Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Is an increased use of biofuels the road to sustainability?

Consequences of the methodological approach

  • Review
  • Published:
The European Physical Journal Plus Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract.

The global area of planted biofuel crops has been increasing rapidly, but the environmental and social consequences of widespread adoption of biofuel production remain largely unexplored. How do we measure efficiency and net energy of a complex system, such as the interaction between agriculture, human society and technology? This paper provides background and identifies assumptions in its overview of competing and overlapping methods. We emphasize that biofuels, as well as all other resources with their associated processes, should be analyzed as embedded in complex systems. The reason why society looks at biofuels favorably is because the methodological approaches used in the present scientific literature are narrow and far from holistic. What is excluded from the analysis has crucial implications on what is regarded as sustainable.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. O. Cavalett, T. Rydberg, in Emergy Synthesis 6: Theory and Applications of the Emergy Methodology, edited by M.T. Brown (University of Florida Center for Environmental Policy, Gainesville, 2011) p. 175--183

  2. WWF, Soy Expansion -- Losing Forests to Fields (2003) available on-line at the following link: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/wwfsoyexpansion.pdf

  3. F. Fargione et al., Science 319, 1235 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. J.B. Guinée, Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment. Operational guide to the ISO standards (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2002)

  5. M.T. Brown, S. Ulgiati, J. Clean. Prod. 10, 321 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. R. Costanza et al., Nature 387, 253 (1997)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. H.T. Odum, Environmental accounting: Emergy and environmental decision making (John Wiley, New York, 1996)

  8. P.P. Franzese et al., Ecol. Indic. 9, 959 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. UN, Transforming our world -- the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (A/RES/70/1) www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org

  10. W. Steffen, Science (2015), DOI:10.1126/science.1259855

  11. M.E.D. Olivera et al., BioScience 55, 593 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. I.C. Macedo, Biomass Bioenergy 14, 77 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. M. Giampietro, K. Mayumi, The Biofuel Delusion -- The fallacy of large-scale agro- biofuel production (Earthscan, London, UK, 2009)

  14. D. Pimentel, T.W. Patzek, Nat. Resour. Res. 14, 65 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. S. Ulgiati, Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 20, 71 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. FAO, How to Feed the World in 2050 (2009), available on-line at the following link: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf

  17. K. Johansson et al., Ambio 39, 91 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. E. Felix, D.R. Tilley, Energy 34, 410 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. P. Paulsson, Energy analysis of ethanol production

  20. Swedish Government, Uthållig användning av Torv (Sustainable use of Peat) Statens offentliga utredningar, SOU 2002:100 (2002) p. 29

  21. M.T. Brown, S. Ulgiati, Ecol. Eng. 9, 51 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. S. Johansson et al., Acta Agric. Scand., Sect. B 64, 109 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  23. A. Granstedt, Farming for the future -- with a focus on the Baltic Sea Region (Trosa Tryckeri AB, Trosa, Sweden, 2012)

  24. D.A. Bergquist et al., Environ. Dev. Sustain. 14, 167 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. M. Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma -- The search for a perfect meal in a fast-food world (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2006) ISBN 978-1-4088-1218-1

  26. P. Börjesson, Appl. Energy 86, 589 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. H.T. Odum, Environment, Power and Society for the twenty-first century -- The hierarchy of energy (Columbia University Press, New York, 2007)

  28. M. Höök, Coal and Oil: The dark monarchs of Global Energy: Understanding Supply and Extraction Patterns and their importance for future production (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala, 2010)

  29. M. Giampietro et al., BioScience 47, 587 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. H. Shapouri, The 2001 Net Energy Balance of Corn- Ethanol (preliminary) (US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, 2004)

  31. A.E. Farrell, R.J. Plevin, B.T. Turner, A.D. Jones, M.O. O'Hare, D.M. Kammen, Science 311, 506 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. S. Ahlgren, Future Vehicle Fuel Supply for Swedish Agriculture (Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 2010) Report 020

  33. J. Hill et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103, 11206 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. P. Börjesson, Livscykelanalys av Salixproduktion (Lunds tekniska högskola, Institutionen för teknik och samhälle, Avd. för miljö och energisystem, Lund, 2006) Rapport nr. 60

  35. M. Giampietro, Energy analysis for a sustainable future -- multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (Routhledge, Abingdon, 2013)

  36. H. Fredriksson et al., Agric. Syst. 89, 184 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. P.-A. Hansson et al., Agric. Syst. 94, 704 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. J.Y. Zhu, X.S. Zhuang, Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 38, 583 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. B. Gilland, Outlook Agric. 14, 56 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  40. S. Johansson, EPJ Web of Conferences 54, 01014 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. T. Rehl et al., Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 16, 3766 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. R. Fraser, J.J. Kay, Exergy analysis of eco-systems: Establishing a role for the thermal sensing, in Thermal Remote Sensing in Land surface Processes, edited by D. Quattrochi, J. Luvall (Taylor & Francis Publishers, London, 2002)

  43. I. Ekroth, E. Granryd, Tillämpad termodynamik (Institutionen för energiteknik, avdelningen för Tillämpad termodynamik och kylteknik, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm, 1994)

  44. G. Wall, Exergy -- A useful concept within resource accounting (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Göteborg, Sweden, 1977)

  45. G. Wall et al., Energy 19, 1267 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. S.E. Jorgensen, S.N. Nielsen, Energy 32, 673 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. K. Gaudreau et al., Sustainability 1, 1444 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. A. Hornborg, Resilience 1, 116 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. E.T. Jaynes, The second law as physical fact and as human interference (1998), available on-line at the following link: http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/articles/second.law.pdf

  50. H.T. Odum, Living with complexity, Lecture given at The Crafoord Price in the BioSciences (The Royal Swedishn Academy of Sciences, 1987) pp. 203--251

  51. H.T. Odum, Science 242, 1132 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. I. Prigogine, P. Glansdorff, Thermodynamic Theory of Structure, Stability and Fluctuations (John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1971)

  53. M.T. Brown, R.A. Herendeen, Ecol. Econ. 19, 219 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. C. Giannantoni, in Proceedings of the IV Biennial International Workshop ``Advances in Energy Studies'', 200, edited by E. Ortega, S. Ulgiati (Unicamp, Campinas, SP, Brazil, 2004) pp. 139--157

  55. J.M. Malmaeus, Sustainability 8, 490 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. T. Piketty, Capital in the 20th century (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2014)

  57. C. Hall, Peak Oil, EROI, Investments and the Economy in an Uncertain Future, in Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems, edited by D. Pimentel (Springer Netherlands, 2008) pp. 109--132

  58. M.T. Brown, S. Ulgiati, Ecol. Model. 223, 879 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human well-being: Synthesis (Island Press, Washington, 2005) p. 160

  60. K. Mulder, J.N. Hagens, Ambio 37, 74 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. S. Johansson, Socio-economic analysis of biogas and biogas combined with ethanol from organic agriculture (Technical University of Denmark, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, 2011)

  62. S.J. Doherty, Systems Analysis of the Solar Emergy Basis for Forest Alternatives in Sweden (College of Forestry, Garpenberg, Sweden, 1995) final report to the Swedish State Power Board, p. 112

  63. P. Hagström, Biomass Potential for Heat, Electricity and Vehicle Fuel in Sweden (Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, 2006)

  64. M. Larsson, Hållbar utveckling och ekonomi inom planetens gränser (Studentlitteratur AB, Lund, 2012)

  65. Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket), Användning av naturgödsel och andra typer av animaliska biprodukter som gödningsmedel (Swedish Board of Agriculture, 2012) available at http://www.jordbruksverket.se/amnesomraden/djur/ djurprodukter/organiskagodningsmedel.4.7caa00cc126738ac4e8800014876.html (in Swedish)

  66. G.A. Cornia, World Dev. 13, 131 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. P. Rosset, Development 43, 77 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. B. Halweil, Can Organic Farming Feed Us All?, in World Watch, Vol. 19 (2006)

  69. C.B. Barett et al., World Dev. 38, 88 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. L.G. Horlings, T.K. Marsden, Glob. Environ. Change 21, 441 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. O. de Schutter, Report on the right to food (UN Human Rights Council, 2011) http://rs.resalliance.org/?p=4612

  72. P.M. Rosset, The multiple functions and benefits of small scale agriculture in the context of global trade negotiation (Institute for Food and Development Policy, Oakland, CA, USA, 1999) Policy Brief No. 4

  73. S. Carnot, Reflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu sur les machines propres a developper cette puissance (Bachelier, Libraire, Paris, 1824)

  74. J. Lovelock, Gaia -- a new look at life on earth (first published in 1979, Oxford University Press, New York, 2000)

  75. E. Friman, No Limits: The 20th Century Discourse of Economic Growth, Doctorate Thesis, Department of Historical Studies, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå (2002)

  76. S. Doherty, in Proceeding in ``The World Grows Organic'' -- 13th International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2000 (Basel, Switzerland, 2000)

  77. T. Rydberg, J. Jansén, Ecol. Eng. 19, 13 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. J. Chen et al., Trends Renew. Energy 1, 185 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  79. N. Trivedi et al., Bioresour. Technol. 150, 106 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. N. Trivedi et al., Algal Res. 9, 48 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. M. Giampietro, S. Ulgiati, Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 24, 365 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. IFIAS, Energy analysis (Stockholm, 1974) Workshop Report no. 6, p. 89

  83. IPCC, Climate Change 2007 -- The physical science basis (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2007)

  84. M.T. Brown et al., Ecol. Model. 222, 879 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. K. Aleklett, Peeking at Peak Oil (Springer, 2012)

  86. A.U. Ayres, Ecology vs. Economics: Confusing Production and Consumption (Center of the Management of Environmental Resources, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, 1998)

  87. B.A. Mansson, J.M. McGlade, Oecologica 93, 582 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  88. C.J. Cleveland et al., Ecol. Econ. 32, 301 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  89. H.T. Odum, Oecologica 104, 518 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  90. B.C. Patten, Oecologica 93, 579 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  91. T. Verwijst, Analyses of bioenergy systems -- why do they produce different answers? in Bioenergy -- for what and how much? edited by B. Johansson (The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Science and Spatial Planning, Stockholm, 2008) pp. 167--182

  92. C. Giannantoni, The Maximum Em-Power Principle as the basis for Thermodynamics of Quality (Servizi Grafici Editoriali, Ditoriali, Padova, 2002) p. 185

  93. J.S. Barbara, The False Promise of Biofuels, Special Report (International Forum on Globalization and the Institute for Policy Studies, 2007) p. 18

  94. I. Prigogine, The End of Certainty (The Free Press, New York, 1997)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Sheshti Johansson

  2. Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Torbjörn Rydberg

Authors
  1. Sheshti Johansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Torbjörn Rydberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheshti Johansson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Johansson, S., Rydberg, T. Is an increased use of biofuels the road to sustainability?. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 132, 66 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11333-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11333-0

Search

Navigation