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News and Trends
http://maps.nrel.gov/bioenergyatlas The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, United States) recently announced the availability of a new web portal at its website: the "Bioenergy Atlas". According to the NREL news release, Bioenergy Atlas provides access to two bioenergy analysis and mapping tools: (1) "BioFuels" Atlas and (2) "BioPower". These tools are built into Google maps and allow users to compare/analyze biomass feedstocks, biopower and biofuels data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The BioFuels Atlas is "an interactive map for comparing biomass feedstocks and biofuels by location. It can also calculate the biofuels potential for a given area. [The] tool helps users select from and apply biomass data layers to a map as well as query and download biofuels and feedstock data ". The "BioPower" tool has an analysis function which offers common conversion factors "that allow users to determine the potential biopower production for a selected feedstock in a specific area". The project was made possible with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Blue Skyways Collaborative and DOE's Biomass Program. The Bioenergy Atlas web portal can be accessed at the URL given above. http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2010/100916ChaubeyBiofuels.html The Purdue University News Service website (United States) reports that the University has received a research grant amounting to about $1.6 million dollars for conducting a sustainability assessment of biofuel energy crops. The overall goal of the four-year project is to "identify landscapes within a watershed where different types of bioenergy crops can be produced to meet demand and promote environmental sustainability". Research activities will include: (1) development of strategies to meet the demand for biofuel crops while promoting environmental quality and ecosystem health, and (2) conducting a watershed-scale sustainability assessment (in relation to soil erosion, water quality and quantity, biomass yield, profitability and aquatic biodiversity) of multiple crops (miscanthus, switchgrass and hybrid poplar). Energy Crops and Feedstocks for Biofuels Productionhttp://www.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/news/Algae_biodiesel_production_has_to_be_three_times_cheaper.htm http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V2W-507DK0H-4&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2010&_alid=1489413351&_rdoc=5&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item&_cdi=5713&_sort=r&_st=13&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=25&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=100fcc0cc7f203b2c614c4763a22ed1c&searchtype=a Researchers from the Wageningen University, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group (the Netherlands) recently reported a cost-effectiveness analysis on the production of algal bioenergy in the EU. The paper is published in the journal, Energy Policy (URL above). Oleagenous (oil-bearing) algae are said to be good feedstocks for biodiesel production because of their low carbon and water footprints. However, the cost of production is relatively higher than that of fossil fuel production. According to the paper, the cost of algal biodiesel production is presently three and a half times higher than the production cost of petroleum-based fuels, and two times higher the production cost of rapeseed biodiesel. In order for algal biodiesel to become commercially competitive, "the productivity of algae reactors would have to grow annually by at least three to four percent more than the productivity of other bioreactors over a stretch of fifteen years". Biotechnology investments and support from the government, as well as from the private sector will be important. Biofuels Policy and Economics
http://www.miljo.lth.se/svenska/internt/publikationer_internt/pdf-filer/Report%2070%20-%20LCA%20of%20Biofuels%20%281%29.pdf A recent LCA report by Swedish researchers from the Department of Technology and Society, Lund University shows that Swedish biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to fossil fuels. The reduction figures were obtained, even if direct and indirect land use changes were considered (related information below). A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is usually conducted on biofuels, to track key parameters (notably energy inputs/outputs and GHG)), as the biofuels is produced from cultivation to final use. The biofuels under study consisted of first generation feedstocks (wheat for ethanol with biogas co-production, rapeseed for biodiesel, maize/sugar beet for biogas) and organic wastes/residues (municipal waste, food industry waste, liquid manure for biogas). An interesting result of their study is that first generation biofuel feedstocks were shown to have GHG reduction benefits which were greater than what have been previously reported. According to the report, (1) "Wheat-based ethanol is considered to lead to a climate benefit of 71% compared to fossil fuel, when system expansion is applied (excluding straw), (2) Ethanol production from sugar beet is considered to have a climate benefit of 80 % under today's conditions, and of 74% using energy allocation", (3) "The climate benefit of today's [rapeseed biodiesel] is estimated to be 68% compared to fossil fuels". Co-author, Pål Börjesson, points out that "each type of biofuel has different limitations in production volumes. In order to avoid negative effects, it is important to know where this boundary". The LCA report can be accessed the Environmental and Energy Systems Studies website of Lund University (URL above) Related information on direct and indirect land use change: http://www.extension.org/faq/42316 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=2820&dt_code=HLN&obj_id=515
http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/bf-tp/download/EU_report_24483_Final.pdf The European Commision's Joint Research Center (JRC) recently released a report describing a new methodology for "estimating changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soil and above- and below-ground biomass resulting from global land use changes caused by the production of biofuels". The issue of "Land Use Change", particularly "Indirect Land Use Change" and the estimation of its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) impacts due to bioenergy crop production has been a subject of intense debate. Indirect land use change (ILUC), as described by the JRC, "occurs when land formerly used for a food crop is turned over to production of biofuels. As a result, cultivation of the displaced food crop is often transferred to a location where land prices and the costs associated with agriculture are lower – this can be on grasslands and forested land. This is of concern because the deforestation and cultivation of virgin or semi-virgin land releases high levels of carbon previously held in soil and plants into the atmosphere. Subsequent use of nitrogen fertilizers on poorer soils would also lead to emissions of N2O from the soil. The new methodology is based on an approach where GHG emissions are estimated from pre-land use change carbon stocks with the carbon stocks after the conversion. The reported novelty of the study is the development of a harmonized spatial data set and advanced analysis methods for all aspects of estimating GHG emissions. The full report can be accessed from the EC-JRC website (URL above).
http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2010/09/29/argentine-researchers-find-major-flaws-in-us-epas-indirect-land-use-change-methodology/ The Biofuels Digest website reports that Argentinian Researchers from INTA (Spanish acronym for National Agriculture Institute), analyzed the assumptions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) indirect land use change models in relation to the Argentinean situation. They made some conclusions, among which are: (1) "Significant errors have been verified in the determination of the original use of lands in the Argentine Republic, as well as the magnitude of the detected changes, and t has been verified that errors may be made in using low resolution images without the adequate support of local experts"; (2) Through the experience in cover classification, the 1-km resolution employed reportedly "generates errors of a magnitude which can only be considered valid in analysis of academic type for the comprehension of the dynamic of change in the different vegetation covers detecting highly degrading actions"; (3) "The errors arising from the assignment made by the EPA on the basis of a classification of low resolution images, without the assistance of local experts, are highly risky for the assignment of land use changes". A copy of the report may be accessed at the URL indicated above. Related information on the "EPA Lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Renewable Fuels": http://www.epa.gov/oms/renewablefuels/420f09024.htm |
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