IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v66y2016icp221-227.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Guidelines for emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels

Author

Listed:
  • Saladini, Fabrizio
  • Patrizi, Nicoletta
  • Pulselli, Federico M.
  • Marchettini, Nadia
  • Bastianoni, Simone

Abstract

Due to growing interest in biofuels as alternative renewable energy sources, several recent studies have assessed the sustainability of their production. Emergy is a widely used environmental indicator for this purpose, as it counts exploitation of natural resources and direct and indirect solar energy requirements of biofuel production. Depending on whether a biofuel is first, second or third generation, its production system differs in nature and the indications derived from emergy evaluations vary as well. This article aims to provide guidelines on how to interpret and properly use the results of emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels. These guidelines are useful for correct emergy assessment of biofuels and clarify the actual meaning of emergy evaluation outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Saladini, Fabrizio & Patrizi, Nicoletta & Pulselli, Federico M. & Marchettini, Nadia & Bastianoni, Simone, 2016. "Guidelines for emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 221-227.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:66:y:2016:i:c:p:221-227
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.073
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032116304142
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.073?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. Goh, Chun Sheng & Lee, Keat Teong, 2010. "Palm-based biofuel refinery (PBR) to substitute petroleum refinery: An energy and emergy assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2986-2995, December.
    2. Amaral, Luís P. & Martins, Nélson & Gouveia, Joaquim B., 2016. "A review of emergy theory, its application and latest developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 882-888.
    3. Daniel Bergquist & Otávio Cavalett & Torbjörn Rydberg, 2012. "Participatory emergy synthesis of integrated food and biofuel production: a case study from Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 167-182, April.
    4. Fahd, S. & Fiorentino, G. & Mellino, S. & Ulgiati, S., 2012. "Cropping bioenergy and biomaterials in marginal land: The added value of the biorefinery concept," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 79-93.
    5. Markevicius, A. & Katinas, V. & Perednis, E. & Tamasauskiene, M., 2010. "Trends and sustainability criteria of the production and use of liquid biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3226-3231, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Liu, Jin’e & Lin, Bin-Le & Sagisaka, Masayuki, 2012. "Sustainability assessment of bioethanol and petroleum fuel production in Japan based on emergy analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 23-33.
    8. Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2014. "Set theory applied to uniquely define the inputs to territorial systems in emergy analyses," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 271(C), pages 149-157.
    9. Harvey, Mark & Pilgrim, Sarah, 2011. "The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 40-51, January.
    10. Brown, M. T. & Herendeen, R. A., 1996. "Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 219-235, December.
    11. Felix, Erika & Tilley, David R., 2009. "Integrated energy, environmental and financial analysis of ethanol production from cellulosic switchgrass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 410-436.
    12. Ryan, Lisa & Convery, Frank & Ferreira, Susana, 2006. "Stimulating the use of biofuels in the European Union: Implications for climate change policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 3184-3194, November.
    13. Kamp, Andreas & Østergård, Hanne, 2013. "How to manage co-product inputs in emergy accounting exemplified by willow production for bioenergy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 70-78.
    14. Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Pulselli, Riccardo M. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2013. "Using the language of sets to describe nested systems in emergy evaluations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 265(C), pages 85-98.
    15. Seghetta, Michele & Østergård, Hanne & Bastianoni, Simone, 2014. "Energy analysis of using macroalgae from eutrophic waters as a bioethanol feedstock," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 288(C), pages 25-37.
    16. Harvey, Mark & Pilgrim, Sarah, 2011. "The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 40-51.
    17. Carraretto, C. & Macor, A. & Mirandola, A. & Stoppato, A. & Tonon, S., 2004. "Biodiesel as alternative fuel: Experimental analysis and energetic evaluations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2195-2211.
    18. Spinelli, D. & Jez, S. & Pogni, R. & Basosi, R., 2013. "Environmental and life cycle analysis of a biodiesel production line from sunflower in the Province of Siena (Italy)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 492-506.
    19. Lu, Hongfang & Lin, Bin-Le & Campbell, Daniel E. & Sagisaka, Masayuki & Ren, Hai, 2012. "Biofuel vs. biodiversity? Integrated emergy and economic cost-benefit evaluation of rice-ethanol production in Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 442-450.
    20. Dong, Xiaobin & Ulgiati, Sergio & Yan, Maochao & Zhang, Xinshi & Gao, Wangsheng, 2008. "Energy and eMergy evaluation of bioethanol production from wheat in Henan Province, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3882-3892, October.
    21. Bastianoni, Simone & Morandi, Fabiana & Flaminio, Tommaso & Pulselli, Riccardo M. & Tiezzi, Elisa B.P., 2011. "Emergy and emergy algebra explained by means of ingenuous set theory," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(16), pages 2903-2907.
    22. Lamers, Patrick & Hamelinck, Carlo & Junginger, Martin & Faaij, André, 2011. "International bioenergy trade--A review of past developments in the liquid biofuel market," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 2655-2676, August.
    23. Ju, L.P. & Chen, B., 2011. "Embodied energy and emergy evaluation of a typical biodiesel production chain in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(14), pages 2385-2392.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lu, Hongfang & Lin, Bin-Le & Campbell, Daniel E. & Sagisaka, Masayuki & Ren, Hai, 2012. "Biofuel vs. biodiversity? Integrated emergy and economic cost-benefit evaluation of rice-ethanol production in Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 442-450.
    2. Chen, Shaoqing & Chen, Bin, 2012. "Sustainability and future alternatives of biogas-linked agrosystem (BLAS) in China: An emergy synthesis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3948-3959.
    3. Amaral, Luís P. & Martins, Nélson & Gouveia, Joaquim B., 2016. "A review of emergy theory, its application and latest developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 882-888.
    4. Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Pulselli, Federico M. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2015. "Emergy evaluation of hierarchically nested systems: application to EU27, Italy and Tuscany and consequences for the meaning of emergy indicators," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 12-27.
    5. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q. & Liao, S. & Zhao, Y.H. & Peng, H.W. & Chen, H.P., 2013. "Environmental sustainability of wind power: An emergy analysis of a Chinese wind farm," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 229-239.
    6. Zarbá, Lucía & Brown, Mark T., 2015. "Cycling emergy: computing emergy in trophic networks," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 37-45.
    7. Li, Linjun & Lu, Hongfang & Tilley, David R. & Qiu, Guoyu, 2014. "Effect of time scale on accounting for renewable emergy in ecosystems located in humid and arid climates," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 287(C), pages 1-8.
    8. Yang, Jin & Chen, Bin, 2016. "Emergy-based sustainability evaluation of wind power generation systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 239-246.
    9. Marvuglia, Antonino & Benetto, Enrico & Rios, Gordon & Rugani, Benedetto, 2013. "SCALE: Software for CALculating Emergy based on life cycle inventories," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 80-91.
    10. Goh, Chun Sheng & Lee, Keat Teong, 2010. "Palm-based biofuel refinery (PBR) to substitute petroleum refinery: An energy and emergy assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2986-2995, December.
    11. Li, Linjun & Lu, Hongfang & Tilley, David R. & Qiu, Guoyu, 2015. "Reprint of “Effect of time scale on accounting for renewable emergy in ecosystems located in humid and arid climates”," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 88-95.
    12. Tamara Fonseca & Wagner C. Valenti & Biagio F. Giannetti & Fernando H. Gonçalves & Feni Agostinho, 2022. "Environmental Accounting of the Yellow-Tail Lambari Aquaculture: Sustainability of Rural Freshwater Pond Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.
    13. Lu, Hongfang & Xu, FengYing & Liu, Hongxiao & Wang, Jun & Campbell, Daniel E. & Ren, Hai, 2019. "Emergy-based analysis of the energy security of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 123-135.
    14. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    15. Aytav, Emre & Kocar, Günnur, 2013. "Biodiesel from the perspective of Turkey: Past, present and future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 335-350.
    16. Ju, L.P. & Chen, B., 2011. "Embodied energy and emergy evaluation of a typical biodiesel production chain in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(14), pages 2385-2392.
    17. Wright, Christina & Østergård, Hanne, 2015. "Scales of renewability exemplified by a case study of three Danish pig production systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 28-36.
    18. Qingsong Wang & Hongkun Xiao & Qiao Ma & Xueliang Yuan & Jian Zuo & Jian Zhang & Shuguang Wang & Mansen Wang, 2020. "Review of Emergy Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment: Coupling Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, January.
    19. Ozgul Calicioglu & Alessandro Flammini & Stefania Bracco & Lorenzo Bellù & Ralph Sims, 2019. "The Future Challenges of Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Analysis of Trends and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    20. Ciliberti, Carlo & Jordaan, Sarah M. & Smith, Stephen V. & Spatari, Sabrina, 2016. "A life cycle perspective on land use and project economics of electricity from wind and anaerobic digestion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 52-63.

    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:66:y:2016:i:c:p:221-227. 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.