Abstract
Biofuels are being promoted for their energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction benefits. In general, they can be produced regionally and locally to provide fuels for motor vehicle use, thus reducing reliance on imported petroleum for many countries. Since the carbon in biofuels is taken from the air during biomass growth, biofuels can potentially reduce GHG emissions. It is well recognized that the life cycle of biofuel production and utilization is associated with fossil energy use and GHG emissions. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) of biofuels has become an integral part of a thorough evaluation of the energy and environmental effects of biofuels. While LCA results of biofuels have generally shown the energy and GHG benefits of biofuels relative to petroleum fuels, the magnitude of these benefits is determined by the types of feedstocks and production technologies used. In addition, LCA results are influenced heavily by decisions regarding the system boundary of a given analysis and the method of dealing with co-products of biofuels, among many other factors.
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The author is with Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne National Laboratory’s work is supported by the US Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.
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Wang, M. (2010). Life-Cycle Analysis of Biofuels. In: Mascia, P., Scheffran, J., Widholm, J. (eds) Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Production of Energy and Co-products. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, vol 66. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13440-1_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13440-1_15
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