Abstract
Today, many countries are increasing the biofuel share in national energy supply, mainly to strengthen their domestic energy security and to protect against sudden oil price hikes. Some biofuels also provide greenhouse gas emission offsets, becoming a part of climate change mitigation framework. Second-generation liquid biofuels (e.g., lignocellulosic ethanol, algae fuel, biomethanol) are under ongoing research effort investigating conversion technologies and economic feasibility. In this chapter, we will concentrate on the economic prospects of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic materials in the USA in terms of their cost-efficiency and profitability, and implications for global commodity markets. Moreover, we will analyze the emergence of drop-in fuels (e.g., fuels that can be used in existing infrastructure) and the relative difference this makes in the potential for future market penetration.
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Notes
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Global-warming potential—An index, based upon radiative properties of well-mixed greenhouse gases, measuring the radiative forcing of a unit mass of a given well-mixed greenhouse gas in the present-day atmosphere integrated over a chosen time horizon, relative to that of carbon dioxide. The GWP represents the combined effect of the differing times these gases remain in the atmosphere and their relative effectiveness in absorbing outgoing thermal infrared radiation. The Kyoto Protocol is based on GWPs from pulse emissions over a 100-year time frame [definition adapted from IPCC 4th Assessment Report, Working Group I, The Physical Science Basis (IPCC 2007)].
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Wlodarz, M., McCarl, B.A. (2014). An Economic Assessment of Second-Generation Liquid Fuels Production Possibilities. In: Domingos Padula, A., Silveira dos Santos, M., Benedetti Santos, O., Borenstein, D. (eds) Liquid Biofuels: Emergence, Development and Prospects. Lecture Notes in Energy, vol 27. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6482-1_7
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