Cost and life-cycle analysis of biofuels

Jan 2008

In the past, different pathways in view to generate fuel from biomass were developed or put into practice in order to reduce both the dependency of the current traffic sector of fossil resources and the greenhouse gases. Thus, the established biofuels as plant oil, biodiesel from vegetable and animal oils and fats (especially rape seeds) or ethanol from cereals make an essential contribution at the market. Moreover, it is expected in the future to increase the generation and use of synthetical biofuels (BTL ans SNG) and ethanol from lignocellulose as well as biomethane.
The current available studies as results of the vast investigation and development works show considerable bandwidths of the potentials, environment impacts and costs of biofuels and are therefore controversally discussed. This makes an objective assessment difficult, consequently influences the continuous further development of target-aimed biofuel pathways.
Against this background, the essential methodologies on the biofuel provision are consecutively compared in a synopsis taking into account selected criteria.
The biofuel pathways considered in this study with the relevant feedstocks as well as biofuel and by-products are rape oil, biodiesel RME, biomethane, BTL from lignocelluloses, ethanol from lignocelluloses, ethanol from wheat and SNG.

By: Union for the Promotion of Oilseeds and Protein Plants (UFOP)

 
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