The benefits of forward-thinking biofuel production?

YORK, UK -- The European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has led to concerns that expansion in the use of biofuels may be contributing to deforestation and land use change.

This has led to increased interest in the potential for use of non-food feedstocks for biofuel production such as crop residues and other waste streams. The European Climate Foundation and partners have investigated the potential for converting wastes from farming, forestry, industry and households to advanced low-carbon biofuels, and have now published their findings.

In support of the project, NNFCC analysed the economic viability and employment opportunities that will result from the exploitation of crop, forest and waste-derived residues for advanced biofuel production.

This identified that agricultural and forest residues would require little or only a modest additional incentive to stimulate production of biofuels at a price comparable to that offered by current commercial biofuel technologies. Refuse-derived biofuels were found to be cost competitive with current crop-derived bioethanol sources, but the issue here is complicated by the co-production of fossil ethanol from partially-renewable waste streams.

David Turley, lead consultant on biobased feedstocks at NNFCC, who led the analysis, said: “exploitation of these resources offers significant potential for increasing employment and economic returns in rural communities.”

About NNFCC

NNFCC is a leading international consultancy with expertise on the conversion of biomass to bioenergy, biofuels and biobased products. An award-winning consultancy, NNFCC helps industry solve complex business challenges and provides vital evidence for policy makers.

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