Production of biodiesel: Source strategies and efficiency in the Brazilian energy matrix

This article aims to introduce biodiesel as a possible solution, describing its evolution in Brazilian energy. It was concluded that the use of biodiesel leads to several advantages, such as significant reductions in rates of emission of some greenhouse gases and wide job creation and social inclusion in the poorest regions of the country. Besides the aspects already mentioned, within a national situation of growing imports of diesel oil and with oil prices rising, the article shows that biodiesel becomes an interesting alternative, reducing diesel imports and resulting products, thus enabling development in other industrial chains.     

Renewable energy in India: Historical developments and prospects

Promoting renewable energy in India has assumed great importance in recent years in view of high growth rate of energy consumption, high share of coal in domestic energy demand, heavy dependence on imports for meeting demands for petroleum fuels and volatility of world oil market. A number of renewable energy technologies (RETs) are now well established in the country. The technology that has achieved the most dramatic growth rate and success is wind energy; India ranks fourth in the world in terms of total installed capacity. India hosts the world's largest small gasifier programme and second largest biogas programme. After many years of slow growth, demand for solar water heaters appears to be gaining momentum. Small hydro has been growing in India at a slow but steady pace. Installation of some of the technologies appears to have slowed down in recent years; these include improved cooking stoves (ICSs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In spite of many successes, the overall growth of renewable energy in India has remained rather slow. A number of factors are likely to boost the future prospects of renewable energy in the country; these include global pressure and voluntary targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction, a possible future oil crisis, intensification of rural electrification program, and import of hydropower from neighbouring countries.     

Microalgal biodiesel in China: Opportunities and challenges

With rapid economic development, energy consumption in China has tripled in the past 20 years, exceeding 2.8 billion tons of standard coal in 2008. The search for new green energy as substitutes for nonrenewable energy resources has become an urgent task. Biodiesel is one of the most important bioenergy sources. According to the Mid- and Long-term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in China, the consumption of biodiesel in China will reach 0.2 million tons in 2010 and 2.0 million tons in 2020. However, large-scale production of biodiesel is restricted by the limited sources of raw materials. Microalgal oil is a prospective raw material for biodiesel production. Development of technology for the production and commercialization of biodiesel from microalgae has become a hot topic in the field of bioenergy and CO₂ emission mitigation. Biodiesel from microalgae can be produced at laboratory-scale, but the cost is too high. Few studies on the commercialization of the technology of producing biodiesel from microalgae have been reported. In this review, recent progress on the research and development of biodiesel from microalgae that have resulted in scientific breakthroughs and innovation in engineering in China are introduced. The existing challenges are also discussed. Based on a detailed analysis, several novel strategies on commercial biodiesel production from microalgae are proposed.     

Land use and second-generation biofuel feedstocks: The unconsidered impacts of Jatropha biodiesel in Rajasthan,India

Governments around the world see biofuels as a common solution to the multiple policy challenges posed by energy insecurity, climate change and falling farmer incomes. The Indian government has enthusiastically adopted a second-generation feedstock – the oilseed-bearing shrub, Jatropha curcas – for an ambitious national biodiesel program. Studies estimating the production capacity and potential land use implications of this program have typically assumed that the ‘waste land’ slated for Jatropha production has no economic value and that no activities of note will be displaced by plantation development. Here we examine the specific local impacts of rapid Jatropha plantation development on rural livelihoods and land use in Rajasthan, India. We find that in Jhadol Tehsil, Jatropha is planted on both government and private land, and has typically displaced grazing and forage collection. For those at the socioeconomic margins, these unconsidered impacts counteract the very benefits that the biofuel programs aim to create. The Rajasthan case demonstrates that local land-use impacts need to be integrated into decision-making for national targets and global biofuel promotion efforts.     

Sustainability issues for promotion of Jatropha biodiesel in Indian scenario: A review

Jatropha, a non-edible oil seed yielding plant has been identified by the Government of India to produce biodiesel under National Biodiesel Mission. Failure of National Biodiesel Mission Phase-I requires critical analysis of all the possible facts related to its long-term sustainability. Present work identifies important sustainability issues related to promotion of Jatropha biodiesel in India. These sustainability issues have been regrouped in four major categories: technological, environmental, economic and social. This paper attempts to explore various sustainability issues taking into account the recent Indian experiences with possible government support/initiatives for successful adoption of Jatropha biodiesel in Indian scenario.     

Stakeholders' perceptions on challenges and opportunities for biodiesel and bioethanol policy development in Thailand

Thailand is Southeast Asia's largest promoter of biofuels. Although, Thailand promotes the use of biofuels, it has yet to achieve its policy targets. This paper focuses on the first generation biofuel development in Thailand and examines the perceptions of seven stakeholder groups to guide further policy development. These stakeholders were feedstock producers, biofuel producers, government agencies, car manufacturers, oil companies, non-profit organizations and end users. It combines a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) framework with an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework and a TOWS Matrix for analysis of stakeholder's perceptions to propose priorities for policy development. Five policies were of high priority for development of biofuel. These are: (1) promoting biofuel production and use in long term through government policies, (2) revising government regulations to allow sale of biofuel products to other domestic industries while keeping retail prices of blended biofuels below those of regular ethanol and biodiesel, (3) improving farm management and promoting contract farming, (4) expanding cultivation area and yield without affecting food production and environmental sustainability, and (5) balancing biofuel feedstock use between the food and energy industries.     

Shaping a sustainable energy future for India: Management challenges

Most of the studies on the Indian energy sector focus on the possible future scenarios of Indian energy system development without considering the management dimension to the problem—how to ensure a smooth transition to reach the desired future state. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some sector management concerns to a sustainable energy future in the country. The paper follows a deductive approach and reviews the present status and possible future energy outlooks from the existing literature. This is followed by a strategy outline to achieve long-term energy sustainability. Management challenges on the way to such a sustainable future are finally presented. The paper finds that the aspiration of becoming an economic powerhouse and the need to eradicate poverty will necessarily mean an increase in energy consumption unless a decoupling of energy and GDP growth is achieved. Consequently, the energy future of the country is eminently unsustainable. A strategy focussing on demand reduction, enhanced access, use of local resources and better management practices is proposed here. However, a sustainable path faces a number of challenges from the management and policy perspectives.     

History and policy of biodiesel in Brazil

Historically, during petroleum shortage, vegetable oils and their derivatives have been proposed as alternatives to petroleum diesel fuel. Since 1930, different approaches have been proposed by Brazilian's universities and research institutes, including the use of neat vegetable oils (pure or in blends) or their derivatives, such as hydrocarbons obtained by thermal-catalytic cracking and fatty acids’ methyl or ethyl esters (nowadays known as “biodiesel”) produced by alcoholysis. Recently, the external dependence on imported diesel fuel and the present petroleum crisis have increased the discussion in Brazil in the sense of starting to use alternatives to diesel fuel, biodiesel being the main alternative for a large petroleum diesel substitution program.     

Review and prospects of Jatropha biodiesel industry in China

Jatropha curcas L. is chosen as an ideal biodiesel crop in China because its seed kernel has high oil content (43-61%) and it does not compete with food. Its oil is non-edible, and the trees can resist drought and grow on barren and marginal lands without using arable land. This article reviews the history of Jatropha, current development status and problems in its seeds, propagation, plantation management, oil extraction, biodiesel processing and other value-added products production techniques in China. The commercial production of seed, oil and biodiesel as well as research advancement in China is also introduced and discussed. Examples about our new bred mutant and selected high-oil-yield Jatropha varieties, high-qualified produced biodiesel, and biodiesel pilot plant are presented. Finally, future prospects of Jatropha biodiesel industry in China are discussed.     

Prospects of biodiesel production from microalgae in India

Energy is essential and vital for development, and the global economy literally runs on energy. The use of fossil fuels as energy is now widely accepted as unsustainable due to depleting resources and also due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Renewable and carbon neutral biodiesel are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. Biodiesel demand is constantly increasing as the reservoir of fossil fuel are depleting. Unfortunately biodiesel produced from oil crop, waste cooking oil and animal fats are not able to replace fossil fuel. The viability of the first generation biofuels production is however questionable because of the conflict with food supply. Production of biodiesel using microalgae biomass appears to be a viable alternative. The oil productivity of many microalgae exceeds the best producing oil crops. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms which convert sunlight, water and CO₂ to sugars, from which macromolecules, such as lipids and triacylglycerols (TAGs) can be obtained. These TAGs are the promising and sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production. Microalgal biorefinery approach can be used to reduce the cost of making microalgal biodiesel. Microalgal-based carbon sequestration technologies cover the cost of carbon capture and sequestration. The present paper is an attempt to review the potential of microalgal biodiesel in comparison to the agricultural crops and its prospects in India.     

生物柴油的研究和应用进展

生物柴油作为一种可再生的替代能源，以其良好的环境效应受到越来越多的关注。生物柴油的使用可以减少S02，C02，CO，HC及颗粒排放。中国有丰富的植物油资源，促进生物柴油的应用不仅可以改善机动车的排气污染，而且能刺激中西部地区的农村经济发展，并对生物柴油的研究和应用进行了简单回顾。     

欧洲热电业的现状和前景

介绍欧盟热电产业的概况，特别是热电联产技术的发展现状、潜力和前景，分析了影响热电发展的相关政策，同时介绍了一些欧盟成员国采取的各种鼓励措施。强调热电业的进一步发展必须与欧盟能源政策的三大目标相一致：即保障能源供应、提高工业竞争力、保护环境，这些目标的实施对实现经济可持续发展和环境保护是非常必要的。     

Environmental aspects and challenges of oilseed produced biodiesel in Southeast Asia

Research on alternative fuel for the vehemently growing number of automotivesis intensified due to environmental reasons rather than turmoil in energy price and supply. From the policy and steps to emphasis the use of biofuel by governments all around the world, this can be comprehended that biofuel have placed itself as a number one substitute for fossil fuels. These phenomena made Southeast Asia a prominent exporter of biodiesel. But thrust in biodiesel production from oilseeds of palm and Jatropha curcas in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand is seriously threatening environmental harmony. This paper focuses on this critical issue of biodiesels environmental impacts, policy, standardization of this region as well as on the emission of biodiesel in automotive uses. To draw a bottom line on feasibilities of different feedstock of biodiesel, a critical analysis on oilseed yield rate, land use, engine emissions and oxidation stability is reviewed. Palm oil based biodiesel is clearly ahead in all these aspects of feasibility, except in the case of NO_x where it lags from conventional petro diesel.     

Life cycle assessment of conventional and optimised Jatropha biodiesel fuels

The environmental benefits and energy savings of the production of Jatropha fuels and operation in a typical LPV in India were examined. A baseline scenario and alternative optimised routes were assessed, considering different pathways of energy recovery from Jatropha coproducts. The following impact categories were assessed: Non-Renewable Energy (NRE) consumption, Global Warming Potential (GWP), Terrestrial Acidification Potential (TAP) and Respiratory Inorganic Effects (RIE). At present, the life cycle impact of Jatropha production and use is competitive with conventional diesel in terms of NRE and GHG emissions; however it results in higher local environmental impacts (RIE and TAP categories). Under optimised farming and processing practices and recovery of Jatropha coproducts either via co-generation, gasification or FT-diesel synthesis routes, Jatropha fuels reduce the impact of NRE, GHG, and RIE. The energy recovery paths to generate surplus electricity through generation and gasification routes show a better performance than FT-diesel synthesis routes in terms of NRE and GWP impacts. Nevertheless, in terms of local air pollution indicators, the FT-diesel synthesis route reveals the lowest emissions.     

Biofuel implementation in East Europe: Current status and future prospects

There is a continuously increasing interest concerning the biofuel implementation in Europe, mainly because of environmental protection and energy supply security reasons. In this context, the European Union (EU) strongly encourages the use of biofuels through a number of Directives. To that effect, EU members follow the Directives implementing various political, fiscal and technical measures and incentives. In the light of the potential created by the recently joined Eastern European countries, an increasing interest is shown in the whole biofuel supply chain within the EU. In parallel, the status of the Eastern European countries domestic market, as far as biofuels are concerned, is an interesting issue, since most of these countries present a significant potential, however still lagging in biofuel implementation. In the above context, the objective of the present work is to give a concise and up-to-date picture of the present status of biofuel implementation in East Europe. The work also aims at identifying the prospects of these countries as far as biofuels are concerned and their role in the EU framework as potential suppliers of a wider market.     

Test run of biodiesel in public transport system in Belgrade

The problems related to our strong dependency on fossil fuels, i.e. greenhouse effect, energy dependency, urban pollution, are of growing importance in recent years. European Union (EU) Action plan of 2003, which had originated from Kyoto Agreement, defined a strategy for substitution of 20% of conventional fuel with the alternative one by 2020. Proved advantages of biodiesel usage in the system of public transport of passengers, with regard to exhaust gases emission above all, have been the decisive determinants for the actual promotion of biodiesel as ecologically “clean” fuel, while its wider usage gives important contribution to sustainable development of cities. This paper presents results of biodiesel-test run in Belgrade, as a part of the project BIO-PEX, which relates to the usage of this alternative fuel in real operating conditions in urban public transport system, with special emphasis on technical, ecological and operational aspects of biofuel usage.     

Microalgae as a potential source for biodiesel production: techniques,methods, and other challenges

This paper reviews some of the most important aspects of microalgae as a potential source for biodiesel production. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can grow rapidly in a variety of environments because of their unicellular or multicellular structure depending on the species. They have the advantage of self‐reproduction using solar energy and converting it into chemical energy via photosynthesis. This process concludes a full cycle in a few days, obtaining higher lipid yields than terrestrial crops. This review shows several techniques and some methodologies used in the biodiesel production process from microalgae as well as the challenges that must be overcome for large‐scale process and in bio‐refineries. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental cost of energy consumption and biodiesel as a solution (case study: Iran)

ABSTRACT

More than 8.5 million people live in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with 111 pollutant days during 2016. Based on Iranian 2016 energy balance sheet, more than 76% of SPM was emitted by gas oil combustion. To determine the main pollutant fuel-consuming sector, the amount of gas oil consumption and SPM production are investigated. Therefore, the transportation and power plant sectors are determined as the main gas oil users with 51.1% and 30.5% of its total consumption. Next, the reduced external cost of implementing biodiesel instead of gas oil for mobile and fixed sources is deliberated. Finally, by comparing the external cost of gas oil consumption and Iran's gross domestic production in 2016, it is revealed that by replacing gas oil with biofuels, 3.935 billion dollars (0.95% of gross domestic production of Iran in 2016) can be reduced.     

Bioconversion of organic wastes into biodiesel and animal feed via insect farming

Approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption worldwide is wasted. The current waste management practices are not only costly but also have adverse impact on environment. In this study, black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens) larvae were grown on food wastes to produce fat and protein-rich BSF prepupae as a novel strategy for efficient organic waste management. The lipid content in BSF prepupae was characterized for fatty acids profile. Whole BSF prepupae, pressed cake, and meal were analyzed for important animal feed characteristics. BSF-derived oil has high concentration of medium chain saturated fatty acids (67% total fatty acids) and low concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (13% total fatty acids), which makes it potentially an ideal substrate for producing high quality biodiesel. BSF (prepupae, pressed cake, and meal) has feed value comparable to commercial feed sources. Thus, the bioconversion of organic waste into BSF prepupae has significant potential in generating high-value products with simultaneous waste valorization.     

微藻生物柴油发展与产油微藻资源利用

生物柴油作为目前全世界正积极推进的可再生能源项目,与清洁核能、风能、光伏发电等将成为人类21世纪的主要能源构成.产油微藻作为生产生物柴油的原料与其他原料相比具有较大优势,在解决成本及生产环节的瓶颈问题后,必将成为生物柴油的主要原料来源.文章探讨了生物柴油的研究现状和微藻生物柴油的优势:微藻商业化生产的主要方式:开放式跑道池、管道式光生物反应器的特点;微藻生物柴油产业链的形成及对促进生物柴油产业商业化的影响.