Environmental and resource burdens associated with world biofuel production out to 2050: footprint components from carbon emissions and land use to waste arisings and water consumption
Geoffrey P. Hammond,Bo Li +1 more
TLDR
The carbon and environmental footprints associated with the world production of liquid biofuels have been computed for the period 2010–2050 and bioproductive land use was found to exhibit the largest footprint component (a 48% share in 2050), followed by the carbon footprint (23%), embodied energy (16%), and then the water footprint (9%).Abstract:
Environmental or 'ecological' footprints have been widely used in recent years as indicators of resource consumption and waste absorption presented in terms of biologically productive land area [in global hectares (gha)] required per capita with prevailing technology. In contrast, 'carbon footprints' are the amount of carbon (or carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions for such activities in units of mass or weight (like kilograms per functional unit), but can be translated into a component of the environmental footprint (on a gha basis). The carbon and environmental footprints associated with the world production of liquid biofuels have been computed for the period 2010-2050. Estimates of future global biofuel production were adopted from the 2011 International Energy Agency (IEA) 'technology roadmap' for transport biofuels. This suggests that, although first generation biofuels will dominate the market up to 2020, advanced or second generation biofuels might constitute some 75% of biofuel production by 2050. The overall environmental footprint was estimated to be 0.29 billion (bn) gha in 2010 and is likely to grow to around 2.57 bn gha by 2050. It was then disaggregated into various components: bioproductive land, built land, carbon emissions, embodied energy, materials and waste, transport, and water consumption. This component-based approach has enabled the examination of the Manufactured and Natural Capital elements of the 'four capitals' model of sustainability quite broadly, along with specific issues (such as the linkages associated with the so-called energy-land-water nexus). Bioproductive land use was found to exhibit the largest footprint component (a 48% share in 2050), followed by the carbon footprint (23%), embodied energy (16%), and then the water footprint (9%). Footprint components related to built land, transport and waste arisings were all found to account for an insignificant proportion to the overall environmental footprint, together amounting to only about 2.read more
Citations
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Environmental sustainability of biofuels: a review
TL;DR: The aim of this paper is to review and analyse the latest available evidence to provide a greater clarity and understanding of the environmental impacts of different liquid biofuels and investigates the key methodological aspects and sources of uncertainty in the LCA ofBiofuels.
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Towards the implementation of sustainable biofuel production systems
Diego Correa,Hawthorne L. Beyer,Joseph Fargione,Jason Hill,Hugh P. Possingham,Hugh P. Possingham,Skye R. Thomas-Hall,Peer M. Schenk +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the environmental impacts of alternative approaches to biofuel production (i.e., first, second, and third generation biofuels), with a focus on biodiversity and ecosystem services, were contrasted to develop a set of criteria for guiding the identification of sustainable bio-fuel production alternatives, as well as strategies for decreasing the economic barriers that prevent the implementation of more sustainable bio fuel production systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Toward a functional integration of anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis for a sustainable resource management. Comparison between solid-digestate and its derived pyrochar as soil amendment
Florian Monlau,Matteo Francavilla,Cecilia Sambusiti,N. Antoniou,Abderrahim Solhy,Angela Libutti,Anastasia Zabaniotou,Anastasia Zabaniotou,Abdellatif Barakat,Massimo Monteleone +9 more
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed screening of the physical and chemical properties of both solid-digestate and pyrochar was performed, inferring their effects on soil quality, and the results showed that while P and K are enriched in pyrochamber, total N showed no significant differences.
Journal ArticleDOI
Biorefineries and the food, energy, water nexus — towards a whole systems approach to design and planning
TL;DR: In this paper, the food-energy-water nexus concept is used to find strategic integrations that improve productivity and reduce losses and environmental impacts in the value chain of a biorefinery, by incorporating opportunities into a whole systems approach for design and planning.
Journal ArticleDOI
Early-stage materials selection based on embodied energy and carbon footprint
TL;DR: In this article, the embodied energy and carbon footprint is used for assessing the environmental burden, not for replacing a complete LCA, but for providing fast and reliable information to those involved in the design of a new product.
References
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