A comprehensive analysis of the current and future role of biofuels for transport in the European Union (EU)

Abstract

The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by-product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage).

Energy management: a synthesis of scientific publications on biodigestion for waste management

“…According to Oliveira et al (2010), developed countries employ the generation of electricity through biogas, as confirmed by Raboni and Urbini (2014) and Raboni et al (2015). According to the authors, in Brazil, there is a need for studies and technical and economic analyses that prove its efficiency.…”

“…Five brazilian publications (5% of the total) belong to authors from Italy Urbini, 2014 andRaboni et al, 2015), Chile (Ortiz et al, 2014), Argentina (Fuentes et al, 2009) andColombia (Cañon-Franco et al, 2012). This finding shows that the Brazilian journals are well-referenced, with a high impact factor and high JCR in the area of environmental sciences, since outside the country the quality of production is measured by means of these two indices.…”

“…The use of this product is mainly for the production of energy (electricity and heat), or biomethane for use in vehicles. To this end, the European community has been adopting a series of measures since 2000 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050; measures such as the Green Paper, which will reduce the use of fossil fuels by 20% per year with the use of renewable energy (Raboni et al, 2015).…”

Properties and Beneficial Uses of (Bio)Chars, with Special Attention to Products from Sewage Sludge Pyrolysis

“…Bio-oils can also be refined into ethanol and/or other chemical compounds. The European Union (EU) is currently pursuing an extended use of alternative liquid fuels in transportation uses, including bio-oils derived from biomasses [12].…”

European Framework for the Diffusion of Biogas Uses: Emerging Technologies, Acceptance, Incentive Strategies, and Institutional-Regulatory Support

“…Overall, biomass is expected to contribute to half of the EU renewable energy targets, as laid out in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) [1]. Within the bioenergy sector, biogas contributions are planned across all energy sectors: electricity, heating, and transport [2,3]. As part of RED, EU Member States (MSs) must submit National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) laying out how they will achieve their binding renewable targets across different energy sectors.…”