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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #264495
Title: Developing criteria for evaluating the sustainability of emerging energy technologies

Author
item Rosentrater, Kurt
item KONGAR, ELIF - University Of Bridgeport

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2011
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Interest in biofuels has grown in recent years, especially as the price of gasoline has escalated. Biofuels can be produced from a variety of feedstocks using various processing technologies. But it is important to understand the implications of deploying these systems commercially. Even though many studies have examined various biofuel options using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), comparisons among these studies, as well as among the specific biofuel options themselves, are not easily accomplished. The objective of this study was to examine the efficiency of various biofuels using two criteria which are important to LCA (net energy balance and net carbon dioxide emission), and then to compare these fuels using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This study examined soy biodiesel, conventional corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol (switchgrass, poplar, corn stover), and algae biofuel. Our numerical comparisons found that soy biodiesel was most efficient in terms of the fuels studied, and the criteria used. This study is only a first step toward a more comprehensive assessment of biofuels. Future research needs to include additional criteria beyond those considered here.

Technical Abstract: Over the last decade, the interest in and production of biofuels has grown rapidly. Renewable transportation fuels can be produced from a variety of substrates, using various processing strategies. Feedstock preference and factory scale are geographic dependent. However, it is important to understand the implications of deploying these types of systems on a large scale, both throughout the U.S. as well as globally. To assess the sustainability of various biofuel options, it is crucial to evaluate their performance according to a number of attributes. This has been done using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Even so, comparisons among biofuel options are not easily accomplished. The objective of this study was to examine the efficiency of various biofuel options by using criteria which are important to LCA, namely, net energy balance and net carbon dioxide emission, and then compare them using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Biofuel options examined included soy biodiesel, conventional corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol (switchgrass, poplar, corn stover), and algae biofuel. This comparative approach is illustrated with a numerical example, which found that, using these criteria, soy biodiesel was most efficient. This study is a first step toward a more comprehensive assessment of biofuels, which will need to include additional criteria beyond those considered here. Each of these biofuels will need to be investigated for each criterion, not just from a production perspective, (i.e., quantity required and cost per unit), but also in terms of intangible criteria as well.