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Biomass for Energy: Energetic and Environmental Challenges of Biofuels

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Global Change, Energy Issues and Regulation Policies

Part of the book series: Integrated Science & Technology Program ((ISTP,volume 2))

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Abstract

Transportation is 94 % dependent on oil, represents around 20 % of global consumption of energy, and is responsible for 23 % of total emissions from fossil fuels. For several years, progress has been made to enhance the energy efficiency of the systems, but increasing the part of biofuel still seems irremediable both for environmental, economic, and energy independence reasons. Fuel production from biomass is clearly considered as an important substitute for liquid fossil fuels such as bioethanol for motor gasoline, biodiesel for diesel, jet fuel for biokerosene, and for gaseous fuels (hydrogen, natural gas for vehicles, biomethane, etc.). This chapter presents the main pathways for the production of biofuels, and classifies their degree of maturity:

  • The first-generation processes that value the reserves of a plant (starch, sugar, oil) are now mature and industrially deployed.

  • The second generation processes extend their resource to the whole plant tissues (agricultural, forest) or to organic waste, and are almost under scientific control but they still need more economic and energetic assessment before being commercially deployed.

  • The last innovative pathway, the advanced or third biofuel generation, shows significant potential by using bioalgae or microorganisms capable of producing much more biomass oil convertible into biodiesel and gaseous fuels such as methane or hydrogen.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Agro-fuel: Biomass from agricultural crops.

  2. 2.

    Azeotrope: A liquid mixture for which boiling occurs at a fixed temperature and composition.

  3. 3.

    The Net Calorific Value (NCV) of a substance, is the amount of heat released during the combustion of 1 kg, the water produced being still considered as a vapor. The NCV of ethanol and of gasoline are, respectively, 26.8 and 42.7 MJ/kg, and their ratio is #0.6.

  4. 4.

    Autothermic: The reactions involved in the process are globally endothermic, but some of them are exothermic and can provide an internal energy contribution to the process. An endothermic reaction needs an external heat to be provided to the system. An exothermic reaction creates heat that must be evacuated to the external ambient.

  5. 5.

    Allothermic: With contribution of external energy.

  6. 6.

    C 10 and C 20 : Hydrocarbon molecules with, respectively, 10 or 20 carbon atoms.

  7. 7.

    Hydrocarbon molecule with respectively five or six carbon atoms.

  8. 8.

    1MDa = 1M Dalton = 106 Da; 1 Da = 1 amu (atomic mass units).

  9. 9.

    Glucans are polysaccharides of D-glucose monomers, linked by glucosidic bonds.

Abbreviations

ADEME:

French Environment and Energy Management Agency

BtL:

Biomass to liquid

CVO:

Crude vegetable oils

Da:

amu (atomic mass units)

DIREM:

General Directorate for Energy and Raw Materials

DOE:

US Department of Energy

E10:

Gasoline with 10 % in volume of ethanol

E85:

Gasoline with 85 % in volume of ethanol

ETBE:

Ethyl tert-butyl ether

FAEE:

Fatty acid ethyl ester

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester

GHG:

Greenhouse gases

GtL:

Gas to liquid

HC:

Hydrocarbon

IEA:

International Energy Agency

MDa:

1MDa = 106 Da

MJ:

106 Joules

Mtoe:

106 toe

NCV:

Net calorific value

PAH:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PCW:

Plant cell wall

ppm:

Part per million

PS II:

Photosystem II (or water-plastoquinone oxidoreductase) is the first protein complex in light-dependent reactions.

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

Toe:

Ton of oil equivalent

v/v:

Volume by volume

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut P’, CNRS UPR 3346/ENSMA/Université de Poitiers, 1 Avenue Clément Ader, 40109, 86961, Futuroscope Chasseneuil, Cedex, France

    Jean Michel Most

  2. Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines CNRS, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402, Marseille, Cedex 20, France

    Marie Thérèse Giudici-Orticoni, Marc Rousset & Mireille Bruschi

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  1. Jean Michel Most
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  2. Marie Thérèse Giudici-Orticoni
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  3. Marc Rousset
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  4. Mireille Bruschi
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Correspondence to Jean Michel Most .

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  1. Pprime/ENSMA, BP 40109, Chasseneuil Cedex, 86961, France

    Jean Bernard Saulnier

  2. , Campus do UniCEUB, University Center of Brasilia, SEPN 707/907, Brasilia, DF, 70790-075, Brazil

    Marcelo D. Varella

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Most, J.M., Giudici-Orticoni, M.T., Rousset, M., Bruschi, M. (2013). Biomass for Energy: Energetic and Environmental Challenges of Biofuels. In: Saulnier, J., Varella, M. (eds) Global Change, Energy Issues and Regulation Policies. Integrated Science & Technology Program, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6661-7_9

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