Bioenergy Background

Integration of agricultural and energy systems

Massive production of energy, mainly liquid fuels, from agricultural resources will link agricultural and energy markets, tightly. The new market integration is perhaps the most fundamentally important change to occur in agriculture in decades. The ...

Dec 2008
From 1st- to 2nd-generation biofuel technologies - An overview of current industry and RD&D activities

In order to move away from sole dependence on food crops towards the conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to bioethanol, synthetic diesel and aviation fuels, the necessary transition from 1st- to 2nd-generation biofuels will require major ...

Nov 2008
Sugarcane ethanol - Contributions to climate change mitigation and the environment

The aim of this publication is to set the stage for the discussion about both challenges and concerns of sugarcane ethanol by providing the scientific context, the basic concepts and the approach for understanding the ...

Nov 2008
Techno-fixes: a critical guide to climate change technologies

As the climate crisis looms, choices about solutions become ever more important. However, the debate on the future is surrounded by hype and vested interests. This briefing seeks to assess the large-scale technologies that corporations ...

Nov 2008
The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries - Background document

The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries - Background documentThe FAO Biotechnology Forum is hosting an e-mail conference entitled "The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing ...

Nov 2008
Agrofuels in Brazil - What is the outlook for its farming sector?

This study of Brazilian agrofuels deals separately with ethanol and biodiesel. In spite of overlaps which will be discussed in the text and which are likely to increase with time ethanol and biodiesel are governed ...

Nov 2008
The State of Food and Agriculture 2008 - Biofuels: prospects, risks and opportunities

The State of Food and Agriculture 2008 explores the implications of the recent rapid growth in production of biofuels based on agricultural commodities. The boom in liquid biofuels has been largely driven by policies in ...

Oct 2008
Energy [r]evolution 2009 - A sustainable global energy outlook

Global market for renewables is booming. Decades of technical progress have seen renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, biomass power plants, solar thermal collectors and many others move steadily into the ...

Oct 2008
2008 Report - Goals of bioenergy in Italy - Key elements for 2020 objectives

In 2004 ITABIA drafted, on behalf of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (MATTM), a comprehensive report on “Biomass for Energy Production and the Environment”, which not only provided statistical data on ...

Oct 2008
The potential role for corn ethanol in meeting the energy needs of the United States in 2016-2030

Ethanol produced from corn starch is the most widely produced renewable liquid fuel in the U.S. production for calendar year 2007 is projected at 7.1 billion gallons, up from 4.9 billion gallons in 2006 and ...

Oct 2008
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