IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v61y2013icp595-598.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The rationality of biofuels

Author

Listed:
  • Horta Nogueira, Luiz Augusto
  • Moreira, Jose Roberto
  • Schuchardt, Ulf
  • Goldemberg, Jose

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Horta Nogueira, Luiz Augusto & Moreira, Jose Roberto & Schuchardt, Ulf & Goldemberg, Jose, 2013. "The rationality of biofuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 595-598.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:595-598
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513004679
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.112?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pacca, Sergio & Moreira, José R., 2009. "Historical carbon budget of the brazilian ethanol program," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4863-4873, November.
    2. Goldemberg, José & Coelho, Suani Teixeira & Guardabassi, Patricia, 2008. "The sustainability of ethanol production from sugarcane," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 2086-2097, June.
    3. Lee R. Lynd & Jeremy Woods, 2011. "Perspective: A new hope for Africa," Nature, Nature, vol. 474(7352), pages 20-21, June.
    4. Seabra, Joaquim E.A. & Macedo, Isaias C., 2011. "Comparative analysis for power generation and ethanol production from sugarcane residual biomass in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 421-428, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dorel Dusmanescu & Jean Andrei & Gheorghe H. Popescu & Elvira Nica & Mirela Panait, 2016. "Heuristic Methodology for Estimating the Liquid Biofuel Potential of a Region," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Ahmed, Abubakari & Campion, Benjamin Betey & Gasparatos, Alexandros, 2017. "Biofuel development in Ghana: policies of expansion and drivers of failure in the jatropha sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 133-149.
    3. Afra Bashira Binth Arman & Fridolin Krausmann & Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain & Mohammad Sujauddin, 2023. "The evolution of biomass flows in Bangladesh (1961–2019): Providing insights for Bangladesh's transition to a sustainable circular bioeconomy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(1), pages 71-83, February.
    4. Eva Cudlínová & Valny Giacomelli Sobrinho & Miloslav Lapka & Luca Salvati, 2020. "New Forms of Land Grabbing Due to the Bioeconomy: The Case of Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Goldemberg, José & Souza, Glaucia Mendes & Maciel-Filho, Rubens & Cantarella, Heitor, 2018. "Scaling up biofuels? A critical look at expectations performance and governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 655-657.
    6. Goetz, Ariane & Searchinger, Tim & Beringer, Tim & German, Laura & McKay, Ben & Oliveira, Gustavo de L.T. & Hunsberger, Carol, 2018. "Reply to commentary on the special issue Scaling up biofuels? A critical look at expectations, performance and governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 658-665.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Crago, Christine L. & Khanna, Madhu & Barton, Jason & Giuliani, Eduardo & Amaral, Weber, 2010. "Competitiveness of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol compared to US corn ethanol," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7404-7415, November.
    2. Rathmann, Régis & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2012. "Targets and results of the Brazilian Biodiesel Incentive Program – Has it reached the Promised Land?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 91-100.
    3. Arnaldo Walter & Marcelo Valadares Galdos & Fabio Vale Scarpare & Manoel Regis Lima Verde Leal & Joaquim Eugênio Abel Seabra & Marcelo Pereira da Cunha & Michelle Cristina Araujo Picoli & Camila Ortol, 2014. "Brazilian sugarcane ethanol: developments so far and challenges for the future," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 70-92, January.
    4. Avelino Gonçalves, Fabiano & dos Santos, Everaldo Silvino & de Macedo, Gorete Ribeiro, 2015. "Use of cultivars of low cost, agroindustrial and urban waste in the production of cellulosic ethanol in Brazil: A proposal to utilization of microdistillery," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1287-1303.
    5. de Freitas, Luciano Charlita & Kaneko, Shinji, 2011. "Decomposition of CO2 emissions change from energy consumption in Brazil: Challenges and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1495-1504, March.
    6. Deborah Bentivoglio & Adele Finco & Mirian Rumenos Piedade Bacchi, 2016. "Interdependencies between Biofuel, Fuel and Food Prices: The Case of the Brazilian Ethanol Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Palacios-Bereche, M.C. & Palacios-Bereche, R. & Ensinas, A.V. & Gallego, A. Garrido & Modesto, Marcelo & Nebra, S.A., 2022. "Brazilian sugar cane industry – A survey on future improvements in the process energy management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    8. Thapat Silalertruksa & Chanipa Wirodcharuskul & Shabbir H. Gheewala, 2022. "Environmental Sustainability of Waste Circulation Models for Sugarcane Biorefinery System in Thailand," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Brito, Thiago Luis Felipe & Islam, Towhidul & Stettler, Marc & Mouette, Dominique & Meade, Nigel & Moutinho dos Santos, Edmilson, 2019. "Transitions between technological generations of alternative fuel vehicles in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    10. Cremonez, Paulo André & Feroldi, Michael & de Araújo, Amanda Viana & Negreiros Borges, Maykon & Weiser Meier, Thompson & Feiden, Armin & Gustavo Teleken, Joel, 2015. "Biofuels in Brazilian aviation: Current scenario and prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1063-1072.
    11. Katia A. Figueroa-Rodríguez & Francisco Hernández-Rosas & Benjamín Figueroa-Sandoval & Joel Velasco-Velasco & Noé Aguilar Rivera, 2019. "What Has Been the Focus of Sugarcane Research? A Bibliometric Overview," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Mendiburu, Andrés Z. & Lauermann, Carlos H. & Hayashi, Thamy C. & Mariños, Diego J. & Rodrigues da Costa, Roberto Berlini & Coronado, Christian J.R. & Roberts, Justo J. & de Carvalho, João A., 2022. "Ethanol as a renewable biofuel: Combustion characteristics and application in engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    13. Cervi, Walter Rossi & Lamparelli, Rubens Augusto Camargo & Seabra, Joaquim Eugênio Abel & Junginger, Martin & van der Hilst, Floor, 2020. "Spatial assessment of the techno-economic potential of bioelectricity production from sugarcane straw," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1313-1324.
    14. Nanda, Sonil & Azargohar, Ramin & Dalai, Ajay K. & Kozinski, Janusz A., 2015. "An assessment on the sustainability of lignocellulosic biomass for biorefining," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 925-941.
    15. Rathmann, Régis & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2010. "Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels: An analysis of the arguments in the current debate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 14-22.
    16. Souza, Simone Pereira & Nogueira, Luiz Augusto Horta & Martinez, Johan & Cortez, Luis Augusto Barbosa, 2018. "Sugarcane can afford a cleaner energy profile in Latin America & Caribbean," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 164-172.
    17. Patel, Madhumita & Kumar, Amit, 2016. "Production of renewable diesel through the hydroprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass-derived bio-oil: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1293-1307.
    18. Moraes, Marcia A.F.D. & Nassar, Andre M. & Moura, Paula & Leal, Rodrigo L.V. & Cortez, L.A.B., 2014. "Jet biofuels in Brazil: Sustainability challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 716-726.
    19. Takahiro Nakashima & Keiichiro Ueno & Eisuke Fujita & Shoko Ishikawa, 2020. "Evaluation of Polyethylene Mulching and Sugarcane Cultivar on Energy Inputs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Ethanol Production in a Temperate Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    20. Bechara, Rami & Gomez, Adrien & Saint-Antonin, Valérie & Schweitzer, Jean-Marc & Maréchal, François & Ensinas, Adriano, 2018. "Review of design works for the conversion of sugarcane to first and second-generation ethanol and electricity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 152-164.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:595-598. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.