The price for biofuels sustainability

The production and usage of biofuels has increased worldwide, seeking goals of energy security, low-carbon energy and rural development. As biofuels trade increased, the European Union introduced sustainability regulations in an attempt to reduce the risks associated with biofuels. Producers were then confronted with costs of sustainability certification, in order to access the EU market. Hopes were that sustainably-produced biofuels would be rewarded with higher prices in the EU. Based on a review of recent literature, interviews with traders and price data from Platts, this paper explores whether sustainability premiums emerged and if so, did they represent an attracting feature in the market for sustainable biofuels. This article finds that premiums for ethanol and biodiesel evolved differently between 2011 and 2012, but have been in general very small or inexistent, with certified fuels becoming the new norm in the market. For different reasons, there has been an apparent convergence between biofuel policies in the EU and the US. As market operators perceive a long-term trend for full certification in the biofuels market, producers in developing countries are likely to face additional challenges in terms of finance and capacity to cope with the sustainability requirements.     

Conditions for the sustainability of biomass based fuel use

Sustainability of biomass based fuel use requires that in biomass production erosion and water usage do not exceed addition to stocks of soil and water and that levels of nutrients and organic matter in soils do not decrease. Levels of volatile carbon compounds and N₂O in the atmosphere should remain unaffected. To maintain ecosystems services of nature useful to mankind, restriction of biomass production to degraded and currently fallow land is to be preferred. Also sustainability of biomass-for-energy use requires a high efficiency recycling of nutrients present in ashes and low emissions of persistent organics, acidifying compounds and heavy metals due to biomass combustion. Meeting such conditions requires major efforts.     

Developing a sustainability framework for the assessment of bioenergy systems

The potential for biomass to contribute to energy supply in a low-carbon economy is well recognised. However, for the sector to contribute fully to sustainable development in the UK, specific exploitation routes must meet the three sets of criteria usually recognised as representing the tests for sustainability: economic viability in the market and fiscal framework within which the supply chain operates; environmental performance, including, but not limited to, low carbon dioxide emissions over the complete fuel cycle; and social acceptability, with the benefits of using biomass recognised as outweighing any negative social impacts. This paper describes an approach to developing a methodology to establish a sustainability framework for the assessment of bioenergy systems to provide practical advice for policy makers, planners and the bioenergy industry, and thus to support policy development and bioenergy deployment at different scales. The approach uses multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and decision-conferencing, to explore how such a process is able to integrate and reconcile the interests and concerns of diverse stakeholder groups.     

Assessing the sustainability of biofuels: A logic-based model

Over the last decade, the production and consumption of biofuels increased rapidly worldwide, in an attempt to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, diversify transportation fuels, promote renewable energy, and create or maintain employment, especially in rural areas and developing countries. Although policy instruments being currently implemented in industrialized regions focus on sustainable biofuels, the definition and assessment of sustainability remains a highly debated issue. Several countries have adopted compulsory targets or financial incentives for promoting biofuels, and only a few countries have accounted for sustainability certification schemes for those biofuels within their policy framework. In this paper, a logic-based model for assessing the sustainability of biofuels is presented. The model uses a hierarchical structure to link multiple factors from the more specific variables to the most general one, sustainability performance. The strengths and limitations of the model are discussed and the anticipated improvements are provided.     

Key strategies of hydrogen energy systems for sustainability

Here we conduct a parametric study to investigate the effects of hydrogen energy utilization on the global stability and sustainability. In this regard, in order to derive the hydrogen energy based sustainability ratio, the green energy based sustainability ratio, as developed earlier, is modified to come up with a new parameter, namely “hydrogen energy utilization ratio through non-fossil fuels”. We take actual historical data from key sources to determine the role of hydrogen energy for sustainability and make some future projections as the road map for hydrogen economy. In addition, an illustrative example on the hydrogen energy based sustainability ratio is presented by considering green energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear to make hydrogen economy more environmentally benign and sustainable. It is found that hydrogen energy based global stability and sustainability ratios increase with the rise of hydrogen energy utilization ratio. The best results for hydrogen energy based sustainability ratio are obtained for the highest hydrogen energy impact ratios between 73.33% and 100%. In case of 10% of hydrogen energy utilization ratio, hydrogen based sustainability ratios for year 2010 are, respectively, determined to be 0.21%, 0.23%, 0.25%, 0.27% and 0.29% in 2.92% of hydrogen based global stability ratio by depending on the hydrogen energy impact ratios (=73.33%$=73.33\%$, 80%, 86.67%, 93.33% and 100%). In case of 20% of hydrogen energy utilization ratio, the hydrogen energy based sustainability ratios are found to be 1.09%, 1.19%, 1.28%, 1.38% and 1.48% in 7.41%, respectively. The results are really encouraging in a way that hydrogen economy appears to be one of the most significant players for better sustainability.     

Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview

The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest developments on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification for biofuels and/or bioenergy. A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use. Finally, the possible way forward for biofuel certification is discussed. Certification has the potential to influence positively direct environmental and social impact of bioenergy production. Key recommendations to ensure sustainability of biofuels/bioenergy through certification include the need of an international approach and further harmonisation, combined with additional measures for global monitoring and control. The effects of biofuels/bioenergy production on indirect land use change (ILUC) is still very uncertain; addressing the unwanted ILUC requires sustainable land use planning and adequate monitoring tools such as remote sensing, regardless of the end-use of the product.     

Lessons from first generation biofuels and implications for the sustainability appraisal of second generation biofuels

AimsThe emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed to address broader societal concerns. This paper examines lessons drawn from the 1G controversy to assess implications for the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels.ScopeWe present an overview of key 1G sustainability challenges, assess their relevance for 2G, and highlight the challenges for policy in managing the transition. We address limitations of existing sustainability assessments by exploring where challenges might emerge across the whole system of bioenergy and the wider context of the social system in which bioenergy research and policy are done.ConclusionsKey lessons arising from 1G are potentially relevant to the sustainability appraisal of 2G biofuels depending on the particular circumstances or conditions under which 2G is introduced. We conclude that sustainability challenges commonly categorised as either economic, environmental or social are, in reality, more complexly interconnected (so that an artificial separation of these categories is problematic).     

Evaluation of sustainability of a city through fuzzy logic

The sustainable indicators are characterized by a low degree of aggregation and a high amount of information. An indicator must show a synthetic representation of a real environmental, by using a value or a parameter, so that they can be easily used by policy makers. It is necessary to connect, therefore, the various systems in an appropriately integrated sustainable system. The indicators need to be aggregated based on the structure of the data. Each indicator must to be defined through a weight with reference to another weighted indicator.     

A key review on emergy analysis and assessment of biomass resources for a sustainable future

The present study comprehensively reviews emergy analysis and performance evaluation of biomass energy. Biomass resources utilization technologies include (a) bioethanol production, (b) biomass for bio-oil, (c) biodiesel production, (d) straw as fuel in district heating plants, (e) electricity from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incineration power plant, (f) electricity from waste landfill gas. Systems diagrams of biomass, which are to conduct a critical inventory of processes, storage, and flows that are important to the system under consideration and are therefore necessary to evaluate, for biomasses are given. Emergy indicators, such as percent renewable (PR), emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental load ratio (ELR) and environmental sustainability index (ESI) are shown to evaluate the environmental load and local sustainability of the biomass energy. The emergy indicators show that bio-fuels from crop are not sustainable and waste management for fuels provides an emergy recovery even lower than mining fossil fuel.     

The sustainability of ethanol production from sugarcane

The rapid expansion of ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil has raised a number of questions regarding its negative consequences and sustainability. Positive impacts are the elimination of lead compounds from gasoline and the reduction of noxious emissions. There is also the reduction of CO₂ emissions, since sugarcane ethanol requires only a small amount of fossil fuels for its production, being thus a renewable fuel. These positive impacts are particularly noticeable in the air quality improvement of metropolitan areas but also in rural areas where mechanized harvesting of green cane is being introduced, eliminating the burning of sugarcane. Negative impacts such as future large-scale ethanol production from sugarcane might lead to the destruction or damage of high-biodiversity areas, deforestation, degradation or damaging of soils through the use of chemicals and soil decarbonization, water resources contamination or depletion, competition between food and fuel production decreasing food security and a worsening of labor conditions on the fields. These questions are discussed here, with the purpose of clarifying the sustainability aspects of ethanol production from sugarcane mainly in São Paulo State, where more than 60% of Brazil's sugarcane plantations are located and are responsible for 62% of ethanol production.     

Assessing the sustainability challenges for electricity industries in ASEAN newly industrialising countries

Rapid social and economic progress in fast developing countries such that among the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have driven substantial growth in electricity consumption in this region. Whilst this represents significant societal and economic development, it has potentially growing adverse environmental impacts. This raises a concern on sustainable development in the electricity sector in this region. This study evaluates key sustainability challenges in the electricity industries in the five largest energy consumers in ASEAN: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The 3A's energy sustainability objectives: Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability are used as the sustainability analytical framework. This study also draws together a set of associated indicators and criteria within the analytical framework to analyse the status of the electricity industries in these countries. The analysis shows that key sustainability challenges in the ASEAN-5 are attributable to satisfying rapid demand growth; enhancing security of electricity supply; and mitigating the increase in CO₂ emissions from electricity generation. Given the promising resource and technical potential in this region, renewable energy emerges as a favourable option to address these challenges; however, increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity generation requires considerable policy support. This study suggests that there is an opportunity for the ASEAN countries to strengthen regional collaborations through experience and resource sharing to enhance sustainability in the electricity industries. This study also highlights some of the key issues facing the electricity industry, and the need for new generation investment decision support tools which can address these issues.     

Modelling adaptation of the coal industry to sustainability conditions

Fossil fuels still constitute an important source of energy in the world, but they need to comply with more strict environmental requirements. The coal industry, the basic primary energy supplier to the Polish economy, not only faces new environmental regulations but also restructuring and changes in the industry's organisational structure. The issues of primary importance are the medium and long-term prospects of achieving a suitable quantity and quality of coal supplied, as well as suitable costs. The structure of power generation needs to adjust to emissions limits with given fuel supplies. The paper discusses the construction of a coal supply balancing system which has been developed and applied as a decision support for rational planning of the development of the Polish coal industry. It consists of two linked groups of models: coal supply and coal balancing. Such a structure allows it to respond to the problems emerging for the most part from new environmental regulations, and to select policies that will lead to sustainability in the industry.     

Fuzzy Multi-actor Multi-criteria Decision Making for sustainability assessment of biomass-based technologies for hydrogen production

The purpose of this paper is to develop a sustainability assessment method to rank the prior sequence of biomass-based technologies for hydrogen production. A novel fuzzy Multi-actor Multi-criteria Decision Making method which allows multiple groups of decision-makers to use linguistic variables to assess the biomass-based technologies for hydrogen production has been developed. Fifteen criteria relevant to in economic, environmental, technological and social-political aspects have been used in sustainability assessment. Four biomass-based technologies including pyrolysis, conventional gasification, supercritical water gasification and fermentative hydrogen production have been studied by the proposed method, and biomass gasification has been considered as the most sustainable scenario and can be chosen for further development.     

A new energy paradigm for Turkey: A political risk-inclusive cost analysis for sustainable energy

Implementing sustainable development policies in order to achieve economic and social development while maintaining adequate environmental protection to minimize the damage inflicted by the constantly increasing world population must be a major priority in the 21st century. While the emerging global debate on potential cost-effective responses has produced potential solutions such as cap and trade systems and/or carbon taxes as part of evolving sustainable energy/environmental policies, this kind of intellectual inquiry does not seem to be an issue among Turkish policy-making elites. This is mainly due to their miscalculation that pursuing sustainable energy policies is much more expensive in comparison to the utilization of fossil fuels such as natural gas. Nevertheless, the pegged prices of an energy sector dominated by natural gas are illusive, as both the political risks and environmental damage have not been incorporated into the current cost calculations. This paper evaluates energy policies through a lens of risk management and takes an alternative approach to calculating energy costs by factoring in political risks. This formulation reveals that the cost of traditional fossil-based energy is in fact more expensive than renewable energy. In addition to being environmentally friendly, the paradigm shift towards renewable energy policies would provide Turkey with a significant opportunity to stimulate its economy by being one of the first countries to develop green technologies and as a result this burgeoning sector would prompt job creation as well; mainly due to the externalities.     

An entropy generation metric for non-energy systems assessments

Processes in non-energy systems have not been as frequent a subject of sustainability studies based on Thermodynamics as have processes in energy systems. This paper offers insight into thermodynamic thinking devoted to selection of a sustainability energy-related metric based on entropy balancing of a non-energy system. An underlying objective in this sustainability oriented study is product quality involving thermal processing during manufacturing vs. resource utilization (say, energy). The product quality for the considered family of materials processing for manufacturing is postulated as inherently controlled by the imposed temperature non-uniformity margins. These temperature non-uniformities can be converted into a thermodynamic metric which can be related to either destruction of exergy of the available resource or, on a more fundamental level of process quality, to entropy generation inherent to the considered manufacturing system. Hence, a manufacturing system can be considered as if it were an energy system, although in the later case the system objective would be quite different. In a non-energy process, a metric may indicate the level of perfection of the process (not necessarily energy efficiency) and may be related to the sustainability footprint or, as advocated in this paper, it may be related to product quality. Controlled atmosphere brazing (CAB) of aluminum, a state-of-the-art manufacturing process involving mass production of compact heat exchangers for automotive, aerospace and process industries, has been used as an example.     

Steps to discern sustainability criteria for a certification scheme of bioethanol in Brazil: Approach and difficulties

Taking Brazilian bioethanol as an example, this paper presents possible sustainability criteria for a certification scheme aimed to minimize negative socio-ecological impacts and to increase the sustainable production of biomass. We describe the methods that have led us to the identification of a first set of feasible sustainability criteria for Brazilian bioethanol and discuss issues to be considered when developing certification schemes for sustainability. General problems of a certification scheme lie in the inherent danger of introducing new non-tariff trade barriers and in the problems of including important higher scale issues like land conversion and food security. A certification system cannot replace a thorough analysis of policy impacts on sustainability issues.     

Role of exergy in increasing efficiency and sustainability and reducing environmental impact

The use of exergy is described as a measure for identifying and explaining the benefits of sustainable energy and technologies, so the benefits can be clearly understood and appreciated by experts and non-experts alike, and the utilization of sustainable energy and technologies can be increased. Exergy can be used to assess and improve energy systems, and can help better understand the benefits of utilizing green energy by providing more useful and meaningful information than energy provides. Exergy clearly identifies efficiency improvements and reductions in thermodynamic losses attributable to more sustainable technologies. A new sustainability index is developed as a measure of how exergy efficiency affects sustainable development. Exergy can also identify better than energy the environmental benefits and economics of energy technologies. The results suggest that exergy should be utilized by engineers and scientists, as well as decision and policy makers, involved in green energy and technologies in tandem with other objectives and constraints.     

Brazilian Biodiesel Policy: Social and environmental considerations of sustainability

The objective of this article is to analyze the Brazilian Biodiesel Policy (PNPB) and to identify the social and environmental aspects of sustainability that are present or absent within it. Biofuels, namely alcohol and biodiesel, have been increasing in popularity on a global scale due to their potential as alternative and renewable energy sources. Brazil, a vast country blessed with abundant natural resources and agricultural land, has emerged as a global leader in the production of biofuels. This article includes a brief analysis of the concept of sustainable development, which served as a basis to evaluate the Policy documents. Although PNPB's implementation, which began in 2004, is still within its initial stage, it was possible to identify and elaborate on the environmental and social aspects of the Policy, namely: the social inclusion of family farmers; regional development; food security; influencing the carbon and energy balance of biodiesel; promoting sustainable agricultural practices and a diversity of feedstock.     

Uncertainties and sustainability concepts in biofuel supply chain management: A review

Biofuel energy as an alternative and additive form of energy to fossil fuel has gained much attention in recent times. In order to sustain such a vision, a robust supply chain is of extreme importance in helping to deliver competitive biofuel to the end user markets. In this paper, firstly, an introduction of the evolution of biofuels and the general structure of the biofuel supply chain are presented. Secondly, the three types of decision making levels and uncertainties that are inherent within the biofuel supply chain are discussed. Thirdly, important methodologies for modeling uncertainties in the decision making process are provided. Fourthly, sustainability concepts and models that give perspectives to the social, economical and environmental concepts are reviewed. Finally, conclusions and future research based on incorporating uncertainties and sustainability concepts within the biofuel supply chain are drawn and suggested, respectively.     

Towards sustainability of energy systems: A primer on how to apply the concept of energy services to identify necessary trends and policies

Virtually all goods and services that characterize modern societies’ welfare depend on the provision of commercial energy. The core objective of this paper is to identify necessary changes in trends for achieving a transition towards more sustainable energy systems and development paths. The major conclusions of this analysis are (i) a rigorous rethinking process has to take place to identify which level of energy services per capita lead to enhancing human welfare and quality of life; (ii) a significant increase in energy conversion efficiency has to be triggered to finally provide energy services with far less input of energy than today; (iii) a continuous increase in the share of renewable energy sources and other low-emission options has to be brought about; (iv) however, as history has shown this process of technological learning has to be accompanied by proper energy price and regulatory policies. Otherwise, it is very likely that energy conservation gains due to technical efficiency improvements will be outweighed again by increases in energy service demand and, straightforward, energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.