IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v36y2011i4p2097-2110.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Issues to consider, existing tools and constraints in biofuels sustainability assessments

Author

Listed:
  • Silva Lora, Electo E.
  • Escobar Palacio, José C.
  • Rocha, Mateus H.
  • Grillo Renó, Maria L.
  • Venturini, Osvaldo J.
  • Almazán del Olmo, Oscar

Abstract

Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil utilization. On the other hand, existing assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA), are compared emphasizing their advantages and disadvantages. Main constraints related to the studied frontiers, as well as the lack of reliable data and their effects are also discussed. Discussions are held on the basis of real life cycle studies carried out by the authors about palm oil biodiesel and different alternatives for the stillage treatment and disposal. Finally, suggestions and recommendations are made to improve existing methodologies for biofuels sustainability evaluation, all this from a south perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Silva Lora, Electo E. & Escobar Palacio, José C. & Rocha, Mateus H. & Grillo Renó, Maria L. & Venturini, Osvaldo J. & Almazán del Olmo, Oscar, 2011. "Issues to consider, existing tools and constraints in biofuels sustainability assessments," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2097-2110.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:36:y:2011:i:4:p:2097-2110
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2010.06.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544210003336
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2010.06.012?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. Daniel M. Kammen & Alexander E. Farrell & Richard J. Plevin & Andrew D. Jones & Mark A. Delucchi & Gregory F. Nemet, 2007. "Energy and Greenhouse Impacts of Biofuels: A Framework for Analysis," OECD/ITF Joint Transport Research Centre Discussion Papers 2007/2, OECD Publishing.
    2. Russi, Daniela, 2008. "An integrated assessment of a large-scale biodiesel production in Italy: Killing several birds with one stone?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1169-1180, March.
    3. Perry, Simon & Klemeš, Jiří & Bulatov, Igor, 2008. "Integrating waste and renewable energy to reduce the carbon footprint of locally integrated energy sectors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1489-1497.
    4. Yáñez Angarita, Edgar Eduardo & Silva Lora, Electo Eduardo & da Costa, Rosélis Ester & Torres, Ednildo Andrade, 2009. "The energy balance in the Palm Oil-Derived Methyl Ester (PME) life cycle for the cases in Brazil and Colombia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2905-2913.
    5. Escobar, José C. & Lora, Electo S. & Venturini, Osvaldo J. & Yáñez, Edgar E. & Castillo, Edgar F. & Almazan, Oscar, 2009. "Biofuels: Environment, technology and food security," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1275-1287, August.
    6. Kromer, Matthew A. & Bandivadekar, Anup & Evans, Christopher, 2010. "Long-term greenhouse gas emission and petroleum reduction goals: Evolutionary pathways for the light-duty vehicle sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 387-397.
    7. Pereira, Tony, 2009. "Sustainability: An integral engineering design approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1133-1137, June.
    8. Lora, E.S. & Andrade, R.V., 2009. "Biomass as energy source in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 777-788, May.
    9. 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.
    10. Edmar Fagundes de Almeida & Jose Vitor Bomtempo & Carla Maria de Souza e Silva, 2007. "The Performance of Brazilian Biofuels: An Economic, Environmental and Social Analysis," OECD/ITF Joint Transport Research Centre Discussion Papers 2007/5, OECD Publishing.
    11. Kleijn, René & van der Voet, Ester & Udo de Haes, Helias A., 2008. "The need for combining IEA and IE tools: The potential effects of a global ban on PVC on climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 266-281, April.
    12. Anselm Eisentraut, 2010. "Sustainable Production of Second-Generation Biofuels: Potential and Perspectives in Major Economies and Developing Countries," IEA Energy Papers 2010/1, OECD Publishing.
    13. Luo, Lin & van der Voet, Ester & Huppes, Gjalt, 2009. "Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of bioethanol from sugarcane in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1613-1619, August.
    14. Garcez, Catherine Aliana Gucciardi & Vianna, João Nildo de Souza, 2009. "Brazilian Biodiesel Policy: Social and environmental considerations of sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 645-654.
    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. Alejos Altamirano, Carlos Alberto & Yokoyama, Lídia & de Medeiros, José Luiz & de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo, Ofélia, 2016. "Ethylic or methylic route to soybean biodiesel? Tracking environmental answers through life cycle assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1246-1263.
    2. da Silva César, Aldara & Conejero, Marco Antonio & Barros Ribeiro, Eliene Cristina & Batalha, Mário Otávio, 2019. "Competitiveness analysis of “social soybeans” in biodiesel production in Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1147-1157.
    3. Estévez, Sofía & Rebolledo-Leiva, Ricardo & Hernández, Diógenes & González-García, Sara & Feijoo, Gumersindo & Moreira, María Teresa, 2023. "Benchmarking composting, anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation for apple vinasse management as a strategy for sustainable energy production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    4. Shafiei, Ehsan & Davidsdottir, Brynhildur & Leaver, Jonathan & Stefansson, Hlynur & Asgeirsson, Eyjolfur Ingi & Keith, David R., 2016. "Analysis of supply-push strategies governing the transition to biofuel vehicles in a market-oriented renewable energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 409-421.
    5. Nicolás M. Clauser & Giselle González & Carolina M. Mendieta & Julia Kruyeniski & María C. Area & María E. Vallejos, 2021. "Biomass Waste as Sustainable Raw Material for Energy and Fuels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    6. César, Aldara da Silva & Batalha, Mário Otávio & Zopelari, André Luiz Miranda Silva, 2013. "Oil palm biodiesel: Brazil's main challenges," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 485-491.
    7. Peralta-Ruiz, Y. & González-Delgado, A.-D. & Kafarov, V., 2013. "Evaluation of alternatives for microalgae oil extraction based on exergy analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-236.
    8. Kou, Nannan & Zhao, Fu, 2011. "Techno-economical analysis of a thermo-chemical biofuel plant with feedstock and product flexibility under external disturbances," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 6745-6752.
    9. Aguilar-Rivera, Noé, 2019. "A framework for the analysis of socioeconomic and geographic sugarcane agro industry sustainability," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 149-160.
    10. Tan, Inn Shi & Lee, Keat Teong, 2014. "Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of seaweed solid wastes for bioethanol production: An optimization study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 53-62.
    11. 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.
    12. Jianliang Wang & Yuru Yang & Yongmei Bentley & Xu Geng & Xiaojie Liu, 2018. "Sustainability Assessment of Bioenergy from a Global Perspective: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    13. Acreche, Martín M. & Valeiro, Alejandro H., 2013. "Greenhouse gasses emissions and energy balances of a non-vertically integrated sugar and ethanol supply chain: A case study in Argentina," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 146-154.
    14. Fitzpatrick, John J., 2016. "Environmental sustainability assessment of using forest wood for heat energy in Ireland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1287-1295.
    15. Leme, Marcio Montagnana Vicente & Rocha, Mateus Henrique & Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva & Venturini, Osvaldo José & Lopes, Bruno Marciano & Ferreira, Cláudio Homero, 2014. "Techno-economic analysis and environmental impact assessment of energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Brazil," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 8-20.
    16. Karel Janda & Ladislav Kristoufek & David Zilberman, 2012. "Biofuels: policies and impacts," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 58(8), pages 372-386.
    17. Malça, João & Freire, Fausto, 2012. "Addressing land use change and uncertainty in the life-cycle assessment of wheat-based bioethanol," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 519-527.
    18. Musango, Josephine K. & Brent, Alan C. & Amigun, Bamikole & Pretorius, Leon & Müller, Hans, 2011. "Technology sustainability assessment of biodiesel development in South Africa: A system dynamics approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 6922-6940.
    19. Mateus Torres Nazari & Janaína Mazutti & Luana Girardi Basso & Luciane Maria Colla & Luciana Brandli, 2021. "Biofuels and their connections with the sustainable development goals: a bibliometric and systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11139-11156, August.
    20. Triana, Cristian F. & Quintero, Julián A. & Agudelo, Roberto A. & Cardona, Carlos A. & Higuita, Juan C., 2011. "Analysis of coffee cut-stems (CCS) as raw material for fuel ethanol production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 4182-4190.
    21. César, Aldara da Silva & Batalha, Mário Otávio, 2013. "Brazilian biodiesel: The case of the palm's social projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 165-174.
    22. Martin Kügemann & Heracles Polatidis, 2019. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Road Transportation Fuels and Vehicles: A Systematic Review and Classification of the Literature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.

    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. 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.
    2. Harvey, Mark & Pilgrim, Sarah, 2011. "The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 40-51.
    3. Renó, Maria Luiza Grillo & Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva & Palacio, José Carlos Escobar & Venturini, Osvaldo José & Buchgeister, Jens & Almazan, Oscar, 2011. "A LCA (life cycle assessment) of the methanol production from sugarcane bagasse," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 3716-3726.
    4. Taylor-de-Lima, Reynaldo L.N. & Gerbasi da Silva, Arthur José & Legey, Luiz F.L. & Szklo, Alexandre, 2018. "Evaluation of economic feasibility under uncertainty of a thermochemical route for ethanol production in Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 363-376.
    5. Sarah L. Stattman & Aarti Gupta, 2015. "Negotiating Authority in Global Biofuel Governance: Brazil and the EU in the WTO," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 41-59, February.
    6. García, Carlos A. & Fuentes, Alfredo & Hennecke, Anna & Riegelhaupt, Enrique & Manzini, Fabio & Masera, Omar, 2011. "Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy balances of sugarcane ethanol production in Mexico," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2088-2097, June.
    7. Wu, Bo & Wang, Yan-Wei & Dai, Yong-Hua & Song, Chao & Zhu, Qi-Li & Qin, Han & Tan, Fu-Rong & Chen, Han-Cheng & Dai, Li-Chun & Hu, Guo-Quan & He, Ming-Xiong, 2021. "Current status and future prospective of bio-ethanol industry in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Carneiro, Maria Luisa N.M. & Pradelle, Florian & Braga, Sergio L. & Gomes, Marcos Sebastião P. & Martins, Ana Rosa F.A. & Turkovics, Franck & Pradelle, Renata N.C., 2017. "Potential of biofuels from algae: Comparison with fossil fuels, ethanol and biodiesel in Europe and Brazil through life cycle assessment (LCA)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 632-653.
    9. González-García, Sara & Gasol, Carles M. & Gabarrell, Xavier & Rieradevall, Joan & Moreira, Mª Teresa & Feijoo, Gumersindo, 2009. "Environmental aspects of ethanol-based fuels from Brassica carinata: A case study of second generation ethanol," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2613-2620, December.
    10. César, Aldara da Silva & Batalha, Mário Otávio, 2013. "Brazilian biodiesel: The case of the palm's social projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 165-174.
    11. Cremonez, Paulo André & Feroldi, Michael & Feiden, Armin & Gustavo Teleken, Joel & José Gris, Diego & Dieter, Jonathan & de Rossi, Eduardo & Antonelli, Jhonatas, 2015. "Current scenario and prospects of use of liquid biofuels in South America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 352-362.
    12. Gonzalez-Salazar, Miguel Angel & Venturini, Mauro & Poganietz, Witold-Roger & Finkenrath, Matthias & L.V. Leal, Manoel Regis, 2017. "Combining an accelerated deployment of bioenergy and land use strategies: Review and insights for a post-conflict scenario in Colombia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 159-177.
    13. García, Carlos A. & Manzini, Fabio & Islas, Jorge M., 2017. "Sustainability assessment of ethanol production from two crops in Mexico," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1199-1207.
    14. Takahashi, Fábio & Ortega, Enrique, 2010. "Assessing the sustainability of Brazilian oleaginous crops - possible raw material to produce biodiesel," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2446-2454, May.
    15. Lopes Silva, Diogo Aparecido & Delai, Ivete & Delgado Montes, Mary Laura & Roberto Ometto, Aldo, 2014. "Life cycle assessment of the sugarcane bagasse electricity generation in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 532-547.
    16. Avinash, A. & Subramaniam, D. & Murugesan, A., 2014. "Bio-diesel—A global scenario," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 517-527.
    17. Azadi, Hossein & de Jong, Sanne & Derudder, Ben & De Maeyer, Philippe & Witlox, Frank, 2012. "Bitter sweet: How sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3599-3603.
    18. Stattman, Sarah L. & Hospes, Otto & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2013. "Governing biofuels in Brazil: A comparison of ethanol and biodiesel policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 22-30.
    19. de Freitas, Luciano Charlita & Kaneko, Shinji, 2012. "Is there a causal relation between ethanol innovation and the market characteristics of fuels in Brazil?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 161-168.
    20. Ajanovic, Amela, 2011. "Biofuels versus food production: Does biofuels production increase food prices?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2070-2076.

    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:energy:v:36:y:2011:i:4:p:2097-2110. 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.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    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.