Sustainability of the Biorefinery Industry for Fuel Production

Abstract

Biofuels have been extensively explored and applied in the Brazilian market. In Brazil, ethanol and biodiesel are produced on an industrial scale. Ethanol is commercialized and used in engines in both the hydrated form (96% °GL) and the anhydrous form, mixed with gasoline at a proportion of up to 25% by volume. In turn, biodiesel is blended with diesel in a proportion of 5% by volume. Thus, the goal of the use of biofuels is to contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gases and other pollutants emitted into the atmosphere during burning. This article describes some recent developments in the characterization of the environmental and economic impacts of the production of these biofuels from different biomass sources. On this regard, this review presents results of life-cycle assessments (LCAs), life-cycle cost assessments (LCCAs) and Structural Path Analysis (SPA), this last one depicting a sectorial perspective rather than LCA process level data approaches. The results showed that the inclusion of biofuels in transportation activities can lead to the mitigation of the environmental impacts of certain activities, such as emissions of greenhouse gases. However, greater attention must be paid to the improvement of agricultural management to decrease fuel, fertilizer and herbicide consumption.

Green chemistry, sustainable agriculture and processing systems: a Brazilian overview

“…Nevertheless, some recent studies [5] have shown that the understanding of Brazilian chemical researchers towards environmental sustainability, sustainable development, and the role of Green Chemistry has been further elaborated to improve the researchers' conceptual reasoning and more uniform understanding about the role of Green Chemistry in a new agribusiness paradigm. More recently, a transition has been observed towards an optimal and renewable use of biomass based on sustainable production systems to generate food and other bio-based products with adequate social value, low inputs, enhanced ecosystem services, zero waste, as well as minimum environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions [6][7][8][9][10].…”

A comparison of commercial ethanol production systems from Brazilian sugarcane and US corn

“…One Brazilian sugarcane ethanol industry study performs a more complete LCA with these environmental impacts (but not on as well‐defined system as presented here), life cycle costing for various biofuels and also a structural path analysis which includes assessing a broader sectoral perspective of the economy for sugarcane ethanol. They observed similar levels of reductions in GHG emissions and highlighted the need to continue to improve the agricultural management practices.…”

Biological Resources for Energy

“…Many bioenergy technologies are mature and can compete with fossil fuels considering the price of the energy services (Berndes et al, 2003;Haberl et al, 2011;Smeets et al, 2007). New concepts of biorefinaries are being developed, which aim to optimize the use of biomass by converting it into a range of services such as energy, high-value chemical materials, food and feed (Caldeira-Pires et al, 2013;Cherubini, 2010aCherubini, , 2010b). …”