Abstract Despite the challenges, depending on the local conditions and practices, renewable energy sources are already a significant contribution to the energy mix. Although this is true for electricity generation, the same does not apply for the transportation sector, where the available renewable sources are limited and still have a modest impact in the overall consumption. In this context, a...

Liquid biofuels as a source of renewable energy represents an important alternative to the fossil fuels. Currently, these biofuels (mainly biodiesel and bioethanol) are produced from oilseed crops and from sugar and starch containing materials. The integration of the production of these two biofuels using a single source of biomass as a raw material may allow the intensification of liquid biofu...

World agriculture is at a turning point, with high demand due to economic growth accelerating food prices. In addition, energy and climate change are re-defining the equations of supply and demand. Biofuels have a high place on the global agenda, largely due to rising concerns about national energy security, higher energy prices, and increasing concerns about global climate change, as well as t...

AIMS The emergence of second generation (2G) biofuels is widely seen as a sustainable response to the increasing controversy surrounding the first generation (1G). Yet, sustainability credentials of 2G biofuels are also being questioned. Drawing on work in Science and Technology Studies, we argue that controversies help focus attention on key, often value-related questions that need to be posed...

In this paper, I analyze the constraints that limit biomass from becoming an alternative, sustainable and efficient energy source, at least in relation to the current metabolism of developed countries. In order to be termed sustainable, the use of an energy source should be technically feasible, economically affordable and environmentally and socially viable, considering society as a whole. Abo...

Petroleum-based fuels are nonrenewable and unsustainable. Renewable sources of energy, such as lignocellulosic biofuels and plant metabolite-based drop-in fuels, can offset fossil fuel use and reverse environmental degradation through carbon sequestration. Despite these benefits, the lignocellulosic biofuels industry still faces many challenges, including the availability of economically viable...

Modern biorefineries target the production of chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as energy crops and biodegradeable wastes. Biofuels produced from such processes are considered “second-generation-biofuels” and are considered to be more sustainable than first-generation-biofuels from food and oil crops. This paper considers the contribution that biorefineries can ma...

One way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector is to replace fossil fuels by biofuels. However, production of biofuels also generates greenhouse gas emissions. Energy and greenhouse gas balances of transportation biofuels suitable for large-scale production in Finland have been assessed in this paper. In addition, the use of raw materials in electricity and/or heat pr...

The world’s supply of petroleum hydrocarbons, which serve as feedstock for the fuel and chemical industries, is rapidly diminishing to satisfy the global demand for energy and consumer goods. In response to this increasing demand and limited supply, the cost of crude oil has risen to over $100 per barrel in 2012, a 10-fold increase compared to prices in the late 1990s [1]. As fossil fuels are n...

In recent years, the biomass market has constantly increased. The pellet manufacture industry has started looking for new products, such as wastes from forest, agriculture, and agroindustrial residues, among others, with the potential to be used as biofuels. However, some of these wastes have some characteristics that make both the combustion process and operating and maintenance conditions of ...