IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v115y2019ics1364032119305660.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Critical indicators of sustainability for biofuels: An analysis through a life cycle sustainabilty assessment perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Collotta, M.
  • Champagne, P.
  • Tomasoni, G.
  • Alberti, M.
  • Busi, L.
  • Mabee, W.

Abstract

The reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change poses challenges across multiple sectors. Biofuels have been touted as a replacement for petroleum-based fuels, but policy guiding this sector must ensure that biomass is obtained in a sustainably. In this context, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) tools have been identified as a means to conduct comprehensive impact evaluations of the biofuel sector. The objective of this work is to highlight key environmental, economic, and social indicators currently being assessed using LCSA, and to relate these back to the framework of Principles and Criteria (P&C) developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) to assess the ability of LCSA approaches to effectively inform all Principles within the RSB. 60 LCSA studies, published since 2007, were selected to include a range of biofuel production scenarios, including various technologies and geographic settings. System boundaries and functional units used in these studies were evaluated and compared. The ability of each study to provide quantitative indicators related to environmental, economic, and social sustainability was tabulated. It was found that some RSB Principles can be effectively evaluated using an LCSA approach, including Principle 3 (greenhouse gas emissions) and Principle 10 (air quality). Most other Principles within the RSB P&C framework, however, are only partially addressed, and Principle 11 (technology, inputs, and management of waste) is not informed in any way by existing LCSA. The results suggest that existing LCSA studies, while expanding to consider more economic and social sustainability considerations, are unlikely to cover all aspects of biofuel production systems and are not sufficient to completely inform the full range of RSB Criteria. In the future, LCSA should be further extended to help address critical aspects of sustainability, while the RSB framework should be strengthened to employ a life cycle approach across all Principles.

Suggested Citation

  • Collotta, M. & Champagne, P. & Tomasoni, G. & Alberti, M. & Busi, L. & Mabee, W., 2019. "Critical indicators of sustainability for biofuels: An analysis through a life cycle sustainabilty assessment perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:115:y:2019:i:c:s1364032119305660
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109358
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032119305660
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109358?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. Buonocore, Elvira & Franzese, Pier Paolo & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2012. "Assessing the environmental performance and sustainability of bioenergy production in Sweden: A life cycle assessment perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 69-78.
    2. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q., 2013. "Greenhouse gas emissions of corn–ethanol production in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 176-184.
    3. Hoefnagels, Ric & Smeets, Edward & Faaij, André, 2010. "Greenhouse gas footprints of different biofuel production systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1661-1694, September.
    4. Collet, Pierre & Lardon, Laurent & Hélias, Arnaud & Bricout, Stéphanie & Lombaert-Valot, Isabelle & Perrier, Béatrice & Lépine, Olivier & Steyer, Jean-Philippe & Bernard, Olivier, 2014. "Biodiesel from microalgae – Life cycle assessment and recommendations for potential improvements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 525-533.
    5. Ribeiro, Barbara E. & Quintanilla, Miguel A., 2015. "Transitions in biofuel technologies: An appraisal of the social impacts of cellulosic ethanol using the Delphi method," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 53-68.
    6. Väisänen, S. & Havukainen, J. & Uusitalo, V. & Havukainen, M. & Soukka, R. & Luoranen, M., 2016. "Carbon footprint of biobutanol by ABE fermentation from corn and sugarcane," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 401-410.
    7. Levasseur, Annie & Bahn, Olivier & Beloin-Saint-Pierre, Didier & Marinova, Mariya & Vaillancourt, Kathleen, 2017. "Assessing butanol from integrated forest biorefinery: A combined techno-economic and life cycle approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 440-452.
    8. Cambero, Claudia & Sowlati, Taraneh, 2014. "Assessment and optimization of forest biomass supply chains from economic, social and environmental perspectives – A review of literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 62-73.
    9. González-García, Sara & Iribarren, Diego & Susmozas, Ana & Dufour, Javier & Murphy, Richard J., 2012. "Life cycle assessment of two alternative bioenergy systems involving Salix spp. biomass: Bioethanol production and power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 111-122.
    10. Scarlat, Nicolae & Dallemand, Jean-François, 2011. "Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1630-1646, March.
    11. Shapouri, Hosein & Duffield, James A. & Wang, Michael Q., 2002. "The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update," Agricultural Economic Reports 34075, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Adam J. Liska & Haishun S. Yang & Virgil R. Bremer & Terry J. Klopfenstein & Daniel T. Walters & Galen E. Erickson & Kenneth G. Cassman, 2009. "Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn‐Ethanol," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(1), pages 58-74, February.
    13. Ekener-Petersen, Elisabeth & Höglund, Jonas & Finnveden, Göran, 2014. "Screening potential social impacts of fossil fuels and biofuels for vehicles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 416-426.
    14. van Dam, J. & Faaij, A.P.C. & Hilbert, J. & Petruzzi, H. & Turkenburg, W.C., 2009. "Large-scale bioenergy production from soybeans and switchgrass in Argentina: Part A: Potential and economic feasibility for national and international markets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 1710-1733, October.
    15. John Sheehan & Andy Aden & Keith Paustian & Kendrick Killian & John Brenner & Marie Walsh & Richard Nelson, 2003. "Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Corn Stover for Fuel Ethanol," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 7(3‐4), pages 117-146, July.
    16. Van Schoubroeck, Sophie & Van Dael, Miet & Van Passel, Steven & Malina, Robert, 2018. "A review of sustainability indicators for biobased chemicals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 115-126.
    17. Daylan, B. & Ciliz, N., 2016. "Life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle costing analysis of lignocellulosic bioethanol as an alternative transportation fuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 578-587.
    18. Mondou, Matthieu & Skogstad, Grace, 2012. "The Regulation of Biofuels in the United States, European Union and Canada," CAIRN Policy Briefs 272864, Canadian Agricultural Innovation and Regulation Network (CAIRN).
    19. Portugal-Pereira, Joana & Nakatani, Jun & Kurisu, Kiyo & Hanaki, Keisuke, 2016. "Life cycle assessment of conventional and optimised Jatropha biodiesel fuels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 585-593.
    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. Magdalena Krysiak & Aldona Kluczek, 2021. "A Multifaceted Challenge to Enhance Multicriteria Decision Support for Energy Policy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Canabarro, N.I. & Silva-Ortiz, P. & Nogueira, L.A.H. & Cantarella, H. & Maciel-Filho, R. & Souza, G.M., 2023. "Sustainability assessment of ethanol and biodiesel production in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Guatemala," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    3. Fabio G. Santeramo & Monica Delsignore & Enrica Imbert & Mariarosaria Lombardi, 2023. "The Future of the EU Bioenergy Sector: Economic, Environmental, Social, and Legislative Challenges," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 17(1), pages 1-1–52, April.
    4. Stanisław Bielski & Renata Marks-Bielska & Paweł Wiśniewski, 2022. "Investigation of Energy and Economic Balance and GHG Emissions in the Production of Different Cultivars of Buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum Moench): A Case Study in Northeastern Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Tamás Mizik, 2021. "Economic Aspects and Sustainability of Ethanol Production—A Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    6. Yan Li & Guoshun Wang & Zhaohao Li & Jiahai Yuan & Dan Gao & Heng Zhang, 2020. "A Life Cycle Analysis of Deploying Coking Technology to Utilize Low-Rank Coal in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska & Bogdan Klepacki & Piotr Bórawski & Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska & Konrad Michalski, 2021. "Changes in Energy Consumption in Agriculture in the EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    8. Violeta Makareviciene & Migle Santaraite & Egle Sendzikiene, 2021. "Analysis of Biological Degradation and Life Cycle Indicators of Mineral Diesel Fuel Mixtures, Containing 10% Biodiesel, Obtained by Simultaneous Oil Extraction and Transesterification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-11, December.
    9. 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.
    10. Joan Hereu-Morales & César Valderrama, 2022. "Towards a Sustainability-Based Society: An Analysis of Fundamental Values from the Perspective of Economics and Philosophy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-14, July.

    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. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Baudry, Gino & Delrue, Florian & Legrand, Jack & Pruvost, Jérémy & Vallée, Thomas, 2017. "The challenge of measuring biofuel sustainability: A stakeholder-driven approach applied to the French case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 933-947.
    3. Batidzirai, B. & Smeets, E.M.W. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2012. "Harmonising bioenergy resource potentials—Methodological lessons from review of state of the art bioenergy potential assessments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(9), pages 6598-6630.
    4. Tahereh Soleymani Angili & Katarzyna Grzesik & Anne Rödl & Martin Kaltschmitt, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Bioethanol Production: A Review of Feedstock, Technology and Methodology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    5. van der Hilst, F. & Lesschen, J.P. & van Dam, J.M.C. & Riksen, M. & Verweij, P.A. & Sanders, J.P.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2012. "Spatial variation of environmental impacts of regional biomass chains," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 2053-2069.
    6. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q., 2013. "Greenhouse gas emissions of corn–ethanol production in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 176-184.
    7. Liu, Huacai & Huang, Yanqin & Yuan, Hongyou & Yin, Xiuli & Wu, Chuangzhi, 2018. "Life cycle assessment of biofuels in China: Status and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 301-322.
    8. Fabio G. Santeramo & Monica Delsignore & Enrica Imbert & Mariarosaria Lombardi, 2023. "The Future of the EU Bioenergy Sector: Economic, Environmental, Social, and Legislative Challenges," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 17(1), pages 1-1–52, April.
    9. Asada, Raphael & Cardellini, Giuseppe & Mair-Bauernfeind, Claudia & Wenger, Julia & Haas, Verena & Holzer, Daniel & Stern, Tobias, 2020. "Effective bioeconomy? a MRIO-based socioeconomic and environmental impact assessment of generic sectoral innovations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    10. Zabed, H. & Sahu, J.N. & Suely, A. & Boyce, A.N. & Faruq, G., 2017. "Bioethanol production from renewable sources: Current perspectives and technological progress," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 475-501.
    11. Dias, Goretty M. & Ayer, Nathan W. & Kariyapperuma, Kumudinie & Thevathasan, Naresh & Gordon, Andrew & Sidders, Derek & Johannesson, Gudmundur H., 2017. "Life cycle assessment of thermal energy production from short-rotation willow biomass in Southern Ontario, Canada," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 343-352.
    12. Murphy, Fionnuala & Sosa, Amanda & McDonnell, Kevin & Devlin, Ger, 2016. "Life cycle assessment of biomass-to-energy systems in Ireland modelled with biomass supply chain optimisation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1040-1055.
    13. Khatiwada, Dilip & Seabra, Joaquim & Silveira, Semida & Walter, Arnaldo, 2012. "Accounting greenhouse gas emissions in the lifecycle of Brazilian sugarcane bioethanol: Methodological references in European and American regulations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 384-397.
    14. Janda, Karel & Kristoufek, Ladislav & Zilberman, David, "undated". "Biofuels: review of policies and impacts," CUDARE Working Papers 120415, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    15. Correa, Diego F. & Beyer, Hawthorne L. & Fargione, Joseph E. & Hill, Jason D. & Possingham, Hugh P. & Thomas-Hall, Skye R. & Schenk, Peer M., 2019. "Towards the implementation of sustainable biofuel production systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 250-263.
    16. Santos, Andreia & Carvalho, Ana & Barbosa-Póvoa, Ana Paula & Marques, Alexandra & Amorim, Pedro, 2019. "Assessment and optimization of sustainable forest wood supply chains – A systematic literature review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 112-135.
    17. Natarajan, Karthikeyan & Leduc, Sylvain & Pelkonen, Paavo & Tomppo, Erkki & Dotzauer, Erik, 2014. "Optimal locations for second generation Fischer Tropsch biodiesel production in Finland," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 319-330.
    18. Boies, Adam M. & McFarlane, Dane & Taff, Steven & Watts, Winthrop F. & Kittelson, David B., 2011. "Implications of local lifecycle analyses and low carbon fuel standard design on gasohol transportation fuels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 7191-7201.
    19. Krohn, Brian J. & Fripp, Matthias, 2012. "A life cycle assessment of biodiesel derived from the “niche filling” energy crop camelina in the USA," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 92-98.
    20. Bacenetti, Jacopo & Restuccia, Andrea & Schillaci, Gianpaolo & Failla, Sabina, 2017. "Biodiesel production from unconventional oilseed crops (Linum usitatissimum L. and Camelina sativa L.) in Mediterranean conditions: Environmental sustainability assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 444-456.

    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:rensus:v:115:y:2019:i:c:s1364032119305660. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.