Biofuel prices

Retail, at the pump prices, including U.S. subsidies, Federal and state motor taxes, B2/B5 prices for low-level Biodiesel (B2-B5) are lower than petroleum diesel by about 12 cents, and B20 blends are the same per unit of volume as petrodiesel.^[86]

Due to the 1/3 lower energy content of ethanol fuel, even the heavily-subsidized net cost to drive a specific distance in flexible-fuel vehicles is higher than current gasoline prices.

Energy efficiency and energy balance of biofuels

Production of biofuels from raw materials requires energy (for farming, transport and conversion to final product, and the production / application of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides), and has environmental consequences.^[87]

The energy balance of a biofuel is determined by the amount of energy put into the manufacture of fuel compared to the amount of energy released when it is burned in a vehicle. This varies by feedstock and according to the assumptions used. Biodiesel made from sunflowers may produce only 0.46 times the input rate of fuel energy.^[88] Biodiesel made from soybeans may produce 3.2 times the input rate of fossil fuels.^[89] This compares to 0.805 for gasoline and 0.843 for diesel made from petroleum.^[90] Biofuels may require higher energy input per unit of BTU energy content produced than fossil fuels: petroleum can be pumped out of the ground and processed more efficiently than biofuels can be grown and processed. However, this is not necessarily a reason to use oil instead of biofuels, nor does it have an impact on the environmental benefits provided by a given biofuel.

Studies have been done that calculate energy balances for biofuel production. Some of these show large differences depending on the biomass feedstock used and location.^[91]

To explain one specific example, a June 17, 2006 editorial in the Wall. St. Journal stated, "The most widely cited research on this subject comes from Cornell's David Pimental and Berkeley's Ted Patzek. They've found that it takes more than a gallon of fossil fuel to make one gallon of ethanol — 29% more. That's because it takes enormous amounts of fossil-fuel energy to grow corn (using fertilizer and irrigation), to transport the crops and then to turn that corn into ethanol."^[92]

Life cycle assessments of biofuel production show that under certain circumstances, biofuels produce only limited savings in energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Fertiliser inputs and transportation of biomass across large distances can reduce the GHG savings achieved. The location of biofuel processing plants can be planned to minimize the need for transport, and agricultural regimes can be developed to limit the amount of fertiliser used for biomass production. A European study on the greenhouse gas emissions found that well-to-wheel (WTW) CO₂ emissions of biodiesel from seed crops such as rapeseed could be almost as high as fossil diesel. It showed a similar result for bio-ethanol from starch crops, which could have almost as many WTW CO₂ emissions as fossil petrol. This study showed that second generation biofuels have far lower WTW CO₂ emissions.^[93]

Other independent LCA studies show that biofuels save around 50% of the CO₂ emissions of the equivalent fossil fuels. This can be increased to 80-90% GHG emissions savings if second generation processes or reduced fertiliser growing regimes are used. Further GHG savings can be achieved by using by-products to provide heat, such as using bagasse to power ethanol production from sugarcane.^[94]

Collocation of synergistic processing plants can enhance efficiency. One example is to use the exhaust heat from an industrial process for ethanol production, which can then recycle cooler processing water, instead of evaporating hot water that warms the atmosphere.^[95]

Biofuels and solar energy efficiency

Biofuels from plant materials convert energy that was originally captured from solar energy via photosynthesis. A comparison of conversion efficiency from solar to usable energy (taking into account the whole energy budgets) shows that photovoltaics are 100 times more efficient than corn ethanol^[96] and 10 times more efficient than the best biofuel.^[97]

Centralised vs. decentralised production

There is debate around the best model for production.

One side sees centralised vegetable oil fuel production offering

   * efficiency
   * greater potential for fuel standardisation
   * ease of administrating taxes
   * possibility for rapid expansion

The other side of the argument points to

   * increased fuel security
   * rural job creation
   * less of a 'monopolistic'  or 'oligopolistic' market due to the increased number of producers
   * benefits to local economy as a greater part of any profits stay in the local economy
   * decreased transportation and greenhouse gases of feedstock and end product
   * consumers close to and able to observe the effects of production

The majority of established biofuel markets have followed the centralised model with a few small or micro producers holding a minor segment of the market. A noticeable exception to this has been the pure plant oil (PPO) market in Germany which grew exponentially until the beginning of 2008 when increasing feedstock prices and the introduction of fuel duty combined to stifle the market. Fuel was produced in hundreds of small oil mills distributed throughout Germany often run as part of farm businesses.

Initially fuel quality could be variable but as the market matured new technologies were developed that made significantly improvements. As the technologies surrounding this fuel improved usage and production rapidly increased with rapeseed oil PPO forming a significant segment of transportation biofuels consumed in 2007.

see-

PRODUCTION OF VEGETABLE OILS IN DECENTRAL PLANTS AND ASPECTS OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT - INVESTIGATIONS ON PLANTS IN PRACTICE TO OPTIMISE THE PROCESS Bernhard Widmann Biomass for Energy and Industry 10th European Conference. (1998)

Rapeseel oil fuel from decentralized oil seed processing - Lectures of the community conference, 16 and 17 June 2005

Danish Folkecenter Publications about decentralised pure plant oil fuel production

Befraging von Betreibern dezentraler Olsaatenverarbeitungsanlagen

Processing in Decentralised Oil Mills also Decentralised Biodiesel Production in Agriculture

http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/BIOCOMBUSTIBLES-English.pdf

http://oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/biofuels_report.pdf

References