Biofuels production

The need to meet environmental regulations can affect processing costs. Undesirable air emissions may have to be eliminated and Hquid effluents and soHd residues treated and disposed of by incineration or/and landfilling. It is possible for biomass conversion processes that utilize waste feedstocks to combine waste disposal and treatment with energy and/or biofuel production so that credits can be taken for negative feedstock costs and tipping or receiving fees. 

Chappie, C. Ladisch, M. Meilan, R. Loosening lignin s grip on biofuel production. Nat. Biotechnol. 2007, 25, 746-748. 

Hill J (2007) Environmental costs and benefits of transportation biofuel production from food- and I i gnocc11 u I osc-based energy crops A review. Agron Sustain Dev 27 1-12. doi 10.1051/ agro 2007006... 

Land availability may not be a major problem, but land use issues need to be coordinated. The long-term production of biofuels in substantial quantities will require a number of changes. Grain surpluses will not provide sufficient feedstocks for the fuel quantities needed. Producers will need to switch to short-rotation woody plants and herbaceous grasses, these feedstocks can sustain biofuel production in long-term, substantial... 

Farm lawmakers have been pushing for more biofuel production. This legislation would offer over 2 billion for loans, grants and other in-... 

Cereals can yield around 1500-3000 litres of gasoline equivalent (lge)/ha sugarcane, 3000-6000 lge/ha sugarheet, 2000-4000 lge/ha vegetable oil crops, 700-1300 litres of diesel equivalent (lde)/ha and palm oil, 2500-3000 lde/ha (IEA, 2007). In addition, there are novel biofuel production processes under development, for example biodiesel from marine algae, which are claimed to have a 15 times higher yield per ha than rapeseed. 

For further reading on the various options of biofuel production processes and their characteristics see, for example, BMELV (2005) TEA (2004) Schaub et al. (2003 2004) van Thuijl et al. (2003a b) Worldwatch Institute (2007) or Further reading section. 

IEA (International Energy Agency) (2007). Biofuel production. IEA Energy... 

Fig. 9.4 Bioconversion (a) and thermochemical (b) platforms flowcharts for 2nd-generation biofuel production. (Adapted from [24]).

Catalysis could play a relevant role in limiting the environmental impact associated with biofuel production. In fact, it has been estimated, for example, that significantly more waste water arises in the production of biofuels than in the production of fuels using fossil resources. New (catalytic) processes for handling waste water deriving from biofuel production need to be developed. 

Sang, O.Y., Twaiq, F., Zakaria, R., Mohamed, A., Bhatia, S. 2003. Biofuel production from catalytic cracking of palm oil. Energy Sources 25 859-869. 

Most of the biofuel production processes developed to date are immature and have never been implemented on an indnstrial scale. Projections of the amount of biofuel depend on the development of the bioeconomy and society. Biofuels are generally considered as offering many priorities, inclnding sustainability, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, regional development, social structure and agriculture, security of supply (Reijnders, 2006). 

Subsidies and incentives are provided independendy from the environmental impact that ethanol may have during its entire life cycle, therefore, supporting biofuel production in the US. In 2001, the Emopean Commission launched a policy to promote the use of biofuels for transport in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of transport, as well as to increase security of supply, technological iimovation and agricultural diversification (UN, 2006). 

Biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol are, for now, the main alternatives to fossil fuels for the most polluting activities related to transportation. Presently, feedstocks for biofuels production are all of natural origin and as such are subject to uncontrolled seasonal variations. For economic reasons the purchase of these feedstocks from different parts of the world follows the dynamics of commodities markets. ... 

J.C. Menezes, P. Felizardo and M.J. Neiva-Correia, The use of process analytical technology (PAT) tools in biofuels production. Spectroscopy, (9), 30-35 (2008). 

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