Understanding the Global Energy Crisis by Eugene D. Coyle

Author:Eugene D. Coyle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Purdue University Press

Chapter 6

Biofuel Prospects in an Uncertain World

WALLY TYNER AND RICHARD A. SIMMONS

Abstract

Biofuels have grown from almost nothing in the mid-1970s to over 10 percent of gasoline consumption in some countries. Biofuels are essentially a government created industry in that when they were introduced, they required government subsidies to compete with fossil fuels. Governments saw several benefits for biofuels: 1) reducing dependence on foreign oil and reducing supply disruptions such as those of the 1973 and 1979 oil crises; 2) providing income and employment in rural areas; 3) improving air quality through lower tailpipe emissions; and 4) reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because CO2 is sequestered during the production of the feedstock. In some measure, biofuels have contributed to achieving all these objectives, but questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of biofuels in doing so, as well as on unintended consequences of large-scale biofuel production. We will explore all these issues in this chapter, and our scope will remain limited to liquid vehicle fuels. First, we provide a brief history of biofuels production. Then we explore the implications of the development of first generation biofuels with emphasis on corn ethanol in the United States. Most of the chapter is devoted to second-generation biofuels; that is, biofuels produced from cellulosic feedstocks including crop residues such as corn stover, dedicated energy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass, tree plantations such as poplar or willow, and forest residues. The early hope was that cellulosic biofuels would be developed fairly quickly, and that first generation biofuels (mainly corn and sugarcane ethanol) would plateau with much of the growth coming from second-generation biofuels. However, to date there has been almost no commercial development of cellulosic biofuels. Much has been invested in research, but most of the development has been at the pilot or demonstration plant level. We will explore five areas of uncertainty facing potential investors in cellulosic biofuels. Finally, we will summarize the major challenges and opportunities for cellulosic biofuels.

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