Academic literature on the topic 'Transport biofuels'

Traditionally, biomass such as wood has been used for cooking and heating purposes. The oil crises of the 1970s, however, prompted interest in biomass to produce liquid biofuels and replace fossilbased transport fuels. Subsequent falls in oil prices evaporated much of the incentive and stalled the momentum to expand biofuel production in most countries, but recent years have seen a resurgence of interest, this time prompted by energy supply security, oil price volatility and the new driver: climate change mitigation. As a result, biofuel programmes have proliferated around the world, driven by mandates, targets and subsidies, whilst investment in the development of advanced biofuel technologies has racked up. And, as before, biofuels as an alternative to fossil-based transport fuel, gaseous or liquid, has been emphasized. The 2003 EU Biofuels Directive, for example, targets a 5.75% share of biofuels in transport energy by 2010 and 10% by 2020. However, biofuels can also be used to efficiently produce both heat and power in decentralized production systems based on combined heat and power (CHP) engines. Indeed, whereas transport accounted for nearly one-third of final energy consumption in the EU-27 countries in 2008, heat and electricity account for two-thirds of final consumption (Figure 1).

This study applies a partial equilibrium forest sector model to analyse the impacts of biofuel deployment for road transport in the Nordic countries, when alternative use of the biomass resources and transport sector electrification are considered. We foresee a strong electrification of the transport sector, resulting in a demand for biofuels of approximately 2.5 billion L in 2035 and 1 billion L in 2050 in a 100% fossil-free base scenario. The simultaneous increase in demand from pulping industries and biofuel will cause an overall increase in wood use, of which the biofuels share will constitute approximately 20–25%. The utilization of harvest residues will increase more than 300% compared to the current level, since biofuel production will reallocate some of the current raw material used in district heating. Biofuel consumption in road transport will likely reduce after 2040 due to increasing electrification, but it is plausible that the declining domestic demand will be replaced by increasing demand from international biofuel markets in aviation and shipping. The main uncertainties in the scenarios are the future costs and profitability of forest-based biofuel technologies and the public acceptance of the close to 100 TWh of new renewable electricity production needed for the electrification of Nordic road transport.

Biofuels and electrification are potential ways to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector, although not without limitations or associated problems. This paper describes a life-cycle analysis (LCA) of the Brazilian urban passenger transport system. The LCA considers various scenarios of a wholesale conversion of car and urban bus fleets to 100% electric or biofuel (bioethanol and biodiesel) use by 2050 compared to a business as usual (BAU) scenario. The LCA includes the following phases of vehicles and their life: fuel use and manufacturing (including electricity generation and land-use emissions), vehicle and battery manufacturing and end of life. The results are presented in terms of CO2, nitrous oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions, electricity consumption and the land required to grow the requisite biofuel feedstocks. Biofuels result in similar or higher CO2 and air pollutant emissions than BAU, while electrification resulted in significantly lower emissions of all types. Possible limitations found include the amount of electricity consumed by electric vehicles in the electrification scenarios.

The maritime transportation sector (MTS) is undertaking a major global effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), e.g., sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and the concentration of particulates in suspension. Substantial investment is necessary to develop alternative sustainable fuels, engines, and fuel modifications. The alternative fuels considered in this study include liquified natural gas, nuclear energy, hydrogen, electricity, and biofuels. This paper focuses on biofuels, in particular fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO), a serious partial alternative in MTS. There are some drawbacks, e.g., biofuels usually require land necessary to produce the feedstock and the chemical compatibility of the resulting biofuel with current engines in MTS. The demand for sustainable feedstock production for MTS can be overcome by using cellulose-based and agroforestry residues, which do not compete with food production and can be obtained in large quantities and at a reasonably low cost. The compatibility of biofuels with either bunker fuel or diesel cycle engines can also be solved by upgrading biofuels, adjusting the refining process, or modifying the engine itself. The paper examines the possibilities presented by biofuels, focusing on FPBO in Brazil, for MTS. The key issues investigated include FPBO, production, and end use of feedstocks and the most promising alternatives; thermal conversion technologies; potential applications of FPBO in Brazil; sustainability; biofuels properties; fuels under consideration in MTS, challenges, and opportunities in a rapidly changing maritime fuel sector. Although the focus is on Brazil, the findings of this paper can be replicated in many other parts of the world.

The current state and the future of the biofuels for transport sectors in Poland were presented in the paper. Because of the importance of legal conditions, crucial directives and acts affecting the shape of these sectors were discussed. The scoring multicriteria M.E. Porter method was used to research attractiveness of the national biofuel sectors, i.e. the sectors of biodiesel and bioethanol produced from edible material (so-called first gene­ration biofuels) as well as the sector of bioethanol produced from inedible material, mainly from lignocellulose (so-called second generation biofuel). Various factors of macro- and microenvironment of first generation biofuels caused regular reduction of their attractiveness. However, the sector of second generation bioethanol, which is not produced at industrial scale in Poland now, is characterized by relatively high and growing attractiveness.

Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are increasingly promoted as green alternatives to petroleum-derived transport fuels. Scaling up feedstock production to produce enough biofuel to displace a significant portion of current petroleum demand will put pressure on land and water resources both domestically and internationally, however, and could potentially be accompanied by unacceptable changes in landscape-level land use patterns and provisioning of ecosystem services. Ensuring that feedstock production is sustainable and that biofuels provide the social and environmental benefits that are often attributed to them will require a carefully designed portfolio of agricultural, forestry, energy, and trade policies related to biofuels and feedstock production. Despite the difficulties associated with development and application of such policies, they should be in place before further policy incentive is provided for expansion of biofuel industries.

Abstract During the last 10 years biofuel production and utilization in the European Union have become more extensive owing to support provided by the relevant EU Directives. Achievement of the main targets defined by Directives was not simple, being confronted with various barriers. Latvia is one of the EU member-countries that have set an ambitious goal as to the production of biofuel and its use in transport. The authors summarize the major achievements of the country in this area and analyze the main barriers to implementation of biofuels in the transport sector, providing an outlook on the current status of the bioenergy and the transport situation in Latvia.

Ukraine is the only major agricultural country whose production of biofuels has declined since 2010. Nevertheless, it has set a target of 11.5 percent of primary energy supply from biomass, biofuels and waste by 2035. Agricultural land needed to produce biofuels feedstock is calculated for two scenarios based on its current 11.5 percent target and previous 5.0 percent target specified as a share of transport energy consumption. The export orientation of Ukraine’s crop sector and resulting foreign currency earnings pose trade-offs if crops are diverted from exports to biofuel feedstocks. Given these trade-offs, policy options for developing a biofuels industry while satisfying Ukraine’s export and domestic markets are to (1) bring land not currently cultivated into production and (2) increase yield. Both options are found to have substantial potential.

eu member states promote renewable energy in accordance with the provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive (red). The directive includes fully harmonized sustainability criteria for biofuels. These criteria apply, however, only when biofuel production and consumption are incentivized through financial support or schemes with renewable-energy obligations. The objective of this article is to explore the potential relevance of the sustainability criteria in the context of public procurement, e.g. when a public authority prioritizes the use of biofuels in transport services it purchases and wishes to include certain sustainability criteria. I conclude that red’s sustainability criteria would not apply to most models of sustainable public procurement. With this comes the risk that biofuels are promoted in public procurement in contradiction to the ideals reflected in red. Hence, changes to eu biofuel law should be considered, perhaps even drawing from life-cycle models developed in procurement law.

Many fuel cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessments of varying scope, detail and methodology have been carried out for various biofuels in recent years, and these have largely concluded that biofuels provide GHG reduction benefits as substitutes for fossil fuels. As more attention is focused on biofuels, however, doubts have been raised about the reliability of previous GHG assessments of these fuels. From a scientific perspective, three main observations give reason to doubt these assessments: 1. There are widely varying results for what appear to be identical fuels. 2. The assessment methodologies involve inherently subjective elements. 3. There is still significant scientific uncertainty in characterisations of important processes that need to be accounted for in most GHG assessments of biofuels. For accurate determination of the GHG emissions impacts of biofuels, there is a need for further development of standardised, demonstrably reliable assessment methods. This research investigates methods used for assessing net GHG emissions from biofuels. It identifies remaining methodological deficiencies that prevent the generation of definitive results. A methodological framework is developed for optimising the reliability of biofuel GHG assessments within the limits of currently available knowledge and methods, and the most important developments required for extending those limits are identified. A new calculation tool and database are developed to facilitate the carrying out of biofuel GHG assessments with optimal reliability. It is concluded that uncertainties associated with existing GHG assessments can significantly limit our ability to draw firm conclusions from comparisons of GHG impacts among biofuels and between biofuels and fossil fuels. Reliable GHG assessments of biofuels require very precise specifications of the systems being described, with clear definitions of the limitations of applicability of the assessment results, explanations of the methodological choices adopted and their implications, and acknowledgement of the limits set by all relevant scientific uncertainty.

This paper investigates the impact of regulatory uncertainty on the development of the South African transport biofuels industry. A qualitative research methodology was used to study investor behavior in response to conditions of continued regulatory uncertainty. The sample included key members of the South African transport biofuels value chain, including; major oil companies, biofuels manufacturers and the applicable government agencies. The collected field data was analysed against literature on investments under conditions of uncertainty, the South African petroleum products pricing principles and global best practices in the transport biofuels sector. Amongst others, the results revealed that continued regulatory uncertainty impacts investor confidence negatively, delays investments and where investors have considerable market power, they do not conform to institutional pressure.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
ms2016
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

Solutions to the current calamity of fossil fuels are becoming more urgent with each moments passing. It is not news for those in technical professions as well as many others, that reserves of oil are diminishing and prices for petroleum based products are increasing. A most transparent option exists today, and is becoming exploited by many countries worldwide. This solution answers to the title of biofuels, consisting of gases, liquids and even biomass for various energy requirements. Two biofuels in particular hold precedence with regard to transportation fuels, namely biodiesel and ethanol, and have been studied in the following report. The said fuels are produced by transesterification of oils and fermentation of sugar based crops respectively, for use in transport fleets worldwide. Stockholm, Sweden is in the forefront for use of the said fuels in their public transportation sector, with nearly the entire fleet fueled with ethanol. Persistence, extensive research and unprecedented environmental support equate to the success of this fuel, which is used competitively to petroleum diesel, while including reduced environmental impacts. Other cities in Europe also have similar capacities to utilize biofuels, although some have failed to hold to this technology. Troyes, France, the home of CREIDD (Center of Research and Interdisciplinary Studies on Sustainable Development) and UTT (University of Technology of Troyes), has been further studied to produce the relative measures needed for biofuel implementation in this municipality, while generating the impacts toward the environment and municipality in the form of costs, emissions and savings. Surprisingly, and hereafter, it has been concluded that the use of biodiesel, and not ethanol like Stockholm, offers the best course of action for Troyes both economically and environmentally. Cities throughout Europe can follow suit and discover the biofuel most applicable to their locality and promote further sustainability, although the question still arises of whether biofuels are indeed sustainable.
www.ima.kth.se

Transportation has continued to increase worldwide and fossil-fuel dependency is strong which leads to a number of problems, e.g. increased emissions of green-house gases (GHG) and risks related to energy security. Biofuels have until now been one of the few renewable alternatives which have been able to replace fossil fuels on a large scale. The biofuel share in relation to the total use of fuel in the transportation sector is still small, but in many places in the world political targets are set to increase the share of renewable fuels, of which biofuels are supposed to be an important part. Within the European Union targets for renewable energy have been set, including within the transportation sector, where 10% shall come from renewable sources by 2020 according to the EU Renewable Energy Directive (EU RES). Biofuels also need to fulfill the sustainability criteria in the EU RES, to be regarded as renewable. Depending on how biofuels are produced their resource efficiency varies, and the differences in environmental and economic performance can for instance be significant. The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze conditions for a development towards increased and more resource-efficient production of biofuels in Sweden. The conditions have been studied from a regional resource perspective and from a biofuel producer perspective since it has been assumed that the producers are in possession of important knowledge, and potentially will play an important role in future biofuel development. The concept of resource efficiency used in this thesis includes an environmental and economic perspective as well as an overall societal dimension to some extent. The region of Östergötland in Sweden was used for the assessment of the resourcefocused biofuel potential for the year 2030, where two scenarios based on assessments regarding socio-technical development in relation to regional resources were used. The scenarios were based on semi-structured interviews with biofuel actors, literature studies and information from experts in the field. In the EXPAN (Expansion) scenario a continued development in line with the current one was assumed, but also an increased availability of feedstock primarily within the agricultural and waste sectors (also including byproducts from industry) for biofuel production. In the INNTEK (Innovation and Technology development) scenario greater technological progress was assumed to also enable the use of some unconventional feedstock besides increased available arable land and improved collection/availability of certain feedstock. Biomass feedstock from four categories was included in the potential: waste, agriculture, forestry and aquatic environments. One important feedstock which was not included in this study, but which is often included in studies of potential, is lignocellulosic material from the forest. This choice was also supported by the regional actors who judged it as less probable that there will be any large-scale use of such feedstock for biofuels in this region within the given timeframe. Regarding arable land available for biofuel production a share of 30% was assumed at maximum in the region, of which 15% is already used for cereal production for ethanol fuel. On these additional 15% assumed to be available for biofuel production year 2030, ley cropping for production of biogas was assumed in this study. Aquatic biomass is often not included in biofuel potentials. Here, algae were assumed to be a potentially interesting substrate for biogas production since harvesting algae in for instance the Baltic Sea could be seen as a multifunctional measure, i.e., contributing additional environmental benefits such as reducing eutrophication. Based on the assumption that the energy need in the transportation sector will be the same in 2030 as in 2010, up to 30% could be substituted with biofuels in the EXPAN scenario and up to 50% in the INNTEK scenario, without seriously conflicting with other interests such as food or feed production. In the study of potential, production systems for biogas production were   prioritized since such systems were judged to have a large potential for resource efficiency. This is because they have a big capacity to utilize by-products and waste as feedstock, and also because they can contribute to closing the loops of plant nutrients, seen as an important goal in society, if the digestate is returned to arable land. The utilization of by-products and waste however in many cases requires cooperation between different actors in society. Within the research field of industrial symbiosis, cooperation regarding material and energy flows is studied from different perspectives, e.g. how such cooperation between actors evolves and to what extent such cooperation can contribute to improving the environmental and economic performance of systems. Both these perspectives are interesting in relation to biofuels since production often involves a large number of energy- and material flows at the same time as resource efficiency is important. How the producers organize the production when it comes to feedstock, energy, by-products and products and what influences this is therefore interesting to study. In this thesis four biofuel producers of three different biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel and biogas) on the Swedish market were studied, focusing on how they organize their biofuel production in terms of e.g. their material and energy flows, and how they intend to organize it in the future. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with the biofuel producers as well as literature studies. In all the cases, a number of areas of material and energy flow cooperation were identified and it could also be concluded that there had been some change regarding these patterns over time. Looking into the future a clear change of strategy was identified in the ethanol case and partly also in the biodiesel case where a development towards improved valorisation and differentiation of by-product flows was foreseen. If such a “biorefinery” strategy is realized, it can potentially improve the economic viability and resource efficiency in these biofuel producers. In the biogas cases, instead a strategy to lower the costs for feedstock through the use of lower quality feedstock was identified. This strategy also has a potential to increase economic viability and improve the resource efficiency. However, the success of this strategy is to a large extent dependent on how the off-set of the biofertilizer can be arranged regarding the economic challenges that the biogas producers’ experience, and yet no strategy for implementation regarding this was identified. The EU Renewable Energy Directive was mentioned in relation to most cooperation projects and therefore regarded as an important critical factor. All of the studied companies also struggle to be competitive, for which reason the importance of the direct economic aspects of cooperation seems to increase.
Transporterna i världen ökar kontinuerligt och det fossila beroendet är fortsatt stort vilket medför flera problem, bl. a. ökade utsläpp av växthusgaser och en osäkerhet kring framtidens energiförsörjning. Biodrivmedel har hittills varit ett av de få förnyelsebara alternativ som kunnat ersätta fossila drivmedel i stor skala. Andelen biodrivmedel av den totala bränsleanvändningen inom transportsektorn är dock fortfarande liten, men på många håll i världen finns nu politiska mål för att öka andelen förnyelsebara drivmedel av vilka biodrivmedel förväntas utgöra en viktig del. Inom EU har mål för förnybar energi satts upp bl. a. inom transportsektorn där 10% skall komma från förnybara energikällor senast år 2020 enligt EUs förnybarhetsdirektiv. Biodrivmedel måste dessutom, om de ska räknas som förnyelsebara, uppfylla direktivets hållbarhetskriterier. Beroende på hur biodrivmedel produceras är de olika resurseffektiva, med exempelvis betydande skillnader avseende miljömässig och ekonomisk prestanda. Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att beskriva och analysera förutsättningarna för en utveckling mot ökad och mer resurseffektiv produktion av biodrivmedel i Sverige. Förutsättningarna har studerats med ett regionalt resursperspektiv samt från ett  biodrivmedelsproducentperspektiv eftersom producenterna sitter på viktiga kunskaper och sannolikt spelar en betydande roll för den framtida utvecklingen. Resurseffektivitetsbegreppet som används i den här avhandlingen inkluderar ett miljömässigt och ett ekonomiskt perspektiv liksom ett övergripande samhälleligt perspektiv. När det gäller ett regionalt resursperspektiv har Östergötland använts för att med hjälp av två scenarier för år 2030 ta fram en biodrivmedelspotential utifrån en bedömning av en socio-teknisk utvecklingspotential i förhållande till regionala resurser. Scenarierna togs fram med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med aktörer i branschen, litteraturstudier och i vissa fall med hjälp av sakkunniga. I scenario EXPAN (expansionsscenario) antogs en fortsatt teknikutveckling i linje med den hittills-varande och en samtidig ökning av tillgängligheten av potentiella resurser inom framförallt jordbrukssektorn och avfallssektorn (inkluderat också restproduktsresurser inom industrin) för biodrivmedelsproduktion. I scenario INNTEK (Innovations och teknikutvecklingsscenario) har utöver ytterligare antagen tillgänglig jordbruksmark också större tekniksprång antagits som möjliggör användning av icke konventionella råvaror för biodrivmedelsproduktion, samt förbättrad insamling/tillgängliggörande av vissa råvaror. I potentialen har biomassa från fyra olika sektorer inkluderats; avfall, jordbruk, skogsbruk och akvatiska miljöer. En viktig biomassaresurs som inte inkluderats i denna potentialstudie, men som vanligen inkluderas i potentialstudier, är lignocellulosarika material från skogen. Detta var ett val som också stöddes av de regionala aktörerna som i den här studien bedömde det som mindre sannolikt att någon storskalig användning av sådana råvaror kommer att finnas i regionen inom den aktuella tidsramen. När det gäller jordbruksmark som kan utnyttjas för bioenergiproduktion så har en andel på 30% antagits, varav 15% redan idag utnyttjas till spannmålsodling för produktion av etanol. På de ytterligare 15% som antas kunna tas i anspråk för biodrivmedelsändamål år 2030, har vallodling för biogasändamål antagits i denna studie. Akvatisk biomassa ingår ofta inte i bioenergipotentialstudier, men har inkluderats här eftersom alger skulle kunna vara ett intressant substrat för biogasproduktion, men också för att algskörd i akvatiska miljöer skulle kunna ses som en multifunktionell åtgärd med ytterligare miljönytta som t.ex. minskad övergödning i Östersjön. Med antagandet att energibehovet inom transportsektorn blir lika stort år 2030 som år 2010, skulle upp till 30% av de fossila drivmedlen kunna ersättas av biodrivmedel i scenario EXPAN och upp till 50% i scenario INNTEK, utan att större intressekonflikter skulle uppstå i förhållande till andra behov såsom mat eller foderproduktion. I potentialstudien har vidare produktionssystem för biogas prioriterats eftersom sådana system bedömdes ha stor potential när det gäller resurseffektivitet. Först och främst för att de har stor kapacitet när det gäller användning av restprodukter, men också för att de kan bidra till att sluta kretsloppet av växtnäringsämnen om rötresten återförs till åkermark. Nyttiggörande av restprodukter och avfall kräver emellertid i många fall samarbete mellan olika aktörer i samhället. Inom forskningsfältet industriell symbios studerar man bl. a. hur samarbeten kring energi- och materialflöden mellan aktörer uppstår och i vilken utsträckning samarbetsgraden kan bidra till att förbättra miljöprestandan och ekonomiska prestanda i systemen. Dessa perspektiv är intressanta i förhållande till biodrivmedel eftersom produktionen av dessa är förknippad med ett stort antal energi- och materialflöden samtidigt som resurseffektiviteten är viktig. Hur biodrivmedelsproducenterna organiserar produktionen när det gäller råvaror, energi, biprodukter och produkter och vad som styr detta är därför intressant att studera. I den här avhandlingen studerades hur fyra svenska biodrivmedelsproducenter för tre olika biodrivmedel (etanol, biodiesel och biogas) på den svenska marknaden har organiserat sin produktion, med fokus på energi- och materialflöden, samt hur de planerar att organisera den framöver. Studien baseras framförallt på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med aktörerna samt litteraturstudier. I samtliga fyra fall kunde ett antal samarbeten kring bl.a. material och energiflöden kartläggas samt hur dessa förändrats över tiden. När det gäller framtiden kunde en tydlig strategiomläggning ses i etanolfallet och delvis i biodieselfallet mot en valorisering och diversifiering av rest-/bi-produktflöden. Om denna ”bioraffinaderistrategi” lyckas kan den bidra till bättre lönsamhet och bättre resurseffektivitet. I biogasfallen fanns istället strategier för att försöka sänka råvarukostnader genom att hitta råvaror av lägre kvalitet. Också denna strategi kan öka lönsamheten och förbättra resurseffektiviteten, men detta förutsätter att avsättningen av biogödsel också kan lösas på ett lönsamt sätt. Detta är en fortsatt stor utmaning för biogasproducenterna. En av de viktigaste kritiska faktorerna för de olika samarbetsprojekten var EUs förnybarhetsdirektiv som nämndes i samband med de flesta samarbetsprojekt och som här sågs som en miljömässig drivkraft. Också det långsiktiga byggandet av gröna varumärken verkar vara en drivkraft, åtminstone när det gäller vissa samarbetsprojekt. Samtliga biodrivmedelsproducenter kämpar idag med lönsamheten varför också de ekonomiska aspekterna kring samarbeten är mycket väsentliga.

The role of liquid biofuels in transportation to minimize the effects of climate change is  evident and has led to a number of studies on finding effective solutions to replace fossil fuels. Liquid biofuels are especially important for heavy duty transports as the effective ‘green’ alternatives are not as many compared to light duty vehicles; for which for e.g. electrification is an option. This thesis presents a comparison study of 8 liquid biofuels with a total of 13 different fuel pathways for use in road freight transports; both current and potential future fuels are assessed in terms of their environmental effects, fuel properties and compatibility with the heavy duty vehicle engines (see Table 10, page 36). Furthermore, a case study is performed to assess the practicality of the results of the study.  Hydro-treated vegetable oil, Bio Dimethyl ether, Liquefied Bio Methane/ ED95 are identified as fuels with considerable potential in the shorter term. Algal biofuel and Biomass to liquid (BTL) fuels from synthesis gas, if realized commercially would be a breakthrough for biofuels in overall transportation sector. However, life cycle analysis has to be performed for the different fuel pathways to completely understand the various impacting factors.

The transport sector is seen as particularly problematic when concerns about climate change and dependency on fossil energy are discussed. Because of this, bioenergy is strongly promoted for use in the transport sector, both on a European level and nationally in Sweden. Even though bioenergy is considered one of the key solutions, it is generally agreed that both supply- and demand-side measures will be needed to achieve a change to a more sustainable transport system. One of the reasons for this is the limited availability of biomass, especially agricultural feedstocks competing with food or feed production. Woody biomass, however more abundant, is also exposed to tough competition from other sectors. In this thesis, the role of biogas as a vehicle fuel in a future sustainable transport system is discussed together with the prerequisites needed to realise such a transport system. Biogas is a biofuel that could be produced in several different ways: by anaerobic digestion, which is a first-generation production route, by gasification, which is a second-generation process, and by catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, a third-generation technology. The main focus in this thesis is on biogas produced by anaerobic digestion and the results show that there is a significant potential for an increase compared to today’s production. Biogas from anaerobic digestion, however, will only be able to cover a minor part of the demand in the Swedish transport sector. Considering biogas of the second and third generations, the potential for production is more uncertain in a mid-term future, mainly due to competition for feedstock, the possibility to produce other fuels by these processes, and the present immaturity of the technology. The limited potential for replacing fossil vehicle fuels, either by biogas or other renewable fuels, clearly shows the need for demand-side measures in the transport system as well. This thesis shows the importance of technical and non-technical means to decrease the demand for transport and to make the transport as efficient as possible. The results show that both energy-efficient vehicles and behavioural and infrastructural changes will be required. Policies and economic incentives set by governments and decision-making bodies have a prominent role to play, in order to bring about a shift to a more sustainable transport system, however, measures taken on individual level will also have a great impact to contribute to a more sustainable transport system.

QC 20121116

Most of the time when developing policies for the promotion of future biofuel, the social dimension of sustainable development is neglected. But it is important to incorporate both social and economic issues along with environmental issues for a successful sustainability strategy because sustainable development depends on all three aspects of sustainability. This paper focuses on the sustainable development of liquid biofuel for the transport sector.The global transport sector is booming as is the need for energy. With the growing concern about climate change, governments of developed countries have been implementing different policy directives to promote biofuel as an alternative source of energy. But strategies implemented to fulfill the target of mitigating effects of climate change have exposed negative effects of liquid biofuels on both environment and society. This paper reviewed information on liquid biofuels and their effects on environment, society and economy and analyzed them from a sustainable development point of view. Although scientists have developed biofuels through advanced technology that seem to have less negative effects than traditional biofuels, they are still on a trial basis. In addition to this the effects of these biofuels are also need to be tested on a commercial basis in order to ensure their sustainability. Due to these considerations the process of switching from traditional biofuel to advanced biofuels will require time. It is imperative to develop sustainable ways of production and use of available biofuels which do not harm nature or exploit vulnerable communities. Biofuel policies also need to be studied thoroughly in order to find weaknesses and pitfalls. Although numerous studies related to specific issue like indirect land use change, GHG emission, biofuel policies or the biofuel market etc. have been conducted, it is rare to find a study that takes into consideration of all three aspects (economy, society and environment) of sustainable development. After reviewing and analyzing the literature, this thesis has come to a conclusion that the potential of liquid biofuel in the future transport sector is unlimited. But due to the negative effects on environment and society it has not achieved sustainability. Moreover the expense of production and lack of investment in the sector has made it economically unsustainable. But, it is possible to change the scenario by implementing proper policies in a way that the social and environmental issues that happened in the past do not happen again and the sector can achieve sustainability.

The thesis analyzes the conditions for biogas in the Swedish transport sector. Biogas can contribute to the achievement of Sweden’s ambitious targets of decreased emissions of greenhouse gases and an increased share of renewables in the transport sector, a sector that encompasses the major challenges in the phase-out of fossil fuels. Biogas development has stagnated during recent years and there are several factors that have contributed to this. The use of biogas in transport has developed in niches strongly affected by policy instruments and in this thesis, the progress is understood as a policy-driven systemic transition. Biogas has (started to) become established at the regime level and has begun to replace fossil fuels. The major obstacles for continued biogas development are found to be the stagnated vehicle gas demand, the low predictability of Swedish policy instruments, and electric car development. Moreover, the current prolonged period of low oil prices has also contributed to a lack of top-down pressure. A large share of the cheap and easily accessible feedstock for conventional biogas production is already utilized and an increased use of vehicle gas could enable a commercial introduction of forest-derived methane. However, the technologies to produce forest-derived methane are still not commercial, although there are industrial actors with technological know-how. Future biogas development depends on how the policy framework develops. Policy makers should consider the dynamics of biogas as a young sociotechnical system where different system fronts develop at a varying pace. Currently the demand side is lagging behind. However, it is necessary to maintain predictable policy support throughout the entire biogas value chain, since the system fronts that lag can vary over time. The low predictability of Swedish policy instruments indicates that policy makers should exercise care in their design to create a more robust policy framework moving forward.

QC 20170508

Fossila drivmedel ger en negativ påverkan på miljö och klimat. Men frågan är om biodrivmedel är bättre. Det kan skilja stort mellan olika drivmedel beroende på vilken råvara och framställningsprocess som används. Syftet med studien är att göra en sammanställning av fördelar och nackdelar med olika fossilfria drivmedel som används och kan komma att användas i kollektivtrafiken i Gävleborgs län. I samråd med X-trafik, den regionala kollektivtrafikmyndigheten, har det framkommit att det främst är biodiesel (HVO - hydrogenerade vegetabiliska oljor), biogas och el som är intressanta att analysera. Rapporten kommer att redogöra hur användningen ser ut i andra delar av landet och i världen för att kunna anpassa kunskaperna till Gävleborgs län. I studien ingår även en granskning av produktionspotentialen för dessa drivmedel i länet. Det slutgiltiga resultatet av studien kommer att bidra till utvecklingen av en fossilfri fordonsflotta i regionen. Genom intervjuer med närproducenter av biogas (Gästrike Ekogas AB) och biodiesel (Colabitoil AB) samt med X-trafik inhämtades kunskap om hur produktionen ser ut i länet och vilka behov som finns. Detta tillsammans med en litteraturstudie gav resultatet. X-trafik har huvudansvaret för kollektivtrafiken och utför den genom entreprenörer som fått uppdragen genom upphandling. HVO har många fördelar mot andra dieselbränslen och kan tankas direkt i fordonen utan att dessa behöver modifieras. Dessutom görs den HVO som Colabitoil distribuerar och kommer börja producera på restavfall. En av X-trafiks entreprenörer har slutit ett avtal med Colabitoil vilket betyder att all fossil diesel som bussarna kör på idag kommer att bytas ut mot biodiesel. I Gävle stad kör bussarna på biogas och gasen produceras på avloppsreningsverket Duvbacken. Denna produktion täcker upp 60 % av behovet och resten är fossil gas. Med den nya anläggningen som Gästrike Ekogas håller på att bygga kommer behovet mer än väl täckas upp. Biogasen är även den gjord på restavfall. I den nya biogasanläggningen kommer de också få en utmärkt biogödsel fri från föroreningar, som kan KRAV-märkas och användas till odling för att ersätta konstgödsel. Elbussar är något som diskuteras av X-trafik och kan vara bra alternativ på vissa linjer dock är tekniken under utveckling fortfarande och investeringskostnaden är hög. Det finns potential att kollektivtrafiken i Gävleborgs län kan köra på 100 % miljövänligt, hållbara och närproducerade drivmedel inom en snar framtid.
The purpose of this study is to make a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of various non-fossil fuels that are used and can be used in public transport in the county. In consultation with X-trafik, it has emerged that it is mainly biodiesel (in the form of  HVO - hydrogenated vegetable oils), biogas and electricity that are interesting to analyse. The report will describe the use in other parts of the country and the world to adapt the knowledge to the county. The study also includes an investigation of the production potential of these fuels within the county. The final results of the study will contribute to the development of a fossil free fleet in the region. Through interviews with local producers of biogas (Gästrike Ekogas AB) and biodiesel (Colabitoil AB) and X-trafik information was collected about how the production is performed in the county and what the needs are. This, together with a literature review yielded the results. X-trafik has the main responsibility for the public transport and carries it out through contractors with assignments through procurement. HVO has many advantages compared to other diesel fuels and can be refueled directly in vehicles without modifications of these. Additionally, the HVO that Colabitoil distributes and will begin producing is made of residual waste. One of X-Trafik's contractors has signed a contract with Colabitoil which means that all fossil diesel the buses run on today will be replaced with biodiesel. In Gävle city the buses run on biogas and the gas is produced at the sewage treatment plant. This production covers 60% of the need and the rest is fossil gas. The new facility, which Gästrike Ekogas is building, will produce more than the public transport needs. Biogas is also made from residual waste. The new facility will also yield a by-product in the form of an excellent bio-fertilizer free of contaminants that can be KRAV labelled and used for cultivation to replace chemical fertilizers. Electric buses are something that is discussed, and may be a good option on certain routes, however, the technology is still under development and the investment cost is high. There is great potential that the public transport in the county can run on 100% eco-friendly, sustainable and locally produced fuels in the near future.

Biofuels are receiving significant interest as a source for sustainable, locally produced hydrocarbon fuels. While solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) can operate efficiently on biomass fuel streams, their use can prove problematic if process conditions are not carefully monitored, as carbon-deposit formation presents a significant risk. In this study, we examine the chemistry and transport processes underway when SOFC anodes are exposed to ethanol-steam mixtures. Through use of a unique Separated-Anode Experiment, this study decouples anode chemistry processes from charge-transfer, cathode-activation, and other electrochemical processes in an effort to focus on ethanol decomposition in SOFC environments. Experiments are combined with numerical simulations that include Dusty-Gas transport modeling within the anode pore structure, and elementary, multi-step heterogeneous and homogeneous chemical kinetics mechanisms representing fuel conversion within the anode. Process windows for deposit-free operation are postulated, and alternate anode architectures that minimize the risk of deposit formation are discussed.

Continuous use of petroleum derived fuels is widely recognized as unsustainable due to depleting supplies and the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Renewable, carbon neutral transport fuels are needed for environmental and economic sustainabilities. Algae have been demonstrated to be one of the most promising sources for biofuel production. However, large-scale algae production and harvesting for energy manufacturing are too costly using existing methods. The approach of growing algae on solid carriers is innovative and can potentially lead to cost-effective manufacturing of algae biofuels. As cells approach to the solid surface, many factors come in to influence microbial attachment such as the surface wettability, free energy, polarity, roughness and topography. Surface wettability plays an important role in the initial cell attachment. For further contact, surface free energy and polarity are more directly related to cell-substratum attachment strength. Surface roughness and texture are species-specific parameters and have been applied widely in attachment studies.

Growing demand for energy, along with the depletion of traditional fossil fuels and the development of civilization, raises interest in the use of bioenergy in all sectors of the economy, including electricity, transport, heating, cooling, and industry. In developed countries bioenergy is an alternative to traditional non-renewable energy from fossil fuels, as its resources renew in natural processes, making it practically inexhaustible. Due to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, bioenergy is also more environmentally friendly than fossil energy. Thus bioenergy sector is a key segment of bio-economy and determines its competitiveness and development. Increase in bioenergy production, resulting from both market and energy policies, leads to greater interdependence between energy and agricultural markets, affects food and feed prices and change in land use. The aim of this study was to identify changes in the bioenergy market in Poland in 2010-2015, present the role of bioenergy sector production in the structure of bio-economy, the changes in production and directions of biomass-based energy use and determine the importance of the major bioenergy markets in the structure of the energy market in Poland. The study was based on the aggregated statistical data on the acquisition and consumption of bioenergy in Poland, including energy from municipal waste, solid biofuels, biogas and liquid biofuels. Findings prove that bioenergy is the most important renewable energy source in Poland. It is also a diversified source of energy, as it can be converted into solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Although solid biofuels and liquid biofuels dominate in Poland, the share of biogas and energy produced from municipal waste is small. Concluding, bioenergy in Poland changes its character from traditional and local energy source into modern, international commodity.

In the context of the recent decision of the European Commission to incorporate a minimum of 10% biofuel by 2020 in total transport fuel use, the production of bioethanol and biodiesel will be boosted. When compared to fossil fuels this two biofuels have numerous advantages i.e. they are renewable, they run in conventional vehicles, they are not toxic, they are biodegradable, they show low particulate emissions and they are CO2 neutral. However they show some disadvantages such as the high energy demand of their production and the high yield of byproducts (i.e. glycerin for biodiesel and distiller’s waste for bioethanol), that require a dedicated marketing effort and supply chain. The energy demand required for the production of both biodiesel, through transesterification of vegetal oils, and bioethanol, through fermentation followed by distillation, is thermal and mechanical and can be satisfied by means of a CHP plant integrated in the production line fueled by its own byproducts. The paper analyzes the energy balances of two CHP plants fed with the above mentioned wastes (glycerin and wheat straw residues) and integrated in the biofuels (respectively biodiesel and bioethanol) production plants. The CHP plant considered are based on the IPRP (Integrated Pyrolysis Regenerated Plant) technology, meaning a gas turbine fed with syngas obtained from slow pyrolysis of the residues. Results show that in the case of biodiesel the production of glycerine is sufficient to satisfy the electricity demand of the plant that is lower than the heat demand, while the last cannot be completely covered because glycerine production is reduced respect to the input mass of vegetable oil and equal to 10% w/w. Concerning bioethanol, wheat straw residues are enough to cover heat demand that is the most important energy input of the process but they are not able to cover electricity input that is linked with the milling of the raw material. This is because of the reduced syngas yields and its lower energy content if compared with that obtained using glycerine.