2020 will increase this pressure on land, with negative impacts on biodiversity. Direct greenhouse gas savings of biofuels are generally positive within the production chain, provided good agronomic management. As the agricultural acreage for food production will increase in the coming decade, production of food and non-food based feedstock for biofuels will put a direct or indirect claim on natural lands. The land clearing for the production of biofuels can cause land use changes, anywhere in the world. Depending on the carbon stocks of the land taken into production, chosen crops and agronomic management, this can lead to substantial greenhouse gas emissions, offsetting the direct greenhouse gains in the production chain. The use of marginal land for biofuels can deliver beneficiary results, but it is uncertain that much feedstock will be produced on these marginal lands by 2020. Since additional policies are not analysed in this study, performed within the framework of the Netherlands Research Programme on Scientific Assessment and Policy Analysis for Climate Change (WAB), two perspectives have been described how these negative aspects can be handled until 2020. One perspective assumes that even significant changes within the coming decade will not be able to reduce the expected negative implications of biofuels. The other perspective assumes that major efforts should be taken to reduce negative effects

Pathways to Carbon-Negative Liquid Biofuels

Science.gov (United States)

Woolf, D.; Lehmann, J.

2017-12-01

Many climate change mitigation scenarios assume that atmospheric carbon dioxide removal will be delivered at scale using bioenergy power generation with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). However, other pathways to negative emission technologies (NETs) in the energy sector are possible, but have received relatively little attention. Given that the costs, benefits and life-cycle emissions of technologies vary widely, more comprehensive analyses of the policy options for NETs are critical. This study provides a comparative assessment of the potential pathways to carbon-negative liquid biofuels. It is often assumed that that decarbonisation of the transport sector will include use of liquid biofuels, particularly for applications that are difficult to electrify such as aviation and maritime transport. However, given that biomass and land on which to grow it sustainably are limiting factors in the scaling up of both biofuels and NETs, these two strategies compete for shared factors of production. One way to circumvent this competition is carbon-negative biofuels. Because capture of exhaust CO2 in the transport sector is impractical, this will likely require carbon capture during biofuel production. Potential pathways include, for example, capture of CO2 from fermentation, or sequestration of biochar from biomass pyrolysis in soils, in combination with thermochemical or bio-catalytic conversion of syngas to alcohols or alkanes. Here we show that optimal pathway selection depends on specific resource constraints. As land availability becomes increasingly limiting if bioenergy is scaled up—particularly in consideration that abandoned degraded land is widely considered to be an important resource that does not compete with food fiber or habitat—then systems which enhance land productivity by increasing soil fertility using soil carbon sequestration become increasingly preferable compared to bioenergy systems that deplete or degrade the land resource on which they

Thermodynamic evaluation of biomass-to-biofuels production systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Piekarczyk, W.; Czarnowska, L.; Ptasinski, K.J.; Stanek, W.

2013-01-01

Biomass is a renewable feedstock for producing modern energy carriers. However, the usage of biomass is accompanied by possible drawbacks, mainly due to limitation of land and water, and competition with food production. In this paper, the analysis concerns so-called second generation biofuels, like

Inhibition of Snl6 expression for biofuel production

Science.gov (United States)

Bart, Rebecca; Chern, Mawsheng; Ronald, Pamela; Vega-Sanchez, Miguel

2018-04-03

The invention provides compositions and methods for inhibiting the expression of the gene Snl6 in plants. Plants with inhibited expression of Snl6 have use in biofuel production, e.g., by increasing the amount of soluble sugar that can be extracted from the plant.

Biofuels and the Greater Mekong Subregion: Assessing the impact on prices, production and trade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Jun; Huang, Jikun; Qiu, Huanguang [Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Jia 11, Datun Road, Beijing 100101 (China); Rozelle, Scott [Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, Stanford University, East Encina Hall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Sombilla, Mercy A. [Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, College, Laguna 4031 (Philippines)

2009-11-15

Similar to many other countries, all nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have planned or are planning to develop strong national biofuel programs. The overall goal of this paper is to better understand the impacts of global and regional biofuels on agriculture and the rest of the economy, with a specific focus on the GMS. Based on a modified multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model, this study reveals that global biofuel development will significantly increase agricultural prices and production and change trade in agricultural commodities in the GMS and the rest of world. While biofuel in the GMS will have little impacts on global prices, it will have significant effects on domestic agricultural production, land use, trade, and food security. The results also show that the extent of impacts from biofuel is highly dependent on international oil prices and the degree of substitution between biofuel and gasoline. The findings of this study have important policy implications for the GMS countries and the rest of world. (author)

Biofuels and the Greater Mekong Subregion: Assessing the impact on prices, production and trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jun; Huang, Jikun; Qiu, Huanguang; Rozelle, Scott; Sombilla, Mercy A.

2009-01-01

Similar to many other countries, all nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have planned or are planning to develop strong national biofuel programs. The overall goal of this paper is to better understand the impacts of global and regional biofuels on agriculture and the rest of the economy, with a specific focus on the GMS. Based on a modified multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model, this study reveals that global biofuel development will significantly increase agricultural prices and production and change trade in agricultural commodities in the GMS and the rest of world. While biofuel in the GMS will have little impacts on global prices, it will have significant effects on domestic agricultural production, land use, trade, and food security. The results also show that the extent of impacts from biofuel is highly dependent on international oil prices and the degree of substitution between biofuel and gasoline. The findings of this study have important policy implications for the GMS countries and the rest of world. (author)

Biofuel technologies. Recent developments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Vijai Kumar [National Univ. of Ireland Galway (Ireland). Dept. of Biochemistry; MITS Univ., Rajasthan (India). Dept. of Science; Tuohy, Maria G. (eds.) [National Univ. of Ireland Galway (Ireland). Dept. of Biochemistry

2013-02-01

Written by experts. Richly illustrated. Of interest to both experienced researchers and beginners in the field. Biofuels are considered to be the main potential replacement for fossil fuels in the near future. In this book international experts present recent advances in biofuel research and related technologies. Topics include biomethane and biobutanol production, microbial fuel cells, feedstock production, biomass pre-treatment, enzyme hydrolysis, genetic manipulation of microbial cells and their application in the biofuels industry, bioreactor systems, and economical processing technologies for biofuel residues. The chapters provide concise information to help understand the technology-related implications of biofuels development. Moreover, recent updates on biofuel feedstocks, biofuel types, associated co- and byproducts and their applications are highlighted. The book addresses the needs of postgraduate researchers and scientists across diverse disciplines and industrial sectors in which biofuel technologies and related research and experimentation are pursued.

Lignin-containing Feedstock Hydrogenolysis for Biofuel Component Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Shimanskaya

2018-01-01

How to Cite: Shimanskaya, E.I., Stepacheva, A.A., Sulman, E.M., Rebrov, E.V., Matveeva, V.G. (2018. Lignin-containing Feedstock Hydrogenolysis for Biofuel Component Production. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 13 (1: 74-81 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.13.1.969.74-81

Recent patents on genetic modification of plants and microbes for biomass conversion to biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Lubieniechi, Simona; Peranantham, Thinesh; Levin, David B

2013-04-01

Development of sustainable energy systems based on renewable biomass feedstocks is now a global effort. Lignocellulosic biomass contains polymers of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, bound together in a complex structure. Liquid biofuels, such as ethanol, can be made from biomass via fermentation of sugars derived from the cellulose and hemicellulose within lignocellulosic materials, but pre-treatment of the biomass to release sugars for microbial conversion is a significant barrier to commercial success of lignocellulosic biofuel production. Strategies to reduce the energy and cost inputs required for biomass pre-treatment include genetic modification of plant materials to reduce lignin content. Significant efforts are also underway to create recombinant microorganisms capable of converting sugars derived from lignocellulosic biomass to a variety of biofuels. An alternative strategy to reduce the costs of cellulosic biofuel production is the use of cellulolytic microorganisms capable of direct microbial conversion of ligno-cellulosic biomass to fuels. This paper reviews recent patents on genetic modification of plants and microbes for biomass conversion to biofuels.

SOLID BIOFUEL UTILIZATION IN VEGETABLE OIL PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slusarenko V.