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Green Energy and Technology Lucas Reijnders • Mark A.J. Huijbregts Biofuels for Road Transport A Seed to Wheel Perspective 123 Lucas Reijnders, PhD Mark A.J. Huijbregts, PhD Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Department of Environmental Science Dynamics (IBED) Faculty of Science Faculty of Science Radboud University Nijmegen University of Amsterdam 6500 GL Nijmegen Nieuwe Achtergracht 166 The Netherlands 1018 WV Amsterdam The Netherlands ISBN 978-1-84882-137-8 e-ISBN 978-1-84882-138-5 DOI 10.1007/978-1-84882-138-5 Green Energy and Technology ISSN 1865-3529 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Control Number: 2008937483 © 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as per- mitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publish- ers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. 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Cover design: WMXDesign, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper 987654321 springer.com Contents 1 Transport Biofuels: Their Characteristics, Production and Costs .... 1 1.1 Introduction . ............................................. 1 1.2 ThePhysicalBasisforBiofuels............................... 3 1.3 BiofuelVarieties........................................... 4 1.4 VirtualBiofuels............................................ 10 1.5 Production and Application of Liquid andGaseousTransportBiofuels.............................. 12 1.5.1 BiofuelsfromTerrestrialPlantsandAnimals............. 12 1.5.2 BiofuelsfromAquaticBiomass........................ 21 1.5.3 Hydrogen Production Mediated by Micro-Organisms ...... 24 1.6 Biofuel-BasedElectricityforTransport........................ 25 1.7 Recent Development of Transport Biofuel Production: Volume,CostsandPrices.................................... 26 1.7.1 Volume of Biofuel Production ......................... 26 1.7.2 Costs of Biofuel Production and Biofuel Prices ........... 28 1.8 KeyIssuesandtheRestofThisBook.......................... 32 References..................................................... 35 2 Energy Balance: Cumulative Fossil Fuel Demand and Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency of Transport Biofuels ...... 49 2.1 Introduction . ............................................. 49 2.2 Allocation................................................. 50 2.3 CumulativeFossilFuelDemand.............................. 52 2.3.1 TransportBiofuelsfromTerrestrialPlants................ 52 2.3.2 TransportBiofuelsfromWastes........................ 53 2.3.3 TransportBiofuelsfromAquaticBiomass ............... 53 2.4 ConversionofSolarEnergyintoBiomass...................... 55 2.4.1 TerrestrialPlants..................................... 56 2.4.2 TerrestrialBiofuels................................... 57 2.4.3 Biofuels from Algae and Aquatic Macrophytes ........... 61 2.5 Solar Conversion Efficiencies of Physical Methods . ........... 64 v vi Contents 2.6 OverallEnergyEfficienciesinPerformingWork................. 65 References..................................................... 67 3 Non-energy Natural Resource Demand ........................... 75 3.1 Introduction ............................................... 75 3.2 SoilandSoilOrganicMatter................................. 75 3.3 Nutrients.................................................. 79 3.3.1 ForestsandPlantations ............................... 80 3.3.2 AgriculturalSoils.................................... 83 3.4 Water .................................................... 85 3.5 SustainableUseofNaturalResourcesandBiomassYields........ 88 References..................................................... 89 4 Climate Effects and Non-greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Transport Biofuel Life Cycles ...............................101 4.1 Introduction ...............................................101 4.2 Uncertainty in the Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessments ofBiofuels................................................102 4.3 TransportBiofuelsandClimate...............................103 4.3.1 Introduction . .....................................103 4.3.2 Fossil-Fuel-Based Carbonaceous Greenhouse GasEmissions.......................................104 4.3.3 N2OEmissions......................................105 4.3.4 Biogenic CO2 Emissions..............................106 4.3.5 OtherCarbonaceousBiogenicEmissions................111 4.4 Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Specific Biofuels andCategoriesofBiofuels...................................111 4.4.1 Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Specific Biofuels . 111 4.4.2 Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Categories ofTransportBiofuels.................................113 4.5 Non-greenhouse Gas Emissions . ...........................116 4.6 PotentialforEmissionReduction.............................119 References.....................................................120 5 The Impact of Expanded Biofuel Production on Living Nature ......129 5.1 Introduction ...............................................129 5.2 Loss of Biodiversity and Its Impact on Natural Resources WhichHaveMonetaryValue.................................134 5.3 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Loss Due to Replacement ofNature .................................................135 5.4 Cropping and Harvesting Feedstocks for Biofuels . ............138 5.4.1 Cropping and Crop Harvesting Practices .................138 5.4.2 HarvestingNature ...................................139 5.5 InvasiveSpecies............................................140 References.....................................................141 Contents vii 6 Frequently Asked Questions in the Transport Biofuel Debate .......149 6.1 Introduction . .............................................149 6.2 A Focus on One Transport Biofuel Output or on Biorefineries? . 149 6.3 Can Transport Biofuels Significantly Contribute toEnergySecurity?.........................................151 6.4 TransportBiofuels,FoodPricesandFoodSecurity...............153 6.5 Is Expanding Biofuel Production a Good Way toTackleClimateChange?...................................156 6.6 Transport Biofuel Production and Nature Conservation ...........158 6.7 How to Use Natural Resources for Biofuel Production inaSustainableWay?.......................................159 6.8 What Government Policy Should One Aim atforTransportBiofuels?....................................160 6.8.1 HardChoices .......................................160 6.8.2 Evident Policy Priorities Regarding the Production ofBiofuels..........................................161 References.....................................................162 Index .............................................................167 Chapter 1 Transport Biofuels: Their Characteristics, Production and Costs 1.1 Introduction Production and use of transport biofuels have a history of considerable length. The prototype of the Otto motor, which currently powers gasoline cars, was developed for burning ethanol and sponsored by a sugar factory. The Ford Model T (Tin Lizzy) did run on ethanol. In the early twentieth century, ethanol-fuelled cars were praised because they experienced less wear and tear, were quieter and produced a less smoky exhaust than gasoline-fuelled cars (Dimitri and Effland 2007). Also in the early twentieth century, a significant part of train locomotives in Germany were powered by ethanol (Antoni et al. 2007). In the same country, ethanol from potato starch was used in gasoline as an anti-knocking additive between 1925 and 1945 (Antoni et al. 2007). In the 1930s, ethanol produced from starch or sugar made something of a comeback as road transport fuel in the Midwestern states of the USA, because agricultural prices were very depressed (Solomon et al. 2007). Also in the 1930s, the Brazilian government stimulated gasoline blends with 5% bioethanol. Early demonstrations of the diesel motor around 1900 in Paris and St Peters- burg were with a variety of plant- and animal-derived oils. These were thought especially interesting for use in tropical and subtropical countries, where the rela- tively high viscosity of such oils, if compared with fossil diesel, is less of a problem than in colder countries (Knothe 2001). The first patent on making fatty acid esters (biodiesel) was awarded in 1937 and applied in 1938 to powering buses in Belgium (Knothe 2001). During the Second World War, vegetable oils re-emerged as fuels for diesel motors in countries like Brazil, Argentina and China (Knothe 2001). In Japan, soybean oil was used to power ships, pine root oil was used as a high-octane motor fuel and biogenic butanol was used in airplanes (Tsutsui 2003). The Japanese navy conducted extensive research on the production of diesel fuel from coconut oil, birch bark, orange peel and