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Sustainable Agriculture pp 125–139Cite as

Environmental Costs and Benefits of Transportation Biofuel Production from Food-and Lignocellulose-Based Energy Crops: A Review

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Abstract

Transportation biofuel production in the United States is currently dominated by ethanol from the grain of maize and, to a much lesser extent, biodiesel from soybeans. Although using these biofuels avoids many of the environmentally detrimental aspects of petroleum-based fossil fuels, biofuel production has its own environmental costs, largely related to fossil fuel use in converting crops to biofuels and crop cultivation itself, including ecological damages caused by nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, pesticides, and erosion. A new generation of biofuels derived from lignocellulosic sources offers greatly reduced environmental impacts while potentially avoiding conflicts between food and energy production. In particular, diverse mixtures of native prairie species offer biomass feedstocks that may yield greater net energy gains than monoculture energy crops when converted into biofuels, while also providing wildlife habitat and enriching degraded soils through carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation. Ultimately, as demand for both food and energy rise in the coming decades, greater consideration will need to be given to how land can best be used for the greater benefit of society.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) at the University of Minnesota. I gratefully appreciate the comments and advice I received from David Tilman, Steve Polasky, and Erik Nelson.

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  1. Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN, Minnesota, USA

    Jason Hill

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota, MN, USA

    Jason Hill

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  1. INRA-CMSE-PME, rue Sully 17, Dijon CX, 21065, France

    Eric Lichtfouse

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  4. UMR SADAPT, INRA-INA PG, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France

    Souchere Véronique

  5. Dépt. Environnement et Agronomie, INRA Avignon, Avignon CX 9, 84914, France

    Caroline Alberola

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Hill, J. (2009). Environmental Costs and Benefits of Transportation Biofuel Production from Food-and Lignocellulose-Based Energy Crops: A Review. In: Lichtfouse, E., Navarrete, M., Debaeke, P., Véronique, S., Alberola, C. (eds) Sustainable Agriculture. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2666-8_10

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