biofuel sustainability according to emergy assessment · 2009-07-08 · biofuel sustainability...
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Biofuel sustainability according to emergy assessment
Marcos Watanabe, PhD StudentEnrique Ortega Rodriguez, PhD professor at UNICAMP
State University of Campinas, BrazilCollege of Food Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Engineering
32nd IAEE International ConferenceSan Francisco, June 21-24, 2009.
Main topics
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Main topics
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Main topics
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Main topics
Biofuel production
Expanding production (ethanol ~ 90 billion litters)Transport sector: alternative to fossil fuelsMotivation: CO2 reduction / opportunities from new markets
Major ethanol producers, with projections to 2017
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Biofuel production
Biofuel production
How to measure its economic and environmental feasibility)?
Without using conventional economic approaches
Without using environmental indicators of CO2 emissions and energy output/input ratio
Emergy assessment
Energetic-based concept of value Deals with economic and environmental systemsIndicators to guide decision-making processes
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Main topics
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Emergy Assessment
Emergy assessment
What’s eMergy?
Emergy means “energy memory” or “the available required energy used up directly and indirectly to make a service or product” (Odum, 1996).
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Rain
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Soil
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Services / Labor
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Materials
=
Sun
Corn
Emergy assessment
Biofuel system:
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Emergy Assessment
Sun, rain, wind
Soil Buildings, material, services, seeds, labor
Biofuel
Emergy assessment
Accounting table (corn production, Cavalett, 2008)
Main topics
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Biofuel sustainability according to emergy analysis Main topics
Biofuel performance indices
Transformity (Tr) is equal to the emergy content (Y) divided by total energy content (given in joules or calories). The lower the value, the higher the system’s efficiency because less solar energy equivalent was required to produce 1 calorie of product
Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR) is equal to the total emergy (Y) divided by total economic inputs (F). The higher the value, the lower the system’s reliance on economic investment and the higher its economic competitiveness
Biofuel performance indices
Renewability (%R) is equal to the Renewable Input (R) divided by total emergy (Y). The higher the value, the greater the sustainability of the production system.
Biofuel performance indices
Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR) is equal to Non-renewable resources from economy and from environment (F+N) divided by Renewable Input (R).
Biofuel performance indices
The lower the value, the lower the environmental stress caused by the system
on the surrounding areas.
Main topics
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Systems generating electricity
Transformity: Biofuel ~ 1.00 E+05 seJ/J Wind ~ 1.10 E+05 seJ/J, similar to biofuel
Emergy Yield Ratio: Wind, Geothermal and Hydro: EYR ~ 5.50Biofuel: EYR ~ 1.50 , lower economic competitiveness
Other performance indices
Other performance indices
Renewability: Wind: ~85 %Ethanol: ~5%, corn (Europe)Gasoline: 0 %
Other performance indices
Environmental Loading Ratio: Wind and hydro: 0.22 (lowest environmental stress)Oil Plant: 23.26 (high)
Main topics
Other performance indices
Biofuel production
Emergy Assessment
Biofuel performance indices
Conclusions
Conclusions
•Among biofuel case studies assessed, Brazilian sugarcane ethanol provided the best performance indices
• Results can vary depending on the region, model and scale of production
• Although some fuel production systems based on fossil energy have higher economic competitiveness (EYR), biofuels have best ELR and %Renewability performances and should contribute to reduce environmental stress
Thank you!