Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bonkers about biofuels

  • Commentary
  • Published:

From Nature Biotechnology

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Biofuels have been touted before, but failed to deliver. What's needed to get it right this time around?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Relative production costs of alternative fuels in different countries.
Figure 2: US production of ethanol.

References

  1. http://www.energy.gov/news/3255.htm

  2. http://www.biorefineryworkshop.com/

  3. Lugar, R.G. Wall Street Journal (2005) Page A17, February 13.

  4. http://www.bio.org/pacrim/

  5. Pimentel, D. & Patzek, T. Nat. Resour. Res. 14, 65–76 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Shapouri, H., Duffield, J.A. & Wang, M. Trans. ASAE 46, 959–968 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Shapouri. H. et al. Estimating the Net Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol. Agricultural Economic Report No. 721 (US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Office of Energy and New Uses, Washington, DC, July 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Wang, M. Development and Use of GREET 1.6 Fuel-Cycle Model for Transportation Fuels and Vehicle Technologies (Tech. Rep. ANL/ESD/TM-163, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 2001). http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/153.pdf.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Greene, N. & Mugica, A. Bringing Biofuels to the Pump: an Aggressive Plan for Ending America's Oil Dependence (National Resources Defense Council, New York, July 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Herrera, S. Wood-based ethanol advances on international front: Cellulosic fuels from trees gets a closer look. Ind Biotechnol 2:2, 101–107 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Lynd, L. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 7321–7325 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Peplow, M. Alcohol fuels not so green. news@nature.com, 1 July 2005.

  13. Peplow, M. Biofuels get mixed review. news@nature.com, 26 January 2006.

  14. Farrell, A.E. et al. Science 311, 506–508 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Ragauskas, A.J. et al. Science 311, 484–789 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Editor-at-Large at Nature Biotechnology,

    Stephan Herrera

Authors
  1. Stephan Herrera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Herrera, S. Bonkers about biofuels. Nat Biotechnol 24, 755–760 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0706-755

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0706-755

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation